THE NEW ZEALAND ASBESTOS COMPANY.

AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRY NEAR NELSON.

' v Nelson Evening Mail) Some six weeks ago ib was announced that the New Zealand Asbestos Company had been floated in Christchurch with a capital of L 50,000 for the purpose of working some asbestos deposits at the head of the Takaka river. Until the present very little information has. been available in Nelson as to the operations of the company, but Mr W. Smart, who discovered the asbestos as long ago as 1890, and who is now in Nelson, supplied some interesting particulars of the discovery on being interviewed by a representative of the Mail to-day. The asbestos deposits, which have been secured under mineral leases, are situated near the head of the Takaka river, at the junction of thafr-river and Grecian Creek. The locality is four or five miles from the Table Land, and the distance from either Waitapu or Motueka is about 27 miles; but the route from Motueka, which is by way of Graham river, is over a more difficult grade than that by which the mine is reached from Takaka. When the asbestos was discovered by Mr. Smart there was no great demand for the material, but as it is becoming largely used and entering into the composition of so many articles of every day use, the fibre is now worth from LI 6 to 25 a ton in England, whilst some of the better quality commands as much as L 53 a ton. Samples have been sent to England and tested by Bell's Asbestos Company, the owners of the Canedian asbestos mines. Mr Bell states that the fibre sent from here is the best he has ever seen, and he has expressed his willingness to sell out his Canadian interests and remove his manufacturing plant to New Zealand. Two German firms have also offered to take 5400 tons of the fibre yearly, whilst a French firm will also take all" of a length of from five to 25 milimetres that can be supplied. Asbestos is now used as packing for steam pistons and cylinders, boiler coverings, fireproof safe linings, fire-escape ladders, as well as firemen's and ladies' dresses, etc. So great is the demand that there is now a dearth of the material in some parts of the world. There is a large supply available on the company's lease, and the outcrop of one lode is 24 chains long and 70 feet high. The fibre is easily worked by quarrying. A track has been cut from the head of the Takaka river to the mine, and a tram will be constructed to connect with the present tramway, running from Waitapu to East Takaka. Most of the company's shares, which were over-subscribed for, are held in Christchurch.