ONAKAKA IRON.

Waipawa Mail, Volume XLIX, Issue 89, 16 April 1928, Page 2

ONAKAKA IRON.

GREAT FUTURE BEFORE IT. (Per Press Association). NELSON, This day. The Minister of Lands, the Hon. A. D. McLeod, made some important comments on the iron industry after a visit to the Onakaka iron and steel works. This and the manufacture of cement at Tarakohe made up two important industries in the Golden Bay district. When the countryhad the necessary material for the production of iron everything possible should lie done to establish the industry, also many industries which depended on the supply of pig iron. It was no use building up an industry that depended oil the supply of raw product if there was'a possibility of the supply being cut off. A sunsource of supply of pig iron was necessary in this country. It was disappointing to find a number of industries that had had their requests for protection granted buying their iron outside New Zealand. That wax not playing the game. He was very much impressed with Onakaka works. There was an opening for the spending of more capital in providing new machinery and improvements to the present plant. Many countries would like to have adjacent deposits of lime and iron as found at Onakaka. The Onakaka deposits would be a gold mine if they were in Australia, and the Minister could not think but that they should be a gold mine in New Zealand. “I can safely say to Onakaka that that little industry has a great future, both for itself and for this district.”