WEST WANGANUI COAL PROSPECTING COMPANY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5323, 18 April 1878, Page 2

WEST WANGANUI COAL PROSPECTING COMPANY.

The above is the title of a small private company which was formed some mouths ago for the p\irp.i-e of testing the coal deposits on a large., lease at West Wanganui Inlet. The coal there was discovered by Captain P. G. Moore when iu command of the schooner .Tewess about forty years ago ; and Captain Moore- is nowagain'r ou the 'ground,'being a laige shareholder in the venture, aud manager. Ihe difficulty of getting material conveyed to West Wanganui caused many delays; and when the proprietors had struck coal iu the saaft, and shipped a small engine and plant for baling and winding, the whole was for a- time lost by. the wreck of- the cutter Dido. After many tedious delays- the engine, &c., were taken to Nelson, overhauled, reshipoed to West Wanganui, . and' lauded safely‘at the mine. When steam was got up matters stood thus : —The shaft was down some -10 ft.; it had passed through a thin seam of coal, and had struck another, which was supposed to be the oft. Gin. seam that had been from time to time worked on the mud flat. When the water was hailed out, aud sinkiug resumed, this surmise proved to be correct, Tor the seam is sft. thick, aud the coal is of excellent quality. At present there are about 50 tons on the surface, and it is intended to charter a vessel to bring 100 tons to this market. As the well has been sunk, aud a drive opened out, it will not take loug to secure this quantity, and there will soon be an opportunity of testing the coal for machinery and household purposes. The West ’ Wanganui coal has always been in great favor in Nelson, where it is highly prized as a clean household coal, burning brilliantly, and throwing out a great heat. Trials on the railway proved that when a small quantity was mixed with Greymouth coal it enabled steam to be got up much quicker than when the Grey alone was used. A report from the mine states that a vessel capable of carrying 70 tons can get within a quarter of a mile of the mouth of the shaft, aud it will be an easy matter to ship coal by means of flat-bottomed barges, which will be able to be floated close to the pit. A vessel ,of several hundred tons can lie in the. main channel at no great distance, and as the entrance to this port is the best on the West Coast there will be no difficulty'in opening up a regular trade with Nelson, Wellington, and other places, so soon as the mine hag been got into full working order. There is no doubt that the niine bids fair to prove one of great value, and the shareholders are likely to reap a' rich reward for their enterprise. Hitherto many Wellington people have bought into coalmining companies which have not proved highly, successful, and the prospectors of the West Wanganui mine, taking a lesson from the errors of others, .set. to work in a prudent and workmanlike manner, spending no money that was not necessary, and keeping down to 'a minimum all expenses away from the mine. Captain Moore has ably conducted operations on the claim, having brought a long Victorian mining experience, to bear, and Mr. J. F. E. Wright has been managing jjartner at this end. Should the mine prove the success its owners expect, it will be advantageous to Wellington to have head-quarters here, and we wish the proprietors all success.