The following notes are designed to summarise the work done during my recent visit to North America and United Kingdom. The purpose of the trip to the U.S.A. was to act as an alternate representative at the International Materials Conference, Washington. The International Materials Conference was convened in February 1951, its primary function being to ensure the equitable distribution of certain scarce commodities, and to consider what steps should be taken to expand production, increase availabilities, and conserve supplies.

Summary report on the ore prospects of some Western Australian gold mines. The report provides details on production, ore deposits, and operations.

Report on mine maintenance, costs, equipment, employment, reserves, and workings.

Report on mine maintenance, costs, equipment, employment, reserves, and workings.

The Provisional Administration of the Territories of Papua and New Guineas is investigating the possibility of manufacturing portland cement in the vicinity of Moresby and the question of supply of raw materials in that area has been referred to the Bureau of Mineral Resources. No field investigations into the supply and distribution of these materials has yet been undertaken, and these preliminary notes have been compiled from geological data and observations made available from previous geological reports. The raw materials from which portland cement is produced are limestone clay or shale and a small quantity of iron oxide. The availability and suitability of rock materials for cement manufacture in the Port Moresby area are discussed at length in this report. The general geology of the area and the availability of other materials required for the manufacturing process are briefly described.

Shortly after I took up the appointment of Mineral Economist, the high quality of the mica from the Harts Range came to my notice. Accordingly, I paid a visit to Harts Range between the 22nd September and 4th October. In judging the possibilities of developing the mica deposits of the Harts Range, the difficulty is the almost complete lack of reliable detailed mining data in the past - production data for the later war years only are available. However, by comparing the degree of areal concentration of the pegmatites, the type of deposits and the quality and sizes of the mica so far produced with those in India, a reasonable picture can be obtained of comparative possibilities. The method of approach throughout this report, therefore, will be comparison of the Harts Range with India mica. This report gives an account of the present state of the Australian mica industry, including descriptions of current trade terms, the grading and classification of mica, and the Harts Range Mica Belt deposits. Suggestions and recommendations for the development of the industry are discussed.

A visit was made to inspect the limestone and dolomite deposits at Cow Flat and Walls Siding. An overview of the working of these deposits, which includes details of the leases, production, prices, plant operations, future developments, and the present positions of the owner companies, is given in this report.

This report summerises the kinds, sources, and handlers or processors of asbestos in Australia, 1944.

The Great Cobar ore deposit was discovered in 1870. Production commenced in 1871 and since that date mining at Cobar has been more or less continuous. The field has produced copper, gold, and silver to the value of approximately £A27,000,000. Cobar has been the most important producer of copper in New South Wales, and in recent years, has also been the most important gold-mining centre. The Zinc Corporation Limited is carrying out, with the aid of the Bureau, an extensive geological and geophysical examination of the area, with the hope of finding other orebodies. The Bureau itself has extended geological mapping over an area of approximately 2,000 square miles in the Cobar-Nymagee-Canbelego district with the ultimate aim of discovering other ore deposits, or even fields of the Cobar type. In the Nymagee district, North Broken Hill Limited is also carrying out, in co-operation with the Bureau, an extensive exploration programme. The history, production, reserves and prospects of the New Occidental, Chesney, and New Cobar mines are discussed in this report.

Bores sunk at Cremorne in 1891 struck coal at approximately 2802 feet. A company was formed to work the coal, but was refused permission to operate at Cremorne. A site at Balmain was secured, and the Birthday Shaft was sunk to a depth of 2,937 feet between 1897 and 1902. This report provides an overview of the occurrence of natural gas and workings for the period 1897 to 1948. Gas yields, commercial production, leakage problems, and the use of testing to determine the behaviour of gas in the mine are the key subjects that are addressed in this report.