GOLD-DREDGING METHODS

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 April 1939, Page 11

GOLD-DREDGING METHODS

DEVELOPMENTS REVIEWED. [per press association.] L WELLINGTON, April X 7. !'.’ An increase'in the value of gold ]ias . enabled Austraiian’ miners’ . areas of country that were ;.!/.■ of little value and Australian and Hew • Zealand capital is .cp-pperpting'''jtp . apply modern dredging methods to y New Zealand as well, ip kJL ■■ J. M. Newman, one of the four A,usr . tralian directors of the Ngahere Qpld' Z Dredging Company, who arrived in Wellington by the'Awatea to-d.ay.' The ,/. 'other accpmpapy,ijig 'Sfy 7. Newman' were' Sir Victor ,Wi].s t pn and Messrs T-'M/Owen ahd C./F. Dgvjs!'. ' ' Mr 'New.inan said 'he h.ad 'wipi.W : New Zealand for the opening pf.'jtlie - big' dredg.e at Kanieri, whichAiad ppppmenced operations in bpceiuber - ap'd Which had won 1700 ounces during ; March, at a running cost of He was also a director of the Arafura 1 Gold Dredging Company, which wbpid have a 'dredge in operation 'at thp' end .’! of May- The Ngahere dredge, wjiiph .. was being built on the Grey would open in September.’ r . ''■ : Both the Australian and New Zeat- ' -- ■ land Governments had enepuraged mining operations and the development of gold mining in Australia had ■ trebled the output since gold \ ed in value, the total value of the gpfd. won last year being £14,'000,000. ' , ; ' Dredging'.was developing very rap/ idly in Australia, Mr : sgid. The company he was interested' inwas in Queensland and .there was a big dredge operating at' Wellington. New, South !Wales. The .Wellington dredge was , digging 81ft below' the paddock water level, and was femov-. v ing a face with a total 'dep'th The company was compelled to leave the land, whjch was riejr alluvial soil,J in the condition it was found in, and was doing so very successfully. ,Th.e.'•. buckets of the dredge w.ere used like a power shovel tP dig fbe .s.pi.l away ? and' it was then transported .bpjiind . tiic dredge and levelled out with bulldozers. .

Similar dredging was being dope in Victoria at Newsfead and (good returns were being' secured: large dredge in Victoria, Cox’s jjj’dorado, was worjdng 90ft below wg-ter and was producing both gold and’ tin. A company which had been successful with tin dredging‘iri Malay#, w.as designing* a dredge to dig 1.30 ft below water. That might sound deep .to gold dredgers, but tin dredges had wpfked deeper and' tliere were areas in tjtew Zealand where similar dredges cpplij be used to work at such depths. Tire ! drdeges had to be large and cost from £200,000 to £250,000 fo cpnstjruct. When the cost of prospectifig and operating was added to that,: it was easy to re.ajise that a considepajrle area of country had to be available for dredging. ■> Dredges like that at Kanieri could work from 4,000,000 to 5,000,000 yards a year and the cost was from £ 40,000 to £50,000. One of the chief requirements in operating such large dredges was the, supply of cheap power, ■Mr Newman said, and the N Q w Zealand Government had encp.urjaged dredging jby supplying power to the West Coast. The Railways Department had also helped by building dredges, .and ,a great deal of money had been spe.pt in the country because of the attitude of the Government. Without the present value of gold poorer deposits could not have been . worked, and where only two or three grains were won from a yard of spoil, restriptipps would check development. ' Mr Newman said he had been engaged in tin mining in Malaya for 25 years and was now interested in the development of tin mines in Queensland. Two large companies 1 were operating, and in future Australia would be independent of foreign tin supplies. There were large deposits of tin in Queensland and the country was similar to that dredged in Malaya. One tin company had .already completed’ its power station and water supply and a small plant would be operated until a large dredge couldbo built. The Broken Hill Proprietary was doing similar development work near by. \