A NEW MINING ENTERPRISE.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 28, 25 May 1870, Page 5

A NEW MINING ENTERPRISE.

■A milling work of considerable raagnid tude, and one which, if successfully carried tl out,'will prove of immense beuefit to this 981 district, is, wo believe, shortly to be under- °* taken by some gentlemen of large practical' l experience, who are confident of more than na nar y aucoess * n the proposed speculate In the Bannookburn, district there til , ia a large extent of ground, known to be th highly auriferous, but which it is at present " utterly impossible to work, owing to the great scarcity of water. Much of this ground, dispersed over a considerable area, " has been prospected in former years by H ininers, some of whom are even now ret i . siding* in the district; but, as we have beaj fpre said,, owing to the absence of the t e ijecessary water-supply, they were unable )W to find any means of profitably working it, , j and it has consequently remained in its . e t primitive state. To supply this want seveaj ral capitalists have for some time past been )a ] making enquiries as to the possibility of B0 securing water that would command the M( ground, and with such success that they t e feel confident of being able to bring in a j u race capable of delivering fifteen sluicet heads. The source from which this wateren supply will be obtained is a never-failing r stream, taking its rise in the Remarkables, and known as Coal Creek. This stream rises at such a great altitude that it is con ; fidently anticipated the water can be ™ brought on to the top of the Carrick Range, ' ri thus commanding ground at a height that " will give an amply sufficient fill for m the tailings, a desideratum the want of Ul which so frequently makes the successful ** working of even payable auriferous ground ™ an utter impossibility. It is calculated that;the race in question will have to o traverse a distance of over fifteen miles, pt "and in one place a gorge nearly 350 feet er - in depth, has to be crossed. This, gorge, ih owing to its depth, it would be imW possible to flume, and some other scheme w will therefore have to be devised in order to overcome the difficulty. This important work, it is estimated, will cost about £SOOO. It..will be the means of giving remunerative employment to a much larger population at the BanJr nockburn, and as a consequence will rriate--01 rially increase the prosperity of the whole district. The European population of the * Bumockburn district is at present about 150 : with this increased water-supply it __ is anticipated that it will be at the lowest computation 400. We sincerely hope that • as little delay as possible will take place I , in the inauguration of this important work, j t ' and that it will ere long be successfully completed, and prove remunerative to a jh, degree that may exceed the expectations of ui its promoters. We understand that the ih ,- gentlemen who hove taken this matter in J hand intend to form themselves into a ;r! company, with a certain number of shares ed of the requisite amount each. The great :d majority of the shares will be taken up by the promoters themselves, but we underM stand that a few will be offered to the he public. The Government should do all in y. ' its power to aid the progress of this scheme P' for supplying the powerful agent that will iie be the means of settling a large and indus--Ixß trious population in a district at present but sparsely populated. We suggest that 1 a either a subsidy should be given on the completion of the race, or a guai'antee of a .' moderate per centage on the capital in- ' vested by the company. The necessary j survey of the country over which the race j will be brought will no doubt be made by the Government on application. We trust j_ to have occasion at some future date to i . refer to the successful carrying-out of this r0 project, and in the meantime the promoters „. have our best wishes for the realisation of in their expectations.