COAL PRODUCTION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 126, 30 May 1944, Page 6

COAL PRODUCTION

NEW ZEALAND MINES

THIS YEAR'S PROSPECTS

The Minister of Mines (air. Webb) said last night that he considered the 1 statement by the Coal Mine Owners' i Association that there was a possibility of a reduction of 300,000 tons in coal production this year simply fantastic and absurd. The indications were that there was more likely to be an increase of that tonnage rather than a reduction. "It ii; obvious that the five collieries referred to by the Coal Owners' Association." said Mr. Webb, ''are not State collieries, where the output, allowing for tha tonnage lost during the goslow period at the Liverpool and Strongman Mines, and notwithstanding the substantial development work being carried out in all the State collieries, has up to now shown an increase of 2 per cent, on last year. It is true that the output from the Westport Coal Company and Stockton collieries for the first four months of this year had decreased by 21,249 tons. "The inference to be drawn from the mine owners' statement is that this drop in output was caused almost wholly by absenteeism and other causes- attributable to the miners. Actually, the principal cause was the working conditions of these collieries not lending themselves to the maintenance of the same output as previously. At Denniston and Stockton there is a definite shortage of working places due to the inadequate development work by the private colliery owners, and it is simply not possible to obtain the same output from these mines on that account." The Minister said it was extremely absurd for the mine owners to base their prediction of a reduction in coal output this year of 300,000 tons on five unnamed collieries in the first few months of the year. It would be possible but actually wrong to take five other collieries in which the output had increased during the past four months and base on this an estimate for an increased production for the Dominion for the year. ABSENTEEISM FIGURES. Discussing the question of absenteeism, Mr. Webb said that official figures released by the Ministry of Fuel in England for 1943 revealed that voluntary absenteeism at coal face amounted to 6.1 per cent., and involuntary absenteeism among the same workers to 9.0 per cent. The New Zealand figures for the past 48 weeks (the only records available) in respect of the 25 principal collieries were 4.9 per cent, and 9.3 per cent, voluntary and involuntary absenteeism respectively for employees at the coal face. The comparative figures for other workers in the collieries were as follows:—Voluntary absenteeism, 4.9 per cent., in England; 3.5 per cent, in New Zealand. Involuntary absenteeism, 7.5 per cent., in England; 6.8 per cent., in New Zealand. "Though I make no attempt to justify absenteeism of a voluntary nature,! it is clear from the above figures that the general position here is better than in England," said the Minister. "It ■ should also be remembered that every | country in the world today is faced with a coal problem, and few if any of them have been able to maintain production during the war' period, whereas in New Zealand production has increased each year and there is not the slightest doubt that the output for this year will set a new record in the history of the Dominion. "From open-cast mining alone within the next six weeks or two months," added the Minister, "my Department feels justified in stating that over 2000 tons of coal will be produced daily. It is perfectly true and understandable that owing to the phenomenal increase in the demand for coal the present mines are incapable of giving full coal satisfaction. "Practically all bituminous coal has had to be earmarked for the production of gas in the absence of over 100,000 tons imported annually in the past from Australia, but not now available for the vertical retorts in gasworks, which were constructed to consume Australian non-swelling coal. These are the only gas works that have been handicapped for coal. The normal production of gas has taken place in all gasworks constructed to use New Zealand coal. The shortage on the railways is due to these facts, for the express trains must be supplied with heavy steaming bituminous coals."