TARANAKI COLLIERY

Greymouth Evening Star, 31 March 1930, Page 3

TARANAKI COLLIERY

MINISTER’S SPEECH [per press association.] NEW PLYMOUTH, March 30. A new industry of importance to Taranaki was launched on Saturday when the Egmont Collieries coal mine at Tangarakau was officially opened by Mr. Veitch, Minister of Mines. A special excursion train conveyed a large number of people from all parts of Taranaki and Wanganui to Tangarakau Flat, a. new station on the Stratford-to-Main Trunk railway, four miles past Tahora, (he present official railhead, forty-eight miles from Stratford. The tramline, mining operations,

and the mine were inspected, and on a return to the flat a demonstration- was given of the working of the modern screening and grading plant, by means of which the coal straight from the mine face is cleaned, graded and deposited into the railway trucks without any double handling. The Chairman of Directors, Mr. T. C. List, said that the mine would mean a revenue of £30,000 to £40.000 per annum to the railways on a basis of the production of 70,000 tons of coal annually. It was hoped to employ 250 men. Mr. Veitch said that, as Minister of Labour, he was gratified to know that an industry was being started that would mean employment for so many. He considered that nearly every mining failure in New Zealand, outside some of the mineral enterprises, had been due either to developing the enterprise in such a parsimonious way regarding the capital invested that- the

undertaking became very expensive to work afterwards; or where there was insufficient capital for the organisation of distribution. These defects had been eliminated at Tangakarau. This was the first coal mine of any magnitude in Taranaki. The geologists said that there were vast deposits in the district, and he considered that there was a wonderful opportunity to reduce the cost of production, and thus the cost of living. He believed that the future for coal in New Zealand was very great. It was generally recognised that coal was coming into its own all over the world. Those who had believed that the solution of the power problem lay in the construction of a hydro-electricity system were now beginning to realise that the capital

naci neen lar greater iua« was uetmable in comparison with the benefitts accruing. He believed that it would always be possible to produce electricity from coal far more cheaply than yet had been the case with the supply from the hydro works, for the simple reason that the coal could be burnt at the mine mouth, and that was the cheapest form of power. A strong plea for support of the Dominion’s coal industry and for its protection against cheaper imports from other countries was made by the Minister. He referred particularly to the great efforts being made in Australia at present to reduce the cost, of coal productson. If that movement succeeded and c.oal were imported to New Zealand, it would mean that hundreds of the New Zealanders engaged in the mining industry would be thrown out of employment. “I am going to see that that does not occur,” said the Minister.