LATE MINING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2302, 14 April 1898, Page 30

LATE MINING.

(Continued from Page 19.)

MINING AT BALD HILL FLAT AND OLD

MAN RANGE. (Fhom Oub Own Correspondent.)

April 11.— Very rough weather has been experienced here duricg the past vseek or two, but frost having set in on the high country the water supply has not been benefited by the rain that has fallen.

lle=son and party cleaved flown their boxes on Saturday after a short run, obtaining S^oz of gold. As this party continue to work up the flat a good deal of fall is being gained, only a few feet of their washdirfc having to be elevated.

This place has always been famous for litigation, and several knotty points have to be decided from here by the warden at Alexandra at an early date ; the chief one being an action for alleged encroachment by one miner iato (mother party's ground.

Both reef 3on the range are in active wovk, faiily good bodies of quartz being operated on in each mine. These reefs continue to be highly payable, really good dividends (which would open tho eyes of the public were they generally known) being obtained by their fortunate owners.

Report hos it that tha Fourteen-mile Beach DredgiDg Claim has been successfully floated into a company, but I have no reliable authority for saying so. The claim ia admitted to be a good one if not overloaded.

Mr Larnach addressed a few of his constituents in the schoolhouse ou the evening of the 4th, but his visit not beiDg publicly known I am not in a position to give the gist of his address.

MINING IN THE WESTERN DISTRICT. (From Our River-ton Correspondent.)

Apbil 11. — At West Waiau work is steadily progressing. On two or thiee claims the wash is so rich that the diggers make handsome wages by hauling it up in buckets p,nd cradling it. As soon as there is plenty of water available such primitive methods will no doubt be sutpended, but the f-icfc of the gold being obtainable in the manner referred to renders the field very inviting to these who are without capital. There are now about 30 men on the ground.

At Orepuki and Round Hill work goes steadily on, and the output of gold at both places is on the increase. The Hound Hill Comparty aie busily pushing on the completion of their big extension race.

The return from the Clyde Company's dredge for last week was 15oz. River Bft above normal.

Mr Wm. It. Cook, secretary of the Deep Stream Company, reports 82oz of gold as the result of tha March wash-up. Elevator No. 1 ran 349 hours ; elevator No. 2 ran 294 hours, • The Otago Company's dredge is undotgoing an overhaul, winch, will probably take three weeks.

Mr Jabez Burton reports :—" The Kttrick G S. Dredging Company did not wash up last week. The river rose about 6ft to Bft in the early part of the week, which stopped dredging. A start will probably bs made on Wednesday morning of this week." ? An Auckland telegram states that the Crown mine's return from 1761 tons was of the value of £3976. DuriDg the past month the Waihi Company crushed 5560 tons for a return of the value of J518.445. This constitutes a record for the mine. The mill at "Waihi and the new battery at Owhara have been working, but the latter not full time.

A correspondent of the Lyttelton Times eayo that many butchers employed at North Canterbury freezing factories are off duty through blood poisoning, contracted by handling old sheep, "boilers." He says the directors pay the butchers 17s 6d per hundred for freezari?, and 12s 6d for the potters, the poison of the latter beiDg thrown in as a present. Some North Island factoiies give half pay to their disabled butchers, but ours advert.'se for fresh ones.

Mr Ritchie, secretary of the Department of Agriculture, wko hag jusb returned from an extended visit of inspection in the South Island, states that on the whole the crops in Otago and Southland are looking well. In parts of Canterbury, however, the drought has been severely felt, and he is afraid that many of tha farmers will have great difficulty in finding food for their "live Bfcock duriag the winter.