Notes from Tuapeka.

Otago Witness, Issue 2426, 12 September 1900, Page 21

Notes from Tuapeka.

(FCOJI OUB W.ETHEHSTONES COKKESPONDEyT.)

September 10 —The Golden Crescent had another good wash-down on the Ist September — • viz., 3Soz. That makes about 78oz m b ree weeks and three days. They have gone further into the hill this time than with their first paddocks.

The Golden Rise commenced elevating again on the 28th ult. They washed-down the following Saturday, so it must be paying them well.

The contractors for taking out the paddock in Mr T. Pope's giound, for the Happy Valley Dredging Company, have finished. It entailed half building up with the clay taken out of tho paddock.

The shareholders — or, rather, some of them — in the Evans Flat and Tuapeka River dredges, have another dredge called the Reliance in course of construction, about seven miles below

Lawrence. Two of the directors — Messrs E Halt " and T. Pope — went down to sea nef launched, or rather floated, about two weeks,-.' ago. About' 250 bags were obtained fiom the brewery to form the breastwork of the dan; where she was built. The company had sn 1 men employed for some weeks cutting a raw to b.-mg water in to float her.

The Success dredge, Waipori, is one of tht, best paying dredges in the district. For tin week ending Ist September, they got 360z sdwt, and for the week before 290z l'idw-t. One of thi\ shareholder's last monthly div. was £20, and lie told me he has had as much as =£60 sometimes in a month. This month is expected t<," J turn out better than last. One of Mr Pope',\. sons, who has been working on the Succe-.2 froir the first, but who has left to work on the Reliance, informed me that when the Succesy Company took up the ground some of the old minors who had worked it before thought thes 1 were mad, and said that the giound would nev,ei pay. The result tells for itself. As my inform-.' ant said to me, " Even the ground that th« Chinamen worked gives them a return of 20o<? a \/eek, and they are supposed to work th| ground clean." It is the large quantity of cliiv the dredges put through in a given time, con>'parecl to the old style, that makes it pay sn well. Sometimes the Success comes across walls and blocka of solid ground, when they geY the biggest return?.

The Blue Spur and Local Industry Coni' panics have been busy for several weeks, nighA 1 and day, clearing and elevating the tailings of the Consolidated- Company's tailrace where itwas blocked. • They are using the Phcenix'

Tne shareholders of the Bella Reef, Waipori^ sent more tailings some weeks ago, asj?eirt, some quartz, to the Dunedm laboratory foi • assay. They have received no word back yot_ but the report is expected every day.