The Grey River Argus SATURDAY, December 10th., 1938. THE KANIERI DREDGE.

Grey River Argus, 10 December 1938, Page 4

The Grey River Argus SATURDAY, December 10th., 1938. THE KANIERI DREDGE.

In degree, if not in principle, a definite advance in the method of gold mining is. denoted by the venture of Kanieri Gold Dredging Ltd., which yesterday was inaugurated in an auspicious manner at Tucker’s Flat, near Hokitika. Coinpared with the means by which the first, and, no doubt, richest gold was won from the field in question, this dredge represents more than an advance in mechani. cal art, though it be ;o vastly different from a nozzle, a, sluice-box or a cradle, not to mention the humble dish at all. II was well said at yesterday’s gathering that . veteran miners might regard tb : s dredge with no misgiving, but as a testimony to. the thoroughness with which they mined so much of the precious metal, when the remainder requires for its recovery apparatus designed on so great a scale. The new dredgo weighs in all more than three thousand four hundred tons, lifts dirt from a depth of anything up to 100 feet, at the rate of 42 cubic yards per minute, and operates 550 hours

per month. Such a capacity it quite understandable in the lighl hot only of modern scientific development, but of the design tc treat profitably wash no richer than three grains per yard on the average. More, of course, thar the existence of such a deposit has been essential for this venture tc take shape, the initiative of the Australian investors and the ability of their designers, while indispensable, having yet been insufficient without assistance afforded by the Government, and particularly the Railways and Public Works Departments. So large is the dredge that the company, which has also mining interests in other countries, found it would have to have it made overseas if it were to be available in the required time, unless it could be manufactured with the plant belonging to the Railways Department. Not only did the Government undertake to- supply the necessary power from Lake Coleridge, but the Addington Workshops fabricated the dredge in a manner which has won the highest commendation of the company. The result is a testimony alike to the initiative of the company and the enterprise of the Government iii its policy of promoting Dominion industries. A deal of employment -has already been afforded hundreds of workmen in bringing the undertaking to the point of production, and for another generation a, considerable number of men will be engaged. Such a capital outlay as there has been betokens the certainty of the company that the claim will pay. The example earlier of American enterprise on the opposite side of the Hokitika River in prospecting to the point of complete accuracy has been a 'lesson in our mining history, and

there are other large dredges about to'operate which, with that at Kanieri exemplify this fact. As in the case of Kanieri, these new undertakings have been dependent upon the additional power being brought overland from Canterbury by the line laid by the Government. Thus it is very largely 'because of the interest taken in local development, by the present Administration that the West Coast now bids fair to lead every other gold-producing district of the Dominion in the quantity of its output. The Kanieri company deserves credit for its willingness to improve the dredging area as the mining operations are finished by means of surfacing so as J.o form a forest. Their’s is a dredge improving the country over which it operates by -relegating the largest stones to the botton, with smaller stone above, and soil on top. By all accounts the fabrication of the dredge is a credit to all concerned, from the designers, those who did the detail work at Addington Workshops, to the staff from the shops who completed the work of construction. Such was the accuracy that all parts fitted perfectly together. The Kanieri field was one of the earliest and richest on the West Coast, and it will be no surprise : f the returns set new records, as they may be expected at least occasionally to do, in view of the capacity of the dredge being approximately twice that of any other operating in New Zealand to-day. In the event, moreover, of expectations being realised, there should be inducement for investors to continue in further propositions of the kind, for whicn very ample scope would appear to present itself in the vicinity of river courses right along the West Coast. Meantime, all associated in establishing the new dredge on Tucker’s Flat are to be highly complimented on the result of their efforts.