WORKING WHITE ISLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18632, 13 February 1924, Page 8

WORKING WHITE ISLAND.

SULPHUR FOR FERT!LIB^||| AN ■ IMMEDIATE ; "NEW" COMPANY'S'■AO^^II 1 [BY TSLEORAPK.— CORRESPojJDMtT.% I OPOTTKfI. !'J I . Cablo advice was received hers D I London to-day inlimatioe that an company with a capital' o? JEJIOO.OGO^^! which h-*.s been interested in the of commercially utilising the SBlnhnr ; deposits on White Island will. operations on the island almost ately, The intention is to. utilise ttaill deposits for fertilising purposes onlvJyl^Bj The proprietary owner of the; Major Mercer, who has already spent. '• £25,000 in connection with the S recently sold the island to the Loudoa ■$ registered concern, the White; (N.Z.) Sulphur and Fertiliser Company, Limited, subject to the favourable report?!-i? of its representative, Major Kent Johns* ton, F.G.S. '.IllH Tha latter, whose headquarters now at Orotiki, recently advised ifca ' company that, although he was unabl& tor recommend the development 01 deposits ! for their sulphur value, there were: enormous deposits of material on tha. • island eminently suited for iertilistng *.- • purposes. He stated he was unable confirm the report of previous engineers i as to the immense quantities of sulphur there, and as he could not say ! Trii|j®gS deposits of sulphur were buried : durii®Jlt|?|| the eruptions of 1914 and 1919 lie was unable to • pronounce in favour sulphur mine. 4> °*rofrnl Major Kent Johnston therefore rwam. mended that any operations should confined to using the deposits strictlyt'ffrlwil their value as fertilisers. He also rjifSMP that over 150 reliable users of \\hite'K;-|'v Island fertilisers in New Zealand' certified to him as to the eminent adipfcSjilil ability of the material for, certain parts of the soil. # . ' f\\ On the strength of this report'- Major Kent; Johnston has been authorised proceed with the development of the deposits. He ? stated this evening although ; £100, had been guaranteed: §| in London unlimited capital - liad b<*eai promised: in the event of his report lining -? ( f favourable. /; He was mot able'. to^irty||||| whether sufficient sulphur existed on island to justify the latter's . sale, but j was confident that the exploitation, of j||S the material for " fertilising "purpijjwM|i| would repay tha outlay many times This ; material was worth ten times its : value as sulphur and would find an unlimited market in New Zealand. v Australian houses were ready to take the entire output, and he had received offers. ' # . . v l Y* Three, previous attempts lawful» made 46 work the White Island duposits. The last effort came to a tragic end mlrjpfs September, 1914, when eleven workmen' : :viU lost their lives in an eruption. Inißiiti|||fe of the occusrrencc no difficulty is «ni;id« •••• pated in; obtaining the necessary labour, numerous offers having . already cvgrthmhuk• b»sMi|ifi received from men ' willing •to'. work f&Sffe the island. The men . will in all l£kd>- : hood be housed on ' the .. i: 6outh-wast«ra coast, wheris the • ■ laud' is, of- ft : solid nature and regarded as safe. ' Obstacles to shipping; in working the island &ifi rough weather are likely to be the : difficulties encountered. . . ~ • : -