Inspection Party For Bluff And Manapouri

Press, Volume C, Issue 29504, 4 May 1961, Page 17

Inspection Party For Bluff And Manapouri

(New Zealand Press Association)

INVERCARGILL, May 3. Inspections will be made of the Bluff area and the Manapouri power scheme area by a group flying from Australia next week. The group, consisting of Mr S. Christie, joint general manager of Cotnalco Industries Proprietary. Ltd., and five other men, plan to come by private aircraft to Invercargill, by way of Christchurch. next Thursday. It is assumed that the group will be interested in proposed sites for the aluminium smelter in the Bluff area, where a visit is scheduled for the Friday. Next Saturday and Sunday will be spent at Lakes Manapouri and Te Anau. Meanwhile, at the west arm of Lake Manapouri, preparations for the exploratory work are reported to be continuing smoothly, in spite of difficult terrain. It is hoped that drilling can be started next week by the Gore Drilling Company, which will sink a core bore 800 feet, and Thiess Bros Pty.. Ltd, which has a contract to sink a pilot shaft 750 feet. The Gore company is continuing work on its aerial tramline, while the tramline being laid by Thiess, from

the lake edge to the shaft f head, is about half finished. The core bore, a few inches in diameter, will be cut by r a high-speed diamond drill, i The sinking of the shaft will be a much bigger operation. , The shaft will be 15ft wide 1 for the first 100 feet. 1 Jack hammers will drill a - pattern of holes in the rock, j which will be packed with dynamite and fired with 5 split-second timing, the inner - charges breaking up the rock ■ and the outer ones pushing it s upwards. The rock will then 1 be trolleyed out by way of 1 the tramline.