STATE CRUSHING PLANT

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19957, 28 May 1928, Page 7

STATE CRUSHING PLANT

THAMES MINERS' PROPOSAL. BIG MOANATAIARI BATTERY. PRIME MINISTER APPROACHED. The long-expressed desire of Thames miners fop the provision by the Government of a public battery, at wliich prospectors and small mining companies will be able to have their ore treated, seems at last to have some prospect of realisation. When the Prim© Minister was on the goldfield a fortnight ago, a deputation submitted to him a proposition that the big Moanataiari battery, on the foreshore, should be acquired by the State and placed at the disposal of the public. The plant is on up-to-date lines, comprising 40 1 head of stampers and a large cyanide equipment. In its day it put through hundreds of thousands of ounces of gold obtained from the Moanataiari company's great patch in its No. 9 lodo. It is suitably situated as regards accessibility from the existing mines,- and is understood to be available at a reasonable cost. Mr. Coates regarded the project favourably, provided that evidence could be given that a reasonable quantity of ore was in sight on the field for treatment, at a cost of, say, from 7s to IDs a ton, the companies or prospectors to provide their own labour for the feeding of the stampers and the general supervision of the process of treatment. Inquiries are now being made from the several companies as to the amount of ore they can furnish for reduction, and it is expected that a definite answer as to the intentions of the Mines Department will be forthcoming as soon as the necessary data have been compiled. Question of Transit Costs. One possible objection to the scheme that has been visualised is the cost of conveying the ore from the more distant mines to a battery on the beach frontage. However, that seems to be answered by the faot that transit costs have been considerably lowered in these days of motor traffic. As a matter of fact, it has been found in the case of the OccidentalUna Company, which has its mine on the Una Hill, that the conveyance of its ore to the mill on the Karaka Creek, for the purposes of the trial crushing now in progress, is only 4s a ton, and the distance to the Moanataiari battery from any of the mines on Moanataiari Creek, which the suggested State plant would mainly serve, would not be greater. An alternative proposal, much favoured by some of the old-time mine managers, is the erection of small batteries at the mouths of the up-hill mines, at which the ore could be reduced without cost of carriage, the tailings to be concentrated, and sent away to the mills on the flat for their eventual treatment. It is claimed that under this plan a mill of, say, five stampers, could be actuated by means of electric power at much less expense than the batteries of the steam and water-power periods, while a lad could give all the attention that would be required to the feeding of the stampers and the supervision of the tailingspits. The one material difficulty, say its | advocates, the providing of water for the tables, could be overcome without serious expense by pumping a supply from the flat, but they consider the plan would provide the best solution of the problem of the treatment of relatively low-grade ores. Preventing Untimely Waste. To this the answer of some of the company authorities is that they require all their capital for the development of their mines; that it will be time enough to talk about erecting special plants when the existence of large blocks of payable ore have been proved. Many companies, it is pointed out, have been wrecked in the past through the expenditure of a large part of their means upon plant before the value of their mines has been proved. They therefore hold that the creation of a State plant would be the best means of preventing such untimely waste, while at the same time providing facilities for the treatment of prospectors' parcels, so material .to the openingup of hillside areas. The satisfactory point of the present outlook is that apparently all that is required to ensure substantial State assistance to the industry is proof that there is substantial work for a public plant to do, and the companies are confident they will be able to convince the Ministry on that question. ANOTHER SUGGESTION MADE. THE MINES SCHOOL PLANT. [BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN CORRESPONDENT.] THAMES, Saturday. In connection with an appeal to Mr. Coates, as Minister of Mines, last week by the Moanataiari Goldmiriing Company for Government aid in the financing of a public crushing battery, a suggestion has been made regarding the use of plant possessed by the Thames School of Mines. The school has a quartz treatment plant, which includes three head of stamps, together with a small cyanide plant. The suggestion is to enlarge this plant to a five-head battery. The opinion is expressed by some experts that such a plant would deal efficiently with the present needs of the Thames goklfield in this direciion, with comparatively small alteration at a cost of between £2OO and £3OO. The director of the School of Mines, Mr. H. Crawford, is a battery superintendent, so all gold-bear-ing " dirt." would really be crushed under Government supervision.