MINING. WEEK'S MINING NEWS

Otago Witness, Issue 2902, 27 October 1909, Page 27

MINING. WEEK'S MINING NEWS

October 20. 'The Rise and Shine No. 2 diedge revimed dredging on Friday. The Mystery Flat dredge worked the full face last week, and got over less rround than usual, owing to its deepening a good deal on the western side, where, also, the stripping had become heavier m places. The bottom was mainly of red day and 6and. The report from the master of the Manuherikia dredge for last week stated tfiat there' ttsks a great imp«>«ai«it in the ground, and he thought it would continue, as he had got soft bottom nearly right across the river. Everything was working well. -Writing under date October 9 the manager of the Mount Rex tin mine reports a.6 follows:--'' Removing lode capping from No. 1 face, which is overlaying the pa-yable stone. No. 2 open face has produced most of the crushing dirt this week. The battery cruc-hed 128 tons; stopped 40 houTS during the week while alterations were being made.*' The master of the Waikaia dredge reports that There ie no change ot any importance in the nature of the dredging face. The ground got slighu'y shallower, itnd the heavy clay overlying the maori bottom gave out to a greax extent. The dredge ie now 100 yards from the bottom of the block, but he expects to get batter ground before ireaahing the old paddock, j Owing to the high state of the river last week the drift was very heavy and stopped all the gorge dredges. Unless this summer is an abnormally dry one it is feared that the river will keep high all the season. Quite a number of dredges have failed to show a return during the past week. j The secretary of the Molyntux Hydraulic Company reports that there was no washup last week. The staff has been busily engaged sluicing away the tailings next to tho river and dredging was resumed on Sunday night. The dredge is working a very high bank at present. ! The secretary of the Nokomai Hydra u'.ic Sluicing Company reports that the progress made at No. 1 during the week has been satisfactory. The pump has been removed in to cut out well-hole, etc-, and is 'io;y in a position to serve for stripping , t!i**>e more paddocks. The weather ha^ bawl stormy. The work at No. 2 has ■ prog;-«66ed "but slowly, the stones met w ith b»iri{r large. No. 3 had a fujl week's ! siuicing, am) made" good progress, having iiy*?n off 20ft. Pheie is not much room fcr. r.h'o top material as ths paddock is le?g* Mr 3/»l>»rt Cotton, who is largely in tc--p.s>Uf in the development of Waipori r*ef», ksfoi-ms the Tuapeka Times tlw,t he has bean assured that bOO horse-power will be available for Waipori when the City Council's electrical power plant has been duplicated. The power required w ill, it Vs Ntid, be supplied at a moderate charge. In* Thames Ad\ertiser states it is reLVWJfinl that a company, which is backed by English capital, has been formed to wsrV borne of the special claims at Te : Aroha. This district appears to be coming more into favour, and seeing that the lodes are large and though refractory, in j many oaaes highly payable, there is' no reason why with the improved gold-saving applances now available the Te Aroha district should not again come to the fore- v Some very fine specimens of ore ■were broken out at various mine^ in that locality eoine years ago, but the ncc-e&saiy plant for its successful reduction was not available at that time. October 2. The master of the Enterprise dredge reports that the prospects have improved, and he expects a better return this week. • The master of the Olrig dredge reports ' that the piece, of ground next to the Springs ale tailings was ■very poor and iosoe. The cut generally is looking- poor. The Rise and Shine Xo. 1 dredge woiked Bft ah«ad last week. Thev-s was not much change in the prospects. The cut was 520U wide, and from 42ft to 48ft deep. A return of 750z for 204 hours' dredgingis reported from the Paracale dredge. The Hartley and Riloy dredgo was ready to resume dredging last week, but was unable to start owing to the high state of the river. J The EarnscJeuprh No. 2 dredge stopped work on the 13th for repairs. New screen plates and plates on the top tumbler are to bo put on. This dredge is now 14ft above . the le\el of the river. The shaker on the Lowburn dredge is reported .to be working very eatisfactorily, and is said to be a great improvement on the screen. i Riley's Reward dredpre ceased work last ! •week (says the Cromwell Argus-) to have ; tho hang-ers repaned and a new bottom 1 tiynbler fitted. ' The master of the Good Chance dredge, ! JKSporting on the 17th inst., state* that the tt^Deesafy repairs have been pushed on. • yftft wn has been engaged in placing a - ftCt ViAQal i& position, cutting screen \

| plates, repairing and re-lipping buckets, 1 etc. The gold return for the Dominion durt ing last month was 38,3100z, as compared with 49,4400z for the corresponding month of last year. During the past three months, however, the total gold output has held its own, the July return being 11,3530z in excess of the same month last year. The master of the Electric No. 3 dredge says dredging was carried on steadily up to Wednesday morning, when it was found that the crank shaft of the main engine was fractured, and the broken shaft will reach Xhinedin on the 21st for repairs. The secretary advises that arrangements have been made to have the shaft returned to reach the dredge on Tuesday, 26th inst. The master of the Electric No. 1 dredge, reporting on, the 18th inst., states that the dredge worked 134 hours for 18ft ahead. The depth in the deepest part continues about 38ft, and the bottom is composed of pipeclay. On account of heavy drift, the width of the cut has been considerably reduced, the dredge keeping on the Bannockburn side of the river. At the latter end cf last week an improvement was shown, and all going well there should be a fair return this week. j At the beginning of last week ths headlines of the Punt dredge were shifted up the river, a heavy gale making the work unusually hard. After getting the dredge shifted, the line was only got into position o i Tuesday, and dredging started at 6.30 o'clock that evening out in the river. On , Thursday morning the drift had to be baled, a strong current running. The cut is only a chain wide, but is opening out as the dredge works ahead. The dredge was pulled ahead on Friday, and bottom was found at 26ft. It was a sandstone bottom, with a little heavy gold in it, and with much better indications for goldbearing. If the dredge works far ) enough back into tho flat it is relieved that it is almost certain to strike the run j Riley Revival is on, as indications point to the lead making rii?ht through the flat. i According to the Australian Mining Standard the rich patch of golden stone broken out at the Woah Hawp Canton mine, Ballarat East (Victoria), on the 2nd inst., and which weighed 170cz in the rough, yielded 150oz of gold when cleaned, the gold being nearly all in one piece. They also picked out 104oz of specimens, believed to contain at least 60oz of g-o]d. El- 1 the richest prize the mine has ever ! given to its owners was a 500oz nuegot | picked out from the north intermediate ■ drive ; the treasure was at once taken to ' the bank, where it is being x properly cleaned and treated. During the first five working days of Jhis month the company won over 2250z of gold, and tho whole of it had come from a length of about t 150 ft in the indicator. Other mines in , the vicinity are faring mceerately well; , the New Normanby has reported 64Jioz. ■ representing about l£oz per ton, and has <*ft of stone at 800 ft, 3ft of fair quality quartz at 1500 ft. while at 1400 ft the drive ton the new indicator the stone shows ( rouflh gold in a big body of moderate . grade. The 6pecimens secured by the North Woah Hawp from the indicator ( contained 550z. The Britannia United also secured 30oz of specimens from a fir- { ing at the 950 ft level, and these are believed to be half gold. October 22. In reporting a return of soz 14dwt tor 135 houra' dredging:, -the master of the Wai- , kaia. dredge states that tho cut has nar- , 3 owed to 100 ft in width. t Ths master of the South Waikaia dredge reports a fair week's dredging, but the ground showed no improvement. The depth was from 24ft to zhtx on a '"Maori" bottom, the width of the face being 2i chains. All the gearing was working well. Otago No. 1 dredge had a broken week's ' .iork last week, and is now stopped to have new screen plates and elevator lower tumbler flt f ed, and when this is completed the dredge will start work in the bank. The No. 2 dredge had a good mn lust week, but owing to the rise in the river j the drift was very troublesome. { The gold prodjetinn of New Zealand, > New South Wales, Victoria, and Wosiern j ; Australia during the past nine months of j the present year, shows a falling oft" of j 102,60307, as compared w ith the correspond- j ing period of last year New Zealand's ! sharo in the shortage is 14,809o'?, New ' South Wales 19,37407, Victoria 29,766cz, | Western Australia 38,6540z. During the j first nine months of last year the total out- I pul of gold fiom all the above States was ' 2 ; 252,6220z. For the first nine months ot i the present year the output amounted to i 2,150,0190z. Octobei 23. j The directors of the Mystery Flat dredge ' have declared a dividend of Is 6d per share, i payable to-day. | The Alexandra Euieka diedge resumed operations last week, after being .shifted ■ further up the ri\er. i The master of tho Sandy Point dredge < reports having dredged up to last Friday i morning, and then being compelled to st'ip ' owing to a hi oak in (he links of tho main ' elevator. Th" 1 buckets ueie coupled up j again on Saturday, mid a «tait v, as niiide to ; repair srrivn liners. The top tumblrr '< ;n rived at iho dredq-a l.i-t Saturday, and ho ' eNj^etcl to bo (mis-hpcl in tune to resume drpc^ino; on Wednesday. ' Tho niuvsi- of the S*V>w Roxburgh Jubileo drerlg-o report ■> that this wock'.s return of 260/ for 132 hours uas obtained from paitially worked ground. As sc.iiia confusion appear? to have aii^n ' concerning the positions of the throe Elec- I li-ie di-odge»«. th^ secrptaiy of the companj I hits furnished the following- pai ticuJaiv; ■— Electric Xo. 1 dredge has bo n n working th-c };reat?r part of thn In^t financial year on ! what •-> knov.n as the Xo. 2 Electiic claim, ! and, although woiking the ground for th * [ second timo, succeeded in getting a re-turn of 48oz sdwt for fi\c days' dredging (lining the past week. This particular claim i- , feiiuar-ed below the Bannockburn biidge, j and. having proved unpiofitable. the Xo. 1 ' (Jredn;3 v, as shifted up to th» bottom bow"darv of the No. 1. or original Electric claim. The No. 2 dredgo is at present vorkine at the ujjper end of this daim also. No. 3 dredge is about six miles fur- ' ther down the ri\er, nnci has .stopped work- . inj?, and it is proposed to shift No. 2 dredge , from her ore-sent position down to the Xo. ' Z claim as soon a.« the rjvor is high enough, ' j and Xo 3 dredsre will be dismantled. I . A dividend (tho thirty-third) of 2s per i share has bepn deelaied by the directois ' of th" Rise and Shine Ccmpanv, payable i to-day. October 25. Last week's return of 260z for the Nov.- | Xfw Roxburgh Jubilee dre'lfco was won in i i 132 hours from partially worked yround. ' i The return of 4Ccz 12d\vt from the 1

1 Muddy Creek No. 1 dredge last <veek in1 eluded blowings, and was tie i^?iilL of ' 250 hours' dredging. The manager of the New Sylvia mine (Auckland) reports having struck a newquartz vein at the 54ft le^el. The vein runs north and south, with a din to the j west, and is reported to be carrying good I minerals. I Crushing was started at the Waiotahi batterj last Monday with 20 heads of stampars working eight hours per day. The manager reports having taken 220z I 15dwt off the amalgam plates, and had 150 tons of ore carted to the batterj'. The secretary of the Otago Company reports that the No. 2 dredge, which obtained a return of 17oz, experienced a good deal of trouble from drift l<tet week. The No. 1 dredgo is undergoing repairs. The secretary of the Tarawe-ra Gold Mining and Smelting Company (Ltd.) has just received a cablegram from Mr P L j Gilkison an.i Mr C. E. Storie> the engineer i for the company, now in Sydney, that they J have procured a highly suitable smelter at a very satisfactory- price. This (says the Southland Times) is good news for the shareholders. The price *sked for this smelter in the first instance was considered ] to be prohibitive, but Messrs Gilkison and j Storie are to be congratulated on the good j bairgain they have now made. Under I favourable circumstances th& mm© should ! be in active operation early next month. j In his annual report on the quartz mines in the Auckland distdict Mr F. J. Burgees, I warden, says :—" On a review of the whole | gcldfieHs it must be admitted that the , amount of gold obtained during the past , year is r.ot, ccmniensurat.3 with the work , done and the capital expended. The total | for the whole district, amounting to j £1.302,664 certainly appears large, but when we dsducc from this amount the bullion won the Waihi and Talisman mines— £896,743 and £218,975 respectively—we reduce the yield from the rest of the goldfields to £186,947, and of this the greater nortior, £144.862, is detived from the j Ohinemuri portion of the district. When j ona considers the number of mines in operation throughout the entire district, ar.l *he eggregato amount of work carried out upon it. it is easy to realipp that a very large proportion of the money which is expended upon tliem and ivhieli maintains tbam in operation comes from the pockets )f the shareholders. It is owing to the support afforded by persons who interest themselves in mining in this district that the vitality of the goldfields is maintained. No doubt what is done is done in the hope of ultimate reward, but all the same a word of praise is due to these people for their enterprise and perseverance. In mj opinion this outlay is justified by the possibilities of success, for there is undoubtedly immense latent wealth in these mountains, which can' only be brought to light by a large expenditure of capital. if the operations at the deep levels at Thames, to which all aro anxiously looking forward, prove a success, a new era of prosperity will dawn for this portion of the goldfleld, reviving its former importance as a mining field." October 26. The Molyneux River was 6ft 9in above the normal mark at Alexandra on Monday morning, and the weather was dull. i The master of the No Town Creek dredge reports a return of 28oz for 127 hours' dredging. The master of the Punt dredge reports a return of 18oz 4d\vt. He i 6 opening out the cut, and states that prospects aro fair. Tho following returns are reported from the West Coast:—New Trafalgar, lQoz 3dwt for 13], hours; Worksop, 230z 13dwt for 115 hours, Blackwater River, 30oz 15dwt for 123 hours. The Thames Star reports a net return of £431 18s 5d for 98 tons of or-a from the New Sjlvia mine, which shows a profit to the company over working expenses. It is imported that the Cardrona Company's d'ec'ge has staited dredging at i Boundary Creek. This dredge is operated by water power, which will reduce working expenditure, and it is said that the machinery is working smoothly. The master of the Central Charlton dredge states that thorp is no change to report in the nature of the ground, which [ continues veiy poor end drifty. The winch • gearing continues to give a good deal of i trouble, being too soft to stand the wear. l Tiia master of the Rising Sun dredg© repoite that li 9 dredged 128 hours last week, and worked ahead 9ft on a cut the u-sual width of 200 yards. There was no change in the nature of the ground or bottom. PrcspecLs continue Ltir, and the machinery is running well. '1 ho secretary of the New Luggate H\draulic Sluicing Company has a telegira.m fio-n the local director (Mr T. M'Laughlin, Lucjgate) that th<> manager had washed up 60oz for four weeks' elevating. A? tho , capital of thi* company is only £2000, and thrtiv* is practically an unlimited area, of irr-ound w hWi has been tested by boring, al^o the right 'j-j 21 heads of water from an unfailing -upply, with a pressure of 300 ft, i the foitunate shareholders possess a pro-pc-rty foc-or.d to none in ths Cromwell district. It is anticipated that all liabihtic-s will ba paid off by Christmas, and tho fh-oi dividend declared. Tho monthly nafjes of iibout £7G are the only liabilities to ba met, all above that amount is piofit. Tho prpciMit manager (Mr K. H'^hley) is to he roinmcndcJ for producing such excellent ', re-ulw '. ' ,