381 



which is a very small outlay, considering that it is the only heavy expenditure 

 required to secure the regular supply of coal. 



Provided that no fault occurs in the strata, I see no reason for doubtin^ 

 that on the most moderate computation the portion of the field already 

 leased should yield 5,000,000 tons of coal. 



The expenses of working the mine are so small that the coal should be 

 delivered at G-reymouth at a very moderate price, if the working were carried 

 on more extensively, and a steady market for the coal established. 



The seam of coal is pure and homogeneous, and possesses the property of 

 caking with such facility that the whole quantity excavated can be utilized, so 

 that no labour is unproductive, as is the case in mines where stone bands, 

 shales, and other worthless matter have to be excavated along with the coal. 



In the south-west of Otago coal seams occur at the base of a chalk 

 marl and sandstone formation, at Preservation Inlet, which formation appears 

 to be of the same age as that which extends through Southland, and runs out 

 on the coast in the south-east district of Otago, but there the marls are 

 replaced by sandstones and shales, in the same manner as in the Pakawau 

 field. The value of the coal varies in quality in different localities, but 

 is, on the whole, good fuel. An attempt has been made to open a mine at 

 Preservation Tnlet, but not much progress has yet been made. At Morley 

 Creek, Waikawa, and other places, the coal is mined, but chiefly for local use. 



In the interior of Otago province, lignite is found almost everywhere, except 

 in the Wakatipu Lake district, and mined for the supply of the diggers, who could 

 not carry on their mining operations in the treeless uplands of the Otago gold 

 fields, were it not for mineral fuel being thus widely distributed. On the East 

 Coast several very extensive areas of Brown coal formation occur, from which 

 Dunedin is largely supplied. The largest of these is at Coal Point, near the 

 Clutha river, where the seams have an aggregate thickness of fifty-six feet, and 

 the formation extends over about thirty square miles. 



Forty miles north of Dunedin the Upper Secondary coal formation again 

 commences, and, running north, skirts the eastern slope of the mountains in 

 broken patches, being found at several points in the Province of Canterbury, 

 and re-emerging on the coast at Motanau in the Anmri country. 



At the Malvern hills coal seams of different qualities, including Anthra- 

 cite, Bituminous coal, and common Brown coal, have been worked, and the 

 whole series of the Upper Secondary and Tertiary coal formation appear, from 

 the fossils, to be represented. The most extensive mine is in the Brown coal, 

 of which there are several thin seams, that yield about 800 tons a year. The 

 proximity of this coal field to Christchurch, and the fact of coal of very superior 

 quality being found in different parts of it, gives it considerable importance. 



Newer basins containing inferior coal also occur along the Canterbury and 

 Nelson mountains as in Otago. 



From the foregoing brief outline I think that New Zealand must be con- 

 sidered as, on the whole, well supplied with mineral fuel. Certainly, coal of 

 the most valuable description is confined to limited and not very accessible 

 areas, but still there is nothing to prevent its being profitably worked for 

 the supply of our steam service ; but the great point for congratulation is, that 

 throughout almost every part of these Islands, coal of a practically useful 

 description is to be found within a short distance.* 



Before concluding this review of the mines of the Colony, I will make a 

 few remarks on the building materials. The number of kinds of stone already 



*See "Report on Coals of New Zealand, 1866 ;" "Abstract Progress Report of Geolo- 

 gical Survey of New Zealand, 1867;" "Supplement to Jurors' Report, New Zealand 

 Exhibition, 1865, Art. 'Coals,'" by Autbor. 



