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Geology of the Provinces of Canterbury and Westland, New Zealand : a report comprising the results of official explorations

Limestones

Limestones.

The palæozoic rocks, although generally remarkably deficient in lime, nevertheless yield some deposits of value for the lime-burner. There are several localities in the Malvern Hills, such for instance as the page 464Four Point range on the right, and Frank's Knob on the left bank of the Selwyn, as well as in the Middle Kakahu, where excellent limestones and marbles, the latter sometimes consisting of nearly pure carbonate of lime, exist in considerable quantities. Some of the calcareous deposits of the Waipara and Oamaru formations will also burn to good lime, either for the usual building purposes or for hydraulic work. Some of the flaggy limestones, consisting mostly of minute pieces of shells and corals, as for instance at Mount Somers caves, form excellent material for the limekiln.

The lithographic stone obtained at the Abbey rocks, West Coast, in good sized blocks, although not able to compete entirely with the Solenhofen and some other Bavarian stones, will nevertheless be of considerable use for transfer work, and many other purposes where the partially veined appearance of the surface is not a drawback. Otherwise its quality is excellent. At the same mentioned locality and at the Grey an almost inexhaustible supply of very good limestones for the kiln is available.