NEW LIME WORKS

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26605, 15 December 1951, Page 5

NEW LIME WORKS

Big Plant Completed At Mount Somers

DEPOSIT WILL LAST FOR FIFTY YEARS The Ashburton County has by good farming for many years maintained a high level of production, but in recent years, when the benefits of lime have become understood, the county has found itself in a most unfavourable situation with regard to lime supplies. Two or three small works have turned out a totally inadequate quantity of lime for the requirements of the county, and great quantities have been brought in from as far north as Waikari, and as far south as Oamaru. There are good lime deposits in the hills about Mount Somers, and here a big works is about ready to begin production on a scale not previously attempted in Ashburton County. The owners of the works have since 1943 operated a small plant a few miles from Mount Somers. A few years ago, the company decided to increase the scale of its operations, and has built a works capable of turning out several thousand tons a year. The deposit to be worked lies on both sides of the Caves creek, where the reserves of lime are estimated to be capable of supplying the plant for 50 years. The lime is of high quality, and though it varies to some extent in texture, the calcium carbonate content runs from about 94 per cent, to just under 100 per cent. There are no substantial difficulties with crushing. A big plant, designed and constructed in Southland, has been installed. It is at present working, but not at full capacity because of delays in obatining some of the machinery to move the rock to the plant. When the works is in full operation, the rock will be broken up with a rooter, and moved with a bulldozer to the slogger. From the slogger it is elevated to a bin which feeds the drier and pulveriser. The ground lime is elevated into a bin with a capacity of 600 tons, and from there can either be bagged or flowed direct into bulk distributors. ‘ Handy Site The works site is particularly well placed in relation to the district it will serve, and is close to a good road. There are no transport difficulties. In only one particular could the deposit have been improved. The working face is not high enough to make it possible to use gravity to maintain the flow from the face to the storage bin and two elevators have to be employed. In designing the works, full consideration has been given to the possibilities of using bulk distribution. The loading space for distributors is adequate, and the five distributors at present drawing lime from the works can load and get away with the minimum waste of time. A district which in part already uses a lot of lime, - and in part is being developed with lime, will be served by the works. The irrigation area in the Winchmore scheme is already within reasonable distance, but two new bridges proposed, one of them near the old Springfield homestead, on Thomson’s track, will cut down the haul materially. The first of these bridges is exnected to be under way fairly soon. The top end of the Lauriston district is within reasonable distance, and a big area round Mayfield, which is 10 miles from the wbrks, will be able to draw lime from there. The imnortant Ruapuna farming area is 12 miles away. As will be seen, rail transport is not so far away as to be impossible, but it is most likely that nearly all the output will be carried by road in 'distributors. The rate at present over most of * the district mentioned will be well under £2 a ton spread. No more striking example of the benefits of liming is to be obtained than in the Mount Somers district at present. It has been a season of phenomenal growth there as elsewhere, but the improved pastures are at present standing out most markedly. The district has a good rainfall, ranging from 35 inches oh the adjacent plains to 50 inches in the lower hills. The land varies in quality a good deal, and much of it is stony, but on the very considerable area of good land the more progressive farmers of the district are showing wha| can be done.

Fertility Sapped The district has every sign of having in the past gone back as badly as any of the higher rainfall districts in the South Island. In earlier years the big places were cut up, but it was found difficult to farm profitably on smaller units. Fertility was progressively sapped, and smaller farms were merged to make larger ones. The principal cover over a lot of the area was browntop liberally laced with sweet vernal, and with popr clover, or none at all.

The district has had an influx of keen young farmers since the war, and these men, most of them rehabilitation men, have set about improving their places on lines pioneered by the more progressive farmers of the district. Initial dressings of lime during the improvement of browntop country are customarily heavy, .and in many cases three tons are put on to give a start to the process of fertility building. Responses to lime have been uniformly excellent, as might have been expected in a district with a liberal rainfall. The upshot of the renewed interest in the land has been the imerovement of a very substantial numer of farms. Everywhere old buildings and homesteads are being done up, fencing improved, and excellent pastures established to replace the poor swards of a few years ago The new works at Mount Somers will undoubtedly play a big part in accelerating the development of this district.