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Ch. 10: The Essential Combination

Ch. 10: The Essential Combination Page of 449 Ch. 10: The Essential Combination Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
324 THE DIAMOND MINES OF SOUTH AFRICA
At Kimberley mine the rock shaft is connected by similar tunnels with the mine on the iooo, 1200, 1520, 1840, and 2160-foot levels. The present depths (1904) of De Beers shafts are 2076 feet and 1579 feet respectively, and of Kimberley rock shaft 2539 feet.
Trucks holding 16 cubic feet transport the blue ground in the mines from the loading places to the main chutes or passes, and from these to the shaft. The trucks are hauled by an
endless chain which rests upon V-shaped clips fastened to the trucks, the motive power being supplied by engines driven by compressed air, carried through pipes from the surface.1 At the shaft there is a large station cut out of the solid rock, some 30 feet wide, and extending back toward the mine for a distance of 70 feet to the point where the tunnel (8 by 11 feet) commences. There is an extension on one end of the shaft for a small cage-way to bring up any ground that may spill over the skips while being loaded. This prevents delays in the skip hoisting. The shaft is also lengthened for a few feet at the pump end, where a set of pumps is put in.
1 See Appendix I.
Ch. 10: The Essential Combination Page of 449 Ch. 10: The Essential Combination
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