THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS

Otago Witness, Issue 2686, 6 September 1905, Page 26

THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS

August 30. " Tenders are invited forHhe purchase "of the I' Enfield dredge as" she^lies at Post Office Creek. - * Trie master of the New Alpine- Consols tlredgc wires that ho expects to have a good ■wash-up on .Thursday.' ' In ' his report for last week the master o£ the "Waimumu" diedge stated that tho ground continues poor and the wash very hard. The master, of tho Waikaia dredge reports that dredging was continued up to Friday last, when' there -was a. stoppage for a day to rivet the band of tho top path and also put on four new buckets. The ground steadily improved in quality during the week; and fin Saturday was fairly good across the faco Vith the exception of towards the terrace on the east side. The depth of the ground Varied frenr 22ft to 25ft, the wash was iaiirly hard and rough, , and the gold was a fine "-simple.. The face was barely five chains wide. Writing under date 26th nxst., the master ©£ the Majmheiikia- dredge stated that ha Loltomed on Moi.day, 21st inst., at noon on *ho *ast side of a depth of 40it, but it was (Wednesday before bottom- was obtained right i.cross. On the was* side it was 50ft, and that is as deep as the dredge, can work. The pave-all had to be altered to allow for that )ctepl'h. The prospects were not so good on the bottom as expected, but there were fair prospects all through tho wash, which was very fine. From appearance, however, tha gold did not- come from a lead. Everything vf&a working well, and a •similar return is expeoted this week. ," The Hessey's dredge had a fair run for last Vreek, with. a .slight" improvement in the re- " 'turn, although 'a shift was lost during the week. There -was practically no change in |he depth or quality of the ground!' as oomparted with the previous! week. The secretary ol the Nokomai Hydraulic Sluicing" Company reports that work is still at a standstill at No. 1 elevator. The breather has been overcast, and often threatening to r-ain. Thtre wero three sharp frosts ttuiing the week At No. 2 e&evator sluicing has been done to a limited extent, as there is not enough watei feeding the dam to, en-

sxiro a continuous supply. It takes about four days to empty and. three days to fill the dam.

Writing ' under 'date 27th inst., the Sailor's Bend Company's 'dredgemaster stated that he completfcd 'transferring the buckets, gear, etc.^ on Friday .last; and thie contractors gob clear from' the dredge about 2 "p.m. on Saturday. He intends pushing on with - the work of putting things in readiness for a start as soon ad possible./ A fair amount of solid ground was met with ■'by the, LaHy Roxburgh diedge la3t week, and 1 he' depth" was from '32ft v to 34ff. In the Gentre of the river the ground had in places been cleanly .worked by the previous dredge. The actual time worked during the week was 118J hours.

The master of the Mystery Flat dredge reports that last week's return was very good considering the amount of stripping that required to be done. Stripping was not, howvet, sp troublesome as previously, but looks as if it would get hard again. The wash wa3 stall very rough on the cast side, there being a number of large stones, which proved rough on the buckets.

The actual time worked by the Electric No. 1 diedge last week was 120 hours, and the distance' worked ahead 20ft. with the cut about 60ft wide. The width oi tho cut had to be reduced on account of a large rock on Ihe bottom on the north side o f the river. "The sample of go-Id won was scaly and fine. Prospects were not so good when the rock was encountered, but improved a good deal again on Saturday. The actual time worked by the No. 2 dredge was 94 hours, and the distance worked ahead 18ft, with the width of the cut about 180 ft, or the full width of the river. The general depth was about 40ft, except, on the north side, where there was a gutter about 46£t deep. The bulk of the poid won was- fine or scaly. The river was keeping in good order/ and the dredge was running well. • • - - Repairs to the Junction Electric No. 1 dredge were completed on Thursday last at 7 p.m., but, just as the dredge was started, the stop cock in the boiler b]ew out. Repairs, were effected early on Friday morning, and tho dredge resumed the same everting. The paddock was cleaned out and the dredge got -on io a solid face. The ground continued rough. The No. 2 dre<3ge worked ahead 18ft for 118 hours' dredging. The ground was vary rough and poor iv the middle of the week, but improved towards the close. The cut was about GOft wide, and prospects were fair, but the drift was troublesome on the Cornish Point side of the cut, where the best gold was. The No. 3 dredge worked for 120 hours. There was a stoppage of 10 hours at the beginning oJ the week to repair tho winch engine. The ground varied in deptli from 7ft to Bft on ono side to about 25ft on the other.

August 31. 'The r.ianager of the Ladysmith sluicing claim reports a wash-up for 80oz as the result of four weeks sluicirg

The master of the Riley's Beach dredge ware? having st&rted dredging at midnight on Tv.esday last.

The managers of bath o o f the Oiago Company's dredges report having had a good rim last week, with tho ground keeping about the same.

The Sandy Point <hxdgemaster resumed operations at 3 p.ni on Tuesday. The manager of the Oucrawora sluicing claim, Southland, reports a wash-up for 38oz 9dwt lOgr as the result of four week's sluicing. The smallness of the return is due to the extremely OTy weather experienced.

The Junction Electric No. 1 dredg-emaster wired yesterday that he had pulled the dredge ahead and had commenced opening out.

The New Roxburgh Jubilee dredge had a steady run last week, with the exception of on Friday and Saturday, when the tumbler pl&tea caused! a stoppage of five hours. The diedgemaster intended stopping for a few hours this week to put on. some buckets, and the return will therefore be slightly affected. The master of the Dunstan Lead dredge reports that ho completed repairs and, as already -wired, started dredging at 2 p.m. on Wednesday of last week, everything running

well. It took SOIB3 time to get the (ace opened out as 'he paddock was full of silt, etc., Lut in a short Urns the dredge wa-s getting over the ground all right. There phouM be a fair leturn this week, something like 40oz, as far as could be judged from tho appearance of the mats on Su xlay. September 1. The Masteiton Company's dredgemaster resumed work at 4 o'clock on Thursday morning The B'gnell's No Town dredgemaster resumed operations at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. The directors of the Mystery Flat Company on Thursday declared a dividend (the tenth) of 2s per share, payable on Monday, September 4. A dividend of 2s per share has been declared by the directors of the Golden Run Dredging Company. A dividend of Is per share has been declared by the directors of the Golden Gate Dredging Company. Says the Alexandra Herald: —"We learn that several Otago dredgemen, who left here a few months back for Malay Peninsula under engagement to a dredging company there, are returning to New Zealand. In a letter to a friend, one of the men advises anyone anticipating goicg to Malay to remain in New Zealand, as the wages offered are not sufficient' for the hardships they have to '< endure. , The ground worked by the Matau dredge ■' last week was not so heavy as in the previous ' week, big stones not being quite so mimeiou*. Prospects, however, were not quite so good as previously, but more ground was being got f over in consequence of bsing easily worked. The aotual time worked by the Punt dredge last week was 123J hoiirs, the distance worked ahead 9ft, and the width ox the cut 130 yds, with the ground varying in depth from west Ito east from 30ft to 38ft-. Prospects were still fair on the east side, and the ground very tigiht and rough in places, and conseI quently hard on the bucket lips. The | machinery was running very satisfactorily: I Reporting for last week, the Clyde dredge- ■ master stated that the ground was about 48ft J in the deepest part. The whole of the cut j had been previously worked, but not the bottom. There was, however, only a narrow strip oaxrying payable gold, and this was tho deepest part of a channel which the old dredgs was not able to reach. Writing under date 26th inst., the master of the Molyneux Kohinoor dredge stated that as the ground he was working on did not improve, he decided to shift the dredge. He lifted the ladder at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, aft?r washing the mats, and got everything in readiness for moving down stream. This operation took much longer than wps expected, tailings being in the way and the river being low. It waa therefore Saturday before the dredge was got into position, a little below Manuel's tail-race. After effecting some slight ; alterations, dredging was commenced on Satur- j day afternoon last, and there would, of course, be a shift or two of dead work. The dredgemaster is convinced that there is a lot of good ground where the dredge is now working. September 2. There will be no wash-up on the Waimumu dredge this week, owing to working in old ' ground. The Three-mile (Greenstone Creek) dredgemagt&r reports ttha't last week lie waa working in the rnidctl* of the face, as it was the easiest part to dredge, bsing slack and free from boulders. A large quantity of stuff was , put through-^ for the time worked. During > the week the bottom suddenly rose sft, and, carrying no wash, pulled down the return. The bottom isj however, expected to dip again as the dredge Works ahead. Reporting for last week, the master of the New Trafalgar dredge stated that he had several small breakages, and consequently a very broken run. There was not much change in the wash, and it still averaged 25ft in depth, with small patches of " old-man" bottom. The face was three chains wide, and the distanoei worked ahead was 20ft. . The best gold was being obtained in the corner of the face further away from the Pactolus tailings, where it was not expected i to be found. : An Auckland telegram states that the ore treated by the Waiotahi Gold Mining Company for August yielded 1718oz retorted gold, valued at about £4580. This is a record for tho mine. The actual time worked by the No Town Creek dredge last week was 136 hours, the distance worked ahead 26ft, the width of the i cut four chains, and the depth of the ground t , 32ft. The actual time worked by the No. 2 dredge was 130 hours, the distance worked ahead 28ft, the width of the cut two chains, and the depth of the ground 45ft. There was no improvement in the prospects, but the pug was getting thinner in the south comer of the cut, making the ground easier to work. Timber was troublesome at times. i Tenders are invited for the purchase of the dredge, claim, etc., lately belonging to the '' New Bc-ndigo Gold Dredging Company. Dividends have been declared by the following companies: —Golden Run, 2s per share, payable on Thursday, 7th inst.; Golden Treasure, 2s, payable on Friday, Bth inst.; Golden Gate, 2s, payable oil Friday, Bth inst. September 4. The return from tho Rise and Shine No. 2 dredge last week was 390z lldwt for 131 hours' work. The No. 1 dredge was under repairs all the week, and will not resume work till theend of the current week. '' A Westport telegram says: —The output " from tho Westport Coal Company's mines last. * week wa9 9792 tons 18ewt, and from the 1 Seddonville State mine 952 tons Bcv;t. ! September 5. ] Tho masted" of the Fiust Chance dredge re- ' ports no i- ash-up for last week, and that the * drift was bad 1."- ! The Gardeai Gully dredge was under repairs 1 last week, consequently there was mo wash-up. "Dredging will probably be resumed at tho I beginning of next week. The master of i be Molyneux Kohinoor dredge 1 wired on Saturday afternoon that ho had,' juau ( bottomed, and that prospects were fair. j Tho Manuherikia diiedgeniaster wires:— ' "©topped dredging Saturday; river tip; caa- , not bottom; too much drift. The Reeves's Proprietary No. 1 dredge { yielded 15oz last week for 90 hours' work. The f bottom end of the tumbler broke on Friday, ■ and the dredge was esj'ected to get started ' again on Monday. 7 , 1 , ' , * J \ \ ; • <