NEW ZEALAND GOLD MINES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIII, Issue 10129, 12 May 1896, Page 5

NEW ZEALAND GOLD MINES.

» LATEST POSITION LONDON.' [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT,) London, March 27. Although the boom in New Zealand gold mines and in New Zealand mining companies and their Shares still continues, there are not wanting symptoms that«reaction may come about at no very distant date. There is a strong feeling in the London mining market that oertain companies which have been offered very recently, partake too much of the " wild cat" character to be worthy of confidence as legitimate investment^. Some months ago I expressed in your column an earnest hope that some means would, lie found to overt the calamity of these " wildcat" schemes being placed upon the London market, because I was strongly Warned by the best London authorities that the effeqt would be very mischievous as regards the interest of New Zealand mining enterprise, on this side of the water at any , rate. However, the temptation to offer the public shares in so many acres of land never proved auriferous, but merely lying in the vicinity of certain mining properties, to obtain a considerable sum-in cash and a further sum in shares which might possibly prove saleable on fcho chances of future profits to an indefinite extent, has proved too great to be resisted. You may remember my mentioning the strenuous warning of the late Agent-General

on this head, And how he and others interested it) the welfare of the colony, impressed upon roe the importance of adequate exploration and prospecting being thoroughly carried out in every case before a raining property was offered to the London public. As it is companies have been registered and advertised and their shares largely offered while their prospectus has not a syllable to say definitely as to the existence of any gold within the Company's own boundaries, and merely refers in hazy and general terms to the auriferous nature of the neighbouring country. It is by no means certain that one or any ot these latter undertakings will find even partial accept' mice in London. In some instances itc doubt the actual promoters will take up or underwrite the shares themselves at an enormous discount, trusting to being able subsequently to " make a market" and so recoup themselves, but it is in the highest degree unlikely that shares of this character will be even "looked at by th n investing public. Indeed, most New Zealand mining enterprises, now regarded as safest and soundest, do not come before the public at all for subscription, and, as a matter of fact, 1 may say that Sir Westby Perceval, who has accepted seats on several Boards, has ex pressly limited his action in this direction to companies which stand in the position just mentioned, For instance, the Consoll dated Goidfields of Mew Zealand Com' pany, whose shares already are quoted at a very large premium, has never offered its Block to the public at all, and the shares can only be obtained privately as e sort of personal favour from their present holders. It may be worth while to explain that this Consolidated Goldfieldf if New Zealand company of which Sii fTeHby Perceval has just become the man >tgtng director, is in reality a sort of child 3 f the great Exploration Company, which it first dealt mainly with South African nines, but which has now begotten twe rory important and flourishing children— ;he Consolidated Company just mentioned uid the New Zealand Exploration Com Mny. The original Exploration Company, ivith its twin offspring, might not inaccu •ately be described as a mining branch o: ibe great Rothschild firm. Its shares have lever been offered to the public, and it has lot yet touched anything that has nol jroved a distinoti sucoeas. It is, in fact, £ ihoroughly Rothschildian affair, You will of course remember that the Jonsolidated Company is that which tool iverthe enormous and valuable mining pro )oi'fcios brought Horn# by Mr. Ziman. ] Lear that this company will employ a verj urge amount of capital and skill and en irgy in developing the Now Zealand mining n'opertios which have come into it: lands, and that its operations wil jrobably be extended over a mud vlder scope than that to which the) ippoared limited at the outset. Now tin Sew Zealand Exploration Company appeare ;o have its chief proprietary in Paris, sr'uere there is a growing disposition tc nvest largely in New Zealand mining iroparty. It has a Board in Paris, and it 8 on that board that Sir Westbv Perceval ins accepted a seat. His large knowledge it Now Zealand and its affairs have already jeou called inte extensive requisition, and ie is likoly to have to travel pretty requently between the English and French japitalß, Baron James de Hirsch, the eminent financier, is, as I have already nontioned, another director of the New iealsnd Exploration Company, and a third 8 Mr. Lulcach, whose name will also be amiliar to most persons acquainted with lnancial affairs, and who is also director wbh of the Consolidated New Zealand Com' pany, and the original Exploration Company. Anothor director of the Consolidated 50th of those companies ate very influen' ;i*lly directed. It is the guiding principle of iheir proceedings, to begin with a thorough exploration and, testing of the country, ind they will not touch any property that 19 nob satisfactorily proved to be profitably auriferous. Another company, of which Sir Westby Perceval has become a director, Melville £ New Zealand Corporation. This is also virtually an exploration enterprise, and it ,s strongly backed financially. Some of the London dailies, e.g., the Westminster Gsxotto, now have a special jorncr for New Zealand Mines in their city lepartment. It starts with the following iozen : — Blagrove's, Hauraki, Kapanga, Kathleen, Mount Lyull, Mew Ilduraki, Royal Oak, Scotty's Hauraki, Tokatoa, tVaihi, Waihl-Silverton, and Waitekauri. The Financial News has _ the following lignificant remarks as to mining prospects n Now Zealand !-" There are symptoms n the air of an impending raining boom in [few Zealand, where the facilities for icouomical mining are exceptionally good Bergrath Schmeisser, the German Governnent expert, has gone there from Western Australia, and Mr. W. A. Mentor is going >uti in the interests of Messrs. Berwick, Vtqreing, and Co., and the London and New Zealand Exploration Company, which ias already sooured some promising properties in the Ohinemuri district. The ippllcatione for shares in the Kathleen Jrown Gold Mine sbowod how ready tho lublic is to take an interest in New Zealand mines, the allotment having been wry satisfactory, The shares went to 6d iroinlum, but fell back to 2s 9d on profitiaking by ' stags. 1 Paris buyers are underitood to he in the market." To-day's latest quotations for New Zeaand Mining Company's shares are as ollowEast Hauraki, 5s fid to 0s fid; Jlenrook, Is to Is 6d; Hauraki, 17s to 17s id; Kapanga, 10s 0d to lis; Komata Secfq, 5s to 5s fid; London and New Zeaand Exploration, 1J to l§; Royal Oak, !s 9d to 3s 3d i Thames Hauraki, I to IJ; triumph Hauraki, 5s to 6s j Uniou Waihi, j to I premium; Waihi, 6 to 6J; iVftihi-Silverton, 3jj to 3J) Waitekauri, 1| to 4§; Woodstock, 1| to JJj Waihi lr,,nd Junction Preferential, l| to 1§ ; I'altapu, 116 th to 316tha premium : Katli. eon, 4* to 4s Gd; Hauraki Now, 03 to 6s id; Consolidated Gold Mines of New Zeaand, 2g to 2|; Tokatea of Hauraki, 4s to Is 3d ; Blagrove's, 4s 3d to 4i Od ; Mount Lyell, 6Mflthto6ilfiths; Scotty's Hauraki, Is to 3i fid ; New Zealand Crown Mine, 17s paid), 3356 d to 345; Achilles, 2sfid shares, is IQid to 3s 1 Jd ; Maori Qold Mines, J to $ iremtuin; New Zealand Jubilee, 7-16 th to 116 th; Tararu Creek Gold, 4h 3d to 4s 9d. Vloah of the raining enterprises aro severely landicapped by insufficiency of working sapital and by the enormous loading in lost of flotation. What with the heavy jayments in cashand in paid-up shares to the vendor and the allowance for underwriting, nany companies are fatally handicapped rom the outset. Others again are startng without the faintest shadow of definite )roo[ thait there is ft dwt. of gold or an ranee of auriferous rock on the whole (property. In ono case the prospectus claimed hat the property, was on the line of * reef .vine!* bad given an older company good 'eturns, the fact being that the richness of he same reef bad steadily dwindled to almost nil, a long-distance before it reached >he boundary of the oldor . property, and >etweon that point and the commencement

pj the new area there was a considerable' distance utterly unexplored, bo that nobody knows whether eithpr gold or reef exists there. Mr. Briatow, with who®. I had a lengthened talk to-day, expressed fear lest the multiplication of these " wild cat?" should prove prejudicial to New Zealand interests, but he remarked that the legitimate undertakings, such asfor instance the Wftlhi and WaiUjkauri, would hold their own in spite of all. He told me ha had just raceivsd most favourable and promising information by cable as to the Waitekourl mine, but he did not purpose to make it public in London. He had found considerable difference, however, even in the transactions with these mines since the new South African "slump" had begun to pet in. From Mr. Freeman and Mr, Byles I learned that in spite of all the tendency towards depression New Zealand mines on the whole held their own remarkably well. Favourable notice has been attracted by tbe announcement that) Messrs. Berwick and Mooring, the well - known mining engineers, are sending out Mr. Mereier to inspect several properties low under offer, It is remarked by the Financial Timer to-day that New Zaalandera form the only exception to the general activity in mining shares. It points out that Consolidated Goldfields of New Zealand kept firm at 2§d, and that Hnuraki, Kathleen, Kapanga, Royal Oak and Waitakauri Extended, each

closed at better prices. The same paper publishes nearly a column of favourable raining reports quoted from the New Zealand Herald, On the other hand the Financial News of to-day says New Zealand shares were little dealt in. Waihi-Silvortori dropped Jd, to 3§d, and Hauraki were a trifle lower at 17s 3d; bub Kapanga strengthened to 10s 9d. 1 have seen an advance copy of the intended prospectus of an important new mining company, which will very likely be brought out on Monday. It is called the ICuranui-Caledonian Gold Company, and is being brought out by the Melville Mew Zealand Corporation, by which an immediate working capital of £25,000 is guaranteed. The total capital is to be £175,000, i and the first issue of £1 shares will number £150,000. Of these £70,000 will be offered to the public at par. The directors are to be Messrs. T. Melville (of the Melville Corporation), W. Lunan (director of the Waihi-Silverton Company), E. Walmsley, 0, Cowie (late London manager of the Colonial Bank of New Zealand), O. H. Davis (director of the Waihi-Silverton Company), and F. E. Harman. The brokers are Messrs. Faithful, Begg, and Co. The object of the company is to work the once famous Caledonian mine. London, April 3.

Among the latest arrivals in the way of new companies formed to exploit) New Zealand auriferous country is tho Hauraki Associated Gold Reefs Company (Limited), which comes out with a capital of £100,000 in 500,000 shares of 4s each. The company will take over and work a property consisting of 68 acres, situated in the centre of the Hauraki goldfielde, which is now known as one of the richest goldbearing districts in New Zealand, The prospectus states that the property to be acquired is on the same lino of roofs as tho famous Hauraki and Kapa'nga mines, and adjoining the Royal Oak, Bismarck, and Tokatea. Ib is also stated that the property has been worked at various periods, and has been proved by the present owners to contain 15 leads or reefs, all of them being goldbearing, and in eorao cases exceedingly rich. Over 8001) ounces of gold are said to have been taken in the past from the surface workings alone. The prospectus contains extracts from the Government reports of Mr. A. A. Gordon and Mr. George Wilson. The former states that the Tokatea Range has been worked since 1862, and exceedingly rich patches of gold-bearing stone have from time to time been found. Lord Norreys, a director of the Anplo-French Goldfields of Australasia, and Sir C. F. Cunninghame, director of the Triumph and East Hauraki Gold Mines, j are directors of the new company. Some of the papers simply record the fact of the Company's introduction without remark, but one paper is by no means complimentary or encouraging to the " Little Stranger," but greets it with the following observations "The : Hauraki Associated Gold Reefs (Limited), values its shares at 4s, and in our opinion they are dear at that. Its capital is £100,000, but the directors expect such a rush for the shares that they thought it necessary to issue a letter with the prospectus circulated before its public issue stating that ib would be well to apply for any shares desired without delay. The vendors uro to receive £75,000 for the property which it is said they have been working, but no particulars are given as to the result of such work or to what extent it was carried on. And tho only contract mentioned is one between the vendor and the secretary acting on behalf of the company, and all other contracts aro hidden bohind the obnoxious waive clause. This is not the sort of thing we should advise our readers to go in for." The latost quotations for New Zealand mines are as follow Achilles, 2s 9d to 3s; Hauraki, 16s to 16s Od; Hauraki Bast 5s 6d to 6s 6J ; Hauraki New, 5s 9d to 6s 3d; Kapanga, 10s 9d to lis 3d ; Kathleen, 39 9d to 4s 3i; Kathleen Crown, 2s 6d to 3s; Mount Lyell, s{j to 5$ ; Royal Oak, 2s 9d to 3s 3d ; Taitapu, 1 116 to 1 3-16; Toka-! tea, 3s 9d to 4s; Triumph Hauraki, 5s to 6s; Walhi, 6£; Waihi Grand Junction, preferential, l| to 1$; VVaibi-Silverton, 3| to 4; Glenrock, Is to Is 6d ; Komata Reefs, 5s to 5s 6d; London and New Zealand Exploration, 1$ to 1|; VVaitekaurl, 4J to 4|; Woodstock, 1§ to 1£; Consolidated Goldfields of New Zealand, 2$ to 2£; Blagrove's, 4s 3d to 4s 9d; Coromandol Gold, 1 3-16 to 1 5-16; Sootty'a Hauraki, 3s 6d to 48; Wajtekauri Extended, 8s 6d to 8s 9d ; Thames-Hauraki, 1 to 1 1-16. There were many variations yesterday in the mining market in connection with New Zealand shares. Mount Lyell were offered rather freely, with the result that they dropped 1-10. A similar fall took place in Thames-Hauraki; and there was a drop of 3d in Hauraki, according to the Financial Mews, bub according to the Financial Times the last-named shares rose 3d, closing at lCs 9d ox div. Kapanga shares fell 3d, as also did Tokatea, Royal Oak, and Kathleen. Triumph Hauraki rose 6d. Mr. J. M. Jones, who arrived some little time back from Now Zealand, has sue-

coedocl io completing arrangements for floating a new company to bake over the Loyalty gold mine at Te Aroha. He has secured the supporb of some very substantial and influential capitalists, whose names I am not yot> ab liberty to mention, bub who are admittedly towers of strength in the financial and goldmining world. The Loyalty Gold Mining Company is to have a capital of £loo,oooiu £1 shares and £30,000 of working capital, which is already guaranteed. It is probable that the new company will be registered early nexb week. Mr. VV. Spencer Hsrapson, who recently arrived from New Zealand, informs me that) he has succeeded in getting hie first) mining enterprise successfully launched. Allotments are now beiuß made, and he hopes to be able to complete the transfer within the next ten days. Mining business has been thrown completely out of gear for this week and nexb by the Easter holidays, so very little is doing,