MONDAY, AUGUST, ,26th, 1912.

Grey River Argus, 26 August 1912, Page 4

MONDAY, AUGUST, ,26th, 1912.

On Saturday morning- dhis journal published as an inset the prospectus of the Kanieri Mining Comply, Ltd., of 40,000 ,£1 shares. Without passing an opinion as to the prospects of 'the company, in which we are in no way interested, it is permissible to say that it is pleasing- to recognise in the undertaking the first practical result of prospecting operations \vith the "Keystone Driller."' For reasons a good deal more' appreciated by' persons with 1 gold mining experience than by those without the advantage of such,knowledge, we have always been under the ' impression that some day there was a revival in alluvial mining iri store for Hokitika. All that was wanted to give ' the movement a start was a cheaply worked and effective appjdance by which the alluvial deposits' of a^ast age could be examined aud- proved. That want has been admirably supplied by ithe Keystone driller. Instead of having- to incur considerable expenditure for labour" in sinking and timbering shafts in order to test the: 'ground— the cost of labour nowadays ! is the greatest hindrance to-prospect-ing—the Keystone driller can,put down a number of bores at far less than the cost of sinking a single shaft, with" the, advantage of proving more ground regardless of whether it' is wet or dry. As .the bore drilled by the machine is sufficiently large to enable' a' quantify of the material operated upon 'to ' 'be ' properly "tested/ the prospectors arc able to form an approximately correct idea as to the value Df the ground before indulging in any very heavy expenditure. . If no trace of gold is found in the boring's, no one is likely to .go to 'any further expense. The drilling operations, however, that [lave o'een carried on at Kanieri, under the direction .of. Mr. G.E. d! Searle, have Ibeen'so satisfactory that the' present company has been formed. The prof-poets- obtained ranged fVom nothing up to as high as 22.4 grains of

gold per cubic yard from surface to bottom^ The average yield per cubic yard is estimated at 7.03 grains. Though this may represent v 'the maximum ivalue, even a great deal less \yould .still leave a profitable margin. Seven ' bores .were put down and . the depth to the sandstone bottom ranged from 25 feet to 85, >the water level being from 6 feet ito 13 ft. The whole of the ground, of which the company have 135 acres, is well within the. scope of the Kershaw pump, a^recently invented mining instrument that is admirably suited for ground of the character of that at Kanieri. This appliance' .will be the means of working auriferous ground on- the beaches and high terraces alongthis coast that have "lain idle for the last 56 years owing to the want of such an 1 instrument. Many of the auriferous terraces are too high to be commanded by water; \yhile , all the beaches are" too low to admit of being worked in any other way than by means of a dredge" or a Kershaw pump, which is far simpler and more economically-worked than any kind of a' dredge. /As those experienced 'in gold mining of that kind ' fully expect to see the Kersh.aw pump effect a revolution in mining along the West Coast, ■it is to the'-public interest to draw attention to. its merits as the latest aid in gold mining, and one of: the best. Between the Kershaw pump and the Keystone driller, they ought to produce something like a mining- revival-; on this coast. There is a great deal oi auriferous ground in the Grey districi and in Westland that ought to find re ; munerative , employment for a gdodlj crowd of miners by means of the Kershaw pump. ' According to the prospectus' of- -the companj', 4006 - shares have been- applied for- bj*- seven .residents in :or in the neighbourhood ' oi the district. - This is in itself yen satisfactor3 r ; but if the people of Hok.i tika 'have faith in the undertaking— arid, their local knowledge ought U satisfy them on that point— they coulc not: do. better than show their confi dence in it by taking up shares liber '• allj r . If ll\e ■Hokitikians would give 1 lead in that way other parts of thi West Coast would be likely to f ollov their example by taking a hand in this new mining enterprise, and one tha may -be only the precursor of: man\ others, to-, -follow. This initial effor will be followed with more than 'or dinan' interest by 'all Avho .arein. an> way interested in the gold mining industry because of what it may leac to if it turns/out, a success. The Kershaw pump • seems to have been the means of winning an nriormous quantity of gold from the old workedout fields of Victoria, and we are looking forward to accomplishing similar results on the Wfcst Coast by the .""same . instrument. ... -

A young man named Frank Hugh, about: 25 years of age, met with a somewhat serious accident while working at the coal mines at the State Mine on Friday afternoon. He was using a rope and some of the. other • employees seeing him 'about to do so called *to him to desist. ' Hugh being" deaf, did not hear their warning,' with the result that the rope slipped, and he fell oil to a hard substance, said to be a bothY, and sustained injuries in the locality^ the spine. He was promptly attende'a. to aoid sent to his parents'* horrie in "C-obden, where he has been skilfully treated. ' : . - ' vThe. funeral of the laJe Thomas Scott Cairney took place yesterday afternoon and was largely attended bjpeople from all. parts of the voast, who assembled to pay their last- token of respect to a man who was held\in 'the highest esteem by all. The menir mers of the Oddfellows' Lodge assembled in large numbers to _ pay their last tribute to their deceased brother. 1 the pall bearers were: P. G. Brother 1 H. Michel, G.M. Brother Chas. Par- ;■ pitt and' Brothers -A;. V. Billett, J. McKnight, A. Robbie, S. L..Tom]ine, : T7. G: Brdther George Cotlte -conducted the burial service at the graye- : side. The impressive service of- the : Presbyterian Church was .conducted by the Rev. R. ■ Stewart. A large 1 number of wreaths and immortelles : were placed on. . the grave as tokens • of sympathy with the • relatives of deceased. .:,,■ ' • Mr. Parry, president of the Waihi [ Miners' Union, will have no vote by ballot. His ruling recently is Te- [ garded as a distinct violation of rule ; 56, whioh lays down the procedure to - be adopted in dealing with matters t put to the vote, and permits of any f two members demanding a secret ballot should they so wish. Not satisfied with overriding the rule in question the chairman went to the length of accepting a motion amending the rules, and the meeting : then proceed- " ed to delete the last paragraph of " Rule 56, which provides for a secret 5 ballot if called, for. In doing: this . the meeting completely ignored Tule f :qo, Avh.ich^ distinctly sets it forth' that ;no or amendments shall' be made to the rules of the union without - the . approval of the Registrar bf _ Friendly Societies. -Protests ' were _ forthcoming, but these were ,early , swept aside by Mr. Parry, who stated •f that the. union could make such alterations and amendments. to '-'the rules ■_ as might be deemed expedient, ad proceed to work upo the amended rules r without first obtaining the sanction or c approval of the registrar thereto, acv cording to the Act. Mr. Pprry.cons tinued: "The- registrar was all miprhty t and all powerful, but he (the speaker) ( was prepared to give a .democratic S' ruling." : ■ .. ' . Your old bicycle will: be as good as new when overhauled and enarn«3ilpd ► 7 by Wttdc -and Co. ' • 1: . ; :;. > > r . ' '■■■■■■-