METALLURGICAL CONGRESS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 214, 24 August 1927, Page 5

METALLURGICAL CONGRESS

400 DELEGATES AT OTTAWA. APPEAL FOR EMPIRE COOPERATION. Ottawa, Aug. 22. Representatives of the mining industry from all parts of the world, including Australia gathered to-day at the opening at Montreal of the second triennial mining and metallurgical congress. The congress, after leaving Montreal to-morrow, will make a tour throughout all the mining fields of the Dominion, ending on September 28. Sir Robert Horne, in his presidential address of 400 delegates, urged Empire co-operation among metallurgists to make the Empire independent of all other countries in regard to metal production. He added that the enormous brown coal deposits in Australia might remedy one of the Empire’s defects, her lack of petroleum in many parts. He also paid a tribute to the Australian method of obtaining tin from alluvial deposits, and said it was an engineering achievement of which the Empire might bo proud. He did not envisage any slump in tin and thought the supply would continue to be less than the demand.

Sir Thomas Holland praised highly the Australian smelting innovation. The Canadian Minister of .Xues, Mr Stewart, reproached British mining men because of the relatively small investments of British capital in Canadian mining as compared with American investments. These were respectively 14 and 36 per cent of the 632-000,000 dollars altogether invested. Action was taken leading to the institution of a review of the mineral resources and industries of the Empire, with the object of achieving a comprehensive tabulation of mineral and industrial resources, to aid the formulation of economic possibilities in the Empire* It is proposed that in each dominion and the larger colonies committees of specialists should be appointed and entrusted with the duty of reviewing for each unit concerned its mineral resources and smelting capabilities. —(A. and N.Z.) DELEGATES ON TOUR. (Received 24. 10,20 a.m.) Ottawa, Aug. 23. At the concluding session of the Mining Congress to-day Dr. S. Herman read a paper on the utilisation of Crown coal in Victoria. Delegates then left on a tour of Canada. —(A. and N.Z.)