The Hokitika Guardian TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 7th, 1922. SUCCESSFUL DREDGING.

Hokitika Guardian, 7 November 1922, Page 2

The Hokitika Guardian TUESDAY. NOVEMBER 7th, 1922. SUCCESSFUL DREDGING.

It is interesting to find how visitors to the large dredge operating on R.imu Flat continue to he impressed with the machine and the work it is doing. The dredge, has been operating now for a little over a year, and there is no doubt as to the amount of work carried out. A long unbroken line of heaped-up tailings stretching for a good half-mile, at least, is a striking monument to the continuous burrowing of the lcviathian. The work appears to be canned out with grent uniformity, or symmetry it might be called seeing how orderly the wholo working is. The lay-out and the disposal pf the debris reflects eppdit on the. pnginperjng fnanagomepj; ppntrolling the ppnteitlpTH- Equally iirjP "'sire jRA

the operations of tlie dredge itself. Worked electrically, and with an absence of the dirt and grime of a steam plant, the floating leviathan is cleanly and in good order, notwithstanding a year’s steady work. The operations are proceeding very smoothilv. There are three shifts per day, the dredging going tin continuously round the clock. A minimum crew is necessary' only, for levers working the electric power, set machinery in motion for the laborious work, and care and watchfulness are alone required to keep the buckets in the face and the dredge is powerful enough to do its job methodically and well. The buckets come up invariably filled to overflowing and stones of a comparatively large size are comfortably disposed of. The screen operates noisily of necessity, hut no less* in proper business fashion, nnd the wash dirt is completely and quickly separated from the stones which are dropped on to the travelling trail and dumped on the stone heap behind the dredge. An ample flow of water floods the tables whereon the wash dirt is distributed, and the gold mostly line, is effectively saved. It is understood that the returns from the dredge arc keeping up very well indeed. The whole outfit has cost a very large sum for n mining venture, probably upwards of six figures. but this large capital cost is not licyoml the value of the ground to repay. The company holds a large area of country, which it is estimated will take forty years to work, so that in this dredging enterprise there is something akin to a permanent industry for a generation at least. And there are other tracts of country within a short radius of the present field, where similar dredges cart operate with eqi al financial success. The perhaps deeper ground of Kauieri flat will, it is not unlikely, be operated by an adaptatb n of a like dredging plant well within n decade. Of that there is not much doubt, we think. As to the returns from the present dredge, these are now running into big money far into five figures and it is believed are most satisfactory to the management. 11 Is being reported that the Company will 'he paying very shortly a dividend i n the preferential share holdings, though this was not anticipated in the first year's work of the dredge. Tile present month will be an important one in the initial history of the important undertaking, for it Is expected that the result of the November dredging witl decide tho Company in respect to the larger supply of electric powi r which will lie indispensible in respect to the second and larger dredge it is contemplated placing on the grouii '. A fairly substantial gold yield is looked for this month as a result of the preliminary prospecting of the ground ahead of the dredge. There is also the intention it is understood to instal a much improved engineering plant in connection with constructional and repair work, indicating that as usual the Company is laying itself out to do the work ahead even more thoroughly than in tlie past. Dredging at liiinu PT t is the re‘ore likely to bo one of tho most permanent and flourishing indi stries in tho immediate neighbourhood ol Hokitika and as such is entitled to the hearty good will of tho people, nnd this ni doclii will lie given ungrudgingly.