COAL SUPPLIES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXI, Issue 176, 26 July 1940, Page 9

COAL SUPPLIES.

NORMAL IN THREE MONTHS,

OIL 011 PETROL FROM SLACK,

|Ny Telegraph.—Parliamentary Reporter.)

WELLINGTON, this day

Reference to the complaints of shortage of coal supplies in Wellington and elsewhere recently was made by Mr. Denham (Government, Invercargill) in the House of Representatives last night. He said he would like to know what the coal prospects were for the future and whether it was thought that there was sufficient coal to meet all requirements.

Mr. W. M. C. Denham.

The Minister of Mines, Mr. Webb, said he was sure that in the course of another two or three months they would have the coal situation well in hand.

The Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Hamilton, observed that it had pretty well caught up now.

• Mr. Denham also inquired if there was any intention of making briquettes or utilising to advantage in some other way liy processing the slack that had accumulated over a period of years.

The Minister said that the question of processing slack coal was under consideration 'by the Scientific and Industrial Research Department and. the Mines Department, and as soon as plant was discovered which wa« capable of treating slack in anything like an economical way for oil or petrol they would not hesitate for one moment about it. The difficulty at the moment was to come across plant to treat coal economically.