GOLD DREDGING IN NEW ZEALAND,

Otago Witness, Issue 2428, 26 September 1900, Page 20

GOLD DREDGING IN NEW ZEALAND,

IS THERE R.OOM FOR BRITISH

CAPITAL? (Fboji Otje Own Cohbespoitdent.)

LONDON, August 10.

Gold dredging is marking 1 time in the City, so to speak; or, rather," Cit}- men appear to be watching it closely. That the time will come for it to be looked upon with favour many entertain no doubt. Meanwhile the progress in gold-dredging is reviewed at length by the Mining Journal.

This@paper. in its first leader of Saturday last, remarks that " Dredging for gold is a branch of the mining industry which has made very considerable progress in recent years. That progress has been most marked in New Zealand, but ' golden sands ' are plentiful in other parts of the world, and it is a feature that the success attained by this -particular colony has inspired enterprising men in New South "Wales, Victoria, Siberia, and tevcral places along the Pacific Slope of America to emulate the methods employed there in the hope of obtaining equally satisfactory results. The latest official data show that there are about 80 gold dredgers at work on the various rivers of Otago, South Island, and the West Coast of New Zealand, and that there are about 30 more under construction, mostly for Otago ; though it is significant, ap showing the appreciation in which the New Zealand appliances are held abroad, that one set of machinery is designed for work in Central Siberia. About one-half of the dredgers operating in the colony at the date of the fast report were worked privately. It is not possible, because of this last element, to state exactly how profitable the industry is, bufc in the year to March, 1899, the gold obtained by dredging was worth £169,b59 — that is to say, 61.4 per cent, of the A'alue of all the alluvial gold produced in the 12 months, and 14.5 per cent, of all the gold exported from the colony in the same period. One moiety (if 'the dredges being" in private hands, the amount of, their profits is not known,- but as showing the generally remunerative nature of tho business, it may be stated that 26 public companies paid out £65,218 in dividends \ during IS9B-9. The meklwd. lias beeajgrag* ;

tised, first on the Molyneux, and later on other riverp, for about a, generation, and while there have been set-backs — as in ISB9, when the success of a Chinaman led to a boom and caused the industry to be overdone, — the record has been one of distinct progress, and, of course, the advance from hand-worked spoon dredges to the elaborate steam-worked buckets of lour or lour and a-half cubic feet capacity is an enormous one. As illustrating the degree of excellence attained, it is pointed out that the longed New Zealand type of dredge, SOft long -with over 40 buckets, is now worked with two men on an eight-hour &hift, while the number employed on the dredges on Siberian rivers is 10 or 12. The dredgemasler is generally an engineer, and, with six men to do the work in three shifts, the 144 hours constituting the week's dredging is generally accomplished without much friction, in consequence of the compactness and handiness of the winches and the simplicity of the machinery, which i« almost automatic in its working. The returns vary, of course, according to the richness of the ground which is being worked, the best indhidual contribution in the laot year for which wo have figures being the 1886oz of the Golden Beach on the Molyneux. In one month the Alnine took 5230z, and in eight months 13310 a. "The Moa, operating on the Molyneux opposite the historical Frenchman's Point, obtained 5900z of gold in seven weeks, ond although during part of the year much time was lost, both in overhauling the machinery and in consequence of the height of the river, the value of all the gold obtained was £5710, out of which £5600 went lo the shareholder-, being £1750 more than the total paid-up capital. This van exceptional instance, but even, this l>a,s been, exceeded, and pi Glided reasonable care be token in the selection of thp patch, the profit is almost uniformly satisfactory. The machinery has scarcely been brought to perfection, in spite of the advance of recent years, and il'is doubtful, in the opinion of f-omo good judges, wheiher the improve Aiient? in gold-paving appliance? have kept pace with the improvement-, effected in the laddecs, buckets, and other jvnehinery. Dr J. Lr. Hyde, of Otago, a very competent (minority," complain- of the large percentage of goM lost--*) to 30 per cent. — under existing conditions, and cf the difficulties oi clispo«in£ of the drift or fine s-luff, of dealing with rooks and Hrge boulders, and of =aving tho gold on rock bottom 0 . Cheap _ though the lji-ore^ of extraction is>. there have to bY faced tho que='ion of x educing it in view of the poorer gvonud to bo worked when ihe licher become <"chau:-led : and it is of interest to know tbit electricity is to be brought under contribution toward this end. " Wo doubt if there is much room for a large English public company to clredgo for gold in Now Zealand. The continuance of tho deposits is always doubtful, and unless the management i^ vcrv efliclepf, orots abuses, are ov>ly too eas;,-. Htill, lot 1 ? aye lelatively cheap, and granted Ui» capahlo and honest management, there is room for a reasonably certain and good return upon an investment. That tbp Now Zealand companies have done well will be apparent from "the figures above given; i>nd, iv other- farr^, tho induslrv is de"ielopiiip. JFrow Siberia, Pritish Oohmibi.i, California, Victoria. New Sonrh Wale?, Tasmania. Borneo, and Np;v (luinoa h?n c fomc inquiries for New Zer.lor.d'rf dredging reachiaev,v> which is a ocrunliinontary and clear recognition of New Zealand's pre-eminence in this particular. ... In "many of the rivers of Siberia, dredges are in use, but they are of a rather primitive type. The big riverd of this rart of thr linp'ian Empire form a very rich working g.'ounJ, and probably ihs introduction of New Zealand machinery nncl methods will lead to better restilts in the near future."