NEW ZEALAND MINES IN LONDON.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 13, 16 January 1897, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND MINES IN LONDON.

NEW ZEALAND V. RAND,

(tf&OM ODB SPECIAL COKSESTONPENT.)

London, December 4. DAVID ZIMAN ON NEW ZEALAND MINING. Me David Ziman has been interviewed by the "South Africao Star,"—a comparatively pew venture, chiefly concerned with the country indicated by its title—on the subjecb of New ZeaJand mining. The greater part of the reisult obtained by the journalist) concerns points upon which you need ne enligbtonmeut, bub in concluding Mr Ziman ■ was prevailed upon to make cemjpariEons between Now Zealand and tha Transvaal—-comparisons which I don't think poloniats will find in the least degree " odjua." Queried the reporter :—" Whab about miaing costs ?" *• They are much lower than in the •Transvaal, bat can be much reduced if a company has capital to baka advantage of the natural facilities offered. Tha white miners receive aboub £15 per month. Driving and cross-cutting costs 18a to 28s per footr, including ligkb and explosives. Milling coats ab present are under 2s per ton, aB tho barberies are driven by water power. There are no puusping expenses or water difficulties, bub ib will be understood that many economies can be effected if the funds are available." " Bub if you have plenty of water for mobor purpos3B you mnsb have waber in the minea ?" "That is £ conclusion which the wesb coaeb of bhe South Island conbradicbe," Baid Mr Ziman wibh emphasis. . Ib is an extraordinary facb thab though the country has a good rainfall and poseeoses large rivers, the mines at Reefton at least are dry, as is proved by tho facb thab no pumpa are used there. A little Burface water is bakeo up in the ■kipe, bub the lower levels are quite dry. We estimate thafe as much as 1,000 horse power can be obtained from some of the streams, bub we have on tho. spot all the walier power we require for our batteries. Cpal suitable for ocean-going steamships is delivered in tha hosier shads at oa perton, and the mining bitabar required is cub on our own mining areas; ib is good heavy timber, aad there is no lacli of it." •• Broadly speakiag, Mr Ziman, what are the distinctions between the conditions of gold mining ia New Zealand and t&e Transvaal ?" '■" Now Zealand haa three advantages over tho Transvaal. In New Zealand you bave cbeap dynamite, you have cheap railway rates, and you have a sympathetic Governmonb which recognises the importance of fostering the mining industry. In addition to that tho Gold Law is a liberal one. There »re no royalties, there are no concijßsiotiß, and the only direct charge is 10s per annum for each claim of one acre. '•' You have than, ovary reasoa bo expecb

success?" *'I think tha& we will do better than the few faq&s I .have given you woald indicate, bub I sfcsiU leave estimates to the mining experts in charge of our properties. Generally speaking, however, I think that ' w*> can reduce aiibing costs—which are ab present low—etui farther when the new equipment ia ab work." A JOHANNBSBURGER'S VIEW.

Shortly after rea&ng the interview with Mr Ziman I stumbled across Mr E. I*. Rathbone, a ruining engineer of great experience, who but xooanbly returned from the Transvaal, where be bad been Hying for nevea yeara. During the latter part of his exile, Mr Rathbono held the poaibion of Inspeotor of Minea, and was in charge of two of the principal g>old districts of the Raad, having uader his supervision fully fifty big gold and coail mining concerns. I casually asked this gentleman if he had noticed Mr Ziman's remarks on New Zealand caining. &*» had, and confessed thatbo was very much inteuwted in the Bbatemeats mads by Mr Zimaai in regard to the extraordinary econoaoicail conditions surrounding goldmining in the colony. He had, he'said, studied thfl working conditions of goldcaining in Wesb Australia, South Africa, America, aad almost overy other gold district in th» world, bufc he could name no place whicfi appeared to enjoy such favourable economic conditions aa New Zealand. Ho had read much about the colony's goldmining, and had talked matters over with many •pf "<>i3 expert frienda who had visited the colony s and had come to the conclusion than the outlook for goldmining in New Zealand, and more especially in those diatricta where large bodias of low grade ore had been proved to exjeti, waa exceptionally favourable. Mr Babhbone, in tho course of a faw pungent remarks, intimated t,ha& he had little faith in those minea which depended for existence on rich and patchy thin loada, and paid very little heed to the rock running ounces to the ton. It was, he said, very Bpldom that gold minea lived up to ounce raputatioas, and hia twenty years' experience in mining had proved to him that the boat results were obtained in working where, thq mineral is more or less evenly distributed over large areas and showing only a small percentage of metal pertoa of roo<c. ' Questioned as to the cosb of working mines an the Rand Mr Rath bone put it down as from 25s to 30a par ton of rock actually mined and milled, inclusive of all changes and coat of development. Of these amounts labour was responsible for approximately ana half, white misers getting from £20 to, £30 per month, as against from £12 to' £18 in New Zealand. Milling with »illß*rapging from 60 to 200 head of stamps ba calculated at no more than 2a to 3s per tjpp^-ttia with coal at 253 to 30s per toa, and inferior staff at thafc. On these two items alone New Zealand has a considerable advantage, said Mr Rathbone, and if it should be found that the largo deposits of low gn»de ore in. Naw Zealand can be worked on a. similar scale to those in the Band the success of the companies owning such properties is assured. "Acoordiug to Mr Ziman," continued the expert, " explosives are also much cheaper in New Zealand. In the Rand we have to pay £5 a case of 501 bs for ordinary ctynamifee. and £6 for gelatine, and thus explosives form quite a serious item in the cost of working. If it is a fact that New Zealand, dynamite can be obtained much cheaper, that of course makeß a third point In favour of the colony a8 against the Rand. And a more important fact for capitalists with money to invest in goldmining is that the Golonial Government seams disposed to be very sympathetic to the industry. This I know has caused many prominent men here who have iisharto stuck to the Rand through thick and thin to turn their attention to the colony, and if there ia to be a ' boom' in the Bpring, I am strongly of opinion that it will be ia^New Zealand mines." "Talking of points in New Zealands favour." eaid I, " what about timber ?" Mr Rathboae admitted thatthe colony had fehe whip hand there also, bub pointed out that fcho cost of timbering in mines of the Rond only ran to pence per ton. In its oative state the gold diatricb was absolutely treeless, but trees will grow there from seed to a useful size for mining purposes in levan years, co timbering is nob really 'nearly so serious an item in mining there %3 most people seemed to think. Still even {n this particular New Zealand has an advantage ever the Rand." •' And what about water poww; *• j^r 2ima.n'a remarks on thai) head latereßbed me, greasy, for with water power In combination with electrical ujachjqery ton can get the cheapest) results possible.

Another point is the seemingly general amenability of the New Zealand auriferous stone to cyanide. The importance of this can hardly be over-estimated, since ib has been seriously proposed that the amalgamating process shall be done away with and all rock crushed sufficiently fine to admit! of direct treatment. On the Rand cyanide costs between Is 6d and 2s Id per Ib, and it is found that with very low grade etuff—aar.da and elimea—containing from 3 to 6 dwts per ton, that solutions of from | to f per cent, of cyanide are sufficiently strong to dissolve out from 80 to 90 per cent, of the whole gold contents. This means that the cyanide itiself would cost about Is per ton. In the Rand the labour runs to another shilling, so, assuming that there are no royalties to be paid, the cost of extraction, including milling, will be provided for in a. single pennyweight of fine gold. Under the conditions in New Zealand the cost should be something less, so properties eon-

taining large bodies of auriferous rock if worked as on the Rand with all tho up-to-date appliances-and on a generous scale should pay well on any extractions over six pennyweights. The total coat of working such bodies of atone ought not to exceed 10a per ton." The profits on the Rand, Mr Rathbone informed me, rarely exceeded 10s per ton of ore treated, and that viewed from investment poinb of view most of the wellknown and successful mines there were ab their present price very much overcapitalised. But, then, he considers 10 par cent., plus amortisement, only a lair return upon capital invested in goldmining. KAPAIVERMONT.

The only prospectus publicly issued this week which concerns New Zealand is thab of the Kapai-Vermonb Goldmining Company distributed ou Thursday. The capital of this company is fixed ab £150.000 in shares of £1 each. Of these bhe vendors bak« 40,000 in parb payment of the purchase consideration, which is £125,000, and the remaining 110,000 shares are oflered to the public. Whether the issue will be successful or otherwise remains to be seen. My latest advices are thab applications for prospectuses have been very numerous. The prospectus is certain ly a very fair document aud proves the mine to be a solid developed property of considerable performance and much promise. The cash consideration, however, is rather high, no less than £40,000 being required, and this may choke off a good many people. The Board is a fairly good one, and consists of Sir Thomas Fancred (W.A, Development Corporation), Lieub.Colonel E.. C. Bensley (Tokatea Consols G.M. Ltd.), MrH. Chester Master (Aladdins Lamp G.M. Company), Mr D. K. Inglis (Taron Son Company), and Mr J. J. Hamilton, M.E. (Mounb Hepburn G.M. Company). The last - named gentleman will bo the managing director in London, and Captain Argall is to be the Consulting Engineer. The shares ara to be paid for thus :—la on application, 4s on allotment, 2s 6d on December 15bh, 2s 6d on January 4tb, 5s a monbh later, and the remaining 5a on March 4th.

ROYAL STANDARD. Some three or four weeks ago I mentioned that the Koyal Standard Goldmines

would shortly bo placod before the investing public and applications are now being made privately for 60.000shareB, of which I understand over 31,000 have already been applied for and allotted, and I doubt not fchab the amount required will be more than covered. Nearly 4,000 nhares have been upplied for from New Zealand, The entire capital of the company has been fixed ab £200,000, of which £50,000 will be eet aside for working capital. The faeb thab the New Zealand vendors take the whole of their intore&b in shares is one of the moat favourablo featurea connected with the undertaking. The mine is being floated by the Discoverers' Finance Corporation who before concluding the purchase requested Capt. Hodge to roporb upon bbc property.. He made a thorough inspection and this is the coneiusiouhe has arrived at:—"l am looking forward to seeinf; shia property rival the Waihi ; tSiio I feel persuaded will bo the result wish proper rc-.v.vM^Ginenb and ample working capital." Thw property hstu also been reported upon by Mr Adams, Mr J, G. Ralph. Mr Andrew 3. Faberson, and Mr J. It. Robinson, and they are all highly impressed with its value. With only forty head ot stamps ab work the neb profit) is estimated abover £38,000 per annum. The average value of fcuo ore as per assays eonb

by Captain Hodge is £5 per ton, while the estimate of cost of mining, milling, agencies and all expenses, is only 25a pur ton. Mr E. Kersey Cooper leaves next week to superintend the taking over ot tho property, jto appoinb a local staff and generally to | take the initial steps fer the opeuing out of the mine and for the erection of the neces sary machinery and plant. THE ROYAL OAK AND TOKATEA. In presiding over fehe Royal Oak of Hauraki and Tokaten Goldmining Companies on Thursday, Mr O. Hardie had little to tell the shareholders in either concern of a nature to make them enthusiastic. In both cases he had to tell a tale of unproductive development work, and leave the shareholders to comfort themselves with the knowladge thab Captain Hodee was confideHb in his expectations of future dividends, and thab Capt. Argall approved of Cape. Hodge's proceedings on the mines, and felb equally hopeful of good results—by and by. The mosb importaut point in Mr Kardie's speeches to both groups of shareholders was thab touching the mooted amalgamation of the two properties, a 9tep strongly recommended by Captain Hodge, and apparently approved by the directors of the mines. Of course, Mr Hardie was not in a position to submit any scheme of amalgamation then and there; indeed, he seemed to think, thab some considerable difficulties were to be surmounted before an arrangement to suit the tastes ot both bodies'of shareholders could be devised. He was hopeful, however, that the outcome of Mr Cecil Hartridge's visit to New Zealand would enable the directors of the companies to submit a definite scheme in the course of two or three months.

I do nob conceive that ib would serve any good purpose to enter into details of either Mr Hardie'a or Captain Argall's speeches ab the respective meetings. The latter supported the proposal for amalgamation. Mr Nathan, speaking ab the Royal Oak meeting, expressed great confidence in the property and cautioned the shareholders against being disappointed ab the delay in obtaining results. A mine of this 'sorb took from three bo seven years to fully develop, Personally, he had no doubt of its value. He was a large shareholder and had not sold a single share. He lived in Auckland and had been in and out of mines for many years, It only they supported, the Board with ample funds ho folb sure they would find they had a very yaluable properby, With regard fco amalgamation with the Tokatea Company be wished bo impress upon the shareholders thab they should amalgamate wholly and solely on equal terms or nob at all, and if the directors wanted more money for development! leb them put their bands in their pockets as be was prepared to do. He regarded the present price of the shares on the market as absolutely ridiculous. With regard to future management, he urged that Captain Hodge should have a mine manager specially appoinbed under his supervision, as H was highly important thab they should have a man who would devote the whole of his bima and attention to the property. The Chairman said ib was the inbenbion of the Board bo appoint Captain Hodge as their consulting engineer, and have on the mine a competent resident manager. Mr Barber expressed a strong opinion as to the value of the properby, bub told the shareholders that ib was necessary thab they'

should have a little pabienca concerning development. No doubt the delay had had tha eflecb of creating some want of confidence in the property on the part of the public, but considering the difficult^* against which Captaia Hodge had had to contend he was of opinion that very satisfactory progress had baan made. Mr Boltoa moved a resolution to the effect bhat the whole of the expenditure incurred in London and New Zealand be carried to the mine's purchase account, and explained thab if this course were nob adopted all the expenditui'a incurred in opening up the mine would have to be written oft at otce. Hia proposition was agreed to as was a similar one submitted by him to the Tokatea meeting. Tke discussion at the latter meeting was opened by a Mr Lyell, who urged upon the directors bhe necessity of retrenchment in connection with the expenses of the company considering tho state of the accounss, and pointed out thai the company had only got cash to the extent of £7,800 and a call equal to £7,500. The Chairman, in reply, said that although some of tho items in the account might appear a little high, ib ought to be remembered thab the accounts really represented eighteen months, and the minebeing situated at such a great distance from London they could not get to work immediately after tho Company was incorporated. The proportion of expenses in subsequent years would probably be very much less, bub whab Mr Lyell had said only led him fche more strongly to urge amalgamation.

A shareholder a*ked why the Company had only crushed 16 tons of ore. The Chairman, referred to the amount of dead work which had to be done, aud remarked that although eiome of them had hoped to have better returns than they had had still he did not think anything had occurred to lead them to doubt the ultimate value of the mine. Tho preliminary work had taken longer than they originally expected, and they muoo juab exercise a little patience. Mr Bolbon pointed oub that) Captain Hodge in his report atated thab 'a brial crushing of 5 toaa gave roeulbs of 320z of gold, and having bad to abandon this on account of too much water for manual labour they then determined to sink a shaft 200 ft easterly.' Waber had, therefore, interfered with their operations.