COAL BRIQUETTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20704, 30 April 1929, Page 8

COAL BRIQUETTES.

POSSIBLE NEW INDUSTRY. DEPARTMENT ALIVE TO LATEST RESEARCH. (Special io Dailt Times.) T D ’WANGANUI. April’29 JVlr "■ -KeitLof Wanganui, who recently visited the West Coast of the South Island, was struck with the possibility of the manufacture of briquettes from' waste, slack, coal pitch, and sawdust, of which there millions of tons going to waste in the timber-milling districts in the Grey County. Upon bis return home he communicated his opinions to the Minister of Mines (Mr W. A. Veitch), who has now replied as follows: “I was-very interested indeed to read with appreciation, your remarks regarding the possibility of the State erecting a plant-for the purpose of manufacturing briquettes. Some years ago the Mines Department installed a briquetting plant at Westport for the purpose of manufacturing briquettes, etc., from coal products at th B Seddonville State Coal Mine, but ma i £ ow j2§ t . he hi S h cost of pitch a ? t, * be d ™ cu ‘ty of disposing of part of the treated coal, a definite loss occurred in operating such plant. Since that time a very large measure of research work has been carried out, particularly in Europe and in England, with the object of designing a plant to treat coal on a commercial scale. These activities are being watched very closely by myself apd by the Under-secretary of Mines. Considerable data have- bsen obtained from Home in connection with the matter, and there are in New Zealand at the present time three representatives at least of owners of low-temperature distillation of coai_ processes, who are investigating the potentialities and the advisability or otherwise _of establishing their works in this Dominion. Their investigations are being aided as far as possible by the officers of my department, and it is hoped that later on one or more of these processes will be established in the Dominion for the purpose of treating New Zealand coals.