WEST COAST OIL FIELDS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 143, 14 July 1909, Page 4

WEST COAST OIL FIELDS

A PROGRESSIVE POLICY. | The Grey River Argus recently stated ; that Messrs. McMahon and Lee, sharebrokers of Reefton, have issued a busi- . ness circular to their patrons and the public generally in which they furnish a lot of interesting information regarding the Consolidated Gold Fields of New Zealand and other leading quartz mines of the district. One of the paragraphs jf the circular is to the following effect:— "Since Mr. Ziman's* arrival in the Dominion the company's consolidated policy has become a. more aggressive one, and we are reliably informed that the Consolidated Gold Fields has acquired the whole of the rights over the Kotuku and Lake Brunncr oilfields near the port of Greyniouth, also in the Wcstland province. Active drilling operations will be commenced shortly, l and, judging from surface indications and the amount of oil won from shallow bores, this district ought to prove a payable oilfield." As we are in a position to verify what Messrs. McMahon and Lee have been informed on "reliable" authority (says the Argus) we have to congratulate Mr. Ziman on his enterprise, and hope, that he -may he as successful as he deserves to lie and as we fully believe he will. The facts are, as wc understand them, that Mr. Ziman- first took an option over the properties at Kotuku—the one being hold by the Moana Oil Boring Company, and the other by Mr. Joseph Taylor. Subsequently Mr. Ziinan parted with his option to the Consolidated Gold Fields Company, of which he was promoter and still holds a founder's share. Tlie company already holds other mines and investments besides the .Consolidated Gold Fields', which, with the acquisition of the Kotuku speculation, will make them one of the most powerful mining companies in the Dominion. As onr readers are already aware, a very large amount of money has already been spent at Kotuku "in boring for oil. Although a flowing well has not been struck, some of the shallow bores yield excellent petroleum in considerable quantity. Therefore, as far as mere indications go, the prospects could not well be morn encouraging. Now that the speculation has been taken up by a wealthy and energetic corporation, 'we may expect to see boring operations ' carried on in the most energetic and up-to-date style. Experts of world-wide experience who have visited the locality and seen the quality of the oil ail agreed in pronouncing the prospect for striking oil one of the .best thev had ever seen. Tlie quality of the oil is unsurpassed anywhere. Mr. Ziman's speeu- . lative sonl, it is scarcely necessary to say, was_ captured on his first visit to the locality in something the same way as he became enamored of Reefton when he first visited the mines there 'some years ago. We can only say that we sincerely trust that his judgment and enterprise may prove as successful nt Kotuku as they proved at Reefton, and so ga,ve an impetus to mining in this part of the West Coast. But considerable detail work will have to be disposed of before real boring for oil tan be got under way. It may, and probably will, lie necessary to get' an expert borer from the Uni'ted States, is well as the best oil-boring appliances. The West Coast is likely to become famous for its oil wells, as it has been for its alluvial gold .anil quartz reefs, and if only the liydro-elcetrie syndicate could bring the Government' to the scratch over the Te Arolia water question, mining matters on the coast would soon begin to hum.