AbstractsEarth & Environmental Science

The following is an attempted economic study of Tasmania's principal non-ferrous mineral industries comprising copper, tin, silver-lead and zinc, which are surveyed separately and prefaced by an historical outline of the chief mining fields relating to each. The historical outlines have been included because they indicate the economic problems awaiting solution, and in addition they testify to the wisdom or otherwise of certain policies, and the applicability of specific principles. The economic survey here undertaken was prompted by a spirit of enquiry arising out of a three years' close association with Tasmania's west Coast mining fields. The instability of mining, with its derelict capital, annihilation of whole towns and impermanence in community life generally,first aroused this enquiry. The method adopted has been to collect as many facts as possible pertaining to the subject, and from this data, make a study of the structure and problems of each industry separately In the final analysis, the thesis is permitted to emphasise its most obvious conclusions,and provide a brief practical proposition as an answer to them. The base year taken for copper is 1933, and although this was a very unfavourable year for most industries, no serious objection can be taken to it here, for the copper industry was a steadily expanding one. Whore obtainable, I have tried to make 1928 the base year on which to plot graphs, because this year was generally recognised as a most favourable one. All statistics are authentic, except where marked "Approximate", and there they are provided only on the most reliable evidence. Companies facing the biggest problems, such as the Mt. Lyell Mining and Railway Company Limited, proved the most fruitful in my canvass for information, while those whose problems were relatively small were the least willing and the most suspicious.