370 Transactions.— Geology. - 
At Oamaru the seams of coal are from 6 feet to 25 feet thick, but the out- 
put is very limited, the four mines at work having only yielded 3,770 tons 
during the year 1881. Their average a is— 
Fixed carbon . 708976 
Seay 2. x «s. EOD 
Water .. "EN vs SN TER yf Gas 
Anh  .. we b ve jx 1:46 
100-00 
Besides these coals there is an important basin of a better class of brown 
coals in the Clutha and Tokomairiro districts, as well as at Shag Point, in 
which several mines have been opened. Of these the Kaitangata Colliery 
is working a seam 30 feet thick; Eliott Vale, 20 feet; Real McKay 25 feet ; 
and Bruce 12 feet 6 inches. At Shag Point the Shag Point Mine is being 
worked in a seam 7 feet in thickness. The superiority of these coals over 
that from Green Island appears to depend upon their haying a solid com- 
pact roof instead of the loose running sands of the latter locality. Their 
average composition is— 
carbon carbon, Water m 
Kaitangata e e. 4417 38-24 15:42 217 
Eliott Vale n .. 41°60 85:31 19:48 3°61 
Real pud and Bruce . Pree 40:19 s 6:15 
Shag y 3:15 33:70 6:58 
Pitch cd fis rp serie characteristic 2 de coals is that 
they do not desiccate on exposure to the air to the same extent as the brown 
coals, besides which they, as a rule, contain a less proportion of water in 
combination. They are chiefly met with as seams which overlie the bitu- 
minous coals of the west coast of the South Island, where however they 
have only been worked in the Reefton district and at West Wanganui. 
They are again met with at Mokau in Taranaki, and at Whangarei. Some of 
the altered coals of the Malvern Hills, Canterbury, might also be classed 
with these coals, but since they represent various stages of change from 
brown coals to anthracites, it is best to group them together under the title 
of glance coals. 
The pitch coals of the West Coast may be divided into those from West 
Wanganui, those from Inangahua, those from the Buller, and those from 
the Grey districts, of which only the two first have been worked. The 
seams vary from 2 feet to 10 feet in thickness, and the composition is as 
follows :— 
Fixed Hydro- 
carbon. carbon, Water. Ash. 
Buller. = .. 4240 36-60 9-20 11:80 
Greymouth E +. 40°70 45°61 737 6°32 
Reefton (Inangahua)  .. 59-54 30-93 9:07 “46 
West Wanganui .. .. 45°00 38:90 4:80 11:30 
