CEMENT AND COAL.

Northern Advocate, 22 December 1919, Page 6

CEMENT AND COAL.

DEPENDENT INDUSTRIES,

THE CEMENT WORKS HANDICAPPED.

In the course of an interview this morning- Mr Wilson, manager of the Portland Cement Works, said h e had perused the statements made in the Auckland press concerning the shortage of ct'mf'nt and coal. Mr Wilson endorsed the statement made, by Mr Reid (the manage of the company), who said:—The position is that company has experienced a shortage of coal during practically the whole of the present year, and some three months ago the shortage became acutn, owing to the "go-alow" policy of the coal miners. In consequence there is practically no cement available at the Portland plant f and the Warkworth plant has been closed for over months, it being found impossible to secure anything like adequate supplies for both works. The company owns four vessels, two of which arc running between Auckland and Warkworth, for hydraulic lime, etc., and another one is undergoing annual overhaul, and the remaining steamer is employed carrying cement from Portland. The output from the latter plant do.es not warrant further shipping space } and offers of vessels by the Northern Steam Ship Company and others have been refused. Provided it could obtain adequate supplies of coal for making cftment clinker, added Mr Reid, Wilsons company alone could supply easily over 8000 tons per Month, ar.d if all ths plants in the Dominion could secure full capacity supplies of coal, the output if necessary, could be increased considerably above 14,000 tons per month. The demand throughout the Dominion is at present somewhere about 8500 tons per month, Since June the cement plants of the Dominion, solely owing to coal shortage, have been able to produce only some 7000 tons of cement per month, so that they are now considerably behind on orders. A much larger output could be obtained by using coal from Newcastle, but at present prices, •such would add not less than £2 per ton to the cost of cement.

Owing to the Christmas holidays, during which coal mines will probably bo closed for fourteen days < the shortage of cement will become more acut* 1 , and the output throughout the Dominion must remain curtailed so long as necessary supplies of coal are unobtainable