CORRESPONDENCE

Nelson Evening Mail, 1 August 1916, Page 8

CORRESPONDENCE

OUR NEGLECTED MINERAL -RESOURCES.

(To the Editor.)

Sir,—ln view of the well-known fact that the Nelson district is fraught with rich commercial mineral resources it "s

much to be regretted that greater efforts are not„ manifested to develop same. It was indeed refreshing to note the letter recently appearing in your columns, from a correspondent" well versed !*i mineralogy. My past 30 years' vocation. ( n - abled me to fully endorse his remarks respecting the vast neglected mineral tracts laying waste and idle whilst the commercial world' is londly clamouring .for metals of all descriptions, many of which -we could readily supply if only a little more energy were awakened in our midst. To my personal know ledge the Wangapeka, Motueka, Coilingwood, Takaka, Korere, and other divisions of the Nelson province are fraught with valuable minerals, such as asbestos, galena (silver lead), cobalt, copper, scheelite—apart from (gold an J silver. I learn, of petroleum indica-tions-as-well'as barytes, manganese, etc. It is the opinion of manv fully competent judges that Dun Mountain alone ■would under systematic development by modern methods furn r sh ample marketable minerals to support a regiment n? miners, artisans, engineers, and meta' reduction manufacturers in full swine for many years. Mr Leslie Macarthur. F.G.S., who has had extensive practical experience in every branch of mineralogy, has been approached to form a

prospecting association. Plenty of funds are available elsewhere if Nelson resi■wdents are not sufficiently alive to avail themselves of such opportunity to secure interests in approved sections <■>!' rich _ mineral-bearing tracts in Nelson province. The overseas metal mark't must be supplied. The demand is ur gent, and yet most of our vast minernl resources lay idle and neglected. If you don't reap the benefit others will, and that at no earlv date.—l am. etc., JONATHAN BROUGH.