THE OTAGO GOLDFIELDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2200, 30 April 1896, Page 16

THE OTAGO GOLDFIELDS.

THEIR PAST HISTORY, THEIR PRESENT POSITION, AND THEIR FUTURE PROSPECTS.

£By Qua Special Commissionkb.) no. m. THE VALLEY OF THE CLUTHA. It is imposoible to journey through the Clubha Valley without being strongly impressed with the proofs, visible on every hand, of its rich and excensive deposits of gold. The Urge quantities of gold that have 'been taken not only out of the Clufctaa river, bat out of »11 its principal tributaries, clearly establishes the : fact that the whole of the oountry which i the great river drains is gold-bearing. The valley is limply the remains of an immense river that hid lor many centuries been at work detaching and washing away the mountains in detail as they oame within the wide circle of its varying ooune. The action of' the river resolved itself in bo a gigantic system of ground sluicing, such miners use in miniature to-day and with results comparatively the same. In the earlier and greater instance all the lighter debris was .swept unresistingly to the sea, and the more solid, cohesive, and heavier materials found their way to the bottom of the river or were deposited along the beaches. As time advanced the river rose on' its elevated bed, leapt the barriers that would restrict its turbulent course, and found its way to the se^a by a new and unexplored route. This titanic feat it h«s accomplished many times in the ages, and hence the rich auriferous alluvial drifts and the large deposits of gold that have, been found in the valley, and that still remain to be claimed by the present and future generations. At the present day the river is confined in a comparatively narrow, rock-bound -channel, which has been jpround and grooved and painfully fashioned into its * For further remarks on this subjact see my pamphlet on "Overlooked Odd DflM§ttfe" JHShr Seaed Ballaiat, 1891,

present form by the violent action of large bodies of hard quartz (tones and gravel, undec the masterful constraint of the great liver. Thus it is fchat it has been compelled to confine itself to the single duty of oacryiDg to the ocean the largest body of water of which any river in the 5 colonies e&n boast, juxA in this way rendering » service that outweighs in importance all it* labours as a ground-sluice during tha ages. It may bo that the eUrtiing " finds" of gold of the early days may never repeat themselves along the valley of the Clufcha ; bat it may be accepted as certain that the vaatness of its auriferous wealth is even to-day but very im* perfectly comprehended — as imperfectly com*' prehended, indeed, as are our poor conceptions to>day of the advances of f eientiflo mining which} time aud a more inventive age will pxcel&imv The large quantities of .gold that tuna been taken oat of every river of any magnitude, from the stream that takes its name from Tuapoks right away to the Bhotover or the Lindis, demon* •trates that the whole of ensh country is aurilerou!, .and that the powerful aattual agonuiea at wotk for so many age* prior to the advent of the goHsteker have lef t fcroasoiea to be unearthed of the magnitude of which wa •re permitted ooiy the most infantile and mo»t feeble conception. These are large areas, many thousand* of acres of alluvial drift, between Boaamont and Boxbargb, th»t axe wellJmovn to contain gold in gono>ou?ly payable quantities, .but *a louroaa of occupation to the individual or of wealth to -the State they are to-day absolutely worthless. This is entirely due to the absence of a com* msndipg water supply, and in * country, too, curiously enough, that holds more water within its limits than any other territory of similar 'extent on the habitable globe! Itioaoeiggeration to cay that there is not a terrace that' ' border* the Cloths rivtr and scarcely a flat in the entire valley through which it Hoisa bu6 .would pay for working 'if ;a good supply of watsr at » •nfSoientelevntioncoald.'be obtained. The time may come wh*n means will be 'found to Adapt the current of the river to th« purpose of pumping and fordnjr the water with A strength aad volume equal to fibab which is given to wate r taken from .a high elevation*. When the forces of the Ciufe>ia can be thus ; controlled .and utilised % Goni-.iot supply of water will be practictblo. . Tbxugh it might at certain seasons suffer dimii.ntioa in -vary* iug proportion to the volume and force of the water in tha river on whioh ihe motive* I power depended, yet it would, in almost every instance, bo found equal to the demandsmade upon it. Bat this is pr^biWy a question of the future, and our concern is principally with our own day and generation. At present we can do no more than l&monb the spectacle of such a huso body of wateff as the Clutba fruitlessly racing through: the heart of a golden country, spending itself in a profitless rush to the B*a, while it might, by the mere touch oi a.m^stor mind, bo m^do a benefactor to thousands. No doubt the; man will ariiio some day who will, in foe language of simile, pat a bit iv its raoaih and break it into his desiros. But: in the mosnr.itn-o we must take advantage of the fotoea whioh we have alr.-idy at our disposal. ' There are, t.% I have already pointed oufr, thousands of acres of alluvial .ground — virgin ground, the greater .part of it, — into which * pick has never betn driven, which could all.be converted into profitable use by an enlargement of the dam in the Dismal Sw* mp, from which' the Roxburgh Amalgamated Compnay draw thoic supply of water for hydraulic sluicing purpose** Tho cost of 6uah a work, cosa pared with tha 33e6uUa, would be insignificant. The extent o£ tho area I refer to, at a moderate computation, is about 6000 acres. The greater part of it is ; still in the po^HC&sion of the -Crown, and ia of such a character as to be qoite unfit foe purposes of cultivation, or indeed any of tba ordinary purposes of settlement. An expenditure of not more than £20,000 of jsablic mousy would, I have no hesitation in saying, provide such a snpply of water as would coatmadti the whole of the ground lying between tho two points of settlement I have mentioned. Such a supply could be obtained were the Government to take over the Lake Ouslow daoa and rat«e the wall'from its present height of 20ft to 50ft. Were this done space would be supplied foe impounding & body of water sufficient to pro* vide half a dozen such claims as the Roxburgh Amalgamated with an abundaat water supply. Under present conditions many thousands of heads of water are lost down the Teviot erf ek, and thence into the Moiyueax, that could na saved by the means I have suggested and turned to valuable, national, -and individual account. Were this done, 50 men would be prcfiUbly employed where one man is now hard set to ■eke out a subsistence. The dam at tbe Ditmal Swamp is 23 miles from the Roxburgh Amalgamated Company's claim, but when liberated i& flows through the bed of the Teviot creek until within about two miles of the Molyneux rivar. At this point it would be possible to lift it and secure a fall of from 600Ct to 700 ft with about two or three miles of race. cutting. By the raising of the dam walls to the height indicated there would be nothing to prevent the accomplishment of the result I have outlined.

It may be of assistance as a means of de« monsfcr&ting -the pcaclioal character of the scheme to explaiu bcitflf the position of the Roxburgh Amalgamated Company, with reference to their water supply from the Dismal Swamp dam. .That company convey their water from the creek, through whioh :it has flown from the dam to their penstock, in twa and a-quarfcer miles of fiuming, the boxes being 3 ft by 2ft They .hare then about a mile of steel piping in three varying siaea of 22in, 18in, and 15in, through whioh the water is carried to the mine. With this comparatively small run of Hunting and piping they have secured a fall of 650 ft, and by going baok, say another two and a-quarter miles, they could increase their fall by 100 ft. With such a fall the whole of the alluvial flats from the Tevfotto Beaumont conld be dominated. Control of ihe iam could be assured by the Government on payment of Something like £3000 to the Roxburgh Amal« gamated Company, and conceding to them their right of water, .whioh repreients 60 or 70 heads. The remainder of rthe water the Government could sell, and the proceeds would be sufficient to pay 'interest on the money invested.

There 1s to my mind nothing of a doubtful, uncertain, or speculative character in 'such >bh -undertaking. The more it is examined and discussed the more strongly will it recommend toelf. It has no affinity with any of thojMl visionary schemes, intended to accomplish; impossible results, Arising oat of the physical difficulties inseparable from the conditions ot •modern mining. Its immediate .effect would b& to impart a value practically inimitable in, extent on a. large area of land.tb.at is now worth* less for any purpose. It .would transform % "•fiolitade into a busy, industrial centre, provide, inviting outlets for capital and employ* ment for labour, and jgive the distriolj an importance and prosperity whioh iti undoubted mineral wealth entitles it to. Thera can be no question as to the adequacy of tixt, water supply. The Hon. Mr Cadman, Miniate* for Mines, on the occasion of his visit to tha ' ism* nab many months dnoe«. described &0A

fhe. w l&<»fc'm»gnhTcent natural reservoir In tha * ijoutiiern hemisphere" ; and the description is not . tfx any degree' overwrought or exaggerated. In the poWiir in tereatar generally, as. well asm fhose of the large district which would, be ea '- materially benefited by : the introduction of s good water supply and the consequent development of its mineral resources, it is to> be hoped Ijbal steps may be taken to urge this question Wathe consideration of the Government. 'There has been very little new ground opened fn that ttreteh of the Clutha Valley lying between Beaumont and Roxburgh during the part few years. The explanation of this seemmg want of enterprise is entirely dae to tho absolute impossibility of securing water fox mining purposes, all' the available water rights being taken up and held by the present mining companies. Although there is gold everywhere along the' line of country indicated,, the ground if not sufficiently rich to pay for working it by any other method than by that of sluioing. It may be further said that very little of the flat land can. ba washed away by ordinary sluicing. The top stuff couH certainly be run away from the terraces contiguous f o the river, but the bottom stuff could not be worked by such means; It would have to be either elevated or* abandoned. There is no other alternative. There are some claims an the west side of the river at Roxburgh: that o«n be worked level) free, there being sufficient fall for their tailings. But this is only possible where the workings are away back from the river, and ..even then the. fall in the tail races matt necessarily- be so restricted, as to detract seriously fnomihe efficiency of the work, and consequently from the profits of the owners*- In theieas in alJuoit every other instance a good' head of water is the great desideratum, and wh»re that) ris wanting- all the boasted mechanical 7 improve- •' Iqents which Invention h»s given to the miner of « to-day; are of- comparatively little use.. '• A. company, known as the Beaumont Local Co-operative Company, recently took up some 35 acres of ground on the east' bank of the Clutha: above the bridge.- The company does not appear to be the recipient of over-bounding public favour, but nevertheless a good deal of initial work has been done, which is about the best proof of practical faith in the soundness of the enterprise that oan be vouchsafed by those identifying -themselves with.it. The shareholders are principally local men of practical experience in mining, and they should certainly know something of the ground. About three-fourths of the head-race has been cut, and I was informed that all the necessary pipes and planti far-hydraulic sluicing had been ordered. Proceeding up the river, one observes th*t the valley is almoßt uniformly confined by auriferous spurs." Many of these have been, or are at present being, driven out and cradled. These spurs ara principally present on the west side of the river, where every little gully carries gold and would pay well it water wore brought to bear on them. Foor miles above the Benurnont bridge, on the east side of the river, at Rae's Junction, Messrs Edie and Kirkpatrick havo been for Borne years' working one of the best claims on the river. They take- their water supply from one of the streams' on the northern side, at an elevation, of nearly 300 ft, and convey it across the river in wrought iron pipes, impended on wire rope cables, being evidently a reproduction, of the suspension bridge principle. The claim originally belonged to Mr W. Kigney, by wlft>m every conceivable method wt« tried to get water across the fiver. He endeavoured to convey- it over in canvas pipes and in pipes made of ordinary zinc and spouting, but ultimately after exbaastiDg- every effort, undergoing much hardship and; some' expense, he found himself compelled to abandon the attempt. He then took Messrs Edie and Kirkpatrick into partnership, the conditions being that they were to find the capital for equipping and working the mine, giving him ene-twelffch interest in it. Disagreements sub- ' sequently arose, and Mr Rignoy disposed of his interest to the two present owners. At an instance of the value of the mine, I may mention that in 1894 the two partners had, as their share of the profits, £600 each after paying all expenses. This was for nine months' work. The formation of the ground is. somewhat peculiar, a high reef running between it and the river, and another high reef running directly at the baok of it. Their r*ce has been, a source of serious trouble owing to a large slip taking place, which carried away their water race constructed' on the opposite side of the river from the claim.' This necessitated the construction of a tunnel for about 400 ft through a spur, sluicing operations until the completion of this work — a period of three months or thereabouts — btiug entirely suspended. They are now enabled to carry on operations without stoppages, aud consequently with increased profit. The whole of their works are substantially constructed, and the v. claim for many years is certain to yield a large and regular income to Hs owners. 1 Some distance up,. on the opposite side*of the river, a claim is being worked that hts a hi&tory jiofc dissimilar in' many respects to that of which I have last spoken. It is situated at Horseshoe Bend-, and was for some years familiarly known as " Sullivan's claim." Tha- ■ story of the lives of such men as Sullivan- and Rigney would, it seems to me, form a striking and a much- needed object lesson at the preje.nt day, and might nob inappropriately DS included in a catalogue of colonial worthies whose manful &elf-reli«nce might do something towards stimulating the puttied energies of no small section of the community. For years those men, living the life of " hatters " in the solitudes 6t the Molyneux, patiently endured unrewarded hardships, battled and planned, and spent themselves — revealing day by day an Uhflinching purpose, a courage and resolve that, under different circumstances, would be distinguished as heroism. For are those men solitary types of their class, fn them we see personified the eanae spirit that animated the pioneers of an earlier period^ of which they are survivals. Rigney has -embarked in new mining- enterprises full of labour, and, of course, full of promise. Sullivan, with somewhat impaired health, the- fruit of mauy hardships, gave up the single-handed light, and took into partnership with him Ganton Bros:, formerly residents of the Taieri district. Daring a period of 10 or 12 years he worked the f round, taking out the dirt with a horse and racks, and brought water a distance of about 1200 yds into the claim. He did fairly well under the 'circumstances, but was unable to do justice to the- mine, and a little time ago ha formed. the present partnership. -The conditions were that Messrs Guntou find the necesB«ry' .plant to work the ground' by hydraulic - sluicing, and in return they ara to get the first- gold until, they have been r^ps-id tbe money expended by them. After thafc Sullivan- comes in as partner, getting oue-»ixth of the gold 1 - won. The- ground runs' from about 6ft; to 14ft deep, with a hard, heavy bottom, bu&showing- excellent indications of gpjd. A working, plant costing betwtea £800 and £1000 has been erected, and there is a Very gocd water supply, whioh is carried through. 1100 ft of piping, with a fali of 132 ft. The party were working on shallow ground, and were fair down' on the reef. For nine days' working- they h«d sot S£os of soldi *!"l ftfißza &* 20 horns' work

over 2ob, the wo* done merely leading op to a proper start being made. There is no doubt whatever that the olaim. will pay generously, add prove an excellent investment to Messrs Gunton Bros. ' The claim fs pact of a compact fi"»t of about 100 acre?, which shorn all the unmistakable signs of hsviog been at some period an old river bed. The ground had attracted attention «r far bssck as 1883, and was worked in the superficial manner incidental to fhoae days. Thirty years ago there were 100 on the ground, and from the surface 49,000 az of gold were hurriedly and* in primitive fashion scoopad out. It has since then been the property of any man who bad at his command a little oapital and the necessary amount of dogged pcrtinaoity intelligently directed, for in such a project even money does not count for everything. In the early days I speik of the entire water supply wag represented by a couple of heads of water. To-day ample water for purpoies of hydraulic sluicing could be obtained by the construction of reservoirs for storage oa the adjacent high table-land. These table-lands aro front 800 ft to 1000 ft above the river, and at that altitude it is noteworthy that the soil is rich and genial, and some very fina crops are grown. The cost of pro* vidfng water sufficient to work this ground woold not be inconsiderable, and it would be tbe means of providing a permanent mews of livelihood for at least a score of men and their families. There is, in addition, land round aboat-for small cottar cultivation and the raising, of comfortable homes. This, in the best senee of the word, would be village settlement, ami Government assist ance towards its creation would be fully justified by the circumstances and repaid raeny timfs over by the results. The Isn&ND Block Gold Mining Company: There need be no hesitation in saying that the Island Block' Company has been a'benefactor to the district in which it has given so ma-»y proofs of spirited enterprise, and of confidence which, I regret to say, has not so far been justified in any large or generous measure by results. Indeed, it might be said that up to the present the enterprise of the company has ■ done very much more for the wage-earning classes in tha district in which the property is situ&ted than it has for the shareholders, who have taken upon themselves all the risks «nd responsibilities of the undertaking. I am correct in saying, that from the ou' set* they have not handled a penuy in th« form of dividends, but yofc tho expenditure on labour and maintenance has throughout gone steadily on. Daring the seven years that the company have been working the property they have taken £35,000 worth of gold out of the- ground, but agiiust that is to be put £22,000 expended on plant, water races, and the construction of tha two reservoirs. Oab of the balance of £13,000, wages, ccst of managfsnvatit, legal and clerical expenses* heavy b.vnk interest, and miny other demands have hud to be met. It cannot certainly ba said that the ground* has not paid, though not quite np to the level of the company's anticipations, based on the accepted theories as to the origin and early history of the gronud. The aggregate value of the gold obI tamed may appear considerable, bat ib has not I certainly been large enough to meet the conditions in which, it may be said, the company had its birth, and in the midst of which even to-day it finds its freedom and the limit of its efforts in the development of the property, in some respeots seriously circumscribed. The company was formed with & capital of £15,000 in cash, and after the mine had: been equipped and operations omtnanoed, fotfhd itself compelled to borrow a large sum, for which a mortgage over the property under very ttriugent conditions was given. At a meeting cf the company held in London at the beginning of last year the chairman stated that they were then heavily in debt to their bankers, and he urged the shareholders to fake up the 8 per cent, mortgage debentures which were offered to them to reloaee the security tha bankers held over the property. I am not in a position to fay whether this advice was accepted by the shareholders, bat the point is not material, as the general manager, Mr C. C. Rawlius, has informed me that the indebtedness of the company had been last year reduced to £2000.

That the company hold* valu ible mining property is, I tbink indisputable, but judging from the development of the mine up to the present and from tha eerie* of authenticated facts it has revealed, as well as- from my own personal knowledge of the ground, it is extremely improbable that the flow of. the returns will ever be regular, steady, or in. any degree approximately uniform. Fluctuations there wilt always be in the yields from mining properties. These are expected and they never hurt ; it is the long barren intervals that kill. The company has at times got large returns, but these have almost invariably been succeeded by long dreary intervals Ihtft have not even left the necessary margin for the payment of wages after all the other pressing and heavy expenses had been met. It is fottun&te for Mr Rawllos at such' times that, in addition to his many other excellent qualities he is a man of singularly sanguina temperament, and has a firm belief in the ultimate realisation, of allthe high hopes formed of the 1 property.

The property, which consists of a flit five miles in length by a quarter of a mile in width, is held on lease from the execubors of the late Mr Joseph Clark, of Victoria. The conditions of agreement are that the company pay £20 an acie for such ground as they work, and 8 per cent, royalty on the gold obtained. Thsy have np to the present worked about half of I the flat, and have already paid in royalties a sum of £1900, which is jeg-»reled by the' manager aa excessive, particularly in view of the fact that the property has not yet paid a dividend. Appeals on this and other grounds have been Made to the executors of the propoityforan abatement of the terms of the lease, bat without any satisfactory result. The circumstances are certainly hard, and among the troubles that assail the company this heavy charge as royalty is chief. In their present circumstances the company, owing to the weighty conditions imposed on them by the terms of their lease-, are practically prohibited from undertaking any fresh prospecting. They ' cannot open out a paddock anywhere under two acres, and if they failed to get on payable gold they would have to pay for the land and pay also the wages of the men. Bat the owners of the property are inexorable, deaf alike to argument or entreaty.

The ground on which the company carry on operations has been called, the Island Block, because of the belief that the Molyrieux river at some former period had a d'fferent course from its present one. There are many surface indications to point to this conclusion. There is pUinly visible * low depression in the ground on the west side of the river, opposite Miller's Flat, which runs in an unbroken line down the valley, leaving a margin of elevated ground between ib and the present river bed. There are all the usual indications that this hollow, had at some time been formed by a temporary deflection of the river. At the point where this hollow joins the present river the company first commenced operations, and found the ground to be exceedingly rtobr bat on carry-

ing k cutting np into the flit in the direction of the main' road, the fead suddenly vanished, the gold having in all likelihood been swept by tbe strong current in the river down to the place where the first rich deposit had been found. Then, so starved did tbe ground become that it was decided to open . a fresh paddock closer to the road. Bat into this also ill-luck followed the company. Agaip a fresh paddock was opened oat near a bend of the valley, where good ground was found, and after workiug for some time a splendid lead of auriferous drift was met with, which continued to give very satisfactory returns for some time. These alternate runs of rich and poor ground— the latter unfortunately predominating — make up the sum of tha company's working life. Some of the paddocks taken out have gone as high as sgr to the ton of dirt elevated, while others have fallen as low as ligr. Bat even* with this latter result the life of the company ib assured, and there is always in the world of mining a future to live for. A curious circumstance or two in connection with the ground is that close up to the lower end of the Island Block Oompany'B olaim the Golden Gate dredge got gold of tbe value of £2000 in thtes months, and at the top end, where it is known the gold enters the company's ground, the Golden Run dredge obtained £13,000 worth of gold for less than four years' working. With, such facts before his mind one can hardly ba surprised at Mr Rawlins's unwavering belief in the mine through every recurring vicissitude of stress and diaappoinfcment. la deed I find no difficulty in agreeing with him when he says' that he expects some day to drop on a fabulously rich piece of ground, and the two circumstances I have just mentioned, of the dredges, ona heading, oft tha lead of. gold where it enters, the claim and the other pioking it up at its exit at the orftftr end, sacrus'to-me'tO" demonstrate the etiefcocca cf a very rich lead somevrhcro in the olaim,' <

(Ta be. continued.)