GREY VALLEY DREDGING.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CV, Issue 12422, 11 February 1901, Page 6

GREY VALLEY DREDGING.

PROSPECTS OF THE INDUSTRY.

INTERVIEW ttim -V RECENT VISITOR

Learning that* Mr S. J? Graham;'.:a' min* ing engineer and investor from Tasmania,' , who has been paying a visit to Centrai-' ;, Ot-ag-o and the West Coast, had returned to ; Christchurch, a representative of this; jour-! nal waited upon him and. obtained s«m©' ..' interesting details. '■■••' 1 ; -Mr - Graham, stated that, he; had,:taken; a : look ronhd. some'' of the principal: dredg< "; ing claims',. and' had been-, greatly impressed: .by the proportions, the; dredging industry;... had attained. It was '.a big thing, he'said,: and the benefit to the country that wouldaccrue would be a lasting- one.- He'-had; taken special interest in the Grey River; claims, and . felt satisfied-that ;the- Grey: Va-lfey was 'a rich and profitable dredging field. He did not feel-inclined to particu-.' larise too closely, as part cfhis 'journeying had been.'undertaken en behalf of a syndicate, but ho considered that more'than, one , claim in the valley would pay .handsome dividends it properly worked. The Grey River claim was, he thought,, a good one, but the dredge,': as worked &t\ ' present, would not catch all tfae^gcJd,, for; the reason,t-hat the buckets seldom touched;' bottom; the ladder would require to bei lengthened. The go!d obtained by this:; dredge, Mr'Graham thought a splendid; *: qua-litv. J .■'/■■-■; .-■' i.■ ■ /'■ i He had not had an opportunity of, m-i specting the Dobson No.;'.''2 dredge, s but. had visited the up-river ciaim. l !.* In. its; claim, ho'said, the Grey;River No. 2 Com-:'. pany. possessed a valuable property, and,, .in' putting on ; a 'dredge it would have- the,; advantage of the. experience learned- byi the work of other dredges, and operations,: once commenced; should go on .without in- : terruption. •','■ He anticipated, good results' frcm the boring experiments. ; ■ : ,.- : : The nest claim, the, Grey ..Monarch, ;he th-oueht was'a nice, workable property, andthis "company, the Rubv Creek/; and the Grev River Consols Companies were to be congratulated on the claims they had,taken Up. - •" .'■ ' -.'j.' . ,' ;■■'■ The Arnold-River was also a-rich, piace, .and. ,in fact, the; Grey- River .itself. > vaa simplv a great natural tail-race, collecting the precious metal";that had 'been washed' down by denudation ; and other processes i from the rich.terraces lining the valley.. '„ ! The town of Greymouth,-';?ilr;;Graham i said, was in a fair, way to double itself in'; a short time, and in,a fewmbhths business . should be much'-.brisker in that- town than. -it, haibeen foi;.year?, aiid,it/was very.brisk now.-.".- ■ V"' '■"'.''."■' "' "' '"■ 'iy ■•" ;'"" -■ ,: ' •Ar.-nn engineer,. Jlr Graham .could not but notice" a- few ; defects in the-'-vorking-- of some of the -dredges, but, as he expressed it, "'•it Avould not be fair for me;.-a stranger in; a strange land, to criticise." The working; of the dredges would afford valuable■'.. in-; formation to the directors of other,"com-' panies about to build'dredges, and-ihose directors should take every 'opportunity of inspecting other dredge?,-, arid thus-be' able; to have "their own machines, built on the' mesfc approved lines., -■■. ..;.'. ■ . ~ < ' Mr. Graham is taking' lengthy reports on' .the West. Coast district back' to Melbourne and Tasmania with him. and intends ' tov pav another visit to the, New Zealand goldfields during the coming winter. : ;