MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 14283, 4 August 1908, Page 6

MINING.

The river liad dropped to the sft 7in level at Alexandra yesterday, after another Ivard frost. The Punt dredge started work again at 1L o'elook yeatorday morning. Tlie master expects to wash up to-day. The manager of the Roxburgh Amalgamated .Mining and Sluicing Company (Limited) reports a wash up for July of 81oz 9dvvt. Sluicing was stopped for 10 days owing to the weather, The master of the Nelson Creek dredge reports a return of 350z for 122 houre' work, Tho weekly return from tho New Trafalgar dredge was 470z 15dwt, not 37c?, as reported yesterday. This brings the total wleekly return Irom seven West Coast dredges to 3030z 6dwt, giving excellent avotage of over 430z 6d\vt. It wa3 expected that the different mining claims in Cardrona would get a start early this month. Mr J. Beatfio (sajß ttte Lake Country Press) lias taken the Oriffol Face Company's claim on tribule.' Operations at opening up tho recentlyfloated reef at Bendigo wore expected to commence last week. Part of the battery and machinery haa been moved to the now site. Tho thorough overhaul which tho. Rising Sun dredge is undergoing to taken a week longer than was expeoted through Hie Hooking of the Otago Central line, as some necessary machinery could not be forwarded. It is expected that an overhaul will bo completed this week, when the dredge, whirih hag boon running steadily for 12 toonths, will once more be in splendid working order.

DUNEDIN STOCK EXCHANGE. No sales were transacted on ''Change yesterday. A sale in Mount Lyell's at £1 13s 3d was reported. N The following are yesterday's latcet quotations, subject to the usual brokenage:— Dredging Stocks,Alexandra Lead—Sellers 3s. Bignell's No Town—Buyers Is 3d, sellers 2s. Chicago—Sellers 8s 6d. . Electric—Buyers ss, sellers 8s 6d. Enterprise-Sellers 3d. Golden Bed-Sellers 9s 3d. Hartley and Riley—Sellers 17s. Kopntiu-Buyovs £2 10s, sellers £3. Lady Roxburgh (paid)— Buyers 10s. Lady Roxburgh (contrib.)—Buyers B*s 9d, sellers 10s. Molyneux Kohinoor—Sellers 2s. New Alpine Consols—Buyers 6s, sellers 13s. New Trafalgar—Buyers 19s 9d, sellers £1 Os 6d. No Town Creek-Sellers 10s. Pnctolus—Sellers 17s. Rise and Shine—Buyers £1 12s 6d, sellers £1 15s. Mining Stocks. Big River-Buyers £1 12s 6d, sellers £1 17s 6(1. New May Queen— Buyers 2s. Tasmanian Copper—Buyers 6s, sellers 6s 9d. Hercules—Buyers 9s 3d, sellers lis, Tangiaroa—Buyers Is 7d, sellers Is lid. Talisman Consolidated—Buyers £2 7s 3d, sellers £2 as. Waihi Grand Junction—Buyers £1 12e. 'Investment Stocks. National Bank—Sellers £5 3s 6d. Union Bank-Sellers £62./ Standard Insurance—Buyers £1 ?.s. U.S.S. Co-Buyers £1 14s 9d, sellers £1 15s 3d.. Westport Coal Co.—Sellers £613s 6d. Dunedin Stock Ex. Propy—Buyers £2 4s. Milburn Lime and Cement (10s)— Buyers Ifc 2d, ■ , Mosgiel Woollen-Sellers £3 0s 6d. N.Z. Drug Co. (£2)-Buyers £2 10s 6d, N.Z.'Paper Mills—Buyers £1 2s 9d, sellers £1 3s 6d. . N.Z. Portland Cement—Buyers £1 3s 9d, sellers £1 ss, , N.Z. Portland Cement (new issue)— Sellers 5s (prem.). ; Otago Daily Times-Sellers £21, Donaghy's Ropo and Twine—Sellers £1 3s. : ", WELLINGTON STOCK EXCHANGE. (FSOM OUE OWK COREESFOKDENT.I WELLINGTON, August. 3. Stock Exchange sales to-day were: — Talisman, £2 7s 3d; Tangiaroa, ls.Bd, NOTES FRO-ITaUOKLAOT). (Per United Press Association.) AUCKLAND, August 3. During July the Tairua Broken Hills Gold Mining Company crushed and treated 430 tons of ore for a return of £1010. This is the highest return for any similar period during the present year. It exceeds the June return, .when .394 tons yielded £994, and is higher on the average result than that of till© three months ended April 9 (£2032 from 1100 tons). The total amount won from the mine to date is £87,001 19s. DREDGEMEN. IN CHILI. anotheiTaccount. A letter,'of which a copy appeared; in our columns last week, was recently received by the Minister of Mind, from Mr C. A. ''Milliard," British Vice-consul at Punta Arenas. Captain " Milliard " wrote to warn intending .immigrants from New Zealand against putting too much faith in the contracts they might sign with dredging companies in Chili, and slating,'that contracts which .were perfectly good in Now Zealand were in Chili not worth tho paper they were written on unless they/bad been legalised in that country. In conversation yestprday with one o[ our reporters with reference--to t.liis letter, Mr John M'Grogor, of tho Otago Iron Foundry, said ho had recently spent two years as dredging engineer in Tierra del Fuogo.'and was well'acquainted with most pf the New Zcaknders there. He stated that the "Mr Milliard" referred to in the telegram is Captain Milward, formerly of the ill-fated Mataura, which was lost some years ago in the Straits of Magellan. Ho is now in business in Punta Arenas, where he is also British, Vice-consul. Mr M'Gregor's firm had, he said, during tho past fow years senr a large number of men—perhaps twice as many as any other firm in New Zealand—over to dredging claims in that part of tho world. On his. recent visit he/had seen all these men, and; they were without, exception very well satisfied, and making: good wages. Three men had gone there since Iris return, and'reports from them indicated'that thcy ; too, wore doing very well. The common wage was £18 a month and everything , found, and a good many of the winehmen were making close on, £24 with overtime. ' The engagement under which these men left was for £18 a month and found, and he had never heard of a case of such an engagement being broken. He had been connected as dredging engineer with the . linn of Juan D. Roberts, easily, the leading firm on tho island, and he was quite positive that no trouble- of the kind indicated in Captain Milward's letter could occur under Mr Roberts. He had proved himself a fair and liberal man, and provided firstclass houses, _ where the men were supplied •with everything necessary. There were, of course,' a number of other companies of which he was not in a position to speak, further than to say that ho knew nothing against thom. He had never heard of the slightest attempt'being made-''to' take advantage of a defect in an agreement, but it was quite possible that there had recently beon a slumn in the industry, whioh might have led some companies to stoop to such practices. Mn M'Grcgor proceeded to give a striking example of the handsome treatt ment that is, in some cases at least, meted out by Chilian dredging companies. A company, having at its head Joso Menemclez, arranged to obtain some 10 men from New Zealand, but before thoy arrived'it was found that the claim on" which they . wore to work had been saltod, and did not , contain a pennyweight of gold. Instead of | leaving the men to'look after themselves, I Menendcz kept'them in an hotel for some time on full pay. fitted up a place for them in Porvom'r Bay with a. housokcoper, and generally provided for them until they 1 were all finally absorbed by the Juan D. ■ Roberts Company. Questioned as to the statement that the usual working day in Chili consisted of 10 hours, Mr M'Gregor said that that was so, but pointed out that it did not apply to the dredging industry. On dredges three shifts were always worked daily, so' that each was necessarily of only eight hours' duration. : The only friction he was aware of in connection ivifh the dTcdgmg industry in Chili had occurred over the question of Sunday labour. Owing to the intense cold the wator there is frozen for from two months 1 and a-half to four months of the j-car, The mon are paid fuH wages during all this . period of enforced idleness, and the owners ' naturally wanted to minimise the annual loss of timo as much, as rraEsiblo by running tho dredges on Sundays during the | rest of the year. Tho men at first do- : murred. and demanded double time for I Sunday labour. Tho dispute, however, was eventually amicably settled, and the men , now all over the island work their eight I liours on Sundays at tho ordin&rv rates of pay- ■