ROSS GOLDFIELDS CO.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1293, 23 November 1911, Page 8

ROSS GOLDFIELDS CO.

SPECIAL MEETINGSHAREHOLDERS AGAINST-DIREC-TORS, DIRECTOR? DECLINE TO RESIGN. The main trouble to be contended with iu mining the Boss deep levels is the perpetual inrush of water—in this company's mine, the volume of water per 21 hours is. about 1,31)0,000 gallons-and it was the failure of tho hydrc-olcctric pumping plant on the claim that led to the closing down of the mine fifteen months ago.' - Gold has* been won ■ from, the mine before, aud l'ich gold is said to have been struck in a property adjoining. Both directors and shareholders are therefore agreed"that the.mine should.be s/-t working again, but. they aro not agreed a» to how this shall be done. It was difference of opinion on this point which induced some shareholders to convene tho extraordinary . general meeting which was held yesterday specially to consider a motion by Mr. G. F. Davis:—"That the directors are hereby requested to immediately reopen the mine with tho present hydro-electric plant, and to spend about <£3500 in putting the plant in order, in prospecting, and in developing tho mine." DIRECTORS RECOMMEND STEAM. How it cams about that this motion was put forward may best be explained by reference to a circular issued by . tho directors. Following the advice of engineers consulted, the directors had come to tho conclusion that the present hydroelectric plant was 'useless, being_ faultily installed, arid very much out of repair. They therefore' recommended shareholders "to dispose of the electric plant, and the elcctrically-driven turbine pumps, and to instal.a steam plant with bucketpumps controlled from the surface. The circular states:—

"There can be no question that if the Ross Flats are to be worked successfully an absolute'.}- reliable and constant source of power is indispensable lo keep the pumps working continually and the mine unwatered. It is-futile to believe that the present hydro-electric plant, with its single transmission line 'J'2 miles in length, can bo considered depeudable if the present plant is to bo. used. An auxiliary power plant (either steam, oil engine, or suction gas) of sufficient power to keep tho pumps running ami the mine unwatored will have to be provided: Messrs. I'redk; Black, A.M. -Inst. E.E., and W. P. Gativaiu, A.M., Inst. C.E., 'the expert? employed by tho directors, reported—(l) that it would cost JM.'ilO to. put the generatin™ station, pipe lines, transmission line, the. Ross sub-station, and mine electrical equipment in the minimum' state of working efficiency ; (2) that the' estimated cost of .an auxiliary stand-by. plant, to work in conjunction with . tho present plant, would be ,£G8!0: in all, Jil 1,350." Mr. Gauvaiu further recommended as the most reliable power system, the installation of a steam engine with two boilers direct coupled to bucket pumps, at an estimated cost of ,E10,520. This recommendation tho directors adopted, staling their reasons thus: "If the present hydroelectric plant is. used, an auxiliary stand-by plant procured, and tile .present, pump's used, the estimated cost, is Ju1,350. If a new steam plant, with new pumps controlled 'front tho surface.- bo installed, the -estimated- cost "is" .£10.820, and. in ad; ditiou, tho. hydro-electric plantan'd; waterrights would be available for ja!e."

The last sentence-of the circular .was: "Should, however, shareholders insist on the, existing - plant being retained ■ and worked, tho present board cannot, seo their way to continue to; conduct the management of ,the-company's.'/'affairs.'* •_ '

A CIIEAPEU PROPOSAL. . The contrary opinion was set out in another circular by Mr. Davis, who took exception to tho action of the directors in issuing =£10,000 worth of new shares,. and in announcing their intention to call'up all the present available capital and order a new steam plants He was satisfied that tho present plant, after somo alterations and repairs had been effected, - would work the ground more cheaply and moro efficiently than any plant that could be installed, but a stand-by plant to grip tho pumps immediately on any breakdown of the power line, water-race, or power house, was an absolute necessity. In accordance with expert advice ho had taken, lie suggested that the pumping could bo done by tho present 'hydroelectric."- plant with a Diesel , oil ongino ..generator set"-" as a. stand-by, and ho was satisfied .that 'this could bopurchased,- everything : set. in; order, and tho value of the ground tested, for. calls totallini 2s„ or at "most 2s. Cd., per share. Ho estimated from advice given him by engineers that the. cost of tho necessary development twork .to prove the vnluo of the mine would be' =£3500, and tho cost of .a stond-bv plant about. .£3OOO. The main difference between his estimates and those supplied to .the directors were as to tho cost of repairing tho livdro-electrie plant. The engineers advising Mr. Davis, both of'whom knew the condition of the plant'by having tested it, estimated that, the nlant could be nut i'j a state of working'efficiency for from .CIOO to <£500, as against estimated by tho directors' experts.

RESOLUTION CARRIED. The foregoing is a sunimary of the information in Hip hands of the directors when tlio meeting opened. when the m'cotiii Ropened. Dr. C. Prendergast Knight (C'liainnniv of Directors) nresider. There were some 20 " sliar'eholrlers present, but they represented "an.absolute majority of the shares of the company. •Mr.' JJavisy in moving (he resoluuon of which ho had given notice, said that ho had a good deal of faith in the mine and in tlio niant. lip bad been to the West Coast soveral times within the last few months, and he had obtained reports from the best experts available, among them Mr. H. F. .Smyth, who supervised the installation. lie Liad been to Auckland, and had been invited by the Auckland Stock Exchange to speak on the-subject. The meeting; passed i resolution unanimously in support of his policy, and proxies for the 2-5,1)00 shares held by shareholders present wore handed to him. Mr. W. C. Watson seconded the motion. The chairman read a lengthy statement of the directors' views, and th; reports on which they hud acted. It amounted to a detailed amplification of (ho circular above referred to. Mr. H. F. Smyth contended.that the hydro-electric plant was finite lit to do the wcrk, but the wholo trouble had been caused by the absence of a stand-bv plant. Mr. Davi?;,in. reply,.said.that-he-was responsible for 11,000 :;hares, and he.put his proposition to the shareholders for hisown and their good, and not for the sake of making a few shillings- on the market. He happened to be interested in a small mining property adjoining, in' which rich gold had- been struek recently, and that was what caused him to buy into the Ross Companv. Tho chairman nut tho motion to tho meeting.. and the only votes re-' oorded against it Vero ' those of the directors. He therefore declared the motion carried, and addinc that the. business was concluded, rose to leave the chair.

CHAIRMAN LEAVES MEETING. Mr. Smyth ami Mr. T E. Petheriek both protested that ho could not leave the choir until- another motion which Mr Davis had tabled had been put. ' This resolution, which was not put- to tho meeting in the end, was:—"That this meeting'of-shareholders- accept the direc- ; tors' resignations, .ind ntoiiCe jirocced to receive - nominations;' and-'cltct a neir board." ' '' The chairman,' however, ruled that there was no vacancy on tho "board, and declared the meeting closed. Mr. Petheriek iigain protested that the chairman" ought not to forco the meeting to break up. while there were many matters to l)e discussod. Tho chairman asked the solicitor for the company, Mr. G. H. Fell, tho legal position. Mr. G. H. Fell informed the meeting th.it if any motion wero passed it would 1>? quite irregular. Mr. rethorick: The directors g.ivo notice that they would retire after this meeting if the motion, was carried. The chairman: "Not at all." And with tho other directors he left the room. GALLED. UPON TO RETIRE. Mr. Petheriek was then voted to the chair, and'the shareholders, continued to

discijss the directors' action, and to criticise them in fairly severe terms. Air. Smytli remarked that the shareholders might be interested to know th/it thos.i represented 00.000 out, of the total; 70,000 share:. The directors were trying, to baulk the shareholders and to block the business of the company. They should have, resigned, and then a uew board should have' been in office inside hours. Mr. Da vies said Hint the holdings of the directors were not heavy, and delay for them v;as • not. serious. But for him it wi? a serious matter. One director held 100 shares, the chairman 200, the C'liristchurch director 525, and the other S2.JFinally, on tho motion of Air. Davis, seconded by Air. Smyth, the following resolution was carried' unanimously "That Messrs. ,F- Dobson and A.' I. Grabham .be.a committee to attend upon tho directors, and request them to retire separately; so that the remainder call fill vacancies until the whole board has retired and has been replaced, aud that, failing their so retiring within twentyfour. hours, a. requisition be served upon them requiring tliem to retire, and, failing their retirement, to call a meeting to pass a' resolution removing • them from office." DIRECTORS OBDURATE. Air. Dobson and Mr. Grabhain afterwards conferred with the directors in an adjoining room, but the directors refused to resign as requested. One of the directors is'now in AA 7 osteru Australia, and he is not expected to return until Christmas. A special meeting will have to be called by requisition to remove the directors from office, and it will probably be a month or two before steps can be taken to set the mine working. The proxies will all have to be renewed before the next general meeting, and as there is snme business doing in the shares, the collection of the proxies may prove to be no eo.=c matter. The new directors selected for nomination are Jlessrs. AV. AYilson (Auckland), ,T. C. Colbeck (Auckland), G. F. Davis (Christchurcb), and H. F. Smyth (AAest Coast).