Page 3 Advertisements Column 4

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1599, 16 November 1912, Page 3

MR. 8. IRWIN CROOKES. • . Mi*. S. Irwin CrOokes, M.1.E.E., ]'\C.S., of -Auckland, in his report, 6ays:—"Magnitude of the Limestone Mountain Deposit: I have computed the aria of Limestone Mountain in tho 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 the surface. .For the purpose of estimating tho probable amount of cement rock within. that ayea, this lias been cut down;, to 500 acres, so that it will be evident that a conservative estimate has been m.iide,_ as the calculation takes no account of about- as much material as can be obtained on Limestone Island. On the basis of these latter figures I calculate there are over 420,000,000 tons of Ooment rock in .this, particular Coal: Tho geologies! formation of the country points to i the probable. existence of coal under, the greensands underlying the limestone. As the 'greensands outcrop in some of the lower lying parts of this district, it would be advisable to' put. down a bore in °?r these valleys. Should coal of reasonable (Quality bo obtained on the property it would mean a combination of adpossessed by no other cement property, in existence. Raw Materials—The Cement Rock: This would be otained by open quarrying, about half-way up the bill."Tiio.fact that this can be done so easily and the absence of tiny' overburthen of earth mean the winning of the rock at absolutely minimum cost. This stone would be carried down to the works by tramways, which would be worked by the gravitational. energy -of the stone sent down. Tho White Limestone; This can be obtained from the surface at Limestone. Point, quite near to the position for the proposed works, and!a short"lramline with a few trucks is all that would be required. 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- sjiipside in the Whangarei Harbour, would certainly not exceed 255. pet ten, 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 the report.) "In conclusion, there is here a fine opportunity .of establishing a highly remunerative industry of the greatest importance to New Zealand, not only' for this generation, but for the generations to-come," ■ MR. W. J, WILSON. Mr. W. J. Wilson, who has had twenty-five years' experience in the manufacture of cement from-Taw materials similar to those at Tikorangi, reports:—'"The-property known as Tikorangi has been thoroughly tested and immense quantities of first-class cement rock proved 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 properly. From tests; I liave made I am satisfied that first-class Portland Cement can be made from the cement , rock, with a sniill admixturo of white limestone, a deposit of which is. found on the property. The situation of the works' site on the property lias 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 are short. I have visited between thirty and forty Works in Canada, United States and' England, and I know of no site in these countries so well situated with reference to Taw materials, cheap hydro-electric power, and facilities for distribution of the, finished products. "With hydro-electric power, at «£9 per h.p., coal at Us. I per ton, wages at current rates, I estimate'the cost of production at 265. per ton f.o.b. at works," • '- . MR GEORGE NELSON. ' , . Mr. George Nelson M.I.Meoh.E., of - Napier,- in concluding his report, says:—"l have assessed the various faotors at I their true valtte before summing up; Having done that, the. proposition appears to - be aii excellent one, and to contain all the elements of success., The real'question' to be answered is not, 'What will the profits be?' but 'Are . the natural advan-j tages of the proposition such iis to enable-the proposed coih-, pany, if properly equipped -and handled, to successfully compete at a time when the .supply of cement exceeds'the demand.', The answeriis U;rid.pußtedly yes!"' '" DR. J, M. BELL, " JDt. J, M. Bell-(late Government Geologist), in his report, says:—"Tho suitability of the "Tikorangi place hydraulic limestone for cement manufacture is shown by the chemical and physical resemblance it bears • to; the limestone Island -cements, stone (controlled by the N.Z. Portland Cement Co.), which for many years has been found to be a -vefy eatisfactory natural product. Two analyses' of the ordinary class of the Limestone Island hydraulie limestone may be compared with tho averages of three analyses from Tikorangi. Hill. From this j comparison it will.be observed that tlie quality of t-lle Tikorangi : stone is .equally good, or even better, than that from Limestone Island. In slimming up it may be said that the property under consideration exhibits, enormous quantities of hydraulic limestone of particularly good quality in a position easy to quarry, and. from which ifc can. readily be transported by gravity to the seashore, where 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 cement. The. quantity of white limestone visible on the property to mixi with hydraulic limestone, for cement manufacture, if- in practice more lime is required, is not great, but is adequate: for- immediate needs. A further supply is availablerffom To Mat-i Point, about 1{ miles to theeast, if required.. The', possibility of the discovery of .coal: is. promising; but if none be found to exist below. the ft sOrfaco on the property, a: fairly, cheap supply canvas alrea®- mentioned, be brought from ffifeurangi, The property.' may be considered to be of great prospective value' for the establishment of a cement industry encompassing, as it does, v/ithin a limited area the principal necessary raw materials." •RUGGLES COLES CO., LIMITED, The Electro Metals, Limited, 00-operating with tlie. above, in ■ reply to their local representative, W, Lancelot Moore., A.M.Inst.C.E., wrote:—"We have designed and equipped a number of important cement works, one of the largest of which is that for the Crescent Port-land Cement Co., at Wampum, Pa., U.S.A., which:has:a capacity of 3,000 barrels a day, equal to 180,000 tons p.a. The selling price of cement in the United States at the present time is approximately IDs. at the Western Mills. 'The writer was a-short time ago at the Crescent Port-' land Coment Co.'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 which they ran they made a profit of ,£IB,OOO. In 1911 they cleared £231,000. Last month their net earning was .£3,000, and they estimate for a year-a net earning of £11,000. Our estimate of the cost of manufacture of cement at Tikorangi, New Zealand, under the conditions named below, is as follows:— s - - 6 '■ £ Power, 1,000 h.p. at ,£9 per. year . ...9,000 Labour (common labour at 6s, lOd. per day, in- 1 ~ ■ eluding quarrying) ... . ... , ... .:. ... 10,150 ■ Coal for drying rock and coal at 18s. ~.. 810 Coal for burning clinker at 18s. ... 12,360 Bagging ;"... ... ... 2,160 Repairs and supplies . ... 3,600 ) Office and selling expenses ■' ~. 5,000 Depreciation and Interest . ... . .., 6,000 - ' V. 'v< 49,680 ' .Approximately 16s. 7d, per 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 satoe). "We also estimate the cost of mill for 60,000- tons of cement per annum at ! ,£68,170. This includes .£IO,OOO for proposed three-mile railway connection, ,£10,00!) for wharf, .£450 for Auckland office and stores, and .£4,000 for contingencies, but does not include potver plant, as this, will be unnecessary." FULLER ENGINEERING COY. The approximate output of existing mills in New Zealand 'is one ton per man. The above consulting cement, engineering 'firm informs us that tho last,works they designed are obtaining an output of 2 2-3 tons of cement' per day per man employed. In commenting on this they writs: "This plant is a complete electrical installation such as. Mr. S. Irwin Crookos proposes to put in your new installation," HARBOUR BOARD'S REPORT. Whangarei, April 6th, 1911. The Secretary, Harbour Board, Dear Sir,—According to your instruction*, I have carefully sounded tlie Mangap.ni chtonel from Limes-ton® Wharf to a lino of stakes off Jim's Point. 'The least depth of water found in the channel at -low. water spring tides was H feet oft Limestone, increasing .in depth to 3J 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 chart of (lie river to be had,, so I cannot mark the depth on oiie. ■ • - -. Yours faithfully, . (Sgd.) W. E, PATTERSON. ' GENERAL. The minimum subscription has been fixed at 60,000 shares upon which the '.Directors may proceed to allotment. Thereafter shares will be allotted as applications are received.