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NAURU AND OCEAN ISLANDS PHOSPHATE. Report of A. F. Ellis, C.M.G., New Zealand Commissioner, British Phosphate Commission. Particulars are supplied herewith regarding the tenth year of operations at Nauru and Ocean Islands since the phosphate business came under Government ownership. The year ended at 30th June. Shipments as compared with the two previous years are as follows : — Eighth Year Ninth Year Tenth Year (1927-28). (1928-29). (1929-30). Tons. Tons. Tons. Nauru .. .. .. .. 310,990 342,770 296,310 Ocean .. .. .. ..190,925 233,820 207,863 501,915 576,590 504,173 In each case bill-of-lading figures are taken. It will be noted that there is a decrease of 72,417 tons on the previous year. As compared with the other nine years of operations, the shipments for the tenth year come third, having been exceeded on the seventh (593,340 tons) and ninth (576,590 tons). The cause of the decreased shipments for the tenth year was the severity of the weather experienced during the westerly monsoon season, which was considerably worse than usual, with the result that three out of the four sets of deep-sea moorings at the two islands were carried away. Re-laying these moorings was a difficult and expensive operation. As an instance of the effect of these adverse conditions on shipping operations, it may be noted that the best month for the year was August, 1929 (59,121 tons), and the worst month January, 1930 (14,672 tons). Labour and health conditions at both islands for the year under review were practically normal, except that an epidemic of influenza at Ocean Island occasioned a good deal of delay. Importations of phosphate to the Dominion as compared with the two previous years are as follows :—- Eighth Year. Ninth Year. Tenth Year. Tons. Tons. Tons. Nauru/Ocean .. .. .. 136,718 138,053 117,826 Outside .. .. .. .. 42,946 29,288 49,983 179,664 167,341 167,809 The above quantity of outside phosphate brought in by the Commission for the fertilizer-manufacturers was from Morocco and Makatea Island. In practice, the manufacturers use Nauru/Ocean and Makatea almost entirely for superphosphate-production, and Morocco is finely ground at the various mills in the Dominion for use in the raw state. Regarding the proportion of the Nauru/Ocean output which comes to the Dominion, the figures as compared with the two previous years are as follows : Eighth year, 24-76 per cent. ; ninth year, 24-66 per cent. ; tenth year, 25-21 per cent. Following is a detailed statement of shipments from Nauru and Ocean Islands for the past year : —

Constructional developments at the islands which may be noted are as follows : (1) Completion of a, steel cantilever-type jetty at Ocean Island, with band conveyer delivering phosphate to the outer end. This plant is giving very satisfactory service. (2) The cantilever at Nauru for mechanical loading will, it is anticipated, be ready for preliminary trials in October. (3) A new steamer is under construction for the Commission, to be fitted with special appliances for laying or lifting the deep-sea moorings which constitute such an important part of the operations. The vessel's cargo-carrying capacity will be 6,500 tons. She is being built by Messrs. Harland and Wolff, Ltd., at Go van, and should be completed by the end of March next.

I.I Totals. Australia. New Zealand. Tons. | Peroent " Tons. Percent " I Tons. Peroent - 1 age. age. age. I i | ] Nauru. July-December, 1929 .. .. 148,860 100 1 104,460 70-17 44,400 29-83 January-June, 1930 .. .. 147,450 100 116,610 79-08 30,840 20-92 1929-30 .. .. 296,310 100 221,070 74-61 75,240 25-39 Qcean July-December, 1929 .. .. 117,007 100 88,447 75-59 28,560 24-41 January-June, 1930 .. .. 90,856 100 67,556 74-36 23,300 25-64 1929-30 .. .. 207,863 100 156,003 75-05 51,860 24-95 Nauru and Ocean Islands. July-December, 1929 .. .. 265,867 100 192,907 72-56 72,960 27-44 January-June, 1930 .. .. 238,306 100 184,166 77-28 54,140 22-72 1929-30 .. .. 504,173 100 377,073 74-79 127,100 25-21 Note.—No shipments were made to other countries during the year.