A NEW DREDGE.

Western Star, Issue 1292, 27 February 1897, Page 2

A NEW DREDGE.

Mr Samuel Lawson, of Elwood Park, Leith Valley, Dunedin has patented a portable hydraulic suction dredge for gold mining purposes The dredge is also said to be peculiarly adapted for deepening rivers or channels,. or for keeping mines and claims dry. The dredge is based on the suction principle. Force-pipes are attached to a dam of wood or iron, their number depending intireiy upon the width of the river or the quantity of water flowing. The force pipes lie at the bottom of the river at an angle of 15 degrees, inside the suction pipe, and the gravel is thus carried up through the force pipes into a large cable and thence to the sluice boxes. The dredge is made fast by anchor on the bank of the river, and is stayed by wire ropes or chains made fast from the tops to either sides of the bank. Stanchions fixed to cross-pieces in the bottom and carried above the dam are erected for raising and lowering the anchor. Generally speaking the dredge appears to be most suitable for river work, and one peculiar advantage claimed for It is that it leaves the river dry behind the dam so that it is possible to see any crevices, pot hole?, quartz veins, or any other minerals that might exist on the bed. In an averagesized river it is claimed that the dredge can be worked by three men and only an hour is occupied in erecting it ready for work. It is also claimed that it will work at any depth, and can bo managed with facility even where there is but little water.