VAST COAL RESOURCES

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 3, Issue 208, 4 September 1940, Page 8

VAST COAL RESOURCES

NOW BEING SHIPPED ACROSS ATLANTIC * Cargoes from the vast supplies of;. British >coal which have accumulated as Presult of the submission of" France have already, been, shipped to South America and Portugal. Further inquiries are now being" negotiated, and within the next few weeks the export of coal froiri Great-. Britain will rapidly increase. Canada, as well as South Aroe-r rica and Portugal,, will have more:plentiful supplies at cheaper prices. The British coal industry, whiclt is aiming at an annual productionof 280,000,000 tons, or 40 millions; more than in peace-time, had a respectable surplus as the result - of, Germany's invasion of Scandinavia. It 'was at first hoped that some of this would be available for customers overseas, but when the Germans marched into Holland* Belgium and Northern France, all available supplies were rushed toFrance,, whose coalfields had beeiii seized by the enemy. The subsequent submission of France, however, together with theentry of Italy into the war, virtually put a stop to all shipments of" coal to Europe outside Spain and Portugal, and there is now a respectable volume of suitable' coat? piling up at the British ports of' shipment. Countries which were obliged to, go elsewhere for supplies while Britain was assisting her late ally, again have a' wide choice of* cheap-. fuel, probably better than at any l time since the commencement of" hostilities in Europe. T* .