THE CHILLAGOE MINE.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 9 December 1901, Page 4

THE CHILLAGOE MINE.

Strong Denunciation. (PER PRESS ASSOCIATION,"—COPYRIGHT.) Melbourne, Dec 7.

The Chillagoe directors have decided to suspend mining and smelting operations pending the procuring of additional capital. The writer of the "Wild Cat" column in the Bulletin, than whom there is no more capable and fearless mining critic in Australasia, in the last issue of that journal says:-‘ Chillagoe railway and mines -This ‘cat’ has got out of the bag at last, and newspapers which for the last three years have published columns of facts without comment allowing the public to draw, as it can easily do, its own conclusion, Danvers Power’s figures of tonnage and values, the result of an examination extending over two months, are even worse than Weinberg’s, and do not confirm those of Stewart, which most newspapers said was likely.,’ After retonnage of ore proved and values of the three experts, the writer continues :

The Age says that this information comes as a gr at. shock to the public, especially afror he pinnacle of mining excellence reached by Stewart. The financial condition is much worse than the prospects of the mines; £590 000 has been spent to date —railway and ro-hng stock, £382,000; mines, including plant, £140,000; reduction works, £53,000. The company is burdened with a _ huge debenture debt, which it is not possible to liquidate with shares, It borrowed

£50,000 some months ago, and it is said that it is another £25,000 behind, and shareholders am te bo Called to face the music, 83me weeks ago a statement was published showing the share-transactions of some of the big men since the formation of the company, making it quite tleftr that while the pUbliS was going in largely with the assistance of false newspaper reports, the others were quietly getting out. They sold between them fjomo tens Of thousands of shares, and the share register shows that most of them were •sold at the best market prices. The original founder of the mine, John Moffat is the only director who retained hia full interest, 2d,000 shares, Which he holds to-day ; and by comparison-, anyhow, that Is something w be proud of. The price Moffat got for these mines in cash and shares was insignificant compared to the valuation they subsequently reached. Perhaps the greater s-hock of his life was when he read atewart’s report on Chiltagoe, and as Stewart was then the greatest mining gun booming under the Souther \ Cross, no doubt Moffit thought ho had sold the mine too cheap, and that the best thing was to stick to his shares ; either that, or he determined to seethe thing through and not fallow the public to suffer by reason of bis exercising knowledge in respect to which it was kept in the dark. The dates in the share register show that some people did not believe in Stewart, that they exercised their own judgment, or they got the truth from other experts. But the public was induced to pin its faith to Ste Wart. The matter demands the strictest investigation.

Before any meeting of shareholders to put up more money takes place, a committee should bo appointed to see how far the directors themselves are responsible for the present state of things, and the extent to which the public has been played with. And if it is proved that the directors arc still satisfied with the greatness of these mines, and that those of them who parted with shares parted for the most excellent of reasons, then let them put up the money required to put the mines into a working and paying condition. There is, however, Very little hope of that. But for the big Broken Hill and Mount Lyell mining guns the Chillagoo mines would have been regarded as only prospects, money would have been put up to explore them, and if they turned out failures that would have been the end of them would have been made ample for ! hac purpose. As it is, this company build a. railway costing nearly £400,000, for which at present there is little use, it spent £140,000 in mining, and, according to its own officers, most of this has been thrown away —i. e., small, pockety, garnet formations have been worked ns if they were permanent bodies, while big lodes, having ironstone and gossan cappings, containing carbonate of copper on the surface, w r ith every appearance of sulphides below, are practically untouched. It has spent over £50.000 in building six furnaces, which could be put into blast immediately—and there is only one running. It would he a sorry day for the debenture holders if they were asked to take over the whole property for the debt. So what a lively time there is before the unfortunate shareholders*