C.—2.

IV. GOLD-MINING. The following statement shows the value of the bullion-production, also the dividends declared, number of persons employed, and the number of gold mines and dredges :—

(1) Quartz-mining.

The average value per ton of ore treated during 1938 amounted to £2 lis. 9d., as compared with £2 Ms. during 1937. At the Martha Mine 181,740 tons of quartz was mined and treated, from which 51,627 oz. of gold, valued at £367,844, and 350,095 oz. of silver, valued at £30,633, were recovered. The dividends paid during the year —£74,386 Is.—were £24,795 17s. less than those paid in 1937. The total dividends paid to date from the Martha Mine are £6,561,348 ss. 6d. No development work was done during 1938 in the Nos. 10, 13, and 14 levels, but stoping was continued in these levels as well as in the higher ones. Driving was continued on the Dreadnought lode in No. 12 level; on the Royal and Martha lodes in Nos. 9 and 10 levels ; on the Edward in Nos. 3, 4, and 7 levels ; and on the Martha North branch in Nos. 4, 5, and 6 levels. Some work was done also on the I and J lodes in No. 3 level, and stoping-blocks are to be opened up on these lodes. From the Waihi Grand Junction Mine, worked by the Martha Gold-mining Co., only 979 tons of quartz was mined in 1938, from which 323 oz. of gold, valued at £2,303, and 1,489 oz. of silver, valued at £130, were recovered. A similar dividend to that paid in 1937—£6,906 ss. 4d.—was paid to the shareholders in 1938. The mine was purchased outright by the Martha Gold-mining Co. on Ist August, and since then details of the work done in the Grand Junction Mine have been included in the Martha Mine report. Prior to that date only a small amount of stoping was done in 1938. At the Golden Dawn Mine development work was continued in the No. 3 level and in the intermediate level 70 ft. above the No. 3. In the No. 3 level a small amount of driving was done to the south on the No. 4 reef and 60 ft. on the No. 5 reef, but nothing payable was met. In a crosscut off the intermediate level above No. 3 a narrow reef carrying values and thought to be the No. 4 reef was met. Quartz weighing 2,064 tons was mined in 1938 and treated for a return of 967 oz. of gold, valued at £8,674, and 1,983 oz. of silver, valued at £190. At the Talisman Dubbo Mine, near Karangahake, the development work done in 1938 was confined to the Nos. 4 and 7 levels, while some stoping was done in the Talisman No. 2 and the Dubbo levels. Most of the stoping, however, was in a shrinkage stope on the No. 7 Hauraki level. Since the completion of this company's own up-to-date battery all the quartz from their mine has been treated there. The battery includes a 5-ft.-diameter ball mill, classifiers, &c., and a Merril Crowe plant, and is capable of treating a much larger tonnage than is now being put through it. During 1938 the Talisman Dubbo Gold-mining Co. mined 1,667 tons of ore, which yielded 318 oz. of gold, valued at £2,913, and 1,370 oz. of silver, valued at £155. From two other mines in the Karangahake district 516 tons of quartz was mined, yielding 243 oz. of gold, valued at £1,894, and 429 oz. of silver, valued at £26. In the Blackwater Mine development was continued in Nos. 11, 12, and 14 levels to the north and in Nos. 12, 13, and 14 levels to the south. In No. 11 North level the reef, averaging over 11 dwt. per ton, was met after it had been advanced 37 ft. beyond the Prohibition fault. In the lower levels values were somewhat higher, reaching 21-8 dwt. in the No. 12 South level. The new and compact treatment plant was completed about the middle of 1938 and is proving very satisfactory. During 1938, 43,506 tons of ore from the Blackwater Mine was crushed and treated, from which 19,4-65 oz. of gold, valued at £161,147, was recovered.

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I Production of Bullion, 1938. • (All Mines.) Number of Persons Number oi Dividends paid, 1938. ordinarily employed Productive Quartz- _ (By Registered Com- at Productive and mines, Alluvial panies only.)t Unproductive Mines, Mines, and Quantity. Value. 1938. Dredges, 1938. - - Oz. £ £ Quartz-mining .. 435,706 622,336 105,041 1,189 59 Alluvial miningj: .. 19,929 149,586 13,819 1,374 1,088 Dredge mining .. 54,124 442,132 98,888 392 24 Totals, 1938 .. 509,759 1,214,054 217,748 2,955 1,171 Totals, 1937 .. 612,468 1,319,743 196,304 3,877 2,852 * In addition to the gold produced from the gold-mines, silver was obtained from them, hence the word " bullion" is used in preference to " gold." t The profits of privately owned dredges and mines are unobtainable, which renders this statement incomplete. X The bullion-production is from 1,088 alluvial claims, but the dividends are only obtainable from those few that are the property of registered companies.

Statute Tons of Ore treated. Value ol Bullion. Compani'fonlT) 1 . 8 " Inspection District. ' 1988. 1937. 1988. 1937. 1938. j 1937. I £ £ I £ £ Northern .. .. 189,334 211,852 426,580 511,585 81,292 106,088 West Coast .. .. 48,646 49,234 188,941 191,807 23,749 20,000 Southern .. .. 2,163 2,097 6,815 7,029 Totals .. .. 240,143 263,183 622,336 710,421 105,041 126,088