THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS

Otago Witness, Issue 2675, 21 June 1905, Page 32

THE WEEK 'S MINING NEWS

June 14. ! The Riloy's Beach dredgemastcr wirtd on Tuesday as" follows: — "River up 3ft; stopped dredging." ' The secretary of the Taniwha Company re- j ports a return <of 13oz 2dwt for last week. | The New Perseverance Company's No. 1 dredge resumed operations oj. Monday, I2lh, after the completion of necessary repairs. The manager of the Island Block sluicing cairn wired on Tuesday rnornine; as follows : — , " Good thaw ; started sluicing this morning ; dams filling fast." The secretary of the Chicago Company wiied on Tuesday that the main friction driver of the engine had broken on Saturday night, j Tlie dredge is expected to resume work on Thursdas', but there will be no wash-up this week. A contract has been let to Messrs M'G-regor and <!!o. for the raising of the New Prince Arthur dredge. On being broiight to the surface the dredge will immediately be put , under repair by the syndicate by which she ( is owned, and on completion put into commission again. ] The wash treated by the Mystery Flat i dredge last week was just about the same as ! in the previous week, but operations were i hampered a, good deal owing to the frost j having frozen the water race. ' The Hessey's dredgemaster does not expect j such a good 1 return for this week, as he will ; be working the dredge so as to make a road ] for traffic with the tailings. He intends to ] have the rebushing of the buckets completed i this week, but this doea not interfere with j hedging. j The Waimumu 3redgem«ster reports that j the ground was still very shallow last week, j and the wash poor, though he expects that it will improve again shortly. The depth of the ground was about 10ft, and tne widt\ of the face three chains. Everything on {he- dredge was working well. The manager of the Undaunted sluicing claim wires as follows: — "Water all on to claim again; big thaw set in on the 11th inst. (Sunday)." The dii'eictors of the Golden Gate Gold Dredging Company have declared a dividend of 3s per share, and the directors of the Golden Treasure Company a dividend of 2s per share! both cf which are payable, on Monday, lS>th inst. Writing under date June 14, the Lady Roxburgh dredgeinaster stated that the wash waa improving slowly but consistently as the dredge worked ahead 1 and widened out. The cut worked on last week was 70ft wide, and the dredge worked close into the east side and to s a depth of 34ft. This week he intended to open out a cut about 120 ft wide The gold was a very fine sample, and the wash tight and of a, brown colour. The New Fourteen-mile Beach dredgemaster wired on Tuesday that he had stopped dredging owing to breaking the lower tumbler shaft. He also wired that he expected a rise in the river The secretary states that the dredgemaster, anticipating this breakage, had a aiew lower tumbler and shaft sent to the claiim some time ago, so that the stoppage should not be » very serious one. Copies of thw prospectus of the Criffel Lead Sluicing Company can now be obtained on cpplication to Mr E. Trythall, No. 1 Bond street. The capital of the company is £9000, in shares of £1 each, of which 5500 are offered to the public. The claim consists of some 44 acres, and the company will also acquire the rights to 26 Government heads of water aaid three races, about 14 miles in length. According to the prospectus excellent returns have been obtained from the Crififel Lead in the past, although the miners carrying on operations had only small supplies of water. A large number of shaies have already been applied for. Mr E- Roberts, consulting engineer to the New Trafalgar Company, wired the secretary < on Tuesday from the West Coast that the I dredge had worked out of the dam into a ' deep paddock. The machinery was working well, with the exception of a few small things which require altering, and this will occupy three or four days. The dredgemaster, writing under date sth June, states that whil© j working out of the dam he has had the screen blinded, but as soon as the deeper water was reached he would 1 sink for bottom AUak J3*e..aol&-J!&vin|[ aj>£liau.cejs_tft work^ J

r June 15. The directors nf the "Waimuinu Gold Diedging Company have declared a dividend (the fifttei-lh) of (id pej. share, payable on Wednesday 21st hist. After an extensive oveihaul and the effecting of improvements, the Waikaia Company's dredge commenced dredging operations on Tuesday, 13th inst. 'lhe directors of the New Fourteen-mile Beach Company have declared a dividend (the fourth) of 2s 6d per shaie, payable on Wednesday, 21-jt mst. The Mamiherikia dredgemaster reports that last week a great deal of time was lost through stones, also through steam joints blowing out. The ground was still rough, and the prospects were keeping about the same, and, judging by their appearance on the 12th, the dredgemaster expected that there will be a return of about 200oz this week — that is, provided the dredge gets over the ground. The fro3t was very severe all the week, but after Saturday afternoon the weather became mild. Ths manager of the Mount Rex Tin Mining Company, reporting for the week ended June 3, slated that there was fair average stone in the south stope No. 1 level, but that in the north stope was poor, and the stope was being filled in again with mullock. Fair average stone was being trucked from the centre stope, No. 2 level. 'Xlie fsce at the alluvial works was looking vtry wall. During the week 224 tons of atone were crushed for Zi baga of tin. The Three-mile Greenstone dredgemaster wired on Wednesday that the crown wheel for . which the dredge had been stopped had arrived, but, the ri'-'er being too high to permit of its baing taken to the dredge, a. start will not be „ made as soon as was expected. The master of the Otago No. 1 reports a good run for last week, with a slightly-ina- < proved return. The No. 2 dredgemaster does * not expect so good a return this week, as the dredge has been moved to the other side of the river to take a cut across. Prospects were fair where he left off. The secretary of the Sailor's Bend Company reports receipt of the following wire from the dredgemaster: — "Stopped 8 a.m. to-day (Wednesday); river up 4ft; cannot bottom; driftheavy; keep on crew this week to do necessary repairs; will wash ur> on Friday." This company was, before the rise in the river occurred, fortunate in winning gold to the value of ;£340 10s 7d, which, we learn from the secretary, will more than pay all accounts with the exception of the secretary's salary and directors' fees. The Punt dredgemaster, reporting for last week, stated that the dredge wprked for 113 hours, and worked ahead 12ft. The width of i the cut was 125 yards, and depth of ground from west to east 30ft, and 36ft to 40ft. There ■was no improvement in the wash to report, and the ground was fairly rough and light, ! breaking a lot of links and pins. The bottom •was soft, being sandstone and clay. The elevator was being used only for working the corner. The New Roxburgh Jubilee dredgemaster reports that after starting dredging on Monday of last week the paddock was found to be full of drift, and it took two days to open out, ! consequently there was no wash-up at the close of the week. The dredge was working in the centre of the river in tlie deep ground, and everything on board was running very well. The secretary of the Nokomai Hydraulic Sluicing Company reports that work was suspended at No. 1 elevator for five days owing to hard frost, but a wire on Tuesday stated \ that owing to a, thaw work would probably 1 commence that day. At No. 2 elevator work has been gone on with under difficulties, owing to want of water, but a thaw has set j in, and the creek is now in flood. : The master of the Electric No. 1 reports that , the actual time worked last week was 134 hours, and the distance worked ahead 25ft, with the ground varying up to 42ft deep and the cut b2ft wide. Three-fourths of the gold won was of a light, scaly nature, and the remainder fine. The prospects were moderate | up to Thursday morning, when the mats ' Bhowed an improvement. . The Junction Electric No. 1 dredge was i under repairs all last week. These were com- ' plated on Saturday last, the bucket bait ; coupled up, and dredging resumed at midnight I on Sunday. The actual time worked by the | No. 2 dredge last week was 113 hours, and ; the distance worked ahead 12ft. The ground \ continued the same, and prospects were very lair. A stoppage was made on Saturday night >' to repair the ladder and carry out a few minor i repairs. The dredgemaster expected to start j again yesterday at 4 p.m., and if so there I should be a return of about 20oz at the end I of the week. The No. 3 dredge worked for f 315 hours. The ground was very poor, and did not turn out as well as was expected. It continued very rough in part of the cut, but the other half was good dredging ground. The depth of the ground below the surface of the water was from 10ft to 12ft, and above the water the face was from 15ft to 26ft high. June 16. There will be no wash-up on the Masterton dredge this week. The Waikaia dredge commenced operations at midnight on Wednesday. The Junction Electric.^ No. 2 dredge resumed work at 4 p.m. on ' Thursday. Tho Riley's Beach dredgmaster wired on Thursday that the exact return for the. washup was 78oz 3dwt Bgr, as a result of 3£ days' work. The Dunstan Lead dredge had a very good run for last week with the exception of the time lost taking out links and replacing them. The ground appeared to be patchy, and the weather was turning rainy. The distance worked ahead by the Rise and Shine No. 1 dredge last week was 7ft, and the width of the cut 500 ft, with the ground varying in depth up to 50ft. There was a slight improvement in the ground, but i that towards the east side was still very deep and poor, with a, chippy rock bottom. There was soft bottom in the rest of the cut. The j No. 2 dredge worked ahead 10ft, and crossed the cut four times. There was a little wash I corning in again, but the prospect was poor, I though the ground is expected to improve ■ each cut. I At a meeting of the directors of the First ! Chance Company, held on Thursday, Mr Hoy, j dredgemaster, being present, & tender was I accepted for the required number of buckets ' to complete the string. It is, expected that these will be delivered on the claim within a week, in which case the dredge will, pro- ; vided there is a favourable river, be able to start again in about a fortnight's time. Up to Thursday morning of last week the Electric No. 2 dredge worked ahead 21ft on a cut 90ft wide, with the ground varying in depth from 27ft to 40ft. The return was for 120 hours' actual dredging, and the gold won was a rough, coarse sample, and very similar to that of the previous week. On Thursday the bottom tumbler was found to he getting into bad order, sp it was decided to wash up and stop, hut the dredge was run on till Thursday at midnight. The new tumbler was carted to the dredge on Friday, and the old one taken out on Saturday. Placing the new one in position was expected to take three or foiir days. June 17. The secretary of the Lady Roxburgh Company reports a. return of 21oz 9dwt for the week. The dredge TCAS stsq&JSS. %qugla an. <M fcafl- ,

Reporting for the last wsek, the Unity dredgamaster stated that he resumed dredging on Wednesday, 7th ins-t., at 4 p.m., but did not geb bottom till Friday owing to the silt. The prospects showed an improvement this week, hnii the drift was .still troublesome. The giouncl was 33ft deep. The Molyneux Kohinoor Company dredg'emsbter, wiiting under date June 14, stated tha* he had completed all repairs to the main bucket belt, and had started to fix up sonic elevator buckets, which he expected to have completed! on Thursday last. The river had risen, bub frosts were setting m again. The lifting gear has all been renewed and other parts of thei dn-dge overhauled. The elevator cannot be* connected yet, as the new cylinder has nob airived from Melbourne, and this is causingsome delay. The following items are from the Alexandra) Herald: — The Coronation dredge has been stopped for the past week owing to the boiler tubes leaking badly. — lhe Earrscleugh No. 3 dredge, which was compelled to cease operations on account of her paddock being frozen, made another start this week. — Coulson and party have their dredge at the mouth of the Manuherikia where operations will be commenced at once.— Another of the pioneer diedg.es has ceased to do further duty, the Earnsoleugh No. 1 being closed down. From a letter received from Malay States tho Alexandra Herald quotes the following returns', showing the result of dredging operations on, the Kelantan River, Malay Peninsula:— March" 4, 1905, 370z for 78 hours; March 11, 520z fop 114 hours; March 18, SOoz for 85 hours; March' 25, 550z for 72 hours; April 1, 340z for 33 nours. For four weeks from January 7, 1905, to February 4, 1905. 2SSoz of gold were won, valued at £1100. The West African golo! dredging and mining ventures, for week ending" April 3, 1905, secured 960z of gold for 62 hours' work. Says the Lake County Press:— Mr Jamea Miller, manager of the Arrow Falls Company, reports a wash-tip of 38oz 6dwt 12gr, value £147 11s, for about three weeks' work. The wages for the same period arnoitnted to £42 12s, leaving a clear profit of £104 19s. The last three returns have- averaged about the same, and the ground is still improving. Work in. the claim has been suspended for the winter months on account of the severe frosts. The company's prospects for the coming spring are decidedly bright. All that is required is * flood to wash away the tailings, and doubtless that will be experienced before operations are again commenced. — The recent severe frost has retarded mining in a.ll its branches on the Cardrona Valley. It is possible the thaw of the- last few days will allow of operations beingcontinued again. The Sunbeam dredge, however, is getting in about 12 hours' work daily, but Mr Little'a hydraulic plant and Lafranchi'a dredge have both bsen prevented from starting through the frost. The Lone Star has been stopped for the last week, and some slight repairs are being made. June 19. The Golden Run dredgemaster reported last week that he expected to finish all the dead work by Wednesday last. The tailings then to be worked should pay for the handling. He expects to open out shortly. Says the Lake "Wakatipu Mail : — "A syndicate of local gentlemen some time ago sent to Germany a consignment of 700cwt of scheelite procured from the Twelve-mile. Head! of Lake Wakatipu, for the purpose of having it tested and its vahie assessed. The . consignment .was sent to Mr J. v. d. Walde, a. former resident of Queenstown, who now resides at Wandsbek, Germany, and in liis hands the matter of transacting the business was entrusted. Mr Walde set about finding out what firms would accept the mineral, an 3 after a good deal of trouble, caused principally through the non-acceptance by most firms of scheelite of low percentage, he managed to get a firm to crush and test it. The result was very satisfactory, the crushing giving a percentage of 49.7 of scheelite, which is at the rate of £56 per ton. It is very doubtful if such a satisfactory result would have been achieved if the syndicate had not had the good office of Mr Walde, himself an ardent believer in the mineral resources of the district. We understand that it is the intention to send Home more quartz at a later date, whecn even more satisfactory results may be obtained." A Westport telecrram states that the coal output last week was 9034 tons 15cwt, of which 7927 tons 4cwt came from the Westport Coal Company's mines and 1107 tons llcwt from the Seddonville State mine. June 20. The half-yearly meeting of shareholders in the Phoenix Water Kace Company will be held on Thursday, 29th inst. The directors of the Central Charlton Dredging Company have declared a diviolend of Is per share. The directors of the Upner Waipori Alluvial Gold Dredging Company have declared a dividend of 6d per share, payable on Saturday, 24th inst. The Riley's Beach dredgemaster wired on Monday morning that he started dredging at midnight on Sunday. At 4.30 p.m. he wired that he had struck bottom and that prospects were the same as -when he left off, also that the river was falling. The secretary of the Ladysmith sluicing claim reports a wash-up for 200oz as the result of six weeks' sluicing. The Rising Sun dredgemaster reports working 154 hours last weak, including Sunday, owing to Eevere frost. The paddock was crossed four times, and the dredge worked ahead 12ft. There was a slight improvement in the bottonu layer of wash, it being tighter than usual. The machinery was running well. The Sailor's Bend dredgemaster, reporting; under date 18th inst.. stated that the river was still going dowu, and if there was no further rise he expected that it would be low enough to start again early in the week. The last wash-up was a welcome surprise, and ther dredgemaster has no doubt but that if the dredge covJld shift the stones and keep iho bottom the returns would be very good. All the crew of the Alexandra Lead dredge, with the exception of the dredgemaster aucß engineer, have been discharged, the two latter: being engaged at necessary work in connection with the screen roller, dTiving shaft, etc. Messrs Knewstubb Bros, commenced last Wednesday their contract for the erection of the large elevator, etc., and so far have got on very well with the work. A large quantity of the elevator gear is now at the claim.