BLACKBALL MINE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 61, Issue 227, 8 July 1941, Page 3

BLACKBALL MINE.

TAKEN OVER BY GOVERNMENT. (P.A.) GREYMOUTH, July 7. The taking over by the Government of the mine and all other property of the Blackball Coal Company was announced to-night by the Hon. P. C. Webb to an enthusiastic meeting of Blackball tovwispeople. All the mine employees will be placed on piecework. That day’s inspection revealed that the mine possessed .a mechanical installation the equal of any in New Zealand or Australia, Mr Webb said. He had made certain, before deciding, that the State could operate the mine with advantage to the country and without risk of loss, making this doubly sure by an arrangement with the miners to undertake piecework, which would ensure not only good wages for the men on coal, but also better wages than elsewhere for truckers. He paid tribute to the mine manager’s development of the property, also to the directors of the Blackball Company who, through long association with Blackball, had agreed to dispose of the mechanical installation to the Government at a distinctly lower figure than was obtainable if the apparatus were to he sold for use elsewhere.

Mr 'Wo))!} emphasised the importance of maintaining the coal supply for a successful war effort, and expressed his utmost confidence in the success of the new venture. The trial that day had confirmed this.