THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS

Otago Witness, Issue 2685, 30 August 1905, Page 28

THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS

August 23. The master of the Clutha Hirer dredge jrires havmg started dredging at 4 p.ir 00. Monday; everything running well, but tbe jilt bad. - The Wainvumii dredgemaster reports that Iredging was resumed on Wednesday, 16th inst., at 5 p.m. There was no change in She rround zn compared with the previous week, iud everything was running veil. Ths Masierton dredge was stopped on Saturday last in order to effect some neoe.^ giiry repairs to the main engine and boiler, also to the csntrifugal pump. The clredgssnaster is at present in town in connection vith these repairs, and expects to be able to 3uakp a start again at midnight on Sunday next. * The Unity dredge h&d a steady run last ■Week, and the paddock was opened out to **bout three chains in width. The ground was keeping an even depth across the cut. Everything was running well. The Hessey's dredgo had a very good run £ast week, with a small improvement in the frciurn, this being due to the steady manner ttn which the dredge was kept working. There ' *v«s no pei-ceptible change in the quality or jflepth of the ground as compared' with the previous week. The ground being worked »t present is the hardest so far met with In the claim. The Lady Roxburgh dredgemaster reports •that the ground treated last week had been previously ' worked in places, but was all as there was gold on the bottom and fn the- tailings. The bottom was fairly hard |n places, and^consequently was rough on Wl* bucket lips. Writing under data 19th inst., the master ■pf the First Chance dredge stated that he kad started dredging, and broke through the hard wash on Saturday -morning, and was getting fair gold when the buckets came blean off the tumbler, and with that and the passing of the Davis Bend flredge 12 hours were lost. Owing to being engaged aIJ the week shifting the dredge down the claim there was no wash-up. The ground worked by the Mystery Flat diaclge last wffik ■eras vaxy xouaku a-nfl, coa-

tamed some very large stones on the east side, and the. dredgemaster is of the opinion that so long a« stones are encountered very -good returns will lie 'obtained. Stripping was " much easier last week owing^to there being more .gravel and less blue pug The New Perseverance No. 2 dredge stopped, work on Saturday last in order to hava new screen plates fitted on and siuTdxy mino-» repairs ■ effected. These are expected to be 'Completed' some time-' 'this- week. The No. 1 dredge is at present working "on v«ry rough bottom, buf it is expected to' be passed shortly. The master of tlie Manuherikia dredgewriting under date 21st inst'., stated that he started shifting the dredge down on Monday of last week. The work of getting down proved a difficult one, as there was very '■ little water. The dredge reached the desired spa/t on Wednesday, 16th, and started dredging at. 6 o'clock the same night. On Saturday the dredge got down to a depth of 40ft, and -struck wash with payable fj°l<* on Monday. At time of writing the dredgo was down to 45ft, with still no bottom, and could only go down another two or three feet. The dredgernr.ster is of the opinion that if he could only strike the bottom Le would get good gold. Writing under date 14th inst., the rnast°v . of the Bigneil's No Town dredge stated that after effecting repairs to the ladder, etc., he resumed operations at 4 p.m. on Friday 11th inst. The ladder was found to b© much stiffer than it ha 3 ever been. Some ' new buckets have been despatched to the claim, and on their arrival a few old ones : will be taken off and repaired. There was, m the dredgemaster's opinion, a >t of solid givmnd ahead, and accordingly the face was being widened out, and will continue wide for some time to come. The manager of the Noltomai Hydraulic Sluicing Company reports that water is still short, and that No. 1 elevator is at a standstill. At ko. 2 there was- about four days' ■sluicing, when work had to be delayed till the. dam s> grain filled, n-hicJi it did tvr^ days afterwards. The ground there still continues neavy In the Warden's Court, Wyndham, on Monday (says the Farmer) the application of Matth-ow Wilson and pariv for a special dredging claim on Otara Beach was adjourned to permit of certain, formalities bein°complied with. The Cromwell correspondent of the Dun- | stan Times states that the Eising Sun, j tnroiieli the breakdown of the bottom tumbler * on Vlednesday morning, has stopped for a thorough overhaul pending the arrival of a new one from Dunediu. The last overhaul 1 took place in September. A new spare top tumbler lira already been placed in position ' and the crown wheel replaced. Mr J. h! Jones, the engineer, has the main en«nne '■ dismantled, and the boiler is being cleaned out and the fire brick replaced. It is intended to fill in asbestos between tha boiler and bricks. Messrs J. Sparrow and Sons aro ' tenderers for the bottom tumbler, which ' should reach the dredge within a week. i An Auckland telegram states that the gold 1 returns for Hid Auckland district for the. past 1 three weeks was valued at £16,931. i Boih of the Otago Company's (Iredgemaste'rs - report having Md .1 good run latt week, with ■ < prospects continuing fair,, _ j The manager of the Island Block sluicing £ claim revolts everything working steadily lasi £ week. Ho estimates that ie take about. 1 three weeks to complete the presold paddeck. c Tho New Roxburgh Jubileo dredge had a j c v«ry steady rim last week on gocd! ground. I Tho clredge was so worked that ■samo good c ground was left on each sic!©, to be treated 1 when the river is too hig>h lo work elsewh'cu'e 1 . t The r.ctual time worked by the Ptiat dredger I last wsc!c -Was 127s hours, the distance worked i ahead Oft, andi tho width of the cut 190yck, v with tho ground langing in depth, from west t io east, freni 3Cft to 3Sffc. The prospects were M still fair on the east aide, and the ground v tight and stony n Tho master of the Sandy Point dredge re- w uorts that he cleaned out the boiler on Mon- ti 2*s ai )«i .wj^ek, anil completed repairs oil s

Tuesday, and commenced dredging the same da3 r at 5 p m., vi erythmg running- satisfactorily up till G p.m. on Friday, when, an accident ocouired to Ihe spur wheel of th'o second motion shaft, and caused a stoppage. The dredgemaster started putting in the new top ? tumbler find a new spur wheel, and had tho latter on board the dredge and the tumbler at the water's edge by Saturday. During the time -work was carried on the dredgemaster ' only managed to get three parts of the way e-crops ihe cut owing to tho amount of top stuff that had fallen in during the overhaul. Tho distance worked ahead by tho Eise and Rhine No. 3 dredge last week was Sft, and the -width of the cut, 500 ft, with the depth of tho ground varying i.p to and over SOfl. Prospects the same, and' tho gold -wa.3 a very fine and e*-en pamp-le. Bottom was soft right pcio?s the cu+ and the wash veTy tight, and the best prospects were obtained where it was tightest. Towards the west side tho ground was fairly shallow, and at present there appeals to be a bump on the reef, but near fha oast side it was very deep. The N-a 2 dredge v,-oiktxl ahead 12ft. The ground was tho <-anie os in the previous week, both as to depth and quality. The cut was being - gradually extended to th-e cost, and this affects the returns owing to the tailings on that side having to be removed. Tho actual time worked by the E'.vctiic No. 1 dredge last week was 84 hours, the distance workoU ahead 15ft, and the width of tho cut 7Sft, with the depth of ihe ground about 43ft. tivo bottom consisting of pipeclay and sancl-s-tone. The ground was rough on the north side, and tho gold won was of a. fine scaly nature* Prospects during the last four days of the week showed signs of improvement. Th-e dredgurjister expects that he will bo over the loughest part of tho ground in tho course of a couple of weeks. On the 3\ T o. 2 dredge repairs were baing carried on all last week, principally tho new scre&n, and the erection of a funnel DredgiiTg was resumed on Sunday last at midnight. -. The master of the Junction Electric No. 1 dredge reports that the new screen part oa tho claim en Monday of last week. During the week the bciler was blown down and e\aned out. Some of tike plates in the screen i were being riveted by means of Lydraulic power, and owing to the construction of the ( screen this work occupied some considerate ume. Repairs would probably bo completed on Wednesday or Thursday of this week, when aredginß would be resumed. The actual time worked by ihe Kb. 2 dredge last week was 116 hours, and the distance worked ahead 32ff The dredge had to be pulled ahead on threj occasions. 6ft at a time, owing to the prospects being poor. On Saturday afternoon a considerable improvement took place, both in regard to tl*e Toughness of the ground and prospects. Ihe dredgeniaster expects to have a fair« return this week if prospects continue as they were. The No. 3 dredge worked for 116 tours sonic considerable time being lost owinto a breakdown to the winch engine lhe ground was fairly easy to work, and prospects, were fair. *■ The Davis's Bend No. 1 dredge was recently disposed of by the liquidator to an Australian syndicate, and Messrs Knewstubb Bros were commissioned to take her up" the river as far , as Alexandra and thsre disniant'e her prior , to being railed to Port Chalmers for shipment ito Melbourne. Since then, however, over- , tuxes have been made to the Syndicate by the bailors Bend Company, whereby the latter company vrill ship Us dr-edge. to Australia and retain tbe Dayis's Bend dre3ge. The Sailor's Bend Company will now have a dredge with both the ladder and pontoons 10ft longer than tho present ones, and no difficulty sh^ld : be experienced in dredging the deep ground and even if the river rose 3ft or 4ft the dredge would he able to reach bottom with such a long ladder. The exchange made is in. every way satisfactory to ths Sailor's Bend Company, and shareholders wd'il now have a dredge which can continue working under conditions which would compel the company's original machine to lay up. An extraordinary meeting of the Shotover Quartz Mining Company was held at the secretary's office last evening for the purpose of considering and, if thought advisable passing certain resolutions lelative to the issuing . of debentures. Eight shareholders were present, and 35 others were represented by proxies. Mr H. E. Wilson presided. On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr Speight, a resolution was carried authorising the directors to borrow from time to time as required a sum jiot exc&eding J62000, by tho issue of debentures or otherwise, in lieu of the present issue. It was further resolved that the sum be secured by a mortgage of the company's property and assets; that the debentures have a currency of three years, the company to have the option of redeeming same by giving a month's notice; that ths amount of each, debenture be £10, and that the rate of interest be 10 per cent. The minimum sum at which the directors should proceed to allotment was fixed at £1500, and the time for receiving applications before September 30. August 23. The Dvmstan Lead dredgemasteir, reporting under date 21« i irst., stated that he did not get on as well with repairs as expected. The putting on of the new screieu pathway icquired a goo-d weal of boring, which, with a ratchet brace, was slow work. A wire wa.s received yesterday to the effect that dredging wasi-esumied- at 2 p.m. on Wednesday; everything running well. An Auckland telegram states that during the four weeks ended August 12 the Kornata lleefs Gold Mining Company treated 1300 tons of ore for bullion valued at £2970. The master of tho Waikaia dredge reports Uiat he has completed turning round the Sredge, and she is now working across the full width of the faoe, the distance being four and three-quarter chain®. The ground m the ta&F side was 26ft deep, and in. the rontra and cm the west side it raised! from iOft to 24ft. The bottom consisted of soft ' maori." All the gear was running -well. The Alpine No. 2 dredge last week worked '.or ISO hours, but tbe ground treated was rery poor, having been previously worked. Clio bottom was mostly soft reef at the jeg-inning of lha week, but became hard owards the close, with prospects still poor, mt the tables showing an improvement. The machinery was running well. Consequent on the poorness of the returns ! -la^t week's being a shade over 2oz — the Jabriel Dredging Company has been com•eJled to close down the dredge at I/awrence, nd shareholders will shortly be calkd toother to consider the financial position of he company and discuss liquidation. The ompany has still on hand the No. 2 dredge n the West Coa3t. j Reporting unden date 19th inst., the master f the Molyneux Kohinoor drtodge stated thab j isfc -week's cvperationis had not been so protable^ as was indicated' Jjy the uro.spect3 at be beginning' of iho week. The deep gromid i mio.-river wag given a trial, tlxo dzwdge 'orking to a depth of 42ft, but it was found ) be very poor. A start -was then made on le beach, but at the time of writing there as no improvement, and if a chaaige did ot take place within 24 hours from then it as inteaid'cd to shift the dredge down to ike up tho iii&ide cut wh'ene the tributors :ar_tecj. Xkarft was no wash-up last week J

k<s there was very Htile gold on the mat Slight trouble was experienced during tl week with the friction pinion. The actual time worked by the New Alpii Consols dredge last week was 126 hours 1 , ar the distance worked ahead 48ft. The was thickened and prospects improved on Tue dsty and continued so all the week. The ci was 35ft wide and m the centre of the cv for a distance of 6ft, the prospects were fai the wash going nearly ldwfc to the dish. 0 the remainder of the cut prospects were snia but \ cry even, and the., wash was neaarly 5 thick. This crust is now vary thin, and las week was the first time this year that th dredge was able to bottom al-1 the" way acrosi The river was falling slightly and the bottoi rcsa a little, the deepest part being barel 47ft, givirg the dredge over 3ft to spa.ic The ctcodgemaister expected another fair re turn this week as he considered there- woul bo no trouble with the crust. Our Eeefton correspondent wires that th mine manager of the Big River mine report that during the week the No. 8 levelf-wes drive, has been extended lift, making th distance from the crosscut 97ft. The reef i: the face of the drive at present is 6ft wid a_t the bottom and_4ft wide at the top of th drive The stone shows gold freely, an< water is coming from- the lode. The interme diate level has been driven west 6ft, makinj a total distance froni the winze of 26ft. Ther is a good track in the face, with a well defined hanging wall. The stope has beei driven 12ft on an average width of 3ft o stone. Thirty-three tons of quartz have W raised for the week, making 68 tons in th. paddock. „., , * August 26. lhe secretaa-y of the Chicago Company re ports a return oi 240z 14dwt 6gi as the resu* of 73 hours' dredging. The balance of tim« was lost effecting lepairs to the lower tmnb'er An Auckland telegram states that duriu< the four weeks ending 12th August the Wain; Go-d Mining Company treated 24,637 tons o ore ior bullion valued at £56,474. This is i record for the mine for the period mentioned The directors of the . Electric Company *£m f lay d S clared a dividend (the thirty" nftn) of Is 6d per share, payable on Thursday, Augiist 31. During this fiuancin,! year, which ends on August 31, shareholders in this company have received as much as "1^ pvr share in the riiapo o£ dividends, meaning a distribution of £27,300. The compaaiv was registered in September, 1889. and three months afterwards fortunate shareholders received fheir first dividend. The amount paid back io date in the way of dividends is £i •is, 6d per share, and this notwithstanding the veiy large capital of £26,000. Ihe- Elecfci-o Company has indeed proved itself a veritable bonanza, and has been the means of distributing money to the extent of somethin" like £i 08.000. Last week's returns were 5"> o°-12dwt0 °- 12dwt from the No. 1 dredge a.nd 70oz from tno Ao 2 dredge for four and a-hajf days' work, the latter being equal to a yis'd "of a little over 930z for a full week's work The New Trafalgar dredge had a fairly -cod run last week, with the exception of a sinaU stoppage awing to a breakage of a pin in the new ladder-lifting block. The wash was looking better, and! there was better bottom in one corner of tho face, something after the class of " old man " bottom, and the gold there also showed an improvement Th" ground varied in depth from 25ft to 30ft, and the length of (he cut was"- three chains The wvish was getting^more oolid and heavier, and the dredgemaster considers this a good sign. - The Thr&e-milo (Greenstone Creek) dredge was la-st week working in, tha middle of the south sida or the face. The ground continued deep near the cliff and' was very uneven. The wash was very, thin at the middle of the face, but it may improve at any time. Tho second motion pinion had to ho> replaced on Thursday, a.ad Ihis, with other stoppages, caused a good of time to bs lost. The pait of the face operated on was splendid working ground. Writing under date August 21 on last week's work, the- dreefgemaster of Bignell's Company reports a fair run with the dredg°. Ihe middle of tha face was very hard, causing heavy wear and tear on tho gear. Sunken timbcir ha-s he©n causing 36ms trouble, a3 where tho terraces have beeh sluiced trees have tumbled off the sandstone olifis and have goi, covered with tailings. Four buckets were- changed, and three new ones and one lecently repaired have now been put on. A fine wide face is now being opened out. The master of the Bignell's No Tovvn^dredge wired on Friday evening, as follows:— " No , ■wasj-np to-day owing to breaking the spurge j pipe." s D c Tha Sandy Point Cc-nipa-ny's dredgemaster cxpec.3 to lesuine dredging 1 operations tomorrow. A "Westport telegram states that the "Westport Coal Company's output last week was 9393 tons scwt", and the Seddonville State mine 1313 tons 3cwt. It is understood that Mr J. C. Kay having resigned the mastership of the No. 1 Aiedgo, the Ease and Shine' Company's fwo dredges will in future be tinder the managership cf Mr A. P. Kloogh, who has for somss iime been m charge of the No. 2 dredge. The dredges are warking-almost side by side, and consequently such an experienced dredgemester as Mr Kloogh undoubtedly is should have- no difficulty in efficiently controlling both machines. The master of the Golden Pain dredge ippcrts that a stoppage was.caiised by tha breaking- of the driving spur wheel of "the bottom elevator tumbler. Provision was being made for this repair, a new tumbler Jjoing undet* construction and nearly ready. As ths -whole pf the elevator buckets required some attention, riveting and bush turning, the belt was taken off and that work commenced. Some stays will also be replaced in tho elevator ladder, these having been carried! away gradually since the dredge first started. The work will be pushed on. The results of a previous like overhaul having given seme months' steady running, it is expected when a staa-t is made again, the dredge will have a steady run for some time. The new tumbler referred- to by the dredgemaster was sent forward last Monday. August 29. The cliiectors of the New Alpine Consols Dredging Company have declared a dividend (the third) of Is per share, payable on Thursday next. The required machinery to complete the elevator, screen, chute, etc., for the Alexandra Lead dredge arrived at the claim at the latfer end of last week, and Messrs Knewstubb Bros., the contractors, will now lose no time in completing their work. The dredge will be at work again in two or three weeks' time. As the Sailor's Bend Company's newlyacquired dredge* the old Davis Bend No. 1, 1 has been idle for some considerable time, tho ' machinery, etc., will naturally require some ' attention, and it will therefore he next Sunday at the earliest before the dredge will be put into commitsion once more "The oonractors to the Australian Syndicate were to commence moving away the original Sailor's Bend dredge on Friday afternoon last. A half-yearly balance sheet of the New Eox- c burgh Jubileo Company for the period ended 1 July 31 shows the value of the gold won luring the six months to have been £2962 12s i 3d. A sum of £29 15s lid was received as x interest, making the total Avenue for the half- [

:s. year close on 13000. Of this £2034 was exlie pended in the up-keep of the dradge, etc., and £750 wrs distributed in-- the way of a, ac dividend. The amount on fixed deposit on» id July 31 was £1500, with a sum ol -£509 to pro;h ide for income ta:c, and a balance of £281 at s- the bank. Sundry creditors amounted to £316 ut 10s. Since tho compiling of the balance sheec t, a further dividend of 2s per share has been r, declared.