Notes from Dunganyille (W.C.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2433, 31 October 1900, Page 20

Notes from Dunganyille (W.C.)

(From Otis Own Correspondent.)

October 22. — The lovely weather we have been favoured with of late on the Coast is giving the dredge-builders an excellent opportunity of making good progress with the various pontoons throughout the province.

The Maori Queen Company's dredge is now under construction, and Mr Buchanan, shipwright, and foreman of the work, is to be congratulated upon the progress he is making, considering the few men he has under his charge. Mr Crabtree, the contractor, has arrived, and is doing his day of weary toil like an ordinary liand. Provision will have to be made on this dredge for the saving of rough gold, or otherwise 20 per cent, of the gold will go into tho "elevators. I saw a nugget ,of gold the other day, weighing 16dwt that was won from a claim in the Maori Creek, just a quarter of a mile above the top boundary of the claim, by a Chinaman who has been working there for a number of years. About three years ago he turned over a nugget weighing 6oz. The gold in this creek is rough, a goodly portion of it, varying from Idwt to the size of the last-men-iioned piece. The largest holes in the screen designed to work this ground are only half an inch in diameter, which' will not admit any flat spec over, a pennyweight ; therefoie it would ,b9 well for the company to seriously consider this defect, and endeavour to arrive at some means of remedying it before the completion of *he dredge, lac labour and expense expended Sn- winning the precious metal is of too great a magnitude to run the risk of losing such a large 3>ercentsge through the want of proper appliances for catching ifc The company aie to be commended for its action in appointing Mr W. M'Kechnie local director, as he has the advantage of living on the gnmnd, and will ■uriuouDLtciiy do all he can lo facilitate the interests of the company. Messrs Hill and M'Kinnon, contractors, will soon have the Marsden No. 3 under construction. Three bore holes were put down xecently in the company's claim, but the bottom •was not gained, the , last bore reaching a depth of over 40ft, carrying fair gold all the ■wa3' down. The company intend to have another hole put down, but with a fresh boring expert and gear, so we may hear more of it in the course of a week or two.

Che Marsden No. 1 have had then claim liored, and a most peculiar feature is that after liaving bored through 14ft of highly auriferous •wash they struck a layer of soft fibrous vegetation, which carried them to a depth of 50ft with no apparent change in the stuff. As there is no gold below a depth of 14ft, the nature of the stuff underneath will make an ideal bottom to dredge off.