NEW ZEALAND MINES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXV, Issue 10751, 12 May 1898, Page 2 (Supplement)

NEW ZEALAND MINES.

LATEST LONDON NEWS. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.] ' London, April 9. THE IRENE MINE : SERIOUS ■ STATEMENTS. THERE is serious trouble in the Irene < Hau " raki) Gold Mining Company, A short time back a meeting of the shareholders ,was held, but strict precautions appear to have been taken to prevent this being known beforehand, there being none of the usual notices in the financial and other papers. However, this is not very surprising in view of what took place, for the chairman (Colonel Harris) had a disheartening picture to present. He stated that the company was formed and the prospectus issued in implicit reliance upon the reports of well-known men. But after doing an immense amount of work, the reports were not borne out, Mr. F. C. Brown, in whom the directors had every confidence, had reported from time to time in so discouraging a strain, his unfavourable accounts being supported by particulars of assays, that the independent opinion of Air. T. Severin Sorensen was obtained, and he reported that Mr. Brown had carried on the work in a proper manner, and confirmed Mr. Brown's opinion of the mine. Work had been continued, but the ore raised was so poor that it would not pay the cost of working. These disquieting disclosures naturally elicited considerable discussion. The Chairman then offered to the Irene shareholders a paying property which he owned, in South Australia, for no cash or shares, but simply for a royalty, binding himself to assign the leases to the company without payment, and only, upon a royalty after they bad worked it for six months. The matter was referred to a committee, and on the motion of Mr. W. H. Richards a vote of thanks was passed to the chairman for what was " apparently a very liberal offer.". At a subsequent meeting, however, held 8 few days ago, an opinion was given by the solicitor to the company that there was no power under the Articles of Association to accept the chairman's offer, and the committee to whom it had been referred, therefore recommended that the whole matter should bo allowed to stand over till a report was received from the secretary, Mr. W. J. Lavington, who was at present on his way to New Zealand, and would thoroughly look into the position of affairs. MR. RAYMOND RADCLYFFE AGAIN. " Wealth and Wild Cats" is the title under which Mr. Raymond Radclyffe, the " R.R." of the Financial Times, has collated, and Messrs. Downey and Co. have published, those remarkable letters, bright and vividly written, "but far from invariably accurate, with which Mr. Radclyffe startled the New Zealand mining world last year. • The book is excellently got up, printed, and illustrated, and so far as I can judge from a casual glance, its contents are' identical with the letters already referred to. There is, however, an appendix entitled " Notes on the Gold Mines," in which Mr. Radclyffe sums up his matured' and revised views of New Zealand mines. After remarking that the mining advantages are greater in the North Island than those of almost any other mining i centre, for water is plentiful and labour very efficient, and the configuration of the land gives a large amount of " backs," he goes on to say : — " The host mine in the country is undoubtedly the Wailii. This is an enormous area containing two reefs, the Martha and the Welcome, both of them very wide, and containing rich shoots of gold. The exact width and value of these shoots I am unable to stated The general idea about the Waihi is, of course, that it is a low grade mine, and naturally the management desires to keep the public in the dark as to the value of the ore shoots. The object of every good manager is to equalise his yield, and this can be done by judicious mixing of ore. All the 1 ores of the Waihi are roasted, and afterwards ' dry-crushed and cyanided, which is the most expensive and laborious process ; but it 1 seems the only one at present discovered I which can be relied upon to give a good result. There is so much silver in the ore of the Waihi, that an ounce of bullion looks lite an ounce of lead, and is not worth more than 22s 6d. It is said that this mine is capable of payable cent, per cent, dividends, but practically 110 one except Barry knows anything of the value of the mine. If the shoots of gold go down below the 200 ft level, the 'Waihi shares are very cheap at the present price, and tho mine has a long life before it." >\ . MISCELLANEOUS. Attention is being directed by some London papers to the projected Auckland Ex-1 hibition, especially with reference to its mining phase. Great success is predicted for the exhibition. . A lengthened account is published in one of the financial papers, of an interview with m-" , ! , Gor d° n ' Government Inspector of Mines, held with him in the colony, after his ♦w r \f r? L , ondon ' lam glad to notice that Mr. Gordon seems to have laid chief stress upon exactly the points which I have so often brought into prominence, viz., the disinclination of British capitalists to embark further in New Zealand mining enterIbises until tliev begin to Bee some return for the money already sunk, and, secondly, he strong repugnance felt to recent depart tures in mining legislation, and the want of confidence occasioned by the perpetual tinkering of the mining laws. In fact, Mr. Gordon simply seems to have repeated what tim! Ve Tv ln y° columns from time to time, and he is quite right. prominence is given in mining journals to the now arrangement made by the New Zealand Government with reference to the cyanide process, and the" Cassell's patent These are said to have given general satisfacM LATEST QUOTATIONS ' js&ttaawsss SaMrattftssfs; 6s "Suraki AstcUHU panga, .3s 6d to 4s; Kathleen, 6d to 9d * Kathleen Crown,, 6d to 9d ; Kauri, 11-16 to •l 6-16 ; Komata Reefs. 6s to 7r • t^,„j and New Zealand Exploration, 3-16't06.16°? Zealand Crown, 13-16 tn IR ifi . \r ' 7, New, Hauraki, 6d to 9d • UnitLt* 9-16 > United, .3-16 to