WONDERFUL GREENSTONE DEPOSITS.

Colonist, Volume LIV, Issue 13411, 8 May 1912, Page 4

WONDERFUL GREENSTONE DEPOSITS.

FIND ON THE WEST COAST

A SYDNEY COMPANY FLOATED

(Special to "Tha Colonist.")

ChrEstchurch, May 7. Tho almost unbelievable find of a mountain of New Zealand greenstone on the, West Coast, reported some time ago, is now a certainty, and particulars of the very valuable- discovery are disclosed in the prospectus of the New Zealand Greenstone Ltd., a company which has been floated in a surprisingly short spac« of time at Sydney to work tho grenstono mine. The shares have been fully taken up already, and the interest in the venture as far as most New. Zoalanders are concerned will be in the prospects of having greenstone mantlepieces, carvings, table tops, and other ambitious artie'es of furniture which could not have been dreamed of a year ago. Greenstone is a semi-precious stone found solely.in New Zealand, iv varying quantity from ordinary poimnmu to tangawai. This beautiful stone was used by the Maoris for meres and ■^xes owing to its hardness, and also for tifciis, rtheir little gods, as the stone was to them, the most precious known. Nowadays it is used for rather banal articles of "jewellery," as heart shaped pendants, and bar brooches, but it is capable of better things., and tho gold mounted cigarette caso presented to Captain Amundsen by his fellowcountrymen in Christchurch, was ?.s elegant a piece of carved "tengawai" that nny conniseur could hay« been proud of. The now mountain, however," will enable the stone to take the place of marble for many purposes, as green is a colour groatly demanded for inside and outside decorations,' although architects have been unabl© to lay their hands on stone showing a natural "green colour, with nice markings. There- appears to belittle doubt, therefore, that with tho price in reason, greenstone will be taken < up eagerly throughout tho.world,, and ' the company handling the West Coast j 'ode will liave a monopoly of tho world's \ supplies, as Jio similar deposit is known, j Greenstone, in fact, has been found 'only in the district wher© the find is locator]. The property is situated in the Griff en Range, Taratama, and tho mass of grenstotie"available is computed by measurement; at 270,000 tons, rthe poorest stone-Sffessessing- a substantial monetary valuo. Th© mining and quarrying conditions am ideal, and the site is only fotfby or fifty miles from I Greymouth. It has -been' reported on already very favourably by Mr. iR. 1 Speight* ■■y'bf Chri&tchuren, Mr. John T-layes.vlatc inspecting rvngincer of mines to the New Zealand Government; and other eminent engineers, and tho {nieces s of tho venture- is assured. Tlio prices at which it can be quarried am very promising. The prices ruling for jewellery stone run from 6d to 6s alb. or from £56 to £672 per ton. Estimator show that tho ptone can be put aboard the steamor at Greymouth at an outside cost of £3 a ton. Mr./fhos. Moynihan. West Coastqr, who has just returned from floating the company in Sydneywas in Christchurch last evening, and ■spoke most enthusiastically of the find, which, he said, was a very good thine, for thr> Dominion. In Svlnoy he e.v'd. ho had met Sir Arthur Guinness who ••vasj/'deh-ghtod to hear of the good fortune that has befallen "the Coast."

It was announced ai the annual Dressmakers' Convention at Chicago. whe.ro 3000 delogates a«pemble/d, that th-s season's millinery noveJty would bo tiny electric lights in tne .liair, operate! by a smaJlj flat battery concealed in the corsage. The lights will represent floral ,md jewelled effects.

The ofmr.*1. of tho F"-vnjr to T'fj-to between Italy ami Turkey has boon nceeptod by Twlrev. nnd conditionally that Tii^'ov'.r f^-crpign rieri'tn r-~' 1 maintains! in'l l f"1Y flvwiiates TT'ipoH In war, -as in all things else, one has to consider the cost, and w want to kronif you have considered the cost of tea. If you want an economical palate pleaFing tea you will always buy Crescent Tea at 2s antVlfi lOd per Ih.