MINING NEWS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11562, 20 April 1903, Page 3

MINING NEWS.

Good progress is being made, says the Dunedin "Times,"' with the work of distn.intiing tho Merrimac dredge, which has been purchased by the Reeves's Proprietary Company, and the whole of the inacniiiery should bo seen ready for removal to tho "West Ccast. The engine, screen, .tickets, e<ar, and housing have all been taken off, and a* the beginning of this week the deck planking was Wing removed. Practically everything except the boiicr and gantry has now been taken off. Tho mister of the Greenstone Creek Company's dredge reports that owing: to the holidays and to stoppage for Tepairs, dredging was not resumed till Wednesday, and consequently there was no wash up Inst we;k. A meeting of tho shareholders in the Claughesy's Freehold Company has been called to consider the advisability ot the voluntary liquidation of the company. Thero was no return from the North Beach Company's dredge last week, on account cf the time lost in dealing with timber and in cleaning up the face. Tho master of the Feddersen Company's dredge telegraphed on Friday last, stating that operations were Tesumed on Thursday nght. the tables working satisfactorily. Owing to the alterations to the tables, thers was no Tcturn last week. The directors of the Blackwater River Company, at a meeting ou Friday, decided that 'he alterations to the tables on the dredge, suggested by the dredgemaster, be '.-airied out, and also to have the pontoons blocked off into five buikhead compartments. Our Dunedin corrcepondeu't writes: — Tin dredging returns throughout tho Otago and Southland districts for the coming winter promise to equal those cf the past, and more than ono company is now looking forward to being in a position to pny dividends. The success oi the industry in the Southland district has exceeded ail expectations. Since the inception of gold dredging there gold to the value of about £130.000 has been won, and the dividends declared in tho various districts havo been as follows:—Waimumu £92-19. Waikaka £.2fi2. Charlton £3500. outlying districts £827, making a total of £17,838. Considering the few dredges that are working in Southland as compared with the West Coa_>t and Otago that district must in time become cne of the best dredging fields in tho co'iany. Tho value of gold won is on tho increase every year. Tho "Westport News," of "Wednesday last, says:—"Writing in reference to our remaiks last week about the non-publication, or delay of publication, of returns from West Const dredges, a director states, in his particular case, he had not published the returns because they were low, owing to tho dredge being practically engaged in opening out a face. v\e arc, howeTcr, of the opinion that the pubho would have greater faith in tho companies, and would invest more freely, if tbo returns were published regularly, no matter whether they were large or small."