LATE MINING. (Continued from page 22.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2429, 3 October 1900, Page 38

LATE MINING. (Continued from page 22.)

FOTZG FROM. CENTRAL OTAGO (Frok Our Own CoßaksroNDENr..

ALiJiIiiANUK.v, October 1. — Tne lettunb .iOm ilia ioca diecigcs on SaUiLday weie m inauy ca^es iO\-,er uhan ior the pievioud week, _iue total uinoiuit repoited noin 11 dredgeo bdiiig b-irely oUUo/., gi%m« an avciage oi sligntij over 4oC-2. bix oj. the clieoges worjsing near Uiomweli obbuiuea jboul 70'jcz beb'Aoen In em, or ati average oi about lluaoz. S\ hen 11 dreiges jjet aooui l'2oooa oeU.taii them ior a week's v.ork, 1 think no one can dispute ior a. moment tho staonity oi tha t'leuging ir,duotry. Of the returns to- hand u*om ilie loyal di bilges not one ib b&low t^Ooz, wkicu is. veiy sati=>iuctoiy. 'lhe Jrioa tiili co.itmu3& oa a. rich iiin ot gold, and while hei n-'iur.i en Satuicipy was not as Lu^e as ior uacii oi lhe picvicua two weeks', still it is a v^iy L.anci'aoiiie one. The dredge is woiki ijj a fauOi't distance toiow wheie tlie uver i,<ikes a Miduen auii, abdiU out-tiura ox the waj' up l ( 'renchmaii' s Uoach, reckoning irom the lower cad ot the beach. 'Iho Manuherikia. diedge is &till operating o.i the same kind ol grounti as I acscnoed last week, biii, kex retiai. v,a& hail a dozen ounces beiter._ Tiie Pfreeveiance Company had another large return on Saturday, showing a slight unproveiiiiont. She has .decimed another - 2s dividend, or in linrd cash, Uividcnds have been very numerous oi lats in .several companies. Tne Oiny; it'tlier surpristd us. by her return. oi 270z l'juwc, whicu is dwo tuid a-hilf timsa iher piovious return. It is to ba hoped she vC-iliiuie-s on f-uth giound, ol which theie is a iucelihood at pie&ent. 'ihe troiden Vomt circdge was stopped for two days, but her return was nevertheless very balisiactoiy. She is down near the end of the point, not far from the jN r ga.paj:a. 'lhere is a noticeable improvement in the lEntcipnse return, and also m that from the J^arnscieugh No. 1 dredge. Both are woiking cteadily. Iho return of 21oz from the Chatto Creek idredge lepressnts only three days' woik, as the dredge was not working the rest oi the week. The Morning Star diedge did very muck better last week, owing to an impro-"emenfc M the wash. Mr E. Byan, who'has been manager of this, dredge, has been appointed diedgemast^r of a dredge at Dayiesioiu, "Victoria. ,H.e has been succeeded by Mr W. i.lasoii, who is thoroughly experienced. Tne Vincent diedge .has turned over a lot of gioun-d, with good letums. I am told sho is not far from where she obtained such-1-splen-did gold some few weeks ago. The Alexandra Eureka dredge is working steadily afber her overhaul. She has opened out. a good cvit, and good returns may confidently be expected. The Hartley and Eiley managed to strike xicher .ground, and obtained over lOOoz Her previous returns for a few weeks were nothing out of tho way i_a comparison with her record, pi- even with some of her other very laige rer turns. ' The Cromwell Aedge has been scooping it up sleso'iiy since staiting, and the Meg and Annie is aoLig the same. For her first three weeks' work the latter hss won gold to the value of over .£74o^ Lucky shareholders! The Molyneux Hydraulic dredge is to commence dredging figain to-day. Her overhaul lias been very tharoiigh. The Golden Beach dredge has been idle since Tua&day on account ot a pinion wheel in the elevator drive breaking. She will rej3iime this week if the new wheel comes to Jiond. The Earnscleugh xTo. 2 has not resumed yet. The Unity .dredge is still stopped. The new screen is much longer Ihan the old one, and the pontoons have had to be extended at the ,stern to carry it.' The balance of the elevatoi buckets for the Glasgow diedge have now ccine to hand, and it is expected that a start will be made dredging in abcut a fortnight. The Chicago should bo working again this week. The machinery for the Golden Link dredge is now nearly all on the giomid except a few ladder buckets, etc. The current has .been diverted, and the pontoons are now "well ".in the water, and, m fpet, o small jetty has been made. The erection of the Taachiresy has been. jesamcrl. On Satmd.iy tho elevator buckets, which. :ira sirmiai io -iho=2 o:i the Olrig, came to hond. The tables ar.d a, shaft c?me to hand on Saturday for the First Chance diedge. Dming the wesk the boiler has been set, and the engines have been put on board. The ladder is being liveted up on the Golden Fails dredge. The winches have been "set, and top tumbler and first and second motion shafts, with driving gear, erected. There is a fair amount of machinery on the beach — screen, buckets, pins, rollers, links, etc. The boiler, engines, wiaclies, lftdd'sij SOZOSO*

and main &&*- i ' Ig~&&xI g~&&x are in position, and on g^ ] , ;>^j«^-ine tables were put in. A start has --oeen made with the erection of the housing. Mr J. Dewar has received the appointment of dredgernaster of this dredge. The second, consignment of timber for the Bendigo pontoons has been delivered. A day or two will see the remainder of the framing of the Alexandra Lead pontoons completed. A start has been made to put in the bottom of one pontoon. The water has not been turned, into the Earnscleugh No. 3 dam yet. Owing to the river being low the dam in ■which the Glasgow dredge is floating is being made stronger in order to carry more water. At a meeting ,of local shareholders in the Manorburn Lead Diedging -Company on Thursday night, it was resolved to request the directors to call an extraordinary general meeting to wind up the company. The results of the recent prospecting (finished last week) are poor, And do not justify a dredge being put on the claim. The erection of the machinery on the Vincent Extended dredge is well forward, and a large quantity is lying handy ready to be put on board. The upper framework of the Kelly and Casey pontoons has been started. The machinery is corning forward for the Cairnmuir dredge. , Dredge building in the Roxburgh, Coal Creek, and Miller's Flat districts continues active. A good deal of the machinery has been erected on the Golden sed dredge. The Gibb's Beach pontoons were successfully launched on Wednesday. It is expected that the Excelsior pontoons will be launched during the week. The upper framing is nearly all up on the Endeavour dredge, and .the decking is being laid. The upper framing -on the Moa Flat dredge will probably be finished in. a couple of weeks. The framing is all up on the Coal Creek Company's pontoons, and a large portion of the planking has been put- on. A good deal of the framing of the Teviot dredge is up. The Gold Queen is getting satisfactory returns at present, but they are expected to increase immediately. The Molyneux vacillated a good deal last ■week, but since Saturday she has dropped two or three inches, and to-day is about 2ft above normal.