OTAGO.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 650, 19 March 1870, Page 4

OTAGO.

[daily timej.] ; lii our issue of Thursday last we stated, j on the authority of a private telegram, that a crushing of 5| tons of quartz at Bendigo Gully had yielded 420z sdwt of gpld. We now learn- from the Cromwell | p^perathat the atone waa-itaken from the Royal Standard claim, Pipeclay Gully, Bannockburn. It was not picked, but \Vas taken at random from the claim, in order that a fair idea of the general yield to be expected frpm it might be obtained, j After a lapse of nearly two months most of the miners at the Hogburn have pnee more commenced work. The only exceptions are those whose claims are on j Surface Hill, and are commanded by tho j water from tlie Extended and Hit or Miss j Companies. The price charged for water during the week has been 40s per head, j and it is stated that, with the Lwo exceptions, riaraied, all the companies will permanently reduce the price per head to that amount. Ou Saturday, the 25th ult., the new box fluming of the Hit or Miss Water Race Company at Mount Ida, was successfully opened in presence of a number of the shareholders interested in its completion. The Chronicle furnishes tlie folr lowing description of this work. This company, in order to get their water to command Surface Hill workings, have to cross two saddles either by flaming in the usual way (which -would have been an enormous expense — tho highest space being about 50 feet) or iv the way now adopted. The length of the saddle now crossed is about 800 feet, and the height required to be reached is 50 feet above the lowest part. As we believe this is the first box piping or fl timing used for mining purposes in this province, if not in New Zealand, it might be well worth description: The boxesare made of 12 x , 2in pla,»king,firmly strapped together with, iron bolts and 3 x 2 hardwood battens ; they are then, closely fitted and bound together, aiid laid'ori 3 x 3 sleepers along the line of the saddle, with a fall in iheir entire length of about six : feet. A small dam is constructed at the mouth of the box. or pipe, in order to give the water more, pressure "to 'force it through— the quantity discharged or carried- beirig dependent upon the supply necessary to keep this dam fulll' 1 * It was generally asserted that the strain brought to bear upon the boxes would burst them, but the trial has fortunately disproved these assertions. We believe this description of fluming is in general use in California, although hitherto, not adopted in New Zealand on account of the scarcity and high price of timber— more particularly on the Otago Gold Fields. With hardly any pressure, the quantity of water flowing through the boxes was about eight Hogburn heads, which quantity, we believe, can be increased to 14f or 15 heads. It is expected that in two months this company will have the water on top of Surface Hill, vrhen a good many new claims will be opened.