WEEK'S MINING NEWS

Otago Witness, Issue 2883, 23 June 1909, Page 28

WEEK'S MINING NEWS

June 16. The Ladysmith Company has washed up /or a return of 109oz of gold as the result of four weeks' sluicing. j The rnino superintendent of the Grand Junction Company has wired that in order to effect necessary repairs to the electric pump, operations on the No. 5 level wfll > be suspended for a .few days. j A re-turn of Uloz sdwt, tb» resujt of about a week's work, is reported from the King dredge. The dredge closed down on Monday pending a meeting of directors. | The secretary of the Good Chance-Com-pany received ths following wire from the dredgemaster late yesterday - afternoon :—: — "Still dredging; river very high; may have to stop to-morrow. '' \ The Mystery Flat dredge worked only ' 103 hours last week owing to the simultaneous breaking of two pins, causing the bucket band (o fair into the paddock. The ground was much the sam,e as usual. I The directors of the Alpine Consols. Dredging Company have been forced to ' issue a circular calling a meeting of shareholders to consider a motion advising the winding up of the company. The Ma-sterton dredgemaster reports as ' follows under date June 13: — "We had a broken run this week, the .principal stop- ! page being to put in the new«top tumbler I The ground keeps about the same, and there is no change to report." i

The secretary of the Nokomai Hydraulic Sluicing Company reports from No. 1 elevator that slight showeis of rain with intermediate sunshine causing snow to melt brought 'nearly a full supply of water. Frost, however. «»t in and olevatinz had to be suspended for a short time. No. 2 reports that the dam" ran empty at midnight on Wednesday, and by Friday had filled again, when sluicing was resumed. Work for extending the plant down the flat is proceeding. At No. 3 work is going on satisfactorily, and the water sunnly is good.

The South Waikaia dredge worked half the week on very poor ground on the river Bid© of the cut, the depth being much the same as last week. There is little wash and much drift, but as there is only a small piece of this ground the master has dropped it and turned west. He is now picking up some of the old cut, which was dropped to enable the dredge to be turned when" this point was reached. The machinery is running well.

A report comes from the Mount Rex tin mine, Avoea, dated June 5. stating that the collar of the- shaft has been made eecure, and that a windlass lias" been placed over it. The shaft Las been sunk 3ft in payable lodo matter, making a total of 19ft from the surface. The following wire has been recehed from the master ' of the Lady Roxburgh dredge : — " Stopped ; drift too heavy ; short overhaul centrifugal pump, drop chute, and bucket bushes." The Waikaia dredgemaster reports that the face has not been widened this week, and will be continued at the same width up to_ the top of the cut. A slight improvement took place in the wash last week, but it becam-e poorer ag-ain. The depths are 26ft from the water line in the centre to 24ft. on the west corner, risinc vertically in the east corner to 14ft. Half of the face is " maori " bottom and half red clay. v June 17. The Rise and Shine No. 2 dredge worked the usual cut last week. The wash cut out an what had been the best part, owing 1 to this bottom dipping. The depth varied from 38ft to 46ft. ..The progress report of the Mount Lyell Mining and Railway Company for the fortnight ending Jurie 2 states that 1355 lons S>l blister copper have beep; consigned lor «ha current half-year. ' ..." , A fair run for a poor return is reported fioai the Punt dredge. 'Ihe_ ground is t>atchy. The dredgemaster will continue on ''chis ground for another week, and if no improvement shows ' he ' will turn into the flat. , ' . '. -- •- •- . .-.The TTalismafr Company's Karangahafce offiW wired to the local Exchange that /-he -annual meeting of the company,- waa Jietd in London yesterday. The directors' ifeportj the accounts, and the payment of is bonus were approved, and Mr Macalist-er elected to the board of directors. Reporting on June 14, the master of the No. 1 dredge stated that he worked >nJj about twp days during the past week.

As thie drift continued to run very heavily, on "Wednesday a start was made to repair the screen. ' Having cleaned out the boiler, i he has some repairs to make to the main ! engine and buckets, which would keep all hands busy for the greater part of this week. The Electric No. 2 dredge worked 102 hours up to Friday morning for 6ft ahead, the out being about 150 ft wide and the dredging depth about 42ft, except at the sides. The return was for 14 shifts, a | shift being lost on both Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as two r on the previous Saturday. A. shift was also lost on Friday, causing the wash-up to foe postponed till Siturda-y, and this will tell against the present week's return. The drift was very bad nearly all the week, and. in conjunction with varrious stoppages, prevented the dredge from making more than 6ft ahead instead of the usual 15ft or 18ft The ground appears to be improving, and fair returns would probably be got with a favourable river. The following is taken from the weekly report of the Good Chance dredgemaster. da.ted June 15 : — " The bucket protector -was put on and riveted up, ths tumbler was put in, the bucket string coupled up,some buckets and links rebushed, and the ladder roller taken out and another put in. ! Dredging was resumed on- Wednesday at 7 '"■ p.m. I started to work into ths hank, but ths high reef prevented me from getting far enough in, as the face would not fall in. Thk part of the bank can be worked lo -better advantage with a high river. As the river was fairly steady at time of starting, I detided to work out into the river, the paddock being filled up. It has taken some time to clean out, but I have bottomed with fair prospects. The prospects at time of writing are very good, but tileground >s very deep. If I can keep going I expect a fair return. The weather here has 'be^n mild, and this has biought the snow away." The statistics relating the the Tasmanian mining industry- for the quarter ending Maroh 31 disclose that the gold won during the quarter amounted to 10,9320z of quartz and cyanide, and 750z of alluvial. The respective figures for the corresponding period of 190S were 16 6960z, and 1440z: Of the 1909 quarter's output 6088oz of quartz came from north and south districts, &nd 15790z from the wsst. The total silverlead ore won amounted to 13,473 tons, as against 17,817 tons for ths same quarter last year. Of tin ore produced there were 862 tons, a'i compared with 1045 tons produced in the corresponding period of the previous year. Of miners lhsre were employed 5597 Europeans and- 96 Chinese. During the first quarter of last year the figures were ,6698 Europeans and 76 Chinese-. June 18. The Good Chance dredgemaster wired yesterday that he had stopped dredging and was washing up. At a meeting of the directors of the King Dredging Company held yesterday afternoon, it was decided, in view of the poorness of the ground, to clos-a down permanently and realise' on the company's assets. The secretary of the Otago Company reports a full week's run from both dredges. Owing to the rise in the mer the dredgemaster of the No. 1 has shifted the dredge further out in the river towards the east side, to try and avoid the drift. The drift will probably interfere wilh the return from the No. 2 this week. June 19 The master of the Now Roxburgh Jubilee dredge reports a return of 20oz sdwt. Operations were hinder-ad on account of the high river. The Electric No. 2 dredgemaster reports that the river is keeping high, and that the drift is bad.

The" return of 118oz sdwt from the Good Chance dredge "is the result of a week's work, but included is the time occupied m cleaning out the paddock. The Sandy Point dredgemaster finished his »york to the elevator last Saturday, with the exception of putting on a rope-wheel gangway and ballasting the pontoons forward. Mr Payne visited the dredge on Monday, and advised further alterations, more tie- ropes, wind stajs, etc. Thi» work is expected to occupy *h-i rest of the weeL. Our Wellington correspondent informs u« that the Cabinet last night voted £2000 for the Muddy Terrace Sluicing Company, being the balance of the loan made to the company under the Mines Act. It is expected that the company's works will be in full swing in about a fortnia-ht. The value of the output of the copper mines of New South Wales for the year 1908 v- estimated at £302.812. This i* £224,962 los^ than in the previous year, and is the lowest value recorded for the production since 1904.

June 21. A stoppage of the Waikaka Queen dredge has been caused by leaking rubes Operations with the new Roxburgh Jubilee dredge la*t week were hindered on account of the high river. The New Trafalgar CJcmpanv'a return last week was obtained from the western section

The Punt dredgemaster wires that pros nects are poor.

The No Town Creek dredgemastpr ad vises that the heavy rains have prevented the completion of repairs, and in consequence there will be no wash-up ihis week.

The Good Change dredg-ema-ster reports as follows under date June 17: — " Ths ruer has been very high, and is a;oin<> down very slowly owing to the lake being up. I nulled into the bank, and have been working un that pai t of ihe cut Tt is high, rough, and shallow. When this is brouerht up le\el wilh the outside of the cut I expect (o have to shut down for some time, as I rould not boftoni. Ther*> is very good gold ahead of the dredge if the river was only suitable." As previously staled, the dredgemaster shut down en the 17th.

Tho Mininsr Journal (London; pstimates that; the world* pold yield in 1908 was valued at £88. 04^ 000. a.s r-omnared wilh £59,423,000 in 1898. The British Empire contributed 60,2 .per cent. (£53.040.000), as against 57 per cent (£33.938,000) a deca'Jc apro " Th(» following items of- interest, ars from the Lake Count rv Prpss : — , " The United Goldfields of New Zealand Comp?-nv pHr"pc«ea pushing on work in a vigorous wav within the next few we»ks. A numter'of men will also be put on within the next few wesks.. A start will l>£ ms<s? with the machine sites The Tranacrino- eusrineer. Mr L. O. Bea!. will vi«it ih» /»lainii in a wfy?k r> r c o for the niimoso of laving outworks. Th° Homeward Bound i* lookincr extremely well and we understand a big 1 body of payable quaitz is in si^hl.

The stone in the Garibaldi is also highly payaibie. We predict a busy tips at thw Macctown reefs next spring.— The Arrow River Company has ceased operations till the spring Although tha weather is open, it is not considered advisable to put the plant in working order fot a brief period, as the frost might interfere wilh operations any rime now — The Wakatipu Pros.pect : ng Syndicate is giving the Billy Creek practically an unknown field — a thorough prospecting. There is a i-ery interesting formation in this locality, which it is proposed to thoroughly prospect. — Many years ago a reef known as the Criterion, in tha Arrow Borough extension, was worked profitably. From information gleaned it yielded some very good returns, but the then expensive •methods of -Jealino- with the quartz hampered operations, and finally the claim was abandoned. Latterly one of the Mining Syndicate's workmen wa-s put on to prospect in the locality, and he traced the lines of reef a very considerable distance. A trench was also cut across the eurface in the vicinity of the old working, and gold was obtained in. the rubble. Pieces of quartz also showed gold We understand ir is proposed to sink a .<haft on the line of reef and this would appear to be ibe beat means of thoroughly prospecting tiie reef — The terrace sluicing claims at Shippers a,ra finishing up for the wintei-. The past prolonged Jrr soaAon. has been against this clats of mining."

June 22.

The river was 7ft above the normal mark at Alexandra on Monday, and theweather was mild.

A return of 109oz for 125 hours' dredging id reported by the secretary of the Paraeale Gold Dredging Company.

A return of 250z 13dnt for 110 hours ha-s been obtained frorru the Blackwafcer dredge. The directors of the New Trafalgar Company have declared a dividend of Is per share, payable to-morrow. The No Town Creek Company reports that repairs have been completed and dredging started ag-ain.

The master of the Rising Sun dredge in his report for the week ended June 19 stated that he had dredged 112 hours. A lot of time' was lost through encountering a nest of large flat stones on the bottom. Another week's' work should take the dredge up into' the old cut. There is no change to report in the ground, and prospects continue fair.

The last return from the Central Charlton claim was won from sections 5 and 4. The cla\ is vei-y plentiful and the wash hard, making the ground difficult to treat. Mr A. E. Drucker. metallurgist and engineer for an English and American company, is at present in New Zealand. His special mission is to visit the world's most important mining centres for the purpose of gathering information concerning the methods and conditions of treating auriferous ores. Mr Druoker has inspected the Waihi a.nd Waihi Grand Junction mines, Waihi. His recent pass of the examination for a battery supeiinteaident's certificate (says the Westport News of Jxine 7) places Mr Sidney Fr\'", director of the Westport Slsbool of Mines, in a unique position in New Zealand, as he now holds certificates as metalliferous mine manager, colliery manager, and battery superintendent. The highest numbei of these certificates held by anyone olse in the Dominion is two, so that Mr Fry may be considered the best diplomaed mining man in the Dominion. These certificates eaititlc Mr Fry to manage any. kind of mine or reduction works where chemical processes are used.