H—34

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY Director: Mr. M. Ongley Increasing numbers of requests for information and guidance on the availability and development of raw materials required by industry, on problems of water-supply, and on economic and engineering geology, in addition to the systematic regional mapping and investigation of New Zealand coalfields, have kept the staff fully taxed throughout the year. Additional staff has been recruited from overseas, and the clerical and library staff strengthened; two geologists have resigned. Close collaboration! on many subjects was maintained with the Dominion Laboratory and with other Departments. REGIONAL GEOLOGY Regional geological mapping, which serves as the basis for an assessment of the potential resources of the country, has been extended to the Hokianga area, and knowledge of the perplexing structure and stratigraphy of the North Auckland district has considerably advanced during the last few years through detailed field investigation combined with palasontological research. Work on the Motatau Subdivision is completed, and a bulletin is being prepared. A bulletin on the Dannevirke Subdivision is awaiting publication, and fieldwork on the adjoining Te Aute Subdivision to the north is progressing. The survey of the Hauroko Subdivision in Southland is complete, and a descriptive bulletin is in course of preparation. Field-work has been extended to the Greenhills, East Gore, and Mataura Valley. Bulletins describing the geology of the areas contained within the " provisional 1 mile " map series of the Heaphy, Karamea, and Geraldine sheets, as well as one describing the coastal area between Bruce Bay and Haast River, await publication. A revision of the "West Coast Tertiary stratigraphy, embodying the results of the past seven years' investigations in that area, is in preparation, and two papers on regional problems concerning the coal-measures are in the press. The Alpine schists were investigated in the Haast Valley and Trent River, and a paper describing the fossiliferous Triassic and associated rocks of the latter locality is ready for publication. COAL Field-work commenced in the Huntly Coalfield in September, and a district office was established at Ngaruawahia. The immediate programme is to investigate the outcrop area of the coalfield to determine any possible extension of opencast areas or of workable coal adjacent to the present mines, some of which are approaching exhaustion of the known reserves. The long-term project is to assess the amount and quality of coal that will ultimately be available in the Huntly-Mercer basin, and to provide the background of information essential for the future development of the mining industry in that area. This is the general method adopted in all the coalfields, and the surveys are co-ordinated with Mines Department requirements. At Ohai the work has largely been confined to the correlation of a large amount of drill-hole data, both for the over-all coalfield picture and for the prospecting of opencast projects. Prospecting of the Southland lignites is progressing, but the programme is somewhat handicapped by the necessity in the meantime of confining drilling operations to Crown lands.

45