IRONSAND The idea to make iron from the dark sand on New Zealand's beaches is not new. The first attempt was made as early as 1848 by J. Perry of New Plymouth. It failed. A dozen or so other attempts were made since. They all failed too. They failed for various reasons. To mention only one of them, chemical analysis shows that the ironsands of Taranaki and northwards contain several substances beside iron: in particular they contain a substance called titania. It is very useful in the painting trade, but to those who tried to make iron out of black sand it was a very devil. It has put many blast furnaces out of commission. And nobody quite knew how to handle this titania until the Norwegians and Swedes who have huge amounts of the same kind of ore, found a way about fifteen years ago. Naturally, this Scandinavian discovery encouraged the New Zealanders to try again. In 1949, a full survey was made of what had become known as the ‘Taranaki ironsands’. This survey was a revelation. For experts had previously believed that most of this sand was on beaches between Wanganui and Waitara (really in Taranaki) but that it might produce something like 27 million tons of iron. The survey proved that the most valuable deposits were not in Taranaki at all, but much further north, and also that the total amount of iron in these sands would be close to 400 million tons—a significant part of the world's reserves of iron. It was at that stage that Taharoa's great store of iron was first revealed to scientists. The second important event in 1949 were the ironsand smelting trials held at Onekaka, using the techniques discovered by the Norwegians. These tests, together with further work done by Mr W. R. B. Martin, proved that iron could be produced out of the sand at a price well below what is paid for British and Australian products. It was 1955 when this proof was finally given. Early in 1956, a syndicate was formed with the purpose of developing the ironsand resources of Taharoa. Negotiations were started with the owners of the ironsand, the Ngati Mahuta. As followers of the Maori King, the people of Taharoa decided it would be fitting for them to employ the King's own solicitor. Mr B. D. O'Shea, of Ngaruawahia, was therefore given this weighty brief. At the Maori Land Court sitting of 15 May 1957, there was general agreement to cede the land for mining purposes under the Mining Act 1976. Before this could be done however, the Court would have to be satisfied that this met with the wishes of the majority of owners. With some 80 separate Maori titles involved, it would be hard to reach a common decision. It was therefore decided to try and constitute one title for the ironsand area. Mr M. V. Bell, recently retired Maori Land Court Commissioner, was engaged to bring the titles up to date. What will happen when this is finished? To begin with, the successful syndicate will have to put down more bores to find out how much ironsand there is and what its composition is. Then, no doubt, there will be sample shipments to furnaces abroad. Finally, a decision will be made as to the smelting process to be used and the way the whole industry is to be organized. Nobody can tell yet what form it will take. But it is clear that the end-result will transform Taharoa. It will provide the people with some money in royalties, but more important, it will bring them modern amenities, steady jobs, and incidentally—the removal of the ever encroaching dunes will protect the fertile farmlands of Taharoa.