175

This sample was too weathered to permit a proper classification as
to rank.

| “Very high in the Gething formation is the Gully seam. It is exposed
in the bottom of King Creek about a mile below the mine. Its total
thickness, including 0-1- and 0-05-foot shale partings, and some clay
ironstone concretions near the base, is about 2-9 feet.

“Other possibly good seams may occur in the upper part of the for-
mation above the Gully seam, but, if present, are deeply buried beneath
superficial deposits.

King Gething Mine

“The Gething property is on the east slope of Portage Mountain, 12
miles by road west of Hudson Hope. [King Gething is owner and oper-
ator.] The mine is on King Creek at an elevation of 2,750 feet, and is 1,200
feet above river level. At this point the stream flows in a deep gully, into
the east bank of which the entries have been driven.

““At the end of June 1948, underground workings consisted of two
entries along the strike of the seam and connected by two raises at 70 and
110 feet, respectively, from the portal. The lower, or main, entry was
200 feet long. No. 1 raise, nearest the portal, extended 70 feet up the dip
and joined the upper entry. No. 2 raise had been driven 60 feet up the dip
and a small room opened at the upper end. No. 3 raise, 150 feet from the
portal, had been driven up about 30 feet.

“The upper entry, 18 feet higher than the main entry, was 120 feet
long and did not connect with No. 3 raise.

“On September 13, when [E. J. W. Irish] again visited the mine, the
main entry had been driven an additional 30 feet, the face then being
230 feet from the portal. Work was in progress on the upper entry, which
was then 190 feet long. No. 1 and No. 2 raises had been filled in, and a
room was being opened from No. 3 raise.

“Tt is planned this winter to drive each entry to a length of 310 feet.
Two new raises are expected to be worked at 230 feet and 310 feet, re-
spectively from the main portal.

“Both shale partings and ironstone concretions cause difficulties in
mining the King seam. The shale must be cleaned from the coal, and the
large concretions are hard to remove without shattering the coal. Further,
the 30-degree dip of the seam is not steep enough for the coal to slide
down the chutes, and is too great to allow the cars to be pushed up to
the face. It is necessary, therefore, to shovel the coal from the chutes
into the cars. All drilling is done with a coal auger.

“Production in the past has been on an extremely small scale and very
irregular. Recent government assistance has, however, been very help-
ful and it it expected that production this winter will be between 12 and
20 tons a day.” During the 5-year period ending December 1947, 3,357
tons of coal were mined and sold.

“The main problem, common to the district, is the long haul by truck

to the Alaska Highway and Fort St. John. Production depends to a con-
siderable extent on the condition of this road, which at times is impassable

for trucks.”’