Dredge to be built soon

Press, 30 January 1981, Page 1

Dredge to be built soon

Greymouth reporter The licence for dredging on the Grey River by Kanieri Gold Dredging, Ltd. has been issued. “We will proceed immediately on the project,” said officials of the company yesterday.

After the Minister of Energy (Mr Birch) had announced late last year that he intended to issue the licence, farmers in the area had ordered surveyors off their properties.

In a radio interview yesterday. a Ngahere farmer, Mr P. W. Robertson, said that the farmers would continue to refuse permission until certain conditions in the licence were changed. Asked by “The Press” to comment, the secretary of the company, Mr F. K.

Buckley, said that the licence had already come to hand. The company had to complete its survey within a year to comply with the terms of the licence.

Mr M. Richardson, president of the Symcon Mining Company, of the United States (one of the principals of Kanieri) and president of Consolidated Placer Dredging,. Ltd, the . new dredge’s engineers, said in Greymouth yesterday that orders for steel for the dredge’s hull had been placed for delivery before May 1. In the interim, the excavation of the dredge’s pond would begin, and building of the workshops would be started. Building the dredge was a $lO million project. He was in New Zealand to “tie up

the placement of business” and the recruitment of personnel for the general assembly work.

As far as possible West Coast and New Zealand business would be sought. But specialised parts, such as buckets and tumblers, would be placed overseas. There was now only one dredge bucket specialists, and that was in the

United States, supplying orders for Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, Mr Richardson said.

“We have already assured the Government that at least $2 million worth of business from the dredge building will be placed as far as possible in the Greymouth. Christchurch, and Dunedin areas,” he said.