ENNER GLENN COALMINING COMPANY.

Colonist, Volume XLI, Issue 9109, 1 March 1898, Page 2

ENNER GLENN COALMINING COMPANY.

ANNUAL MEETING.

The second annual meeting of the shareholders in the above named Company was held last evening in the Oddfellows' Hall, when forty shareholders were present, and seventeen others' sent in proxies. Mr W. Haddow, Chairman of the Directors, presided.

The minutes were read and confirmed. Mr Bamford, the Secretary, read the report as follows : —

" At an extraordinary meeting o! shareholders held en (ha 14th January, 1897, a full report of what had been done at the mine up to th:t date waa presented.

*'At that meeting it was resolved that an at'empt should be made to float five hundred (500) additional shares, in ord-r t) provide euffioient capital, (l) to paj off all outsUndhg liabilities, (2) to provide improved hauling gear, (3) to centre up the old sh;ft, and (i) to open up the mine duriDg the summer months in suih a manner that the ooil could be worked on a larger scale daring the forthcoming winter.

"The required capital having been subscribed, the Direct rs proceeded [to carry oat the above mentioned measures. Their first intenfon wbb to prove the seam for a few hundred feet more to the south-west. Before the drive bad been pushed very f tr, however, a bad pinoh was encountered which threatened to oause a prolonged s'Ojpage of the supply of coal. In order to prevant this, a crosscut was driven in the footwall 14 feat above the roof of the main drive. By this means filling in material was obtained (o enable the supply of ooal from the stopcs to be continued, and the a'rata to the west were prospeoted for a distance of 86 feet. Although likelylooking country was driven through, n ) new seams of ooal were found.

" During the summer months the numb?r of bands has been redaoed, end those remaining have centred np the old ehaft, and have opened up the Beam, bo &3 to have everytning ready to put out ;a large supply of coal daring the winter, while at the same time, they have taken out sufficient coal to supply the demand.

" A pillar of 40 feet has been left between the filling in shaft and the workings. One connecting drive has already been put through this pillar.Ja id a seoond one 20 feet higher up is now in oourss of construction. When it is completed, the mine manager estimates that an ample supply of ooal for the coming winter will be readily available.

" Before the winter demand sets in, various improvements will have to be made in the hauling gear, and this the Directors have under their consideration at the present time.

" With regard to the future prospects of the mine, the Diectors would like to place the following facts before the shareholders : — The workings are at present bounded to the south-west by the pinch already referrep to, and it is not proposed to drive through this pinch till next summer. In the roof of the stope [now opened there is a splendid seam of coal, already proved 196 feet in length, with an average width of over 6 feet. The quality of this coal is equal to that of any that has ever been brought out of the mine. It is anticipated that this block will be worked at considerable profit. Nearly all the coal hitherto sent out of the mine has been obtained from the construction of shafts and drives, but now for the fiest time the coal will be stoped in the proper manner. On the data obtained during the next few months it will be possible to form some definite opinion as to the likelihood of the mine ultimately proving remunerative. The frequent occurrence of pinches is the worst feature about the seam, but it is expected that sufficient profit will be made out of the blocks to more than pay for the dead work involved in driving through the intervening pinches. Taking all facts into consideration, the Directors feel that they can fairly congratulate the' shareholders on the improved prospects of the mine.

Mr Bamford read the balance sheet,

The balance sheet and statement of assets and liabilities shew that with a a nominal capital of £5000 there is a subscribed capital of £1798. The sale of coal for the year ending 31st December 1897 brought £460 8a ; in wages £541 8s 2d had been paid, also £28 7s 7d on a coal hewing contract ,timber cost £58 ; Law expenses £39 : mining goods £37 ; plant £22 ; horse feed £ 17 ; Secretary's salary £50. The liabilities are shown to be £40 9s Id, and the assets £434 19s Id, the chief items being uncalled capital £259, unpaid calls £35 ; cost £30 ; horse, plant, .and cottage £100 ; while the value of the mine was put down as unknown

The Chairman hoped the shareholders would express their opinions freely, and give some directions as to the future working of the mine. He said the great difliculty the Directors had had to contend with was want of eapitaL They had to cIH then- coat according to the clctli. iirid lo endeavor to keep out of debt. The latter they had succeeded in doing. The working of the mine had given the Directors much aniious care and thought. It was very easy to write what they should do, but if they had not got the capital they couldnot do what other people suggested. So far the Company had only been prospecting; In reply to Mr Hornsby, the Chairman said they did not reach the seam of coal in the crosscut to the west, although the indications were favorable. They had not 1 the capital to continue operations in that i direction.

In reply to Mr Culliriane) the Chairman said the royalty paid on the coal taken out was one shilling per ton.

In reply to Mr Hornsby, the Secretary said that there were no arrears due for royalty.

Mr A. A. Scaife moved, and Mr W. V. Salter seconded, the adoption of the report and balance sheet.

Mr Gibbs said the block of coal they intended to get out for the winter demand was apparently a large one, about 200 feet long and six feet wide. They intended to improve the hauling gear, and to replace the present three-legged horse by a steam engine. They hoped to get a. considerable quantity of coal out of the block mentioned, but they could not guarantee the quantity, as the mine was remarkably tricky. The profit from the sale of coal during the coming winter, he hoped, would be devoted to further prospect the mine next summer. He considered, seeing that the demand for the coal in the summer was so limited, that it would have been unwise for them to have reduced the price of the coal. He did not consider the present price of the coal unduly high. If they had a large supply, as they expected to have, they might reduce the price somewhat in winter. The question of the price and sale of the coal had to be considered at the next meeting of Directors. In reply to Mr Ancell, the Chairman said the ventilation of the mine was thoroughly safe and good.

In reply to Mr Ancell, Mr Wise said there was very little water in the mine ; it was all shaft water, and the horse could draw out in an hour or so all the water made in a week.

In reply to Mr Hornsby, Mr Wise said the Government Inspector visited the mine about four months ago. Messrs A. A; Scaife, R. Snodgrass, and Mellett spoke of the necessity of having more capital to develop the mine. The first named gentleman said that a competent coal-mine manager told him that they would need to spend an additional £1,800.

The report and balance sheet were adopted.

The Chairman said the balance sheet

was made up to December 31st last. The Secretary had made up a further statement to date, which showed the available capital to be £262 8s lid. Mr Salter proposed the re-election of Messrs H. Baigent and Li Kerr, the retiring Directors. The Chairman said both gentleman, owing to a pressure of business, had declined to/be re-elected. Messrs Ancell, senior, W. Millar, and R. Watson were then nominated as Directors, and on a ballot being taken the Chairman declared the voting to have resulted as follows :— Mr Millar, 500 ; Mr Ancell, 467 ; Mr Watson, 179. Messrs Millar and Ancell were declared duly elected. Messrs L. Ken 1 , T. Neale, J. M. Calders, and Walter Snodgrass acted as scrutineers. Messrs H. Houosell and Newman were re-elected as Auditors at the same remuneration as they received last year. Mr A. A. Scaife proposed, and Mr Salter seconded, that the Directors be instructed to endeavor to float £2,500 of the unallotted capital within three months, failing which, they be instructed to call a special general meeting to consider the advisability of disposing of the mine. Mr Gibbs strongly opposed the proposition. He did not think that there was any prospect of floating the unallotted capital, and considered it was the wrong time to talk of disposing of the mine. Mr T. Pettit proposed that the proposition be amended by inserting " six months " in lieu of " three months," which was agreed to.

The resolution, as amended, was then put, and was declared lost by a large majority. Votes of thanks to the Directors, the Scrutineers, and the Chairman brought the meeting tc a close, it having lasted nearly three hours.