GOLD DREDGING.

Greymouth Evening Star, 19 January 1903, Page 3

GOLD DREDGING.

The weather seems to hare fairly settled, and for the first time since the New Year the rivers are down to the normal size and river dredging should have a fair commencement this week. Some of them however are not likely to get a start till the following Monday. The Greenstone division are short of coal and will experience difficulty in getting same until the bridge is temporarily repaired,

The sharemarket continues to improve, There are a good many , enquiries for stock but transactions at present are njostly confined to Mosquito, North Beach and No Town, which are rising in price. Mosquito gave a fine yield of 103 ozs. She was working on the centre of the lead which thins out to either side. At this particular point she will always get good returns, but the average for a long time to come should be up to 60 ozs a week. North Beach 74ozs 12dwts for 9 days An increased yield is expected this week. Pactolus 56ozs for No. 2 dredge for the week. The machine is working steadily into good ground. No. 1 dredgeis putting on a new crown wheel but will start on Monday. , Prince of Wales 33ozs for 120 hours

Ground is improving. Kohihooe 32 ozs Sdwts for 140 hours. The face took some time to clear up after the holidays, otherwise a better return would have been obtained. Gbeenstone 3 -Mile 29ozs 13dwts. This is a larger return than was expected, flood waters interfering with free work. Leviathan 19ozs for the week. Wash is improving, but a better return was expected last week. Commissionee’s Flat 21ozs 4dwta for 108 hours. Dredge is not working very satisfactorily, but ground fairly good. Mosquito No 3, which should be completed within three months is considered to have even better ground. There is a good deal of timber in both claims, but the dredgemaster of the Mosquito appears to have abetter way of getting rid of it than most companies. No Town— Seventy ozs for the week with every appearance of continuance of good returns. We understand that No Town No 2 have arranged their finances and that commencement will be made with putting on a dredge shortly. This claim as well as Bignel’s No Town is regarded as equal to No Town now being worked.

Callaghans Cseek, 23ozs lOdwts for 120 hours. This gold was really obtained during the last three days, the early part of the week being occupied cleaning out the debris brought down by a side gully. The dredgemaster expects a better return this week and says that in nine months time he will be on ground equal to anything that has ever been dredged on the Coast. Aldinga with 42 ounces lldwts again explodes the idea put forth that the claim was above the gold belt. The wash varies from 10 feet to 24 feet and is fairly good throughout. About 150 feet from where the dredge is now working virgin ground will be struck which is expected to give good returns. New Gbeenstone return is not yet known. Gbeenstone Cbeek and Gbeenstone Junction both seriously tampered, owing to the damage to the Teremakau bridge. We understand repairs to this latter were to have been commenced this moraing. It is to be hoped that some temporary structure will be erected so as to enable coal, light machinery, and general mercandisn to be taken over. The wire foot bridge that has been erected will not allow of any more than one or two persons to pass safely over it at once. Stonby and Mosquito Leads gave 19 ozs 1 dwt for 80 hours. The dredge has been thoroughly overhauled and is now working well so we may look for some solid returns. Tbafalgab has suffered more from the recent floods than any other dredge on the West Cost; the face being completely silted np. This wid curtail a good deal of dead work. A proposal has been made to turn the creek at this particular point, but it is understood that as other parties are opposing the proposal some difficulty is likely to be experienced.