The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11th, 1926. PROSPECTING.

Hokitika Guardian, 11 February 1926, Page 2

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY PROSPECTING.

The .Minister of Mines, addressing delegates to the mining conference in Dunedin last week, expressed his willir.css to favourably consider any application, made by nr through a local liodv. for a. subsidy for prospecting. Die experts at the conference were of tile opinion that, the old-time pro>-_ pec tor had gone and that the work would have to be approached in some other manner. One delegate suggested the formation of a national prospecting association, with a hoard of control to include the host mining .nknt in the Dominion. The mat is one of great importance, for those best able to express an opinion are convinced that the mineral resources of the country have Hot keen thoroughly investigated, and that the mining industry will again figure prominently. The wildness of the Minister to assist financially in prospecting is encouraging. and it is not unlikely that Mr Anderson will find ample opportunity to render valuable service. Speaking at the Mining Conference dinner the president. Professor Park, said that in this remote Dominion where mining was now completely overshadow oil by agriculture, it was difficult for the average citizen to realise that in the British Empire taken las a .whole, mining was still the dominant primary industry. Economists and statesmen recognised that the wealth and |lower of the Empire, its shipbuilding, and other great secondary industries, owed their existence to the mineral industry. They also recognised that it was their growing production of coal and iron that made if possible for the United States and Germany to c'u’Uenge I?-iitain’s commercial supremacy in the world’s oversea markets. Since 1853 the mining industry had added £]28,000,000 to the wealth of New Zealand, and of that amount goldmining had contributed no less than £95.000,000. The decline of New Zealand’s mineral production was a matter of grave national concern. Some of the major causes to which the decline might be attributed were first and foremost .he exhaustion of the more easily worked gold deposits. This of course, was inevitable, for the ground contained but one outcrop. Then there was a failure to discover flies'll ore deposits, this arising mainly from the neglect of mining companies to set aside an adequate proportion of fheir profits for prospecting and dcveloment work. Since the war period, gold-mining had suffered si double handicap in a great increase of wages, and cost of mine supplies, and to the fixing of the price of gold at the prewar rate, notwithstanding the depreciation of. the pound sterling. This was specially serious to tlie Dominion, as they had to export their gold output to pay for the heavy importations of petrol and motor-cars from the United States, which refused to take our raw material in exchange. While on the matter of gold he might say that New Zealand contained many undeveloped gold deposits of great promise, and he na?d hardly remind them that gold production was of immense importance to the State. It is refreshing to read opinions of this nature. A revival of the mining industry would be a splendid thing for tlie country. In the .early days mining attracted thousands of men to the Dominion. and they played an important part in many ways. A revival of mining would build up the man-power of the country, in addition to strengthening the financial position. In a district such as this with its surface but scratched, there is a fin.? field for gold mining development, and public interest and attention might well be turned to the subject with a view to arriving at sonic scheme whereby the support of the Government could be enlisted in a- comprehensive prospecting undertaking for Westland.