MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11197, 20 August 1898, Page 6

MINING.

NOTES PROM. KEEFTON. (Prom Our Own Correspondent.) . LYELL, August 19. : Alpine.—The ;mine.manager reports: "In. the atopes at the back ,of No. 10 main, south; level the reef,is from" 4ft to ,6ft in width, but the stone is not quite, so clean-as it was. last week. In No.. 11 level a. : crpssput has been put into the hanging..wall-Vfor -a distance of • 10ft, and a crosscut-iias also been driven into the footwall for a distance of Oft. In each case the respective walls were met at the distance driven, while ih the Jootwa-ll ,tliere were a few veins of quartz. The extension of the level has now been resumed, and a further distance of 4ft'driven. -I" am turning the drive slightly into the football.' Stoping has been , steadily carried on at the back 'of the drive, no change having taken place i cither in the size or quality of the reef. The work of cutting oivt a chamber in No. 10 level has been put in hand, and will be completed early in . the week.. A contract for the extension of I No. 9 level north has been, let, but vory little i distance has yet been driven. A reef, 3ft in j width in the top of the drive and lft in the ..' bottom, is being carried along. Fair pros- ' pects can be obtained iii.. the1 stone,' but. the driving is' very hard. Dxiring the week' 230 tons, of stone have been ■ sent to the, battery: ; The scraping of .top plates yielded 104oz | amalagam from 225 tons." ' ■ . - MOUNT LYELL MINING AND RAILWAY ; : COMPANY.:, ;.."'.. . ... ... The Dunedin Stock Exchange supply the following extract referring to the return from the Mount Lyell. Co. for four weeks, ended July 29:—"The general rimnager. advis.es. the board that the low .average' assay in the value of ill*,, ore treated during the abovn period is due to the fact that over .two-thirds of the ore was taken from No. 2 bench,1 which, at-the present time, is in parts down to 2 per cent, copper. But this must bo quarried and pushed forward to permit of fully opening up the two and a-half , and three benches, which assay better. Tho accident to the haulage line was only of a temporary nature, and will not interfere- with the operations and traffic running as usual." The progress report for the week ending.July 27 shows that the usual works are being pushed' on. In No. 1 engine shaft, south drive, j>!6. i'~ tunnel, the 50ft and 75ft.levels are both yield.-. ' ing high-grade ores from thestopes. Theiave-' rage assays of bulk borings for the week frqm the 75ft level are:—Gold, ljdwt; silver,-4170z; ' copper, 9.5 per cent, per toil. '■- ' : f THE LAKE GEORGE MINES (LIMITED), j: The Dunedin Stock. Exchange reports : the ! following for the week ending 31st July, i 1898 : —Mining—Northern section;-: P.owell's i shaft, Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 levels—}Ye have ' raised sulphide ore as usual fromj-the stopc-s - in these levels. No. G . level—Crosscutv has been extended 7ft 6in in the lode; total"length \ from shaft, 80ft. 'Southemi section:--. Allan's '■ shaft-^Fluxes have been mined ,as ■ required. Bright's shaft, 60ft level, has ;b'eon" driven ISft ' for the week. No. 2 stope.-;h'as-pi'odu,ce.d-';the-'j-usual grade ore. Smelting—ll93.6Y tpias'iliave'.j, been smelted for the six.dsiys;- r "V-"''/ 'v.-y.'-"''.'. '.; ;'■ ; KbTiss-fkom grky valley:'-;';':"■".' /• (Fbo.m Oue Owiw.CoßßE^ppNßEm) ..■.;.... ~-,.. ■' .Orweim; Cueek, August 5.; -, Mining at this place; lias- been "almost at a standstill-for the past; feW-.days owing to the ■ bad. weather. . Last week 'about a foot, of, snow ; fell, followed by sharp.'.frpsts,;Which caused.the. snow to lie on, the' grp.und' all :theVweek, thus hindering; minifag operations' considerably. Indeed,so ; far this ha.3*been tKe severest. winter,experienced on- the -Coast for sonic years. For'the last, two in6nths-':we'haye ■had' ; iio'ohing "but i frcats, snowi and rainy ''' -'''■',-■ '.'':' '. ; According to the.; News; -several; very.- heavy ' peals of thunder ; adppmpanied1-by', vivid, lightning, occurred in..the"vßriihner district' last " Fridaj', said to be tKe.. heaviest-^peHpnced'for many years., In sonie'of the sclio'ois 'the- children rushed . but arid made for their homes terror-stricken. The lightning, is, said to have driven smoke and soot down'the chimneys. . Time after time, for years past, reports have, beei spread' that gold in highly-payable quantities has been got on the. Ahaura River, but so far_;it has only been found in patches.; Several claims Have certainly been paying, for some time, but as far as.l camliear they are.liable.to run out, at any time. Like many more riverbank claims, it is my opinion'that- the gold washed out at present is nothing^ more than what haa been brought-down the river-from some-higher levels between two. and thrde miles ' higher up than where the present workings are being carried on. .There is a' vast area of hilly country extending for miles on each side of the river. The country is all . auriferous, and has. never been prospected properly. Some of the gullies have been worked'by Europeans and Chinese, and a good deal of 'gold taken from them. I heard some time ago frota a very reliable authority^'tfiat1 a few; year.s back^.two Chinese obtained $30.' woffcli,; itf~a:';few, .'flaj;s:. Ik one of those igu.lliSsiS iv-l'hferd-are'1 oiilyA a.few,!, claims working at' present. Orie':small creek has been worked for over; a mile, and although" the stream' is bounded on each 'side by'huge ; tc-rraces none of them have been exploited. ■Tjjera is not tho slightest doubt that "if these hills and terrace's were" thoroughly "prospected tome excellent leads of gold- would be discovered.. •'-■ '■''••• Things on the Grey' River -were a little more lively than usual last/jwe'ek,Vwhen a;nurnber 'of' 'new leases for dredging v/ur'pOEes were- marked ' 6K and applied for. The Greyrnoiith...Dredging; 'Company's dredge as at present-jstucfc in> .the. river several miles from. Greyni'diithJ. ttnd Swill j bo unable to proceed to thfe'-'pornpany's'icljaim | (some miles further up the river) until'; there" is ! ■a fresh. .'.. v • ■ '■. ' . | •■■•: ■ ■■•■ ■ —^'».-V »-v.:' :; . ■ I V/ .NOTiSS gFROM;\VAKATIPtr. I .' j . ■ (FEdiI.OUEi'OWN CdItBESPONDENT.)-'-----ARROWTOWN, August I"3;—\Vith the com- . ing spring • there come- signs of increasing "activity in mining. At .tlie'Arrow River two companies are preparing to make a start with nsw work, and another-one'is. making arrangements for the more- efficient working of their property. The Arrp\y' Flat Hydraulic Company, at a meeting held the other- day, decided to bring in their race ,from: the, Roar-, ing Billy at a higher, level ■ than Jthe surveyed; one. This shows good judgment on tho ■ part of the directors. In fact, a more unsuitable site than that first *' fixed upon could, not well have been selected. The fall allowed for the surveyed race, which was Bft per mile, is to be '• increased to 12ft per mile. This little item may prove the saving grace., .of : the company. It is scarcely possible to" speak too severely | upon the continually recurring blunders of pro- j fessibnal—i.e., theoretically professional—men. ' In a water race with Bft fall to the mile nearly one-half is. consumed by the curvatureof the earth, leaving, a fall,of about'4ft to' the . mile for the actual flew of the water. - I cannot say whether or not surveyors by profession are supposed to know anything about the curvature of the earth, but the ■ fact is that | too often they go to work in defiance of the i fact, and more races than one in" Otago have I been made completely useless, while quite a j number have had their possible efficiency reduced by too little. J all allowed for the flaw, of water. Ten,1 12, 'or more- feet .to -the rnilg, if the nature of the.-'ground''permits "jt, is not a bit too much. Besides, there is the advanr tage that-with a .gipod fall .a .mucK; smaller race will carry a given quantity cif water, which, under certain conditions; sis;.' an item ] of the greatest moment. Howe rer, the direct j tors are to.be complimented* for : awaking .to. the fact. It is expected :'that work upon the race will be begun before long, and that it will be finished during the: coming summer. The other ..new company- spoken of;, is the Arrow Big Beach. CompanyJ whichihas' a race already constructed to1 the-site of' opeifations, and only requires a moderate outlay for pipes, ' etc. It is understood that nearly all the shares are taken up, and that there is sufficient capital on hand to see the work through. The Arrow Falls Company, which! turned ' out some very handsome parcels of gold last ( summer, are expecting their new steam crane i to 'arrive from Melbourne immediately. With i 'this help-at work amongst the big'stones, a'-i considerably larger quantity of ground can bel turned; over, and, as a . matter of course, the j •yield'of "gold increased. ... ~.' H. ;';-| ,!.-.| ... . 'NOTES FROM TUAPE£A. 't ■"'-.-, (I"R9M ;Otje Own Coebesponde^*t.) August ,15.—1 have heard that the' Fidelity claim, Blue Spur, lias changed; hands again.. The :party".who .owned the claim had to de: pend for' water to work witriNlrom the overflow of either tile',-Cornish party or the Consolidated—chiefly.'the former; The.vCormsh pgrty^liaVing shifted their pipes,' the Fidelity Company can't get any more'water So they sold 'out to the .Corriishmen for £700. I have been, fold that the latter party cleared last ysar, after paying all'expenses, £600 a.man. This party likewise owns the North of Ireland claim. I have heard:it asserted that they ow;n one of the best properties in the'island.;, Ine 'Consolidated Company made a mistake innot buying the two claims mentioned when they hail the chance. The manager telegraphed to London telling the company to buy. lney assented to buy, but limited the manager to a fixed sum. ' The claims, when sold; brought more, so Mr Jackson was: stuck, npt being able to go beyond the amount he was authorised to bid. I have heard it said that the water rights that go with the North of Ireland claim would of themselves have paid the company in a few years had they bought it. There has not been much work done in the Consolidated- during the past two weeks, through tho frost ancl snow. The first week some of the men only got in a clay s work, ancl some a day and a-half.' The second week was very little better. .One of the men who looks after one of the water races came m on the last clay of July, ancl he had to remain in all the week, not being able to got out agai£Ho made an attempt on horseback on the Bth, but had not gone far when ho got Btiick in the snow, and had to turn back. I saw by the Witness that there has been a stormy meeting of the Blue Spur Company in London, ancl that a'Mr Bourn, the principal agitator, Baid that he kneW the district about here, and that he knew all about hydraulicing There was aJ. F. Bourne working as a miner in Wetherstones over 30 years ago. If it is the same man—he was then knowu as Gentleman Jack—he would know the district as it then was; but as for knowing anything about the present conditions of working

that is out of the question. It is only about ] 15 years since hydraulicing >and elevating | were introduced into the district. "When Mr Bourne was here it was box sluicing or j ground sluicing, with boxes a foot in width. At the Blue Spur' it was all ground sluicing, 1 with boxes 3ft wide, so where Mr Bourne (he spelt liis nam.e Avith-ari "e J> at the end ' then) learned this hydraulicing I don't know. The Golden Rise is working away, three shifts a day. Blow high,-'or blOw-ldw,: the man, that's on the night br. morning shift lias earu't his. mpney this winter. It would pay ' tneni to have two men;on each shift. The ground is full of broom, and: w.hins, and at times the jet gets blocked. So the nozzleman lias to turn the water off and clear the uptake several times during a- shift. ' ■ :'The cement claims that Mr J.E. Gascoigne took up, which were afterwards cancelled, and granted to Mr Wi Smyth, were floated into a' small company almost in one day, last week: There are 11 sharehold'era. Mr Smyth holds five shares, and the other 10, one each. I believe each share represents a 100 £1 scrip. It could' have-been floated three times:over. Mr Smyth wanted no promoters' shares, only j the expenses he was put to. I am,not aware yet. if their dealings with the local industry I are settled. .;■ ls . "UmCR MOLY.NKUX. ..•>..;,. '~'..-.■.., ■ ..'■ August B.—Keen,frost continuing during the week, the river keeps,at a."-fairly'low,level; with. . i the1 result that tlxo dredges- at ( .wprk':Bre' doing;.] ■correspondingly we 11..;. ';<' "';..'■',':'..•' :'.'? "'"■.( : The Moa put in a good 'week's work--and';■ . washedupon Saturday, 48bz;'j': ."'■;.'■••':■,-■■■"'■■ The Golden Beach, was one day for repairs, but; for five days' running, washed up / on Saturday 91oz. As it cost.?, about, lloz a week i to pay expenses, your readers can calculate the profits of this company for^hb week. . The Island Basin has not yet struck payable :' gold, but''l hear is prospecting different parts : of the claim. On the same claim this dredge, as a current wheeler, was Ta complete failure, I and now, as a steam dredge of inferior order, [ ill-luck seems to pursue her. If she could but pay_ expenses there would <"\>e hopes for better luck to come, but no company can go on for j long paying" expenses up to nearly £40 a week. The -Mplyneux Hydraulic is undergoing repairs and a thorough overhaul. Of the private, or semi-private, dredging companies the public know nothing for certain. All .-that the public1 know is that these companies' ,' dredges are kept steadily at work, and that their owners,I'With, one or two-exceptions, go about , doing nothing but smoking cigars, which may | be accepted as the sign of a prosperous dredgeI owner in the "Upper Molyneux Basin. . , r 'Good progress is being made with .the build- j ring.of the.pontoons for the Vincent Company's | ! dreilge, which will be launched in about a fortI night. •'•''■' I The. Matau Ccmpany.—This company was floated in October,of last year with a nominal ■ capital of £7000,- of which £300 was allotted to ; the .vendors in'paid-up shares, leaving £6200 to jbe subscribed bj the public. A good bargain , ; for the. company, this, -aajSiii niy opinion time ; ,-vvill amply prove. But .what have the directors ...of:'..the:.cbmpany,,don> durjug ithe,: teii- months , ! it has;b,e;en:i'ri;exigtp.ce:?.i.'jitav;e they aqiie.any- > 'thing?.,. Sby'faiv;as shirehoMersjinithis "district : ; k:!;oV>,-;a,l_L i; ,ib.at;; has.'been Vdpne;>; ,uuj3er view, : Awards-tli&'erectiQa-'ofr.ffie.dredge is .that two .'lqads-ioi'tirnber,- h'aTOr;beferi;put;"..<iii the""claim. ~ <Ye<j, they 'Hay^dpn'e.sbiSeljlipg'jn.ore—they have ■' I. called up' seveii-eigMh.^ of'.jth'o Subscribod capital and put-.it'W^at-bank-rate of.interest. .They al;o threaten,to charge 8 perjccrit. on all unpaid jcalls.'Now this calling vp1 capital ancl threatening to charge 8 per. een't.',,'p'nAnpaid calls-ap-\ peats tome a liitle. stiff; especially when tHey have" no earthly'.'uad.'fp^-the money, and ..won't have for .rupnthsu'tb".■■.cpri,e".: In contrast ': to the.Matnu oomi^aiiyj-take the Gplden Beach i"company,., wli^ch ' was registered" about two :• ! months, before' the1. Mataui.; ."sli,b 'Golden Beach ; •■ comxiauy has' got its dredge-actually at work, and has only called tip, so-far;* three-fourths of its subscribed capital ;■ whjra.ca's the ,Matau has ■ not yet:started the con'sfr'ue'tion of the pontoons. , Perhaps the director's are not to blame for the : delay, but they are blameable for sjo hastily calling up their capital.." So far as I know, this company has no local''director from whom , local shareholders can get information. I think the . directors might let.shareholders, know by circular what has been, dope and when the - dredge is likely to be.at Work. I predict that the Matau dredge will not .be ; at work for seven months' yet. Notwithstanding the'delay shareholders may keep their faitli \inshaken.1 in their claim, which will repay- them when;, operatioiis have actually been commenced. , The-claim ' commences about a mile: and a-lialf below the . Clyde bridge, extending--id'own- the .river for a mile, taking, in a large; portion of'the right bank o£ the river. In the day.s'.of the spoon dredge this was the old Clyde ComjJany's claim, which , yielded handsome returns. ;,tc the fortunate owners, getting' as high as 80pz a, shift. < N.ow : tlie spoon dredge, could'not treat' the''wash j effectively, nor .could she -work-in the-middle of : ■ the river'; nor iiijo'th.e.,. ; ba^ks,,-.but-,qniy at the ; ■.Sidej'of' the river.'; - Cdn^pifapilly/'vrEfyttjA spoon „ '■'dredge^could"'produce''' hWsi'dsphier'-ret'iirns by ) . scratching and scraping the sides of the river, what- may' a modern-. ancJiitfp-to-date-- pqwerful • steam.dredge not do ; ?,:.,Eich Tuns of gold are . known to exist'in this claim, 'anS sluicilig has ; been, going on -on its baijr^s-.,.since the sixties. Now, the subject of rims ,of gold and how the gold came into the drift isa big question, which I will discuss at some future time. The Matau :, '.shareholders nJay'Test; assijred,-'s!6cording to tho i; ■'opinionrof soun3:- practical-sre'dgers, that they : have a property, that will pay well. , ••• ■!• \:'^"; i ' t \ ' Dredging.^There is''/qifite ft.- ; 'flatter'-;,oiE /ex? . i citement, caused by tlie Alpine dredge getting on to good gold just above; Gibraltar Eock, in the Ciutha.- She washed up 240z, 290z, and ! 48oz in .three., consecutive weeks, progressing • ' from good to better. Shares are rising rapidly. Mr Jameson, of Quartz Reef,'. bought an interest at a price equal .to about £1000 per-share. The dredge is working::.the; .claim which is known as the Biley's Beach claim on tribute. Tha .ground' immediatfely'..below has been pegged out, and the holders,, a /local syndicate, - have'engaged Crookston!s, dredge, which has ' made a start down stream. Everyone wishes :both parties success,; as both have had a long • '-.run of liadluck.. .; ' . :"Jj ,-;. ■. ' ;■' '■■''- ... The machinery 'of Hartley and" Keilly's Beach Company's dredge ' ] 'is being got into position under the supervision, I believe, of Mr Buchanan, of A. and' ; T. Burt's. . -.. The Magnetic and Lady Ranfurly are in full . swing of construction, and.a few more months ought to double the output of gold. i Shotover"''Quarts' Mining' Comiiauy "(No : | Liability).—Mi S. E. Brent supplies the following extracts from, the mine manager's - weekly report, ,'dated 15th. inst.: —During the ■ past week the formafcionj'm the" machine level has made more solid and is': 'getting harder. Less water is inaking .'along the wall as the ground becomes harder." It has been extended i 15ft for the week, making the total length j now driven 457 ft. j In another column will be found the pros- \ pectus of tlie Croydon Gold Dredging Com- ; pany, which is being formed to acquire and I dredge, a claim at Croy_d,on,.. ri near, Gore. The ;: capital is £8000 in £i;VsHare3' ( :.arjd 5650 shares : arec. pffered to the publ# Mr'. ; 'G. W. Harvey : is the broker. , '■-;Ss'tjk ■£.<-! f:'f' ■■ The Golden' Run. Sliiiom|;''C6ii3pany washed up .at the end- of las,t'.:w;eekifor; ; 67oz Bdwt 6gr ] for nine days'l run. ?,.■••';' ''%■,;• '.' j- ■- ~ -'-'•'•- -:-:- .J— t