MANGANESE AT TAIERI MOUTH.

Otago Witness, Issue 1951, 11 April 1889, Page 12

MANGANESE AT TAIERI MOUTH.

(Fbom Our Own Co^BEgpoNDBNT.) .., , kitI^EGDALE, April li. Another important discovery of minerals in Southland is reported. Mr Valentine, M.H.R., has discovered an immense deposit of exceedingly rich manganese ore on the New Zealand Agricultural Company's estate. There appears to be a vast mountain of it( and the Government analyst) Mr Bkey» it is said) has reported that ii is sufficiently pure for exportation 1. A Beam of good coal has also been found, but it is not of sufficient thickness to pay for working. This is not the result'of the big bore which Mr Valentine is putting down* but was found at ft shallow depth upon ahothet part df the estate, fi^es are felt that a payable coal deposit #ill be discovered, as the ground which is now being passed thtb'ugh is true coal beating stratification. Mr t |M'Alißt£rj wbji' is conducting the b'orjng(pp'eral(ionsi is highly pleaded with the indications. Should any $uch. discovery be made it will be ojt.vast mportance to the whole of Southland and to he district in particular,

Work at the manganese mine at Taieri Mouth is now proceeding steadily, and although no regularly defined lode has beeb struck a good deal of first-blasS ore ua9 .j&.eii. ttaeartned. Alceacfr aiitaUt n hundred fobs have been mined, naif of which has been sent away. The first shipment of 20 tons has been sent Home. In the meantime the ore is sent up the river to Titri and thence by rail to Danedin, but when the mine is properly opened out it is the intention of the mine Ownefs to Send, the o£eby.sea,faomtfaier}, i|o.uth,. Agf eslt deal .of fihippidg) plied mi toe 1 Ta»eri oping trie efirly digging days, and the harbour is quite as good now as it was then. The manganese ore mined so far is all of uniform quality, no inferior ore appearing to exist in that locality in the shape of manganese dioxide. If the proper lode could only be hit up the manganese venture would soon be a very profitable one. Mr W. Cleeve Edwards writes as follows on this sttbjetJt ifir Monday*s Daily Times i— Referring t'd the 1 .dote H manganese at Taieri MoUth in your issue, of,. Saturday; it may not.be upinter£p.tii)g.,tb Mnow.fctiat there \yill probably be a large deiadhd for this itieW in the new manufacture of manganese steel, in consequence of the experiments made by Mr Hadfield, of Sheffield, which have been so successful. Formerly steel containing over 2| per cent, of manganese was considered to be worthless, and thus till lately it was not experimented on further } but although castings containing from S| to 8 tier Sent; of .tnatigatlese have' a great decrease of strength-, ifc is found, Ouriously enough, that from the latter percentage up to 14 per cent, a gradual return of strength takes place till a maxim 1 uhlis arrived at there^ the Strength decreasing again after thai. A process Balled,."water toughening" has., in, extraordinary, effect ia still further | raiding the, strength.or mangaiiese ste'ei. .This j p'rocess..cQhsistliH i hieatibg the alloy (which it may weU, be called) to a temperature of about | 2000deg. Fahr.j.anci then plunging it into cold [ water. Manganese ,steel will probably be also greatly,,used, by,electricians ok account of its ■Being akhost^ non-magnetic and having a very \ high resistance^ besides Its gfeat strength. I notice that recently large deposits of manganese j ore have been found both in the Island of St. Martin, one of the West Indies, and also in Chili—the manganese veins in the former being 25ft wide, and traceable for over three miles.