THE WAIHI COMPANY.

Evening Post, Volume CXIII, Issue 143, 21 June 1927, Page 11

THE WAIHI COMPANY.

(From "The Post's" Representative.)

LONDON, 18tli. May. At the annual meeting o£ the WaihfGold Mining Company Mr. .£..' M. Mitchison (chairman), in addressing shareholders, said the two items mainly responsible for the increase in expenditure were mining and miscellaneous' expenses in New Zealand. The former was heavier both because a large amount of development work had been done and because an exceptional expenditure had been incurred on labour devoted to ore still lying on*the stopes, whilst the increase in miscellaneous expenses was due to the heavier insurance premiums required to compensate for claims demanded under the Workmen's. Compensation Act. With a total expenditure of £312,278 and a crushing of 211,530 tons they had a total charge of about £1 9s 6d per ton, which compared with about £1 7s lOd last year, the rise being due to the mining charges and insurance. The final result of the working for the year, excluding depreciation,, was that the net receipts had been sumcieut to pay all outgoings and to leave a balance of £52,638, out of .which shareholders had received taxfree dividends amounting to £49,590. In spite of very extensive development no discoveries of ore of sufficient value and quantity to be remunerative were made, and ,the hope of finding new payable blocks became less and less. The general purport and effect of the agreement with the Waihi Grand Junction Company was that under it a fair amount of ore would be dealt with, which might never have been touched if they had not made the agreement. The Waihi Company had limited outside ventures to Canada, subscribing for 5000 shares of £1 each at par in the Anglo-Canadian Explorers, Limited, which had acquired a large interest in the Central Manitoba Mine, which was a Canadian, enterprise. The shares of the latter were quoted on the Canadian stock market at a price sufficient of itself to make the shares of the Anglo-Canadian Explorers, Limited, Worth more than par. He was sorry that there were no discoveries to report in the oil proposition in New Zealand, but their interest in it was very small, and the same applied to several other ventures on which they had spent a Jittle money which had been .written oil. The directors would never cmbaric any funds of the company—beyond the amount in exploration account—without ■consulting shareholders and obtaining a. distinct mandate from them. In conclusion, the chairman paid a tribute to tho very loyal and zealous service which the. company had received during the year from Mr. Banks and the staff in New Zealand. The chairman then moved adoption of the report and accounts. Mr. Grant Hooper (a shareholder)., complained it was an anomalous position that the company should have £339,000 in outside investments. He maintained that shareholders could do better if they had their money back to invest for themselves. They had practically finished tha Waihi mine (cries of "No"). They had four years at the outside to go, and ha thought that it was time the capital should be returned to shareholders. TLj report and accounts were adopted.