Gold statistics doubt

Press, 16 September 1987, Page 13

Gold statistics doubt

PA Wellington Goldminers are refusing to declare about two thirds of the gold produced in New Zealand, the Ministry of Energy says. The Ministry’s latest mineral production statistics show 1265 kg of gold were mined at a value of $27.2 million. But the Ministry’s assistant secretary for resource management and

mining, Mr Phil Taylor, said the actual value of gold production was thought to be over $7O million. "We don’t believe these gold statistics," he said. The foreword to the statistics says that in deference to the wishes of most operators, individual values and some gold returns are no longer published. "The production of gold

is under-declared, probably in excess of a factor of three.”

Mr Taylor said that most of the gold was produced on the West Coast from about 120 alluvial gold plants each run by just a few people. Although miners were required to furnish returns twice a year, not all did so.

Coal statistics for the calendar year 1986 shows that State Coal gained a bigger share of the market from private coal operators than in 1985. Last year State Coal production was 1.75 million tonnes against private coal operators 771,000 tonnes. In 1985 State Coal produced 1.6 million tonnes and private operators 942,000 tonnes.