WHITE ISLAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19214, 31 December 1925, Page 11

WHITE ISLAND.

NEW COMPANY STARTS. LABOUR - SAVING DEVICES. THE SAFETY OF THE WORKERS. BY JOHN WILLIAMS. No. 11. After the disaster of 1914 at White Island, the works were shut down and nothing more was done until 1921, when the present company, the White Island Agricultural Chemical Company, Ltd., .commenced investigations. This company, after the absolute safety of the crater area was assured, immediately commenced active operations on a scale hitherto unattempted. The world was searched for labour-saving devices and plans, and these are now being rapidly installed and carried out. Within three months the entire mechanical means for the handling of the materials, including railroad switches and the like, should be completed. Expected difficulty has been met in the construction of the foundations for tho loading devices where they encroach upon the sea, but tho engineers are assiduously overcoming the actions of the occasional phenomenal seas. They have been instructed to leave nothing to chance. No risks are to be taken. To the layman the time involved by testing each advance in the work is apparently wasted, but the policy of the company is that it is more effective for fut'ure results to learn to walk before running. The construction and installation of the railroad switches, hoppers and other machines uninterfered with by the sea is comparatively straightforward work. The various deposits of sulphur, gypsum and mineral fertiliser will be quarried after the manner of road metaL By means of movable light railroads, tho quarried material will be assembled in dumps. As the locations of the dumps ■and quarries are changed the branch lines will be switched off at the required angles from the permanent railheads, which will run out to the two main loading wharves. Along the permanent railheads will be dumps of the various products and they will be used as required. By February there will be 2000 tons of mineral fertiliser in one such dump. One thousand tons of it is to be shipped to Tauranga as soon as possible, after which a steady monthly output of 500 tons will be shipped. Methods of Loading Scows. The actual methods for loading the products of the scows is highly efficient. One permanent railhead will lead to a conveyor which will keep a hopper supplied with the material being shipped. Pontoons holding eight boxes similar to the sling baskets for unloading coal from ships will be utilised to convey products out to the scows, which will be moored to,, very secure buoys. The pontoons will be hauled up from three feet of water on heavily ballasted tracks over the rails, laid on jarrah booms set upon steel and concrete foundations, and placed beneath the hopper where the eight boxes on each pontoon will be filled. The pontoons will then return down the rails toward the sea and will float off in 3ft. of water. Under winch power they will be taken alongside the scows and each box, containing one cubic yard of material, will be hoisted aboaid ship. By this method 12 tons of material will be loaded in one hour. Another quite independent loading method will be carried on at the same time alongside the hopper railhead. A branch line will convey the material on to conveyors to a 4G f t. gantry. From the gantry the materia,! will pass through a movable couvefror arm to 30ft. beyond low water. Pontoon? will come under the outlet of the conveyor arm, which will work similarly to the distributing cement sluices on comtniction jobs, and, when loaded, will be moved out to the scows. This process will enable 14 tons of material to be shifted each hour. Crushing Plant at Tauranga. The value of two different methods for loading is obvious. The conveyors, hoppers, trucks and pontoons will be worked and hauled by power engine!!. The actual working of the machinery, the quarrying and loading will be ran by contract gangs independent of the gang employed by the company. The loaded scows will proceed to Tauranga, where another modern plant will crush and bag the products. The works have been erected at Tauranga to reduce production costs and to place the completed products within easy access to the rest of New Zealand by being right on the almostcompleted East Coast Main Trunk railroad. The heavy expense of transporting and erecting the machinery on the island, the deleterious effect of the acids on the machinery, and other have been eliminated. When the present company commenced operations in earnest, they were told it was impossible to ship the product away from the island. This gave rise to an interesting and convincing experiment. A*, scow was buoyed in ono of the bays and 100 tons of sulphur loaded into her within three days. There were not any of the modern appurtenances used that will be in operation shortly. Loads in cement bags were carried out on the men's backs in primitive fashion as far into the water as possible and then loaded aboard the scow. This was in October last, when adverse weather was experienced. The scow proceeded to Auckland with the load. Forecasting Eruptions. It ws.s further stated that the company would not be able to maintain a fresn supply of food, water and other necessaries* for the camp during the adverse, inclement weather of the winter months, but when it is considered that the camp was actually erected and maintained during that time, when no permanent shipping arrangements existed, the prospects are bright for the transportation arrangements that will be enjoyed under th<s efficiency and protection of the contemplated and almost-completed schemes. Elaborate precautions are taken to forecast the possibilities of any eruption, for the lives of some 50 men must be protected. Each week the entire crater bed is searched for fissures, and every activity is closely watched. The man assigned to this'work can now predict practically to within one day the possibility of a minor landslide, or the further opening of a fissure. Any abnormal thermal activity or the indication of a landslide is immediately reported, and precautions are taken. Phe workings in the crater area are connected by telephone with the permanent camp, _ where the wireless plant is installed, so in the event of any accident usual in quarry workings help may bo quickly summoned. .