Coal reserves for 800 years

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33461, 16 February 1974, Page 2

Coal reserves for 800 years

(N Z Press Association WELLINGTON, February 15. New Zealand’s known coal reserves would last for 800 years at the present rate of consumption, the Minister of Mines (Mr Colman) said in Parliament today. If the country’s present total energy consumption was converted to coal there would still be enough to last 200 years.

. Mr Colman, who I attacked the former Govlernment for running idown the coal industry, I said in the Address-in- ! Reply debate that the Government was deter■mined to promote coal to jits utmost because of it he oil crisis and power shortages. Coal offered the greatest, potential source of energy for New Zealand, because oil, natural gas, and hydro generation had their limitations. He was pleased at the way industry was switching back to coal to ease the pressure on fuel oils. A recent survey had shown that such conversions were saving 25,000 gallons of oil a day. The Mines Department was doing everything possible to cope with a considerable increase in demand for domestic coal, Mr Colman said. With expected! shortages of electricity and: toil this winter State coal! i depots were stockpiling coa], land the public had helped by ordering their winter sup-j plies in the summer.

I Domestic coal orders in i December and January were lup between 200 and 500 per cent, Mr Colman said.

• Conversions to natural gas in some plant could achieve oil savings of up to 4.5 m gallons a year, Mr Colman said, but the world shortage of pipe and fittings would affect the rate of conversion, Mr Colman said that to overcome the possibility of demand exceeding the capacity of State mines to supply coal, the Government recently approved sl.2m additional expenditure for open-cast mine advance stripping. This would make a further 500,000 tons of coal available to meet any shortfall. He said the former Government had shown a lack of foresight, initiative, and promotion in the coal industry. “Because of this failure New Zealand is that much poorer and in a much worse situation than we should have been,” Mr Colman said. The National Government’s coal dealings had been a “sad story of neglect.” More than 100 mines had closed since 1949, and there had been a policy of non-replacement of miners leaving the industry. In 1961 there had been more than 4000 miners. Today there were fewer than 1500. In 1950 coal supplied 50 per cent of the nation’s energy requirements, while today it was less than 20 per cent. Other fuels had been encouraged at coal’s expense, and. New Zealand had become dangerously dependent on imports.

Gift to Samoa. — The Government had given $50,750 to Western Samoa for the constuction of a timber-treat-ment plant, the Associate Minister of Foreign Affairs (Mr Waldipg) said yesterday. -(P.A.).