PROPOSED MINERALOGICAL EXHIBITION.

Te Aroha News, 15 February 1890, Page 2

PROPOSED MINERALOGICAL EXHIBITION.

An important proposal has been placed before the mining world by the proprietors of the Mining Journal, London. It is that, daring the present year, there should be held in London a World’s exhibition of mineral products anJ mine appliances. Already a large amount of capital has been guaranteed towards the scheme by prom’ ent capitalists in Great Britain, and there is no reason wky it sbutt.d not have a successful issue. Ac to the value of such an exhibition, there can be no question. Mining does not rank as the chief labor-em-ploying industry, but it is only second in importance to agriculture. It has ;an honorable history, and can look back upon an existence almost co-eval to that oF agriculture. .The bronze age has become recognised by antiquarians as a definite epoch in the progress of mankind. # * The practical miner requires information that will aid him in his struggle for wealth. Tales of fortunes won may act as an incentive, but the color of gold in a claim is the greatest stimulant to continuous exertions. When, also, he has gained favorable prospects, he wants' to be told of methods of treatiug the ore, and the best way to render it a marketable

commodity. He fuilhermore demands that, these facts shall be submitted to him in such a simple form that they can be turned to practical account. A mineralogical exhibition, if properly conducted, can in this way serve a good purpose. At it. there can bo exhibited mine machinery employed in the mineral fields of the world. These, if placed in juxtaposition, will be to the miner what the object lesson is to the State School child. By comparison he will be enabled to judge what appliance is best suited to his requirments. One piece of machinery may suggests improvements in another, and with the extended knowledge thus acquired he may see the means of saving labor and so cheapening the cost of production. To the gold miner of Australia what could be in ’e interesting than a display of the methods of treating refractory ores employed in Germany and the United States. Our silver kings, also, will at once recognise the value ofi collections of the most improved appaiv us invented for the treatment of argentiferous ores of low grale quality. From an industrial point of view, therefore, such an exhibition would be of wonderful value.

A mineralogical exhibition would in another respect, also, be of vast service. It would be an educational agent, Yankees imagine that no country in the world has such magnificent deposits of silver and gold as the United States. England speaks of the worth of its coal and iron mines, Spain of its iron ore deposits, Australia of its gold, South Afr’ca and India of their diamonds, Burmah of its rubies, and the South American States of their immense silver and copper resources. But each of these countries has immense deposits of minerals why though of less magnitude than those which have become associated with their names, are of great extent and worth. In many instances only an ex ended knowledge of these prod mts is needed to secure the investment of capital which is at present lying up in Old World coffers awaiting investment. Australia in this respect has everything to gain from the exhibition. # # # The gain to be derived from exhibiting our mineral products at the forthcoming mineralogical exhibition is so apparent that it needs no demonstration. There, however, i* the drawback that unless very energetic action is taken by the Mines Departments of the respective colonies thoroughly representative collections could not be formed before the opening of this world’s show. The opportunity ought not to be lost to advertise the min rd resources of the colonics, and if it is necessary to obtain further time to e .able a thoroughly comprehensive collection of exhibits to be forwarded, the suggestion might be na ie to the promoters of the exhibition to defer its opening until next year.”—Mining S tandard.