Alfred Street (University of Auckland Store)
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Black Gold : The Story Of Waipipi Iron Sands Ltd 1971-1988
Paperback Edition: 1
Waipipi Iron Sands' on-shore mining operation employed 160 people and ran night and day during its heyday. The crew even had their own rugby team.
It started in 1969 after the Government decided iron sand in the area was not a potential reserve for domestic steel manufacture.The Marcona Corporation was granted a licence to explore between the Tongaporutu and Whangaehu Rivers. A trial plant was set up on John Alexander's land in coastal Waverley.
It was successful and Waipipi Iron Sands was set up in 1971.
Three lives were lost during the mining operation. Captain Michael Ruffhead, Raymond Chenery and Mervyn Ericsson were drowned when Waipipi's service vessel Wairoa sank crossing the Whanganui River bar on July 5, 1978.
The book contains the names of 250 people who worked in the operation because Sole wanted to give everybody a voice.
Featured in the 06 January 2020 New Zealand newsletter.
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Pages : 170
Publisher : Unallocated
Publication date : 2019
Subjects: Non-fiction, Published in New Zealand, New Zealand, NZ History