COAL BY-PRODUCTS

Dominion, Volume 22, Issue 34, 3 November 1928, Page 23

COAL BY-PRODUCTS

IMPORTANT NEW INDUSTRY STATEMENT BY SIR JOSEPH WARD gome interesting particulars regarding tlie New Zealand Coal By-Products Company were supplied yesterday by Sir Joseph Ward. .. It was, he said, his principal mission to London to endeavour to establish in New Zealand the most modern development for the utilisation of coal byproducts iu this country. Every class of coal in New . Zealand was by no means suitable for the manufacturing purposes to be undertaken. The directors of the company, of which lie was chairman, had acquired an extensive coal area f Westport, samples of coal from which bad’ been sent ahead to England for anaylysis by a great financial organisation winch had also; made its own experiments / in’.its . London laboratory from- supplies obtained and sent under, seal tb them direct by the New Zealand;board; A cable had recently been received stating that the results were in every' way. eminently satisfactory. ■ /. . Before Sir Joseph Ward left England the whole <>f the financial arrangements were completed / for the purchase of machinery, the erection of .works, and the capital ,o carry on.’lv .company in New Zealand. The company's engineer. Mr, L. C. .Harvey, will leave England for New Zealand by the Oruma ,ou November 10 to carry out the London directors’ instructions. :, Works at Petone. A Site for the erection of the works ; nd plant at Petone has been secured, and it is more than probable that the works .will be. erected there. This point, however, is one which will not be definitely settled until the arrival of the company’s engineer; but Sir Joseph Ward is of opinion that with the cooperation of tlie local authorities at Petone this will be the case.

Sir Joseph Ward said he had arranged for the whole of the capital in London. The English company with which they were working has already erected eight separate' plants—five in America, one in London, one in the South of England, and one iu Germany. They h al! beeu successful. The company owned and controlled the patent machinery, and the process was really a wonderful one It produced quite a number of saleable articles from the, New Zealand coal, including the following Metallurgical coke, smokeless fuel, petrol, sulphate of ammonia, naphtha, creosote, carbolic, and disinfectant sheep-dip, pitch, and other products. In the opinion of the experts he had consulted in London, the machinery was the finest and most remarkable of its kind in tlie world. The English com ny had already some millions investe in the establishment of plants elsewhere, to Which he had referred, aiid they had agreed to carry out the whole undertaking in New Zealand. *, ■ -..'-i /:

Tlie Government. the Wellington Harbour Board, and the Pettine authorities, said Sir Joseph, had before he proceeded to England shown every friendliness to the project. The fullest details would, of course, be supplied later to the . three parties concerned, after the arrival of the company’s engineer, The directors of.the company are:— Sir J oseph Ward {chairman), • Messrs. C. J. B. Norwood (Wellington), J. A. Redpath, L. B. Hart.' H. 11. Barlow, H. Undrill. B. B. .Wood, G. fScott (Christchurch) and J. R. Bruce (Tiniaru).