THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS.

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

THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS.

The annual report of the directors of the Jutland Fiat (Waipori) Dredging Company is not a very inspiriting document. The longstanding difficulty with the farmers is killing tho mining industry at Waipori, and should it last much longer, as, indeed, seems very probable, the district is likely to be depopulated and its industrial pi ogress thrown back many years. Tho report ju=t mentioned is a clear indication of this cheerless prospect. Tho directors stale that in tho absence of any prospect of a settlement of tho difficulty between tho Berwick fanners and the mining industry at Waipori, they decided in Mnrch last to construct a wingdam to enable the dredge to work apart f 10111 the river. This was done at considerable ixpcnse iv wagos and material, and dredging operations were resumed on April 1. But their operations have Binco beun so restricted that the re.ult, so far, has not bcn-fitcl shaioboldcTß— wages, fuel, and othor outgoings practically absorbing the proceeds of the . gold obtiiued. Failing either an early improvement in the yield of gold, or a fatisfactory settlement of the difficulty with the farmers, the directors anticipate that it will again bJ necessary to lay up the dredge. This a bard alternative— 0 gloomy prospect, not ouly for the shareholders of the company, out for those whos? daily brcid dup uda on the steady working of the dredge, and tho maintenance of Iho miuing industry geueially. The Jutland Flat Company, as its balance sheet shows, has been vory heavily hit by the Waipmi difficulty ; aud now, after all the heavy expense incurrpd iv the cudtavour to maintain its positiou and protect the interests of tho shareholders, it icems ns if it wi'ro nbont to experience another crushing blow in the stopj p^ge of work until probably such lime as the farmers luvc ceasod to obstruct and hinder mining operations on fhu river. When that may be it is, of course, impossible to say. Aft^r all tho hopeful anticipations indulged in lately, tho probabilities of a settlement of the trouble seem ns remote as ever. The sluicing cl linis are still shut down, some of tho mon being employed on tho cooperative works undertaken by tho county council on the Waipori road, while others are prospecting in diffeicnt parts of the district. We 1 egret, principally bi'C.u.si' of the hardship* it imposes on the working men of the district, the unfortunate fctate of thinga which tho difficulty haa given arißC to, and tiust the Julla-ud Fiat Company may not be driven to the alternative of again laying up their drodge — Tuapeka Tjmes. The Otimaru Mail s*ys :— " In a recent issue we published an extract from tho statement of tha MinistM' for Mines, Uid on the Üble of tbc House duriug the present seßsion. wl.ich refeirtd to the Maei-tfwhenuii workings. lt<ferriog to tlie Mountain Hut race, the Minister said that he had promised assistance when he wai .satisfied that the race wa3 c*p^ble of bringiogtbe water in. Thera have been 12 men working on this race the greater portion of the time for the last four years on a sort of co-operative system, and now they have nearly completed the undertaking. In eight or nine days, nil going well, the wutar will be lot down a distance of seven miles to a spot known as Thompson's creek, which is the first of three ravines for which Mr Cadman has promised to provide iron pipes to convey the water over, and a request is being sent to the Minister anking that an engineer may ba sant down now to inspect the work with a view to obtaining these iron pUos Mr Cadunn, when up at the works, stipulated for five beads of water to ba brought in. The man say tuat the race will bring in five or six times that quantity. Betidea crossing (hethrea ravines there will be about four or five miles of easy ground to continue the race through, so that when competed the race will traverse a distance of about 13 milea. The men hope to have the whole of the work done and w<.ter on to the field in about six months' time. Wo have several timeß re fur red to the energy and determination of these men workiug away month after nvmlh. and yc»r aftet yuir at thif race, and iv the winter time they' hate cndnrcdgie.it hmKhips, coming out in tho mountains in fro3t and mow. It is no exaggeration to say tLat theira ia another instance of what Biitish pluck will accomplish. Thia race when completed will bring in a much 1 larger volume of water than any now on th« field, and will give employment to a large number of additional men." 'Jhe folljwing il?ni3 are from the Dunstan T>me- :— The lion Mr Calnr«n has intruded Mr Mifgeoige to survey another route for the Smith's Gully propo?e>l sludge channel.- Fr. m information received from l)r Hyde, managing director of the Clyde Dredging Company, we are glad to bo able to state that this company have let all the contracts in connection with their new drudge. Mecsrs R S. Nparr.uv and Co., of Dunedin, have secured the cnnttacti for machinery and erection aud oil the iionwork, with the execpt'on of the engine, which ii to be made by Alar-hall and Sons, and <iUo a Tungyc pumP- The building of the pontoons ia tn be proceeded with at on-e. The contracts have been let for a little ove.- £3000. The dredge 13 to havo the largest buckets on the river, having a capacity of threo and a-hOf cubic ft-H. The principal p-)inl s of improvement in tbc new drtd^c are that thepoppeth'-ads being low, 11 « water has only to be mised to 12ft, thus nllo wins a large paving iv ctO ; the delator will raise both the fine and charge ttuff to a lie. : g'\t of 30fc if required, This will lie the first time on the Molyneux river thit the line staff has beon elevated. The necessity for doing so hns been occasioned by the new .system of woikjng into the banks of the riv«>r. The building site for the dredge is to bo at the Cijde Dockyards, near the Clyde bii<'gt\ and work wdl be ntirtcl fo noon as the timber is on the ground. — Alexiu.tlr.i : The Enteiprise dredge obUincd 20)2 l.'Jhvt 18gr for last week's woik, and everytbi^g is woikiog well on the dredge. Tho Butcher's Point Company have not been able to make a start yet, rs the river is s'.ill too high The claims on the Molyneux are doing very little, owing to thft river buing so high, and by the I»oka of the weather ui-d the snow on tho hills it is l'lu-ly ty keep hifch for fome time yet. All the miuoifi on thi Mauorbiiru are working away bteadily. Messrs Fuller, Cameron, and Pbk t a'o driving rlow n into the dnep ground. We believe their ground is keeping about tho tame. Mps n Jackson Bros, and Thompson washed up last week, and Fceni to be satisfied with the result. Messrs Jackson and Campbell aro working away with tya§fd supply ff wa'er. Th -.y do not intend washing tip until Chris! m.vi.— The dir.ctors of the Mo'yneux Ilydtiuilic Company heM a meeting at Alexandra oa Tuo-day evening la^t, wh-^n it was decided to suspend operations in tV claim for a mouth, ami perhnp-. longer, in coi.vqiu-ii v of the u!if.i\ourable btite of tho rise-. Taking ii.t'i con idu .itiuu the present slate of the cmpinv, it is uo ('oubt the wsu-.t plan th.it could" Invi be«n adoplej. As u-u»l, whenever the river is lii^b, there is a splendid supply of wa'cr. IS .\ (lre:Vgo Wbru put on to woik tbo clvim all thc.-sc ('.illiculties would ba owrcciiic, au^l tt v if; c-impai.y would bcy<'iid a doubt be •ue of the best paylig ennyiuie. on the Moiyr.uu river. Kxperserif cl '•'red.-or.i c:iy that a j dr tig* to cost between £'i:-00 a> d £1010 could be j built to work 'very ii eh of the claim with the . assistance of the hydraulic l lint. As to this I claim it is not supp jsitiou that tho gold is there, '

for it baa been proved to ba one of tho richest claims on tho river, and it is only a matter o£ time when a dredge will be put on to work it — whether with tha present company or not wo cannot say. The company was originally formed in 18S0, and started sluicing hi January 1893. In that year 130 os! 2dwt 21er of gold was oKtaiiifd, of the value of £500 10s 6<i ; ami in the following jcar the yield won lfttoz lßdwt 4gr, valued at £592 143 Id. Elevating was atarted in, 1896, and up to date Iflloz s.lwt 2gr have been obtained, of tho value of £632 7a 2d. Siuco tha company flr&t started they have heon working under very great difficulties, and tho general opinion is that it will never bo a success until tha dredge 13 put on, which would work the claim continuously and to advantage. The presonfc shares in tho company aro n»smy ell held lix-ully. and it can hardly be expoctud that they can afford s to launih out another £JOOO without the as.sistaucer of tha outside public— ln fact, a good many of tha present shareholders have put as much into it as th<y can afford at present. Another dredging claim haa been taken up on the Clutha, starting upwards from Deadmnn's Point. Hes3r3 Crookstou and Roy arc said to ba associated in this new venture. — Crcmwell Ar«*u3. The Roxburgh correspondent of tho Tunpeka Times writes :— "For about a month we have had to complain of winiiy weather. Day after day, with painful rogularity^ we have to free tho gusto of the north wind, and it ia really, as Patient Joa said, getting monotonous, river is naturally high, though perhap3 not quite so. high aa might ue exacted. This of course interferes with tho dredging. The Surprise party are idle, 1 bear. 'Iho Miller's creek, alias the Otago, were, however, reported to be worlciug on Saturday. Pringlc and party are getting ready for a start aa rooq as may bo with their now dredgo, and It is rumoured that they are likely to do exceedingly well. A.notber report is that they have had aa offer from a South {African speculator who ia at present in tho district." The League for the Promotion and Development of Gold Mining have i-susd xs thoir third Wflefc a paper real by Mr J. Bcvan, cx-M 11.R.\ who urge* that ai re^irds mini' g a boHer p°l|uy should be ioiti -ted by the Htate He maintains that there is an enormous stretch of mineral country from Cape Farewell to the confines of Otago, exteuding from the sea c ast to the dividing range, and displaying ind'eations of immensa wealth, which has nevrsr, except in isolated patches, been properly explored. Splendid reef* are lying undeveloped, and aro likely under the present system to remiiD so UDtil the "crack of doom," unless somo chance circumstance should direct the attention of capitalists to th«ir gulden treasures. Mr Bcvan proposes that tho Mice? department should demonstrate) th<» utility or otherwica of its existences by oattf liahing a mining camp, and make every provision to carry out every detail necessary for opening up a payable) mine, and piove the country by every ecieiuilin and practical means, whether it be in deep sinking, driving of adits, or other effectual nietheds of dunuustr^ti.'g the- valuo of the country to_ tha miner. ShouM the roult justify expr cUtions, suitable areas should ba mapp-d off and thrown open for selection, charging moderate re/itaU, and. Bay, a royalty of 1 por cent, on all similar country opened up by these mantis. The Government to work mines thus acquiicd aa iitate mints, and thereby build up * " National Mining Fund" for t'io expansion and encouragement of the industry tn fa hire. The Head of tho Lake coneipondent of tho Wakatip Mail writes :— " I understand that aom« Q'leotvsslowu residents are sending a paity to Erospect for reofa. The scene of operations is. I cliove, to be somewhere near the old Invincible There should certainly bo rich reefa in that locality, and I hope success will attend their efforts, and that they may revive the decaying fortune) of tho Head of the Lake. A miner fosaickiog the other day found a little nugget of loz 7dwt. Tho directors of the Jutland Flat Dredging Company iv their annual report state that in the absence of any prospect or a nettlement of the difficulty between the Berwick farmers and tha mining industry at Waipori, they decided fn Ma>ch liißt to construct a wingdam to enable the dredgo to work apart from the river. This waa done at considerable expense in wages and mats* rial, and dredging operations were resumed on Ist April. But their operations havo since be-m go restricted that the reoult, so fur, haa cot benefited shareholders -wages, fuel, and other outgoings practically absorbing the proceeds of th« gold obtained. Failing either an early improvemont in the yield of gold or a satUfactory settlement of the difficulty with the farmers, thn directors anticipate that it will again be necessary to lay up the dredgo. The Cromwell Ar^us reports that a fullyequipped prospecting paity, consisting of Messrs Oumbie, M»ider, and Brii-kland, procsededto Deep Creek, on Mount Pisa range yoiterday with the intention of prospecting for rcets. The MaUura EnMgn publishes a letter from Mr F. O'Shanna-so , who is at present at Coolgardie, in which the following occurs :—": — " I was not here three weeks before I found a splendid jouf, but I lost it through not pegging it out. It was nearly dark when I found it, and I left it until the morning to peg off, but some fellows tracked me and saved me the trouble. I was niuo miles away from tho camp, aud I did not want to be out all night, for tha darkness is bad in somo places. But ' faint heart never won fair lady,' so I looked for something else and dropped on Mount Morgan. What you read in the papera is quite true, only it is not all g.ld as the papers say. However, it is very good, aud it is sold for £10,000. We got tho money in about six werks— £• 0.000 cash and 2 ',000 in fully p.iid-up shares. The plunt i? coming fioi> England, to I think lam all right. I have got five more reefs ; they look very well on tho surface, but we want to sink on them. We' are sinking at present, and by next letter I hope to be abl» to give you a good account of them. W« were offeted a good price for them, but we would not tnk<; it. Of course Mount Morgan is different. It is all gold bearing for hundreds of feer. It la what they call a th?rrn*l spring, like Mount Mo'gin in Queewland The same, men bought ours that owned the Queensland mine. I woujd not a.ivise auyone to come here, for you might only be here a few weeks and get a risu, cv you might never get one at all. It is all luck In tho bu"h, hundred? of men can't find anything— and good men too." Our Auckland correspondent telegraphs that Mr South, at Napier, who has been visiting Auckland gnlrifields on behalf of N »pier iuvsntoiH, has, it is uaderutood, secured a property in the vicinity of the New Tokaten, Corumandcl, and ha* left fov Napier in order to arrange for the formation of a company to work the ground. A Greymouth telegram states that some rich alluvial ground has been struck in the Black Ball district. The Ddnston Times learns 1 hat M/*"4i'B Jones, M'Laien, and Biuee washed up £40 worth of gold for live da>s' work in their claim at Manorburn. The directors of tho Molyneux Hydraulic Compam have decided to euni end operations in the claim for a montb, and perhaps longer, owing to the unfavourable state of tho river. Elevating was started this year, and up to date lrjicz sdwc ?er, of the value of £f<32 7h 2d has bten secured. Mesari R. S. arrow and Co. have seemed the contract for the machinery and erection of tho Clyde Dredging Company's dredce. The boxes of two poor old miners at Grey were, says the New Zealand Times, robbed the other night, and all the gold taken. The last time their boxes were robfted they estimated that they lo»t about £100 worth of gol.J. Both of them are about 73 yeats of age, and only a heartier thief could plunder poor old men, who ought to be inmates of an old men's home, instead of working long and toiUoirc days for their daily bread. Mr Thoiniß CUUenler reports 10oz lSdwt 12gr of gold from the .MaUkitaki Gold Dredging Company (L<mit d) for Gj hourh' dredging ending Friday, laih iu3t. Mr Jabez Bnrfcon reports :—" The Ettrick Co)d Steam Dredging Company washed up foi: the week ending 14th in-it. \2oz l'2dwfc gold. The Koxburgh Gold Steam Dielgiug Company'a d*e<lge has been repairing, and will start work this morning. The M'Krnzie'H Beach Dredging Company havo been compel'ed to Bhift their dredge owing to the rise in tho river, but will commence dredging thia morning." Our Roefton rorrctp.TJflent telegraph* the fol« lowiug ad iitional return :— Wealth, 1250z amalgam from 144 tons, top platt3. She secretary of the Dunedin Gold Dredging

Company (Limited) received the following teleRam from the dredge master on Saturday :— ♦*WftshedußforlOozgolrl." , „ „, Mr C. S. Reeves reports a return of 21oz 51wt Sgr of gold from the Kuterprise dredge, Alexandra, for 138 hours' dredging for tho week ended 21 it The Upper Waiporl Alluvial Gold Dred?ing Company (Limited) obtaiDed from No. 1 dredge 15oz Biwt of gold for 137 hours' dredging last The Jutland Flat (Waipori) Gold Mining Company (Limited) obtained 14oz 6dwt of gold for I4i hours' wages time, 135 hours' actual dredging last week.