MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14245, 20 June 1908, Page 12

MINING.

o The height of the river at. Alexandra yesterday r was 9ft sin above the normal maj-k. Tho weather was overcast and cold. A quotation appeared m our list yesterday intimating that sellers of Commercial Property scrip wero quoting 2s 9d. Thia should have been buyers; no sellers were forthcoming. The following report on last week's work has beau received from the master of the New Trafalgar dredge—"As I reported on Saturday, we had a steady run of 130 hours for 51oz 12dwt. I a.m still dredging that section ahead, and expect just as good a return tills week, judging by the mate today. The machine is working verv steadily and putting through a. lot. of stuff. Tho wash is very easy to treat; it is uniform, but with vci-y few big- boulders. The <ro!d is a nice oven sample. The bottom is course, hard old man. Average depth of face below water, 30ft, above 2ft. I will inert likely shift to creek section after this week. I expect to cut this gold there after about three weeks. We are rclippiug the buckets as fast as possible. They will all have to be done." drbdgl\g"rbturns. Oz. dwt. gr. Mysteiy Flat, Waikaia. 137 hours 60 3 0 Ma.sterton, Waikaia, 136hrs 45 1 6 New Roxburgh Jubilee, Rox. ! burgh, ll&hrs 35 1 0 Kopntai. Waikaia. 130hrs . 33 10 0 Eura, Waikaia, 137brs 16 5 0 Hcssey's, Waikaia, llOlrrs ... 16 1 0 iUamiherikia, , 'Alexandra, . 126hrs 16 0 0 Central Charlton, near Gore, 131hrs 15 7 0 Muddy Creek, Waikaia, 130hra 14 6 0 Charlton Creek, near Gore, \ 4J- days / 1?. 0 b Waikaia, Waikaia, 1201ns ... 9 15 0 Welshman's, Waikaia, lllhrs 9 8 0 Chicago, Alexandra, lfflhrs... 9 3 0 DUNBDIN STOCK EXCHANGE. No sales took place at either call over on the Exoliange yesterday. The following ai'o yesterday's latest quotations, subject to the usual brokerage-.— Dredging Stocks. Alexandra Eureka—Sellers 4« 6d. Bignall's No Town—Sellers 3s. Central Charlton—Sellers 7s. Chicago—Buyers ss. Electric—Sellers 10s. Enterprise—Buyers 4s. sellers 4« Golden Bed-Buyers 10s 9d, sellers 12s. Kura-Sellors £1 Hessey's—Buyers 3s. Island" Block—Buyers Bd, sellers 2a. Koputai—Buyers £1 15s. Lady Roxburgh (paid)— Buyers 9s. Masterton—Bu.vcrs £2 19s. Manuhorikia—Sellers £1 2s. Molvneux Kohinoor— Buyers Is 3d, sellers 2s. New Alpine Consols—Sellers £1. New Fourteen Mile Beach—Sellers par. New Pcrseverencc—Buyers 6d, sellers is 6d. New Trafalgar-Sellers 19s 6d. No Town Creek—Buyers 8s 6d, sellers 12s. Rising Sun-Buyers £1 12s 6d. ' Sailor's Bend-Sellers lbs 3d. 1 Mixing Stocks. Big River-Buvors £1 2s, sellers £1 4s 9d. 1 Tasirmnian Copper—Buyers 4s, fellers ss. Ngatiawa's—Buyers lid. Tangiawa.--Bu.vcrs Is 7d. sellers Is IOJd. Talimsau Consolidated—Sellers £2 6s. r Waihi-Scllers £9 3s. Waihi Grand Junction—Buyers £1 12s 9d, sellers £1 15s 6d. Investment Stocks. I Union Bank-Buyers £60. National Insurance—Buyers £1 6s 3d. Standard Insurance—Sellers £1 2s 4|d. Westport Coal Co.-Sellcrs £6 19s. 1 Westport Stockton—Buyers' Is ftlis.) sellers 3d (prem.). Commercial Property Co. (10s)—Sellers 2s 9d. Perpetual Trustees Co.—Sellers 19s 3.1 ' D.1.0. Prof.-Sollers £1 2s 6d. 1 D.I.C. Ord.-Buyers ss. Milhurn Lime and Cement :£l)-~ Buyers £1 7s, sellers £1 Bs. , Mosgiel Woollen Factory—Sellers £3 2s. N.Z. Paper Mills-Buyers £1 Is Gd. r N.Z. Portland Cement-Buyers £1 3s 6d, sellers £1 ss. WELLINGTON STOCK EXCHANGE. 1 (From Our Own Correspondent.) r WELLINGTON, June 19. Business on the Stock Exchange is very trull. The only sales to-day were Tanrjiaroa shares at Is Bi<l. 1 TALISMAN COMPANY. (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, June 19. Information was received by cablegram to-day that Mr B. H. Stafford had been appointed to the London directorate of the Talisman QoiupiuiYi, I

HYDRAULIC SEPARATOR. j A demonstration of a recently patented . hydraulic separator, termed "Thr< Sim- . plex," took place at Queen's Bridgo street. ■Melbourne, on the . 9th Hist., in , the presence of . a number of ' mining engineers and others interested in tho industry. The apparatus consists of two inverted cones, joined together at the : r . base, and a. receiving vessel beneath, cm- ' necled by a pipe, Within the upper enno , is a smaller vessel, forming an annular j space, in which separation is effected by | moans of an upward current of water. The ( material is fed in at the top, and the con- i cenl,rat(«=. settle through the annular space i into tho receiving- vessel, while tho lighter ] particles are washed off through a waste i pipe al (lie sifles. Tho success of ihe operation, of course, depends on the rcgu- ] laliou of tho wafer, but Ihe machine, is not t designed to treat very fine slimes. Mr i A. D. Wilson, the invontor, claims that it is possiblo with the machine to recover i •90 per cent of the mineral contents at the ■ : fust operation i • A quantity of tin was t i mixed witJi gravel and fed into the i machine, and those present were much | impressed with lihe rapidity and recovery , of th? separating process. A battery of > five machines is installed on a tin property i with whioh Mr Wilson is connected, some : 16. miles from Capetown, South Africa, j TASMANIAN. MINING INDUSTRY. ! AGITATION ON WEST COAST. , In connection with the-inquiry made by ; Messrs W. H. Wallace (Secretary of Mines) j I and W. H. Tweivotrces (Government geo- < logist) regarding tho position of tho mining , 1 industry on'tho West Coast of Tasmania, | and what was necessary to he undertaken s to place matters on a more satisfactory ] footing, a number of mining men were interviewed by the local press, including Messrs J. Craze (general manager, Zeehan- " Montana and Zeehan-Western Mines), 11. ' Harris (general manager Tasmanian Smelting Company), Warden Fisher, A. D. 'Sligo, and J. S. Murphy. Mr Sligo (a son of Mr A. Sligo, of Dun- ] odin), who forwarded a wire to the Premier i requesting that inquiries should bo mado, , spent over two horn's discussing the situa- ', tion with the Government officials. ! Mr Sligo pointed out that the crux of the whole trouble was with the Hercules i and Rosebery Mining Companies and the ] Tasmanian Smelting Company, but apart i from that, with the exception of one or 7 two companies, tho development' of the ' f mineral resources was not being carried out \ as it should be, considering the amount ] of money that had been expended by the , State in affording means of communication to the majority of the mines about the Zeehan field. Ho referred to the large v number of unemployed/ about the different districts owing to the stopping of smelting operations. He asked tho officials to consider where the majority of the 'men who , were thus effected wore likeiy to obtain j work, seeing tho unsatisfactory position in j other mining centres throughout the Com- 1 monwealth. The ore bodies in the Hercules and Rosebery mines were very exten- , sive, and in parts up to 50ft and 60ft in 1 width. He referred to what could be dono j with a big low-grade proposition such as j tho Waihi gold mine, Auckland, whore operations were carried out on a large 1 scale. There they were producing alwit . 39,000 tons of ore per month, which gave \ a return of bullion (gold and silver) equal to under £2 6s per ton. 'The average value of the metallic contents (gold, silver, and lend)' of the Hercules and Rosebery ores was being maintained at about £3 10s, . without much selection being required to ' meet the requirements owing to the lower ' prices now ruling for metals. It was J pointed out to the Government officials that > no difficulty should be experienced in f mining 4000 to 5000 tons of sulphide ore per month from each of the mines mentioned, and that this would mean the employment of some 400 men at each mine, \ this leading eventually to the settlement of l about 2000 inhabitants at each centre. Mr Sligo considered that the Government s should endeavour to bring about some means 'of settlement of the difficulty exist- r ing between the Hercules and Rosebery Mining Companios and tho Tasmanian Smelting Company, and in this connection ho thought it would be just as well for the ' department to publish information regard- * ing tho various processes, with the Govern- ' nient geologist's opinion as to whether the' s ores from the mines mentioned were ( amenable to treatment by any particular J process. He also desired that the Govern- E ment geologist should point out that in ' connection with the Broken Hill ores c mechanical separation could be carried out , to a great extent, which was impossible with * the ores of the Hercules and Rosebery ( mines. Touching upon other matters, Mr * Sligo said that a more complete system of ' mine inspection was absolutely necessary ' and that industrial reports should be pub- 1 lishod monthly regarding the general s . development of our mineral fields, such to ' l» circulated through the medium of the ! press of the State. He considered those v reports would furnish a record of the in- ' specter's work, and furnish information to J the public with regard to mines and dis- ' triers. c GOLD DREDGING IN THE PHILIP- \ PINE ISLANDS. ' Considerable interest ihas been aroused in ' miniAg circles in Duncdin relative to the j large returns which have recently been obtained Iby the Paracale Gold Dredging , Company, in operation at Maiila, and Mr j Joseph Pearson, who has recently returned ; from that locality, where he has l>een , engaged in the oompany'9 business, accorded an interview to one of our reporters yesterday. "Yes," said Mr Pearson, "I can give '■ you the latest information about gold dredging in the Philippine Islands, as I have only recently returned, after a second visit. Our dredge is doing all right. Tuesday's cablegram announcing 1690z of gold \ for 195 hours' work should satisfy anybody. I But before many weeks have passed 1 t expect the dredge to lw obtaining a much j better output from her claim—something • like 500 acres. I built the dredge for the \ company and have a large holding of c shares. It is a fine climate where the j dredge is working—in the northern part , of tho island of Luzon. The drodgo can ( be run cheaper than in New Zealand, be- j cause 'labour is cheap—2s a day for Philippines—and firewood is also eheap-aiboul 5s per cord. There are several up-to-date foundaries in Manila, where any repairs can he executed. Americans are alive .to ' the- great possibilities of mining in (lie ' islands, and there will he some good quartz ! mines opened up there soon. ' "I met other New Zealanders in ihe i Philippine Islands. Mr Magnus, who is 3 well known at Alexandra, was at the Paracale when I was there, and has secured a claim just above and adjoining our cjaim. 1 I saw prospwi ing work done on his ground. ' The prospeols wore wonderfully rich, and a good dredge should get. anything up to 300o?. weeklv. 1 "The natives do a lot of gold washing ' in the stream? and on the beaches. When they have washed as much as 2s worth of gold per day- they generally stop and loaf round the rest of the da-v and smoke. Chinamen do most of the gold buying from ] the natives. From inquiries I .made I gathered that (he gold dredges at work in the Malay States are doinp very well. particularly a tin dredger in Ihe harbour at. Sia-m. Nearly all these dredges have Now Zealanders on board. They seem lo have fi reputation everywhere for golddredging and enterprise combined." On being pressed to sav something with repard to worm borers, which are reported to lie a serious menace to the propert.v in parts of the islands, Mr Pearson said there was eerlainlv some danser tn bp leaked for from them, but if the diedges were bi'ilt upon a' double principle, with a hvyor o f felt between the timbers, Ihe worms would nnf touch the inner layer and a dredge would last ouite as long there as in most .pavls of New Zealand.

PRESENTATION TO .MR W. ADAMS. Thero was an informal meeting of shareholders in the Waitahuna Dredging Co., in the secretary's office, Lawrence, on Thursday evening, for the purpose of making a presentation to Mr \Villiam Adams, who, at a critical juncture in the company's history, had been mainly instrumental in preventing it from going into liquidation. Mr B. Hart (chairman of directors) prosided, and said they had met to show in a tangible form their appreciation of the services rendered to the company by Mr Adams when t they were practically in a hopelessly insolvent condition. On behalf of the shareholders, ho had much pleasure in asking Mr Adams's iacceptanco of a Cullers' revolving-top desk as a slight expression of their appreciation and esteem, and he hoped he would bo long spared to use it and that eventually it would bo regarded by his family as a valuable heirloom. Tho desk bears the following inscription:—"To William Adams, Esq., from the shareholders of Waitahuna Dredging Company (Ltd.), as a mark of appreciation and csteem.-June, 1908." Mr James R. M'Kinlay said Mr Adams had, by his foresight and sound practical knowledge of mining, rescued the company from liquidation and earned their gratitude. Mr James Kollcher said he also felt pleasure in being present to show his appreciation of Mr Adams's actiou in connection with this company. In taking an interest in the original Waitahuna Dredging Company he had been guided by Mr Adams, and had followed his advice in connection with it* subsequent and, as things had turned out, he had 110 reason to regret his action. The whole community .was indebted to him as the pioneer in' scientific mining in Otago, and it was little wonder that his opinion and advice on mining matters was very highly thought of by all engaged in this important industry. Mr W. M'Kinlcy also expressed his pleasure at being present, and his appreciation of the work done by Mr Adams in connection with the company. Mr Adams said ho had in his time received many presentations in connection with mining, but he could honestly say that he did not know of one that had given moro pleasure than this one. At the same time ho did not know that he altogether deserved it, for in his action in connection with this company he had lieen actuated with a desire to save his own money (over £500), as well as theirs. He had always been impressed with the value of the claim, and he was pleased that they had stuck so manfully by him, and so enable him to make the arrangements he had which had turned out so satisfactory to the company. He paid a high tribute to the ability and energy of tho sluicing company's manager (Mr F. Whelan), who was certainly entitled to a great deal of the credit for tho success that had attended their efforts. He again thanked them sincerely for their handsome present, which ho would find of great service to him.