THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS

Otago Witness, Issue 2714, 21 March 1906, Page 22

THE WEEK'S MINING NEWS

March 14. Tenders are called for the purchase of the Upper Waipori Alluvial Gold Dredging Company's dredge, claim, buildings, etc, up to the 11th April. The Molyneux River was at the 6ft mark at Alexandra on Tuesday, a rise of 4in as compared with tho previous day's Tecord. The dredge natter of the Lady. Roxburgh.

• clredge, reorting under date' 11th inst., states that he is working a cut . lift wide. Th& dredging time for last week was 132 hours, i and the return 19oz. A stoppage is expected i this week for boiler inspection. The directors ! hiave ordered water-tight bulkheads to put . on the pontoons. The secretary of the Nokontai Hydraulic Sluicing Company reports that at No. 1 and 2 elevators steady progress is being made. Steady rain was falling at latest advices, and the prospects are that water will not fail again this season. The dredgemaster of the Waikaia dredge reports a steady week's dredging for the period ending 10th inst. Operations are being carried on in the west section, and this section will be. carried ahead equi-distant with the east section, and will then be left, and tha east section carried forward. There is not much difference in the depth or quality of the wash, and the same bottom obtains as formerly. The report of the Alexandra Lead dredgemaster, under date 11th inst., states that a good deal of timra was lost during the week renewing elevator rollers, top tumbler corners, etc., otherwise the week's return would have been better. The dredge is working well, and the ground keeps about the same, but a little deeper on the inside of the cut. Writing in regard to xhe part of the claim now being worked, he says : — " I cannot make out what ha 3 become of the good gold that was supposed to run in at this point, as I am abreast of it now. I trust we will get on to something better soon. March 5. Telegraphic reports were received on Wednesday from several dredgemasters in the vicinity of Cromwell that the river had risen 2£t, and that there was a considerable quantity of drift travelling. The drodgemaster of the Wakatipu dredge wired to the secretary of the company on Wednesday stating that the Shotover River was in flood. He stated that the dredge was safe and had been stopped for the week. Reporting on the 12th inst., the dredgemaster of the Dunstan Lead stated that the dredge had ifrad a fair run for five day>9, and on the sixth day there was a stoppage for boiler inspection. The ground being operated on is wtill shallow, which made it hard to work. The master of the Hessey's dredge reports a first-class run last week on a face four and a-half chains long. No change is reported in the depth iof the ground or quality of the wash. Last week's report from the Masterton dTedge stales that a good job has been made of the buckets, which required a lot of repairing. Everything was ready to resume dredging on the 10th inst., but the winch engine, it was found, required attention, and a start was not eypected to be made before Monday, 12th mst. Mr Hessey, one of the directors, is at present on the claim. The master of the Alexandra Lead dredge wired to the secretary on Wednesday that the dredge had: been stopped for 32 hours- for boiler inspection, and that dredging was again started on Tuesday night. Prospects aro about the I same as last week. ! Tsw> Mystery Flat report for the week ending 7th inst. states that a few hours were lost in ! taking out and putting on buckets and links, ; the work progressing -slowly as the buckets were a good deal shaken. New buckets will be required in the near future. The ground being worked is about the same — rough and hard in ' places. The terrace side of the cut does not show any improvement^ The. bottom is led ; clay and coal. The machinery is working very I well. The dredgemaster of Electric r\io. 1, reporting under date 12th inst., states that the dredge worked 120 hours for 22ft Gin ahead, the width : of the cut being 105 ft and the depth 38ft. The ! sample of gold obtained whs very coars<* and nuggety, mingled with a small proportion of fine gold, and the ground appeared to be changing. [A wire received on Wednesday stated that the dredge had been stopped for boiler inspection.] The master of the No. 2 dredge, writing on the same date, reports that the dredge worked 91 hours, and went 18ft ahead on a cut 120 ft wide and varying in depth up to 25ft in the centre of the river. Erom inquiries made ifc seems tha£ the machine is- now quite clear of any previously dredged ground, but tßie bottom, especially in the centre of the river, is almost clean and bare as if scoured out at some time. A big sli-p, which has come in from the Croaiwell side at a former period, may possibly account for the l;»st mentioned circumstance. The weekly report of the Junction Electric No. 1 for the week ending 12th inst. states that progress ahead was made for a distance of loft, and that the width of the cut and the depth of the grooind remain the- same as when previously reported upon. The ground on the Riohards's Beach side continues rough and the wash i 3 tight. Prospe-;ts remained good up to Friday afternoon, since when they have fallen off slightly, although the wash still looks good. Prospects are expected to improve further ahead. The dredge is in good order, and the new headline has come to hand. The buckets suffered considerably during the week owing to the roughness of tbs ground-. The master of 'he No. 3 dredge states that the boiler was cleaned out on Monday for Government inspection, and the boiler was passed on Tuesday oa in good order. Dredging was resumed on Wednesday at noon, but as the I'addock was full of drift it took till Friday to get it cleaned out. Tho Kise and Shine dredgetnaater reports for last week as follows:— No. 1 worked ahead fcft, width of cut 430 ft, depth from 52ft on the east side -to 42ft on the we»t. Prospects are unchanged. The- ground is very tight in places, and " maoris " and black sand are coming in on the deep side, wtber.e the wash is looking better, bint as yet only a. little fine «old is being got. No. 2 fclarted dredging en the west side of the cut owing to the stioi-g current rendering ooa'ing dangerous. Worked ahead 12ft on a cut about 100 ft wide. A large quantity of silt had collected in the paddock, and little gold showed on the bottom, but theTe wa3 a slight improvement on Saturday. Advice" received by the secretary of the Otago Gold Dredging Company for last week are -xs follow — No. 1 dredgemaster reports a satisfactory week's dredging for a slightly improved return. The ground gives promise of better returns in a week or so. No. 2 re1 port states that a.s there is •still some opening ca-'t to be done the return this veek will probably be about the same as last week. March 16. Whilo waiting for the river to fall the Clyde dredge 13 having bulkheads put in. The secretary of Bignell's No Town reports that the dredge resumed dredging operations on Wednesday afternoon. There will be no wash-up this- week. The Molyneux Eiver was at the 6ft Siu mark at Alexandra on Thursday. Reporting on March 11. the manager of the I Island Block stated that the last paddock | turned out very poor, 1250 square yards of bottom being cleaned up for 440z 9dwt. The elevator 13 now being set up to the face at the. top end of the paddock, where 118oz were obtAin**! for a wash-Tip. As the prospects were fair at the top face decent returns aTe expected. The directors of the Waikaia Gold Dredging Company have declared a divdend (the seventh) of Is per share, payable on Tuesday. 20th inst. The dredgemaster of the Sandy Point Gold Dredging Company reports — " Finished covering boiler and putting Injiue.l ia position.

on Thursday, and started dredging on Friday ] morning at S o'clock. There is a good deal of bailing to do, owing to the top stuff that has fallen in during the stoppage. Will wash j up during the incoming week-" - - ' At a meeting oi directors- <?f the New Roxbtrrgh Jubilee Dredging Company, held on Thursday, the secretary reported that the consulting engineer (Mr E. Roberts) had been, advised by MT UlTPhail that that gentleman j was progressing well with his salvage ar- i rangements, which comprised the fixing of winches, backers, and tackle for turning tha dredge over. He expected to be ready to turn the pontoons by about' the latter part of next week. Says the Mataxira Ensign r — "^Further evidence of the richness of the Waikaia gcCd.fields has been adduced by the success attending the operations of the most recently-started dredge in the district. After a great deal of worry and anxiety, the Magnum Bonum Gold Dredging Company "got a start on its claim in October last. Right from the commencement tfie dredge struck good "gold, and. success was at once assured. The largest return up to date has been 130oz for fotir days" work, while one week's wash-up panned out 150oz. Since commencing and up till last Friday, the dredge has returned an average of over 40oz per week, and this after allowing for a number of breakdowns incidental to the starting of most dredges. At a meeting of the company on Saturday evening a dividend of 2s 6d per share was declared, besides which a substantial balance was carried forward to allow for any contingencies that might arise. The capital of the company is £2500, and is represented by 10 shareholders." Marcr 17. Electric No. 1 dredge will not wash up this week owing to the rise in the river and stoppage for boiler inspection. The Molyneux Kohinoor dredge will not start for a fortnight. The overhaul revealed the necessity for repairs and renewals. The Unity Company's steam dredge, two boats, tools, and ail appliances now lying in the claim at Clyde were sold by auction by Messrs J. Samson and Co. on Friday for JE445. The purchaser was Mr J. A. Sligo, and the bidding started at £200. The Rise and Shine No. 2 dredge stopped on Friday for boiler inspection. A Gore paper states that the MacCharlton dredge and claim, have been disposed of for £750. Messrs Park, Reynolds, and Co. offered at auction on Friday the Alexandra Eureka dredge now lying at Alexandra. Bids started with £200, and ran up to £235, at which figure the dredge was passed in. The dredgemaster of the New Trafalgar Company reports under date 10th March trat he- had a short week's dredging, owing to minor stoppages. The ground worked was rough and stony, and fairly deep. He expects to be through this 1 week where the dredge originally started operations, and wilL then not have so much overburden to shift, and anticipates that the bottom will begin to rise? The dredgemaster of the Three-mile Greenstone dredge, reporting on the 10th inst., states that dredging is being continued in the north half of the face, and that a good many large boulders- are being: met with. The bottom is inclined to rise, and: the wash is looking: about the same all over the face. A break occurred in the main engine on the 13th inst. The dredgemaster expected to start on Friday night, I6th inst. The secretary of the Ettrick Company reports that the top tumbler of the Ettrick dredge broke on Friday morning last, and the tumbler, after being examined, was found to be worn considerably, and a new one waa ordered at once. The lower tumbler a few days ago previously had given trouble, neces- < sitating an order for a. new one being dis- j patched right away. It will probably take about three- weeks to get both tumblers cast, carried to the claim, and placed in position, ' and there will be no dredging during that period. It is understood that the Government's offer of £13,000 for the purchase of the Alex- i andra Bonanza Dredging and Sluicing Company's water rights, claim, and plnnt has been accepted by the company. This is a modified offer, the arrangements originally entered, into with the company by the Government having been for the purchase of the water rights, race^ and dams only. The Government now acquires both claims and plant as well. . March 1&. There waa no return from, the Wainiutnu Queen last week. The engines are. being repaired. The New Perseverance No. 1 dredge did not wash up last week. She is running on for another week. The ilasterton dredge started on Monday last, and a wire received at the end of the week stated that everything waa going well. The wire accompanying the announcement of the Rase and Shine Kb. 1 return stated that prospects were unchanged. No alteration is reported in. the condition of the Molyneux River, which remained at th<; 7ft 3m mark on Saturday. A. Westport telegram statss that the Westport Coal Company's output last week was 9067 tons 17cwtMarch 20. Tenders are invited for the purchase of the Taniwha Company's dredge and claim of abovit 30 acres on the Tuapeka River. The Molyneux River was at the 7ft mark at Alexandra, on Monday morning. The dredgemaster of the Hartley and Riley reports that he intended to resume dredging on Monday morning. The Chicago dredge started again on Monday. The master of the Rising Sun dredge reporta for the week ending 17th inst. — " Dredged 110 hours, and washed up on Friday »% Saturday waa bank holiday. The ground is too deep to bottom on the west side, a.nd in the centre of the cut it is very rough. Had a few mi«hapa to the machinery, and the headline broke on Monday, consequently the return was smaller than usual. Hope to get over the deep gutter in another week." j Mr A. E. Inder, mining engineer. Dunedin, has kindly permitted us to make the following extracts from a private letter recently received from Mr G. W. Martin, manager of the Bush Castle dredge. West Africa, which is the property of the Ankroba (Takquah and ; Abosso) Development Syndicate ■— " As you know. I arrived in "West Africa on June 30, and since then I have been very lucky, indeed. I completed the dredge (No. 2) in October, and , won for the company the ' magnificent ' return j of 13oz. During the month of November wo obtained 1440z, and during December 1920z. Up to the time of writing (January 12. 1905). I have over lOOoz in harid, and hope to get a great deal more by the end of the month. Dredging here is very like Nevis River dredging ; in fact, if the trees were absent, it would be a fac simile of the Nevis. The ground we are on nnv is about 80oz ground — very patchy, \no gold tapering away to SOjz a. we^k, \ and then going up to 90oz or lOOoz. Ono week j I obtained 970z for four days. The ground is ■ very easily treated, and the gold ia about onethird coarse, and the rest fine. After dredging here for a while two things are noticeable— ■ first, there is a rusty brown wash, or rather I gravel, and wherever this brown giavel is tho gold is invariably coaree The depth of the £i»vel is only sit of ilt. Seponclly, where tlie

wash is (this is proper wash as we understand? it in New Zealand) is milky white r the gold is very fine, and whenever we strike this I can reoken on 70oz to 90oz a week." The consulting- engineers to thi& syndicate ar« Messrs Inder and Henderson, of London, who were formerly of Dunedin, and the dredge referred 1 to- was- -designed by- the firm.