Page 57 - 00 Volume 5 The Mine

Mr Nanson illustrated his address with slides
and gave a brief history of the mine, which was
worked by underground methods as early as 1886,
through all the mining methods used up to the present
day.
The mine must have a history as varied as any in

the world, he said.
This report was followed by the same paper on
9th February 1961 with an article on the unique use of

the dredge in coalmining:

Unique use of dredge in
coalmining at Lake Kimihia,
Huntly

New Zealand is probably the first country to
use a dredge for coal mining. A cutter-section
dredge is part of the equipment at the Kimihia
Opencast mine, one of the world's most
interesting mines. The dredge is capable of
shifting 1.5 million cubic yards of material in a
The sluice gate used to control the level of water in year.

the dredging pond. A few miles from Huntly, Waikato,
approximately 400 tons of coal a day are
dangerous, faces in the soft clay. extracted from the bed of Lake Kimihia. The
DISAPPEAR mine's annual output of 80,000 tons makes it one
The lake would eventually disappear almost of the most productive in New Zealand. If
altogether. necessary it can produce 130,000 tons a year.
Asked whether the reclaimed land would be used for During the Second World War a
farming purposes, Mr Nanson replied that it would be considerable increase in the demand for coal
difficult to get anything to grow, apart from some prompted the Mines Department to consider
rushes, in the soft clay. reopening the Kimihia mine. It had been

Harry MacDonald (left) and a work colleague above the original #1 opencast pit.