Colony of North Borneo annual report.

  • British North Borneo
Date:
[1962]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Colony of North Borneo annual report. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    266/344 page 210
    Coal Coal has been mined at Silimpopon and on Labuan Island. Seams also occur at Weston, at various localities in the Upper Kinabatangan, near Sandakan and in the Serudong Valley. At Silimpopon, a colliery operated from 1905 to 1932 and produced about one-and-half million tons of coal, largely for supply to ships’ bunkers. Fall in demand caused by the growing use of oil, together with financial and mining difficulties, forced the colliery to close. A recent survey showed that fourteen million tons of sub-bitu¬ minous coal may remain but probably not all of this could be mined. At Labuan, coal was produced for sixty years but production was probably only about half a million tons; mining stopped in 1912, largely because of difficulties in dewatering the mine. An investigation by Powell Duffryn Technical Services in 1948 suggested that mining might be resumed without great difficulty and that nine million tons of sub-bituminous non-coking coal may still exist in one seam alone. A ninety-nine-year lease, granted to the Central Borneo Company in 1889 and subsequently assigned to the Labuan Exploration Company in 1918, included the right to mine coal on the island but, as far as is known, this company has no present plans to develop the coalfield. DETAILS OF LEASE AND LICENCE AREAS SHOWN ON MAP No. Licensee or Lessee 1 Shell Company of North Borneo Limited 2- 6 Shell Company of North Borneo Limited 7 Shell Company of North Borneo Limited 8-12 Borneo Mining Limited 13-14 Borneo Mining Limited 15-17 A. Soriano Y Cia Duration Remarks Until 1988 Under lease for petro¬ leum and other mineral oil from Labuan Explo¬ ration Company, which also holds rights for coal, iron ore, firestone and fireclay. Until 2016 Lease for crude oil, na¬ tural gas, clays, shales and other bituminous substances. Until 1966 Marine prospecting li¬ cence for petroleum. Annual Prospecting licence for chromite, iron ore (in¬ cluding nickeliferous li- monite), magnesite and manganese ore. Annual Prospecting licence for chromite. Annual Prospecting licence for copper, lead, zinc, gold - and nickel ores (includ¬ ing nickeliferous limo- nite).
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