C—3.

QUAETZ-MINING. During the year a considerable amount of development-work has been in progress in the several mining districts of the North and Middle Islands. Ground has in several instances been well tested and opened up, and machinery erected on a fairly extensive scale at some of the newer ventures, whilst at several old mines improvements in machinery, &c, have been effected with a view to more efficient and economical working. In a few instances I have been pleased to note the foresight displayed in well proving the ground before going to the expense of laying down costly plant, and so satisfying the proprietaries of the future character of the undertakings. Some cases have come under my notice where, if the properties had been handled in a comprehensive manner, and opened out on a fairly extensive scale, splendid results would have been obtained; but, although these same properties have given fairly good returns at times, in spite of being intermittently worked, they are small in comparison to what would have been the case had sufficient capital been employed and the mines opened out and equipped with; first-class machinery and gold-saving processes in the first instance. Taken as a whole, this branch of the industry may be said to be on a sound footing, and there is every reason to expect an increase in the output of gold from the quartz-mines of the colony. The following statement shows the companies operating in New Zealand whose headquarters are outside the colony, together with the nominal amount of their capital:—

21

Name. Locality in which Nominal Operations Share are being carried on. Capital. London Office. Achilles Gold-mines Anglo-Continental Gold Syndicate (Limited) Anglo-New Zealand Mines Investment Apakura Syndicate Aroha Gold-mines Australasian Gold Trust Blagrove's Freehold Gold-mining Company Blue Spur and Gabriel's Gully Consolidated Goldmining Company Britannia (Hauraki) Gold-mining Company C.N.Z. Syndicate Collingwood Goldfields Otago General Aroha Taitapu, Nelson.. Coromandel Otago £ 92,000 100,000 100,000 1,800 100,000 500,000 62,500 130,000 6, Queen Street Place. Austinfriars, London. 54 and 55, London Wall. 10, Bloomfield Street. 30 and 31, St. Swithin's Lane. 9, St. Mildred's Court, E.C. 97, Dashwood House, E.C. 6, Great St. Helen's, E.C. Coromandel General Collingwood, Golden Bay Coromandel Beefton General 100,000 10,000 150,000 34 and 36, Gresham Street, E.C. 46, Queen Victoria Street, E.C. Colville Company Consolidated Goldfields of New Zealand Coromandel Exploration Syndicate Cromwell Proprietary Dolooath Gold-mining Company (Hauraki Peninsula, New Zealand) Dual Syndicate East Hauraki Gold-mining Ethel Beef Gold-mining Company Fame and Fortune Finance, Mines, Industries Association Fortuna (Hauraki) Gold-mines Glenrock Consolidated (Limited) Gloucester Gold-mining Company Golden Blocks Golden Eclipse Mine (Hauraki) Golden Lead of Hauraki.. Golden Pah (Hauraki) Goldfields of Hauraki Prospecting Syndicate Goldfields of New Zealand Gold Trust of New Zealand Good Luck Gold-mines of New Zealand Grey Consolidated Hauraki Associated Gold Beefs Hauraki (Auckland) Goldfields Syndioate Hauraki Development Syndioate Hauraki East Hauraki Golden Age Mines Hauraki Golden Bay Mines Hauraki Gold-mining Company Hauraki New Hauraki (New Zealand) Associated Gold-mines Hauraki Peninsula Exploration Hauraki South Gold-mining Company Hikutaia Gold Syndicate Humphrey's Hydraulic Sluicing Inkerman Combined Gold-mines Irene (Hauraki) Gold-mine Island Block Gold-mining Company J.B. Exploration Syndicate Kapai-Vermont Gold-mining Company Kapanga Gold-mining Company Karaka (Limited) Kathleen Crown .. ,. Kathleen Gold-mine Kauri Freehold Gold Estates Kawarau Dredging Company Coromandel General Coromandel Te Aroha Thames Thames General Thames Taitapu, Nelson.. Thames Coromandel General Grey Coromandel General Thames General Thames General Coromandel 7,500 225,000 2,000 100,000 150,000 10,000 100,000 200,000 50,000 5,000 50,000 225,003 120,000 100,000 75,000 100,000 62,500 3,000 100,000 100 75,000 200,000 100,000 10,000 25,000 150,000 7, Drapers' Gardens, E.C. 11 and 12, Cornhill, E.C. 6, Great St. Helen's. 54, Old Broad Street, E.C. 142 and 143, Palmerston Buildings, E.C. 3, Clement's Lane, E.C. Finsbury House. Dashwood House, E.C. 110, Cannon Street. 3, Laurence Pountney Hill, E.C. 35, Queen Street, E.C. Throgmorton]House, E.C. 11, Old Broad Street, E.C. Moorgate Court, E.C. 97, Dashwood House, E.C. 53, New Broad Street, E.C. 13, St. Helen's Place. E.C. 4, Great Winchester Street, E.C. 15 and 16, George Street, S.W. Winchester House. 36, Basinghall Street, E.C. 150,000 40,000 150,000 100,000 20,000 90,000 15,000 150,000 200,000 80,000 60,000 5,000 150,000 250,000 150,000 75,000 75,000 250,000 15,000 6 and 7, Grocers' Hall Court, E.C. 13 and 14, Abchurch Lane, E.C. 8, Old Jewry, E.C. 97, Dashwood House, E.C. 3, Princes Street. Thames Coromandel Ohinemuri Humphrey's Gully General Kuaotunu Otago 7, Great Winchester Street. Suffolk House, E.C. 11, Cornhill, E.C. 15 and 16, George Street, S.W. Dashwood House. 4, Lombard Court, E.C. Kuaotunu Coromandel Thames Coromandel 1, St. Helen's Place, E.C. 97, Dashwood House. General Kawarau Biver, Otago Ohinemuri Dashwood House. Dashwood House. 6, Drapers' Gardens. Key of Komata Komata Exploration Company Komata Beefs Gold-mining Company 100,000 34 and 36, Gresham Street, E.C. 31, Lombard Street, E.C. 97, Dashwood House. 100^000