C.— 2

16

V. MINERALS OTHER THAN GOLD. Tungsten-ore. The price for scheelite throughout the year was round about 10s. per unit —too low to permit of this mineral being produced at the scheelite-mines in the Dominion, and consequently they were not worked. Only 3 tons were produced. Iron. The blast furnace at the Onakaka Iron and Steel Company's works at Onakaka was run for about a month, and 630 tons good-quality pig iron were produced. Difficulties in connection with the supply of coke and in transportation by road between the wharf and the works forced the company to shut down the blast furnace till additional coke-ovens could be built and a rope-road constructed from the wharf to the blast furnace. This work was put in hand, but the available funds of the company were insufficient, and the construction was stopped in October pending the raising of further capital. Petroleum. An Australian company was formed during the latter half of the year to further test the Taranaki oilfield. Acting under the guidance of Mr. F. G. Clapp, oil geologist, the company decided to put down two wells, one on the foreshore at Moturoa and another about a mile from the Township of Tarata. By the end of the year fully equipped standard rigs had been erected at the sites. It is considered that previous failures to get oil in payable quantities near New Plymouth have been to some extent due to the casing used having been too light, with the result that it collapsed, stopped the flow from, the well in which it was used, and seriously impaired the productivity of the surrounding portion of the field ; in the two wells now to be drilled the casing will be of much heavier section than in former wells. Field-work by expert geologists was energetically carried out, and still continues, with a view to discovering areas with a favourable structure for the retention of oil. VI. STONE-QUARRY INSPECTION AND STATISTICS. By section 2 of the Stone-quarries Amendment Act, 1920, the application of the Act was extended to include every place, not being a mine, in which persons work in quarrying stone and any part of which has a face more than 15ft. deep, and also in any tunnel in the construction of which explosives are used. The Act, however, does not apply to any Government operations, or any road or railway cutting, or excavations for buildings. The following is a table showing the number of quarries under the Stone-quarries Act, also the number of persons ordinarily employed thereat, and the annual output and value of crude stone during 1924 : —

There were 104 more men employed than during the previous year, and the value, of the stone produced was greater by £2,832.

jail {3,3 Output of Stone. •a •+= o a; —— 12 > , t-. H I H Ss Ps g.a a g s ss s ■ O J?! Prnvincinl Name and Address of § § g'g € |j § ® • ® " ■ g S District. \ °t S«J * 82 ll !: H 1 * 8B S§ §| •>§ «g ng 5 « a« . jS.g a,am So ®s ®§ »s ■s a, 3po S'S fl o® ~ s 3 &> ® & ~ aw 3 8 °£S s & 3 s ~«i -o5 ■««! a ,* w iri CQkhkI Ph 3 i> Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. Tons. £ Auckland .. James Newton, Mines 122 699 385,624 58,250 2,147 18,132 196,800 .. .. 143,673 Dept., Auckland M. Paul, Mines Dept., 19 149 111,275 .. 477 35,006 W a i h i (Hauraki Mining District only) Hawke's Bay James Newton, Mines 16 73 11,929 12,084 460 6,160 .. .. .. 6,218 Dept., Auckland Taranaki .. Ditto .. .. 10 43 8,695 10,682 .. 3,492 Wellington.. „ .. .. 34 215 90,914 10,120 .. 7,000 .. .. .. 36,257 Canterbury.. J. BVDowney,Mines 13 123 111,283 4,246 9,682 5,976 42,583 Dept., Reefton Nelson "1 Westland Ditto .. 111 9,335 .. 92 15,256 23,537 .. 1,150 12,539 Marlborough J Southland } j" 35 335 126 > 903 8 ' : ' 99 6,316 86,210 40,620 1,575 .. 94,059 Totals 1924 .. 260 1,748 855,958 103,781 19,174 138,734 260,957 1,575 1,150 373,827 Totals 1923 .. 242 1,641 864,412 316,182 34,458 103,566 143,248 2,383 80 370,995