DREDGING RETURNS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14282, 3 August 1908, Page 6

DREDGING RETURNS.

DUNEDIN STOCK EXCHANGE. No sales were transacted on 'Change on Saturday. ' Reported sales: Lady Roxburgh (conlrib.), , 9s; Bank of New Zealand, £9. The following arc Saturday's quotations, subject to the usual brokerage: — Dredging Stocks. i Bigncll's No Town—Buj'crs Is, sellers 2s. Chicago—Sellers Bs. Electric—Buyers ss, sellers Bs. Golden Bed—Buyer 8s 3<l, sollers 9s 6d. Golden Treasure—Sellers £1 18s. Hartley and lUlcy—Sellers 16s fxl. 1 Koputai—Buyers £2 10s. 1 Lady Roxburgh (paid)— Buyers 10s, sellers 12s. Lady Roxburgh (contrib.)—Buyers Es 9d, i scum's 9s (xi. , Majiuliorik-ia—Sellers £1. Molyneux Kohicoor—Buyers Is. Alpine Consols—Buyers 5«, sellers New Fourteen-mile Beach—Sellers par. Now Trafalgar—Buyers 18s 6d, sellers £1 0s 6d. Mo Town Creek—Sollew 10s. Paotolus-Sallers 17s. Rise and Shine—Buyers £112s 6d, sellers £1.155. 1 Rising Sun—Buyers £1 14s 6d, sellers £1 17s 6d. Sailor's Bend—Sellers 15s 9d. Mining Stocks. Big River-Buyers £1 lis, sollers £115s. New. May Queen-Buyers 2s, sellers 2s 6d. Tasmanian Copper—Buyers 6s. s Hercules—Buyers 9s, sollers lis. Tangiaroa—Buyers Is 7<l. scllore Is 3d. -Mount Lyell—Buyers £1 lis 6d. Talisman Consolidated—Buyers £2 6s 6d sellers £2 7s 6d. ' ' Wuflii Grand Junction—Buyers £l 12s 6(1 sellers £113s 6d. Investment Stocks. i National Bank-Buyers £5, sellers £5 3s 6d. Bank of New Zealand-Sellers £9 2s 6d. Standard Insurance—Buyers £1 2s ]Jd. Union Steam Ship Company—Buyers £1 1 i lis 9d, sellers £1 15s 3d. 1 Westport Coal Company-Sellere £6 13s 6d. E Now Zealand Drug Company (£2)Buycrs £2 10s 6d. New Zealand Paper Mills—Buyers £1 3s ' scllere'fil 3s 3d. ' 1 N , o \?. ealand Portland Cenientr-Buyerc , £1 _3e 9d, sellers £1 ss. . i ' • *^ ( ? T Portland Cement (now . issue)— Buyers 4s (prem.). sellers 4s 9d I (prom.). : WELLINGTON STOCK EXCHANGE. 0?HOH Otm OWii CoagEsrONDEKI.) n ,i r. ELLINGTON, August 2. Un the Stock Exchange on Saturday " (cum dividend) were sold at £2 ' i ~ Q uo, a.tions had a firmer ring attributable in. all likeliliood to the improving* assay valises in the ore body lying between the twelfth and thirteenth levels, At- a } P° mt south in the No. 12 a' winze has J been sunk 14ft. and the reef assays £16, whilst tlx* rise from the thirteenth "levol is in richer country, valuta now averaging £3 ' no t , E i iiw S«'i|) was accepted at- £1 . 12s 6d. The scrip of lliis mine has gteadih , Moved up from 12s 6d at the beginning of the year to ilt> present. figure. On its paid- , up capital of £600 the Big River has so far done remarkably well, for on tie basis of to-day's sale the Stock Exchange value of the mine is £39,000. Tiing'iaroa woro transferred at Is 7d and Is Bd, and Komata • Reefs at Is 2d. THE O.P.Q. REEF. , ® le offering by auction Inst woe!: of the U.P.Q. quartz roof at Waipori recalls some _ interesting facts iu connection with thoihistory of this.once famous reef. It was dis- . covered by a piospector as far back a3 the year 1862, and was tlio first reef to be opened up in New Zealand. 'Die battery— one with four head of stamps shod with iron—was erected by Messrs b James Mann and_ W. I'ulton on t,he proiwrty, and was the first quartz lattery iu tho Dominion. For n period of abonttwo years a. return of to tlie ton obtained from the cap of the reef, but this afterwards dropped to l&hrt. at which rate the reef continued to bo worked by the 1 original owners for some years. Several other parties began operations 011 different 3 , sections of the reel", awl worked it sucocss- >. lully down to a certain depth, but as tho expenses of production increased they were e forced to seek more profitable employment elsewhere. Later on it was taken up by a -• party who sank a shaft 160 ft. down and creoted pumping machinery under great 2 disadvantages. They also did very well out g of It for ft tiino, unt.il the inevitable increase of working expenses with the increase ■' of depth oneo more proved too heavy. After I. that private parties again started work in 1" 'higher levels, where 110 pumping was k required. In 1896 the property was bought by 1.110 Minerals Company (its present if owners), which commenced at a high Jo.vel n and sank a shaft to a depth of 2£sft. Even >t this shaft, however, went only a short dis--5' tance below the ground that had already 'f r u ,vor ' iC< '> a7K ' did not open up much ' 01 the reef, though tlie portion that was „ reached gave very good results. The com- - pany creeled a' battery with 10 head of 'lamps, and installed a 20-h.p. llobey i. on -gine at. tho mine and a .horizontal high- £ pressure engine (with Cornish boiler.--) at the mill, O.wijig to the great diflisitlty in

getting coal .brought to t.lie mine iho steam I»wcr proved unsatisfactory and very expensive, apd file company is.unwilling to expend further ".apital in opening up more of the reef. WEST COAST NOTES. (From Our Own Correspondent.) GREYMOUTH, August. 2. The Worksop dredge is on an exceedingly good run. Sho is working a, milo below Antonio's, on t:ho Antonio's flat. Last week's yield waa 1260z 12flw; for 127 hours. The Slab Hut Crcok return is 19oz for 122 hours. The New Sister return is <6oz 7dwt for 80 ions of ore. BIG RIA r Kl'v MINE. (Per United Press Association.) IIEHFTON, August 1. The Big River mine manager reports that in No. stopo in the western block the reof is 2ft. wide. No. \ 6tope in the brajioli olook lias l>?cn stoped to the end, and they aro now engaged in stoping the blank ground between this and the eastern block. In No. 5 stopo on the branch block the roef is 16ft wide. In No. 4 stopo in the eastern block the reef is 3ft wide at the bottom of the stopo and 10ft in width at tho back of the 6topo, with every appearance of widening. In No. 5 stopo in the eastern block the reef is 12ft vide, but. is very broken and mullocky. In No. 9 level the wii>2o has been sunk sft on the roef, which is of the full size of the winze without tho sign of the footwall. In the main level south tlie.ro is 3ft 6in of reof formation ill file face carrying ISin of stone. One hundred and forty tons of stone were raised during the week, the stone bein/j generally of very good quality. TOAUOHA DRAINAGE SCHEME. tFnou Our. Own Correspondent.) GREYMOUTH, August. 1. In connection with the water and drainago scheme, Mr H. A. Gordon, Inspector of Mines, has arrived in Hokitika .at the instance of the Government to report, on the loarohn power saliento. ' Yesterday afternoon Mr Gordon, accompanied by Mr C. : . (the syndicate's engineer), visited the kcoiio of tho proposed operations at Rimit. It would be premature to give any indication of what Mr Gordon's report to the Government, will be, but 1 understand that he was favourably impressed with the nature of the country awl with the prospects of mining successfully as proposed. UNDEVELOPED COUNTRY ON THE OLD MAN RANGE. An old miner in the Roxburgh district sends us the following- notes:— When the Otago gold rush set in tho country was very soon overrun with minors, and all the accessible fields were in a very short space of time in possession of the hardy pioneer, "the digger." ' It was all alluvial mining in tJioso days, and in most instances tho ground was easy to work and tho gold very easily saved. Aa years went past fl'nd most of the" gullies got. worked oufe the population-gradually got Ices, and in some cases the fields have become entirely deserted.. My opinion is that the younger generation does not possess the same amount of perseverance and grit as its forefathers did, and I think that is one reason why there has not been more prospecting dono in some parts of the back country, where in the early days very rich g <n d was found. I particularly refer to the Old Man Range, wheiro many of the old pioneers can testify to the many rich pitclics of gold that were got in many of the crecks and gullies running into the Waikaia. Irately some interest has been aroused in tho possibilities of what some of the back country may contain in tho way of rich ground, and last summer several parties made a start to develop some of the deposits that were left by the old miners. Since the first, rush and up to the present day very little up-to-date machinery has been brought to facib'tato the working of the auriferous drifts in this locality. The old miner worked ground only where he could get a fair fail for his tailing?, and when ho was forced to work ground where ho had no fall, he had to use the pump and wheel to get rid of the water and bring the wa3hdirt lip to the surface to be washed. All that belt of country from the IVaser River to the Remarkablcs, and from Bannockburn to Switzcre, has been proved to bo highly auriferous, and there are very few gullies in which gold has not been got.. Thero is the Eraser, Bannockburn, Nevis, Pomaliaka, Campbell's, Waikaia. and other gullies, in all of which rich gold was' found, both water-worn and reef gold. In rcspcct to alluvial drifts, it is understood that this country was at one time much higher than it is now, and by tho action of the atmosphere, ice, and water it lias been worn down considerably; and this .action of the elements in wearing away the surface rock has freed the gold from the reefe and chlorite schists, and the gold has been deposited in the drifts by tho action of water. There are at different altitudes the remains of old lake deposits, which in many instanoss have proved payable, and several deposits of this nature exist in this locality which would well, ropay being* prospeotod- Some of thsso deposits have been proved beyond a dculit to be highly payable, as the workings near Wyiikaia have praved, and there are hundreds of acres of the same deposit in that district that will pay for many years to come if worked with up-to-date machinery. There is all that country between Waikaia and tho bush which has not. had a proper trial, and would well repay being properly prospected. If prospectors were to give a little more heed to the lay of the country and less to the streams that are running through the flats,, they would have a belter chance of striking payablo ground. Coming up above the bush, we get into more defined country, where the river jias cut- its way down through tho solid rock, and one oau find traces hundreds of feet above tho present lovel of the river where rich patches o£ sold have been left in tiie sheltered places. This is a. natural tailrace, and very good gold must lw lyifljr at the 'bottom of the river where tbera has been any place for it to lodge. It is well known that three parties of Chinamen made their fortunes out of a very small portion of ground worked by them on this river, and with up-to-date machinery tiller© is plenty of ground that will pay handsomely, and I have no doubt that iu a few years it will be all worked. Many of the gullies worked by the old miner would pay to be, worked oyer again with proper jilant and sufficient water. In reference to the area mentioned above, there is no doubt that it is almost virgin country as far as quartz reefing is eoncernod. Quartz reefs can bo found cropping out all over the range, but 1 am sorry to say that they have never had a proper assay trial. On tho oast side of the Old Mail Range, towards tho Molyneux Valley, the country is not suitable for roofing owing to the. slips that have occurred previously. The waters have undermined the soft lack, and caused great slips to come down from the mountain and cover up the solid rock. Although payablo roofs have been found on this fall they are only parts of tlie solid ooiuitry slipped down from higher up the mountain; in fact, the whole side of the range from Clyde to Roxburgh has all slipped at some timo or other. But there is plenty of ground tpwards die Kemarkablos that, is intersected with reefs which would well repay systematic and intelligent. prospecting, yome one ha? said that the 'roofs on tho Old Man would not live down, basing their opinion, I think, on some of the reefs that have been opened out on the eastern side of the range already referred to. Geologists' opinions are that imlcss you find the proper kind of rook in. which the quartz lodes occur, and certain minerals in conjunction with tho lodes, they will not be of a payable nature. Across the whole area referred to indications are not wanting to prove that you have the right kind of rock, and tho goneral opinion of' experienced men is favourable to th : s country being of j payable nature as far as reding is concerned. The general practice ill prospecting for reefs lias been to take out some quartz from the outcrop or from a few feet, down, and cot to work with the pestle and mortar, and if it gave only a few colours the reef was condemned. Tile ordinary quartz reefs havo never had a proper trial, for if gold was not seen with tho naked eye t'ucy.wero considered to be poor. Seeing that tho dredging industry is languishing, the time has now come when an effort will have to ba made to dovolop tho resources of the back country by taking it in a facc and having it systematically prospected. I would warn prospectors that although the reef may not give a payablo prospect- in tho ordinary way, owing to its containing baser minerals, the same prospect, treated in tl-.o laboratory. may prove tho reef to be highly payable. In conclusion, I would suggest that a requisition bo forwarded to tho Government by all those who are interested to request Dr Bell to have a geological map of tho district prepared, so that- minere may have knowledge imparted to lliem that they ilo not at present powess.

. oz. dwt. gr. Itoputai, Waikaia, 138hrs ... 67 17 0 Waikaka United No. 2, Waikaka, 1311ns 61 6 0 Riso and Shino No. 1, Clutha River, UThrs 61 4 0 Riso and Shino No. 2, Clutha. River, 138hi'j ... ... 54 i(J q Jlasterton. Waikaia, 135hfS 53 8 0 Golden. Treasure,' Miller's Flat, wock 50 10 0 Mystery Flat, Waikaia, 138hrs 50 4 0 Lady Roxburgh, Roxburgh, broken week 49 10 0 Waikaka ITnited No. 1, Waikaka, 119hrs 31 5 0 Golden lied, Miller's Flat, 125hr8 25 8 0 Waikaia. Waikaia, fortnight 23 1 0 Central Charlton, near Gore, 135hrs 22 ix 0 Electrio No. 2, Cromwell, 7 Jays 22 0 0 Otago No. 2, Island Block, wk 21 0 0 Chicago, Alexandra, 1281irs ... 19 15 0 Hartley and Riley, Cromwell, 96hrs ... ... .... 19 9 0 Rile.y's Revival, Cromwell, wk 18 17 0 Waikaka Queen, Waikaka, 125hrs ... 17 17 q Charlton Creek, nr Gore, wk 16 3 0 Sandy Point, Alexamlra, SOhrs 15 6 12 Muddy Crook, Waikaia, 123hrs . 14 6 0 Kura, Waikaia, 137hrs 12 15 0 Olrig, Manuherikia, week ... 12 14 0 Enterprise, Alexandra, week 12 0 0 Clutha River, Clutha River, week 10 9 0 Mamihwikia, Alexandra, 60hrs 8 0 0 Golden Gem. Miller's Flat, wk 8 0 0 Otago No. 1, Miller's Flat, 127hrs : .... 6 0 0 Total 785 11 12 The West Coast. WorksoP, 1273irs 126 1?. 0 Now Trafalgar, 126hrs 37 15 0 Pactohis No. 2, 130Hrs 35 2 0 Blackwator • River, 113hrs . 20 7 0 Pactolus No. 1, 129hrs 19 10 0 Slab Hut. Greek, 122hrs ... . 19 0 0 Total .. 258 6 0