MINERAL PHOSPHATE

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2192, 3 July 1914, Page 10

MINERAL PHOSPHATE

BONUS OFFERED A "Gazette" notice states that iho following ihomis is offered for the discovery within tho Dominion of a deposit or deposits.of marketable mineral phosphate, viz.:—f!soo if on land on-.which tho Crowniis entitled to such deposits; £250 if on other land. The following aro the conditions under which the.bonus , is offered and will be paid:—.-' ■.'" ■'■•■■'.": . 1: That no fertiliser containing material from', tho deposit, or from , any deposit in ' th6"iiei2hbourhood, has been placed tipon tho market previous to tho date hereof.,., r. .

2. That the raw material is reasonably accessible and can be worked at a profit. 3. That a committee to be appointed by the Minister of' Agriculture to examine the deposit is satisfied that there is sufficient to meet all ordinary demands of tlio Dominion for live .years. 4. That tho fertisiliser made from the phosphate can bo disposed of at a price which will allow of its being remuneratively nsed for agricultural purposes. D. That the composition of the phosphate averages not less than 50 per cent, of the phosphate of lime (tricalcic phosphate); provided, however, that should a phosphate of a lower average-compo-sition ho discovered, the committee may recommend that a portion of 'the bonus bo granted.

6. That the bonus shall only bo paid to the first claimant, who satisfies the above conditions.

Tlio term of payment shall be:—Onefifth on the committee reporting favourably of the discovery; ono-lilth. on delivery, of the first 200 tons to purchasers; the remaining three-fifths by egual payments on delivery of each additional 150 tons to purchasers. Applications, addressed to "The Secretary of Agriculture,'lndustries, and Commerce," will be received up to and including March 31, 1915. . Specimens of the rock may bo seen at the office of any of the Department's Field , Inspectors, and a leallet' descriptive of tlio phosphate, and showing how. it may bo roughly tested, may be obtained on application to these officers; A limited number of specimens of Now Zealand phosphate rock arc available for distribution to farmers, prospectors, and others interested, and will be sent free on application to the Agricultural Chemist, Dominion Laboratory, Wellington. .

Tho notice is signed by the Hon. W P. Jlassoy, Minister of Agriculture.