500-YEAR-OLD MINE.
Three miles from Fourstones, near Hexham, is mined one of the -world's few supplies of witherite, barium carbonate in its natural state. The mine lies on the side of a bank at Settlingstones, with If!!■; around and the miners' cottages nestling in the valley below. From the top it "looks like an ordinary coal minp, with shaft, the usual pit-head gear, engine-house and tramways for tho tubs. It has 100 employees.
Witherite resembles marble, and is very heavy. "It is worth about £3 per ton." It is blown from the face by dynamite, and is exported to all parts of the world in the state in which it comes out of the pit. " All sorts of things are made out of it," an official recently said. " Perhaps the marble clocks you buy are really made of witherite, with a thin coat of marble on top. This mine has been worked for about 500 years.. -
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19300222.2.185.37
Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20496, 22 February 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)
Word Count
156500-YEAR-OLD MINE. New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20496, 22 February 1930, Page 3 (Supplement)
Using This Item
NZME is the copyright owner for the New Zealand Herald. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons New Zealand BY-NC-SA licence . This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of NZME. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries and NZME.