Mining News.

Lake County Press, Issue 692, 23 January 1896, Page 2

Mining News.

Mr F: Proctor, Crystal Mine,. Skippers,, call, for tenders for, driving a tunnel 31 Oft. See advt. Mr M.. Kelly has a claim, at Oardrona for sale< Mr 0. Froggatt, by advertisement;, calls attention to a.trial of the Gold King Amalgamator at InvereargilL. This machine is rapidly, making.its way to the various mining centres, and is. well-spoken of by all who have used it. Mr 0. Froggatt can.supply all particulars: The Tipperary Gold : niinihg Company, Macetown, expect at-any timenow to break through, into the oldworkings bv means of: the low. level tunnel, at which they hare been working for a considerable time. It is tobe hoped that ere long this mine-will: be again flourishing as it was years ago. The Times says that many, old miners. in Otago will be interested to know that among the visitors to Dunedin at tha present time is Mr David M'Connell Kerr, who, coming toOtagoin 1861, spent 12 years in raining in this province and on the West Coast. In OtagoMr Kerr worked at Gabriel's and Munro's Gullies and at Manuherikia, where with, among others. Mr J. 0. Chappie, now of Ophir, he was one of. the party that made the largest turning over of the early days. Mr Kerr, afterleaving .New Zealand, went to South: Africa, and. there devoted himself successfully to diamond mining. Pie*is one of a party in whose claim at Jagersfontein, in the Orange Free State, thelargest diamond in the worlds—oneweighing 971 carats—was found, and recently Mr Kerr has received advice from his agent of the discovery in the workings in which he is interested of' another diamond of exceptional size, its weight being 643 carats. Mr Kerris accompanied on the present tour by his brother, Mr James Kerr, who was also a miner in the olden times on.theWest Coast. The Messrs Kerr are in the colony on pleasure bent, and they visited Arrowtown and Queanstowai the other day. The gold yield for West Australia, last year was 231,500 ozs., being an increase of 31,000 ozs., on the previous year. The outlook impioved greatly during the week owing to the rain, hut a much more copious fall is required to properly break up the drought and give sufficient water for crushing purposes.. The feeling on the goldfield runs high against an influx of Chinese and two. who avrived at Kandowna under engagement to a hotelkeeper were forced by the miners to leave the township. The Collingwood correspondent of the Nelson Mail states that the district is booming in a quiet way, and. that there appears to be ample justification for sanguine anticipations in respect to- both iron, coal, and gold. According to reliable accounts, he says,, a rich gold bearing reef which will go. 10 to 15 ounces to the ton, has been exposed to light in the vicinity of West. Wanganui, and, in addition to this,; rich and extensive alluvial deposits are reported to have been discovered. A reef struck in the Fernhill mine,, near Grantston, Victoria dollied from different parts of the reef returns of 20 to 30 ounces to the- ton. Further rich returns were also obtained from, the Omeo district. The Highland Chief Company crushed 36 tons for over 300 ounces of gold, while a party o£ piospcGlura u.O Outs Tree Hill *il Italic J 251b of stone for nearly £9OO worth of gold. Another parcel from 10 to 121b is estimated to yield close on 100 ounces. The reef varies from 10 to. 18 inches and has been traced,a long distance. Or.eof the drawbacks to the cyanide process of gold-saving, now so much in vogue on the Northern gpldtields, is - that all ore is crushed in the dry and newly-calcined condition, and consequently the air about the batteries is pervaded with an almost impalpable dust, which settles upon the clothes and persons of the workmen, and is also continually drawn into their longs. As the result, numbers of the men have been disabled with lung complaints. Last week the Auckland papers recorded the fifth death of Waihi miners within two years directly traceable to the inhalation of battsry dust, while two other men are seriously ill in the Auckland and Thames Hospitals. The Wellington Post very pertinently remarks : Some State regulation* of the system of working, in the way of compelling the use of respirators, seems ta be as urgently necessary in regard to the crushing machines as with othestkiuds of factories^