THE CALEDONIA GOLD DREDGING COMPANY. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2501, 19 February 1902, Page 24

THE CALEDONIA GOLD DREDGING COMPANY. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,— ln your issue of yesterday appears a letter signed " Victim," referring to the °inal]ness of the yields of gold from the Caledonia Company's dredge. He says "Oh! that we had a few reliable so-called experts. By this exclamation it is to be inferred that he is under the linpreHSion that no reliance can be placed on the reports of those who prospected the Caledonia Company's claim I can assure him that the reports are quite ichable There is no one more sorry than I that people have invested their money unsuccessfully on my recommendation of the claim. The unsuccessful working of the claim is a matter over which I have no control. The claim was bored and prospected with payable results. It is through no fault of mine that the dredge has failed to get payable yi-lds. I am not responsible for thp detective working of dredges and their great loss of gold, it is quite evident to me that the dredge lu= Ijeen lo=m<» a gieat portion of the light gold which is deposited all through the top giavel. This contains '•ufncient gold to pay all working expense? of a modern dredge. There are also other po=sibilitie" which may paitlv account for tho sina l ! yields. It is \ery piobabl" that in older to dredge to the bedrock they may have been dredging up a great depth of marine gravel (Miiori bottom), in which theie is very little «o!d. And although this gravel, where it occur=, forms the floor on which the gold is deposited, the fact of putting a great quantity of it through a defective golcl-saving appliance along with the gold-bearing gravel would in its self account for the s-mall yields of gold which were obtained by Iho diedge. If people will irsipt on dredging to the bedrock, without takm? the precaution to ascertain at what dppth the go.d is deposited, claims which have a falt-e bottom of marine gravel cannot be ixDected to pay The tir«t and mos + important dut\ of a (Iredgeinaster on taking charge of a dredge is to ascertain at what depth the god i" depoiittd and the difference in appearance of lhe fcukl Ueaiiuß gravel and that of Uis

marine gravel, and to work lhe gr<jund accordingly. There- have been several cases of failure through dredges working m the marine gravels. I am, etc., Cansbrook, February 14. John Don.