MAKING GAS ON COALFIELDS

Press, Volume XCV, Issue 28267, 3 May 1957, Page 7

MAKING GAS ON COALFIELDS

Investigations In Canterbury

Inquiries in New Zealand and overseas on the generation and manufacture of coal gas on coalfields are to be made by the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce. Proposing this to the council of the chamber last evening, Mr J. Roy Smith said that it had been found overseas that the most economical way of using coal gas was to manufacture it on the coalfields and pipe it to the centres in which it was to be used.

There was a big electricity potential in the South Island, he said, but it could not be taken for granted that electricity could be used indiscriminately for all purposes.

He proposed that there should be an investigation of the coalfields at Coalgate to see whether they were suitable for open-cast mining and the generation of coal gas. If they proved inadequate. the question of generation of gas on the West Coast and piping it to Christchurch should be examined.

It might be that gas production on coalfields could be of great benefit to New Zealand, Mr Smith said. He mentioned as a possibility the piping of gas to Auckthe Huntly fields. Professor R. J. Rastrick, who represents professional engineers on the council, said that some work had been done in New Zealand, but he reserved his comments until the meeting went into committee.