WHY MINING DOES NOT PAY IN NEW ZEALAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 1891, 17 February 1888, Page 11

WHY MINING DOES NOT PAY IN NEW ZEALAND.

EDITOR WITNESS. gtfi,-— Everyone feels the present depression, and those who have otir colony's good at heart are endeavouring to find a " rift in the cloud." Some advocate mining. It struck me that a lew facts relative to unsuccessful mining would not be out of place. It has always been my opinion thatminiDg should hold the premier rank among the industries of the colony. It should be borne in mind that we have large tracts of country almost -worthless for any other purpose than mining, whioh in all probability are rich in gold and minerals, only requiring careful working and managing. Mining, especially that department known as quartz reefing, presents greater difficulties here than in some of tho other colonies, owing in a great measure to the disturbed nature of the strata, and to the minerals being ntermixed with the quarts: ; also, I may menion cold weather, frosts, &c. This latter fact would at onoe imply that two different classes of mining experts were necessary. In order to open up tho mine and deliver quartz, cement, or ore at the battery requires a practical miner at the head of the mine as mining manager. His qualifications should be:— (1) A capacity for examining the various " trends " and " angles of slides," " heaves," " cross courses," and " splices " which are continually to be found in our lodes, carefully noting their similarity and sequence with those which have been brought under his notice or within reliable experience; (2) a thorough knowledge of the most economical manner of opening up his mine for " stoping," " blocking out," &c, which entail an intimate acquaintance with the local value of contract costs both of working the ground and value of timber, strength of same, how to put iv, aud ventilation ; (3) a knowledge of survey and its concomitant plan drawing, so that he may be able to connect the various portions of his workings without blundering in his connecting " levels," " winzes," and " rises," and also for the purpose of enabling the shareholders to understand the nature of the work done ; (4) he must have a knowledge of " pump i work," " water wheel," " turbine wheels," and hydraulics in general, and when out of order be able to repair them if required, as it does not pay in small mines to keep an engineer. He also requires to have a knowledge of accounts. It might be thought such men are plentiful, but if they are, they are not always found in chargo of mines. This has been exemplified times without number in Otago. Tho second kind of an expert required is a battery manager, or the ! man in charge of the machine. It will at once be perceived that his duties require considerable knowledge and practice, i Gold occurs in such numerous combinations that its treatment can seldom be identical in ! any two localities. Even quartz raised from ] different parts of one mine requires special treatment; so the person in charge of battery requires to be a metallurgist, and also possess a practical acquaintance with machinery requisite for crushing, amalgamating, and gold saving. It would be difficult to determine which of these two experts is of the more importance ; and when the required knowledge is combined in the same individual, he is a miner of the highest class. Happily for Otago, some of our mines have such men in charge of their works. But how often has the reverse been the case ? How many mines are idle that with judicious management would have been paying dividends and employing hundreds of our miners? Many of the men found in charge of batteries lose from onethird to one-half the gold, and upon any complaint being made, they give as a reason that there is too much sulphur, antimony, galena, or else the never-failing cold water. This last objection is a standing one. Again, men who are well worth 10s per day as miners are found acting as mining managers who cannot form an accurate estimate of the cost of development of their mino or lay a plan before their directory, aud whose knowledge of tho proper manner of opening up a mine is of the least. These men, however, as they must make some show, generally bring themselves into notice by forwarding garbled reports of their mine, which of course is always on the eve of some grand discovery. A thoroughly competent mine manager will not lend himself to such measures, aud if his company are honest men and hold for results, not in order to sell out, they will always prefer an honest straightfor- | ward report, even if unfavourable. A school of mines appears, to be the best remedy against this serious incompetency, and no person should be in charge of a mine, or lives of those employed therein, who has not by examination | proved his competency. No captain, mate, | or engineer of a vessel is employed without such certificate, and no lawyer, doctor, or other professional man allowed to practise without a diploma. A mining manager, especially if also a metallurgist, has to study as hard as any of these, and should surely be equally required, for the public safety, to prove his fitness. Moreover, capital would be more freeiy invested if public confidence were more established. Having thus glanced at the expert portion of mining, let me now review the present mode of bringing ground before the public for the purpose of company formation. Ifc is but too well known that in the majority of cases when a syndicate or a broker have resolved to take over a certain portion of mining property they place it before the public at double or treblu the original cost at which it came iuto their hands. Thus a syndicate purchases n 10-acre lease from B and party at £1000 and 1000 paid-up shares in the company formed, and issue a flu-ing prospectus for the formation of a company of 15,000 shares ab £l each, of which tha promoters retain 5000 shares paid up 'n full or in part, offering the remaining 10,000 shares to the public, and append reports from mining engineer and geologist descriptive of the presumed richness of the property. Now, who will vouch for the capacity of the mining engineer to form an expert idea in the absence of some certificated examination which gives his opinion weight? A F.G.S. has But, again, it is geMorn that be has any practical experience. He may be taken as an undoubted authority as to the general gold-be Aring superfices of the. country, but he i.s generally lamentably ignorant of the future underground of any particular spot. His whole report consists of a description of tho surrounding surface formation, its trends, &c, and seldom have wo found a geologist carefully tracing out the true course of a lode, simply because the formation and deposit of minerals in lodes and veins are purely a matter of theory, and nearly every geologist has bis own pet idea. The investor is not informed, of the probable amount of hard cash which must necessarily be expended before a dividend can be obtained. On the contrary,

he ia led to believe that in fbv space of » few months, or even weeks, by the outlay of a* small capital, his investment will become a selfsupporting and profitable one. As a t>9Bines& man, he calculates Lis expenditure on thd usual principle of so tßitch interest for so moeh» capital, finds himself deceived, and fights shy of mining speculation ever after ', whereas, if tho venture were fairly explained, fes might invest to a less extent, but by paying calls for a longer period at last ensure success, Tor a payable mine may encounter difficulties' which » small capital cannot contend against, but which may, and geffetally can be surmounted by welldirected energy and perseverance. The present? mode of company fwmrag, however disastrous to gold mining, appears to be bo much in the hands of the public themselves, and they appear to rely so much on the reports provided, that it is difficult to suggest a remedy dtittt than the plan above mentioned, viz., that att mining experts should be certificated by some* school of mines or other competent body. Witfr jrespecfc to the slow development of naming in Ne*T Zealand generally, tha Hon. the Minister of Mines has much to answer for, Large areas of ground on every goldfield are locked up, through inefficient action, and all men declare the regulations simply incomprehensible. t At present when a lease is applied for, a period oi raoßtba or years (to my own knowledge) elapses before it is granted or refused, A similar delay off many months occurs before the proper suneyoir finds ifc convenient to even survey the land. The leasing system may be considered necessary on account of the soundness of the title acquireaY which is absolutely indispensable io tho investment of large capital, but the dilatoriuess of the department and its employes neutralises all efforts, and completely paralyses miners of moderate means. Why cannot the lands applied for be surveyed at most within one month of date of application? Surveyors are numerous enough, and the fees paid are sufficiently high. As soon as possible — say within 30 days— let the resident warden, having before him the surveyor's seport, examine the applicant on oath as to the proper marking oat, future working, &o. of tho land applied for, and on his ri commendation only let; the issue or otherwise of tho grant bo at once determined. No application should be kept in hand longer than three months from the date of its being made. Onco issued, the department would usefully signalise itself by enforcing the labour condition?, but herein it always fails, It*> amazing delay in surveying and considering applications,anditsculpableuegligencoinenfor6" ing the labour clauses when granted have caused grievous damage to the mining interests", I would suggest for the advancement of mining tho employment of duly-examined, certificated experts only as mining managers and battery overseers ; such experts to be liable to the cancellation or suspension of their certificates on due cause being shown to their examining boards. The establishment of a school of mines with a 10-head buttery attached for the purpose of practically educating its class ot battery and metallurgical experts. This battery could be also employed testing trial crushings from outlying districts. At present it is a favour to get a few tons of stono cru«hed for a trial. We have immense mineral resources at our doors, only they require very careful management. Now we aro paying too dear for our whistle. — I am, &c, W.B. February 7.