Mining.

Dunstan Times, Issue 2096, 24 September 1901, Page 5

Mining.

The Clyde Dredging Company have declared a dividend of 2s per share- The Company have a reserve fund of £SOO.

The Undaunted Company, at Matakanui washed np 3u2oz ior three weeks work.

The fact that accidents resulting in the sinking of a few dredges haue occur, d at various places in the colony, necessitates, in my opinion at least, c msidcrat on as In the advisability oi building the pontoons iu warerlile compartments. The necessity [or this may not be so gieat in Uuuidredging where Hie dredges are not, as a rule, so large as modern river - dredges, and the supply ot water can he cut oil' the paddock and the latter drained, thus allowing the pontoons to be baled 0.pumped dry, and the d edge refloated by the readmission of water to the paddock. But on swift-llowing .-.nd deep riverssuch ;<s the Olutha, Kawarau, Waiau, Grey, and Buller —the case is altogether different and the sinking of a large dredge a much more serious matter Although the risk to life may be small, the risk of damage and loss ic property is consider-

able. 'J ho addition .1 cost ol dividing up tin.- pontoons into watertight c jrnpartruents would in many instances be money well spent.- Inspector Hayes, F.S.Sc-. The Unity had a lot of broken time las!: week. ' Hcpai s were oft'ecled to t.lio air pump, and the dredge is now in good working order The Matau, though hampered by travelling drift, yielded a hj nidsome eel 'i! n for last week. It is pleasing -o know that the debentures in the Vincent Extended Company have all been applied lor. The fact that i lu; n turns for I lie past two wee s haw shown considerable improvement nodoubi accounted for the debentures going oil'. The prospects are still good, we believe. In order to allow the bottom to be fffeelivi :y tieated some minor alterations were 1.1 (ie last week wihch allow dredging to be carried on a few inches deeper. At the meeting of sbareholde s held in Dunedin hut week (the reporl of which appears in anothe ■• column) t.he dredgemaster said that the die go was running splendi ly, and be did not think there was ! a dredge on the liver that had had less st ppages—truly, very satisfactory. The trouble, he said, was the tremendous depth of the ground. We believe, however, that the ground, at present hoiug iterated on

is not nearly so deep as n orhsr parts of the claim, and that the dredge can bottom vithout difficu ty. The Great Central is clo ed do • n, pending the issue of debentu es. he ladder is to bo lengthened e me ix feet. A dividend ot Is 6M per share has bee;; declared by the liquidator in llie Now Alexanfl a 1 'ompany. Ihe Monte Chris o's return for last week, though not so good as herotofor •, is till a. very handsome out:. Fifty ounces odd for five day's wo. k should surely please anybody. The Olrig, in spite of (he predictions of many to the effect that this company like nou ]y ail others on the Mannherikia, would prove a duffer, continues to yiel payable and handsome returns. Last week's wash-up of 37.0z shows still fu ther improvement. It is ple.ising to know that both the Vincent Extended and Uaimmuir dredtiCS are operating on payab.e wash. The hitler dredge yielded bout 19,, 7. for the week's work, but -s considerable time was spent in opening out the return must bo eo sidered satisfactory. The Alpine No 2 washed-up last week for , 2:50/.. Her sisLr, the Alpine Consols, only, managed to obtain 12oz for a like period. The river rose at the beginning of last week, but has since gone down, and is low enough to pemit of most river claims being uccessful worked. Several of the go go diedges ara unable to keep on the bottom, a fact which is not owing to the amount of water, but to the depth of ta'rli -gs. The e is every indication of a low summer river—very little snow on the back country, and low lakes, consequently we anticipate a prospurou. summer for the industry. Mr J. Parsons, of ''annoekburn, Ims been manager of the Prince Albert tiredge. A' iEXANWttA. (PROM OUK OWN CORRESPONDENT.) The Moas return ol 1220Z last week exceeded by a lot all expectation. During the last twelve months this company has paid 100 per cent, in dividends, besides putting by ,£SOO to the reserve fund. The above return, after pay ins expenses, will pay out a dividend of is 6d, as the capita! ot the company is small compared to later companies. The Onig, as 1 predicted last week, had ano her good wash-up -viz., sjioz, if is confidently expected that this same ground will continue for some time. Ihe most of us like to see the river keep at a low level, so that gorge dredges may have a chance to scoop up the precious metaj. No: so some of the bank djedges, such as, for instance, the Motyneux Hydraulic. This dredge is on fairiy .good wash at present but is being forged ahead by her tailings, and has now to take a narrow cut to enable her in some degree to cope with the difficulty. Her return of 230Z under the circum-] stances is considered fair, j

The Sailor Bend, after doing some slight repairs, while die river was not suitable for dredging, resumes work to-night (Sunday).

The First < nance, during the week, was taken down to Co email's Gutter, a spot known in the early days to be highly auriferous. Dredging started last Thursday in midstream, but there was no wash up.

I Jhe Golden River has made a I proper start and has heen working steady during last week. The Dunstan Lead, your leviathan diedge, from whom big things are expeeted, for yohrs got 130Z 7dwt A good return is looked for next week. I Rumor has it that the Chatto Creek will be taken to the top end (the gorge) of the claim and resume work

The Bendigo and River Molyneux arc working steadily, but the returns from them are not known atpresent.

VINCENT EXTENDED GOl.'< DREDGING UOMPANY. An extraordinary meeting of shareholders in the Vincent Extended Gold Ureoging Company was hcl.i at the Duncdin Sto-k Exchange last evening, a.d was altoll ed by about 20 shriieholders. The ni cling was oallv I for the purpose of considering the following resolution • 'J hat it has been proved to the sitisfaction of the company that the company cannot, by reason of its liabilities, continue its business, and that it is advisable, to wind up the same, and that a I'quidator for the purpose of such winding up be appointed. Mr II Adam (ehaiman or d rectors) .-aid, as tltov weie aWare, at last meeting it was resolve 1 thai the company issue debentures to the dent of LISOO. be.riiiL'- interest at the late of 1(1 per cent Of I ho 2115 shaieholders on the reg ster, only Go had applied for these, amounting to " LIO2O, which weald just meet, the company's liabilities The liabilities, inol .ding every!hing, amounted to LIO3O. and it was for Me shaieholders to now decide whether i hey would take up the remainder of the < cbentures, or go into liquidation. He thoii.hl they had now turned the corner. For last week the return was ;!;>o/. and tliere was i-vory prospeel of them lemaining as good, They j had a telegram from the m n in charge of the diedge, who said that the pros- j pects were good, but that the drift was a li*tie troublesome, and the dredgemaster was present, .aid would probably gi e some information, They hat been bothered the whole winter' through with a high river, oid had they known three mouths ago what they knew now they would have shut down the lOedge. They could, however, never fo esee these things. Thcif dredgemaster said he was on a different- qualitv ofsrold, und thought it, was j La. 1 gold. The week before last he hj d got some Lie in ihe lat two or three J days, and lie was on a soft pug botl ml The [hedge wis dredging about. 50ft, 1 that w.ujj. over 10ft of stuff to UXt an<3

• i pass through the machi e. so th.it it was jby a in iin c'lil'ls pay. The dredge[m'Ster was burning uvi r 10 l tons ro the hour, which uicaut ove.' iMiiO ton-* p'-r-day. ,i c ijjaijii: ii i .... i n [", .".y Wa.li..! . ! <v so aiw got found (he e 'rner. It w?ys, Lhere- ! f ■re, for shareholders to rally round and [take up the Ui!a ce of the debeutues. I If sh reimlders would send L 5 * hey would be putting ] iwn L 5 to save LSO, but they j seemed utterly indifferent whether the thing sank or swam. ■ I Mi Von Haast, the dredgemaster, said !no one was m<'ie lisappoiuted with the . results obtained than himself. It was a i claim he knew well, and had always a . j grear, fancy for, and he still thought t ' would pay handso uely. The whole tvoub e had been the tremendous depth , of the ground, and they had hod been able to get over a good deal of the bottom. The g'ouud averaged s'il't. with only [Oft of water, and the gold was all lying in , Gin of the stuff .' lib dredge was run- ' ning splendi. ly, and he did not think there was a .re ge on the rivt-r that had had less breakages. He might mention that they had not had a stoppage fo>- more ', than two consecutive houis, and yet they had i one through some tremendously' difficult groun i, widch carried large bouhters. floods had interfered with *the successful . workinz of the d edge. He had got ;Jooz > in 24 hours once but he had to shift up ', because lie could not bottom. Where the [ ot lom was sof-, he P'ot splendid returns. '•■ lie went on averaging 12oz per week, bui this wis near'y r.hva.vs got in about two t days, Lastweek the gold beg >n to get finer, but the prospects h.id been pretty steady, and the return was 33 ounces. This week he did not think they would - get quite as much, but if the weather \ kept f vorable he did not see why they should get less than SOoz in the future. He was only wondn r half the width of the river, bee. tuse if he went right across co the other side the padaock becomes si ted. Mr Wilson thought it strange the debentures wore not taken up, because they were a safe investment The dredge could be sold in the immediate neighborh o , and the debenture holders got 20 per cent interest. : Air J mies said there was a certain number of sh res, and if certain shareholders we e going 'o assist to Hit this thing up these shires might be issued to them as extra inducement to fcako, up the debentures. • V Mr T Rodger thought there was very littie risk. They had everything ready to lengthen the ladder, and they would be able to dredge to a depth of 56ft. which was deeper than any dredge on the liver was capable of doing. During the time this discussion h.id been going on, a number in the room had come fo wjud, and intimated their readiness to take up debentures, and the chairman announced that there only remained LIOO worth unapplieo for, which it is undo, stood was still further reduced. Mr .lames supposed there was no desire that the motion for winding up shouhi he put, and. on inquiry by the chairman, those [indent said I hey did m>t think it should be passed. It was therefore allowe i to lapse, and Mess.s A. James and A Sli f, o having been appointed to act with tne directors in getting off the balance of the debentures the meeting terminated ,

DREDGING RETURNS. By Wire. The following are the returns for the week ending Sept 21st :— oz dwt gr Electric 20!) 0 0 Moa 122 0 0 Perseverance 2 29 5 0 Cromwell 79 0 0 Monte Christo. Clyde 50 S 0 Vincent Extended 32 0 0 Alpine Consols 12 0 o Ean selnudi No 1 27 0 0 Earnsoleugh No 2, Alexandra uo 0 0 Matan, Clyde 36 0 0 | Unity, Clyde 4 days 21 8 0 1 Molyneux Hydraulic 23 0 0 Alpine 2 40 s 0 Gold Queen 3 ds 3(3 2 1 1 Hartley and Riley 9 I 0 i Perseverance 1 31 0 0 1 Jharlton C eek 22 10 0 W.iimumu Cential 34 5 0 Teviot 31 0 0 0 rig 37 0 0 inch Valley 21 16 0 W'aimumu Extended 31 3 5 Charlton Creek, Gore 22 10 1 Cential Charlton • );; 8 13 13 0 n Dun back i Dnnstan Lead 7 7 •i Golden Bef ch Alexandra 11 10 0 ' Golden Gate 76 8 o Colder, Run *9 0 0 Electric Extended 43 (i 0 Otago, Miller's Flat 32 10 0 Golden Gra.el. Beaumont 31 Vi o. Euipiie 29 10 0 Nouaini 27 9 0 Magnetic, Cromwell 5 days.„ 25 0 0 Success, Waipori 23 3 o Golden Treasure 23 0 0 I Golden Bed 18 15 0 J Chicago, Alexandra 18 0 0 Happy Valley 17 11 0 Meg and Annie 17 17 0 Fourteen.mile Beach 15 6 0 Golden Link 12 10 0 IHiiturtirisi? 1 10 14 0 Majestic i0 11 0 Long Valley 12 0 0 Centra: Electric 13 0 0 Shepherd's Creek 13 10 0 Great Cential - 17 0