Commerce, Mining, & Finance

Evening Star, Issue 22203, 4 December 1935, Page 9

Commerce, Mining, & Finance

AUSTRALIAN STOCK EXCHANGES Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright SYDNEY, December 3. On the Stock Exchange the general investment market yas again s^ g „j' y weaker, as were Commonwealth, Bonds, despite satisfactory reports concerning the new loan. 'AFTERNOON SALES. £ s. d. Bank of New South Wales 32 17 6 Commercial Bank of Sydney 18 2 0 Commercial Bank of Australia i National Bank (£5 paid) ... 617 (pref.) I 4 3 Howard Smith ... Australian Gas (A) 7 18 Tooths ... t ••• u Australian Iron and Steel (pr o f.) 1 & o Golasbrough, Mart 1 12 0 Winohcombe, Carson ... ... 1 IJJ ° Henry Jones (ex div.) ... 117 u Millaquin Sugar ... ... > ... 115 0 Fairymead Sugar tie r! Electrolytic Zinc 1 15 0 Farmers •• 1 “ Anthony Hordern 2 1 0 n Lustre ; ' ® ?! General, Industries 0,19 7J Amalgamated Textiles ... 011 6 Hume Pipe ... 0 15 3 Claude Neon ... 2 15 0 Goodlet and Smith 11 6 W. R. Carpenter (cont.) 1 12 6 Mauri Bros. • 2 12 6 Goodyear (pref.) « 2 United Provisions vl2 / Wunderlich ... ... 12 0 Mount Morgan ... J „ X South Broken. Hill 6 0 0 Broken Hill Proprietary ... 217 0 Kuala Kampar ... 2 If If .New Occidental ... 0 14 11 Koroere ••• 0 11 ® JTavua ... 0 311 MELBOURNE, December 3. National Bank (£5 paid) ... 618 0 ‘ Herald and Times * ... ... 3 3 0 Enterprise 0 12 .6 Loloma i Emperor

METAL MARKET Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright LONDON, December 2. The following are the official metal quotations, Copper.—Standard, £35 11s IOJd per tons forward, £35 18a 9d. Electrolytic.—Spot, £39 10a per ton; forward, £4O. Wire bars, £4O per ion. Lead.—Spot, £l7 12s 6d per ton; forward, £l7 12s 6d. Snriter. —Spot, £ls 13s 9d per ton ; forward, £l6. Tin.—Spot, £223 5s per ton; forward, £213 ss. • Pig Iron.—Home trade, £3 10s per ton; export, £3 Is 6d. , Antimony.—British, £76 10s per ton; foreign, £52 10s. Molybdenite, £1 14s 6d per unit. Wolfram, £1 14s 6d ner unit. Silver.—Standard, 29id; fine, 31 9-16 d per oz.

NATIONAL TOBACCO N COMPANY

ORDINARY DIVIDEND, IS PER CENT. NET PROFIT SLIGHTLY LOWER The annual report of the National Tobacco Company Ltd., which will be presented to shareholders on December' 11, states that net profit for' the year was ~£so lower at £33,955. It is proposed to pay an unchanged rate of 15 per cent, on ordinary share capital, and 8 per cent; on preference capital. “ It will be seen that our stock of raw leaf, manufactured tobacco, and material is down by about £29,000 compared with last year’s, but this is partly counter-balanced by the advances made on purchases of leaf, and further by the larger bank balance, which has risen to £113,034 9s 6d, including £BO,OOO fixed deposit, Earning interest at from 21' per cent, to 3 per cent, per annum,” the i report states. _ “ The factory buildings have again been considerably extended, a new wing having been added at the cost of approximately £11,500, including freehold site. Together with its five bonds, tho_ factory buildings owned and occupied by the company now cover an area of almost four acres.

“ After deducting all charges, writing off £5,875 13s 9d for depreciation on buildings and plant, and allowing the sum of £IB,OOO for income tax, there is a balance left of £33,955 7s sd, which represents the net profit for the year. To this amount must be added the - balance, £3,993 15s lOd brought forward from last year, making a total of £37,949 3s 3d available for distribution. “ Out of this the directors recomment the distribution of a dividend of 15 per cent, on the ordinary shares, and 8 per cent, on the preference shares, absorbing £19,452 12s 3d; to transfer to reserve the sum of £15,000 so that this account will stand at £125,000, and to carry over into next year the -balance of £3,496 11s.”

FOREIGN EXCHANGE OH NEW ZEALAND CURRENCY BASIS The Bank of New South Wales, Dunedin, quoted the following rates for, purchase and sales of foreign exchange (all rates subject to ' alteration without- notice)

DOLLAR RATES. The Associated Banks (other than the Bank of New South Wales) quoted the following dollar rates to-day on a New Zealand currency basis. They are subject to 'alteration without notice:— TJ.S.A. CANADA. (Per £1 N.Z.) (Per£lN.Z.) SELLING—- • T.T. (doll 3.954 3.99| O.D. (dpi) 3.95 J i 4.004 BUYING— O.D, (dol) 4.004 4.044

V"--THE SEARCH FOR GOLD

A RICH AURIFEROUS ZOME [By H.H.A.] The working of quartz lodes is now receiving more attention, than ever. In the past a mine containing a suitable tonnage of ore valued at Bdwt of gold per ton was considered a profitable one to operate. To-day, with the increased value of gold, plus exchange and minus taxation, 4dwt per ton offers the' same possibilities plus the benefit of newer, cheaper, and more efficient methods. The methods of determining the value of an area are also greatly improved; the microscope and microphotography have come to the aid of the mining geologist. The marshalling _of the geological features of any given area can be accurately accomplished. The corelation of the various phases relating to auriferous quartz deposition is easily attained, and this enables comparisons to be made with areas where commercial ore has been worked in the past — facsimile evidence is a valuable guide to the gold seeker. An area _ which provide a splendid opportunity for the activities of the gold seeker is that which lies between Macetown and Bullendale. It is approximately two miles wide, and is nicely sheared. The sheare zone dips to the south at an angle of 14deg off the horizontal, and pitches to the west at the same angle. The rich gold bearing rivers—the Shotever and the tributaries of the Arrow—intersect this zone. A notable feature is that north of these intersections no gokl is to be found. Therefore the assumption that this zone is the source of the millions of pounds’ worth of gold won in the past from these rivers is a reasonable one. The lodes of the area can be traced in a westerly direction, and it is very noticeable that where these intersect the rivers and' streams very rich alluvial ground was worked. At Macetown occular evidence of an horizon where an extensive deposit of commercial ore may be found nearby can be seen in the bed of Bichburn stream, just below the of Bush Creek. I calculated this horizon to be at a depth of 1,200 ft vertically below the portal of the old Premier mine low level, or approximately 800 ft under the lowest workings. These estimates have bedn _ arrived at by the complete corelation between the auriferous quartz and the country belonging to the estimated horizon. It is much deeper at the Shotover, and can be tapoed cheaper and better at Macetown. The area contains an enormous volume of low grade ore. - The ■ values are very regular, and a large tonnage can be es-

tracted along with the better grade ore. I view the possibility of low grade gold mining at Macetown as being very favourable, A low level, if taken along the line of the Premier lode, commencing at Richburn stream, would open up millions of tons of commercial ore, The commercial ore I refer to is not based on the same principles which were in vogue when Maoetown was previously worked. The “hit and miss 1 ’ system, as practised in the past, of trying to pick out only the rich portions of the lodes and the milling of the ore in mills which gave not more than 40 per cent, extraction has been replaced by a, system which includes all ore of a value of 2dwt per ton, and gives an extrac- , tion of 97 per cent, for a lesser cost. Mining on a wholesale scale at Macetown can be accomplished at a cost which will compare more than favourably with places where similar ore is being successfully dealt with at a cost not exceeding Idwt per ton. The processes necessary to produce or extract the gold from the ore are very simple and cheap to operate. This area offers a wonderful opportunity of unearthing a large tonnage of , high grade ore, and it is also known to contain thousands of tons of payable ore in a practically developed'.state. Comparing the ore with Australian and some of the Thames mines it offers no difficult metallurgical problems. Australian ores in some cases are very complex, and the gold is found associated with telurium and copiper, lead, zinc, iron, and other sulphides. Some of the Thames ores contain a high percentage of complex sulphides, and, like the Australian, are difficult to deal with. At Mount Morgan recent returns show a gold extraction of only 3dwt per ton, and a copper extraction of l.per cent. In all parts of the world .mining men are turning their attention to lowgrade gold mining, and many dividend payers are in operation. MAEREWHENUA DEVELOPMENT The directors of the Maerewhenua Goldfields Development Company Ltd. report for the year ended October 31 that net loss has increased to £1,998. Climatic conditions and shortage ot funds played an important- part in hampering the company’s progress. Th© major difficulty was tho problem of' finance. A total of 12 wash-ups took place, with a yield of 1240 z of gold, valued at £924. An analysis of the later wash-ups proved thaA an actual mine profit was obtainable, out such profit was not sufficient to cope with the overheads, unless the volume of the turnover was considerably increased. The' directors had come to the conclusion (states the report) that, since absence of enthusiasm and support was demonstrated by shareholders in their attitude to the debenture issue, no good purpose would be served by continuing the up-grade fight. . By that time an offer had been received from a London financial group willing to take an option on the company s mining properties and plant on certain conditions. The directors decided to accept the offer, and the option wasdulv granted. The purchase consideration was fixed af £IB,OOO sterling, which will yield approximately £22,400 New Zealand. The price of the option was £SO sterling (£62 New Zealand), which amount has been duly paid, as shown on the balance sheet. , BENDIGO RISE AND SHINE The secretary of the Bendigo Rise and Shine Gold Mining Company , Ltd. reports a return of 260 z 15dwt from 36 tons of run of mine ore, giving an average recovery of approximately 15dwt per ton. Trial crushings commenced in, November, but several minor adjustments and additions to the plant were necessary, and the crushing’ mentioned represents only a partial capacity of the plant. An additional Berdan is being installed, and when this installation is completed it is expected that 30 tons of ore will be treated weekly. Development work is proceeding satisfactorily. WAITAHU DREDGING The secretaries of the Waitahu Gold Dredging Company report that during the last five weeks work has been done on the bed of Little Redman’s Creek. The return from four chains and a-half of creek bottom was only Boz, thus indicating that the creek itself was not worth bothing about. The elevator was being removed to the ordinary working face, where an area of nearly an acre had been stripped ready for elevating. SWAN BREWERY'S PROFIT More beer is being consumed in Western Australia, and the profit of ■ the Swan Brewery Company for tho year ended September 30 is £4,710 higher at £100,720, although the provision ' for depreciation has been increased by £IO,OOO. After providing £3,000 for the 6 per cent, cumulative preference dividends, the remaining profit equals 23 per cent, on ordinary capital, and the ordinary dividend has been raised from 18 per cent, to 20 (interim and final, both 10 per cent.). The actual earning rate is not so high as it might seem, however, for undivided profits and share premiums are in excess of capital, and the average rate on all shareholders’ funds is only 8.6 per cent. Consumption of beer is about 13 gallons a head in Western Australia, compared with which the 1934 figures for some of the other States are: —Victoria. 8J gallons, New South Wales 8J gallons, and Queensland 54 gallons (exclusive of the exicess of imports over exports), DAIRY PRODUCE The South Islam! Dairy Association has received the following market reports from Londonßutter, poor demand ; 92s to 945. Cheese, quiet; white • 51s 6d to 525, coloured 53s to 53s 6d.

Buying. Selling. London— £100 stg. N.Z T.T. £184 £124 10/ O.D. £123 10/ £124 8/9 Australia — £A to £100 N.Z T.T. £101 £100 10/ Fiji— BF to £100 N.Z T.T. £90 7/6 £89 New York —• Dollars to £1 N.Z .. T.T. 3.99 3.951 O.D. 4.001 3.95} Montreal— Dollars to £1 N.Z .. T.T. 4.03| 4.001 O.D. 4.04J 4.00g France — Francs to £1 N.Z .. T.T. 60.77 59.47 O.D. 61.07 59.52 Noumea— , Francs to £1 N.Z. ... ... .. T.T. 61.72 58.72 O.D. 62,12 58.77 Papeete— Francs to £1 N.Z.’ .. T.T. 61.72 58.72 , O.D. 62.12 58.77 Belgium— Belgas to £1 N.Z . . T.T. — 23.115 ' O.D. — 23.130 Germany— Reichmarks to £1 N.Z . T.T. — 9.638 O.D. — 9.643 Switzerland — Francs to £1 N.Z ... .. T.T. 12.462 12.062 O.D. 12.537 12.072 Holland — Florins to £1 N.Z .. T.T. 5.980 5.730 & O.D. 6.030 5.734 JavaFlorins to £1 N.Z .. T.T. 5.931 5.706 O.D. 5.981 5.710 Japan— N.Z. pence to 1 yen ... ... ... TT. — 17» o „ O.D. ~ 17 39-64 Shanghai— N.Z. pence to 1 dollar ... .. T.T. 17 11-32 18 21-32 O.D. 17 7-32 18 41-64 India and CeylonN.Z. pence to 1 22 23-32 rupee ... .. T.T. 22J O.D. 221 22 21-32 Hongkong — N.Z. pence to 1 dollar T.T. 21 5-32 22 13-32 O.D. 21 1-32 22g Singapore— N.Z. pence to 1 T.T. 34| 35 5-16 dollar O.D. 341 351 Sweden— Kroner to £1 15.460 N.Z ... T.T. 15.790 O.D. 15.830 15.470 Norway— Kroner to £1 N.Z .. T.T. 16.200 15.870 O.D. 16.240 15,880 Denmark— Kroner to £1 17.878 N.Z ... T.T. 18.208 O.D. 18.248 17.888 Austria— Schillings to £1 N.Z. ... . . T.T. — 20.72 O.D. —. 20.74 Czechoslovakia — Crowns to £1 N.Z . T.T. — 95.34 O.D. — 95.39