MINING ENGINEERING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13273, 4 September 1906, Page 3

MINING ENGINEERING.

Sir,—l have carefully followed, through the medium of your valuable columns, the discussion oil the above important subject. The fear that the stupid statements made, by " A.U.I, may receive credit, at, certain quarters prompts me to enter into the discussion. For instance, take the statement that the' practical man will score 99 points out o! every 100. I. may make the same assertion from the other side; in which case the controversy might go on indefinitely. - " A.0.T." should bear in mind that such bald statements are- unconvincing and quite valueless. "A.C.T." is unfortunate. He misses the point on every occasion. He says that " the New Zealand Mining Act is not so framed as to prevent the highly-trained mining engineer from booming a mine manager.'': Wero'that? so the . discussion would never f have boon commenced. Furthermore "A.C.T." states that "many practical and illiterate miners successfully managed many of the Thames mines, when, there were tons, of gold in that locality.',';lt is only became:: tin .Thames- was so phenomenally rich that- ;: the uneducated practical man 'could manage these mines 'v without disastrous results .to tin; shareholders. The rich tailings-heaps are a standing monument! to the limited competency of those men. The practical man's mismanagement is, I contend, the cause i of the present, stagnation at the Thames. His utter lack of prevision, •is utter incapability of looking beyond truckling, stoping, rising, sinking, and setting timbers led him to pick'ont the "eyes of the mines." The result is that the development of the Thames field is now being carried out largely on calls. A trained mining engineer would have carried out extensive development with "some of the winnings from rich •patches, so that by this time rthe Thames goltlfield would have been conclusively; investigated. I notice that " A.C.T," states that he is amused at " Miner's" letter. This is evidently the morbid amusement that the ignorant mind indulges in in the contemplation of the -ruin that his own bungling haswrought. 1 PBACTICAL. "A Mount Eden rtoficlont" complain* of 'hit** lie ins: taken off flic service without notice, leaving residents to get home as best they can.