STRATEGIC MINERALS

Dominion, Volume 36, Issue 25, 24 October 1942, Page 6

STRATEGIC MINERALS

More Valuable Than Gold To Allied Cause PRODUCTION IN DOMINION “The exigencies of war give ever-in-creasing importance to'the production of minerals other than, gold, specially those which come within the category of strategic minerals,” states'the Mines Statement for 1941 presented in the House of Representatives this week. “The loss of valuable supplies in the Far East' from countries invaded ny Japan has considerably aggravated tire situation, and it is now fully recognized that for the duration of the war their value far transcends that of gold to the united Allied cause. “Salient points in the development of these minerals during the year,” the statement continues, “have been increased development of scheelite deposits which should result in increased production in the future, the resumption of the production of mercury in New Zealand, the location and prospecting of mica deposits which it was hoped would prove valuable on thorough investigation, though results of this work have proved disappointing, and of increased interest in the development of non-metallie mineral deposits. “Scheelite still remains the most important strategic mineral produced in New Zealand. Its importance has increased enormously owing to the loss of supplies from Burma and China, the world’s major producers, Short supply and increased demand have resulted in a sharp upward trend in the price of tungsten-ores, the price ut which Portugal is now supplying the Axis Powers being fantastically high. Sale ot Scheelite to Britain.

“The Imperial Government, to whom the whole of the scheelite produced in New Zealand is now sold under contract, has recognized this general increase in prices, and New Zealand ores are'now being purchased at £6 sterling per unit on similar terms to those previously operating. This agreement is for a term of two years, and should be an incentive for small producers to undertake development work and thereby increase production. “Despite increased effort and a considerable measure of assistance by the Mines Department, the production of scheelite fell from 74 tons in 1940 to 67 tons in 1941. This is due in great part to the erratic distribution of scheelite in the various lodes and the leeway to be made up in development work, The latter problem has been given continuous consideration by the department, and eventually it was decided that the only manner by which it could be overcome was toy the department itself taking an active part In development work. To this end the Government has acquired two mines in the Glenorehy district, and active development work is now proceeding at both of them.

"Prospecting operations were continued by the department in the Wakamarina district, but the occurrence at Mountain Camp Creek 'proved disappointing on development, and operations were transferred to an unexplored section of tbe Golden Bur Mino, which was an important producer of shcelite during last war. Recent work at this occurrence has been encouraging, but much work requires to be done before its value can be assessed."