THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS.

Otago Witness, Volume 11, Issue 2280, 11 November 1897, Page 21

THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS.

The general manager of the Lake George Mines, N.S.W., in his report for the week ending October 23, states that No. 1 tunuel in the southern section is yielding iron goran of fair -value for fluxing ; that No. 2 winbe, gold tunnel has been sunk 31ft on payable gold ore ; that the slopes north stud south in Brijjhfc's shaft are yielding high-grade copper sulphide from pyritic lode ; and that the silver stopes of the 100 ft level are yielding payable mixed sulphides' In the northern section the stopes in three levelt are yielding payable sulphides, and all the faces looking well. All the four smelting furnaces "were in blast. A dividend of I! 8 per shave has bten declared by ,the Enterprise Gold Dredging Company, payable to-d«y. „ • • A final dividend to shareholders of the United Hercules Company is now payable. The directors of the Roxburgh Amalgamated Mining and Sluicing Company have declined a dividend of 6d per share, payable on Monday, Bth inst. It is reported that the Cromwell tributers have struck a naw line of reef about 2ft wide.—Croin- '' well Argus. - < ■ A meeting of the provisional directors t of the , • Permanganate .Gold Becovery Syndicate (Limited) was held last Thursday evening, -when the secre- " tar.? (Mr S. 15. Brent) reported that applications had'been received for all the, shares offered to the ' public, 'i he shares were accordingly allotted, and notices-j)osted. „ , - -Alpine Company. — The following ' , -telegram was • received from the chairman of " %<iireetors yesterday' 4 . — "i^ortK Block stTuck No. 10, level, Alpine; gold visible; 6ft 6in wide ' already." " '■ "• ' ' - Mr W. J. Stanford, manager of the Gleureck Consolidated (Limited), reports that the clean-up for October .yielded 431r.z smelted gold from 374 tons crushed. .-.. Messrs JSievwrighfßros. and Co , mining agents, High Rtreet, report the registration of the Ophir Gold Dredging Company (Limited), with a capital of £6000, to work claims near the BlacVs township. The directors gf the Roxburgh Amalgamated Mining and Sluicing Company notify that the dividend of 6d per share is now payable. * The Dunstan Times reports :—": — " The Eureka No. 2 is leported to ba doing very well lately, averaging 40oz to 50oz per week. The Eureka No. 1 has Etarted again just above the Molyneux bridge. Ihe >'gapar* No. 1 -is reported to be doing very- well." The Mount ,'Jda Chronicle says:— "we have

"been afforded an opportunity of seeing Guffie and party's wash-up for the past month's work of their two elevators. Piled up on the large pan in which we saw it, it was a si^ht pleasant to the eye and

one which mjght make tbe uninitiated non-miner determine to doff the coat and don the gum boot that he too might experience like good things. The amount expressed in ounces^ we may remark, requires three figures to indicate it." The other day we (Wynctham Farmer) nion- • tioned that a party of miners from Waitahuna had gone to Waikawa with a view to searching for the precious metal. On Tuesday last a representative of" the Farmer interviewed Mr Henry ' Hagan, the senior member of the party, on his ; way through Wyndham, and gleaned the foliowi ing particulars of interest •: — FourniinTTR — Messrs (Heuiy Hagan, Erasmus '('Jhlsen, and William aud . Oustav Hagan — formed the prospecting pa>ty. ." Thejr .represent a woiMng syndicate of 13, all tried . and experienced 'men at the alluring »«ne. The ' four were deputed io report generally on the • prospectß. -The situation is Ind Six-mile Be*ch, 1 and the ground -has been worked before by Bru«- ,• ton!s -dredge.- That 'gold is to be'obtained there is •' known "beyond a .doubt ; indeed, we understand that during the dredging operatious gold to the value of £7000 was won. But dredging, co the . Waitahuna prospectors aver, is not what's wanted at the Six-mile, as it is too costly. They inteud working the beach by hydraulic elevation, and ou that principle are satisfied it should give handsome profit?. In order to secure this hydraulic "power they find that a water race extending over 13 miles will have to be cut. They have already surveyed <the proposed route of this race, which runs all the way through dense bush. The race will be started on a hill 350 ft above sea level, and in addition to its length of 13 miles some two miles and a-half of piping will have to be run along' the "beach. The race will pass through Crown land all the way, and it is anticipated that it ~will take about 18 months to cut. The party proposes to sink £6000 in the speculation, which vouches for the faith the members have in it. The 'four prospectors have temporarily faraalten Six-mile until their application for water rights has been considered ; in the meantime -their hands are tied. Tbis has all the appearance of being a plucky venture. The men connected with it have every appearance of being of the right stamp, and we hope in due time to chronicle that it 'has proved a regular Bonanza for "them.

The Bams paper says: — "Ota 'Creek diggings have been in 'operation for some years -now, but they are generally voted 'poor man's country.' 'The diggings are situated in Lindhurst district, ■about sixmilesfrom Edendale, on aSOO-acre block of Government land facing towards the main road. There are-three -gullies, all of which are worked. Generally spunking, 14 or IS men -are to he found -working there.lmt.at present there are only eight. • Oae jnan, Andrew Johnston, has worked there .-for tbe~past eight years,, and another, Daniel „ M'Lean, has p"nt in. six-years:- .With the sanguine ■ nature of the typical "digger, these men are hold- ' ing-on in tbe hope th»t they "will -yet ' strike it -' Tien.', TJhey go "m dot box-sluicing. Two milas i; /further along, on i the other -side of the hill, tbe { Wadsworth party of -father anS .four sons is- at work. They are on a 500-Acre block of Government land, .and claim to have struck payable ground. They 'hare plenty ol water at^resent. Want of

capital is hampering their operations, but they are hopeful of floating a company. This Government block is~surrounded by private property." Writing of the visit of JSIr H. Brett, of Auckland, to the -Blue Spur,- the Tuapeka Times says; The operations at the Consolidated Company's were conducted on a scale that "somewhat surprised and astonished him, as did also the methods adopted on the dredges for securing the precious metal. Mr Brett was highly impressed by the solidity of the mining industry in this district. In the Auckland district, he says, the mining industry is not in then .urishing condition it was a few years ago. But here, he- says, the industry has come to stay, and he thinks that of the future prosperity of the district there is a settled assurance. Mr Brett left on Wednesday afternoon for the north.