MINING NEWS.

Alexandra Herald and Central Otago Gazette, Issue 406, 18 February 1904, Page 5

MINING NEWS.

■ flflp-p" gtfanfng St*r" of •Saturday . ■9 mt Rivw a id in its valley has been eswtTr >m by quite a number of coiu» **B-*uie-s » e OO,I many of them now defunct The names of the Gulden lank,. Ibnorburn, SpringvJe, Galtee More, ' Kd Deaperandnm, an* Cbatto Cr<ek I dredges occur to one. Some of these w "iaacbiues are now l ying silted up and abandoned, and the general record, on .tin* whole, is one of failure. The Olriff, however, bright exception, and, judging from Let night's meeting, .the p ospect* of- the company were ' never be tar. There was a lo* of dredging talent at number of the shareholders -tsßuig -practical dredging experts. To one of these the casual mention of the Spring-. vale dredge seemed to bring sad .-memories It was stated that the ' Olrig Company had acquired that • claim, wnd.tfrwt though the latter, once vary well thought of, had not returned payable yields, it was because thf dredge had not bottom-d. "Ob, oh!" •aid the shareholder in question, deprecatiogly; ** don't meution that affair- But (in a more hopeful tone) I have never lost failh in that claim. That ground is good yet. I lost my money in that affair, but I am going tn gat it back in the Olrig." We take the following from the u Cromwell Argus * : The ground worked by the Electric 2 is very rough, being full of hard sandstone' boulders, .known loca ly as Chinamen, which are .'▼ery iough on the buckets. Consider able time was lost last week in putting on new buckets, which accounts .for the decrease in the return. We hear that a piece of the day bottom which was take i from the buckets was fairly stadded with gold, looking like a piece of plum duff plentifully strewed with raisins. . This specimen has been sent to Dunedin. The Lock Lomond dredge return last week was B|os. As the coal is handyjto the claim this will nearly cover expenses. The ground is improving each week as the dredge works nearer the river, the return for the previous week being 6oz, and the week before so^. —The Ju action 2 sprang a leak lairAhursday night, but owing to her being fitted with watertight bulkheads, was in no danger. The dredge was drawn into the bank and repairs are being effected without much trouble.—The Hartley is at present working ground gone over early in the spring, and the returns are really splendid when this fact is taken into consideration. DREDGEMASTEF 8" EXAMINATIONS. In connection with the examination for dredgemasters* certificates, held in. Dunedin on the sth inst, Mr T H Hamur, secretary or the Board of Brajaaagß, WalKngfam,. wired us yesas follows: -" . "The following have passed, conditionally that the passes be confirmed by the Board, which meets early next month: Alexandra : F W3 iams, D S M'Gregor, T Bringans, E W Eaton; Cromwell: J J Bards ey, W H Gibson, J Holden; Clyde: W G Baird; Albertown: G Coup, H Raitt; Island Block: A Westcombe; Roxburgh: JKitto; Beaumont: L Johnston; Lawrence: J Donaldson; Millers Flat: J L Hughes. UPPER OLUTH A. (From our own Correspondent). In dredging an the Olatha nothing sensational has taken place. The dredges working—the Rising Sun and the Rise and Shine—are getting upwards of 30oz, and the Kevival, which has up to now not been able to bottom, ,is fust about clearing expenses. But there are more coming, and then we will have prosperous times. On the Kawarau, of course, everybody knows about the big returns—nearly 2000oz jQJgP& fortnight, and plenty similar giouhd, by all appearances; so I shall say no* more but leave to people's imagination what the bottom of the river would look like if you «ould see it dry. jpTbe Voltaic dredge has been hauled 'up the falls, and is now on the claim. but yet about half a mile from where ~ the great prospects were obtained some U four years ago; so I suppose it will f Boon yield some returns to the enter prising shareholders. I well remember when this company was first promoted, some of the old stagers at dredging ridiculed the idea of taking a dredge

op these rapids. They were looked upon as authorities in those days, simply because, by a lucky flake, they got on a golden claim. They were supposed to know everything about what could be dredged, and what * would payf Ac, and a claim endorsed "" with the report of one of these . mgno*oendi would flbtt if it contained ' nothing but stones; and many a poor simple fool would have saved his hard won earnings if had given ear to the warning tins correspondent from time to time gave in the columns on the press. But no matter—people have got to live and learn. Below Cromwell in the Gorge, barring the Hartley, there is nothing very '*" ' great just yet, but some of the dredges .* "- there are just making a start, so I *? think an improvement will fojjow. Some severe thunderstorms havp passed over the Lewburn and Quartz Beef Point, doing considerable damage b to roads and water-races, but it -did not rise the river, to any perceptible •stent

DREDGING RETURNS. The following are the returns for *»>e wrpek finding Saturday, February 13th. 1904:

1 . -"■- ■ 1 os «1wt gri ! Electric No. 2. Cromwell 609 18 0 Golden Ran. Millers Flat 185 6 0 Hartley and Riley, Cromwell... 92 0 0 Perseverance No. 1, Alexandra ... 63 10 0 Golden Bed. Miller's Flat, 6dys.. 57 11 0 Dunstan Lead, Alexandra, 55 0 0 Electric No 1, Cromwell 55 0 0 Enterprise No 2 , Alexandra ... 41 3 0 Happy Valley. Tuapeka. wk 40 0 0 Lady Roxburgh, Roxburgh - ... 37 2 4 Bamscleugh No 2, Alexandra 88h 35 0 0 ."Mrig, Mannherikia, 12Uh ' ... 34 5 0 New Half-way House, Clyde Rd 33 8 0 Inaction Electric No 1, Cromwell 31 15 0 Otago. Miller's Flat, 6dys 30 0 0 Rue and Shine, Up'er Clutha ... 28 14 0 Waikaka United No 2, Waikaka 28 *. 0 Upper Waipori. Waipori. wk ... 28 0 0 Rising San Upper Clutha 26 7 «• \Iatan, Clyde. 8 days .. 26 0 0 (labriel. Tnapeka Flat... 24 5 0 inlrien Gate. Millers Flat, 6dys 24 li o Ettrick. Roxburgh, ISOnrs ... 22 15 0 •lystery Flat. Waikaia. 21 9 II Perseverance No 2, Alexandra... 21 1 3 Jolden Treasure. Miller's Flat,... 21 0 0 Garryowen, Waikaia ... 21 0 0 Sarnsclengi) No I, Alexandra, 94h 20 =8 0 Inland Block. Beaumont. 20 6 (1 Royal Waimamu. near Gore 20 5 (1 vfacCbarltoo. near Gore, ISSbrs 19 4 o -Vaikaka Queen. Waikaka 18 7 0 Enterprise No 1,'Alexandra 18 5 ;8 Revival, Upper Clutha „ 17 6 0 Waikaka Syndicate, Waikaka ... 17 0 !' Enfield, Waipori, 16 10 12 Charlton Creek, near Gore 16 3 • entral Chariton, near Gore. 128hr 15 16 (' Tuapeka, Tuapeka Flat, 15 5 0 Cromwell No 2. Cromwell, 14 16 0 Cromwell No 1, Cromwell l4 14 0 Taniwha, Tuapeka River „'.. 14 13 0 Waikaka, Waikaka, 125hre 14 10 0 Junction E1ectricNo2, Cromwell, 14 9 0 Nugent Wood, Waikiia 14 8 0 Sneddon's Freehold, Waikaka. wk 14 0 IInchdale. near Palmerston. 12 13 fl hicago, Alexandra 126hrs 12 8 21 Otago No 2, Beaumont .„ 12 0 ( Central Mataura, Mataura, ..*. 11 17 0 Ngapara No 3, Nevis, 1 lObre ... 10 7 0 Lawrence, Tuapeka Flat. 6dys 10 0 0 Rise and Shine No 2 Cromwell lO 0 0 inch Valley, near Palmerston ... Total for 54 dredges 5 7 6 0 1096 <2 10 Average per dredge 38 0 0 Stafford Waimea, West Coast, 12lh 29 9 0