THE AUCKLAND HINIKft BOOM.

Otago Witness, Issue 2200, 30 April 1896, Page 17

THE AUCKLAND HINIKft BOOM.

Mr Buttle, a , member of the Auckland ; Brokers' Association, and also a member of the committee of that association, being in Danedin yesterday, advantage war taken of the opportunity for a> representative of thii joarnnl to have a oouvermtion with him regarding tha revival of mining .enterprise in the north and the prospects for the future. Mr Buttla, basides being a member of the Brokers' Association, is a member' of the Chamber of Mines, which is an association of gentlemen interested id mining who nmke it their business to see that the industry is carried on in an honest and straightforward manner. Ova of the articles of association of the Chttmber of Mines sets oat that the chamber will report on properties submitted to it as to their genuineness and payable- . ne3B, co as to supply intending investors with good information as to their prospects. The chamber has only recently been formed,, bat applications have already been made to it to •end- out experts. to report; on. propertie*. Mr Bnfctle, it may be added, was for four years „ employed' ss correspondent of the New Zealand Herald on the goldfield«, and hia claim that he ; h»a a pretty intimate knowledge of them is distinctly justified. The auriferous oauntrjr in the north- extends from Cape Colville to To , Aroha, and only & very small portion of ifc has yet been worked. Mr BuWJe thinks that in course of time it will be proved that the lodes running through the great bulk of this *raa are , payable. "The position now is," Mr Buttla says, "that we have large bodies of ore, commonly 'called low-grade ore, and through the aid of the chemist and metallurgist- we- have &«cectained that by adopting' the oyanide process these bodies, whioh we could nob m*ke payable under the old battery process, yield not only payable returns but returns which prudu?e large dividends. Oar capacity for gold-pro-duoing now is simply limited by the number of stampers we can keep going, and iJia chief thing ' we.have to contend against juat now is the want of crushing power. Then, again, up till now we have shown want of enterprise, with the result tha'fc we haye never supplied mining companiqw with sufficient capital to euable the directors to make the ventures payable. We have ascertained that it is only by employing large capital and undertaking large works that we can mike the mines profitable. Hence, owners are seeking to dispose of their properties to foreign capitalist* on such tarras as will secure a sufficient working oapital to provide large battery power and the means for developing, the properties on systematic lines. This has been done in several instances, and the results are most encouraging. The history of the Waihi Company shows what can be done by enterprise and capital. This miue was worked for years by a locsl company, the only result being that, the proprietors were' landed in loss. Ib was subsequently sold to the present proprietors, who expended £150,000 before any payable result* wore obtained, and no.tr it is the most profitable mine we have in the north, paying regular dividends of 2s per share per quarter on 160,000 shares, and ao satisfied are tbe proprietors respecting the future that they are erecting a battery of 100 additional stampers, six miles away from the mine. There axe 90 bead of stampers going- at the present time. That is one mine in that particular district, and we anticipate that with tbe introduction of capital numerous mines doit in their infancy in the sam& locality will prove equally good investments. Take the Waihi Silverton Extended, which has recently completed additions to the battery, and- has 40 head of stamps now, and has introduced the. cyanide process. Assays from, that company's 20fti lode show an^average value of £8 pee ton. -The plant has only been started within the last fortnight, and it is anticipated that from 85 to 90 per cant, of the assay value will' be recovered. Another instance of tha value of the introduction of larg.e > capital is the oase of the Waitekauri mine, which is situated in the Waibekauri district!. Rather more than. 12 months ago this mine was sold in London, the purchasers providing a working capital of £35,000. They h»v« now nearly completed the j oreotion of 40 head of stamps of a battery that is to consist of 80 head ; and they are driving a tunnel 6000 ft to connect the mine with the battery. They have already opened up on a lode* 20ft wide, of 1000 ft, th« ore from 600 ft of | which is ou a continuous ran' of gold, the average returns being £5 10s' a ton. At the present moment the company is only workißg 10 head of stamps and it is anticipated that as soon »a tbe 4-0 head are started the company will pay handsome dividends to the fortunate shareholders. The total capital of that company it £150,000, fully paid up in £1 shares and tbe market value or the shares is £5, which the best authorities expect) to tea doubled in the course of two yeans.. The j I Hauraki is a purely English company, with a. ! oapital of £40,000 in 320,000 shares, at 2s 6d | each. It h*S' only been in existence about' two years, bat last year paid dividend's to tbe amount of £60,000, and the monthly yields are i about £7000. The Hausajti is sitontsd at ' Coromandel, and English capitalists are at the present time more largely interested in Ooromandel than, in any other distriot. This is owing to their having been proprietor* of the Kapanga mine for » number of years. This was the first mine that was worlred on that : principle. It is all free gold, and rich ota. at Coromandel."

Mr Battle looks on Kuaotunu, oa the east coast of tbe Coromandel Peninsula, as one- of the most promising districts' in the northern goldfields. There are nnmerous larg» lodes there, all of free milling ore, and though the assays do nob give very high values the ora in j vwey ftMily treated and very aaifeable for oyanide.

A 6 pwtenfc operations have been oonflneg entirely to surface working, bat! greater depbhf were recently attained, and the indication* ar« that the. ore is> improving in value, " 1 antlci* pate a brilliant future," Mr Butt-lo sajfl,. "'fol that field. It is very accessible— steamers can run close np to the beach, about six hours' trip from Auckland and from WhaDgarei,— ana mining material can be landed at very smrfll cost. Recent prospecting has shown that all over the Haaraki Peninsula there are large" bodies of highly payable ore, and all we require is the introduction of capital to develop these properties and secure the wealth that lie* at our door,"

Mr Battle was interviewed some months ago — at the time of the slump — by a reporter from the New Zealand Herald in Auoklaad, and then he spoke very, hopefully of the fntnre of the goldflelds. The. forecasts which he mado at that time are now being borne' out, and, that hemp so, it if interesting to know that be anticipates that in the ooarse of 18 months or two years there will be a bigger legitimate mining boom in Auokland than there has ever yetbiea, and that for capitalist* who are prepared to wait for raturns investments are perfectly safe. To intending investors he says that it i» a great advantage to purchase: shares in mines that have been cold to Eoglish capitalists, became these share* are always fully paid up, and the 'Auckland market ia largely controlled by the London market, because Euglish. investors,, saroovag the company is registered in London, earn," mence to operate oa the Auckland market. '