MINING MANAGERS.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IV, Issue 286, 7 December 1869, Page 2

MINING MANAGERS.

{From the Mining Journal, Nov, 20.) A really efficient Mining Manager is indeed a paragon, and we might consider ourselves lucky if one claim in fifty upon tiis field succeeded in .obtaining a mau who comes fully up. to the mark; in most cases some' in the majority, we regret to say, all the necessary characteristics appear to us to be wanting; and in consequence we have to deplore money and labor misspent, time thrown away, chronic calls, no dividends, and very general dissatisfaction and disgust. We have no hesitation whatever in attributing the tardy development of our mines to the utter ignorance displayed in working them ; well directed and skilled labor can alone trace out and extract the thousand quartz veins which in "every- .direction intersect our hills. Knowing' to our cost full well the distinctive grounds of unfitness for the position, we will endeay or briefly to sketch what we consider should be necessary,; qualifications of, the working manager of a quartz mine.' He shbuldbe a man of intelligence above the ordinary ; so far accquainted with geology as to .understand the accepted theories of stratification, and able to apply them in all ordinary : circumstances j a 'thoroughly efficient practical miner jvtaorbughly qonversant with every ; method of^'extracting i tfie [fivQfi&nji, - with Vthe uses/ j construction, ! andi repair, of all f kinds of; machinery j skilled further in the i economy of labor, so as; to -judge correctly; the best way of forking the. ; ground : ''^witii.;i,a'}:yiew,-to ) ,',tjie '. present and future profit of ; the ; share- : holders ; ; for there may : be more than one ! way' oiF opening ;»y^ , reckless,^^^ expendjiture in > this is frequently l f disregarded .tin ; the! ; Srillwinti anticip'sitions ; 'f^turiß^-':%':HQ ; >Bhb'uld^^

character, ;of; known probity j so as to command the respect and ready obedience of those working in the mine, and to be worthy of the implicit confidence which it is "very expedient ■Wou'Fd-be" l placed'"i'nrKi'iia. He should be ;the *feye." and. "ear" of the company in the mine, and guard their interests as his own. It mustalways be borne in mind that the , the direction of quartz' mining requires very different and higher qualifications than any other des- ' cription of mining. In alluvial or river workings, and even in slucing, the ordinary knowledge of sinking, driving, taking off a face, &c.,.posessed by' most miners is generally sufficient; , but without the intelligent application of special acquirements the best executed works in a quartz mine are but labor lost ; and while the manager essentially requires the skill to execute efficiently every description of work — he requires, as we have said, a great deal more, and must know how to make such works available in the most economical way using the word "economical" in its broadest sense. On this field may be seen tunnels, drives, shafts,- all excellently constructed — workmanship thoroughly good, chiefly, done by contract; but utterly useless, except as works of art and warnings to sanguine directors, who think whatever the prospects, you must strike a solid reef somewhere if you drive or sink far enough iD any possible direction. A thoroughly intelligent knowledge of quartz mining will be admitted then, we think, to be necessary in the man to be entrusted with this particular work j he should also understand the principle, not only of the ordinary machinery in use in mines, but of the crushing batteries with their appliances, in order that the least possible amount of gold may be absorbed in the process of extraction, and that the company may be secured from any possibilities of loss by the dishonestly of persons connected more directly with the machine ; that this is necessary, recent experience here and in Victoria testify. No doubt it is difficult to obtain the services of many men who come up to the standard we have endeavored to pourtray, but we can, at all events in most cases, go some way towards it, and at all events improve vastly upon the very general arrangement at present. Let us see what this is : our readers will agree, we think/ we are not overstating the case, and on reflection will hardly wonder at the result. On the formation of accompany, one of the first things done is to elect the directors, and we affirm that in nine cases out of ten this election is a mere farce, and no consideration is given by the shareholders to the importance of the question. The first gentlemen who happen to .be named are chosen without regard to their fitness in any way for the office, arid without realisiug that the entire interests of the company are placed unreservedly on', their* hands. They' are not unfrequently laboring men employed upon the ground, or tradesmen interested otherwise than by holding shares. The directors meet, and sometimes (not always) go through the form of advertising for a working manager, and ' demanding testimonials.^ It. is, however, generally found that one or other of the board has a highly qualified friend, who is at once pitchforked into the billet; :: and without any practical demonstration of his ability is handed over the charge ot the mine. He sinks, or drives, as the case may be, and everything goes ! on swimmingly until the funds run short, shareholders "growl at calls ; there is a meeting and a row. It is then found that the directors never visit the. ground, and, in many cases, if they :',did, would not be much wiser; that the working 1 manager is a good honest workings miner, without an idea beyond that, and, "as a consequence, the money expended -has been., pretty well wasted, and that a beginning has to be again made. ' . \ Wool.— Melbourne, Nov. 20. Greasy, :• : 6d to B£d, scoured lid to!8d, fleece 12£d to-lgidvperilb". ■■'..; •■'■'-' :i :,/ 'J ; r