DENNISTON MINE TO BE ENTIRELY MECHANISED

Grey River Argus, 20 August 1949, Page 3

DENNISTON MINE TO BE ENTIRELY MECHANISED

Briquetting of Coals By U.S.A. Method HOUSE PASSES COAL MINES BILL P.A. WELLINGTON, Aug 19. Coal briqueting plants were to be established in New Zealand, and the Government proposed to instal an American-type plant for the initial processing work on sub-butumenous coal, said the Minister of Mines, Mr McLagan, in the House of Representatives this morning, when he moved the second reading of the Coal Mines Amendment Bill.

The Minister said the Government was one-third owner of the Waikato Carbonisation Company and the manager of the company had been sen; overseas to investigate various processes in the United Kingdom, the United States and Canada. A valuable but confidential report had • been presented, which the Minister said, he would make available to any member. Jhe Minister said that the pur pose of the clause in the Bill empowering the purchase of slack am various grades of coal was to upgrade the lower grades of fue 1 and convert it into high-grade domestic fuel. Replying to Mr A. S. Sutherlanc (Nat., Hauraki). who asked whethei the process would increase, the cos’ cost of briquettes, the Minister said the process wocld increase the cos' of treated fuel, but it would be a verv much better commodity. Mr McLagan, during a review m the report submitted by the Waikat' company’s manager, said that, the price of the processed mater'al in the United States was about 15 per cent higher than raw or unprocessed coal In the United Kingdom, various grades of briquettes were now being produced. The Minister said that between 60 and 80 per cent, of sub-bitumenous coal would be used in the New Zealand plants. The tendency for briquettes to disintegrate would be corrected by the addtiion of a proportion of bituminous coal. He rad no doubt that the establishment of a big plant in the South Island would be justified and that the industry would help to conserve the supplies of bitumenous coal. Mr McLagan said there was little hope of a satisfactory commercia 1 process in the near future for the briquetting of bituminous or subbitumenous coal without some binding agent, but research in that direction was continuing. , The Government intended to establish a briquetting plant in the South Island where the main reserves of sub-bitumenous coal were, and a liquid binder would be used in making briquettes with up to 80 per cent, sub-bitumenous coal. If the results were as satisfactory as expected, further plants would, be established in various districts throughout New Zealand. There were large reserves of sub-bitumenous coal in Southland, and, if the process was successful, a plant would be established in the Otago, Canterbury and Buller districts where there was cuitable sub-bitumenous coal. It was confidently honed that results would justify the process to be used and in that event it would be applied on a large scale to enable more bitumenous coal, which should no longer have to be used in the open grates. Mr T. L. MacDonald (Nat. Mataura) said that progress towards the payment of compensation for coal acquired by the Crown last year was too slow. It would be at least the end of this year before the global sum was announced. Theri claims had to be made and verified and payments apportioned from the global, sum. II appeals against these apportionments were upheld, many allotments would have to be "shuffled up” and the whole process might take two o; three years.

Mr MacDonald urged further test ing of the extensive lignite deposits in the Gore-Mataura area to sea if they could be used for briquetting A lower grade lignite at Yallourn in Victoria was being briquetted satisfactorily. Mr W. A. Bodkin (Nat. Central Otago) said that the briquetting industry. if successfully undertaken would go. a long wa v toward solving the coal problem which existed today. He asked if the Minister had considered the possibility of making briquettes from shale deposits, which existed in Southland. Hon. A. McLagan, replying to the debate, said that he was pleased with the reception that members had given the Bill.

He said that the Government intended to mechanise completely the Denniston mine. Through boring operations, 'additional coal resources, he said, had been found, and the contour of th coal seams had been determined. Th n coal would be cut mehcanically, and he considered that the purchase the mine would be a bargain not onlv for the State, but also for the country. The Government, he said would not ignore the testing of the lignite deposits in the Gore-Mataura area He did not know of successfuexperiments concerning the briquetting of shale. The Minister said that, if the globa ? sum had been computed by the end of this year, the commission entrusted with the work would have done a verv good job. Indeed, it would take some time to apportion the global sum. The method of comput ing it was even more generous than that, which was adopted in tit' United Kingdom by the Conservative Government. The Bill was then put through the committee stages and was passed.