WEST WANGANUI COAL PROSPECTING COMPANY.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5329, 26 April 1878, Page 6

WEST WANGANUI COAL PROSPECTING COMPANY.

The above is the title of a small private company which was formed some mouths ago for the purpose of testing the coal deposits on a large lease at West Wanganui lulet. The coal there was discovered by Captain F. G. Moore when in command of the schooner Jewess about forty years ago ; and Captain Moore is now again on the ground, being a large shareholder iu the venture, aud manager. The difficulty of getting material conveyed to West Wanganui caused many delays; and when the proprietors had struck coal iu the shaft, aud 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, reshipped to West Wanganui, aud landed safely at the mine. When steam was got up matters stood thus :—The shaft was down some 40ft.; it had psssed through a thin seam of coal, and had struck another, winch was supposed to be the oft. Gin. seam that had been from time to time worked on the mud flat. When the water was bailed out, and sinking resumed, this surmise proved to be correct, for the seam is sft. thick, aud the coal is of excellent quality. At present there are about 50 tons ou the surface, aud 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 long 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 withiu 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 ha able to be floated close to the pit, A vessel of several hundred tons can lie iu the main channel at no great distance, aud as the entrance to this port is the best ou the West Coast there will he no difficulty in opening up a regular trade with Nelson, Wellington, and other places, so soon as the mine has been got into full working order. There is no doubt that the mine bids fair to prove one of great value, aud 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, aud the prospectors of the West Wanganui mine, taking a lessou from the errors of others, set to work iu 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 ou the claim, having brought a long Victorian mining experience to heal - , and Mr. J. F. E. Wright"has been managing partner at this end. Should the mine prove the success its owners expect, it will be advantageous to Wellington to have bead-quarters here, and we wish the proprietors all success.