Notes from Wakatipu. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Otago Witness, Issue 1916, 6 November 1890, Page 12

Notes from Wakatipu. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

Arrow, November 3.— TEe d« edges " upon the Lower Shotover— that is, Sew Hoy's dredges and those ot Talisman and Golden Bar Companies— have unrivalled opportunities in testing the value of their respective claims during tbe past fortnight, and should be In a position to adduce proofs thereof In tbe shape of handsome cakes of gold. The river has been at high water level, without being flooded ; nor did the. rise take place suddenly, nor leading to a fail as tudden ; but it has kept at a nice working level, affording the dredgemastero' the opportunity of trying ground that, without the rise, would be inaccessible.

In a less degree tbe same remark applies to the dredgea upon the Kawarau, as here the river is much more confined, and the ohoice lies only between tbe river itself and its' bai.ke and benches. Late reports

say that the flooded state of the rivers has been unfavourable to the prosecution of dredging; if bo the dredges loose go den opportunities in getticgat the golden spoil, tor the dredges Upon the Lower Shot over have something like half a mile in v width to prospect, and the* 1 river in ordinary times 'covers only say from 300 yds to 300 yds, so that all the rest will have to be tested by digging pa»«age» through the solid ground. The Talisman dredge has been working on payable gold with a few interruptions, but the flooded state of the river bns Interfered much with operations. The Golden Bar dredge is reported- to have been on good gold, when the flooded state of the river pre- v vented regular work being done. ■ . The Wakatipu dn-dgee are securing gold regularly, and are' producing cakes which," if they do not yet quite cover working expenses,. go a, good way towards it, and there are signs of Improvement. There are no returns to hand from the Horse Shoe Bend dredge this week. The new dredger, that is the Frankton Beach dredge, and the third dredge for Sew Hoy and,' Co.,' are nearing their completion, but the wet weather necessarily interferes much with the work. In quartz mining, things are moving along slowly, but are greatly hindered by .the wet weather, making the transport of material intermittent and most un-' reliable. ' - , , ' . The Sunrise Company, atMacetown, have been more than three weeks ready for the erection of their battery, but no carting can be done Just when ,the roads are made passable,- a fresh shower of rain comes and brings down fresh slips that block traffic .Work in the mine is, how ever, pushed ahead with' all vigour, and the prospects met with continue very good. The Premi r' Company have had" everything prepared for making a start with oruihing for nearly a month past, but from the causV mentioned'ab.rve have been prevented from making an actual beginning. The No. 1, or main working level, is pushed ahead, and a make of stone has set in, and is now Ift wide, showing very favourable indications of gold: The Gallant Tipperary Company have been suffering in their crushing operations from the " et weather, and during the last fortnight have lost three days on this account. From 90 tons .of stone 87oz of amalgam were obtained, the top plates only being cleaned up The Phosnix mine, Skippers, is raising some veryrich stove The repair^ to the foundations of the battery are being most satisfactorily prosecuted, and cushing kept going with 10 heads already repaired. The prospects of the mine are highly spoken of. DREDGING FOIBLES.

It has become the fashion to express dredging j returns by a ttatement of so many, ounces of retorted golji or amaluam obtained for a certain ber of hours This, to say the loast of it, ia an oracular statement, for It reveals neither the qmllty of the claim or the washdirt treated, nor Oops it show the capacity of the dredging plant or the efficiency of the gold saving apparatus. A statement, to be of value to shareholders and the investing public generally, should state how long the dredge has been at work, including stoppages, from whatever cause, for expenses are running on during all such stoppages and delays. A return to be at all reliable and of value should show how many tons of washdirt have been treated in a given time, including stoppages, and the amount of retorted gold obtained from the dirt. A record of this kind would be an Invaluable guide to the gold savers of the dredgers, showing at what quantity pwsed through the oreatest amount of gold is say d. ancppti- g that thertuff runs at a regular average yi-ld Buch accounts of the doing* of the dredges at published at present can only be ml heading shareholders and others taking an Interest in dredglug ma'ters-a line of conduct for which there san be no excuse, and for which no apology can atone.