DOMINION MINING PROSPECTS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXI, 3 May 1937, Page 10

DOMINION MINING PROSPECTS

MINISTERS OPTIMISM “TWENTY 810 DR KOOKS WITHIN TWO YEARS" “The wild-cat element in New Zealand mining ventures seems to be giving way to more systematic and thorough prospecting, and 1 hope in the near future that mining in the Dominion will be looked upon as an investment more than a sheer, blind stub in the dark,” said the Minister lor Mines (the lion. P. ('. Webb) in anouncing that lie expected within Lwo years to have at least 20 big dredges operating on ground that had been very thoroughly tested (stales “The Press”). The prospects from gold mining, especially dredging, were very bright, added (lie Minister.

The coal-mining industry in the Dominion had on the whole been brisker this year than for many years, added the Minister. Production was increasing and in the Waikato it was difficult for most of the mines to comply with the orders received. Unfortunately, a considerable amount of slack time had been worked because of the inability of some of the North Island mines to geL sufficient rolling-stock. The Railway Department was doing its utmost to I'aciliate the construction of more rolling-stock, hut it had been considerably hampered because of the difficulty of obtaining sufficient supplies of iron from Great Britain. The West Coast mines had also suffered to some extent from the same cause, and shipping had been hampered by the bar conditions at Westport and Greymouth.

The Minister said that had it not been for the above circumstances most of the mines would have been working at very high pressure during the last few months. The prospects for the industry were good.