UNTAPPED RESOURCES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26245, 31 August 1946, Page 8

UNTAPPED RESOURCES

KAITANGATA COALFIELDS AWAITING DEVELOPMENT OFFICIAL VISIT OF INSPECTION As a direct result of a statement by the Mayor of Kaitangata (Mr T. Gage), published in the Daily Times a month ago, as to the potential coal resources of the Kaitangata district, a tour of inspection of the area and a preliminary investigation of its untapped resources were carried out by the chairman of the South Otago Sub-regional Planning Committee, Mr C. F. Shaw, on Thursday afternon. He was accompanied by Mr Gage, the town clerk of Kaitangata, Mr F. Simkin, and Mr J. McKinney, a retired miner, who has had wide experience in mining in the district. Mr Gage’s statement was based on his knowledge of the district and on information supplied to him by a Government geologist who had spent over two years investigating the resources of the area. In the eight miles from Lovell’s Flat to Coal Point there were numerous seams of coal sufficient to meet the needs of South Otago for 200 years, Mr Gage stated, but it was his belief that it should be developed on modern lines with up-to-date machinery. Mr Gage told a Daily Times reporter who accompanied the official party that the coal deposits should not be a matter for speculators. A number of syndicates were already interested in various properties. Their idea was to make profits, and not to mine coal for the good of the country. Scratching the Surface

"There has been too much of this sort of thing already,” Mr Gage said. “Companies lacking in capital have in the past merely scratched at the surface of rich seams and abandoned them. Now, when coal is in great demand, speculators are becoming interested again. This time there is an urgent need for full-scale development which would supply the coal needs of the south for an indefinite period and provide employment for several hundred more miners. We need additional big mines in the district.” Although a fairly extensive area was covered by the party, only a small portion of the coal that exists in the district could be pointed out by Mr Gage and Mr McKinney in the time available. Various' seams of good-quality household coal wfere inspected at Taretu, Wangaloa. Coal Point and Summerhill. Whole hillsides were said by Mr McKinney to be almost full of coal. In one locality, for example, two seams 14 feet thick and one 25 feet thick were known to exist, and on the shady side of the valley rich black coal was available. In this area already good coal has been mined, and old shafts and machinery are evidence of work done and abandoned. A small open-cast mine is operating at present, and satisfactory coal is being obtained. Open-cast Mining Not Favoured Wherever the party went seams of satisfactory household coal were pointed out by Mr Gage and Mr McKinney, who stated that their report was based on their mining experience, their knowledge of the country’s history, and the findings of the geologist, whose report confirmed their practical opinions. A brief visit was also paid to the State open-cast mine at Wangaloa, where modern methods are being used to extract large quantities of coal of good quality. Both Mr Gage and Mr McKinney were firmly of the opinion, however, that open-cast mining was not the solution for developing the Kaitangata coalfields. This method, they said, took only the surface coal, and the better quality coal below was' left. Best-quality coal came from well below the surface, and only by sinking a drive could the best results be obtained Modern Methods Required “ It has been a most interesting trip,” Mr Shaw told a Daily Times reporter when the party returned to Kaitangata. "I have been living in this district for a great many years, and I had no idea that there was as much coal as I have seen to-day. Mr Gage, an experienced miner himself, and Mr McKinney, who has long been associated with coal mining in the district, have shown me where the coal s£ams are, and on their evidence, backed by the reports of the geologist, I feel that there Is more coal in the area than was ever dreamed of.

“ The point that strikes me,” Mr Shaw continued, “is that in many cases companies have touched only the surface and have not made serious attempts to get large quantities of coal out of the land. A.lot of small companies with little capital have only been able to produce small quantities of coal. With more machinery and modern methods, it should be possible to mine coal in the Kaitangata district for an indefinite number of years." Mr Gage said that he had nothing to add to the statement he had already made, except to stress the urgency of the matter. The country was desperately short of coal for household and industrial use, while vast untapped resources of good coal existed in the Kaitangata area awaiting modern methods of mining.

The Kaitangata Coal Company wishes it to be denied that any negotiations have taken place with the Government relating to the sale of the to the State.