ROXBURGH AMALGAMATED MINING AND SLUICING COMPANY.

Otago Witness, Issue 1958, 30 May 1889, Page 17

ROXBURGH AMALGAMATED MINING AND SLUICING COMPANY.

The Mount Benger Mail states that during the past month a -number of men have been employed in the Roxburgh Amalgamated >Mm-} ing and Sluicing-Company's claim. ; - First arace, about a quarter of a mile long, was constructed from a oam known* as Messrs Anderson | and party's to bring, the wateri on to the flat ad joining the olaiin formerly held"by Mr Woodhouse. Beside cutting- the race, which is 6ft' wide and carriea some 18 heads of water, the party-— abdutrsbven— have sluiced a way a large piece 1 of ground i,and the' work done cannot but be pro; nounced indst satisfastory for a month's opera-, tions*'. With plenty of water, even in the orJinary way 'of sluicing,' good headway will be mstde/and it is satisfactory to note the psospepts'ar? encouraging. -Though a long way from the true' wash ( signs of the precious metaL are not wanting, and there are lay.ers which would i payhandsomely for hydraulic sluicing. The wash when reached, is expected to- turn out excellent dividends ; ii^fqfct, it? is well known that in 'this locality where* the bottom was. got in the past, the prospects were really first-class.' The large Works which the company intend to construct— such as,; a large .dam at Dismal Swamp, water races, 1 laying. of (pipes, and erection 6i machinery— Will be gone on with in due course, but' the present season is rather unfavourable for the work ; but the company will find plenty to do in the meantime, a^ there is a large extent of ground that; can be., profitably sluiced away into the river by> the aid of- the splendid water supply 'which is now 1 to • be ' had consequent on the' amalgamation of the 1 water rights of those in- the company- who'- formerly worked single-handed. i-Mr Rawlins, ME., who visited the -ground this, week, expressed a* very high opinion of the.;'property, and seemed greatly surprised at the 'extent and valuable nature of ,the deposits. I

,TAKING OTHR THE CLAIMS. On Wednesday, 22nd, inst, Mr Pyke,M.H.R., I Mr Ra'wlins, M.E., andseveral othepgentlemen j attended", at .the company's property, when a pleasing ceremony, was 'Vgone, through. , Af|i,er viewing the workings Mr Pyke turned a sod in each of the claims included' in the company's property, and formally took over the same" in the name of the Roxburgh Amalgamated Mining and Sluicjng Company.' -- , Mr Raw Has, in a few remarks, dwelt on the grand prospect in store for the Roxburgh j Amalgamated Mining and Sluicing Company. The property was a refclly valuable one, and with the introduction .of ' the requisite machinery would; no doubt give splendid . returns. He : had inspected- some; of the workings, and. was surpriaed at the extent of the wash and the handBome' prospects' obtained. ' He looked upon the property as beiig'agrand one, md really "worth the expenditure bf capital, as it was, a sure pp^culatiorrfor investment . .Mr Peters said> he was a miner of many-years-experience, and fc6'%ftß gireatly struck- with the favourable appearance of the ground. From %he examination he had made he was quite satisfied that with the- proper appliances .the ground could^be^very -profitably worked. • ' : [A prospeot -washed out from some staff taken aheut Sffc^fromibhecbottom showed very good results, and the opinion. was:'unanimoußly"expressed that with h/drauiioßluicing the returns fronr^he, .ground; wpuld'bej very large.] r ! . 'MrTPvykeithe^sa'idr I.anvhere to-day so perform a, very important', function. I am> here to take, possession of one of the richest' and 'most valuable "gravel claims'?, in all New Zealand — probably v: in' all the- world-^-on behalf of the Roxburgh Amalgamated Mining -andi,3hiicing Company. You have •• heard j from .Mr RawKm, the" manage* ,of " the Island. Block Cbmpiinyi "and « from' Mr ■ Peters," who ' has been 1 -'engaged *' in'"'^mining ' enterprise for 17- years 1 , what -their 'deliberate^opinion is of the "value. 1 of -the ground. wl • feel assured ' that my greatgrandchildren willthank me for securing an interest in it. ■ Asito the ; beneficial effect of amalgamating snob claimssthere^ is evidence below our feet. The claimholders have putJin their water power in one direction, Look at the

result in the immense gap they' have, already made in the terrace.', 1 . IWTist will'it'be^hen' the 1 60 additional heads are ; bropght,,in.from Dismal Swamp? By the way^ I propose to re-christen that samef wamp. - We have gone on very slow in forming the company, and' V wish to name it Lake Onslow, an appropriate term and in honour .of our new Goverti"br. J^ As you .know, this swamp, which is our reservoiriis situated' 2800 ft above ■■ sea* level.' Well, in- consequence of the"'. senseless,;. 1 malicious,' and'pur- [ poseless opposition 1 " shown to . our getting a ! grant of the Dismal Swamp as a ,'dami we were, prevented from undertaking the work of erecting the dam bank until next summer.. The region is. snow-clad and ice-bound jast nb<«r; v jThat is how' our opponents, by; the perverse action,' have se"t back, the -development of, the" mining, industries, of.thefdistriot.; Then we have had twpother ; troubles -'to contend 'with.' In the first" place noji alluvial or "gravel claim Jt has heretofore been i placed oW'-tiffl. matk6fri-ife~ is a )riei*^thing to j Dunedinfolk; Theyliava, pnt their^money in ; quartz; and in nine oases cut of ten th»y lose it. The reason is as easily, demonstrated « a mathematical problem. ;; ! Quartz. : may.be rich on the eurfaoe, but wiataenßibleman would buy, a house if he were 'presented with a brick as a sample ?, : The qudrtz may "peter out "within a; foot; th^re is no certainty of v its continuance. 3ut in.the'case'of'a gravel claim;there, is 'ho'uii- , certainty. Yomcan tell almost exactly Jiow much gold 'there is ' imevery :oubio yard;of wash,, with, always the chances of rich underground patchesi Why," where we. standTnowj from. above. yonder' bend an old ajid, mdp river bed ;oricej existed, ; and> we are 'even now jusfc tapping it in our frontage 'claims. - ■ Numerous deposits iof the precious metal are lying underneath our 'feet — where : wol now Btand—orily awaiting 'the application of* -capital to- "unearth it. But itv'is-, too> near . Dunedin , for the^Dunedia people to take any interest •in it,. They send away their thousands to bolster up West Coast speculations, .because ".distance leiads enchantment-to the view ", ; but.ihejr have no- sense— or, as tne .Chinaman w6u]d,<Bay, the "savee" — to invest theiri. money within 1 their pwn border to develop the mines that are within Otago. By and bye, when English' capitalists have absorbed all our best alluvial gold t mineß, the short-sighted people of Dunediri'will'dis'cover' that the most permanent and payable gold properties in the world have passed out of their hands .through their own indolence and apathy. Then look at. our magDificent water ( privileges. My presence and my .mission here to-day signalises the triumph 'of enterprise over tfafe old "dot-and^carry-one" 'system cherished, by fossils of the old mining' class. The 1 shareholders of the company now stand possessed of one, of the finest mining, properties in New Zealand — the water privileges alone 1 , of which mean a fortune of' incalculable 'value: Think of a dam three and a-half miles .long, and, in the centre one mile wide, with a big, river running through iit ! Gentlemen,, it is needless 'to - say more; >I* -shall now propose "Success' and prosperity to : the Roxburgh Amalgamated Mining Company:"— (Cheers).