C.—2,

During the year the Fruidburn Sluicing Company installed a plant in the upper section of the Fruidburn Creek, E. Searle, manager. Three men employed; 7,550 cubic yards treated, yielding 20 oz. 17 dwt. 5 gr. of gold, valued at £154 2s. sd. Mining operations were resumed at Pauls Beach, below Beaumont, by Mr. J. Smith, who installed further plant, built a dam, and reconditioned the water-races. Operations had not reached the producing stage. The chief producers were W. M. Quilter, Waitahuna; R. S. Thompson, Lawrence; A. and R. Brown, Tuapeka Mouth. A total of 280 men, inclusive of all companies, was employed in the Tuapeka County, winning 2,076 oz. 4 dwt. 23 gr. of gold, valued at £15,049 4s. lOd. Taieri County. Seventeen men were engaged in fossicking, prospecting, and mining, winning 20 oz. 15 dwt. 20 gr. of gold, valued at £146 15s. sd. Bruce County. Eight men were engaged fossicking, prospecting, and mining, winning 11 oz. 5 dwt. 2 gr. of gold, valued at £75 7s. 3d. Clutha County. One man engaged in prospecting. The gold won amounted to 21 oz. 11 dwt. 18 gr., valued at £150 os. 6d. Waikouaiti County. Eight men were engaged fossicking, prospecting, and mining, winning 26 oz. 5 dwt. 20 gr. of gold, valued at £183 14s. 9d. iSouthland County. Nokomai ColcL-mining Company (C. Sew Hoy, manager).—Sluicing and elevating operations have been carried on continuously during the year. Twenty men have been employed and the gold won amounts to 709 oz. 11 dwt., valued at £4,978 Is. 2d. King Solomon Deep Leads, Ltd., Waikaia (R. C. Ruffin, manager). —Active mining operations were continued during the year and approximately 15,076 ft. of driving has been done, the width of the drives being 6 ft. and the height varying from 5 ft. to 7 ft. The greatest amount of driving was done in blocking-out, although a fair footage of prospect driving in new ground has been done. The northern end of the mine was disturbed by faulting and this upthrow section may possibly be prospected from the Stoney Creek end of the property. Development work was carried out in the southern section of the mine when cross faulting was encountered. Blocking-out has been carried out in all the working sections of the mine, and large quantities of mining timber were used during the year amounting to 12,830 props and bars, 75,650 laths, and a large quantity of rough timber for bulkheads. The supplying of this timber gives employment to bushmen and lorry drivers. Sixty men have been employed during the year and the gold won amounted to 3,669 oz. 13 dwt. 12 gr., valued at £27,527 13s. 7d. Total gold won since commencement, 16,969 oz. 2 dwt. 20 gr., valued at £115,690 7s. sd. A. Mutch, Happy Valley, Waikaia. —Active mining operations have been carried on in the lower portion of Happy Valley in the shallow auriferous deposit not far from the site of the first Waikaia Township. Four men have been employed. Dome Creek Syndicate, right hand terrace in Mr. Sutton's Run, Dome Creek. Intermittent operations only have been carried on during the year. The Union Mining Syndicate.—Mining operations were carried on during the early part of the year. The wing dam was completed and elevating operations carried on until the bottom was exposed. On account of the rough stones encountered only a comparatively small paddock could be cleared when operations had to close on account of severe climatic conditions. Four men were employed. The gold won amounted to 14 oz. 10 dwt. 20 gr., valued at £100 Is. The Waimumu Sluicing Co., Ltd. (J. S. Butts, manager).—Six men employed. Active pumping, sluicing, and elevating operations were carried on during the year whenever water-supplies were available. On account of the dry season in this area little more than half the possible time could be worked. The gold won amounted to 257 oz. 17 dwt. 4 gr., valued at £1,975 os. 4d. The Stewart Gold Company, Little Waikaka (R. Stewart, general manager and engineer; W. G. Stewart, works manager).—During the year the water supply has been to some extent restricted owing to extremely dry weather in the early part of the year and also during November and December last, but by returning the used water from the claim to the main pumping station it has been possible even during the driest period to carry on sluicing operations for several days in each week. The ground treated had all been previously worked, the bottom wash having been driven out by the early miners, both Europeans and Chinese. The bottom, which consists for the most part of soft pipeclay, is of a very uneven nature and considerably faulted. To ascertain the nature of the formation below the level of the workings, a 6-in. bore was put down to a depth of 151 ft. into the bottom, and although a considerable portion of the material penetrated by the bore consisted of alluvial drifts of the same nature and appearance as the gold-bearing drifts above the level of the pipe-clay only one occasional colour of very fine gold, could be obtained from these lower gravels and boring was discontinued when the depth stated had been reached. The level reached by the bore was 211 ft. below the original surface of the ground. The material is lifted by a hydraulic elevator to a height of 24 ft. and delivered into boxes 3 ft. in width. Four heads of water are used, the water being pumped by Diesel engine and electric motor through a pipe-line 13 in. in diameter to the claim. The Diesel engine was made by Messrs. Ruston and Co., of Lincoln, England. It is of 120 b.h.p., the average running cost per hour being 3s. Id. A Booster pump is used to increase the working pressure at the claim. This pump is operated by a5O h.p. electric motor at a cost of 3s. 6d. per hour. Three shifts are worked, eight men being employed. The Coastal Mining Company, Ltd., Haldane Beach, via Tokanui (C. W. Thomson, manager).'—The experimental caterpillar gravel pump designed by the late Mr. R. S. Cree Brown, C.E., has been operated throughout the year. Much pumping time has been lost owing to alterations which are unavoidable in any plant embodying novel features. The designer's tragic death at the trial of the plant last year was especially regrettable. However, many serious problems have been surmounted and material progress made. Many parts have been strengthened or altered at considerable expense. Table width has been increased by 50 per cent. The plant is a high-grade engineering production and appears to offer possibilities in the economical handling of considerable yardages of low-grade sea-beach sands as met with on the beach where it is now operating. Six men have been employed and the gold won amounted to 282 oz. 10 dwt. 7 gr., valued at £2,021 6s. 4d. A total of 183 men, inclusive of the companies mentioned, has been employed in the Southland County, winning 6,304 oz. 8 dwt. 11 gr. of gold, valued at £46,960 ss. lid. The chief producers, apart from the above, were A. Copeland and J. Mutch, jun. Wallace County. Round Hill Gold-mining Co., Ltd. (F. Hart, manager).—Active mining operations have been carried on, and a new 27-in. pipe-line 75 chains in length has been installed in order to enable mining operations to be speeded up. This new pipe-line was electrically welded but, on account of bursting pipes, considerable expense and delay was caused to the mining operations, thus materially decreasing the output. This shows the need for extreme care during welding operations so as to ensure trouble-free operation, and such care is essential

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