MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13859, 23 March 1907, Page 12

MINING.

Til! annual meeting of the Lady Annie Oo'.d Dredging Compiuiy, 'called for yesterday afternoon, lapsed for want of a quorum-. Thero will bo 110 return from the Perseverance Company's No. 1 dredge this \veek, the lower tumbler having broken oii'Tuesday night last. A now tumbler is now being put into position. The rivjr height yesterday morning v:as nit lOin above the normal- mark nt Alexandra, showing a fall of -in sinco tile previous day. Mr Dames Sawle, of Miller's Fin*, and formerly master of the New Halfway House dredge, has beer, appointed dredgemaster to tho- -Molynciiy. Koliinoor Company, vice Mr David Hepburn resigned. The dredge is not waking at present owing to the high state of tho river. Jleportms for las! week, the master of tho New Trafalgar dredgo stated that ho had a ■ most uusatiffactory run during tho week, the dralgo continuing working up to 7 o'clock on Saturday morning, and putting in 130 hours. At the beginning of the week tho screen had to bo strapped, and then ft lino of plates required to be put in at tho end in order to run the week out. Tho feed puiup also gave » good deal of trouble, and refused to act altogether during tho last few shifts. Tho ground deepened again to from 35ft to 39ft, and showed good wash right across tho cut, which would average about 30oz. Tho face was USOii wide. There will be no wash-up this fc week owing to repairs being effected.

DUX.EDIX STOCK EXCHANGE. Xo business was effected on 'change yesterday. The market was about on u par with that'of the previous day, values showing liq material alteration one'way or the other. Talisman had buyers at 32s and sellers at 335, while inquiry for Waihis at. £8 19s found :eaponso at it Is. In investment stocks i'. Donaghy's J ■tope debenturo was available at £101 us, but elicited lie buying offers. The following aro yesterday's Tatest quotations, subject to tho usual brokerage; — Alexandra Lead—Sellers 3s. Bignell's Ko Town—Sellers 4s. Dunstan Lead—Buyers Is lid, sellers 2s 2d. Golden Run—Sellers 3s JOld. Island Block—Buyers 2s 45d, sellers 2s Gd. Mystery Flat—Buyers 335. Now Roxburgh Jubilee—Buyers ss, sellers 8s- . New Trafalgar—l3uy«rs ISs Gd, sellers 21s. Rise and Shin<» —Sellers 17s fkl, Queen—Buyors Cs 6d, Uisi.no. Kuranui Caledonian—Buyers Is. Talisman Consolidated—Buyers 325, sellers 335. Waihi Extended—Buyers Cs lOd, sellers 7s 3d. Crowns-Buyers 7s 3d. Tasmanian Copper—Buyers IGs 3d, sellers 17s. Waihi—Btiyors £8 10s, sellers £9 Is. Big Hiver—Buyers 5s 6d, sellers Cs 3d. Investment Stocks. National Bank—Buyers £5 4s, sellers £5 7s. Union Steam Ship Company—Sellers £17 os.' JilZ. Drug (40s paid)— Buyers 49s 6d. Donaghy's Rope—Sellers £5 ss. Donaghy's Rope (dobcntiirc)—Sellers £101 ss. D.T.C. (pref.)—Buyers 22s 3d, sellers 235. Dimcdin Stock Bichange— Sellers 50s.

ELECTRIC GOLD DREDGING COMPANY. The directors of the Electric Gold Dredging Company submit the following report to shareholders for the half-year elided February 28: — V \'oiir directors, in submitting their report and balance sheet fer the half-ybar ended February 28, 1907, have pleasure in stating Hint the purchase of the claim from the Junction Electric Company has been warranted, the first return from the No. 1 dredge which \m placed on this claim being 12Gw, 3dwt, which, after assay, is valued at .{l9O 0s fid. It will be a question for your directors to consider during the incoming' dredging season, whether it would be advisable t<? salvage from the sunkcij dredge (purchased with the claim) what can be procured when the river is at a low level, as past experience 'has shown that tho cost of salvaging dredgo machinery 'has, in a number of cases, resulted in iv loss. It is estimated that tho new purchase had added at least two years to the life of tho company's existence. Now that the railway will shortly be running to Clyde, the cost of cartage of duplicates, stores, etc., will make a considerable saving in tho working expenses. The No. 2 dralge is being shifted up tho river a. short distance to start in a fresh block, from which it is expected good returns' will be won." The gold l won during tho period under review was valued at £3299 8s 3d, tho No. 1 dredge contributing 4330z lldwt,.of a. value of £1701 8s 3d, and tho No. 2 dredge 918oz ldv;{., of a value of £3593. Tile expenditure for the s'x months was £2391. A sum of £1950 was devoted to the payment of a dividend, £500 to tho purchase of No. 2 claim, and £118 was expended in shifting tho No. 1 dredge and in sundries. On February 28 there was cash cm deposit to the amount of £2570, the current account at tho bankers stood at £1107 14s, and time was a sum of £11 17s in baud, making the total available money £3689 Hs. As against this sundry, creditors stood at £019. , NOTES FROM REEFTON. fFnou Ooa OTTH Cobbespokdent.) REEFTON, March 22. Tho Do Phillippi dredgo at Threo-channel Flat, which was washed away from, its moorings in a recent flood, is now lying on an even keel, awaiting tho next flood to take it back to its former position. The Callaghan's Creek dredge also Buffered fromi floods last week. The dredge is now lying at an angle on a. heap o£ tailings, where it drifted in consequence of tho head line breaking. Heavy log 3 have been placed under her in order to prevent her falling too suddenly. One of the pontoons is full of water, which it is expected will be easily pumped out. It is intended! to drain tho creek, and probably no great iinw will elapse before the machine is working again. Tho contractors who are sinking tho New Calcdomian Bhaft have discontinued work owing to too rnudi water being met with. ISLAND BLOCK GOLD DREDGING- AND . SLUICING COMPANY (LTD.). TO THE EDITOR. Sip.,—ln reply to the letter of 'Mr R-. T. Stewart in your issuo of tho 15th Inst. I would like to point out a few mattes in which Mr Stewart and I come in conflict. My letter, which he calls lengthy, is a more flea-bite compared to tho wonderful extension of his own. I would like to say at once that in referring to our respective experiences I laid the greatest stress on our periods as mino managers, Compare my.loiter to that of Mr Stewart's, and it is easily found that when referring not to apprenticeship, but to our mine management, my dates and his correspond, and simply show that, as I have ■said in my last letter, 'his experience goes no further than my own. I admit that Mr William Adams, of View street, Dunedin, was o'ne of tho most successful mine managers in Now Zealand. I give Mr Stewart the full benofit of his experience of three years under Mr Adams, and yet I can still confidently hold the opinion that Mr Stewart's, ground is by that much cut away from under his feet, seeing that, with all his experience and

his apprenticeship to Mr Adams, while -himself nfine manager o( tho property he professes to know so well, he yet (taking his own dates) and being manager (from May, 1893, to November, 1804), was such a "signal success/' (I quote his own words) that when lie handed the management over to me the company's affairs showed a. debit of about £3000, made up of £270!) bank overdraft and £300 wages. Tho wages overdue when Mr- Stewart left tile Island Block included his own wages, and I think he will admit that he could not, and did not, get his wages till I, his successor, got' the gold out of the claim to pay him and the others. Where does Mr Stewart's

"signal success" come in? Mr Stewart may appoint himself & mining expert and talk learnedly of this, that, and tho other, hut his wliolo letter is a veiled talk of the methods he would adopt. But while discussing my methods and telling ns that in tho matter of the 482 ft head, the elevator has to bo constructed upon lines determined alone by reference to that head, ho is very backward in giving a hint as to Ilia own. peculiar methods. His lengthy disquisition on " power derivable," etc., may bo very correct, but it is very useless unjess ho can show results. Of course, Mr Stewart again harps on the intelligent use of boring rods as a reliable safeguard. I cannot find a bit of fault with that; but it leads to tho question, is Mr Stewart desirous of testing tlie claim by obtaining the jobof boring the ground? With reference to tho llin valve, Mr Stewart at the meeting denies the use of the valve, then, finding that he has found a mare's nest, and that tlie valve lias been used, discovers a new fact in tho inefficiency of the " Oft in length of the 9in pipe," and thus changes his position. 1 ask, "What next?" I would liko further, shortly, to say, as for as any of 'Mr Stewart's statements as to where the work is to begin, that- the works and plant are now in tho very best position to work all the western boundary to advantage, including, by this arrangement, every convenience to stack tailings, which Mr Stewart need not bo told is of the very greatest importance. Mr Stowart knows all about tho claim and tho lend of gold, though ho has not been a very frequent visitor, but I may say that I know of gold lelt where I changed the elevator for convenience of stacking tailings, but I need no conjurer like Mr Stewart to tell me of that fact. Mr Stewart has tried in every way to obtain the management of the Island Block property, and, not being successful in so doing, lie has used his privilege as a shareholder at the annual meeting for that purpose, aud yet ho sliU disclaims any personal feeling. In conclusion, Mr Stewart seems to lay great stress oil the dividend-paying basis on which tho company is to be established by up-to-date methods (presumably Mr Stewart's methods), but I think that Mr Stewart- did not prove himself a dividend-payer ill reference to this properly, and I think, without wishing in auy way to hurt Mr Stewart's feelings, that- his position as critic of the working of tho claim is that of ail expert self appointed.—l aui, etc., David Wr.m, Mine Manager Island Block. March 19. [This correspondence is now closed.—Ed.].

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