MINING ENTERPRISE ON THE LONDON MARKET.

Otago Witness, Issue 1862, 29 July 1887, Page 12

MINING ENTERPRISE ON THE LONDON MARKET.

(Fbom Oue London Correspondent.)

London, June 15.

I mentioned in a previous letter that Messrs Edward Barnett, Richard J. Jenkins, and John Ogle, directors of the Mount Morgan (West) Gold Mining Company (Limited), had been summoned at the Mansion House on a charge of having issued a false prospectus with the intention of inducing persons to become shareholders in the company. Since last writing the case has again come up for hearing, and Mr C. S. Dicken, of the Queensland agency, gave evidence for the prosecution. Mr Dicken has been exceedingly annoyed to find that the newspapers entirely misunderstood the purport of his evidence, and have represented it as favourable to the defence, whereas it was entirely the reverse. After hearing further evidence, the Lord Mayor again, remanded the case. The effect of this prosecation has been most damaging to the mining market, but nevertheless there are a good many fresh ventures being brought out. It is somewhat curious to notice that every Queensland mine that comes upon the market is capped by one from Nevada or Colorado, so that there is a rivalry between America and Australia as to which shall take the most capital from the pocket of the English investor. It is announced also that one or two Victorian mines will shortly be placed upon the market.

A company is in course of formation here for the purpose of taking over as a going concern the well-known antimony mine at Endeavour Inlet, Queen Charlotte's Sound. The exhibits of pure metal star antimony from this mine at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition last year attracted the attention of many persons interested in this metal, and a large English manufacturing firm having obtained samples for testing, pronounced it superior to any antimony they had ever tried. There is a steady and continuous demand for this ore in the English market, which is likely to increase owing to zhe simultaneous falling off in the supplies from Borneo and Japan. An outlay of £20,000 spent in developing the mine at Endeavour Inlet would, it is said, immensely increase the output. The company which is in course of formation is to have a capital of £250,000, one-half of which will be called up at once. The provisional board of directors in London is composed of Sir Walter Buller, chairman, Sir Charles Clifford, late Speaker of the Mouse of Representatives, Mr James Farmer, formerly of Auckland, and Mr Walter Turnbull, late of Wellington. The directors in Now Zealand will be Sir William Fitzherbert, chairman, and three other Wellington gentlemen. Messrs A. L. Elder and Co will bo tho general agents in this country, and Messrs James and Shakespeare the metal brokers.