MINES STATEMENT

Hokitika Guardian, 8 September 1920, Page 4

MINES STATEMENT

EXTRACTS FROM THE REPORT DREDGE MINING.

On the West Coast of the South Island four dredges produced gold, but of these only two were in active commission throughout the year. At Kumara the dredge owned by the Kapitea Gold- j fields (Limited) treated 400,000 cubic' yards of material, averaging 2)d per cubic yard, and showed a slight profit. The Chambers Reward dredge, formerly known as Worksop No 2, which started work in April treated 202,000 cubic yard, averaging )d per cubic yard. Owing to the heavy nature of the wash necessitating alteration to the plant, and' to the loss of time in removing' buried timber, the returns so far from this dredge have not been payable. At the present time one of the Government Keystone drills is employed drilling immediately in front of the dredge, with a view of cdßfiniug operations to that portion of the Ahaura Valley in which the gold contents are highest. The further testing of the Ilimu Flat by ••Keystone drilling was completed by the late A. E. Gregory early in the year, and a company with headquarters in New York has now purchased the property from the Rimu Options and Rimu No 1 Dredging Companies. Mr It. E. Cranston has been appointed engineer and a dredge, of the Californian typemore powerful than anything ever before seen in the Dominion —is being built to works the claim, Particulars of this dredge are as follows: —Pontoons: Length 116 ft.; width, 50ft.; depth, lift.; freeboard, 3ft.; draught, Bft. Shafting!: Upper tumbler, 21in. diameter; lower tumbler shaft, 14in in diameter; main-drive pulley shaft, 61 in in diameter. Buckets: There will he 73 buckets in the digging-line. These buckets are each one solid manganese steel casting with a replaceable lip. They are 10 cubic feet capacity, and have a pitch of 36in. The speed of the bucket line will be about 20buckets per minute. The bucket-pins are Gin in diameter. Horse-power: The horse-power of the dredge is 550, and power is supplied from a hydroelectric plant. Capacity : It is estimated that in the ground to be worked the dredge will handle a maximum of 200,000 cubic yards per month. Gold-saving tables: There is an area of 4,400 square feet of gold-saving tables on the dredge. This is a. most important event in the history of New Zealand mining, for, although the dredging industry was born here and was very successful in its early years, it has not kept pace, as regards the machinery used, with the developments in other countries. It will now be proved whether these developments applied here will lead to a revival of the industry. It is important also in that it is the first time a strong American company has acquired a mining property in New Zealand, and because the company is prepared to finance much more extensive undertakings if this one is profitable. In Otago and Southland fifteen dredges were.in commission, producing gold valued at £39,501, or an average of £2,633 per dredge. Compared with last year, when twenty-one dredges produced £63,698, or an average of £3,033, there is a. marked shrinkage in the output of this class of mining. ALLUVIAL MINING.

There were 432 men employed on 131 alluvial claims during the year. The total output of gold was valued at £80,273, which is slightly in excess of that of the preceding year. A large number of these claims are worked by their owners, and the returns from this class of mining show that .on an average each man won gold to the value of £3 10s per week. Morgan Bros’ claim, Cambrian, Otago, worked by three men, | gave 1,6550z5, valued at £6.,620, the highest output for the year. The Government prospecting-drills have been freely used during the year, and although in several instances the results have been of a negative character, this information has been gained by those concerned at a minimum of expense. In the Waikato the area which was partially prospected last year has been further tested, and the results have been such that the Government has acquired a considerable holding here to develop a State coal-mine. At Hi mu Flat further placer-drilling took place, and as an outcome of the extensive keystone drilling which has been carried out here during recent years an American company has decided to install a powerful gold-dredge of modern type to deal with the heavy goldbearing gravels. The Dunedin Gitj Council finished boring their proposed reservoir area at Waipori, and the results of the drilling carried out during tiie past two pears clearly show that the flooding of this reserve will not result in the loss of an extensive area of payable gold-bearing gravel. An aggregate of 9.534 ft was drilled in seventyone holes.

SUBSIDIZED ROADS ON GOLDFIELDS. The following -schedule shows the amounts expended by subsidies and direct grants out of the Public \\ orks Fund, vote “Roads on Goldfields, and out of Consolidated Fund, in the different counties and boroughs during the year ended 31st March, .1920: Public Works Fund—- £ s. d. Direct Grants 11,653 0 0 Subsidies ... w- 912 0 0 Consolidated Fund — Grants ... “ 931 0 0 Total £13,096 0 0 GOVERNMENT WATER-RACES. The Waimea-Kumara and Mount Ida water-races, whieh render 'possible -hydraulic mining in the Kumara district, Westland, and tile Naseby district, Central Otago, have supplied thirtyseven miners with water for sluicing during 1919, by which gold to the value of about £B,IBO was won. The average gross earnings of each miner, after deducting the sum paid to tho Government for water supplied, amounted to about £lB3 for the year, but from this must be deducted all expenditure on plant, rent, etc. The receipts and -expenditure were as follows:

Waimea-Kumara races;—Receipts, £659 10s; expenditure, £2,387. Mount Ida.—Receipts £738 10s; expenditure, £1,669. Totals—Receipts £1,398; expenditure £4,056. From this it will be seen that the ex-

penditure on upkeep exceeded the revenue received from sales of water by £2,658. The capital expenditure on these races exceeds £250,000, and as for several years P ast the races have not been self-supporting no sum has been allotted for depreciation or interest on capital. For the current year the loss on the races represents £72 per miner employed, or 32 per cent of the value of the gold. INSPECTOR DOWNEY’S REPORT. HOKITIKA AND ROSS.

’Mount Greenland Company,—Work has progressed quietly. The crushing increased from '567 to 679 tons, but the total valife of the gold won has only increased from £2,205 to £2,336. There has thus been apparently a fall-off in the average value of the quartz of 9s per ton. No dividends have been paid. Mount Greenland Extended Syndicate.—With the assistance of a Government subsidy a. crosscut is being put in on this syndicate’s prospecting-area to cut a reef at about 250 ft below the outcrop. This crosscut is now in about 200 ft, and should soon meet the reef. Jones Creek Syndicate.—After sinking two shafts on its property near Ross Township —one of them at Jones Creek to a depth- of 410 ft, and the. other on Bayloy’s Creek to about 130 ft—this syndicate ceased work in May. Some driving was done from the latter shaft, but no reef was met with. DREDGING. The decline in, the dredging industry noted last year has continued during this one, the number of hands employed shrinking from 66 to 31, and the value of gold won from £15,848 18s 2d to £8,336 12s sd. The Success dredge foundered and has not yet been raised, and the HesseyCameron, Slab Hut, Rimu No. 1, and Ahaura River dredges have all. been out of commission.

The Worksop No. 2 dredge was removed from Antonio’s to the Arahura River, where it was re-erected by the Westland Prospecting Syndicate under the name of “Chambers Reward.” It started dredging there, but to the end of the! year had not met with any great success. Very heavy ground was encountered, and parts of the machinery had to be replaced with stronger plant. Buried timber also caused great loss of time. The results so far have not been at all satisfactory, hut further work will probably prove more encouraging. The Kapitea dredge did fairly for the year. KUMARA. On the Kumara, Goldsborough, Stafford, and Callaghan’s fields the productions showed a slight improvement, a recovery of 1,375 oz being reported, valued' at £5,428. The principal producers were Morgan Bros. (175 oz), Linklater (332 oz), and Blackmun (255 oz). at Stafford; Havill Bros. (130 oz), at Callaghan’s; Stubbs and Steel (132 oz), at Argus Terrace ; R. Kean (154 cys) and the Hohomi Diamond Terrace Sluicing Company (103 oz) at Greenstone.

HOKITIKA,

Westland Prospecting Syndicate.— The head-race was completed and sluicing was started late in the year. Results were, however, not nearly as good as expected, and work was temporarily stopped. , , Rimu Options—lt is now reported that the American investors who for some time past have been further testing the ground by means of Keystone drills and shafts have exercised their option, and intend to put a large modern dredge at work there. A new company is being formed in America in connection with the venture, and its representative is expected to arrive on the field early in the new year. As it is certain that a large amount of gold is in the Rimu flats, it is to he hoped that a suitable, plant will now he pro„v.ided ti enable it to be recovered. A few other claims produced gold to the total value of £3,066, the largest producers being the Rimu Sluicing Company (391 oz), and Brookes and party (230 oz), at Rimu.

MANAGER ROCHFORD’S REPORT

WAIMEA-KUMARA WATER-RACES,

Waimea Water-race.—The construction of the original Waimea water-race was completed about 1874. Its total length, including extension of Branch B to Scandinavian Hill and the Waimea Extension additional supply from Macpherson’s Creek to the Kawhaka Saddle is 19 miles 44 chains, and the total cost of construction approximately £127,600 The main race'lias a maximum carrying capacity of 30 sluice-heads, and both it and the several branches are in good repair. Branch Race to Callaghan’s and Middle Branch Flat.—The construction of the Callaghan’s water-race from the outlet of the Waimea pipe-line to Callaghan’s Flat was completed in 1897 at a cost of approximately £5,950. It 9 length is 4 miles 62 chains, and' carry-, ing capacity 25 sluice-heads to the junction with tiio Middle Branch race. Tho inverted siphon leading to Callaghan’s will take 15 sluice-heads.

Middle Branch race was constructed in 1901. Tire cost of construction of this race and small storage reservoir was about £I,BOO. The length of this race from the reservoir to Middle Branch Flat is about .one mile, .and carrying capacity 30 sluice-lieads.

With the exception of some necessary repairs to several flumings both these races are in good order. Kumara 'Water-race. —-The original race was constructed in 1878, and some branches now included some years later. The total length, including Kapiton Hill race, 1 is three and threequarter miles, and its /construction has cost, including Nos, 1 and 2 reservoirs and various branches, about £41,*60. The head-race tunnel has a carryingcapacity of 140 sluice-heads, hut from there to tho Taramakau sjphon the, carrying capacity is reduced to 60 sluice-heads." The tunnel and open ditching portions of the race are in fairly good repair, hut many of the.old 30in steel pipes of the inverted siplmn between Dillmanstown and Kuma.vt need replacing. Jvumara Supply Race. —Tho intake ’.s in tho Kawhaka Creek, about one and a quarter miles below the headworks of the Waimea. water-race, and it termin-ates-at the headwaters of. the Kapitea Creekj covering a- distance of about five miles. This race, which was completed in 1881 at a cost of £5,400, has a carv ing capacity of 35 sluice-heads, and was meant to augment the Kumara waterrace supply.

There has been little demand f.r water from the Kumara reservoir of late years, and as this race has n 4 been used for a considerable time repairs costing £6OO to £7OO will be required to put it in working order.

Kumara trans-Tararnakau Waterrace.—This race was constructed in 1912, and comprises two miles of inverted siphon across the Taramakau Valley and 1 mile 56 chains of open ditching. The total cost of construction, including reservoir apd pipe bridge, was about £21,900. The carrying capacity of the siphon to reservoir level is 15 sluiejheads and to water-race level 30 sluice heads,! while the open ditching from the reservoir to Quinn’s Terrace will carry 60 sluice-heads. This race is in goO'i order except for certain sections oi ste-’i piping in the inverted siphon. Erin-go-Bragh Water-race.—This r*n? was purchased in 1913, and takes i f s intake from the big Holionu and runs to a storage reservoir at Revell’s Te.-.aee, from which a branch race leads to Argus Terrace. The expenditure on this race, including widening, repairs to clitclung, and extension, has amounted, to about £2,900. The carrying capacity ,r > the reservoir is about 12 sluice-heads, and from there to Argus Terrace about 28 sluice-heads. The length of the race is about five miles, and the whole of it is in fair order.

Wainihinihi Water-race.—This race was constructed in 1901, and comprises 95 chains of ditching and 35 chans of rock tunnel, at a totah cost of about £16,000. The carrying capacity 's 3o sluice-heads, and the race is in good order.