Page 3 Advertisements Column 3

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1593, 9 November 1912, Page 3

V MR. S. IRWIN CROOKES, Mr. S. Irwin Orookes, M.J.E.E., F.C.S., of 'Auckland,' in his report, says:-*-" Magnitude of the Umestone Mountain Deposit; I have computed the area of Limestone-Mountain'in. the plan as. approximately 560 acres. The boundary line, of this is marked on the map." This boundary encloses that part of tho property where tho cement rock is found near tho surface. For the purpose of estimating the probable amount of cement ■rock within that' area, this has been cut down to 500 acres, so that it will be evident that a conservative'estimate has been made, as the calculation, takes no account of about as much materia;! as can be obtained on Limestone Island. On the basis of these latter figures I calculate there are over 420,000,000 tons of cement rock in this particular area. Coal: The geological formation of the country points to the probable existence of coal under the greensands underlying the limestone. As the greensanda outcrop in some of the lower' lying parts of this district, it would be advisable to .put down a bore in one of these valleys; Should, coal of reasonable' quality be obtained on the property it would mean a combination 1 of advantages possessed by no other cement property in existence. Raw Materials—The Cement Rock! This would be otained by open quarrying, about half-way up the/ hill. The-fact that this can.be done so easily and tho absence of any overburthen of earth mean, the winning of the Tock at absolutely minimum cost. Thiß stone would be carried down to the works by tram"ways, which would.be worked by the'gravitational energy of the stone sent down. The White Limestone: This can be ob : tained from the surface at Limestone Point, quite near to the position for the proposed works, and a short tramline with a few trucks is all. that would be recpiired. Cost per ton! With the plant outlined, and under the conditions set forth, it is certain that the cost of a ton of -cement delivered shipsido-in the Whangarei Harbour would certainly not exceed 255. per ton, and it is very probable that it would be less." (The total engineering expenditure for works,-equipment, and buildings, including erection, is estimated at .£63,000, full details of which are given in tho report.) "In conclusion, there is here a fine opportunity of establishing a highly .remunerative Industry of the greatest importance tp New Zealand, not only for this generation, but for the generations to come." W, J. WILSON/ Mr. W, J. Wilson, who has had twenty-five years' experience in the manufacture of cement from raw materials similar to those at Tikorangi, reports:—"The property known as Tikorangi has been thoroughly tested'and immense quantities of first-class coment rockproved'to exist. A 'drive has been put into the hill, deep bores made, and about 40 pot holes, three or four feet deep, sunk in different parts of the property. From tests I have made I am satisfied that first-class Portland Cement can be. made from the cement rock, with a small . admixturo- s of white limestone,.a deposit of-which is found on the'property. The situation of the works' site on the property has many advantages for cement manufacture. The close proximity of the Government Railway would ;give cheap coal supplies and means 'of • land distribution; the deep-water harbour would enable an export' trade- to be developed, especially with Australia, where supplies ate short. I have visited between thirty: and forty works in Canada. United States and Engjand, and I know of no site.in these countries so well situated with reference:fo .raw, mate'rials;.cheap.hydro-electric-:power, and facilities for distribution of tbe finished products. ' "With hydro-ebjetrio power at £i per h.p,, coal at Ift. per ton, wages at current rates, 1 estimate the cost of production at 265. per ton f.o'.b, at works." MR GEORGE NELSON. Mr.. George . Nelson M.l.Mech.E., of-/Napier, in concluding his-reportj says-.—"l have assessed the "various factors'"attheir true value before summing-up. Having done that, the priposirion,, appears .to be an excellent one,.and to contain all. the eleindnts of-success. The real question to be answered is not, 'What will the profits bo?' but !Are, the natural advantages of the proposition such as to enable l the proposed company, if properly equipped and'handled, to successfully compete at a time when the' supply of cement/exceeds the demand.'' The answer is'Undoubtedly-yesl'-," ' , : Dr. J. M. Bell (late-.GoyernmSnt Gteblpgist),»:in his report,.' says:—"The suitability'Mfffiife bydraulio-lime-stone for cemeSt.-..manufactj3re is shown by the chemical and. physical resemblance it be'afs-itoi.thei Limestone,lsland' cement' stone (con trplled.-, by -the N.Z; 'Portland Cement '■■ Co.), whicti for many, years has/been found to be a very satisfactory natural product.. Two/' analyses ofA'the , ordinary class of 'the Limestone Island Ivydraulie liihestone may-jbe comparfid.'with the averages of three. analyses from Tikorangi Hill.' From. t this, c'omparisoniit will'be observed that' the quality of the Tikorangi-. stone is equally good, tir even-. batter,' than that ftom Limestone Island. In summing up it may be said that the property under consideration exhibits enormous- quantities of hydraulic limestone/if particularly'good quality in a position-easy-to quarry, andt from .which..it' can readily be transported''by gravity to tlie.eeashorei'.-'-Vrhere several good sites for a plant exist..:. .The'hydraulic limestones .from various parts of Tikorangi Hill -form, when mixed in the proper - proportions,' almost a natural bement. The quantity of white limestone visible 'on-.the property to mix with hydraulic limestone'for-cement-manufacture, if in.- practice more lime is required,' is hot great, JbutJ-iS/adequate for: immediate needs. A further supply is available from Te Mata Point, about 1J miles- to the: east, if required. -The possibility of tho discovery of coal is promising, but if-none .be found to exist below the. surface on the property, a fairly cheap supply can, as already mentioned, ■ bo- brought from' Hikiirangi. The property may be considered to be of great prospective value for the establishment of a cement industry encompassing, as it does, within a limited area the principal, necessary raw materials, ,r RUGGLES COLES CO., LIMITED. ,'. The Eleqtrq Metals, Limited, co-operating- -with, the above, in reply to their' local representative, W, Lancelot ■ Moore, A.M.InswXE., wrote:—"We have, designed, and'.equipped a number of important cement works, One of thd largest of Which is that for. the Crescent Portland Cement-Co./ at Wampum, Pa., TJ.SiA.j which has a capacity of"8,000 barrels, a:day r .equal to 180,000 tone p.a. The selling price of cement in the United States at the present time is approximately 19s. at the Western Mills./ The writer was a- short time, ago at the Crescent Portland Cement Cp.'s Works, and the cost of production last month, including all selling, office expenses, bagging and loading, and overhead charges, was a little less than 12s. per ton. The first half-year wbich they ran they made a profit of .£13,000. In 1911 they cleared Last month 'their not earning was ,£3,000,. and ; they estimate for & year a,/net.-earning of riE4I,OOO. Our estimate of the cost of manufacture of cement at Tikorangi,. New 1 Zealand, under the conditions named below; is as'follows':— , ~■- . . -.:-, . '.■ ■ ■ £ Power, 1,000 h.p. at .£9 per li.p. year- .., ... 9,000 Labour (common labour at 6s. lOd. per day, in- "' eluding quarrying) ... ••• ;.. «, ... 10,150 Coal for drying rock and coal at 18s. «, „, 810, Coal for burning clinker at 18s. ... .'.. »_ 12,960 Bagging ■ ... ; ... ... ... ... -. k~- 2,160 . Repair! and supplies ...«,' \~ „. *. 8,600 -.- Office and selling expenses _ _' ... „. . 5,000 Depreciation and Interest «. >-. .- '*. 6,000 49,680 Approximately IBs. 7d. pßr ton on an output of 60,000 tons. (In the foregoing statement it should be noted that New Zealand labour is 10s, per day and local coal costs lis. per ton. The.net total,' however, is the same). "Wo also estimate tho cost of mill for 150,000 tons of cement per annum at .€68,170. This includes .£IO,OOO for proposed three-mile railway connection, for wharf, .£450 for Auckland office and stores, and £1,000 for contingencies, but does not ineludo power plant, as this will be unnecessary." FULLER ENGINEERING COY. The approximate output of existing mills in New Zealand is one ton per man. Tho above consulting cement engineering firm informs us- that the last works they designed are obtaining an output of 2 2-3 tons pf cement per day per man employed, lu commenting on this they write i "This plant is a complete electrical installation such as Mr. S. Irwin Crookes proposes to put.in your new installation." HARBOUR BOARD'S REPORT/ Whangarei, April Gth, 1.911. The Secretary, Harbour Board. Dear Sir,-—According to your instructions, I havo carefully sounded the Mangapai channel from Limestone Wharf to a line of stakes off Jim's Point. The least depth of water found in the channel at low water spring tidss was tt'feet .off Limestone,, increasing in depth to 3i fathoms higher up.' The shallow, part appeared to be silt bottom, and I think -a lot of it has' got washed there from Limestone. There is not a ohart of the river to be had, so I cannot mark the depth on one; • Yours faithfully, <Sgd.) W.R.PATTERSON, GENERAL, The mifiimum subscription has been fixed at 60,000 shares upon which the Directors may proceed to allotment. Thereafter shares will bo allotted as applications are received.