THE WAIWHERO SLUICING AND DREDGING COMPANY.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 6 March 1901, Page 4

THE WAIWHERO SLUICING AND DREDGING COMPANY.

The secretary of the Waiwhcro Sluicing and Dredging Company (Mr H. A. Bruce) informs the Christchurch Press that the visiting directors of this company, Messrs H. P, Hill and James Trent having just returned from a visit of inspection of the company’s claim, state that at the time of leaving the manager had completed 20 shifts, with an average water supply of eight heads from tributaries only, and there having been a spell of exceedingly line weather, this can be fairly taken as the minimum quantity available from this source. The completion of the remaining GO chains to bring in the Canoe Creek, or main supply, will now shortly be completed, the whole of the scantlings for sills, caps, etc., is now on the race line, and the upper sawmill had just started to cut 00,000 feet of boards, which will be laid as quickly as cut. The waterwheel for driving the amalgamators was also just started, but the manager, Mr Geo. Morris, stated thet it would take at least a fortnight to overtake the accumulated concentrates or sand, so that actual results will not be available until after that date, but the cloths appear to show a satisfactory amount of gold and a good return is expected. The question of tine gold saving is now satisfactorily proved beyond contradiction, the tables designed by Mr H. W. Young, the company’s engineer, are unequalled on the West Coast and work

like clock-work, and the plush that is being used was expressly manufactured for this company, being the result of twelve months’ careful study and consideration, saving the gold to exhaustion, and there is no more difficulty than with coarse river gold. The. top strakc saves at least 9-10tli, the second strakc less than l-10th, and the third remaining strakc so little that it docs not pay tor washing them. The flume is all that could be desired, and Mr Y oung deserves great credit for having practically completed one of the most difficult pieces of engineering as relating to hydraulic sluicing ever attempted by any private company on the West Coast. The contractors and sub-contractors have also had to work under most trying conditions, and although the work_ has not been finished iu the specified time, have carried it out in a satisfactory manner, the chief cause of delay arising from the difficulty in obtaining timber from Greymoutb, all of which had to bo rafted and towed out by the tug, which was only possible during intermittent periods of lino weather, but with the two mills of the company now at work it is expected that no further delay will take place. Simultaneously the remaining tables will be completed, when two distinct claims will be in full work, employing two nozzles at each.