MINING SUMMARY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 16296, 1 February 1915, Page 1 (Supplement)

MINING SUMMARY.

An usual the month of January has provec very quiet so far as raining and dredgin; matters are concerned. No returns were re ported during the first week in the month ind during the second, only two came t( land. Since then most of the other dredge, lave resumed. The Rise and Shine dredge; lave been undergoing overhaul. The No machine resumed working about thi niddle of the month, when the No. 2 dredgi vas stopped for repairs. Prospects at thi: laim continue to be very promis:ng. Re »irs to the Electric No. 1 dredge were com ileted last Wednesday, but a rise in thi iver has so far prevented this machim rom making a start. The yields from thi slew Golden Run continue to be very satis actory. For the third and fourth week: loz and 550z respectively were obtained The Golden Bed, Willowbank, and Risinj jun dredges have each won moderate yields Our Cromwell correspondent states tha he Ferry Company, a private concern, ha jeen working steadily in the east bank o he Clutha River, below the Lowburn punt md although the results are not madi iublic it was the general opinion that ver; jayable returns were being won. This ap iears to be substantiated by the fact tha ixtensive alterations to the machinery an iow to be made. The dredge is to be fitte< vith a bucket elevator in place of the cen rifugal one hitherto in use. Reports state that water is plentiful a ill the sluicing claims, and generally speak ng this season is proving to be a ven iuccessful one. The secretary of the Noko nai Hydraulic Company reports that a wasl ip was made at No. 1, the return beinj ,390z 15dwt. No. 2 also had a wash up he result being 141oz 3dwt for the pad look. Operations are progressing satis actorily at the No. 3 paddock. Reports are in circulation that a number o nen will shortly be engaged in the Carricl nines, where work has been practically at i tandstill for some time. With a continu mce of the abundant water supply avail ible early in the season the Nevis field ii ikely to give some handsome yields withn .he next few months. The Ladysmith Company washed up 50a if gold for three weeks' sluicing. On the West Coast the dredges have re lumed again after the holidays. The re iurns from the Success dredge are remark ibly even, and have been so for man; nonths, showing that there is very littli ihange in the nature of the ground. Thi tied Jacks dredge is working round the eas light preparatory to turning upstream. Oni >r two good returns have been reporte( xom this dredge lately, and the presen wospects are promising. During December the Waihi Grand June ion Gold Company crushed and treate< 3200 tons of ore for a return of bullioi ,-alued at £15,317. This shows a decreasi jf £675 10s 6d in comparison with the cor •esponding period of 1913. when 7370 ton >f ore were dealt with. The latest returi irings the total figures for 1914 to £227,601 is 2d, which is an increase of £47,481 0 id on the returns for 1913. Last yea: L 15.710 tons of ore were treated and 98,371 n 1913. The total amount of bullion woi rom the mine to date is £1,026,296 lis 4d md the dividends paid amount to £110,000 Tor the period ended December 31, repre anting 27 worku g days, the Waihi Gok Vlining Company crushed and treated 16,24! ions of ore for a return of bullion value< it £29,216. Compared with the figures fo: .he corresponding period of 1913, tne lates: igures show an increase of £3054. In De icmber, 1913, 15,389 tons of ore weri ;reated. The present return brings th< ?alue of the output from the mine fo ,he past year to £329,773, wthich is a de irease of £3899 when compared with th< otal returns for 1913. The ore tonnagi xeated in 1914 was 183,405, which wa. smaller by 1363 tons than the amount fo: 1913. The total amount of bullion woi rom the mine to date is £10,772,662. Thi :otal dividends and bonuses paid to dat< imount to £4,681,387 19s Bd. During the broken monthly period endei December 19, representing IV days' run ling, tho Talisman Consolidated Gold Mm ng Company crushed and treated 3350 ton ore, tor a yield of bullion valued a 817,450 19s. The small tonnage treatec xas' due to the fact that the mine wai :losed down for the Christmas holidays 3n account of the strike there was n< •eturn for December of 1913. The presen •cturn brings the output lrom the mine fo ; he past year to £263,516 5s lOd, or £47,8/' is 8d in exccss of the output for 1913 when the bullion won aggregated £215,64: L7s. In 1913, of course, the Talisman mini ,vas closed down for several weeks througi ack of coal supplies, due to the genera itrike. Last year 52,210 tons were treated is against 39,780 tons for the previou: pear. The total value of the oullion woi rom the mine to date is £2,368,261 0s 6d md dividends totalling £965,534 7s 6d havi seen paid. The crushing returns and costs for thi nonth of December for the Consolidatec jroup Reefton, are as follow:— Progress.—Crushed 2550 tons, yieldinf >570z, value £2277; cyanided 1760 tons fielding 160oz, value £555; estimated valui >f sulphurets, £440; cost per ton: mining ,1s lid, milling 3s 2d, general expenses anc sullion charges 2s 6d. Wealth o' Nations.—Crushed 2100 tons fielding 5310z, value £2175; cyanided 120( ons, yielding 190oz, value £757; estimatec ralue of sulphurets, £103; costs per ton nining 12s 6d, milling 3s 4d, general ant jullion charges 2s Bd. . Blackwater.—Crushed 3595 tons, yielding 3870z, value £5675; cyanided 2200 tons Welding 2230z, value £845; estimated valui >f sulphurets, £364; costs per ton: ,5s Bd, milling 2s 9d, general and bullioi harges 3s 4d. The gold returns to hand for Decembei rom the various mines in the Aucklanc jrovince represent a total of £70,038 15s 9d To this amount the Ohmemuri field con ributed £67,530, the Thames field £219£ 5s 9d, and the Coromandel field £310, Jompared with the figures for November, ast month's total shows a decrease of £6676 6a lid. In comparison with the returns or the month of December, 1913, the precnt figures reveal an increase of £11,143 3s id. The latest returns complete tho figures or 11 months of 1914, and bring the total 'alue of gold produced in the Auckland irovince in that time to £842.469 14s lid, ihich represents an increase of £19,053 14s id, when compared with the total for 11 nonths of 1913. The Motiut Morgan Company's half-yearly

report to November 29 states that 179,939 tons of ore wove treated for a yield of smelted gold of 02740z. The concentrates produced 4593 tons of fine copper and 53,3090z of gold. The ore produced a revenue of £502,382, and the expenditure was £438,546.

For the year 1914 mining operations on the Bendigo goWfields (Victoria) have shown a surplus of £65,037 in dividends over calls. Fully" two-thirds of the profit was made

during the first six months of the term, which provod one of the most successful periods for some years. The gold production for the. year amounted to 163,6010z. which shows a slight falling off compared with 1913. Dividend* totalling £126.u78 or over £29.00G in c-xeess of the previous 12 months. Calls aggregated £61.841, the

smallest contribution by shareholders for many years. The number of dividend-pay-ing mines increased from 18 in 1913 to 23 in'" 1914.

An excellent growth of grass is to bo found (says the Mataura Ensign) on tho tailings from the gold dredges in the Waiknka and Waimumti Valleys, and stock depastured in those places are looking particularly well. A drodire which has obtained 30oz per week from the land has circulated in tho community an equivalent of £480 per month in bullion. An ordinary dredge turns over on the average about an acre a mor.th. and thus we have had bullion to

the value of £480 per acre from a considerable extent of the dredged land in the Waikaka Valley. The am«ynt of gold obtained

bv dredging from the Waikaka and Little Waikaka Valleys will never be known, far - many of tho companies were private coo- ,sj corns; but it is interesting to know thai from the Little Waikaka alone it is estimated that £250,000 worth of gold has been secured. When regrets are expressed for | the devastation of the very rich agricultural land in the Waikaka Valley it is therefore ,■ well to remember that a considerable are* of it was swamp, and that from many acres \ , of it approximately £500 per acre of solid gold has been obtained and circulated in i, the community. The same remarks to soma extent will apply to the Waikaka, Waimumo, and Charlton Valleys. When we consider the amount of benefit that has been dons by tho circulation of this sold, and that the dredged tailings are norw being put to considerable profit, we have cause to modify our regrets for the effect on first-class agrf cultural land. . :>

REEFTON MINING INDUSTRY. 1 The Government subsidy of £10,000, to be ,j devoted to the development of Boatman's : Consolidated, should give an impetus to a proposition which is clearly within the scope ,; of legitimate enterprise. To write the hi»- .; tory of Boatman's would be to describe the salient features of an industry which in that district has produced six millions of gold. Boatman's, when it was m full swing, was occupied by several small companies, em- >* ploying over 200 men. The area covered • a mile in length, and was known as the '{ richest mile of reefing country in New Zea- .j land. One company alone, the Welcome, on a callod-up capital of £3750, jtaid over £100,000 to the fortunate shareholders. This result was produced by a rough-and-ready <i batterv treatment, without the aid ; of cyanide. With the Welcome, the Fiery Cross, the Just-in-time, all adjoining each other, the total gold yield amounted to, ; j half a million, paying about £200,000 in J dividends. The above results were obtained from the reefs, which were worked down to a vertical depth of 500 ft. Mining experts and geologists believed at that tims / that no roef in the district would live be- | yond that depth. As a result of this belief, $ the shareholders of several important companies refused to put any more money into -? the industry, and several companies closed --"j down, Boatman's among the number. Mattore on the Reefton field remained in a stagnant condition until Mr David Zifnan, ,t witn foreign capital, entered the fie'd and ?j purchased three of these Reefton mines-— , ,rj Golden Fleece, Wealth of Nations, and >| Progress,—and put tho theory of the geo> logists to the test, sank down the shafts * 2GK>ft or 300 ft, and found the reefs _ going deeper and stronger than ever. Thisfact brought into operation the Consolidated . | Goldtields of New Zealand. From'thab . *1 period the Reefton mining industry, has > t steadily advanced. There are now six mines in operation, with a minimum depth , ,:q of 1200 ft and a maximum of 2100 ft. Dr- i•! Henderson, dominion geologist to the New Zealand Government, states that the Beef* -yj ton mines can be profitably worked, to a 5 depth of 5000 ft. Since there is an entire Jj absence of water in the low levels, no pump. ing machinery is required. One of the latest local companies to put the deep-sink-ing theory to the test ia the New Big . j River. After being practically abandoned, it was reconstructed, and on a call of six-. pence, amounting to £600 in all, it has paid back £84,000 in dividends, or £3 10s per \ share. There is not a single failure on the .1 field; hence the action of the Government ' in providing £10,000 to develop Boatman's, ~-X which, it is claimed, constitutes the richest property in Reefton, since every ton of \ quartz taken out averaged £8 0s 3d to the . ton, without the aid of cyanide. The total " working co6ts per ton for the field works out at 235. Boatman's will be opened up and controlled by New Zealand capital. In addition to a board of directors, td be reelected bv the shareholders, a committee-has .; • already been eleoted to watch the admimitration in the interests of the New Zealand Government. This committee will "work in conjunction with the board of directors. --t,

WAIHI GRAND JUNCTION COMPANY* During December the Waihi Grand Juno* tion Gold Company crashed and treated 9200 tons of ore for a return of bullion valued at £15,317. This shows a decrease of £675 10e 6d in comparison with the corresponding period of 1913, when 7370 tow of ore were dealt with. ■ r

The latest return brings the total figures for 1914 to £227,600 3s 2d, which is an increase of £47,481 Os 5d on the returns foB 1913. Last year 115,710 tons of ore were treated and 98,372 in 1913. The total amount of bullion won from the mine to date is £1,026,296 lis 4d, and the dividends paid amount to £110,000.

WAIHI COMPANY. For the period ended Deoember 31, representing 27 working days, the Waihi Gold Mining Company crushed and treated 16,240 tons of ore for a return of bullion valued at £29,216. Compared with the figures for the corresponding period of 1913, the latest figures show an increase of £3054. In December, 1913, 15,389 tons of ore were treated. The present return brings the value of the output from the mine for the past year to . £329,773, which is a decrease of £3899 when compared with the total returns for 1913. The ore tonnage treated in 1914 was 183,405, which was smaller by 1363 tons than the amount for 1913. The total amount of bullion won from the mine to date is £10,772,662. The total dividends and bonuses paid to date amount to £4,681(387 19s Bd. The superintendent has despatched . the following cable message to the London office of the company: —"No. 11 level: Dread-. nought lode east. 92ft driven, value 38s per ton, average width about 2£ft. Empire lode, south section west: 84ft driven, value 8s per ton. Martha lode: Driving east on lode at 41Gft in both crosscuts, 30ft driven, value 15s 6d per ton."

COMPARATIVE DREDGING RETURNS.

The following table shows the number of Otago and Southland dredges at work weekly, with their returns, together with the figures for the corresponding periods of 1913, 1912, and 1911. Pennyweights and grains are omitted in each instance:—.''

3 6 4 1915. Oz. 110 210 155 1914. 1913. Oz. Oz. 1 26 1 24 — — 3 114 5 95 5 121 6 204 8 167 1912; Oz. 2 17 4 99 11 361 15 354 2 2 475 1915. Oz. 97 63 325 426 The West Coast. 1914. 1913. Oz. Oz. 1 29 — — - - 2 49 - — 2 45 1 29 — — 831 1912. 0*. 1 9 4 193 5 185 4 167 160 58 94 554