CARRICK ANTIMONY MINE.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1056, 14 July 1882, Page 3

CARRICK ANTIMONY MINE.

On Saturday last, at the invitation of the ■promoters and shareholders ot the Company who are working this mine, we visited the -company’s newly erected smelting works, .-situate at the Bannockburn, for the purpose •of Bering the drawing-off of the first ingot ■of metal, and if merely to say that we consider the journey no idle one we would be •doing but scant justice to either the Company or the undertaking they have started. To put it briefly we were more than pleased ’with what we saw, and to a degree we little •thought of impressed with the belief that the Garrick Antimony Mine Company is for •all concerned, the shareholders individually rand every other person in the district, the -next best thing to the advent of Hartley •and Riley on the Molyneux that ever happened. To some this may seem high fainting; hut we can afford, os can doubtless the ‘Companv, to take in very good part the sneers and cold shoulder shrugs of those •who ever will att'uup; to tlrow diacru it on the prophet in their own raids . On Satur•day ihe Tact that a now sri valuable industry has been succe.ssfß.lly start'd was demmnstra'e 1 beyond any possible que-fion To the promoters o f it equal c e ut shouT I he aveoor led by every s ‘ctioii of the commniii'v, -as we are nrepa'e 1 to aceopd it, to Mr Buell-in an 1 Mr Prvne, hj i moneer- of Mining in the baser nv-ta’s in this part of the •comity; o the former gentleman c—necia'l . as he has been mainly instrumental in op ning mi and erect in / expensive machinery in the Writa' uni'Coppe Mine, and the M .-d----pnra Antimony Mine, moire than emp y "thanks-.re due, and we shall he mmi loisimistakenin'thetonrier of the needle iftlmy •do not, show in some r.angibl - form t'-eir grati ude. Another eb ment in the nfiair, however,—capital—must not be under-esti-mated, and in the fulness of our hearts we •must not overlook Mr George Watson, of Dunedin, to whom Mr Buchan in his address ;sai I was due the credit of finding the capital to’pnt the company in its present position, But to our task of giving some slight ■insight nf the company’s works, s<> far as •we saw them. The mine being five or six miles distant and nearly on the summit of the Canick. we were ucable to visit it, hut ■at some Tutu re time we hope to do so when we will sav something (a that On arrival at the works, which, as we said before, are ■on the Bannockburn, about a quarter ot a mile from Mr J. Richard’s hostelry, and occupying an elevated position on the point -of a high spur, we met a laige concourse of •visitors congregated for the like purpose as •ourselves. Mixing with the happy throng —and why not when there was a most inviting side table suppled with everything •the most fastidiously thirsty could desire—we examine 1 and peered into the mysteries •of smelting, so far as brick walls and iron furnace doors would allow us, until Mr Buchan came on the scene and undertook for the nonce the duty of father and guide, •and ably did he fill his part. In the first place, after telling us that the whole spur was a bed of c»al in every respect suitable for smelting purposes, he th m led the way —a distance of some fifty ya-ds to the pit, •sunk ti a depth of seventy feet, thirty-of it being through coal, and from which a tramway was laid to the furnace. Returning he explained that the present consumption of coal was 20 tons per week, as illustrating "the value of the site chosen. On arriving again at the furnace he fully described that—which we may here state vesemnles. as nearly as possible a bakers oven, with tho furnace at one end, at the other end being the flue leading to the stack, which attains a height of fully sixty feet, including the leaning flue—and then proceeded to the chief work of the day, the drawing off of the metal, which was most successfully ■done amidst ringing cheers and hearty good wishes from all present. A general move was now made to the side table, when Mr, Chas. Colclongh, in a few well-timed remarks, proposed the health of Mr. Buchan, who, he said, deserved every reward for bis steady and persistent efforts, battling against all difficulties to get tho mine opened. The toast being drank in bumpers of champagne, Mr. Buchan replied, explaining in the course of his remarks that some nine and a half yam ago the mine was made known to him and Mr. Pryde, that they took out of it 30 bags of the ore and sent it to England, and in return obtained advices that it gave a yield of about 60 per cent ot metal, which was worth L3O per ton. They, however, not having the capital to work it, had perforce to leave it; and by chance happening to meet Mr. Watson that gentleman came to tho rescue, and the result was what they saw to-day. To Mr. Watson, he said, more than thanks and credit was due ; but he thought likewise without egotism a certain amount of credit was due to Mr. Pryde and himself for their share in tho matter. Ho had, he said.

every faith in it, and felt sure the district collectively, as well as himself and his partners individually, would receive a benefit from it, Mr. D. McKellar proposed the health of Mr. Pryde, saying that he was the riuht man in the right place, he being one of those who had but to see and con. quer. Mr. Pryde responded ; after which Mr. Mackersey proposed the Vincent County Council, saying that as the County had not done much as yet in making roads in the Carridk riding the Antimony Company gave them a good opportunity. Cr. Jolly, in responding, said the County already expended over LIOO.OOO in roads and bridges. The Press, pastoral, and farming interests being proposed and responded to by Messrs. Kache, S. N, Brown, and Willmott the company then broke up, all alike much pleased with the day’s proceedings.