TEST BORING

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 234, 3 October 1942, Page 6

TEST BORING

PHOSPHATE DEPOSIT

IJOLBT AS TO VALUE

(0 C - ) Dt/XEDIN, Friday A report published in Christchun* that an enormously valuable A? posit of phosphate, estimated * 100,000.000 tons, had been disiveri at Clarendon. 30 miles south rf Dunedin, and attributing to tor W J. Poison, former Minister of Pr™i.» tion for War Purposes, a state™** that it might, be worth £100 000ftS to the country, is not supported'h* local experts who are familiar witfc the district and with the history S the deposit., which was discov»«s as long ago as 1902.

The deposit was worked by th* Foo"i ng . Phosph fe Company 'unffl 192.1 when production ceased owSw to the inability of the company to compete with the higher grade Naurn phosphate. The company min«H during the whole period of workSS 132.000 tons.

As recently as last March Mr J M. Thompson, of Melbourne chief engineer to the British Phosphate Commissioners, reported, that the great depth of over-burden, combined with the extremely mixed and limited nature of the deposit, marie it very unattractive, and that only emergency conditions would warrant reopening the workings. A Press Association message fnim Wellington states that test boring will commence at the Clarendon phosphate deposit as soon as plant arrives from the West Coast, aid active mining will begin without delay. The grade of the phosphateis low. but experts believe it can be brought up to commercial standards quite cheaply.

Sir Albert Ellis. the New Zealand flit missioner of the British Commission, said that the Clarendon(to phate deposits had proved quite aaU during the last war. but the nad found it impossible to full-scale operations were resonMSl N'auru. The deposits had been inapt! recently and. although they were aISBf. ful economic proposition, there vit possibility of operations being af taken. When a decision was reacMk Minister of Agriculture. Mr. "lllK' would probably make the announiiit