VALUABLE SAND.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1841, 16 January 1880, Page 3

VALUABLE SAND.

During the past few months a very large demand has arisen for the sand and shingle which is found on the land of Mr Edward Smethurst, near the railway station, Kaiapoi. Although the upper surface is covered with the ordinary fine sand peculiar to some parts of the district, the under layers to a depth of about 20ft. include about thirty different kinds of sand and shingle, from the sharp white floury sand used by painters, or tho grey adapted for hour glasses, to that used by plasterers, and the best fine shingle for concrete. The superior qualities of the sand seem to lie in the fact that an analysis has shown it contains S 8 per cent, of gloss making material, one partof alumina, and one part of moisture. It is specially gritty, being composed of angular particles which have not been ground smooth by the action of water. One kind is used for marble polishing, and another for cutting stone, and a large quantity is employed for pottery making. One fourth of this sand mixed with the clay is stated to produce stronger ware, and to give it a better glaze and finish than any other kind of sand experimented upon. The chief consumers of the article are the gaol authorities, the Lyttelton Harbor Board, and the Public Works Department, who find its qualities perfect in making concrete, while as an ingredient in asphalte no other shingle has been found to excel it. A tramway from tho pits is used to place the material on tho Northern railway line, and fifty tons a day is often obtained with tho small staff employed.