MINING

Hokitika Guardian, 25 January 1933, Page 8

MINING

KAWAIIAU GOLD

ETCH YIELDS CONTINUE

DUNEDIN, January 23

The run of rich yields from the claims in the lvawarau Gorge appears to l*e fully maintained. The ground continues very rich; but thei aggregate weekly yield depends on the amount of dead work found necessary. No definite figures for the week are available; but those priviliged to watch the daily operations of washingup—and they are many—have no doubt as to the richness of the around. Rich ground still extends ahead in the tunnels, and in respect of one the prospects of another big week are considered likely. Some indication of the extent of the revival in - mining is found in the quarterly returns of the local mining registrar. During the past three month;; 303 applications were lodged in the district operated from Cromwell Court. In the Cromwell office 177 miners’ rights were issued for the same period.

TWO ADDITIONAL VENTURES. Two additional ventures in the vicinity of tlie rich plapns at the Kawo-r-r.u Gorge, have been commenced. One is a tunnel some 200 yards down stream from Mr Bell and party’s sluicing claim, or about midway between that claim and the claim operated by Messrff Bell and Kilgour. Some few years ago, a local party sprnt a good deal of money piercing the clay bottom with a tunnel in ,the hope of striking a payable .gutter. Finally they gave up the task. The tunned has now been reopened, and is being cleared out: and the intention of the present prospectors as to rise up through the bottom to the alluvial ground above and prospect at that level.

TEMPORARY DAMS. From what can be gatheied, there is every reason to hope that the proposal for temporary: dams to hold hack fhe waters of Lake Wanaka and Lake Howea during next winter will be put into effect. The building of the necessary structure to hold Lake Hawea back is considered to present no difficulty; but the damming of Lake Wanaka is considered to he a bigger task, tbire being evidently some doubt regarding a suitable bottom.

CLUTHA GOLD

COMPANY TO BE FORMED

LONDON, January 15

For some months .past rumours have been abroad regarding the formation of a company to work for gold in the Clutha river, Central Otago. It is now possible to report that a concession has been granted to a certain organisation as yet unnamed to dredge for gold on a nineteen-mile reach of the river between Cromwell and Alexandra and Clyde. A prospectus will be issued early in January, and the intention is to raise capital amounting to £250,000. The first call on the capital will be for the construction of a powerful and up-to-date dredge of about 300 horse-power. The two promoters of this company are M r Norman M. Dudgeon, M.I.M. 1 M., and Mr A. Hedley Williams, A.1.M.M., M.lnst.P.T. Mr Dudgeon is not unknown in New Zealand. He was manager of the W.aitekauri claim for a year in 1897, and, returning again from Australia, he became gen--1 ’era] manager of the New Inkerman Mine, on the West Coast, from 1903 to 1906. Altogether, lui spent five-and-a-half years in the Dominion. In Australia he was general manager of the Victoria Court Mine, and the Daylesford Mine, and consulting engineer for the Star and the A 1 Mines in Victoria. IBs mining activities later took him to Rhodesia, Mexico, and Canada. During the war lie worked for Messrs Vickers in connection with the manufacture of paravanes and tanks. In recent years ho has had a business unconnected with mining in the city, but together with M_> Williams, he has formed what is known as the N.M.D. Syndicate, which is sinking an oil well in Sussex. Thin well is already 1300 ft in depth, but quality oil is not expected until it is down 18(X) to 200 ft. Ihe G.W.D. Syndicate, with a well 2300 ft in Germany, is 'another of their ventures. Mr Williams, whose family have been in the tin mining industry in Cornwall for generations, has also bad wide experience of mining, mainly in Burma. FIFTY FOOT DREDGING. These two promoters base their hopes for- the future on the Clutha on several grounds. First, the rcc»ru draining of the river and the mining activities that followed showed that gold is to bo found at a depth that was never reached by the old dredges. Second, the old dredges averaged about GOo/. a week. When the river • was low, however, through climatic 1 conditions and the dredging was car- | r i e d deeper into the bod of the river, ;; I the takings increased to as much as

lOOOoz « week. The new dredge in contemplation will be able to dig to a depth of 50ft below tbd existirig bed' of the stream, thus working ground that was never touched by the old 80 horse-power dredges. The dredge will he steamdriven, and the coal used will he the lignite obtainable in the locality. Associated with Mr Dudgeon and Mr Williams in their enterprise are Mr F. Lysnar and Mr W. Tong, of Auckland.