MINING NEWS.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11485, 19 January 1903, Page 3

MINING NEWS.

The Maori Gully Company has decided to go into liquidation. The Al Company's dredge recommenced optra'tior.s on luesday night. The Welcome Company's dredge started work on Friday night. The Hokitika Company have sold the boiler which was on their dredge at a satisfactory figure. This will facilitate the removal of tne other machinery, aa the heavy weight of the boiler would have rendered its transport on narrow roads, with ehaip turns, a matter of difficulty. A new and up-to-date boiler has been purchased, and will be cent to Nelson, for removal to the Belle Vue Company's claim, in sections, whish will make its transport easy. The bcow Southern Isle is due at Hokitika, and should leave shortly with the first load of the machinery, whicn is all on the wharf ready for shipment. The Buiier Junction Company's dredge is etill overhauling, and delayed by floodd, but eipects to start «i One end of "this we«k. The master of the Trafalgar Company's dredge telegraphs:—"Expect no return; very badly silted With, floods; dredgo working very well." Tho directors havo applied to the warden for permission to divert l'he creek, which "would overcome the silt trouble. The work could bs dono at trilling cost. The master of tho Watiterson'e-Ahaura Com■pany's dredge, writing on the 10i>h inst., cays tlhe depth of the ground is just about the tame, and the gold seems to bo improving a littie; in faot, with reasonable weather and a good run ,the dredge, he thinks, should about put up her record. The width oi tho face, ii 3 mentions, is four chains. The master of -the North Beach Company's dredge telegrapfhs:—A return of 740z 12dvyt retorted gold for 211 hours' dredging In his report for the weeik ending 9th mat. he had obtained 650z Bdwi amalgam for 87 hours' d'cdging on the shingle lead, and this is included in the above return. He intended to continue dredg-inj? on the. shingle lead until Monday afternoon last, when to proposed to ebi£t on the -back lead foT the remainder at Ac week. Both leads have a face of two and a half chains across the shingie lead, having an average depth of 2Sft, and the back lead an average depth of 25ft. Tile "Cromwell Argus" says:—A party of four Chinamen -working above the Cromwell coal-pit wasted up £1000 wor'Jh of goid last week. Kegairding the Hod Jacks Company's dredge tbe ''Grey River Argus" had the following in its issue of Thursday last:—"We arc Rlad to be able to contradict the report lately somewhat persistently circulated that the Red Jacks' dredge which sank on the evening of the 13th titt... was hopelessly lost. Beyond '.he frustration of the five efforts to bring in a ifcai jace io reduce the water level, and the inevitable siHmsj up of tho paddock, tho almost daily floods in the creek have done no harm; in fact, except far the loss of the paddock the dredge ia net in a worse position than upon the day she sank. The decks of the pontoons have been three times cleared of water, a centrifugal pump fitted, and the engine set to work, bu<t in each case a flood mmc do-wn the creek before the pontoons w-ere sufficiently cleared to float; on one occasion hod tie flood came but half an hour later the dredge would have been safely afloat. Should tbe weather cow remain fine we expect to receive news of re-flosit:ne about the end of the week, and another week will see the peddock regained, and a working face open."