GOLD DREDGING NOTES.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 17 January 1901, Page 3

GOLD DREDGING NOTES.

The return from the Waipuna this week is expected to be the best yet obtainod. The Shellback Company tenders fjr machinory close on the 19th. Work in connection with this promising claim is to be pushed on with alt dilligence, and the end of the year should see dredging in operation. The Ntw Biver dredge has had a good trial running everything working smooth ly, and a fair weeks run is expected this week.

The eigineeer for the Nrlson CVcek .'-'redginf Company niaintalaa that the nacluneiy i? working well. 'What, bowi ver is maintained, is that the cngiaes are ,- ot as powerful a. 3 could bo desired. Tho Buller United, ofWzsllmgtO' , have ordered au up-to-date boring plane from S. Luke and Co., for prospecting and testing dredging areas. The consulting engineers of the Premier (Buller) Gold Dredging Company report that the building of the pontoons at the company's claim is in active progress. Thoy anticipate tho whole of the plant will'bc fitted up by about the end of February. Regarding the change in the management of the Leviathan Company, the Christchurch Press says :—According to a private letter, recotly received from the Coast, Mr A. Magnus, dredgemaster of the Leviathan Gold Dredgihg dredge, has received intimation that it is intended to appoint another to his position the apparent cause being that Mr Magnus, acting in the best interests of the shareholders, and with tho concurrancc of the local director, Mr Druce, substituted Jones's tables for the ones previously in use on the dredge. The previous tables, constructed to deal especially with the wash found on the claim, were found to bo ineffective, as the wash could not be evenly distributed on them, the wash remaining on the first two tables, the others having only water. With Jones's tables it is found'possible to distribute tho wash evenly over the whole of the tables ; indeed, wish the new tablos it is anticipated < that good prospects will be obtained in the tailings of the area already dredged. There appears Jittle doubt that gold was lost' with the old tables, which wiV. be saved by Jones's. When the dredge commences operations, a 3 soon as the new tables aro fixed, and the elevator put right, it will be about three weeks before she gets into the solid wash. The Ford's Crock Gold Dredging Company reported a small breakdown in the winch last Saturday, which, however, would not cause any serious delay. It is generally believed that the dredge will, owing to the quantities of drift timber. have to lie shifted to another part of the claim, where good wash devoid of boulders and timber is known to exist. The Totara dredge, which has had a long spell of enforced idleness consequent upon extensive repairs of machinery and plant rendered necessary through the difficult nature of the ground, has again got into thorough working order and commenced dredging yesterday morning.