MISCELLANEOUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1956, 20 August 1891, Page 15

MISCELLANEOUS.

A petition, signed by 70 miners of Coal Island, has been forwarded to Government asking for the resumption of tbe monthly mail service. It is reported that splendid returns are being obtained on the ground;

- The Southern Standard says that great expectation* are entertained up Waikaia way of ths suoceis of the dredge which will shortly be placed on Gow'm oreek, a few miles above the township. Extremely good prospects have been obtained by the prospector*. There have been two disappointment* at waikaia ; let us hope that there will be " good look in odd number*." The dredge will be the third recent attempt to develop the district. The Coal Oreek correspondent of the Tuapeka Time* writes :— " I am happy to state that the frost has at last left us, and our min«r» have in consequenoe plenty of water to carry on operations with. I am glad also to be able to say that the yield of gold iv all the olaims and dredges is very encouraging. The Dunedin Oo.'s dredging operations have resulted in upward* of 160oz of the preoious metal for about ■ix days' work. That'i the kind of ground to work, and it shows what enormous quantities of gold are yet in the river bed —The CommUsioner*' Flat olaim Is situated immediately above the Duuedin Dredg ing Co.'* ground, and I hope they will be as fortunate at their neighbours in dropping on to good ground. At present they are linking a paddock towards the bottom, and the gravel show* good indication* of gold, but tbe best gold is nearly always found on the bedrook or bottom, and I have no doubt in this case the company* expectations will be fully borne out. They have now a large piece of ground stripped and ready for the elevator, and they will therefore' very soon be able to speak with cartalnby as to their prospects. — The river is at present very low, and the general wish is that it might keep down for three or four months longer. Were it only to do so there would be remunerative work for a large number of men during that time. But it is an uuoertain river, and I suppose will go up more suddenly than it fell — There i* always a great quantity of water flowing to waste in the Teviot river, and it has often struck me of. late as being a great pity that nothing could be done to fled a remedy for such a state of things. The Lake Onslow dam, which should have beeu completed before this time, and so afforded splendid storage room, still remains in a half unfinished state. Half the money throwu away on law during the past year would have fiaished it and given the shareholders something for their money. This dam If completed should conserve an enormous supply of water, and I think the Urge .companies conld do no better than unite nod finish it. Unless they do so I am afraid it will be some time before we see the jWork properly completed." The Koxburgh correspondent of tde same paper writes:—" I have nothing new to send you relating to mining matters, other than to say that the Dunedin Dredging Co. are 'in the swim ' nowadays. Their last week's return was 168oz— the biggest they have yet obtained. Their last four wubings-up have aggregated close on 5500z, whioh is really phenomenal. Of course the low state of the river has been greatly in the company* favour f>r the past few week*, allowing them to operate on ground whioh they could not touch in the summer months.— The No. 2 Hercules washed up on Saturday, getting close on 85oz of geld for a little over eight days' running — The manager of the Commissioners' Flat Co. is fighting against difficulties, but I understand he is making fairly satisfactory headway The company's race has beeu a source of trouble for many weeks past." The Cromwell Argus say*: -"Although not at its lowest level, the river has kept dowu sufficiently to permit of a large army of Oainese -working on its bank* during the past week " Steady work I* (says the Tuapeka Times) now the rule at the Oommisslouert' Flat Co.'s olaim, Roxburgh. Everything is moving in splendid order, and the elevator is running three shifts, with a good ■upply of water, Tbe bottom, whioh is of pipeclay, and should pan out well,' was reached about a week ago. There is a layer of good-looking wash, about 4ft thiok, sft or 6ft from the bottom, whioh carries a very fair percentage of gold ; and as far as it is possible to judge at present, this runs towards the reef, and if so good gold may beoonftdently relied on. The general opinion among the old hands, who should know what they are talking about, is that there is a rich layer of wash in the vicinity of the ground now being worked. A wash-up was looked forward to yesterday, and the returns are likely to be such as will make the shareholders smile. It i» expected that fully half of the ground stripped will be taken out by the end of this week, though the stuff is terribly mixed and jumbled up, and anything but a pleasure to work. But there ii an aot<ve, experienced man at the helm, and as long as circumstances are at ail favourable, the stuff will have to go, and the dividends come in if they are anywhere about. The Hamilton correspondent of tbe Mount Ida Chroniole writes :—" I paid a visit the other day to tbe Fatearoa dredge on the Taieri rivar. Mr Welm&n wa« there, avid kindly showed me over the dredge. From ray observations, lam confident that with a powerful dredge the company would pay handsomely, for all the stuff thai the prospecting dredge has so far put through ha* averaged fully a pennyweight to the load, although a good deal of gold is undoubtedly being lost through there being no soreen and all the stuff having to go over the matting. Mr Oats, the manager, tried a number of prospects in a shovel iv my presence, and each time obtained several colours. Tbe dredge is only on the

top of the permanent wMhdirt ai yet. I taw tome very nice blue quartz coming up, and I fully expect that the deeper they go the better proipecti will b» obtained. I fully believe thii will prove one of the most ■ucoetiful venture! in the provlnoe." Arrangement* have been completed (iayi the Mataura Bnalcn) for plaolng the TalUman dredge on Gow't oreek, Waikaia. The prospeots obtained from the claim justifies very sanguine expectation* by ihareholderi, and we hope »oon to hear that the enterprise of the promoter! has met with the reward it certainly deserves to. „ _ Advice* from Quartz Beef Point (iay* th« Cromwell Argu*) state that oansequent upon Werner ana party bottoming and obtaining reported falrprospeott, the fancy line hns taken the direction toward* the old Excelsior working*, and «everal hole* are started, and intending to start to (ink. Werner* shaft is about 60ft deep, upon pipeolayor«oft«Bnd•tone bottom, with a little water as yet. but an increa*e is expected a* the claim i» being opened out. Bethune and Tillman'* washdirt I* full of enormou* boulder*, that can only be removed by oonrtant blasting. The prospeot* In thi* claim are reported good, with a good height of wash. Chapman and Swart are al»o getting out a big heap of wa»hdlrt. These are the only olaims getting gold at present. The secretary of the Dunedin Gold Dredging Gompnny (Limited) reoeived the following telegram from the dredgemaster on Saturday:— "l6ooz gold for five day*' dredging." The Commissioners Flat Gold Mining Company washed up on the 14th inst., with a result of 230z 19dwfc gold. Xhe secretary of the Sandhills Company received on Saturday the following telegram from tbedredgemaiter:—"Started thi» morning one *hift. Will •tart three shifts Monday." The Upper Walporl Alluvial Sold Dredging Company obtained 10oz of gold for five day* aix hour* dredging last week. ■ ■ Mr Leary hw received advioe from the manager of the Boxburgh Amalgamated Company that he washed up last week and obtained 1230z idwt 15gr of gold— namely, 630z lftdwt from Ho. 1 for 16 day*', and 590z Sdwt lSgr from 80. 3 for 10 days' elevating. Mr Jabez Burton, secretary of the United Hercule* Hydraulic Sluioing Company, telegraph* the result of Saturday's washing up as being 28oa Bdwb of gold, valued at £101 12s 9d. _ The Lake Wakatlpu Mail report*:— "The parties who are now prospecting on land held by BaKer, Crown Terrace, are getting very good pro»peot», and are sanguine as to a new and profitable field being opened. The section* adjoining the property of Mr W. Patereon will no doubt prove auriferou*, ana •everal parties are waiting for Mr Paterson'sieturn to ask permission to prospect. We understand that responsible parfcie* will Interview Mr Paterson, and if successful will deposit *uffioient to cover all damage* that may be done." MrOallender, *eoretary of the Sew Hoy Big Beaoh Gold Mining Company (Limited), ha* received a telegram intimating that 540z sdwt retorted gold had been lodged iv the bank, being the product of a week* work of two dredges. Mr Cullender, secretary of the Sbotover Elver Gold Dredging Company (Limited), has received a letter from Mr Goldie, dredgemaster, reporting the repair* of the dredge finished. He had tested the engines and found everything working well, and began to dredge on Saturday, 16th, and intends washing up on 23nd inst. „ The secretary of the Wakatlpu Dredging Company reports having received from the company* dredgemaster (Mr W. H. Ontten) the following telegram i "250z amalgam for the week ending Bth August 1891 ; 260z amalgam for week ending 15th inst. 127 hours' dredging." ______^_