BIG MINING VENTURE,

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 180, 25 April 1908, Page 6

BIG MINING VENTURE,

INTERVIEW.WITH. MR. G. S. MABEN,

■nr J « n of tho .firm of Maben, ,Welch- and; Co., mining,,'civil, .-and electrical .ongmeers, who are to instal the plant for the Ross .Flat' Gbldfields, Ltd., returned from England, by tho. Waikare on Thursday. In company with .Mr., H. Montaguo Smyth, engineer, for tho company, he visited England, and.after tho latter gentleman hail.seen some of-the.,.principal; mines, in England and Wales"' where unwatering operations' were necessary. he;:decided what, was necessary for tho'.Ross Flats-.mine, ,and.,' after deliberation" as to what- Was tho"-best; • an. order was placed for four Worthington, -high-lift . four-stage tur-' bine pumps, each of which was capable of pumping .1000: gallons a minut-o.' .Mr.-Maben--said , that' nothing like these pumps had - ever been seen in" New. Zealand," and that there were only two in Australia—two capable of pumping 850 gallons .per minite that; were in, • operation "on A the Victorian Deep Leads. Two of theso pumps ordered were of the typo known as horizontal fixed, two wore sinking pumps which could Jio raised/or. lowered., as; demanded. The power of the" pumps aggregated 1100 horse-power, -each. being so constructed as to give 50'per,cent!; more than the pumpmakers' rated: horse-power. The Pelton . wheels, ■ which • are to catch : the water and drive' the three-phase motors, will be of 'British (Thompson and Houston) inanufacturo, which'firm -has also been entrusted with 'the-switch gear sighters, etc. The wheels' would-be similar to' those 'in use at the Cauvery, Falls in India. - Mr.' Mab-eri is convinced that the best plant in the .world has been obtained,, and . has great hopes . that it will. be : the forerunner of a general -introduction of uprto-dato methods in. alluvial -mining 'in New Zealand. Tho plant which'woiild'not begin to arrive for at: least another six • months would cost approximately £25,000. Mr. Maboi is to leave for tho .West Coast next week-to .supervise the erection of tho overhead wires in connection with tho plant.