LATE MINING.

Otago Witness, Issue 1974, 19 September 1889, Page 18

LATE MINING.

THE CEOESUS COMPANY (LIMITED), NENTHORKT.

The following letter appeared in Thursday's Daily Times:

Sir,— for no apparent reason, a scare seems to have beeu created la town in regard to the probable value of the crushing now being put through by this company ; and as I understand a cumber of shareholders have been offering their stock at low rates, I think it only right that I should, as legal manager of the company, state a few facts which may to a certain extent have the effect of partly restoring confidence.

In the first place, up to date about 110 tons of quartz have been reduced, and the apparent dilatoriness in the crushing is entirely due to breakages that have occurred in the water race. The company has experienced considerable difficulty with this race from the first day the water was put on at the head, but with the expenditure of a good deal of labour and trouble it has now, so I am informed by the battery manager, been plaoed in good working order.

In the second place— atatements to the contrary notwithstanding -the directors, appreciating the desire of the public to ascertain at an early date the real value of the 6tone, decided that after some 120 or 130 tons had been milled the manager should at once wash up, and the result be made known to shareholders at the earliest possible moment. Possibly the quantity named will have been put through by the end of this week, and In any event I anticipate the cake will be to hand by the middle of next week. What the result may be Ido not of my own knowledge pretend for a moment to predict, but the battery manager in a recent communication stated that " the plates were looking splendid, and that the probabilities were that the crushing would be fully up to anticipations." It has all along been anticipated by those suppoaed to be "in the know" that the yield would be at least ljoz per ton; but whether it will be so, Time (the solver of all such problems) can alone decide.

With regard to the value of the reef, I shall simply quote an extract from a letter I received recently from my correspondent on the field. He says :— " The Croesus mine is looking well, The reef ia from sft to 6ft wide, and carries good gold. The plates at the batteryare also looking well. There is a disposition among the working men at the mine and battery to speculate in shares." I have every reason to believe that the information herein contained is both accurate and trustworthy, an.l I think it only right shareholders should be placed in full possession of the facts. What the crushing may be I cannot say ; but if shareholders now sell out their stock at the low rates at present prevailing, they will only have themselves to blame if, in the course of a fortnight, they diacover that they have acted injudiciously, especially in face of the fact that reliable information of the company's operations may at any time be obtained from Mr Walter Hislop, chairman of the company, or from Lbsiih A. Norman, Dunedin, September 18. Legal Manager.