N.Z. MINING

Grey River Argus, 30 August 1939, Page 4

N.Z. MINING

ANNUAL STATEMENT Past Year’s Production STATE COLLIERIES I Per Favour of Government I. WELLINGTON, August 29. In his annual statement on the mining industry of the Dominion for the year ended December 31, 1938, the 'Minister of Mines (Hon. P. C. Webb) states:— MINERAL PRODUCTION. The following statement shows lhe quantity and value of lhe production of metalliferous mines, stone-quarries under the Stone-quarries Act. and of coal-mines during 1938 and 1937:

Totals .. £1,014.515 £4,058,829 The value of minerals, including kauri-gum, exported and of the coal used in the Dominion, which is shown in Table No. 1 accompanying this Statement, amounted to £3.672.075, as compared with £3,916,176 during 1937. The total value of such minerals exported to the end of 1938 amounted to £203,548,007. GOLD AND SILVER MINING During the year 509,759 oz. of bullion, valued at £1 214.054 was produc- ‘ ed, a decrease in quantity of 102,709 oz., and in value of £105.689. as compared with the previous year. The gold content of the bullion is estimated at 152,050 oz., valued at £1,182,719. The estimated gold-production for the past nine years has been as follows: — Year. Ounces. 1930 120,931 1931 129,861 I 1932 166,354 1933 161,755 i 1934 160,248 I 1935 .165,277 1936 164,575 [ 1937 168,487 I 1938 152 050 i It will be noted that for the year under review there has been a de- ■ crease in gold-production of 16,437 oz. | It is disappointing to have to record ; this heavy drop in output, particular- ■ ly in view of the fact that the produc- : tion for the previous year was the largest recorded for the past eighteen years. The decline in I he ti'uire is duo to substantial decreases in Hie produc- i tion of gold from quartz-mining amt

alluvial-mining, amounting lor the year Io 11,849 oz., and 7,213 oz. respectively. On the other hand, dredgeI mining showed an increase of 2,625 oz. I The reduction in gold output from quartz-mines was caused by decreases in the amount of gold won from the Martha Mine, lhe Waihi Grand Junction Mine, the Golden Dawn Mine, and the Talisman Dubbo Mine. The ag- | gregale production of the Martha and j Waihi Grand Junction Mines in 1937 I was 59.275 ozs., while for 1938 the I figure was 51.950 ozs.. a decrease of | 7.325 ozs. The production from the Golden Dawn Mine in 1937 was 3,307 ozs, but only 966 ozs in 1938. a decrease of 2 341 ozs. The output from the Talisman Dubbo Mine dropped from 1,895 ozs., in 1937, to 318 ozs., in J 938. 'lhe decrease in alluvial-mining is j due to two principal causes—firstly. I the very dry season experienced; and. I secondly, the increased diversion to j other occupations of subsidised pros- ■ [lectors. '[Tie number of men engaged ■ in alluvial-mining dropped from 2,168 | in 1937, to 1,374 in 1938. Twenty-four dredges operated in 1938, as compared with twenty-two in I 1937. Three large dredges are under j construction namely, the Ahaura and J Ngahere on the West Coast, and the I Austral Malay dredge at Lowborn in I Central Otago. 11 is hoped that dur-'

: mg the present year the increased ■ gold-production resulting from the i operations of the large dredges re- : ccnliy completed or now under construction will more than offset the past year’s reduction in output from the other forms of gold-mining. The following statement shows the quantity and value of bullion-produc-tion during .1938 and 1.937:— Class of mining. Production of bullion i Quartz , 1938. 19;’,7. oz. £ oz. £ 135 706 622.336 531,121 710,421 Alluvial 19.929 119.586 27.1-12 200,024 Dredging 5 1,12 1 112,132 50,902 109,298 Totals , 509.759 1.211.054 612,468 1.319.743 j CO-OPERATIVE MINING. STATE i COAL RESERVE. Nineteen co-operative parlies work-1 in'?, portions ol the Stale Coal Reserve) near Greymouth produced, during Hie 1 year 1938. 108,21-1 ions, the number of) men employed being 170. During the I previous year nineteen parties produc-1 co. 109,0.32 tons, there being a decrease this year of 838 tons. tip to the end ol 1938 these parties have produced a grand total of 1,341,- 1 4 14 tons of coal, and have in the same I period paid royalties to the State I amounting to £63.028. | STATE COAL-MINES. The net profit lor the year ended: 31.st March. 1939. after making provis.on for interest and depreciation, amounted to £13,313, an increase of £145 compared with the previous year. A sum of £11,767 was tranferred to the sinking fund, leaving a net sur-l plus for the year of £1,546. The Liverpol Colliery worked 202) da vs during Hie year, an increase of; 1 cay 5 hours compared with Hie pro-! ions Amr. At the -James Colliery 1

i work was carried out, on 208 days, a • I decrease of thirty-two days compared ■ | with the previous year. I ’ OUTPUT AND SALES. , t Liverpool Colliery.—The gross out- ! pul for the year was 137,533 tons, as i compared with 137,806 tons for the ' year, a decrease of 273 tons. I James Colliery.---The gross output I for the year was 42,649 tons, as comI pared with 42,608 tons for lhe prev- ' tons year, an increase of 41 tons. i A comparative statement for the i two .years is shown hereunder:-— Output, in Tons, 1938-39 I Mine Gross Net. ■ Liverpool 137.533 131,807 James 42,649 41,43-1 Output, in 'Pons, 1937-38 Mine Gross Net. Liverpool 137,806 132,144 James 42,608 41,099 Note. - The difference between the gross and the net output is the allowance for mine consumption and waste. In addition to the above, 2,689 tons , of coal was purchased for resale, of which 1.312 tons was purchased from ico-operative parties on the West ; Coast.

j The disposal, inclusive of stock on ! hand at the beginning of the year, was las folloyvs: Supplied -to —Depots 46,612 | tons; railways, 34,256 tons; other Government Departments, 8.840 tons; J shipping 6,487 tons; gasworks, 64,864 I [ tons; other consumers, 5,932 tons: | total, 166,991 tons. | i The total sales of State coal from , Hie Liverpool Mine for the year I amounted to 131,437 tons, value £165,- ] 243* as compared with 128,793 tons, value £165.752 “■ for the previous year --an increase of 2,644 tons, with a decrease in value of £509. ; The average price realised by the . mine on the total sales for the year yvas £1 5s 1.7d,* a decrease of 7.2 d on the previous year’s average. The total sales of State coal from the James Mine for the year amounted Io 35,554 tons, value £49,579, * as compared yvith 36,899 tons, value £46,538* for' the previous year—a decrease of 1.335 tons, with an increase in the value of £3,041. The average price realized by the mine on the total sales for the year yvas £1 7s 10.6d* per ton, an increase of 2s 7.9 d on the previous year’s average. | 1 The sales of coal, &c., through the * . medium of the depots totalled 122,3351 tons, value £209,267,* as against 117,- ( S2l tons, value £199,343,* for the pre-' vious year. | 1 *These values include sales made, c.i.f. and f.o.b. as well as f.o.r. ' Mining and Coal-Mining Legislation: j ( The only amendment to the Mining J Act during 1938 was one which slight-j 1 ly altered and extended the provisions I £ of that Act relating to the granting! ‘ of mineral licenses, and was effected * by a section in the Statutes Amendment Act, 1938. An amendment of eleven clauses was made to the Mining Regulations No coal-mining legislation was brought forward during the year, but,. ■ the Coal-mines Regulations were re- ’ vised and consolidated, and wore re-| . cently issued. Goldfields revenue and Gold Duty:

a 'l he amount of goldfields revenue re,l reived and credited to the accounts lof local bodies during the year (tidied 31st March. 1939, was £lB 226 12s ! Id., a decrease of £1278 Ils 3d. compared with lhe prev; >us year. During the same period the total of the ’I three duties on exported gold amount.- * ed Io £108,076 15s -Id., of which £5.502 L> 5s 9d was credited t > the accounts of j local bodies under section 12 of the Gold Duty Act. 1908. The special cx- ’ port duty of 12s 6d yer ounce amount-j "i ed to £lOO.Oll 9s 3d., which sum was' ’ paid into the Consolidated Fund. M Mining Privileges*—lnterest is sliil i living maintained in the mining indtts- ’ try, although the number of licenses I granted has decreased. During the J} ear ended 31st. March, 1J39, 568 for mining privileges were Jy granted under the provisions of thej ,i Mining Act, 1926 as compared with. 1 •• 743 for the previous year. Out of this! ; number 72 were licenses for claims! the holders to mine for! I gold. For the same period 384 mining! ) privileges, including 89 licenses for' - claims, were struck off the registers' ■[Under the provisions of section 188 • of Ihe Act. » Petroleum Oil: From the Nos. 1. 2.' and 1 wells of Motuioa Oilfields, Ltd. i at Moturoa. Taranaki, 116,585 gallons'

. of crude petroleum oil was obtained. From the Kotuku lield on the West Coast of the South Island 1,269 gal- ; lons was recovered. The Dominion's total production ol • crude petroleum oil to 31st December. 1938, is estimated at 2,883,650 gallons. ! As announced in my last statement ! the passing of lhe Petroleum Act, j 1937 heralded a new era in the search lor oil in New Zealand. Following the passing ol this Act, considerable interest was evinced by some of the major oil companies, and practicailv •'ill the potential oil-bearing land in New Zealand was applied for. In all. , ..>2 licenses, with an aggregate area ol 9.236 square miles, have been granted, and applications for further areas are still coming to hand. With I the granting of the licenses the search lor oil commenced on a scale unprecedented in the history of New Zealand. Geological and geophysical investi-

gallons arc being carried out on all licensed areas, and the first, important well is being drilled near Gisborne 'Ai h a modern and etlicient plant capable ol drilling to a depth of 10,009 The scope of the investigations undertaken .by the various licensees is being rapidly expanded with the arrival ol expert staff and special equipment Horn overseas. 1 Coal-Mining: There was 159 coaioperating in the Dominion in 1938 Seventy-one of these mines are situa ed on freehold property and pro- 1 840.398 , ons or 38 pe J r | the total output. The remaining 88 mines are situated on Crown lands! a id produced 1,381,490 tons, or 62 per cent, ol the total output of 2 9 22 088 tons.. >—,wo an '. lllal Production of coal since 1930 has been as follows:— IT'o” Tons ‘ 2,542,092 ’ 2,157.756 | 19 ° 2 1,842,022 1.821,258 1931 2,060,315 : 1935

1936 2,140,217 s ! 1937 2,277,799 ’ I The decrease in output for 1938 is - ! 2.44 per cent, below the figures for -,1937. and is confined to brown coal. -'The quantity of coal imported into - New Zealand in 1938 was 109,206 tons. - as compared with 11*6.499 tons for the f previous year, a welcome reduction of ?' 6.27 per cent. Wastage of Coal:- ! am happy to ■, say that the tremendous improvement .■effected in regard to the wastage of i slack coal during the last three years i has been maintained. New Avenues of cdal-Utilizat.ion :- > Surveys of our coal resources have ■ been continued, and further refer- : ences to the work carried out appear ■ later in this statement. ■! Dobson Rescue-Station .--The new rescue-station at Dobson was icd in April. 1939, and lectures are J now being conducted in the building 'by a competent ollicer of the Depart- ! ment. Instruction is • being imparted ■to teams of selected men from lhe Dobson. Wallsend, Blackball. Paparoa, Briandalc, and State Collieries and i from nearby small co-operative mines. I Twenty sets of Proto self-contained' breathing-apparatus were imported' ' from England and are now in use at

4.1 the station. For charging the small 4 steel cylinders of the Protos by a: j.) special type of pump which had to bej I imported a supply of oxygen in large! cylinders is kept at the station and is | replenished from Christchurch. ( s. lhe teams are trained to use an up-to-date oxygen and carbon-dioxide irif J halator by which two unconscious per-' n sons can be resuscitated simultaneous-' e ly. and also to use smoke helmets, of, _ 1 which (here are two types at the sta- 1 c >' lion. j yI. lhe station itself has been erected; in reinforced concrete and consists of' I I seven rooms, the largest being the de-1 ’ I monslrating-chamber in which the! , trainees wear the Protos in an irres-! pirable atmosphere for periods gradu-1 1 ally increasing in length until a full! , two-hour maximum Is reached. While _i wearing the apparatus they perform' J tasks similar lo the class of work they | I are required to undertake in a coalmine.

j 1 Outside the demonstrating-chamber J are observation and lecture rooms, , 1 and beyond the observation room is . a change-house equipped yvith hot and j cold showers. Under the same roof as the rescuestation is a large concrete garage in . which is stored a fully equipped res- . cue van to convey brigades and apparatus to any mine in which a fire nas broken out or in which an explosion has occurred. The van is so designed that it can be used as an am- ; balance van if required. I Independently of the‘instructional | work carried on at Dobson, the train-’ mg ol men in rescue-work yvas con-1 .continued during the year at the Liv-| erpool State Colliery where live sets) of Protos are kept. lhe levy imposed on (he output of) coal irom the mines which are serv-1 ed by the Dobson Rescue-station to meet the cost of its upkeep was reduced last year from Id per ton to ’id per ton.

Mineral 1938 £ 1937 £ Gold & Silver .. 1.214,054 1.319.743 Platinum 7 423 Iron-ore .... 3.666 880 Stone 555.295 444.837 Pumice .. .. 8.811 8,057 Coal . . 2,222,088 2.277,799 Tungstcn-ore 8 604 6.46S Mangancse-ore 450 50 Silica sand 1.126 236 Quicksilver . . . 190 336 Fuller’s earth 154 Diatomaceous .■a rth 70