MINING IN NEW ZEALAND.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXV, Issue 194, 15 August 1904, Page 2

MINING IN NEW ZEALAND.

THE MINES STATEMENT. AUCKLAND GOLD RETURNS. £-874,070 FOR THE YEAR. HIGHEST IN THE COLONY. The annual statement of the Minister for Klines, which has been laid on the table of the House, is very satisfactory reading from an Auckland point of view, us the export of gold for the year 1003 ending March 31, 1904, was 533.3140Z, valued at £2,037,831, compared with £I,So 1,433 in the former year. During that period Auckland exported 233,27 loz, valued at £834,070, an increase of 30,1130z. West Coast exported 126,1540z, valued at £504,545; and Otago exported 171,4590z, valued at £090,141, an increase of £16,433. The Auckland goldfields' returns, therefore, heads the list for the colony, being £330.225 more than the output from the West Coast, and £144,820 more than Otago. In addition to the gold, however, the bulk of the silver exported also comes from Auckland, and under that heading there is also an increase. During the first six months of the present year gold was exported to the v:>.lue of £1.024,082, an increase of £<fi.261 on the first half of last year. Silver shows an increase of £5258. The statement also mentions that last year the Waihi Company produced £693,107 8/9, and paid dividends totalling £250.000, besides employing 1100 persons, Karc. ngahake mines produced £182,094 12/1. and employed 452 persons. The royalty obtained by the Government in respect to the patent risrMs of the cyanide process of gold .ext:action foT New Zealand ajuounts to £7505. oi rather more than three-fourths of the amount originally paid. When the royalties now imposed on users of the patented process have reimbursed the Government, all charges in this connection will cease so far as this colony is concerned. kauri gum is peculiarly an Auckland product it is interesting to note that during the year 9357 tons, having a value of £631.102. was exported. This shows an increase of 1927 tons, representing a value of £ 130.879, in eompa'i "on with the exports for the year 1902. The average value was £67 8/1 pei

1 ton, or £6 \per ton ia excees o ; that of the previous year. II toU th: - 'be seen that in gold and gum alenAuckland district last year exported v total vain* of £1,485,172. Taking minerals generally the export for the whole colony for the calendar ' year 1903 was £3,530,654, being an increase of £309,032 on the previous year. ( The total value of gold, silver, coal, and other minerals (including kauri gum), produced up to the end of ISO 3, was £85,813540. The expenditure on roads and tracks during the financial year amounted £40J354 3/1, this being a decrease of £6096 2/3, as compared with the expenditure of the preceding year. Including the grants made to the School of Mines at Otago University, the expenditure on behalf of schools of mines was £2366 for the year. The coal industry also shows considerable progress. The output of coal and lignite for the year was tons, an increase of 55,189 tons. The Northern district produced 209,795 tons, an increase of 17,750 tons; West Coast, 781,032 tons, increase 27,216 tons; Southern district, 429,402 tons, increase 10,223 tons. The gross recorded output of coal, lignite, and oil shale now exceeds 18,500,000 tons. Among the collieries of the North Island, those of the Taupiri coal mines are first in point of tonage raised, their output for the year being 95,556 tons. This puts the company's mines third in order for the entire colony. The total number of mines returned as having been at work during the year is 178, the average number of persons employed being 2852. It will thus be seen that the credit side of our various industries in minerals reads well, but there ia, unfortunately, a sad feature in that the fatalities in mines numbered 23, of which nine were in quartz reefing. This is the total out of 13,062 persons employed in mining in the colony. There are 2538 miners employed in Auckland, 110 in Marlborouerh," 2057 in Nelson, 1453 in Wretiand. and 3031 in Otasro, a total of 9189 for the colony. In Waihi there are 1250 employed, against 1195 last year. The number for Coromandel has decreased from 240 to 114; Thames from 47S to 380, and Paeroa from 735 to 636. The total employed in the Auckland dis- ■ trict has decreased by 214.