JAPAN NEGOTIATING FOR COAST COAL

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30803, 15 July 1965, Page 1

JAPAN NEGOTIATING FOR COAST COAL

Deep-Water Harbour At Westport Involved

(From Our Own Reporter)

WELLINGTON, July 14.

A scheme to develop Westport as a deep-water harbour to facilitate the loading of Stockton coal for steel-making in Japan is under close study by the Government.

The scheme, the feasibility of which depends on whether the Government can arrange the supply of a sufficient quantity of coal to make the proposition economic, could produce a trade worth as much as £2 million a year. Over-all, the project is in the multi-million pound class.

The promoters are the raw materials Japanese firm of Tosu, Ltd., and the steelmakers, Nippon Kokan, Ltd.

Their plan involves the creation of deepsea jetties with special bulk conveyers capable of handling bulk carriers of up to 35,000 tons deadweight.

Consultants for the promoters are well aware of the difficulties involved, end of the fact that clearing the coal from West Coast ports has always been a problem for ships of one-tenth the tonnage.

Spokesman said today, however that for port works of such magnitude Japanese loan finance could be arranged, if this proved necessary.

The mission consists of Messrs T. Uesegi and R. Ahiro, of Tosu, and Dr. T. Tateishi and Messrs S. Saito and T. Toda, of Nippon

Kokan. They are accompanied by a sales representative. Mr D. Taylor, of Sydney.

Members of the mission have held talks this week with the Minister of Mines (Mr Shand), the Minister of Industries and Commerce (Mr Marshall), and top officials of the Mines Department, ' the Marine Department and the Ministry of Works. Coking Coal The legal adviser of the mission (Dr. G- L. McLeod) said today the firms were anxious to achieve an agreement with the Government whereby coking coal could be exported from the West Coast to Japan. “Since February they have been examining coal samples sent from the West Coast to find if their chemical qualities are suitable for the steel industry,” he said.

“The tests have proved satisfactory and they now want to find if it is practicable to get a quantity of coal and to ship it away. “This involves a two-fold agreement between the Japanese companies and the New Zealand Government for the firms to have the coal and for the building of wharf facilities to ship the coal away. “Exploratory Phase” “The Japanese have found that the nearer to a coast you can get raw materials and use sea transport, the more economic any such venture becomes.” Dr. McLeod described the present talks as a further step “in the exploratory phase.” He said: “'The essential point to be considered is how much coal the New Zealand Government can give us, because Japan can take any amount of coal." Most of the coal likely to be involved, at least initially, is expected to come from the Stockton area. The mission is to visit the West Coast at the week-end checking the results of previous sample tests against the range of coal available in the field.

Its members would not discuss likely costs and quantities today. “We will be much further forward by Monday,” Dr. McLeod said tonight.

To Visit Westport Mr Saito said: “We have spent much time in the last year investigating possibilities for buying suitable New Zealand coal for our steel mills. “We are now going to visit Westport and make other investigations which we hope will then allow us to make a definite proposal to your Government. There Is now a great need for us to increase trade between our two countries.”

Mr Uesegi said that Japanese finance for port facilities could be considered, if not by loan, then by adjustments in the price of the coal itself Japanese engineers and technicians could also help in construction work.