asked the Minister of Fuel and Power if he will publish figures to show the consumption of oil and petrol per ton of opencast coal excavated.

I regret that precise figures are not available but I estimate that rather less than half a gallon of petrol and about two gallons of diesel oil are consumed per ton of opencast coal excavated.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what is the highest cost per ton of opencast coal at present being excavated; and what is the lowest cost.

The highest production cost at present is 57s. 5d. per ton and the lowest 14s. 3d. These figures include, of course, the cost of restoring the land.

asked the Minister of Fuel and Power what is the total amount of dollars which have been allocated for the purchase of machinery for opencast coalmining operations in this country.

About 29 million dollars.