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Sec. III, Ch. 2: The Ruby Mines of Burma

Sec. III, Ch. 2: The Ruby Mines of Burma Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 2: The Ruby Mines of Burma Text size:minus plus Restore normal size   Mail page  Print this page
164                     The Ruby Mines of Burma.
Its thickness is generally 4 or 5 feet, though at times it thins out to only a few inches, and it is almost invariably wet and soft. The miner commences operations by driving piles down into the underlying soft earth to form the sides of his pit or " twin." The " twins " are either " 9 hole " or "4 hole " twins, according to their size and the con­sequent number of cross-etruts required to support the sides. The piles having been driven as far as possible, the earth inside is dug out and the piles themselves caulked with grass and leaves to keep out water. The struts are put in every 3 feet, and work is carried on between them, a second set of piles being driven as required inside the first, and the work descending in this manner until the byon has been extracted and the " Akhan " or substratum unmistakably reached.
For hoisting, the Burman uses the old fashioned balance-crane, known all the world over, but constructs it cleverly out of bamboos, and it certainly answers its purpose most admirably. With these cranes water is baled out in stiff close-meshed baskets about 10 ins. square, and the byon in little round pliable ones some 6 or 8 inches in diameter. Having extracted the byon in this way, it is piled in a heap and,) on a convenient day, is either washed on the spot or carried to a neighbouring stream, according to the supply of water available. The apparatus for washing consists merely of a wooden trough about 5 feet long and large enough for a man to stand in. This is set in the ground and a stream of water led through it The lower end is roughly closed with a few large stones to retard the overflow, and the byon is then fed in and kept alive by being constantly thrown to the head of the trough by a man with a broad tool like a hoe. In this way the water and light stuff are carried away and the washed sand is
Sec. III, Ch. 2: The Ruby Mines of Burma Page of 366 Sec. III, Ch. 2: The Ruby Mines of Burma
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