THE MINING STATEMENT.

Otago Witness, Issue 2170, 26 September 1895, Page 16

THE MINING STATEMENT.

Tho annual report issued by the Department of Mines is, as usual, a very (Voluminous document, containing 273 pages besides appendices. It is also, as has come to be a matter of course, full of technical interest to those interested in mining pursuits. The Government of this colony has always taken a laudable interest in mining matters, and has been justified in this course, not only by the variety and extent of the mineral deposits, but by their peculiarities. And in their efforts they have for some years been ably assisted by Mr H. A. Gordon, inspecting engineer, •whose report have invariably been of great value from their completeness and up-to-date character. It may here be mentioned also that Mr Sobdon has earned for himself the

permanent gratitude of the mining community for his compilation of the handbook, which is and probably will continue for some time to be a standard authority. If the interest manifested by the Government be measured by the j money spent it will be thought considerable. No less a sum than £348, 120 1 has been expended by the Mines department, and the works represent a total cost of £479,553. But this includes sums expended and represented before the mining vote came under the control of the Minister 13 years ago. The difference between the amount expended by the department and the total cost represents the contributions of local bodies. But though these large sums have been expended on works for the development of mining, much still remains to be done. Mr Gordon says it is much " more difficult now to get private parties to engage in prospecting operations than it was in the early days," when money was plentiful and miners were more migratory. Though the yield of gold for the year was considerably less tVn for that preceding it, it is t.r.tti lying to learn that considerable advancement has taken place in the value of mining property. This has been caused by the discovery of payable gold in deeper levels. The Kapanga mine, where gold-bearing stone haa been discovered at a depth of 1000 ft, and the Keep-it-Dark mine at Reefton, where a good lode has been found at a depth of 850 ft, are specially mentioned in this connection, as is also the Wealth iof Nations. The discoveries in the Coromandel Peninsula are also referred to, and in alluding to them Mr Gordon uses these words : " Were gold found of such richness in any other place than New Zealand it would cause such a commotion amongst mining men that people would flock from every locality to tlve field ; and, notwithstanding the reports and descriptions of the rich discoveries made at Coolgardie, in Western A\vstralia, the stone found on that field cannot equal in richness that now obtained from the Ilauraki mine." And again s " The vast mineral resources of New Zealand, with large areas containing great depths of auriferous '

drift, both on the weat and east coast of the Middle Island, point to it as a country possessing unusual facilities for the investment of capital in mining enterprises, and for the employment of a large population engaged in this industry." These facilities, it is needless to say, are peculiar to New Zealand, whero it is demonstrated to be possible to utilise the power going to waste in mountain streams by employing electricity, as is now being done at the Phoenix and Brunner mines. But it ought to be almost needless to dwell at great length on the latent J mineral wealth of the colony. A J variety of causes has operated in the direction of retarding its development, and one of the factors has been the difficulty of dealing with refractory ores. It seems as if the disoovery of the cyanide treatment has at length brought the solution of the problem within measurablo distance, and we believe its perfection will lead to greater results than would the discovery of another auriferous continent. We are glad to observe that a considerable portion of the report is devoted to this subject. Experiments for improving the cyanide process have hitherto been practically stopped because the Cassel Company claimed that they held the patent rights for the use of cyanide in all its compounds for the treatment of gold and silver-bearing ores; and although Mr Justice Roiieh decided in November 1894 that the Cassel j Gold-Extracting Company had no such full patent as claimed, the company has succeeded in establishing its full rights. A report of tho case heard before Judge llomer is appended by ! Mr Gobdon, as well as a description of the cyanide process in the Transvaal mines. There are also furnished detailed reports of experiments by Mr Skby, colonial analyst, and by Mr M'Laurin, at the Auckland University. The dream of miners has been some agent that would as certainly detach every particle of gold from the parent mineral as a magnet would detach loose particles of iron, and it would seem as if cyanide of potassium were what has been so long desired. We should say this portion of the report will be found of. the most absorbing interest. The report also includes references to and reports from the various Schools of Mines in the colony. There are three of these — viz., Thames, Reefton, and Otago, — with a number of minor schools, of which the report of only one (Nelson) is available. The whole sum expended on mining schools last year was £1209 8s 6d, and the total expenditure to date on mining education in the colony has been £18,855, which includes £4750 paid to tho University of Otago. The expenditure cannot but be regarded as altogether inadequate and in the most ridiculous disproportion to the importance of the mining industry. The term "mining" in the sense in which it is used by the department includes mining for coal, and accordingly we find that branch dealt with, I though only in a general way, in the report. Of course detailed reports of all the coal mines are to be found in anotherrcport issued by the department. It is said, generally, that the industry is increasing year by year, although the output depends almost entirely upon home consumption. It certainly does strike the observer as anomalous that, while the colony possesses coal of almost unlimited extent and of a value proved to be unsurpassed for steaming purposes, it should have only a local consumption. The truth is obvious that only a general development of seaborne trade will aid this important industry, but the misfortune is that the general trend of political affairs is to place a wall of restrictions against ingress to and egress from the colony. Meanwhile, the approach of the Protectionist ideal of perfect isolation has a distinctly suppressive effect on coal mining. There are 15 mines in the colony whose output exceeded 10,000 tons last year. Of these the Westport, with 215,770 tons, stood at the head, and Mokihinui, with 10,742, at the foot. This portion of the report includes a most interesting paper, read before the Association of Engineers by Professor Fisket, its president. This deals with the origin and mode of the formation of coal, which is not by any means so simple of explanation as it is commonly believed to be. ' It must he ob\ious that it is impossible in an article like tliL-j to deal with anything like adequate fulness with a report which is composed of such a mass of detail as is that under notice. Space would hardly suffice for the bare ! enumeration of the subjects dealt with. Every mine in the colony in operation is referred to, and Mr Gordon has visited many of them. The most interesting

of the appliances are represented by diagrams, and new methods of treatment are fully described. It will also be found that new inventions relating to mining and gold-saving aro specifically described, tho descriptions being illustrated by diagrams. The report, therefore, is a mine of information in itself, and it is one which no intelligent person interested in mining could afford to be without. 33 ut this is the invariable character of these annual reports, and our duty is simply performed by publicly inviting attention to their contents.