and industry

S. Pacific Commerce and industry

Australian Gold Development, Nl—The

open cut on top of Mt. Victor has been deepened to 20 ft. and cut in for 18 ft.

There is 12 ft. of ore in the face and going underfoot.

Dish prospects in and around a 1 ft. blue kaolin seam in the middle of the ore give 15 dwt. gold values.

The object of the work is to determine the pitch of the ore to select the best spot for a tunnel.

No. 1 adit near the top of Clarke's Ridge has been extended 15 to 35 ft. in ore and kaolin. A chipped sample along the bottom of the drive over the last 15 ft. gave 7 dwt. values.

Alternative bands of kaolin and ore appear to be dipping westerly.

No. 2 adit has been opened on the eastern slope above 50 ft. under No. 1 adit.

In No. 3 adit on the western slope, about 60 ft. below the ridge cap, country rock has hardened, and will require explosives. * * *

Australasian Petroleum Co. Pty., Ltd.,

And Island Exploration Co. Pty., Ltd

The latest progress report was: Barikewa: Some difficulty has been ex perienced in deviating a new hole to bypass the drill pipe stuck in the original hole. This

operation is now proceeding satisfactorily and the side-tracking hole had reached 6,815 ft. on September 10.

Sireru: The hole has been deepened 1,210 ft. to 1,510 ft. with 9| in. casing at 724 ft., and has been abandoned. Water was en countered in the geological equivalent to the Kuru gas horizon.

Komewu: The hole has been deepened 1,109 ft. to 5,926 ft.

CSR CHEMICALS PTY., LTD—This largely owned subsidiary of the CSR Refining Co. has announced plans to build a new plant to begin Australian production of the chemical, vinyl acetate monomer. The announcement followed a recent agreement with British Celanese, Ltd., which provides knowledge and technical assist ance in the erection and operation of the plant.

The work, which will cost about £500,000, is starting immediately, and the plant is ex pected to be in operation before the end of 1958.

The raw materials in vinyl acetate have been produced at the company's plant at Rhodes in Sydney for some years and are based primarily on the sugar industry. Vinyl acetate and its derivatives are important in many fields of manufacture, including emulsion paints and new types of adhesives. As an adhesive, polyvinyl acetate is used for wood, glass, paper and plastics.

Applications as an adhesive include pre packaging, wood-bonding in furniture making, bookbinding and binding papers and fibres into non-woven fabrics. In the US it has replaced a large percentage of the chicle in chewing gum.

The manufacture of industrial and domestic floor polishes is another bog potential outlet,

which will probably reach a figure compar. with that for paint manufacture in a years, the company reported.

Vinyl acetate is a raw material for an portant compound used to make modern grai phone records and plastic floor tiles.

British Celanese was recently absorbed Courtaulds, Ltd., UK, a company which alre has associations with CSR. * ❖ sjs

Enterprise Of New Guinea Gold I

Petroleum Development, Nl—The Direc

propose to offer forfeited shares in the g pany's hands and shares unallotted in prev issues to shareholders. The shares will offered at (1/- a share) —3d a share applicai money, and 9d a share call in advance.

Recent returns were: July, 78 oz from tons of development ore; August, 433 oz fl 36 tons development ore. sjs $ * KEREMA RUBBER, LTD.—Net profit for half-year to June 3 fell by £6,452 to £14,» but the interim dividend remains at 1\ cent. The directors reported that abnorm heavy rain throughout the period cause* slight reduction in output.

In addition the average price of rubber by about 7d a pound. Production is now H to normal, and the recent price of rubber been steady at 3/1 a pound.

Last year the company paid a total divid of 20 per cent.

The June production was 42,906 lb (41, lb in June, 1956). ❖ *

Koitaki Para Rubber Estates, Lte

Production of rubber in July was 81,000 compared with 58,000 lb in June, and previous record of 60,000 lb for August, 1*

-eduction for the year to June 30 totalled 000 lb, compared with 640,000 lb in first six months of 1956. ♦ * *

Ilorua Rubber Estates, Ltd —The June

1 was 43,654 lb, compared with 41,086 lb one, 1956. ♦ * * ARABOI RUBBER, LTD—Net profit for the ended June 30 was £50,430, against 051 in the previous year, and £26,666 in 1-55. The dividend remains unchanged at icr cent. —a final dividend of 7\ per cent, ayable on September 30. ic balance to be carried forward is £52,818. ie directors reported that during the year average price realised for all grades of er was 33.46 d per 1b—9.67d per lb below for the previous year. The heavy decline entirely offset by a production increase 75,058 lb. The total output of 883,445 >r the year was a record for the company, e cost of delivering rubber c.i.f. and e., ralian ports, averaged 18.67 d per lb for year, a reduction of 3.71 d per lb. e directors also reported that the current is for all grades of rubber had, for some hs, been steady round the 2/9 mark, and ndications pointed to this remaining firm, te June output was 73,071 lb (89,737 lb une, 1956). ♦ * *

•W Guinea Goldfields, Ltd—A Further

n of capital of 3d a share is to be made, ting the shares to 3/6 each. The sum Ived, £55,904, should be returned as al because of the wasting nature of the lany's mining property, the directors say. pita) will be reduced to £782,661. The al return will be the second in 12 months.

November 6d a share, amounting to ,806, was repaid. ie company also proposes to convert shares itock and to alter the articles of asso on. iturns for July and August were—July: en Ridges Mill, 1,317 oz fine gold, 1,506 silver, Tributes, 127 oz fine gold; Timber 646 super ft. August: Golden Ridges 1,094 oz fine gold, 1,302 oz silver; nga Alluvials, 14,518 cubic yds.; Tributes, oz fine gold; Timber, 152,531 super ft. * * * ICKEL.—The International Nickel Co. of ida is investigating recently discovered el country in the Morobe highlands of New iea. ie Bulolo Gold Dredging Co. has applied for ospecting lease of 8,000 acres in the same itry. r. D. R. De Vletter, a Dutch geologist, is esenting International Nickel, producers of jer cent, of the Western world's nickel, r. J. Thompson, a senior administration ogist, first found the nickel in top soil of ia Valley. * * *

Orfolk Island And Byron Bay Whaling

LTD. —The directors report that completion he 1957 quotas at both stations now seems red. The company has caught 80 whales Byron Bay—over half the quota. Whaling hat station is expected to be completed by ember 26, depending on the weather, he chaser will then return to Norfolk Island complete the quota there—3B are required complete the quota. In October, 1956, 82 les were taken at Norfolk Island, he company has altered its balancing date i September 30 to October 31. * * * IL SEARCH, LTD.—This company has made offer to buy all the capital of Oriomo Oil, , on a share exchange basis. The offer of four Oil Search stock units of 5/i in exchange for every five stock units 5 - in Oriomo. riomo is purely a holding company, and its

holding of 521,772 Oil Search stock units is in the ration of 81:100 to its own capital of 624.120 units. All directors of Oriomo are also directors of Oil Search.

The offer is conditional on acceptance by 76 per cent, of Oriomo stockholders (or such smaller ratio as Oil Search may agree to) by October 31. Oil Search has the right to extend the final date, but not beyond December 31.

Mr. G. B. Kater, chairman of Oriomo, in recommending the offer, said that the Stock Exchange value of each Oriomo unit should be about four-fifths of the value of Oil Search units, but for some years this had not been the case.

"By accepting the present offer, this dis parity will be eliminated, and at the same time Oil Search, Ltd., will benefit directly, since Oil Search, Ltd., will be called upon to issue less new stock than it will acquire as a result of its purchase of stock in Oriomo Oil, Ltd.," he said.

Acceptance will also give Oriomo stockholders a direct voice and vote in Oil Search,

and the right to participate directly in any new share issues, Mr. Kater said. * * *

Papuan Apinaipi Petroleum Co., Ltd.—

The company expects to spud-in a well during October, according to an announcement by the chairman (Mr. Bruce Graham, MP). The field programme for the current year includes further integration and extension of regional and detail exploration. The object is to pro vide drilling targets, including drilling a well at Kaufana in the eastern portion of the permit.

Mr. Graham also announced that the Com monwealth Government has extended the com pany's permit to prospect in Papua and New Guinea for a further three years to August, 1960. * * * RUBBERLANOS, LTD.—An interim dividend of per cent, will be payable on September 23. The total payout in each of the last two

cial years was 15 per cent, and anticipa are that the final payout this year will be 15 per cent. net profit of £10,586 for the half-year been reported. Profit for the whole of last financial year was £24,571, at an ge price of 3/0a a pound. » June yield was 37,995 lb. * * *

4Dy Creek Gold Sluicing, Ltd—The

return was approximately 32 oz gold from cubic yards of material. In August; 19 ) dwt from 1,800 cubic yards. * * *

Jthern Pacific Insurance Co., Ltd —

profit of this W. R. Carpenter subsidiary lie year ended March 31 was £33,984, an ise of £11,387 on that of the previous ial year. The dividend, steady at 10 per requires £11,875 on larger capital (last £10,000). remaining profit of £22,119 is added to forward, which now stands at £139,374. gross profit was £53,584. from which revision of £19,600 was made. underwriting surplus before tax was B7, an increase of £7,470, after allowing 25 for unexpired risks reserve (down 7). The investment income was £34,597 3,517). premiums rose by £48,012 to £715,685, laims and expenses increased by £48,529 1674,873. Unexpired risks reserve at 635 is 47 7 per cent, of the year's net urns. directors consider the position satis fy, and will continue the company's r of acting cautiously regarding the lance of risks and of steadily building irious departments.

I?

R. CARPENTER AND CO., LTD.—See article ige 40 this issue.

Rabaul

Wedding

Mr. and Mrs. J. Chow after their wedding re cently in the Roman Catholic Church, Rabaul, NG. Shown also in the photograph are Mr. N.

Chow, the Rev. Father Dwyer, and Miss R.

Chow, bridesmaid.

Photo: C. H. Meen.

Sydney Stock

Exchange

September 9 Buyer Seller Philp . . 64/- 64/3 Philp (SS) . .. . 45/6 47/- . £56] £56| Plantations — 12/halls . . 38/9 40/- Timber . 23/6 — a Rubber . .. 12/- 12/6 .. 16/- 17/6 a Rubber Estates . . 9/- 9/9 oi Rubber ■ - 8/- 8/5 k Is. Whaling . ■ 6/- 6/3 sland Insurance 68/- — sland Insurance (new) 66/6 — rlands . . 7/6 7/7 Pacific Insurance . . 50A Pac. Insurance (new) 50/ships Trading .. 51/6 51/9 Oil 13/11 Carpenter . . . 21/3 21/6

Oil And Mining

Fiji

Aug., '39 June, '57 Sept. 9, '57 or . . . b9/11 bl0/3 b6 8 a . . . . s25/6 b27/b34/-

Papua-New

Guinea

i - . . . b!24A b45A b41 A • Ltd. . . bl/10 b2/2 b2/3£ earch . . b3/l1 bl4/l1 b7/10 of N.G. . — s2A blUd o Oil . . b5/b6/6 b5/6 n Apin. . b4/l 1 b3/6 b3/3 1 Dev. . . b68/6 bl01/6 bll2/6 Creek . bl/5 s6d b2id