WEST COAST MINING.

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

WEST COAST MINING.

Summarising the developments in gold dredging during the present year, the “ Otago Daily Times ” says :—“ Since the present year opened a few now dredges have got to work, and for the most part they have got on payable gold. In this respect the West Coast lias quite come up to expectations, nearly all of the dredges having proved the payable character of the claims they are operating upon. Although none of the West Coast dredges have struck anything phenomenal since the Grey River dredge made her big return, yet most of them show returns which would appear to indicate that shareholders may expect regular dividends in the near future. The West Coast results have fully justified the confidence of investors, and in good time there is bound to be an enormous revival of mining on the West Coast. Perhaps the most notable development on the West Coast is the success of tho Leviathan dredge, which is working a litloral deposit containing very fine gold intermingled with black sand. This sarrJ, which is composed of black oxide of iron, or magnetic iron oro, is extremely heavy, and it is impossible to soperato tho fine gold from it by tho ordinary method of streaming down over tho gold-saving tables ; consequently amalgamation has to be resorted to as the final process of saving tho gold. Largo distributing tables are required, and the greatest care has to bo exercised in regulating tho flow of water and sand over the blanket tables, otherwise most of the gold is sent away in the tailings. While tho Leviathan dredge has not completely solved tho problem, she has gone a long way iu that direction, and .no doubt further developments will follow.