MINING NEWS.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 375, 16 July 1903, Page 5

MINING NEWS.

The height of the river /it the Alexandra bridge last evening, was about dft above the " normal " mark. It is expected that the Molyneux Falls dredge will be ready for a trial run by the end of the present week. Although hydraulic sluicing and dredging got such a bad start in Victoria, the methods of working have been so improved and the expenses so minimised that now nearly all the com panies are able to pay dividends. We are informed (says a Melbourne paper) that two men can work a bucket ftredge, and that lOoz per week will pay all expenses, and recovery of 3 to the cubic yard is «umcient to give a divideud. 1 here are many thousands ■rpf acres in Victoria that will pay well work, aad the returns in some districts show that a handsome profit is being made. The shareholders who have stuck to their belief in dredging deserve the thanks of the community. To illustrate the value of dredging and hydraulic sluicing, a few examples may be given. The Castlemaine Junction dredge for four weeks' work obtained 190|oz gold; the Campbell's Greek bucket dredge for one week obtained 57|oz ; the Forest Creek Dredging Company paid a dividend of 3d per share on 45,000. The sluicing companies at Becchwood and Stanley, aad thedredgiug companies at Yackandandah are doing extremely well The bucket dredges on the Ovens and. Buckland Rivers, are mostly giving good returns. For th'*"last eight weeks the Buckland River Pro dredge hi.d a return of 3060z, yielding a profit of £BSO. At Scarsdale the Watsoo's Hili Company are working full time. The JLoddon Blocks dredge got 300oz for five weeks' work, which enables them to declare a dividend. Mr J Parsons has been appoiuted dredgemaster of the Davis Bend Go's No 1 dredge, vice Mr Gregor M'Donald (resigned). The Perseverance No 2 dredge is is stopped at present, it having been fcund necessary to put a new plate in the boiler. The Manuherikia dredge has been obliged to suspend operations, owing to the coal road having teen damaged by the late rains. The dredge was operating on rich wash, when dredging was temporarily suspended. The Enterprise Company report that during the half year ended June 30 the returns from bcth dredges totalled 1,5630z 16dwt 21gr, of the value of £6,084 9s BJ. The expenditure, including repairs and replacements, amounted to £2,741 163 6d. In dividends, £2,100 were paid, and £SOO was paid for about nine acres of ground purchased frcm the Eirnscleugb Gold Dredging Company. The returns from this ground, on which the No 2 dredge bad then been working for about two weeks, w«re fairly satisfactory, and the ground is expected to improve as it is opened up. Both dredges are iu good order and working well, and the prospect of steady returi s for some time are favorable. The balance sheet show the re-erve fund to amount to £7OO, ca-h in hand amounted to £1,086 13> 10d, and liabilities totalled £507 10s.

STAFFORD - WAIMEA DRED'i ING COMPANY, LTD. The following is the third annual report of the above Company to be submitted to shareholders at the annual general meeting to be held at the regist* red office of the Company, Alexandra, on Friday, 31st July : Your directors beg to submit their third annual report, balance sheet, and statement of profit and loss account for the year ending 30th June, 1903. Shareholders are already in poasessien «f the facta co&eerniug the actions

of the directors in closing down the old dredae, and purchasing the Great Woodstock Company's dredge, and •dsii- their reasons for doiug so; together with particulars of the finanri i arrangements made, to carry out ihe notch tse. The old dredge has i Ik-cii disposed of for the sum of .£3OO to Mr H F. Nees, of Dunedin, his being the only offer, notwithstanding the fact tint offers were called for in all the West Coast papers and " Otago Daily Times." The amount certainly .-esms small, but it mustbe Home in mini that dredges of a similar type and capacity are at a considerable discount, and this fact was taken into consideration when accepting the offer. The new dr has been dismantled and the work of re-erecting has b<en started, so that uuder ordinary condi tions, dredging operations should be resumed in about three months time, with a machine equal in strength to any other dred.e on the West Coast. The quantity of gold won by the old Iredge up till the time of closing down amounts to 4300zs va.ued at £1676 odd aud taken from acres of ground. This makes a total of 7440zs won from 5 acres of ground worked, sine* operations were commenced in November, 1901, therefore the prospects of the Company with a powerful dredge, may be considered fairly promising. There is still a fairly large sum of money standing to the debit of Shareholders Call Account, and those shareholders, whose oil Is are in arrears and who wish to retain r heir interest in the" Company, can only do so by prompt p ivment, as tho Board intends to take early action with regard to forfeiture of all shares upon which calls may be owing. It might be well to mention that the £3OO received from the sale of the old dredge has not been included in the balance sheet, as the books were closed prior to the date of sale. - The following directors retire by rotation—i.e., Messrs S. J.Luke and George Speucer, both offering themselves for re-election, as does the Auditor, Mr J. G. Closs.

. DREDGING RETURNS. The following are the returns for the week ending Saturday, July 11th, 1903: oz dwt grs Manuherikia, Alexandra, lOfthrs 135 l 0 Earasclengh No 2, Alexandra 130b 74 IG\ 0. Unity, Clyde, week ... ... 70. 0 0 Dunstan Lead, Alexandra, ... 55 -5 0 Eiectric No 2, Cromwell ..'. 48 10 0 Gold King. Koxburgh, week ... 46 0 0 Perseverance No. I, Alexandra.. 41 0 0 Sneddon's Freehold, Waikaka. wk 40 0- 0 Enterprise No 1, Alexandra ... 38 11 0 Cromwell No. 2, Cromwell ... 37 6}) Waimuinu, near Gore, ... 36 14 0 Muddy Creek, Waikaia, 120h ... 30 10 0 Otago No 2, Beaumont ... 29 0 0 Enterprise No 2, Alexandra ...' 28 18 0 Upper Waipori, Waipori. 128 hr.. 28 0 0 Ettrick, Koxburgh, 127hrs ... 26 16 0 First Chance Alexandra ... 26 0 (» New Half-way House, ( Tyde Ed 26 u 0 Waikaka Queen, Waikaka " ..'. 25.18. 0 Earnscleugh No 1, Alexandra, I2Bh 25 10" 0 Chicago, Alexandra, 130hrs*-... 25 9 0 Waikaka, Waikaka, 132hrs ... 25 9.0 Electric No. 1, Cromwell ... 21 0 0 MacCharlton, near Gore, 136hrs 20 13 0 Gabriel, Tuapeka Flat... ... 20 7 0 Molyneux Kobinoor, Roxburgh ... 2(J 1 6 Reliance, Tuapeka Flat „- .-..' 20 0 0 Waimumu Quejn, Gore ... 19 5 0 Inchdale. near Palmerston, ... 19 2 0 Royal Waimurr.'.i, near Gore 18 3 0 Inch Valley, near Palraerston ... 17 14 0 Alpine No. 2, Cromwell, ... 17 7 18 Golden Bed, Miller's Flat, 116hrs 16 12 0 New Paul's Beach, Beaumont ... 16 10 0 Empire No 1, Waipori ... 16 4 0 Tuapeka, Tuapeka Flat, wk ... 15 6 (I Success; Waipori ... ... 15 0 0 Lower Enfield, Waipori, 72hrs 14 16 0 Enfield, Waipori, ... p< ... 13 14 12 Junction Electric No 2, Cromwell. 13 13 0 Central Mataura, Mataura, 95h... 13 5 0 Waikaka Syndicate, Waikaka ... 12 0 0 Charlton Creek, near Gore ... 11. 10 0 Bendigo, below Alexandra ... 110 I" Endeavour, Roxburgh, wk ... 10'14 0 Globe. Waikaka, 134'nrs ... 10 0 0 Waimumu Extended, Gore 9 11 r Lawrence, Tuapeka Flat, 6dys 9 lo 12 Taniwha, Tuapeka River ... 9 716 Olrig,Manuherikia, 122h ... 9 6 0 Spec Gully, near Gore. - ...930 l hampion, Beaumont, wk ... 812 0 Roxburgh Jubilee, Roxb'rgb, 135h 8 721 Molyneux Hydraulic, Alexandra 7 5 0

Total for 55 dredges ... 1386 17 13

The Otago Central Railway.

The following petition is being largely signed on Alexandra and surrounding districts : " I.—That we, residents of the town of Alexandra and the surrounding districts, moat respectfully desire to brii,g under your notice, that owing to the slow progress made in constructing the Otago Central Railway, industries in this district are much handicapped, and are being worked under great disadvantage " " 2.—The fact that only £58,000 has been spent out of a vote by Parliament of £IOO.OOO for expenditure during the year ended the 31st of March, 1903, gives us reason to tear that this important work is not receiving the attention that in our opinion it meritt." " 3.—For the above and many other reasons your Petitioners pray your Honorable House, when the Estimates for Public Works for the current financial year are being considered, to vote a sufficient sum to enable the Government to comp etethe Railway to Ophir, and make satisfactory progress on the extension to Alexandra and Clyde.