GOLD DREDGING.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 8 March 1901, Page 4

GOLD DREDGING.

The prospecting of the Shenandoah ground by the Keystone borer gave a return equal to 7Tgrs to the yard. Mr F. H. Labatt, secretary of the Greenstone Creek Gold Dredging Company, informs us that the dredgemaster expects to start dredging on the loth instant.

Owing to the slow arrival of the machinery for the Island Creek dredge, the erection is not proceeding apace. The delay is disappointing both to shareholders in the Island Creek Company and those in adjoining companies. The latter wish to see whether the Island Creek dredge can treat the material successfully and strike the payable gold promised by the prospects before ordering dredges for their claims.

The Keystone borer, says the Cromwell Argus, has proved that several claims on the West Coast are not payable, but the method of prospecting adopted was in some cases ridiculously inadequate. In one instance a claim was supposed to be tested by a single bore. Another large claim on a flat had three bores put down on it. There may be tons of gold in either claim and one or three bores fail to strike a colour.

We arc (says the Polorous Guardian) informed that it is the intention of the proprietors of the Imperial Dredge to remove the machinery to a claim on the West Coast.

It is rumoured says the Westport News that the Kochfort Claim, Fairdown, is being placed on the market in Dunedin. The idea, which is a good one, is to get the mine in work. Forty shares, so it is stated, are being offered to the public at £25 each. This amount, it is understood, will represent one fifth of the claim, and consequently a very fair price should represent the whole. The claim was under offer locally some short time ago for a sum of £-00 to £IOOO complete, and how its value has now increased to £SOOO is one of those things that “no fellah can understand.” We sincerely hope however, that negotiations will be succesfful, as the claim has been idle for some years, and is liable to forfeiture at any time. Should the undertaking be successful a number of men will bo employed, and we believe renumorativcly to the promoters. Many think the plant far too extensive and heavy to pay, bat where the claim was worked in the early days it undoubtedly paid, and it is very generally believed that had the Exploration Company continued work they would have eventually cut through to the old workings, a point at which working on a large scale were considered certain to prove payable. Messrs Laing and Mclntyre, who were employed on the Four Kivcr Plain dredge as driver and engineer respectively, have left for Wellington. During tho past twelve months the Keep-it-Dark paid five thousand five hundred pounds in dividends, making a total disbursement to shareholders of nearly one hundred and nineteen thousand pounds or £5 8s per share on twenty thousand shares; while tho amount called up has only been a little over sis thousand pounds. Tho Glenroy water race held by the late Mr John Gow, will, according to the “ Duller Post, ” shortly bo surveyed with a view to tho construction of a race for hydraulicing the ground near the mouth of tho Glenroy. Mr Turner, of Wellington, has been appointed engineer for the Kohikohi Dredge.

The returns of the Four River Plain Dredge are still too small to bo published, but it is expected that payable gold will be struck within the next month or so. We understand that portions of her machinery have been severely strained in cutting a passage through the pug to her own ground. It is expected that the Kohikohi pontoons will bo finished in about a fortnight. The action of the atmosphere says the Duller Post is having an effect, the reverse of beautifying upon the old Mataki •Dredge, All her machinery is covered with rust, and the timber in the pontoons is warped visibly and becoming cracked all over.