MINING ITEMS.

West Coast Times, Issue 10429, 7 December 1896, Page 4

MINING ITEMS.

An interesting special article appears in a recent issue of the " Daily Mail " (Loudon) concerning the decadence in tin and copper mining in Cornwall, which is stated to be a vauishing industry. Mining is known to have been carried on in Cornwall in the time of the Phoenicians, and the birth of the industry is lost in antiquity. The writer says that where at one time nothing was to be seen but mine shafts and busy plants of machinery, now the machinery has been removed, and the buildings are roofless. These are known as " knacked bals," i.e., mines that have ceased working. In the whole county of Cornwall, where not iontj since over 20,000 men were employed in mining, the following are the only mines working :—: — Dolcoath, Wheal Grenville, Cam Brea and Tincroft, Kaat Pool, tbe Basset mines, Killifreth, West Kitty, and one or two others in the rich tin districts of St Agnes. The Dolcoath alone was able to pay a small dividend tc shareholders at the last meeting. The cause of this is that tin has fallen under £57 per ton, at which price produce is unprofitable in England, the fall being due to the great production in the Straits Settlements aud other places where cheap labour rules. The calls for the past 10 months at Charters Towers aggregate £110,536, and the dividends £201,239, or £90,703 to the good. « In Siam they have been mining for centuries, but the appliances are still primitive. In some far- back places the quartz is crushed with stones or pieces of wood, fitted on to bamboos*, the battery being worked by water power, Living is cheap, and a few pennyweights per month keep a family. The veinsof quartz are chiefly leaders, and are not continuous.

The half yearly meeting of shareholders in the Mt Ljell Coy was held on Nov. 27th in Melbourne. The report gives a complete account of the half year's work in the miue, in thp metallurgical w-irks, and at the railway. Since the issue of the report shares have advanced. The bauk overdraft is £12,564, but the net value of the stuff on hand is £25,290.

A large number of leases have lately been taken up in the neighbourhood of the Monaich mine, in the Alpine region above Harrietville.

The September output of the Witwatersrand gold mines at Johannesburg baa been declared at 202,5610z, a total larger than that for September, 1895, by 77970z. For the first 9 months of the year tle total output was 1671,0760z against i.711.3370z for the corresponding period last year. The effects of the Jameson raid are still manifest, for otherwise there can be no doubt that a considerable increase would have been shown". Johannesburg gold ia worth on the averse jbout £3 7s 6d per oz. The output for the nine mouths may therefore be valued <ib £5, 640,0(10, a large sum to be derived from .1 small district. There are other goldfields in South Africa, and the total export of raw gold via Cbpe Town for the 9 months has amounted to £6,061,801. Next to gold, diamonds form the most valuable staple, the amount bein« Jt'3,374,818.