OUR MINERAL RESOURCES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 284, 31 March 1913, Page 4

OUR MINERAL RESOURCES.

In giving evidence before the, BritLsli Trade Commission tin: oilier week, Mr. P. 0. Morgan, Government geological expert, expressed doubt concerning tlie extent and accessibility of Taranaki's ironsand deposits, as well as making statements of a somewhat pessimistic character regarding our oil prospects. We have stated on a. previous occasion that the Taranaki ironsand deposits are practically inexhaustible, and that the sea is continually adding to the already vast deposits. This is very noticeable on the other side of Paritutu. On this very fine stretch of beach, the sand, which is piirtienlarly rich in its iron properties, lias during the past two or three years been increased by millions of tons, the level of a good portion of the beach having been raised by anyThiug between live and six feet. Having inspected the beach we are more than ever satisfied that if a successful method of treating the sand dir-eovercd —and it miglit occur at any time, even locally, where comprehensive experiments have been conducted for years past —there never will lie an insulliciency of supply. The amazing thing is that a man in Mr. Morgan's position should make the sweeping statements he did to a representative body of men whose special dntv it is to investigate and report upon N'ew Zealand's mineral and other resources when he iias not actually visited the places and seen tilings for himself. lie was equally astray in his remark that apart from the deposits at I'arapara there were no other iron deposits (excepting, of course. Taranaki ironsand) in Xew Zealand. Evidently Mr. Morgan lias not left his ollice stool in Wellington or he would never have, said such a fool-

ish tiling. Anyone who has been on Uie "West (.'oast of (lie South Island knows tliat behind Karamea there are miles and miles of iron ore which have

never been tested. The greater part of the coast, indeed, has never been tested for minerals. A writer in the Xew Zealand Times. A!r. -I. W. I'niss, who knows the coast well. gives some idea of the latent mineral wealth of the coast. At the head of the Waiho river. 1.1(1 miles further smith, lie shows, there is plenty of proof of the existence of iron ore in large quantities. Further south again, at the head of the llaast river, iron ore and mica are to he found scattered about in various <|iiantities; and at I'ig Hay. at the extreme end of Wcstland, iron ore is aNo to he found. That it exists in the ranges at the head of Milford Sound, in Otago. proof is also forthcoming. Thus we have a stretch of country, practically virgin as far as minerals are concerned, over 30 mile-; in J

length, known to contain iron ore, copper silver and mica in promising quantities

Even the prospecting of gold reefs in the country traversed is only in its infancy. -Mr. 3'niss ofl'ers this advice to Sir Rider Haggard -as the shining star in the Commission:

If he really wants the trnc position as regards tlie mineral deposits of New

Zealand he should go to the man in the \ country. You will recognise him when J you see him—moleskin pants, hobnail boots, shirt open at nock, slouch felt hat ) or cap, bushy whiskers, skin on tlie j palms of his hand you sole your boots with, and a free and homely air about him. Those signs are the emblem of knowledge. lie makes no pretensions about anything—yards of paper and endless pencils are not telescoping his pockets. lie has not been beneath the soil to measure up the coal seams, so does not venture to estimate tons, hundredweights ( and quarters like Mr. Morgan. No man i in Xew Zealand is in a position to-day to estimate the coallields of the Domin- j ion. At only one spot in Xew Zealand has any boring' been done to prospect coal, and that was in the vicinity of Brunnerton —where, in my opinion, coal in an inexhaustible supply exists. Mr. Morgan evidently gave his figures from coal in sight, and that coal was in sight —before a pick or shovel was thought of —in the creeks and dill's of the mines at work to-day. Now, I will put a question to the Commission: Could anyone of their number have estimated the coalfields of their native country 200 years ago? Then, as regards our copper and silver deposits, these ores have never seriously been considered in the Dominion as yet. Behind Karamea is Mount Radiant, simplv a mountain of ores, copper being predominant, while gold and silver exist in payable quantities. This lode has been traced for a length of twelve miles, and would pay 15 per cent, on capital if worked on a large scale with all modern appliances for mineral saving.

The Hon. Mr. Bell has seen fit to muzzle the lady immigration oflicer on account of some statements made to the Commission which the Minister could not support, but if necessity existed for taking such severe measures with this officer, surely there is greater justification for the Government taking steps to prevent the oflicer in charge of the Geological Department making statements regarding our mineral resources that cannot be substantiated and which, uttered before the investigating commission, can only operate inimically to the interests of the country. One has not to be a scientist to know that far from being what Mr. Morgan has painted it to be, Xew Zealand is one of the richest countries in proportion to its size in the world in so far as mineral resources are concerned, and also that so far its surface has heen but scratched.