THE WEST COAST COAL FIELDS.

Evening Star, Issue 3353, 18 November 1873, Page 3

THE WEST COAST COAL FIELDS.

I ' The cpmjbauy formed in Melbourne to work the West Wangimul coa'field was the earliest in the field, and will, probably, be the first to be in active work. The Melbourne firm, as we have for some time been aware, will construct a sufbment fleet. of steam-colliers to maintain a betweenWanganui and Melbourne ' They will be of 1.000 or i; 200 tons burden, shift with water- ' ballast. let in by the opening of valves in the* ship’s side when she is empty, and pumpad out readily by the engines whqn.tlm vessel is ready to load?. , They Will be a round vbjrSge every three. thus will make a demand upqn the mines of from 3.000 to 4,000 tons per month. The manage*; raent is hi good and thoroughly responsible hands, and no time will be lost, we may assume, in getting into active work. The Parapara Company are not so far advanced* They desire that the Collihgwood Coal Company should join with them, and that the business of the venture should' be in coal and iron, Negotiations had proceeded so far that the'prospectus was about to be issued, but some little bitch hfls recently arisen, and it possibly has been increased by the late discovery of a new seam of coal in the Collingwood Company’s ground. The difficulty is a one—the Parapara Iron Company desiring that the Colfingwood Company should for their coalfield accept payment wholly or in part in paid-up shares, and the latter conceiving that they should at least be paid in cash their outlay iu prospecting, or say LI,OOO, the late discovery having materially increased the value of their property. Ifae disagreement is one which will, no doubt, he arranged before very long- The Melbourne men who hftvo. too nmttot in hwul wb business pen* not unreasonable,

|possetsed of quite sufficient ‘capital to ensure thelT fulfilling every engagement they undertake, any works to 1 which they put their band. Whether an arnalgaIraiatihn take* placed or whether'the ParSflara ’lron 1 Company should' merely become customers for fuel to the Collingwood Coal Company, there is every reason to believe 'that they will v<ry soon he in a position to commence work They have teated their iron ore, sufficiently. It is known to produce the beat quality of steel. Experienced engineers and practical Workers in iron pronounce it to be equal to the Lowmoor or Hlaenavon cold (of which,- by the way, there is none now manufactured at those works). Those tests are regarded as sufficiently satisfactory to induce P tbcm to proceed, as boon as the preliminary difficnltirs are over, with the erection of blast-furnaces for the production of pig-iron ; these again to be followed :by rolling-mills for the production r : of bar-iron-and boiler plate. '