THE COAL MINES OF NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXIX, Issue 9027, 4 November 1892, Page 13

THE COAL MINES OF NEW ZEALAND.

The annual report submitted by Mr. Henry A. Gordon, M.A., Inst. M.E., Inspector of Mines for the colony, to the Houses of Parliament, up to date 31st March, contains a number of important details regarding the working of the New Zealand coal measures, and a noteworthy feature is the careful manner in which the details and statistics have boen arranged by the mining inspectors of the various districts. In the way of coal production the Middle Island, of course, stands largely to the front as compared with the North Island ; but the information attached to the report in respect of our local coal mines is highly interesting. It is also satisfactory to note that in almost every instance the mines in the North have been worked in accordance with the regulations and to the satisfaction of the inspectors, and not a solitary accident has been reported from any of them, although there were 17 accidents, four of which were fatal, in the Southern mines. The output from all the mines in the colony for the year ending March 31, 1892, was 666,276 tons, of which 104,064 tons was from North Island mines, and 558,212 tons from the mines in the South Island, showing an actual increased output of 22,361 tons over that of the former year.