MINING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2647, 7 December 1904, Page 26

MINING.

THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS

November 30. J Messrs Sicrwright -Bios, and .Co. -will «t their -rooms on Saturday, 17th December, -the steam aredge and equipment, lately the property- o£ -the New River Molyneux Gold Dredging Company. ] The Moonlight dredgemaster wired the secretary on. Tuesday "that the screen-came to hand on Monday, and he Tesumed dredging the same A Westport message says that the Britannia quartz mine return is 470z from 90 tons of With .the exception of a slight stoppage the Waik«i» dredge had a, good t}" 1 I* 13 * ■ we ? k \. Thf dredge as '..gradually opening out down stream .towards" the -ground from which she ' Dptpmed her first -returns after starting. Half of ike. face worked, last week consisted of noe bottom- and the remainder, towards the teriaoe, was .sandy eJay. „.,.„, „ , +-. ' The interim secretary (Mr J. A. Shgo) of ihe Punt Gold Dredging Company reports that Mr .W :H. Gibson- has. been appointed dredgemastex, and Mi Colin M'Donald engineer. The dredge is, preparatory to -being shifted down •the' liver to Tier claim, at present Aausoergorng an overhaul, which will be completed in a few days. The first statutory meeting of the oompany will be held on December 19. The Junction Waikaka dredge was last week engaged on the terrace section for the first 12 shifts hut the ground was very" poor. The . middle section was worked on for the remainder of the week, and it', gave lOoz for six shifts. On this section seme nice wash was met \7ith and the gold was of a superior sample. A good deal of time was lost during the week owing io machinery getting cut of order Writing under date 24th inst., the Aldinga dredgemaster stated that the dredge was working raosl of the week in swamp, where there iras little or no gold. The dredge has, however, new worked through, this and got into solid vash again. The coal road has teen repaired ■nd the tide of the dam has been tailed up •o as to prevent the water -running over again. The master of- the Efctrick dredge reports that he did -not have- a very steady run last creek, having to stop on Tuesday to repair the top nimbler plates. A start was made Egain on Wednesday night. There was no fltfrerence in the ■-ground as compared with the previous week, it" being still very shallow. - The master of the Lady Koxhurgh dredge, reporting for last week stated that he opened up the face early' on Wednesday morning, the liigh river helping' Mm considerably. Last ■treek's return was f on 'about two days', work on the face, and the gold won was very fine but heavy/ The,, dredgemaster now intends to takem *th« whole face Tight out to the edge of the previous cut. and for a start he will have a cut 120 ft wide in solid ground. The Alexandra Lead dredgemaster, reporting under date 27tih isst., stated that 'on Tuesday, 22n*d inst., he started to shift the dredge down the river, hut owing to it receding hs did not j get down as far as he wished. Dredging operations were commenced and good prospects j were showing when on old paddock was worked into. At 7 p.m. en the 25th inst. the screen gave way, and it was expected that it would take up till noon yesterday to reraair it. If

the river rose before the repairs were finished — L a-nd "there was every prospect of it doing so, — it was intended, to drop back to where -the dreSge \ was .almost certain -to obtain good returns, ,a?T good gold*was being won there before the ■ o}d paddock was' worked up to. The dredge- ' master thinks the ground will last for some - time, and 'a channel will also be formed for ; ihe bottom of the claim . The Nokomai Hydraulic Sluicing Company's manager of No. I elevator reports for the week ended November 26 that elevating was resumed on _the 23rd inst., and satisfactory- progress made. At the No. 2 elevator good progress has been made. The ground so far is more stony ' than formerly, but breaks down more easily. The average size of- this paddock is 51ft square, -*nd the manager expects to complete it about the 7th of December. The following items are from the Cromwell Argus:— The Revival dredgo started dredging again on Monday night, having undergone a ; thorough overhaul. — The Teviot' dredge is being brought down tb.3 river a considerable distance.—The dredgomastor of the Rising Sun X reports as follows for last we^k: Dredged 124 hours, and worked ahead -12ft. Average = depth" of ground 40ft, and width of cut 150 yards. Frospects continue fair, and the bottom" consists most of sandy day. The xciachiner/ is running well, and have started the elevator with Krnpp steel beater. — Mr J. M*DonaJd, late engineer of the Eiley's Beach dredge has been appointed dredgemaater cf the Golden Beach dredge. * , December 1. The Alexandra Lead dredge started work at 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The Aldinga- dredge master wired the secretary on Wednesday that the shaft of the engine had broken, but that he intended to try andi repair it on the dredge. ' The height _of the Molyneus River above && normal mark at Alexandra on Wednesday - morning was Bft 6iu, which indicates a rise of 'lin since the previous day. The weather was reported to be mild. 'Tfe'e- 'Junction Electric Company's two dredges were under repair all last week. The' master of the Sandy Point dredge, writing under date 26th ult., -stated that he got. the dredge swung round and the lines run out and dredging started at 4 p.m. on . Sfonday, 21st ult., the elevator and all the other gear running very satisfactorily. During the week the cut was only crossed once, a. very large amount of top stuff having fallen in during the stoppage. The actual time worked was -90 hours, the width of the cut was 145 yards, and the average depth of the ground was 28ft. The distance worked ahead was 3ft, and the average height of the face above water level 20ft. The prospects still remained good. The master of the Electric No. 1 dredge reports that he was repairing all last week, chiefly to the screen and elevator. Next week the bottom tumbler is to be taken out and a start made at the ladder. The buckets and links will be rebushed, and the whoie job will be a lengthy one. The actual time worked' by the No. 1 dredge last week was 330 hours, tha distance worked ahead 30ft. and the -width of the cut about 35ft. The depth of the ground! varied from 20ft in the north corner to 37ft in the south, the ground having deepened considerably on the river side of the cut. The cut was still being extended into the beach, the inner edge of the face being about 40ft inside the original line of the beach. A faiir mat was washed on Friday morning last, but since then the mats have not been quite so good. The distance worked ahead by the Rise and Shine No. 1 dredeje last week was 10ft, and the width pf the cut 450 ft, with the depth varying up to 50it- in a narrow gut near the east side. The dredge had a steady run on poor ground, with the exception of the west corner, where the prospects were fair. The hard bar from the east side was making across the flat, and evidently cut out the gold. Towards the east side the dredge was getting over the bar, and was in deep ground, but, so far, with poor prospects. The ground has been too free from heavy stones to carry much I golo\ and there msy not be much improvement, but as soon as the dredge gets over the liar theis will be ' a change. The distance

worked ahead by the No. 2 dredge was 9ft. The wash continued very tight, with a gcod many large stones. The depth of the ground varied from 40ft to 45ft in the east corner. The master of the Otago No. 1 dredge reports that the dredge worked well last week vp till Friday morning, when the e'.evator driving shaft and co\iplings broke. This will cause a few days' delay, and there will be no wash-up this week. The master of the No. 2 dredge reports that the dredge worked well during the past week. The falling off in the ' return was due to the height of the river in the early part of the week, as a consequence of which the paddock was filled with silt, several shifts being taken up in haling the silt, with no result. The annual general meeting of shareholders in the Bignell's No Town Gold Dredging Company was to hare been held on "Wednesday, but lapsed for want of a quorum. The meeting of the Daylight Gold .Dredging Company called for Wednesday lapsed for want of a quorum. { The Sullivan's Lead Gold Dredging Company's dredge -and claim are to be offered by auction at Greymouth on Thursday, 15th December. The machinery of this -dredge was made extra strong, and all of it is in first-class order, and give 3 any -party on the lookout fo»" this class of machinery an exceptional opportunity for investment. The machinery is designed by Mr E. Eobeits, C.E., and has all . the latest improvements, including Koberts's patent silt wheel elevator. There aro also several duplicate parts, including a set of Roberta's winches, three spare buckets, throe spare elevator rollers and brackets, with full equipment of all dredging requisites. The dredge and claim have already been offered for sale by public tender, but the pricos offered were not considered sufficient for the liquidator to accept. The liquidator now submits the whole for sale, and has fixod n very low upset of £500 for the whole of the uascta. or £\bo for the dredge and machinery, thia being only about ha.f the cost of the engine and boiler. The sale is a genuine one, and it is hoped, for the sake of the preference shareholders, that , there will be some competition. All claims against the Sullivan's L?ad Gold Dredging Company have to be sent in t,o the liquidator on or before the 15th December, otherwise ! they will be excluecd from any participation from the assets of the company. December 2. The secretary of the Waikaiia Company reports a return of 13oz 18dwf for 133 hours' work. I The Matau dredge was last week engaged widening the cut opened out in Muttontown Gully. Bottom was obtained at the east end of the cut on Thursday last, and the dredgeniaster expected to get bottom, on the otherside of the cut during this week. The New Roxburgh Jubilee dredge hadi another good run last week after overhauling. The return was much better than the dredgemaster expected in the middle of the week, owing to the gold being a heavy sample. Up to the end of the week the prospects were still good. • i The Clyde dredge is now working at the top end of Frenohman'-s Beach, and the dredgemaster, ' reporting for lasb week, stated that a c'teep channel in which the dredge worked ~when formerly in this position had pinched out into the. river. The ground worked has been paddocked by the early miners and is about 25ft deep. The master of the New Fairdown -dredge reports that he started dredging at midnight on Sunday, 20th ult., everything running well up to Friday morning, when the new second motion shaft of the winch bent. The dredge got started again at half-past 5 the same , evening, everything working well. There was no improvement in the ground, but the depth vaiied a good deal, from 22ft to 25ft. The dredge was still being worked round so as to have the cut extending from the river to the freehold. December 3. Mr A. E. Inder, Lower High street, invites applications from dredgemasters and winchmen for Servia, Malay, and West Africa. Mr S. E. Brent, secretary of the Shotover Quartz Mining Company, reports a total return of 520z sdwt 16gr of gold from 200 ton 3 of stone for the month of November. The Shotover Quartz Mining Company notifies that a call of twopence per share has been made on all contributing shares, payable on , Wednesday, 14th inst. The Blackwater River dredge was still under repairs last week, and the dredgemaster does not expect to have them completed for three week 3 from the 28th. I The New Halfway House dredgemaster, reporting under date 26th inst., stated that he got the dredge safely over the worst rip, and was on an easier part of the river. There | was a lot of trouble owing to the lines getting i snagged, and" the preventer line had to be taken in twice and laid out again, and this , proved a difficult job in that part of the I river. It is expected that good headway will , now be made for some distance up the river. ! The North Beach dredgemaater, writing under date 26th inst., stated that he had to , shift the. dredge on to the shingle lead face on Thursday morning, as he was getting jammed for room, on the back lead face. The back lead face was dredged about .50ft ahead of the shingle lead face. The ground continued much about the same as in the previous week. A lot of riveting had to be done to the screen, the new section for which arrived on the ground on the 24th inst. The Three-mile (Greenstone Creek) dredge was, during the early part of last week, running ahead at the north side of the face, j but as the wash did not improve there it was shifted to the middle of the face, where it continued working up till the end of the week. The wash was looking much better there, and was very rough, two of the largest boulders seen on the claim being brought up during the week. The dredgemaster stated that he would have to fill in the south side of the face in order to raise the water level. The ground was very low, and there was a difficulty in working the shallow ridges of the face. The wash appeared to be improving at the south side, and the _ ground was not quite so deep as in the previous week. All the ground worked during the week was mostly solid, but the dredge was working drift till the last few days. December 5. T"he secretary of the MacCharlton Company reports that the dredge was stopped for repairs last week. A return of 1303 7dwt is reported from the Golden Gate dredge for last week The river was reported to hs steady. The secretary of the Royal Waimumu Company reports that the dredge was stopped last week for repairs. There was no return from the Bignell's No Town dredgo on Saturday owing to the previous wash-up being on Tuesday. The next wash-up will be at the end o' the week. The Moonlight dredgemastsr wired the secretary on Saturday that the dredge was working splendidly, but there would bs no wash-up for the week owing to the short time worked after putting on the screen. The secretary e.i the Chicago Cornppny reports that the djedge started work at the lower boundary of the claim on Wednesday last, bottom being reached on Saturday. The diedge was opening out, and the prospects were fair. The master of the Gabriel Xo. 1 dredgo reports, that ho washed up for a return of 12oz

6dwt for a good week's run. The ground t worked was very clayey, and what wash was | m it was very poor. The dredge was still woikmg on hi^h clay ground. The secretary of the Rise .\n& Shine Company reports "the following returns for last ■vveek.—No. l dredge, oloz for 140 hours' work, No. 2 dredge, 30oz 3dwt for 136 hours' work. The master of the No. 1 dredge reported that | the ground was improving, a-nd he expected a better return for this week. The Sunshine dredge, which has been i acouired by the Clutha Company to work its claim <late Point dOr) was, about a week ago. started on the move down the river, but only j got a distance of 30 yards when a piece of | shallow ground was struck, and she is at present lying there. Mr F. W. Payne (one of the diiectors) is now on the claim putting the new dredgemoster (Mr Brice, late of the Cromwell Company) in charge, with instructions to use the utmost despatch in getting down the remainder of the way and starting the dredge. While the dredge was lying id's .«he received a thorough overhaul, und is now in good trim. Mr R. B. Denmston has been appointed engineer. The head of the Roxburgh Amalgamated Sluicing Company's race (roporls the Mount Bongei Mail) has," during the past two months, been the scene of extensive operations. For a length of about six chains along the line of race and extending up the hill above it, varying frpm haif a chain to two and a-half chains, the hillside has slipped into the creek boJow. Fortunately the race bencth was mostly on Rolid , rock, and . consequently the levels of the race were not affected. In and near I the creek below there is evidence of a large quantity of rocks and earth having been re- j moved and the face above the race presents j « mucii safer appearance than formerly. The j damage done io the flume has ail been re- ! paired, und four and a-half chains of new , fl uming hnve been put in. On Friday evening, ', 25th int., the water was turned on for a short unio to swell ;up the lower portions of the iace that had been exposed to the dry weather. The manager expected to have the ' full complement of water on to the claim this week, when sluicing will again bo commenced. Some new pipes are being laid at the claim, < ] 000 ft cf 18in pipes having been lately pro- ! cured to extend the mam line. This company j is the means of distributing a good deal of , money by way of wages to workers, so that ' its prosperity is of great importance to the | Roxburgh district generally. j December 6. j The master of the Unity dredge wired to t the secretary on Monday as follows: — "Shifting dredgs to the other (west) side of the river." The secretary of th.3 Aldinga Company received a wire front the dredgemaster on Mon- ! day to the effect that he restimed dredging at I midnight on Sunday ; everything working well, j The secretary of the No Town Creek Com-; pany reports that the dredge resumed work , on Wednesday last, but owing to the heavy flood and working In silt there was no wash up for the week. j The master of the Central Chariton dredge, j reporting under date 3rd inst., stated that last ■ week's return was for four days' work on sec- ', tion 1 and two days on section 2. On section 1 ! there was fully iOft of clay and only about j 3ft of wash, with the balance all drift. On ! section 2 the clay averaged about Bft, with Bit j of very fair wash, and the clay on this section ! has every appearance of lasting for -some time. • The dredgemaster anticipates overhauling the • dredge before the holidays: ' An Auckland telegram states that during I November the Talisman Consolidated Gold Mining Company treated 3550 tons ore for bullion valued at ..£7276.