§ 2. Mr. Robinsonasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what information he has received from his representatives who visited the United States and studied the experiment in the underground gasification of coal at the Gorgas Mine of the Alabama Power Company; and whether it is proposed to make a similar experiment in this country.
§ Mr. GaitskellRepresentatives of my Department and of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research were present at the conclusion of the underground gasification experiment at the Gorgas Mine, a full account of which has now been published by the United States Bureau of Mines. The question of conducting a similar experiment in this country is under consideration, but no decision on whether experimental work would be justified at this stage has been reached.
§ 3. Mr. Robinsonasked the Minister of Fuel and Power what information he has received about Belgian and Russian research and experiments in the underground gasification of coal.
§ Mr. GaitskellOfficers of the Fuel Research Station of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research have been in close touch with the Belgian scientists who are planning an experiment on underground gasification, and one of them visited the site last month. There is a considerable amount of published information on the Russian research and experiments, but it has not been possible to get into direct touch with the scientists concerned.