MINING NEWS.

Evening Star, Issue 12871, 21 July 1906, Page 8

MINING NEWS.

The dredge-master of Rise and Shine No. 1 reports that the ground is showing signs of improvement. The dredge-master of the Blacfcwater River wires:—“ Working up from side of face.” There was no wash-up on the Waikafca United No. 1 dredge this week, as a new tumbler was being put on. RETURNS Otago No. 2: 116oz, 133 boors. Enterprise2soz, 10 days. Alexandra Lead : 18oz ICdwt, 97 boms. Junction Electric; 18oz 2dwt, week. New Fourteen-mile Beach; 28oz sdwt, 126 hours. Rising Sun: 370z sdwi, 128 hours. Clutha River: 18oz 2dwt, 78 hours. Punt: 240z Bdwt, 121 hours. Muddy Creek: 38oz sdwt, 183 hours. Charlton Creek: 15o*, week. Waibaka United No. 2: 16oz ISdwt, 122 hours. Rise and Shine No. 1: lloz 7dwt, 116 hours. Rise and Shine No. 2: l6oz 16dwt, 129 hours. New Perseverance No. 1; 260z 6dwt, week. New Perseverance No. 2; 240z 16dwt, week. WEST COAST. New Trafalgar: 520z, 115 hours. Paetolus No. 1; 520z lldwt, 130 hours. Paetolus No. 2; 107oz 18dwt, 131 hours. Blackwater River; 15oz 6dwt, 127 hours. BignelTs No Town; 14oz Bdwt, 96 hours. No Town Creek: 41oz, 125 hours. TDAPEKA' MINING NOTES. Our Lawrence ooxrcspondent supplies the following: In the neighborhood of Wetherstones the Golden Rise party and the Golden Crescent Sluicing Company keep pegging away, although tho severe frosts helped to shorten the latter’s water supply. Tho manager of the Rise claim has a large paddock opened up to the south-east of the Wetherstones traffic bridge, but' it is understood that be has not yet struck anything out of tho ordinary. The returns from the Crescent claim have been fax from satisfactory for some months back. There is too much clay to shift for the small quantity of wash underlying it to return anything more than actual working expenses. The shortness of their water supply has been against Paulin and party doing much good so far. They are expecting a fairly decent return of the precious metal on the completion of their first paddock. At Blue Spur the Consolidated Company keep going steadily, there being very little variation in the work from week’s end to week’s end. Messrs Kitto and party have suffered lately from a diminished water supply, but I understand that they are well satisfied with their gold returns. Messrs Thomas and party are reported to be on a body of wash that yields substantial returns over and above working expenses and allows of the payment of occasional dividends. The Gore Syndicate have let them claim on the terrace above Docherty’s bridge on tribute to a party of working miners. Tie Reliance dredge is still at work, but the owners find a difficulty in getting tho gold returns to outweigh tlie weekly expenditure. Good progress is being made with the foundations for tho machinery at the Tamiti Sluicing Company’s works. Their dam in the Tuapeka Greek has practically been finished and has stood the test of* a number of freshes in the creek.

It is very gratifying to know that so much success is attending the operations of the Waitahuna Sluicing Company, who are at work above the. Waitahuna-Waipori road towards the foot of Main, Gully. The last paddock taken out gave a yield of close on 120oz of the precious metal. With the money previously in hand, this allowed the directors to declare a dividend of 2s per share, making 5s per share paid to date, and also allowed Is per share to be returned to the shareholders in the Waitahuna Dredging Company, who hold the ground now being worked by the sluicing company under a tribute agreement. I/lie sum of £7O was carried forward after the payment of these dividends.

With the exception of the Waitaluma Sluicing Company, none of the sluicing parties at work at Waitahuna Gully arc reported to be winning very mucu gold at the present time; The Sailors Gully Company have lately added several hundred feet of new pipes to their plant, with the object of getting on to some ground higher up their claim, but some time will elapse before the manager expects to reach payable gold. The returns lately have been very poor. The two dredges on Havelock Plat keep working away steadily, hut neither is winning much gold. The frost was very severe at Waipori in early part of the week. There was fully 3in of ice in the Empire. Company's paddock on Tuesday morning, and the dredge-master feared he would bo obliged to close down unless King Frost eased off somewhat. The sluicing claims were forced to suspend woi’k owing to the ice blocking up the water races. Mr R. J. Cotton is doing very well in his claim at the foot of Nardoo Creek. He intends later on. to open up the old Amalgamated Deep Lead workings, where he is hopeful of striking heavy gold. If real grit and determination, with tlie help of a good plant and abundant water supply and no lack of funds, can do the trick, Mr Cotton will not be wanting. Ho is a typical colonial, with plenty of energy and go. Mr J. F. Johnston is well satisfied with the prospects ho has met with on the main bottom on Bakery Flat. The cut that is being taken out down stream from the paddock where operations were first commenced shows that the wash carries highly payable gold. Mr Johnston’s pluck and enterprise in tackling such heavy work deserve to be very handsomely rewarded. At Miller’s Flat the Otago No. 1 dredge, working in the bank on the cast side of the river, continues to keep on very payable gold. Last week's return from the No. 2 Otago was very satisfactory indeed. There are in these days, with a phenomenally high river in midwinter, very few lOOoz returns. The Golden Run dredge is not at present winning the quantities of gold that was generally expected. A big improvement is looked for at an early date. The Golden Gate dredge • works away steadilv, but her gold returns. are nob heavy. The Golden Bed dredge’s returns continue highly payable, but have fallen a long way below those of three ofi four-months ago." The directors have declared another dividend (the eleventh in number), payable on Monday next, which will make 12s returned to shareholders. The Ettriek dredge is to be taken into the flat at the confluence of the Benge)- Bum and Molyneux River. The ground has been prospected, and is said to be payable Mr William Burton is now iu charge of the Ettnck. The Golden treasure, Pringle and party’s, and M‘Vicar and party’s dredges are all idle, awaiting the river to fall to a workable level. Grogan and party’s dredge is reported to be on good gold. The directors of the Majestic Dredging Company are about to appeal to shareholders for financial aid, otherwise the liquidator’s services will be requisitioned. The dredge lately struck payable gold in tire claim taken up recently above the Teviofc Station punt ate, but the high river has operated against successful operations. -The Gold King dredge at ■ Dumbarton Rock continues to win handsome quantities of the precious metal with .great regularity. There is some talk of the party who own thist dredge forming a registered company, so as to offer greater facilities in the buying or sailing of shares.

The Endeavor dredge, privately owned, at work in the river,, leas than a mile'below the Roxburgh traffic bridge, is reported to b© doing all right. The Teviot dredge has been under repair for some time, and is to have a new sand chute placed in position. The lodyi Roxburgh dredge Iras also been TMrijWXwiisg aad will

probably make a fresh start during the incoming week. The directors^have lately taken up a fresh,claim on the river in the neighborhood of Goal Creek, above the Molyneux Kohinbor dredging claim. The Kohincor dredge has not been able to work lo the best advantage lately owing to the high river. THE SHARE MARKET. mrmcDiN- kxchanc*. Quotations: — Alexandra Eureka—Sel 9/. Alexandra Lead—Sel 3/6. Alpine No. 2—-Buy 1/6, sel 4/. Bignell’s No Town—Buy 2/3, sel 4/. Central Charlton—Sel 12/6. Chariton Creek —Bay 3/, sel 10/. Chicago—Sel 15/3. Dims tan Lead—Bay 2/, sel 3/9. Electric—Buy 20/, sel 25/. Enterprise—Buy 4/, sel 7/. Ettrick—Bay 2/6, sol 5/. Golden Bed—Bay 13/6, sei 14/. Golden Run—Bay 14/,' eel 16/. Golden Treasure—Sel 56/. Hartley and RBey—Buy 19/, eel 24/, Island Block—Buy 3/9, sel 4/9, Junction Electric—Sd 2/3. Lady Roxburgh (contrib.) —Sel 11/ dit Manuheriki a—-Sel 21/. Molyneux Hydraulic—Sd 5/. Molyneux Kolmuoor (coutrib.) —Buy sf» sel 8/3Mystery Flat—Sol 30/. New Alpine Consuls—Sol 9/6. New Roxburgh Jubilee (paids)—Buy 2/6 No Town Creek—Sd 14/6. Otago (ex dliv.) —Buy 40/. Paetolus—Buy 34/6, sel 37/5. Riley’s Beach—Sri 5/9. Sailor’s Bend—Buy 8/9, sel 12/. Roxburgh Amalgamated (cootrib,)—Buy 4/9.. Big River—Buy 3/6, sel 5/, Talisman Consolidated—Buy 23/6, eri 24/3. Standard Insurance—Buy 19/6. > , Westport Coal—Buy £6 14s 6d. New Zealand Oil and Coal—Bnv 1/5, set 2/. Commercial Property—Buy 6/. Dalgety—Buy £5 14s, National Mortgage—Buy 60/, sd 65f. MRbum Lime—2o/ pawl, buy 23/; Ifff paid, sel 12/6. Mosgiel WobHen—Buy 59 f, sel 65/. New Zealand Drug (40/ paid)— Buy 47/6. sel 48/. Donaghy’s Rope—Sel £B. D.I.C. (pref.)—Sel 2/14STOCK EXCHANGE NOTES. River height, 7ft Kfin; hrwd frost. The investing public are having a fairly long list of quotations put before them daily now. Out of the first dozen on today’s list there is one—Golden Bed—in which a fair idea of market values is afforded. In another—Electric—there is a margin, of ss, but this is a high-priced stock as values go now. In the others, where there are both buying and selling quotes, the difference between them ranges up to 333 per cent., as in Chariton Creek. Truly, this is a fine index of values for outridere; Strdh. a loose and disorganised market is not too hopeful a sign as regards the dredging industry. Two stocks which are able to bold their heads above the general depression are Otago and Paetolus, The former are quoted ex div. to-day, but if the company’s No. 2 dredge keeps on getting century returns there should soon be another dividend in sight. The doings of these two companies* dredges are at present the bright spot, like the toad’s eye, redeeming the rest from ugliness. Exception must be made, however, of tbs Waikaia field, which is coming to ha regarded as almost the stand-by of Otag« and Southland now that the Molyneux baa (proved so capricious, and the valleys of the Waimumu and ChariKon have been to ft large extent worked out.