COAL FIELDS IN NELSON PROVINCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VII, Issue 213, 6 September 1872, Page 2

COAL FIELDS IN NELSON PROVINCE.

Reports have been furnished by Dr. Hector to the Government on the various coalfields in New Zealand, from which we make a few extracts relating to those on the West Coast of the province of .Nelson, where, we are told, " the coal varies in quality, but is on the whole of better quality than that found in other parts of New Zealand." It is difficult to believe that a country so abundantly supplied with this mineral was a few months since suffering from coal famine Grey Itiver District.— The only mine of importance which has been opened in this district is the well known Brunner mine, six miles from the mouth of the Grey- ; River. <The coal seam is sixteen feet thick,:.and has. been proved by uuderground workings to be of uniform quality, without admixture with slack ,or other foreign, matter, through-put... an area of thirty acresi in addition to which the surface indications lead me to estimate the quantity of coal which is available without sinking ; as at least; 4^ooo^ooo. tons, the area r of undisturbed.' coal above the water 1 e vei .being ' 'more^thatii half;, :a^ sg^'a,^. mile . :In addition a much larger quantity of coal can be obtained by sinfking. The . mine can never . be worked (^t6 advantage, nor ,ahy^supply of lc6jbU 'tocher parts of the colony, until the mouth ; of the river haa .^ee n^conSitructedl; j and, jthe, of ': ( cp^l;.ifr^y(a|ceh^ opinion, sufiicien^tP warrant the expondi-'

ture authorised for this«p;Qrp ( ose, and, from the great facilities whicJJ! exxsVFor working .the mine, the colil! shouldlS&tdelivered to vlesselsHat Bj'i. person, from the six-footi seiam that cropis out on the coast six miles north of the Grey, River has been analysed, and found to be a very •superior variety of pitch brown coal, resembling very much the best kind found nt Shag Point in Otago, and, like it, well adapted for gas making, but without furnishing apy true coke. Mount Rochfort.-^This coalfield may be described in general terms as occupying an undulating plateau, of flat upland valley, the western termination of which overhangs the coast, huving au elevation of from 1500 to 2500 feet near the Buller, while in the other direction it slopes to the north-east, and descends to the sea level at the Mokihinui. Many outcrops of a seam of hard, pure, coal, from 8 feet to 16 inrhes in thickness, have been discovered on this plateau, but all at such an elevation as to require engineering works of a costly nature to reach them. Loiver Buller Gorge. — In the lower part of the coal formation at this place the seam is exposed in several places in Coal Creek, a tributary of the Buller from the south. The coal is compact, bard, with a dull lustre, and is very different in appearance from that fouud in the plateau, being, in fact, a brown coal, containing an unusually high percentage of fixed carbon, but Btill containing too much water to be employed for sea-going steamers. It will not therefore justify any large expenditure for the purpose of taking it to Westport. Ngakawau JRiver.-This river is eighteen miles north of Westport, and is a comparatively small stream, which at lovy water is a succession of pools and rapids, from the mine to where it runs over the beach. The seam is 16 feet thick, and though very friable and irregularly jointed, with a sooty and rather shaly fracture, it stands well in the face of the drive. There is a "brow" fault about 15 feet from the entrance, through which the surface water leaks, but otherwise the coal is quite dry, Its quality is excellent, and I saw attested both in a forge and qn the open hearth, and nothing better could be desired. It burns freely, with a bright flame, and no unpleasant smell. If allowed to remain undisturbed it forms a compact co^e, which, with the addition qf a 'little fresh coal, can he entirely consumed, leaving only a small proportion of dull grey csh. * * * From the level at which the present mine has been opened, up to the outcrop of the scam, I do not estimate more than 80,000 tons will bo available, even if no break occurs between the mine aud the creek at the back, and about twice as much may be available in the block between the mine level and th,e water level, so that for shipping ibis small quantity of coal the river in its present state is quite sufficient. It is easily available in average.

weather for vessels drawing 8 feet, and not over 120 feet in The arguments in favor of asing|thsß river to export the coal from^-thS field under consideration are :—(!:) The low altitude of the plateau at this 1 pomt — 900 feet. (2 ) The strong probability that the coal will continue, and may be worked from the sea level and that of the plateau by an. incline on the east side of Mine Creek. (3 ) That the coal can be brought along an. easy spur from part of the plateau where the best seams exist to the top of, Crane's Cliff, and from there lowered with a self-acting apparatus. The question then, remains whether it would be better to. improve the harbor at this place, or to construct a railway to Westport, which ia a matter upon which an engineer's opinion should be obtained. It may be pointed out that the facilities for harbor improvements are such that they probably would cot exceed the first cost of such a railway, and that, after reaching theßuller, to supply anything like a good large coal trade, very extensive wharfage works would still be required, for which there ia no material readily availablo, the Buller being a large, erratic river, delivering its waters in a lowsandy delta, intersected by lagoons and water channels, and liable to sudden and extensive changes at its mouth. ~ The country is, however, very favorable for the construction of a line, if required, north of Westport, as, for most of the distance, it could follow aloDg the hills to. the Waimungaroa, and from there be constructed upon a very perfect shingle terrace, covered with light timber, that runs parallel with, the beach. Four or five rivers will have to be crossed, but only one— the Waimungaroa, is of any importance.