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sections it is bare of wash. The dredging depths were variable and reached 50 ft. in places. This dredge is electrically operated, and power is obtained from' the Otago Power Board. A Diesel generator is also provided on the dredge, for use in case of power failure or other contingencies. Clutha River Gold-dredging, Ltd. —Dredging operations were continued in the Clutha River, downstream from the Manuherikia River junction, until the winter low level. The dredge was then taken upstream, and safely negotiated the passage below the Alexandra-Roxburgh Suspension Bridge. The intention of the company was to recondition the dredge so that it would be suitable to dredge the Earnscleugh Flats. The outbreak of war, however, mado this reconditioning impossible, and the dredge is now operating in the Clutha River between Alexandra and Earnscleugh. The dredging depth reached 65 ft. This dredge is electrically operated, and power is obtained from the Otago Central Power Board. A Diesel generator is also provided on the dredge for use in case of power failure or other contingencies. Drilling operations in the Alexandra Flats were discontinued early in the year, and the drilling crews were paid off. Aitken's Dredge, Maitland, Waikaka Valley, Southland.—This privately-owned dredge exhausted the auriferous freehold ground at Maitland, and was then dismantled and removed to the Chatton district, on the east side of the Mataura River. The dredge was reconstructed, and had been running only a few weeks when it caught fire in the early hours of a Sunday morning, and was burnt and sank in the dredge paddock. This dredge was again reconstructed and* is now operating in shallow ground. It is steam-driven, and local lignite is used for fuel. Rainbow Dredging Co., Ltd., Maitland, Waikaka Valley, Southland.—Dredging operations have been continued m freehold land in Section 23, Block I, Chatton Survey District, in the Maitland area. The ground dredged has been shallow, averaging about 7 ft. There were fifty-six men employed on the working dredges during the year, and the gold won amounted to 7,806 oz., valued at £70,732. Dredge under Construction. The Austral New Zealand Mining,. Ltd,, Lowbum, near Cromwell.—Construction work has been continued during the year, and thirty men have been employed thereon. It is expected that this dredge will be ready for a trial by the end of April, 1940. Minerals other than Gold. Platinum.—The platinum won during the year was produced by the Round Hill Mining Co., Ltd., at their alluvial mine at Round Hill, and by the Orepuki Mining: Syndicate in the old township workings, Orepuki. There were 13 oz. 6 dwt. produced, with a value of £104. Silver. —The Clutha River Dredging Co., Ltd., won 148 oz., valued at £16. Silica Sand —A. total of 2,014 tons of silica sand was produced, valued at £1,534. The producers were the Blackburn Coal Co. at Mount Somers, and R. Christie, Hyde, Central Otago. Tungsten.— The total yield of scheelite concentrates from the Glenorehy and Macrae's districts during the year amounted to 40 tons, with an approximate value of £8,000. Boring Operations. Vincent County. Clutha River Gold-dredging, fyd,, continued an extensive drilling programme on the Alexandra Flat, sixty-one holes being drilled. No. 15 and No. 16 machines, belonging to the company, were used. One hole was drilled in the Earnscleugh area. The total footage of drilling was 5,026 ft. Accidents. There were three fatal accidents during the year, as follows :■ Daniel John Wheeler received very severe injuries through being caught by the fall of a large rock in his mine at Arthur's Point, Queenstown, on the sth April, 1939, his pelvis being completely fractured and the circulation of the lower limbs cut off. He succumbed to his injuries the same day. James Williamson was killed by a fall of stone while working at his alluvial mine, Upper Nevis, on the 20th May, 1939. Death was due to a broken neck and a badly fractured skull. Percy Brown, employed at the Round Hill Alluvial Mine, Coal-pit Gully, Kyeburn Diggings, suffered a fractured /pelvis, a compound comminuted fracture of the left leg, cuts on the right side of the face, and other injuries through being struck down into the tail-race by a fall of clayey gravel from the side of the race on the 14th November, 1939. . There was one serious accident during the year : John Scott, employed as a trucker at the Golden Point Mine, Macrao's, now operated by the Macrae's Flat Gold and Scheelite Mining Co., Ltd., received injuries to his ribs and back through falling into the 40 ft. main ore pass. General Remarks. Tho gold won from (quartz mining to 909 oz. 13 dwt. 19 gr., valued at £6,971, this being a decrease of 119 oz. 1 dwt. 3 gr, with an increase in value of £156. The number of men increased by two. The gold won from filluvial nijamg amounted! to 10,836 oz. 13 dwt. 16 gr., valued at £87,845 18s. 10d., this being a decrease of 1',028 oz'. 7 gr. in quantity and £752 7s. 2d. in value. The number of men employed increased by twenty-five. The decrease in the quantity can be accounted for by the growing difficulty of production and by the floods in the rivers adversely affecting the river claims in the Shotover and Arrow districts The amount gold TOMI by dretlging, amounted to 7,805 oz. 12 dwt. 20 gr., with a value of £70,731 12s. lOd. this being a decrease of' 2:;515 oz.' in' quantity and of £17,498 in value. The number of men employed decreased by sixteen. The decrease in the output can be accounted for by the decrease in the returns of the Clutha River, Nevis Crossing, and Aitken's dredges, and the cessation of dredging by the Goldfields Dredge. With regard to scheelite-mining, tho market was uncertain during tho early months of the year. Prices hardened later on, and when war broke out the private export of scheelite concentrates ceased. The New Zealand Government is now purchasing all scheelitc on behalf of the Imperial Government. The subsidized mining scheme was taken over from the Department of Labour (Employment Division) on the Ist April, 1939. Since the Ist April the supervision of the subsidized miners has been carried out by one supervisor. An average total of forty-one men has been employed on tho scheme in the Vincent, Lake, Maniototo, and Tuapeka Countries. , . , , ~ . c The majority of the men have been employed in prospecting for gold, and in the Glenorehy district ot Lake County they have been employed prospecting for scheelite. During the period under review 183 oz. of gold, valued at £1,372, and approximately 6 tons of scheelite, valued at £1,200, have been won. Mining work is being carried out in the Cromwell-Kawarau Gorge, Nevis, Galloway, Clutha River Gorge below Alexandra, Devonshire, and Matakanui in Vincent County, at the Five, Eight, and Twelve Mile Creeks, on the shores of Lake Wakatipu and Upper Shotover in Lake County, at Naseby, Hyde, and Kyeburn in Maniototo County, and at Wetlierst'ones itt Tuapeka County. Prospecting work under the subsidized mining scheme (8a) has also been carried out in the Upper Waikaia district in Southland.

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