EXTENSIVE DEPOSITS

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 69, Issue 74, 7 January 1949, Page 3

EXTENSIVE DEPOSITS

MORE COAL POUND IN QUEENSLAND BRISBANE, Jan. 6. Further deposits of first quality coal which is readily accessible have been discovered in Queensland by an overseas boring company. Coal seams in the Nebo district, 70 miles from Mackay, are claimed to contain about 60,000,000 tons of coal, all of which can be worked by the open cut method.

The Nebo Shire , Clerk * (Mr A. Haines) says that the results so far obtained have been amazing. Tests indicate immense deposits of gas coal, as compared tvith industrial coal, at the huge open cut project at Blair Athol.

Mr Haines suggests that so vast are the recently-tested deposits that there is no necessity now to work the inaccessible Blair Athol field.

The State Government, which has committed itself to the development of Blair Athol by the Electrical Supply Corporation (Overseas) Ltd., has not yet received a full report on the new field. It is thought in political circles that the Government will not grant another franchise for any area in Queensland until it is satisfied that there are assured markets for the additional coal beyond the Blair Athol output. ,

The new field is only one of several which are under test. It is situated among what are known as the Bowen coal seams, in territory running some miles south from Bowen. The existence of extensive coalbearing areas there have been known for some time, and there are many visible outcrops, but until the present operations, no boring tests were conducted either by the Government or mining companies.

Until post-war development began, Queensland could obtain sufficient coal supplies from existing workings and from New South Wales, and it was not considered necessary to explore the potential resources of the f State beyond surface surveys. The post-war demand, coupled with indus- <. trial troubles in the New South Wales fields, has attracted overseas attention to the unworked Queensland deposits. It is expected that companies other than the Electrical Supply Corporation will seek franchises from the State to mine and export coal.

There are known deposits in many other parts of Queensland which at present are not readily accessible for economic transport to the coast. Within the last year, Queensland has made herself independent of New South Wales in coal supplies and is build' ing up a surplus for export.