New Zealand - Mining Industry - N. Henderson erecting a carrying set at Bellevue Mine, Eight Mile, in the Grey coal fields - National Publicity Studios Photo - Circa 1960 Mining in New Zealand - Began when the Māori quarried rock such as argillite in times prior to European colonisation - Mining by Europeans began in the latter half of the 19th century. - New Zealand has abundant resources of coal, silver, iron ore, limestone and gold. It ranked 22 in the world in terms of iron ore production and 29th in gold production. - The total value of mineral production in New Zealand was $1.5 billion in 2006 (excluding oil and gas). - The most important metallic minerals produced are gold (10.62 tonnes), silver (27.2 tonnes) and titanomagnetite ironsand (2.15 million tonnes). - A 2008 report estimated that the unexploited resources of just seven core minerals (including gold, copper, iron and molybdenum) totalled around $140 billion in worth. (Reference: Wikipedia) Image source: Auckland Libraries Heritage Collections 895-A47942 Copyright: Archives New Zealand Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga https://kura.aucklandlibraries.govt.nz/digital/collection/photos/id/59850/rec/131