The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1887. AIDS TO MINING.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1696, 27 October 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1887. AIDS TO MINING.

The ex Minister of Mines m his report on the mining iudustriea of the colony, gives the country the benefit of his views with regard to the directions m which further assistance should be afforded by the State towards mining. "I am of opinion, (observes Mr Larnach) that every industry m this colony should, by the aid of good government, be placed m such a position as to be able to progress on its own basis, and I feel that the sooner this principle is adopted m respect to mining and all other industries the more sound and permanent each will become. . . . Beyond continued aid to the construction of roads and tracks I would advocate assistance towards obtaining reliable knowledge of the best and most modern modes of treating and reducing refractory ores. It is too wellknown m this colony that with the systems we now practice and the appliances now m use for extracting gold and silver, not only is a very large percentage of the former metal lost, but very little of the silver s saved ; and most of the refractory ores of the North Island contain much more silver that gold. The ore recently forwarded to England and America from Tui Creek and Waih, for treatment fully bears out what I have just said ; indeed it is entirely owing to the extremely rich character of these ores that the mines could have been worked and proved remunerative, under our present rude process of treatment ; but the real value of the ores was only made apparent by sending them out of the country." In these remarks Mr Larnach does not claim to have made a new discovery, but impresses upon the notice of the Legislature a fact which has been known to the mining community for the last decade— that owing to imperfect appliances, m many instances more gold is lost than saved. Miners are not so favorably positioned ! for acquiring the desired information as to the best and most modern method of treating and reducing refractory ores, as are members of the Legislature or the Ministry, and if the Government really wish to see our vast mineral resources, most advantageously developed they should-not disclaim to tr«ad m the footsteps of their predecessors m office and make the best m formation on the subject accessible, to and available, by the mining community. The Stout-Vogel Government did much for the miners and the colony at large by establishing Schools of Miaes m all mining centres and instructing the miners how to detect the presence of any metal jq specimens submitted to

them and also to determine what particular metal or metals were contained m them. At this point the assistance of the Government stops short and the miner is left to feiret out the information as to the best and most modern modes of dealing with the ores, or, as happens m ninety-nine cases out of a hundred, to content himself with the rude appliances m vogue and lose the greater part of what should prove the reward of his labor. Had 1 the late Government remained m office there can be little doubt that effect would have been given to the suggestion of their Minister of Mines but whether the present Government will take any steps m the matter is very doublful. An Atkinson Government never looked with favouring eye on the Mining Industry,