MAORI KING DREDGING COY'S CLAIM.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 16 April 1901, Page 4

MAORI KING DREDGING COY'S CLAIM.

The following report by Mr. Poppelwel l concerning the above Company's ground ••v..'- - • ... ...: ■ elc :

"In accordance wiih instructions I have prospected your property situated at the New River and beg to report as follows :

" The Maori King claim is situated on the New River near Dunganville, lfi miles from Greymouth to which place it is connected by a good road.

" The claim extends forono mile down the New River from its junction with Maori Creek, and consists of river bed and banks, skirted on each side by alluvial terraces from whichjjcieh returns of gold were got in tho early diva by driving and sluicing. The material is exceptionally suitable for dredging, consisting of medium gravel wash, easily worked by dredge buckets. There are few if any boulders to interfere with the continuous running of the dredge, and the material being of a free nature, and the gold easily saved largo quantitias can be treated successfully in a given time. There is some timber on the river beaches, but not more than is usual in bu3h country, and being on tho surfaco will not be difficult to deal with, There is also standing bush on a small portion of the claim, but as this with the beach timber can be used for fuel the work of clearing it will answer two purposes.

Probably about a quarter of the claim has been worked by hand in the early days with good results. These workings are only on one side of the flat where the ground was shallow enough to permit working by hand. As the tailings from the terrace workings have been run into the flat in some cases on to solid ground, it is not easy to estimate the exact extent of worked ground, but I think the above estimate can be considered a fair one. The New Biver lead from which so much gold was won formerly crossed Maori Creek immediately above the claim, and running along the southern terrace bounding the claim ran into and was lost towards the lower end of it. This 'ead where it crossed Maori Creek has been been broken down and spread over your claim. This in itself indicates that the claim should prove a rich one, and will prove highly payable.

"A dredge capable of lifting 120 cubic yards per hour, ladder capable of dredging to a depth of 25 feet with screen tables and elevator, capable of stacking tailings to 15 feet above water-linc,|strong in every respect and with a boiler suitable for burning wood will meet all the requirements of the ground.. "Except for the purpose of proving the depth of the ground, for which I put down two bores to a depth of 10 and 15 feet respectively, I confined my operations to sinking shafts as the most satisfactory method of testing it, and am thoroughly satisfiedtwith the prospects obtained in the top material as far down as could be got for water. I was disappointed in not being able to bottom a shaft, as I do not doubt I would have found it very rich ; but, as further sinking would require the assistance of an engine and pump, I did not think the further expense warranted. "The following is a detailed result of prospecting:— " No. 1 Shaft. —Sunk G feet to water and bored 10 feet further to bottom. Eesult from I c. yard : I'3-lOgrs. " No. 2 Shaft. —Sunk 13 feet to top of solid wash (stopped by .water). Gold all through gravel. Eesult from 3c. yards: 52grs—l - 92grs to yard. "No. 3 Shaft-3 feet (stopped by water). Gold from surface, Eesult from % c. yard sluiced ; •TlSgrs—2:Jgis to yard. "No 4 shaft sunk 14 ft, could not bottom for water. Eesult from li C yards, average material 10 , 88grs=7;j- grs to a yard. "No 2 bore result from | cubic foot, •084=4igrs to C yard. Eesult from' 1 cubic yard from bank of river at water level put through sluice box, l'4l6grs C yard. Work out the results, average 29grs per C yard. "All the results were obtained by sluicing the material through a box.