MORE FROM THE MINES

Evening Post, Volume CXXXI, Issue 31, 6 February 1941, Page 11

MORE FROM THE MINES

HEAVY INCREASE IN DEMANDS

RESOURCES WILL BE

TAXED

Coal supplies from New Zealand mines were increasiiig, not decreasing, said Mr. T. O. Bishop, secretary of the New Zealand Coal-Mine Owners' Association, today, and he pointed out that the trouble in obtaining sufficient coal was due to a heavily-increased demand for the New Zealand product. Mr. Bishop's attention was. drawn to the statements at Auckland recently that the Auckland Electric Power Board, in common with other power boards, was short of coal, and that the shortage might result in restrictions on the use of electricity. Those statements, said Mr. Bishop, would make it appear that the mines were producing less coal than in previous years, but that was not the position. Actually the mines were producing more coal than in previous years. The Auckland Power Board was now a customer for a very much greater quantity of coal than it had ever required before, because of the inability of' the hydro-electric plants to cope with the demand for electric power. The railways, said Mr. Bishop, were also making extra demands upon the New Zealand coal mines, for several reasons. One was inability to import Australian coal, and there were also increased requirements because of troop transportation on the railways and increased freight loads. The petrol restrictions meant a greater coal consumption. The gas companies also had made extra demands because they were unable to import cqal from Australia, Mr. Bishop continued. Thus the colliearies of New Zealand had been called upon to supply extra quantities of coal for electric power, railways, and gas, and this had affected the supply to other consumers. There was no doubt that the utmost resources of coal mines, particularly the North Island ones, vrould be taxed in the current year.