MISCELLANEOUS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2010, 1 September 1892, Page 15

MISCELLANEOUS.

1 The Waikaia correspondent of the Southern Standard writes : — The Waikaia Dredging Company's dredge has been idle for a week or two through want of coal. It seems that the only local coal \vhich sufts the requirements of the dredge is that obtained from the School Commissioners' land, near the Argyle station. Owing to some dispute as to the ownership of the coal area between two rival claimants, the warden placed an injunction against any coal being taken out, pending a se<|tlement by the Warden's Court. As the difficulty is now at an end, we hope to see the dredge in full swing soon, which it has never been yet. They don't seem to have made a proper start. Delays caused by breakages in the machinery, and incidents like the' above, must be vexatious to the shareholders, but they may take heart of grace, and some good prospects have been got lately— coupled with the fact that their new manager, .Mr Law son, is a gentleman who has had

large experience in this sort of mining. The Waikaia Gold Mining. Company s water race is all hut completed, As 1 this race will command most of. what .'is KBOwn, as the' Scrubby. Terraces, a large area of ground will be at the disposal of, miners." The following items are from the Dunstan Timea :— ,*'Mr Card's dredge had a narrow escape from being capsized while being taken up tho riven It-was peing headed round the bluff on the Alexandra, Bide, just opposite the Fraser river, when the eddy of the Molyneux made the dredge run up the stream,' leaving considerable slack on the rope, and the dredge swung out into the river broadside on. Fortunately, the lf-inch wire rope held the immense strain. For a time there was some excij^rnont, but the engineer's presence of mind, our. informant states, saved the dredge, fle started the winch going as hard as he could and cot in the slack, bringing the vessel round safely. The dredge took in a certain amount of water whjljst in. its somewhat perilous position. — Alexandra : The Molyneux Hydraulic Company has let the contract for fixing the pipes in position to a local party of working men, their contract price being lower than that of the other persons who tendered. Forcarting the extra pipes from Lawrence to Alexandra Mr C. Nieper was the'successful tenderer. A large number of applications were received for the position of manager of the company, and the directors have adjourned their decision until their next weekly meeting.— Mr Gaid's dredge is now moored on his special claim «t Sandy Hook, and our correspondent informs us that a trial of the engine and dredging machinery is to take place to-day. The contractor, Mr R. S. Sparrow, is no wat Alexandra, and intends remaining there until the dredge is in thorough working order.— Matakanui : There being abundance of water at Matakanui, mining operations are in full swing. The Deep Lead (Sugarpot Company) have been busy for some time - clearing off the stones left on the old company's workings. The present compauy has a very clever mode of clearing the top ground ft of these boulders. Two trucks are connected WW v a wife rope which runs round a pulley ; one 'truck is fitted up with a wooden tank which is" ballasted with water, while the other is used to carry off the boulders. As soon as the latter is filled the one containing the water runs down a tramway, and by the force of its weight carries up the loaded truck to the top of a small rise, whence it is t'akon away by two of the men along the tramway line, and its contents shot down a declivity away altogether from the workings. As soon as the water- ballasted truck reaches the bottom, which ddes not take place until the other truck has arrived at the top of the rise, the water pours but. The unloaded truck being heavier is then seat down the tramway, and hoists the ballast truck up to ! the top, where it is again filled with water while the other is being loaded up. When our representative was at Matalcanui lately, the manager very kindly furnished him with some further particulars of this claim, which will be of interest to our .readers. -It appears that tho run of wash whioh the' company is now on is what is known in mining phraseology as 'granite wash,' and that a short time ago the manager (Mr Huddlestone) sank a shaft for the purpose of

ascertaining its depth. He sank for 240 ft and was unable to bottom This will give some idea of tho depth of tho wash. Mr Huddlestone was of the opinion that tho granite wash was also unlimited in extent, as it could be traced 1 for miles. As to its richness, that was clearly proved by our representative and a friend getting splendid prospects with a tin dish from different parts of the claim. The manager was good enough to wash out a dish of stuff, and the prospect was simply wonderful. A very good was also obtained by one of the men with a Bhoyel. Anyone who is curious to see the amount of gold obtained from the tin dish and shovel can' do so by calling at our office. It will take some time, before tho company can clear the ground and : commence operations, but when they do we shall be much surprised if the company does not have' steady and sensational yields of the yellow metal." . The mine manager of the Amalgamated Waipori Deep Lead Gold Mining Company (Limited) reports for the week ending 20th inst. as follows :-— " Worked full time last week, at elevating and erection of No. 2 elevator in its lower lsvel."