SCHEELITE SUPPLIES

Evening Star, Issue 15914, 21 September 1915, Page 9

SCHEELITE SUPPLIES

[Special to the ‘ Star.’] CHRISTCHURCH, September 21. Regarding the Government’s decision to commandeer all the scheelite produced in the Dominioh, some interesting remarks were made by Mr R. Speight, M.A. curator of the museum, and lecturer on geology at Canterbury College. Mr Speight said that it was Very important that the scheelite resources of the Dominion should be ascertained, not with the view of assisting the promotion of companies to mine it, but ip order to determine what quantity could be produced. He .suggested that the Government" should be asked to instruct the officers of the Mines Department gnd of the Geological Survey to report fully on the possibility of the country in the# matter of scheelite production. _ It was, in his opinion, a matter of vital importance to the country, owing to the value of the ore in connection with the manufacture of steel. It was just possible that the increase in the price of scheelite would 'mean that some mines that previously could not be worked profitably could how be worked to advantage, not only to the companies, but also to the country by supplying ore so much in request. Scheelite was to be found in Marlborough, at Glehorchy (near Laird Wakalipu), and at Macraes. In the last-mentioned locality it whs found oyer a fairly wide extent of country, but unfortunately "only in patches. The investigation, he .suggested, should hot necessarily be undertaken with, the view of ascertaining whether or not it would pay to develop these deposits, but with the view of arriving at an,estimate of the amount available. Half a score ions Would be an,appreciable amount in the world’s scheelite supply, at present. It was possibll; Mr Speight added, that the Government had already obtained a report of the character suggested, but if so he had not h'eaifl abdUt it The important point Was that the Dominion possessed cOrtain r'eSo'Urces of scheelite, ahd, it was desirable that their. extent shoiild be as definitely determined as possible.