THE AUCKLAND FIELD. (From Our Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, December 30.

Otago Witness, Issue 2808, 8 January 1908, Page 30

THE AUCKLAND FIELD. (From Our Own Correspondent.) AUCKLAND, December 30.

The history of the Auckland goldfields foa 1907 has been one of progress. In many directions encouraging developments have occurred, and the prospects opened out augur well "for the prosperity of ■ the . mining industry. The feature of the last 12 months has "been* the steadily-increasing bullion 'producing, powers of the parent mine at Waihi. When the corrected figures come Jo ba, totalled up it will 1?a found that the" gold! output from this "fine property .will approximate within n measurable distance o5 £1,000,000 sterling. That that "figure will ha.'-' actually -reached .next year, eeems to _ba reasonably certain, owing 'to the promising^ t developments- in the mine itself, irho economy of gold-saving that is being employed, andf - the enlarged crushing and milling plants bains made * available ' for » dealing with th» - company's ore. ■" The opening -up of th.e J Waihi Grand Junction mine has proceeded with -very\ fair results. The quality of ore won dttring recent .months has certainly shown rather » falling off, but the iact that the' Waihi reef ' systems exist in the company^ area, and! ti&e exploitation of them i,t ?r«»ter, depths is only a matter of time, .makes dt -apparent '"that in this property the field possesses » future bullion contributor of no Jnean degree. , Next in importa-DQ© -at Waihi 'is Hie WaiihJ Extended mine, whsre x«cen.t -work 'has '-onearthed the continuation of ilie Waihi Teefa at a lower level than has .hitherto been explored, _ . One. or two other properties at Waihi ura being developed, -with fair hopes of su-coobs. •At Karangafcake the Talisman «nd Crowir. mines have both been worked with improved! prospects, and seem to have brighter outlooks than . for soraa years past. Two or ~ three smaller properties in "the vicinity have been ' taken up, tend are being worked with some, hope of success. At Wadtekauri one or twomines, lormerly owned "by English capitalists, •are %Bing ' develop**! -local capital, ancl results so .far have led to optimistic opinions • ■being .-formed. - On the -whole *the TJp-ner Thame3 district anay be' said! "to have advanced considerably dttringr 1907. The Thames has experienced ' during fhe year a' strong jrevival. Many' an old claim that .had been formerly allowed to ' lie idle has been taken up, and is -now being systematically worked! •by local companies. The. rich" run of gold, which was so productive of dividends' las^ year and the year before 'to shareholders mr the* Waiotahi mine, -"wro-ld ! «ppeas 3o h»v« - been 'practically exhausted, but tlyit propertT continues -to produtse stood general ore. "and 1 / being in a good looalitv. is by no' means to) " be looked - upon as a dead letter. In , othej? directions there are signs of, long months of development work reaching satisfactory conclusions.. The' most oniporiaai feature- irt connection with the Thames field proper is the commencement recently of operations which will culminate in the lot® postponecl opening up of the *<3eepeß levels. Thanks td a Government subsidy being granted. €ha ■Dumping out of <the Queen of Beauty haa been made -possible, and early next year -the sinking of same io » depth of 'lsoft will bei well in hand. "In the ' meantime the drain-" ing of this shaft has permitted inxportKoti exploration work to be -started in iVhe JjPay Queen and- adjoining- pro-pertiesi O/nee' thei lower levels are tapped fhere is very -orospect of a new lease oi life for the -whold of^ the mines on- the TE<uhpß Flat. S^praE uro per ties at Tairna and New.vesville bftve been actively worked during the year, anoi .present indications »re thst this district mny come -to. fhe front more prominently 'next -y.eoc' At <3oTbni»ndel tTi£ industry h0.9 not seen anything like the. sum© activity that has charncterie'ed 'the other district*. At tB« same time au^h work *« .has;Deen! done there has been f«.irly nroductive.' For" the future ■nroapects 'the indica+ujiis poinfl to ocme Bn-ttafactorv requite from flbe itnnltra■mafion of -the <?'d Hniiiaki" »nd Bunker 1 * Hill miu^s. and the "joint working of ootH affer the water 'Has b»en all sr^i out. Kuao-tu-nu and Gurrrtown have "both Been qnieseent. The gold Tf+ttrnß for 1907 cannot «b» sccuTat^Jv oonroPod »t" the 't>reji«nt time. »a • the buillion nroducm^ mines have yet %o make their nnal clean up for tli« year. , TBeyond doubt, however, the 'total yie'3 will be found to have exceeded that for 1906. Votes from <sfrey month (Fbom Otib Ovm Oobhespondent.)" G-REYMOUTH, December 81. The> _Bleep-it-Dark returns for ■December* total 3420tz Bdwt. ■ • The New Trafalgar -dredge is ftt present working on the very wide portion of ihe fUS, and it is practically .between two runs of gold. The coarse gold lead followed down, hy the Jamieson's Reward" dredge cannot be very far -ahead of the present faoe, and -the* ■dredge may cut it -at any time. The returns at present, though jpayable, are not very -large, but jjromise an improvement soon. The dredge is at present making its way (diagonally across the flat, and expects to >cut the next lead shortly. The 'Pactolus Company has lately given further proof of the existence of very lich gravel deposits along the northern bank <ANelson Creek, and on the fringe of Try Again terrace. The recent phenomenal xa* turns were obtained Tiear Dry Gully. Por* tion of this ground Had been tunnelled ancj blocked out in ihe early days, and 1 from th* knawn amounts of ,gold and ihe present results of dredging it would appear that th» around had been worth in its maiden ( stata about SOOOoz per acre. There is -still a verjß oonsiderabl© *rea of rich «rouna TOTm3 Drs* Gully, and it ib within Xhe ocange of posy uibility- that a lecord of lOOOoz per montb maj" yet h& t>ut t -up and maintainei Th» No. 1 dredge is working . down 'on » stritt ■ on the south side of the -claim, along- the boundary of the Jamieeon's Reward oxaintti •with excellent reßults. The Jamieson's Re'i -ward did well when working alongj thqj boundary, and ihe present -qpergtions *pf No. 1 dredge prove highly payable. Thers - is" still a large area of unworked and pay^< able ground «head of J ihia ■plant. ', TJBS machines of this company -ate Sept W -highly efficien-t state of repair, »nd are putting in good time. - ", .' Tie' Nelson Creeli Company ia at thjf," moment chiefly remarkable for persistence^ bad' luck, -and indomintable pluc£ and per-* severance. This company has a large »ns. powerful 'a%4 in, everj -w*y_ mqdetnised plantg

Capable of shifting and stacking an immense quantity of stuff. The work for the past 12 months ' has been, practically of an experimental kind, an<| it is only within the last few months that anything like- steady, dredging was obtained. Previous to this the dredge was always more or l«ss aground, and its movements were hampered. A silt wheel Was added to the plant, which in a short time did away with the silt, giving deep water and free anc| unhampered movement. The company's claim ig a good one, payable gold having been proved in over 70 acres. Portions of ths ground are exceptionally rich. The company also holds an area of some 14 sores, which is considered to be equally as irich as Dry Gully, and will in the course of time b» tapped. On the other hand, the claim is one full of exceptional difiiculties for dredging. ,' Great difficulty was experienced in overcoming the obstructions. The machinery had- to. be- frequently altered., and gradually _a fype of plants-was evolved which eaS'--"some~ show of coping with and treating th-ei hard wash. The company owns water fights and a water race seven miles long, carrying 20 heads of water. The water from this race is turned" over all along the face to ' assist in "breaking down the wash. The company has been to a, considerable outlay to perfect its plant, and it is now slowly to reap the benefit of its wisdom. The returns, although not high, are sufficiently encouraging. Some 2200z were obtained during 'the last seven weeks' dredging. " The dredge is now undergoing some well-needed repairs. * WEST AUSTRALIA. PERTH, January -3. ' The yield of the West Australian mines during ISO 7 amounted to 1,697,5530z, being 86,9080z below the previous year's yield. GOLD EXPORT. WELLINGTON, January 6. During the past '50 years New Zealand has ' iexported ' 18,21«.67jJ0z of gold, valued at £71 ,528,978. The returns for test year show & decrease of 55,G350z, valued at £243,414, as compared with the figures for 1906, tie totals for the two years being: — 1907, 508,2080z, valued at je2,027,490; 1906, < 563,8430z, valued »t £2,270,904.. • - DUNED-IN STOCK EXCHANGE. Tli© Ihmeditt Stock. Exchange resumed its Sittings after the^ ©hii'stmas am-d New Tear vacation on Monday. The market w-as, o£ course, a" Hfcfcle^ unsettled. There were no sajes transacted. The 'following are yesterday's latest quotations,- subject to- the ' usual Brokerage : — Deedgistg Stocks! • Alexamdra. Eureka — Buyers- 3s 9tt, •jeDers. fis 6d. . . Bignells, No Town— Sellers. 4s. " Chicago — Sellers 10s. ' Electric— Buyers 10s. sellers 13s sft. Enterprise — Sellers ss. Bed— Buyers 6a 6d. "Manuherikia — Buyers 15s- lid, •'ellera 15s 6cL Masterton — Buyers 53.. New Fourteen-mile Beach— Buyers 3s 6d fiis. . .. Pactolipi (ex div.) — Sellers £l-.135. ' Rise and Shine — Buyers SI 0s 3d, ■sellers '*£> 64. . Risinfr Sun — Buyers 17s' 6d, aellers 1 1. Sailor's Bend— Buyers 13s. sellers 15s. MlOTNff STOCTS. ' - Talisman Consolidated:— Buyers £2 lls" <sd, fellers £2 12s 3d. ' . -WaiM— Buyers £&■ As, sellers." £8 6s 6d. STOCK EXCHANGES. CFbom Otm Own . Cobsespondent.) WEI^LINGTON. January Business waa returned' on the Stock' Esdtange to-dety.,- but there was littTe demand for shares. The only sale made was one of a parcel' of Talisman, scrip at~JE2 124 Bd. or 6d i less fhan the last sale before- 'the holidays . - ' LONDON, January 5. Waihi' shares are quoted as follows: — Buyers £8 8s 9d; sellers £8 6s 3d. • Waihf Grand Junction T Buyers, 17b 6d; sellera, 22s Bd. BRISBANE, January 5. * TlhS. profits of the Mount Morgan mine for the past half-yeas were £1.40,967. ■ The Alexandra Eureka- return is 29cz 17dwt. A returriyQf 16oz 14dwt fox eight days is reported from the Olrig- dredge.