OUR MINERAL WEALTH.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1490, 12 July 1912, Page 6

OUR MINERAL WEALTH.

DECREASE IN GOLD OUTPUT. REDUCED PROFIT ON STATE COAL. The Mines Statement for the year ending December 31, 1911, was presented to the House of Representatives on Tuesday afternoon by the Hon. J. Colvin, Minister for Mines. • ■ • The value of tho mineral output for. the year amounted to £3, 192,362, as against .63,744,898 for • tho preceding year, bejng a decrease of .£282,536. This decrease, as is pointed ont, should not be regarded as indicating a general decline in the mining industry, as it is duo principally to a zone or low-grado ores struck in tho Waihi mine, with tho result that the nnnual return from that mine alone shows a decrease of J!224,636. Tho value of tho bullion produced from ■goldmines amounted to ii 1,948,56? for tho year, as compared with .£2,067,890 for 1910. Dividends declared during 1911 by registered goldmining companies amounted to •£5M,795. Tho.profit from privately-owned mines and dredges was also considerable. The output of coal was 2,066,073 tons, which was greater than that for any previous year, except 1910, when the output was unusually high owing to a strike at Newcastle, which caused orders to be diverted to New Zealand. During 1911 kauri giun to the value of £Wb,767 was exported, making the total value of this product exported from the Dominion up to .£15,809,152.

Mining development generally had been unimportant,, with the exception of exploitations for mineral oil at Poverty Bay, in Tarannki, and near Lake Brunner. Drilling operations carried • out by the Taranoki Petroleum Company hail been fairly successful, three flowing wells having been located, from which a considerable quantity of high quality oil had been saved. On . May ,1 this company obtained from the Government the bonus of .£2500 offered for the produc-' tion of a quarter of a million gallons of crude petroleum of specified quality; and it was expected that it would very shortly succeed in obtaining the second bonus of i! 2506 for the production of a further quarter of a million gallons. During the year tho company had been refloated, and renamed "The Taranaki Oil Wells, Ltd.," with a capital of .£IOO,OOO, anil it was proposed to erect a refinery at once, nnd drill additional wells.

STATE COLLIERIES. "The output from the State eolleriee during 1911 amounted to 248,937 tons, as against 275,602 during, the previous year, being a decline of 26,665 tons," says the Minister. "This decrease is due to the approaching exhaustion of the two State collieries at Seddonvillo and Port Elizabeth, which were not new mines when, acquired by the Government several years ago. Provision, however, has been made to meet the requirements of the market by tho laying down of a hew colliery, namely, the Port Elizabeth No. 2 mine, which is situated at Seven-Mile Creek, beyond Eunanga. By the end of the current year tho mine should have reached the output stage. I regret to state that the profit on the working of the State coal mines during tho financial year ended, March 31, 1912, was less than during the previous year. This is principally owing to higher cost of production, but partly to diminished output. The briquette manufacturing at Wtstport, which for about three years was worked in conjunction with the Seddonville colliery, was closed during 1911, owing to the high cost of manufacture."