C.—2.

(2) Government Prospecting Drills. The following table gives details of the drilling done and the results obtained for twelve months ended 31st December, 1937 :—

Drills used: Diamond and Keystone drills. Percussion and Hand-placer drills.

(3) Subsidized Roads on Goldfields. The expenditure in the form of subsidies and direct grants upon roads on goldfields amounted to £16,869 2s. 7d., as compared with £3,132 lis. during the previous year. (4) Legislation affecting Metalliferous Mines. Many alterations to the Mining Act, 1926, were made by the amending Act of 1937. Some simply clarify existing provisions and remove small administrative difficulties, while others, particularly the amendments to section 274 of the principal Act, deal more intimately with matters pertaining to the safety and welfare of the miners. Daily supervision of mines and batteries is now required of all mine-managers and battery superintendents. Youths under the age of eighteen years must not be employed underground. The care of detonators in the mine is restricted to one member only of each group or party of workmen. Winding-engines with only screw-operated brakes must now have adequate brakes of other types' installed. Tests of detaching-hooks by actual overwinds are not required as frequently as they were, but all detaching-hooks in use must be dissembled and examined at intervals not exceeding three months. Where drilling is done by hand, an adequate spray must be provided, and where blasting is done, a spray must operate in that place for at least half an hour after the firing has been done. Engine-rooms must be sufficiently heated, and if a trucker or a miner works alone in a level there must be at least one other person in another place off that level. Tests of the mine air must be made as often and at such places as is required by the Inspector, to ascertain the number and size of the dust particles per cubic centimetre which the mine air contains. I desire again to acknowledge the efficient help and co-operation which I have received during the year from the District Inspectors of Mines. I have, &c., George Duggan, Inspecting Engineer of Mines.

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™ Total Diameter Mineral i Character of Country T , . , Foot 1 of . driUed ***• of Hole - billed through l o whom lent. Foot c^on S ' "k, Ft. In. s. d. s. d. 58 4,546 6 Gold Gravel .. Clutha River .. .. .. In progress. Gold-dredging Co., Ltd. .39 600 6 Gold Soil and gravel .. Labour Depart- 6 1 2 1 ment (Employment Division) 57 3,890 6 Gold Clay and gravels Labour Department (Employment Division) 29 555 6 Gold Clay and gravels Labour Depart- 13 5* ment (Employment Division) 8 369 6 Gold Gravel .. Labour Depart- 22 8-7 0 7*2 ment (Employment Division) 19 752 4 Gold Gravel .. Labour Depart- .. .. .. In progress. ment (Employment Division) 6 409 6 Gold Gravels .. Labour Depart- 10 0-6 0 11-2 ment (Employment Division) 1 850 2f Coal Sandstone, clay- Puponga Coal- 14 8-62 0 10-03 stone, &c. mines, Ltd. 1 402 2J Gold Andesite .. Sylvia Gold, .. .. .. In progress. Silver, and Base Metal Mines (N.Z.) 36 1,656 6 Gold Gravels .. Tronoh (N.Z.), 15 6 7 5 Ltd. 254 14,029 * Includes cost of transport.