MINES STATEMENT.

Hokitika Guardian, 29 September 1927, Page 4

MINES STATEMENT.

discussion in house. (Hansard). Air Seddciii (We.sGn.ndi).—Sir., the honourable member for Thames takes an optimistic- view regarding the revival of the gold mining industry. I am afraid T do not share that opinion, because the figures submitted in last year’s Alines report do not warrant such an assumption. I consider there is some reason for being optimistic about the coal mining industry; but with regard to the gold mining industry L think the present position calls for tho very earnest consideration of the .Minister of Afines and of his 'Department, because ii wo look through the returns of last year we have not the returns for this year, because they are contained in a report which ’has not yet been presented to the House—we will see that there was a. considerable fallingoff in production. It is almost unaccountable, but there the fact leluains. Comparing last year with the vear 1924-25 we see that there was a reduction of 31,118 ounces in the output of quartz. That is a consideinble amount. In alluvial mining there was a falling olf of 2,812 ounces, and in dredging a falling off of 3,299 ounces. There was a in value altogether of £01,227. That is n very serious matter, and T should like to know from the .Minister if this year’s report gives a more favourable view 'of tho industry. The honourable member for Thames suggested that prospecting parties should be sent out, and that other help should be given to the industry. ! should ho glad if the A 1 mister would state whnt the result- has been of the subsidising prospecting parties thiough<mt the whole Dominion. A\e wore told in the Alines Statement last year that IC6 persons were intermittently employed during the year in prospecting. and that these parties were subsidised. It scenes that unless we have some scientific way of going about prospecting wo are simply throwing money away. Unless there is a certain co ordination between these parties and a careful following up of geological surveys we arc not going to find any new goldfields or to assist the industry. Mr Rhodes—ff we do not look for them, we shall not find them. Air Scddon—The honourable member may have taken me up wrongly. I am not suggesting tbat we desist from locking for new goldfields, but that wo go about it fn a scientific way. If tho honourable member for Thames will take a look at page 16 of last year’s Alines Statement he will see. there the number of parties that were out in 1925 —from the northern inspection district down to the southern—• the success which they achieved, and tho money which they received by way of subsidy. It seems to mo an incredible thing that so many parties should he out and such little good should result. I should like to hear from the Minister whether any new system of prospecting is going to he devised by his Department, and what .success was achieved last year. It seems to me unreasonable Unit ; n this debate wo have not before us tho facts and figures relating to lastyear, hut that wo must go back two years before we can get anything that wo can discuss. So far as mining on the West Coast is concerned, the only hopeful outlook is in regard not to quartz or alluvial mining, hut to the new system of dredging. With the assistance of electricity we have already achieved great success down there in two notable instances—at Rimu Flat and at Dunganvillo. We have demonstrated that mining by erod'd ii g is the form of mining for tho future. Since 1920 the dredge at ltimu Flat has succeeded in winning goid to the value of £190,009. Unfortunately that dredge belongs to an American company, so that that gold

Hops out of the country. T.n the year 15)24-25 the dredge won gold worth £35.000. That demonstrates that with the use of electricity, in fields which cannot be worked by the alluvial method, dredging is the system to be adopted. By disposing of water races in Westland electricity can be generated with which to carry out more dredging operations, so we may look hopefully to the future for fresh successes. Any oiio in this House interested in mining will realise IhaL where we have fields abandoned after alluvial mining has caused them to he laid waste, the only method left for getting the gold from those fields is by dredging. AVe realise that the old methods of alluvial mining were crude and great quantities of gold were lost, hut with the new system of dredging I feel sure the industry in that respect has a fair future. But the point I want to make in this connection is that the importation of mining machinery for dredging is taxed very heavily under the present tariff, and T would ask the Minister of Alines and also the Minister of Customs,

when this matter comes up m the preparation of fjhe amended tariff, to consider this: that the mining industry has never received any assistance whatsoever from the Government,, and since 1012, the materials used for mining—alluvial mining, quartz-mining and dredging—have gone up in, price, in some eases by 120 per cent. Other industries have been assisted, encouraged, and protected by the Government, ilmt nothing has been done for those engaged in the mining industry, and I think tile Minister is aware of this. So serious has the position become—the cost of implements and machinery for mining being so great—that those interested in the industry are almost about to approach the Government wit'h the idea of asking it to subsidise t-lio industry. Whether it will come to that or not is not certain, hut it. lias been suggested in parts of the West Coast that that should be done. I would ask the Minister of Customs in regard to this very serious question—and he knows the position perfectly well—arising from the increase in the cost of articles, right from the ordinary pick and shovel to dredging machinery, in some cases ranging up to 120 per cent since 1912, when the tariff is under consideration to see what he can do in the way of allowing implements and machinery for mining—and mining only—tc come into the Dominion at a reduced rate. There is one other matter I wish to bring under the notice of tiie Minis:er in connection with this report. We mow the disabilities under which leople in mining districts live, and die Minister has had represented to

him on several occasions the desirability of people in mining districts who have their homes in mining leasehold lands being given the same privileges as people whose homes are on .land under other tenures in the matter of advances from the State Advances Department. Tt seems to be unfair and anomalous that people whose homes are built on mining leasehold lands should be debarred from obtninig such advances; and 1 think the Minister might rectify the anomaly. A reference to the form of application for an advance shows that practically every class of leasehold is recognised by the State Advances Department, but the mining leasehold is a prominent exception. This fact is causing a great deal of heart-burn-ing in a certain mining township on the West Coast—namely. Ross. The people of Ross are suffering a very

unfair handicap. I suggest to tho Minister that ho make the necessary alteration with every possible expedition. Those are the only remarks that I wish to make at this stage. 1 would urge upon the Minister that when propositions in connection with dredging come before bis notice lie give those propositions bis earnest consideration and support. Air Seddon said the amount of £9,500. which was provided for prospecting for gold, .was very low as compared with the amounts voted in previous years, and he desired to know the reason for that. He trusted that the Department was not apathetic towards assisting prospecting parties. Last year £12,000 was voted, and of that amount £8.568 was spent. According to last year’s Alines Statement for amount voted for 1925 for prospecting for gold was £12,877. and £9,575 was spent. There was a decline in the vote each year, and. seeing that the output from the industry was falling off so lamentably, the whole matter required careful consideration by tho Department. He thought the amount provided for libraries iu mining townships was totally inadequate, and be would like to know what the renditions were m connection with granting money to such libraries. If one could apply as member for the district for part of the vote, J)<* would readily put in an application for a good proportion of the £SO. He noticed also an item of £l5O for the maintenance* of the AA'aimea-Ivumara water races. Did that clear up the whole obligation of the Government in regard to the disposal of^hosojjawsH^^