The Staříč and Chlebovice drifts have been connected

STAŘÍČ – Palička from the village of Staříč, Lampa, against him, from Chlebovice. The former has driven a 1,100-metre tunnel, the latter 500 metres. On Monday, June 16, Palička drove through the last bit of the mine working no. 63 7254 between the 4th and 5th mine level, connecting both localities. This will enable a new, simpler centralized drawing of broken coal and a more rapid transportation to work.

The group of the chief foreman, Dušan Lampa, was to drive the shorter way from the Chlebovice field. About a month ago they reported they had already finished their task. The drifters of Rostislav Palička on the Chlebovice side, however, sweated over theirs for more than a year. “Before they began to send a suspended locomotive truck assembly to meet us halfway along the track, we’d had to walk about two kilometres to work. When a guy walked this distance carrying 25 kg of explosives and all equipment, he was no use for the next twenty minutes – simply had to rest,” commented the miners that have only just finished their work.

“We don’t very often connect shafts in this way – once a year at the most,” said Jiří Hůla, a mining engineer. This last instance, however, is not so common, because it will bring improvement in both output and working conditions. From both localities equipment for the given “track” was sent via a ZD 24 line for suspended locomotive transport. “This will improve accessibility in the whole mine working and cut transportation distances and times,” the engineer continues.

The working no. 063 7254 will henceforth be used primarily for a quicker transportation of the Chlebovice coal to the surface via the Staříč mining skip. The central drawing passage will thus be shortened by hundreds of metres. Last but not least, the connection will help solve the ventilation problem in the Paskov mine underground.