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Government Drills Mines Department drills were hired to private concerns for testing two areas, one a, limestone deposit and the other a clay deposit. A total of nineteen holes were bored, having a footage of 1,659 ft. Subsidized Roads The expenditure on subsidies and grants for roads to mining areas was £4,603 for the 1945-46 financial year. The expenditure in the previous year was £5,752. LEGISLATION An amendment to the Quarries Act, 1944, was made by the Statutes Amendment Act, 1945, providing for the issue of a special form of permit to managers of quarries which use no explosives and have no underground workings. I have, &c., R. H. Schoen, Inspecting Engineer of Mines.

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