MINING NEWS.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 386, 1 October 1903, Page 5

MINING NEWS.

The river has fallen during the - week, the height at the Alexandra bridge last evening being 4|ft above the " normal " mark.

TbeNgapara No 3 dredge, Nevis, resumed work on Monday.

The Chicago dredge is working steadily, and the wash now being operated on shows signs of improving. Tenders are called for in this issue for the purchase of the Coronation dredge. The Dnnstan Lead dredge resumed work on Saturday, after a week's stoppage for some necessary repairs. The following items are from the "Cromwell Argus":— We hear that the Alpine Consols struck good gold on Friday night at the middle part of the claim.—We are informed that the Golden Chain, at Luggate, was work' log on a hard tight wash resembling that on which the Rise and Shine is working, but could not deal with it This tends to show that this immense body of wash extends to the Luggate. —The contractor, Mr Knewstubb, hunched the pontoons of the Loch Lomond 6.D. Co, on Saturday, and he expects to complete the work in about six weeks.

The Manuherikia dredge still keeps «n golden wash, the return last Saturday •bowing a considerable improvement on that for the previous week. Sluicing operations on the Molyneux Hydraulic Go's claim are proceeding briskly. There is at present a good supply of water, and a considerable amount of top stuff is being sluiced •way daily. The ground is being •tripped to a level than will admit of the dredge working to advantage. The Perseverance No 2 dredge •topped last Thursday to allow of a sew platform being put on. As the dredge is to be worked in the current, it was deemed advisable that a new platform should be substituted for the present one, in order to strengthen the pontoons. Mr J Knewstubb is doing the work, which will be completed in •bout three weeks' time. The No 1 dredge is working steadily. UPPER OLUTHA, (From our own correspondent) Things are looking brisk about the Lowburn at present. Since my last notes, further developments have evolved, gold being struck in two bores •t the out'et of the Lowburn Creek—one situate about 100 yards from the junction of Lowburn with the river, and the second about 250 yards further up the creek. As these holes are well within the river flat, it does not prove tiie Lowburn Greek payably auriferous, but it proves the great width of payable wash in the Olutha. It has been arranged to dismantle the Gibhston dredge and re-erect it on this claim. The return of SOoz from the lately started Rising Sun tends to show that the lead of heavy wash runs right up the river, similar in every particular to what is being worked on the Rise and Shine claim further down, and it also furnishes proof of the soundness of your correspondent's ideas about the goldbearing drifts of the Clutha. Years ago, when Alexandra investors took up the Lindis, I told them plainly that they passed by the golden ground and invested in a rank duffer, and they Boon found that they were following a shadow; but they still refused to touch the Clutha, owing to some would-be experts giving it as their opinion that there was not any gold in that river, Tho best of it is that there is a considerable number of shares in Olutha claims held locally, so that all the dividends will not go out of the district. There are now in the vicinity of the Lowburn two dredges getting payable gold, two under construction, two more on the road up to their respective claims, and arrangements have been made to erect another, shares being at a premium, with no sellers. Several more claims have been applied for, and all is activity' and push; whereas a short time ago the Clutha had been left forsaken by a lot of pigmy dredges that have since then either been sunk or cut up for firewood, and their owners lamenting their time and money •pent in exploiting where no payable gold existed. But times are changed —out of chaos came order—and with good dredges and powerful machinery came gold in payable quantities whereever the bottom was reached, and now a dredging investment in this locality is looked upon as fully as safe as any in the neignorhood of Alexandra. But I will say no more. Still, I think we are on the right road at last.

DIVIDENDS. The following dividends have been declared during the week:— Hartley and Riley Dredging Co., 5s per •bare Unity Dredging Co., Is per share DREDGING RETURNS. The following are the returns for the week ending Saturday, September 26th, 1903: osdwtgn lfanuherikia, Alexandra. 136hre 386 0 0 Hartley and Riley. Cromwell ... 262 0 0 Bamsclengh No 2. Alexandra wk 87 6 0 first Chance. Alexandra ... 76 0 0 Roxburgh Jnbilee,Roxb'rgb,l3Bh 61 15 6 Rising Bnn, Cromwell, ... 80 16 0 New Half-way House. Clyde Rd 49 16 6 Golden Ron. Mfllere Flat ... 48 0 0 Enterprise No 2, Alexandra ... 46 IB 0 If onte Christo, Clyde, week ... 46 0 0 Perseverance No. I. Alexandra ... 44 18 16 Cromwell No. 1, Cromwell ... 44 18 0 Electric No. I, Cromwell ... 42 9 0 Bandy Point, Alexandra, ... 40 5 0 Electric No 2, Cromwell ... 37 16 0 Sneddon's Freehold, Waikaka.wk 36 0 0 RJm and Shine, Upfer Olntha *.- 33 2 0 OUgo No 2, Beaumont ... 32 0 0 Bendigo, below Alexandra ... 32 0 0 Waikaka United No l.Waikaka 29 0 0

Unity, Clyde, week ... ... 28 0 0 > Waikaka Queen, Waikaka ... 27 18 0 Golden Bod. Miller's Flat, sdys.. 26 10 0 Cromwell No. 2. Cromwell ... 26 3 0 Muddy Creek, Waikaia, wk ... 24 16 0 Empire No I, Waipori ... 24 1 0 Upper Waipori, Waipori. wk ... 24 0 o Waimnmu Extended, Gore 23 7 0 New Paul's Beach, Beaumont ... 23 1 0 Otago. Miller's Flat, 4dys ... 23 0 0 Inch Valley, near Palmerston ... 22 2 0 New Teviot, Roxburgh, ... 2111 0 Ettrick, Roxburgh, 135brs ... 21 10 0 Taniwha. Tuapeka River ... 20 14 0 Enterprise No I, Alexandra ... 19 17 0 Davis Bend No 2, above Clyde ... 19 13 0 Royal Waimnmu, near Gore 19 4 0

Enfield, Waipori 19 0 0 Happy Valley. Tuapeka. wk 18 17 0 Mystery Flat, Waikaia, ... 18 12 0 Golden Gate. Millers Flat, 3dys 18 9 0

Majestic, Miller's Flat.„ ... 18 0 0 Waikaka Syndicate .Waikaka ... 18 0 9 Inchdale, near Palmerston, ... 17 16 0 Chicago, Alexandra, 12Chrs ... 17 10 18 Central Charlton, near Gore, 124 hr 16 16 0 Olrig.Manuherikia, 120h ... 16 8 0 Waikaka United No 2, Waikaka 16 0 O Charlton Creek, near Gore ... IS 0 0

Reliance, Tuapeka Flat ... 15 14 0 MacCharlton, near Gore, 136hrs 15 6 0 Moa No 2, Alexandra, brokeh wk 15 0 0 Lower Enfield, Waipori, ... 14 11 0 Golden Treasure, Miller's Flat,... 13 0 0 Riley's Beach. Cromwell, 12 IS 0 Waikaka, Waikaka, 131brs ... 11 10 0 Perseverance No. 2, Alexandra... 11 8 0 Lawrence, Tuapeka Flat, 6dys 11 6 0 New Alpine Consols, Cromwell, 10 315 Oceanic Steam, Waipori ... 8 4 0

Total for 63 dredges. 2299 4 13 Average per dredge 36 0 0