THE DREDGING INDUSTRY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 11454, 20 June 1899, Page 6

THE DREDGING INDUSTRY.

PRACTICAL, ECONOMIC, AND GENERAL ASPECTS.

(Bt Our Special Coiimissionee.)

VIII.-THE MOLYNEUX RIVER. The Eaunscleugh No. 2 Deedge.

This company occupies the premier position amongst the dredging companies in Otago in so far as the possession of the most powerful and capacious dredge is concerned. The whole of the machinery works with a smoothness and precision rarely attained by dredges heaved, as they continually are, by the swell and fall of the current. The strain on the steel ropes reacting upon the winches fastened to the deck wrench and tug at the huge machine in a manner trying to its every nerve and fibre, lhe spider and the prey in its web is a poor illustration of a £10,000 fabric held captive by three or four steel wire ropes, not thicker than a man's finger, floating and surging -upon a current like the Alolyneux. The» there are the motions of moving machinery, hauling and pulling a constant load of 40 tons or upwards. The buckets gripping a stone at the bottom of the paddock, causes a sudden lurch of the boat and as sudden a rise, keeping time and time with the rattle and clatter of cog wheels and levers, and yet with all the boat under your feet, though anything but steady, is firm and solid, inspiring the feeling, ot perfect safety, and after a little while of confidence.

The following details, will coiivev something like a faint notion of, the strength evolved by the machinery put to good purpose for wresting from * the Molyneux the golden wealth so, keenly coveted. The pontoons are 120 ft long," and the dredge measures 34ft over all.. Upon the deck room thus afforded there arc placed engines of the latest design, fitted with all the up-to-date innovations, securing the safety of - the floating property and driving the. ponderous parts of the mechanism. The engines work up to 112 indicated horsepower. . , . What is the work required to move the buckets'alone w-ill be. seen when.it is stated that every set of the; connecting links weighs 3cwt. There are 37 : S uch links. * This gives lilcwt. Then . there are 37 buckets at Bcwt each, which is equal to 20 tons of travelling gear, that is with'empty buckets. When the buckets are full this' will be more; than doubled. This weight of 40 or 50 tons; is kept going day and night at the rate of delivering 12' buckets per minute every bucket containing :6£ cubic feet! which gives more than three tons of wash raised every minute, or 1440 tons per shift, of. eight-hours,'*'giving 4520 tons per 'day. . -'■■ - _. ;.** --,

• This quantity of wash is treated in two revolving screens, passing the sand and gold to tables having a superficial area of 520 square feet. The shaft working the buckets is driven by a Hotch leather belt Ibm m width. The ladder is 65ft lon-*----and can* reach to a depth of 40ft. There is a 12m Tangye pump for supplying the two cylinders and tables with water. Two boilers placed side by side supply the motive power. The tailings elevator is capable of stacking the tailings 40ft high. Th? winches are fully up to date, and have special arrangements for starting. They are driven by a special engine, and give every satisfaction in the working of the boat. - ■

The Earnscleugh- No. 2 is also working ground which at one time was river bank and a cultivated farm, the loam having been removed by the same flood and in the same mannei as in the case oi the Alexandra or Chicago Company. The claim being a beach and river claim, the manager. -Mr H Downie, works tho beach in lAxe summer and the river in the winter. Mi Downie, who is a qualified engineer, has proved himself a circumspect and energetic dredge master, and is assisted by Mr T." Wilson lale engineer in the employ of the Union Steam Slap Ccimpany. The whole of the ponderous machinery is so perfect in its construction that two men ncr shift are sufficient to keep the whole in^oine order day and.night. ° The company is a private one, and though the manager admits having done very well, and is still on good gold, nothing as to the gross 'yield was allowed to leak out. Parties who may be credited with knowing something about the inner concerns of the company estimate that the dredge must have averaged a handsome weekly return from their venture, the exact amount of which is however not ascertainable. The Earnscleugh No. 1. This dredge which, at the time it was built, was one of the wonders of the day, is now hopelessly out of the running, belongs to the same private party, and is well known to have got a nower of "old in her day. The dredge also" worked what was once div land, and has turned over irom 10 to 15 acres of ground, dredging to a depth of 22ft, and stacking up the tailings from 10ft to 15ft above the water level. The buckets are not mere than 2| cubic feet in contents, and the machinery is long since out of date. The dredge at the time I was on board was undergoing i a thorough overhauling. Boiler and machinery were all subjected to a searching investigation, a number of men being cn° gaged in^ the work of renovation. The Earnscleugh Company, which has been in existence for a number of years, is known to have obtained a considerable quantity of gold, and though they have extended the boundaries of their property further into the bank, would have, independantof tliat, many years of work before them. The measure of success is, perhaps, best gauged by the new boat—that is, the Earnscleugh No. 2 dredge—placed upon the claim, which 'has cost fully £10,000. Such a step being iaken by a private party without calling in the aid of outside money shows "the confidence the party have in their claim. Besides this ! there are many other' evidences pointing |to the output of the claim as being above ; the average o? Alexandra returns even. • i The most wonderful nart of the story lis that a great deal of'the ground lifted had been gone over bj dredges in times past, and payable gold extracted from it. The width of the ground worked, that is measuring at-right angles, across the course |of the rivei is 300 ft. It may he accepted as quite reliable that the ground turned ] over by the Earnscleugh dredges Nos. 1 and 2 will pay to work again, in fact the j real query being how many times over again?

Messrs Downie and Wilson also hold the position as engineers on board the Earuscleugh Dredge No.. 1, and it is under their supervision that the renovations upon No. 1 dredge are carried on.

Gekeual

In the preceding article I had something to say on double and treble banking claims and the coming storm. That the storm has come and is about tc burst there is plenty of evidence. My visit to the dredging centres fell in witli the time when the monthly Warden's Courts are held. On his last circuit, ending at Roxburgh last Thursday, Mr Wardon M'Carthy granted in round numbers 100 dredging claims situated in the basin oi the Molyneux and its tributaries. The whole of this host of golden lures and promise is to be let loose upon the public, the few private concerns amongst them do not count for anything. This statement in itself should be enough to make intending investors pause before they select their particular "love." There is in this host a number of perfectly legitimate ventures holding out promises of success with more than average mining certainty, which, applied to other ventures than dredging in that line, is, perhaps, not saying a great deal.

Having committed myself to this statement the necessity of going a step further or of retracing is a natural consequence. However, I am not going to retrace, even at the risk of posing in.the character of a Dcusterswivel. All such places where the valley of the Molyneux opens out into

Wide Open Basins such as at Cromwell, and the basin between Clyde and Alexandra,. and again the wide expanse at. Moa, Anderson's, and Miller's Flats, and the whole of the Mauuherikia Valley are very favourable to the lodgement of gold m moderate quantities, which, if they do not come up to the sensations of the Kawarau, make up by permanent and regular yield for what they lack in surprises, both pleasant and otherwise.

Claims situated in the basins mentioned may be regarded as safe investments, returning very handsome interest but no sudden fortune's, provided of course that the conditions of working them are favourable —no double or treble banking—and the machines- employed are of a capacity and efficiency corresponding to the requirements of the ground to be worked.

All such places where the rivers and the valleys of the Molyneux and Kawarau contract into . . j v p .

Naurow Rock-botjnd Gouges may' safely be marked as the site of rich and even surprisingly rich patches and disappointing blanks. 'These are the homes for gambling and speculation. Shares. jumping up one day to a fictitious premium to fall next day as far below it. The Kawarau illustrates this phase of mining speculation, also the gorge from Cromwell to Clyde,. and 'in a less degree the gorge between Alexandra and Roxburgh. Anyone wishing, to go in "for speculation and mine gambling, or wishing to make a quick rise and great returns for his money in a short- time will find these places suited to his purpose, but he must take-the risks that are inseparable from gambling.of every kind.* - • ' 3 ■■

:These observations. are founded and borne, out by long experience. Every river, stream, or valley in northern and" Central Otago confirms 'it. It does not apply to tlje Molyneux or Kawarau alone. There are good, sound reasons—scientific, geological, and others—for it. The investor is confidently recommended to act upon it.