The Star. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 1888. SILVER-MINING " BOOM."

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume X, Issue 1838, 26 January 1888, Page 2

The Star. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 1888. SILVER-MINING " BOOM."

The silver "boom" in Australia has had the effect of turning attention to the neglected mines of New Zealand, which, if any reliance may be placed upon the observation of travellers, the reports of officials, and the results of assays, appear to be quite as rich as some of those which at the present time are creating so much stir in Australia. A writer in the Canterbury Press has given some information with reference to the silver mines at Eangitoto and Richmond Hill, which will be news to some and interesting to all. He observes: " They wire all over the world ' a rich find has been uncovered at the Broken Hill, which it is estimated will yield lOOoz of silver per ton ' ; but unless this ore is in great quantities, and easily worked, lOOoz of silver per ton promises no extraordinary dividends. We have mines in this country that have yielded as high as 1700oz of silver per ton ; and from another we have obtained 400oz of silver and two ounces of gold; yet our New Zealand mines are abandoned, and the Australian mines are ' booming.' " The Eangitoto mine is quoted as a case in point. This mine which is about eighteen miles south of lioss, on the west coast of South Island, is situated at an altitude of 1700 ft. above sea level — the ore was discovered in rich specimens about the banks and bed of a creek. Professor Kirkland, of the Melbourne University, tested some of this ore, and found it to contain up to 800oz. of silver per ton ; and when 90 bags of the ore was sent to Swansea, in England, to be reduced, it was found to contain, besides this amount of silver, gold at the rate of 2oz. to the ton. There was no doubt about the ore being rich, but the company formed to work the ground failed for want of knowledge as to how to treat the ore. Mr. H. A. Gordon, F.G-.5., and Inspecting Mining Engineer in reporting on the mine lately says :—": — " I examined the tailings lying about the battery, and was surprised to find them full of quicksilver. On washing some in an old frying pan I collected in a short time about 201b of quicksilver, and from 6dwt to Bdwt of gold and silver ; so judging from the appearance of material treated, the company could never have had a great deal of gold and silver from the ore." The Richmond Hill silver mine is situated about nine miles from Collingwood; but, like the Rangitoto mine, it is abandoned. "In 1875 Mr "Washbourne, whilst working in the bed of the Parapara River, discovered an outcrop of ore projecting from the rocks fully six feet. To work tbis lode a company was formed, called the Richmond Hill Silver Mining Co. They put down one shaft to a depth of twenty feet on the lode, which yielded from 21oz to 1700oz of silver per ton. Another shaft was sunk about forty feet to

the south-east to a depth of 116 ft, following the course oE the lode nearly all the way down. The lode was as varying in its richness in silver as most silver lodes are, but at the bottom of the shaft the lode not only increased in size but increased in richness." The history of the failure of the company is simply that the small capital raised became exhausted and no more could be obtained. It will have been noticed that the recent excitement hae caused attention to be again turned to these mines, and new companies are talked of. Evidently these mines are as rich as seme of those in Australia, and all that is needed is better scientific knowledge as to how to treat them — and, of course, capital. The latter would soon be found if the former were applied successfully.

During last session there was an interesting discussion on this subject of obtaining better knowledge of how to treat the mineral deposits, and it is greatly to be hoped that the Government will give the matter careful attention. There has for years past been enormous expenditure of Government money in the mining districts, but it has taken an entirely wrong direction. Public funds have been used to do that which should have been done by private enterprise, and representatives of districts other than mining constituencies have become disgusted at the waste, and have " shut down " very sharply upon all proposals for expenditure on gold fields. The duty of the Government is to employ capable officers to test the commercial value of deposits by the light of most recent metallurgical and scientific knowledge ; leaving it to private enterprise to do the rest. Those who know most on the subject are convinced that if we only knew how to treat our really invaluable mineral resources, the existing condition of depression and stagnation would soon become a mere recollection.