MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13695, 11 September 1906, Page 6

MINING.

. Yesterday, morning the Molyneux Rivet stood 7ft lin above the normal mark at Alexandra, a "rise of two inches as compared with Saturday's level. The weather was mild. The muster of BigncH's No Town dredge reports a leturu of 14oz Cdwt for lot hours." The- master of the Mystery Plat Company's dredge reports having started dredging on Saturday. Everything was working well. . During the week ended Monday, September 10, returns were icpcrted from 29 dredges'in the Otago field. The total yield wis 7K!cz. which gives an average oi 2Gc2 odd for each dredge; The master of the Rising Sun dredge reports for. the week ended September S that he dredged 125 hours, and worked ahead 12ft. Tho river ; was falling, and a lot of drift was travelling. Ho cleaned out half of the old paddock, which was full of silt. Tho face was about 130 yards wide. The bottom was chiefly of pipeclay, but a little sandy clay was coming in in the eastern corner. The machinery was running fairly well. Tho secretary of (he New Roxburgh Jubilee Company has received word concerning the salvage operations now being carried on at tho dredge. Tho letter is dated last Friday, and slates that (as previously reported) Mr Macphail had uncoupled tho buckets, and hoped to Lave a few on tho pontcon that night. Prospects were bright, but it was too early to forecast tho result of tho attempt to save tho ladder. The success of the Upper Blackwater Miners' Association, which lias i recently inado 20 miles from Reefton what appears to be a valuable discovery, shows what can be done liy system, and while tho Government is willing to -assist in work of this character, it is nor averse to the distribution of subsidies

to one or two men. During last financial year the sum of £1322 was paid in subsidies to prospectors.

At the annual general meeting of shareholders in tho llcsse'y's Company, held on Friday evening, a report wassrea'd from Mr John Hessey, who had, by arrangement, visited the claim. The clauses of Mr Hessey's report were as follow:— "(1) The dredge is in goo:l order, and is working well and steadily. Tho acting dredgemaster (Mr Armstrong) seems to be working - tho fesdge well and systematically. There is also a full stock of requirements, and no outlay may bo expected in. this direction for some time. (2) It may appear to the shareholders somewhat, unreasonable that the dredge should have so long continued to work ground which gave such poor returns -as have obtained of late, but tho reason, for so doing is twofold— namely, to protect ths/,conmany from futuro litigation through' tho flooding of, (he township, and also in a measure to prospect tho ground-so as .to locate, it possible, the exact run of the gold.. This prospecting is, I think, now at an end, as, judging from tho improved return o( last week'and the appearance of Iho wash now being .treated,'there is every reason to look forward.'to almost immediate returns of from 20 to 25' ounces "per week. (,1) As-to the future of tho claim, I think shareholders would be wrong to tako a despondent view based on recent returns, as in all probability there will bo two or thrco years' dredging at the bottom' end of the claim, which, judging from appearances, will average over 20 ounces per. week, and in addition thero is a 'considerable area at the top end to finish on which we-know will average over 40 ounces.' 1 •'

The Tuiipeka Times has been raising the question of the destruction of agricultural lands by dredging and s'.uicing. The attack is more particularly directed, against tho Is.a.nd Block Sluicing Company;" and a calculation which is made by the writer of tho article may as we!l»be brought under the notice of those whose interests are threatened by the article in question:-"If wo suppose that the sluicing claim works .about 10 acres of the flat annually, and that tho thickness of the arable soil is 15ft, we hav'o a total of 720,000 cubic yards or car-loads of the richest soil in New Zealand utterly destroyed every year.. And what is dbtained to,'compensate for this sinful waste of productive, soil? A thin sprinkling of gold dust peppered among tho coarse gravel below the fertile deposit, worth a litt-'.e over £5000 for the 10 acres! To obtain this sum of money what value is destroyed? Let us make a small calculation. Personal observation of the. fruitfulness of tue soil has convinced the writer that, i as manure, it would be worth at least Is a load. Taking tho stuff shifted, per annum as 726.000 loads, wo find that £36.000 worth of soil is annually destroyed in order to get £5000 worth of gold. ~ . . The value of tho ground destroye"d may be gauged from the fact that Messrs, Craig, who mintage a farm on the. flat 'for their uncle. Mr H. Craig, of Lawrence, last year harvostcd three and n-half tons to (lie acre of cats from unmanured ground which has been cropped 'over and (Tver again during tho -last 40 years, Mt Smith, who owns a small farm, of about 20 acres, from which be; extracts' sufficient income to liyo comfortably, informed the writer thai last year ho took from"- one 'acre and a-quarter 30 tons of first-class.marketable potatoes.' He also averaged 20 tons of turnips to the acre—swedes and green top yellow—the size and shape of. which, the writer can vouch from personal observation, make, them fit for exhibition in any show in the colony."

DUNEDIN STOCK EXCHANGE.

The behaviour of .the Molyneux River at present certainly does not encourage business in dredging stocks, nnd this fact' may partly account for-tho weakness of the market yesterday, when no sales were recorded 33 a result of either call-over. .Alexandra, E-urekas wore an offer at Bs, and Enterprises at 6s. Mystery Flats had buyers and New Roxburgh Jubilees were sought after., No Town .Creeks, and' Waikaka Queens were ..(juotetl. Tho issue of. National Bank .-was'.on'offer. Shares nil South British Insurance s were in demand. Standard Insurance scrip was quoted.: For Westport Coal;...shares .buyers were offering 6d more than on Saturday. Shares in Perpetual. Trustees,'Otago. Daily Times, and in Milburn Lime ,(20.5 paid) wore all inquired for in vain.. \ , '- The following are yesterday's'latest quotations, subject to the u«ual-brokerage;— Alexandra Eurekr—Sellers Bs. .. Alpine No. 2—Sellers 4s. . '■'*'■ BigneU's No Town-Sellers 4a 6d, •' Bkickwaier (contrib.)—Buyefs 125,. Electric—Sel'crs 2Js.' '-'■';•'■ ' Enterprise—Sellers Cs. Eitrick-Buyers.3s 9d. sellers,is 91 Golden Bed—Sel'crs'lßs 6d. ': Golden Run—Sellers 12s. '!.'■' Island Block—Buyers 2H Gd;'.sellers 4s, MMyneux Tlydmuc— Buyers '4s.' Mystery Flat-Buyers 335. ' '-.'■'■ New Roxburgh Jubilee—Buyers 6s 6d. No Town Creek-Buyers 123 9d, sellers 13s 9d. . Pscfo'.us-Sellers 38s 9tl. Sailor's Bond—Buyers 4s. sellers Bs. Sandy Point-Buyers 20s 6d, sellers 235, AV-nikaka Queen—Buyers 3s, sellers. 4s. Mtnixg. Talisman Consolidated-Buyers 2S$, sellers 255 6d. Big River-Buyers Is, sellers ss. INVESTMENT STOCKS. National Bank-Sellers £5 12s Gd.' Naitidnal Insurance—Se'lers ills 6d. South Britis-b Insurance—Buyers £5 9s, Standard Insurance—Buyers £1, sellers £1 Wosiport Coal—Buyers £0 17s. New Zealand Coal and Oil-Sellers 2s 3d. . Pernetnal Trustees—Buyers 183. , 'Milburn Lime (20s paid)— Buyers £1 ss. New Zealand Portland'Cement—Buyers £1 lis Od. Olngo Daily Times—Buyers £18 12s' 6d. New ZeMiid Pnpcr Mills-Sellers £1 2s 6d. D.I.C. (pre!.)— Buyers 2s Cd p. -

AUCKLAND STOCK EXCHANGE. (Feoh Ora Ovra Coebispondknt.) AUCKLAND, September 10. The following sa'.es ivero made on the Stock ExoWngo to-day:-New -May- Queen. 39; Waiotnlii."*! 9s; Talisman, £1 8s Gtl; .AVaihi Extended, 4s 7(3;. Waihi, *9 19s a.n<l £10. The. following are the closing quotations:— luiramii Caledonian—spllers 2s. buyers Is 9d; Acw May Queen—sellers 3s Id, buyers 2s lid; Victoria—se'lers Is, buyers 9d; se'lers £19s, buyers £1 8s 3d; Ta.TWiansellors £1 8s 9d, buyers £\ 8s Gd; Waihiscilers £3 19s Gd, buyers £9 193. • 9 '■■ - NOTES FROM KEEFTOtf. ' (Fbom Ouh Owk Correspondent.) . IfEEFTOX. September 10. In lus report to the London Board of ihe Consolidated Goldficlds Company io the Blaekwatcr reefs, on which tie company have option. Mr E. W. Spencer says:-" As tho property stands il i* a most interesting one possessing great possibilities. The assay valuo of samp'os taken from different parts of the :«[, ig greatly in excess of what was cuticipaled, going 35d\vt in some places and 20rt\vt 19dwt,. lodwt, and IMwt in others." '- Shares in the Xew Ca'cdonian mine, situated at Larry's Creeli which is now in coureo of flotation, are b«ng freelv- applied for, and on'.y a few of the 5000 placed on tho.- market remain to be taken up. Tho coinpany!intend9 sinking tho shaft a further distance of. 150 ft. and _ oushing on .work as expeditiously as possible. Stone \\prked in the stmie locality years ago went as high as 9oz to the ton. Thus it will bo seen that if the reef can be picked un again a good future is in store for the venture.

_ At a meeting of the Now Feddersen'3 Dredging Company. Mr W. Jiontietli was elected a director in place of Mr J. Osborne (deceased). Tlie return last week was'2Boz for 113 hours. Dredging was somewhat delayed owing to the river being high. ■