TALISMAN CONSOLIDATED. AUCKLAND, March 9.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 11 March 1908, Page 28

TALISMAN CONSOLIDATED. AUCKLAND, March 9.

During the month of February the Ta'is" man Consolidated (Ltd.) crushed and t-ented 8638 tons of ore for a yield of bullion valued at £16,662 0s 6d. During the month theri' was a battery stoppage of 60 hours, owing to « breakdown of the main shaft, thus accounting for the small tonnage milled* The return is an increase on that for the 1 corresponding period of last year, when 3774 j tons yielded £12,314 19s 7d. The costs for the month were £1 17s 3d per •ton, xo^d^ up &s follows:—Mioe development, 6s 4d; mining, 14s Id; milling, 14s 9d; general expenses, 2s Id. DREDGING IN BURMAH. Mr J. Frewem, a former resident of tn«f j Cromwell district, is at present working fo* a dredging company in Burmah. The Crony well Argus has been permitted to take th*. I following extracts from a letter received front i Mr Frewen:—The company which h© is woifcr ing for has three dredges at work, styled ie» spectively the Shamrock, Rose, and Thistle* Highly payable returns are being obt»in«d> - and for the month prior to writing the respective dredges obtained 5900f, 500oz, andf 4030z, making a total of 14900z ior the month' by the fleet. The best individual return wa« I that obtained by the Shamrock —viz., 2460 i, for one weok. The dxedges are working verjj wide cuts, and the prospects are the same throughout. All the machines are much th« same size, and are fitted with 20 h.p. engines, 40 h.p. boilers, ana 6ft buckets, with &*g*r rate engines attached to the pumps. Th^( writer speaks in flattering terms of the pom* I peny's managers, Messrs Fach» and Sanders,' I formerly residents of Central Ot«go. Th* I company is increasing its fleet, and anothe^l I dredge is now being built, which will probably establish a record in this line. Th 4 hulls will measure 140 ft by 88ft, and lOftl buckets will be fitted, the power being ob-» tamed by means of gas engines. ' Among' other things, Mr Frewen states that he likes the country, which is full of interest. Tigers'. elephants, back be«rs. jungle cats, etc., ar^ ' numerous, and are frequently encountered^ "We are," he concludes, " all Volunteers', and a sergeant comes up and puts ue through. | We are supplied with rifle, uniform, and! j ammunition, and, of course, spend a lot of ' time shooting." MOLYNEUX HYDRAULIC GOLD DREDGING COMPANY. The following is the report to be pr«« sented to shareholders at the annual meet* ing of the above oompany: — " Eight hundred and eighty-four ounces of gold were won during the year, which would amount to a weekly average of 23 oz for 42 ' weeks, being the actual number of weeks that the dredge worked. The rest of th* time was occupied in overhauling and renew* ing different portions of the machinery. Th« dredge is in very fair order, is now a. short: distance below the dam, and is atill working | up along the high bank with * good wid^i cut on. Owing to the very dry season theI water supply used for sluicing off the over^ burden and keeping up the paddock haa been off. However, we expect that it will ba on again shortly. There is still a lot of un« worked ground in the claim, and in ouif opinion 3* good portion of it may still b* profitably worked with the present dredge-4 Two dividends of one shilling each have been paid during -the y«ar, and at the present time the company has a reserve fund of £500. Messrs Stephen Foxwell and W. A. Theyers retire from the directorate, and pffe* themselves for re-election. Ttbe retiring auditor (Mr Richards) elf-o offers himself fo* re-election." BIGNELL'S NO TOWN GOLD DREDGING COMPANY. The following is the directors' report, to b« submitted to the annual meeting of shareholders: — " A me-etiiig of directors had been called] fo>- Monday, i4th October, 1907. for the purpose of declaring a dividend, the company at that time having a substantial credit! balance in the bank, but owing to the unfor* tuna-te mishap to the dredge, which sank} on Friday night, October 11, the payment of a dividend h«d to be deferred, and the* directors decided to delay the date for hold* ing the annual meeting until such time as tha dredge was at work again. Two of tjwr directors—Meosra H. B. Courtis (chairman)! and. W. J. Guthrie—visited! the claim, and) after conferring with the dxedgem&ater (Me William Wyllie), decided that immediate steps should! be taken for raising and repairing the dredg«. This work was left in •the capable hands of Mir Wylie, and although) the time occupied and the cost of this wotls wa<? cc!i?iderably more than wae anticipatedl,, owing to repeated fVcd" irA other cause?, the directors ar-"* p.. -•*■'! u> >-<:port that tho dredge is again a- v.oik '" , balance sheet shows the finars w 1 p< -> ti i. ?s at 81st December, 1907, to be £1.>5 5= 7. in the bank,

Ira. contingent liabilities, being the expense for-" completing the repair*, vrere estimated at £400. Accounts for £375 have already ooitift to hand, the only item outstanding being hire of pump, winches, etc. The gold Iron since operations have been resumed amounts to 740z 14dwt. Sixty ounces are estimated as the expenses for February, aad th» position, now is that last week's return of I4o* 16dwt stands to credit. The dredgetnaster ha* prepared a full report of the repairs acid alterations which have been tarried out, and this will be submitted to the shareholders at the annual meeting, together with the report of the directors' visit to the dredge and claim. In accordance with lkb~ articles of association, Mr J. H. Hancook Te tires from the directorate, and the auditor (Mr George Blyth) also retires from, office, but both a-ie eligible and offer themselves for re-election. The meeting will' also consider, and, if •thought fit, pass' the following resolution: — "That the books of the company close on Hi* 81st day of December in each year, and -that the ordinary general meeting of the Company be held at a date, time, . and place to be fixed by the directors; and that this meeting ~be, and be deemed to be, for all purposes the ordinary general meeting for th* -year 1908." : OLHIG DREDGING COMPANY. The -adjourned ninth annual meeting of 'the lObdg .Dredging Company was held on the 6th/ Mr Thos. Glendining in the chair. The Chairman, in moving the adoption Df-ibe report (already published) and balance •neeisaid there was not much to say further than that- the dredge had been -working pretty consistently since she had been converted from steam to -- water" power. She fcad been laid up lately for wast of water, but it was expected she would start again next week. It was anticipated there would then be sufficient water. He mentioned the fact that Mr Howlett had sent in his resignation as director since the issue of the report. Mr Howlett had been a very good director, »nd his advice had always been looked upon As valuable. Mr H. Adam seconded the motion for the adoption of the report and balance sheet, and asked if the result from the use of Water nad justified the. change from steam. . The Chairman said there was a saving in coal, but they had had to pay for the xace. s, A shareholder mentioned that under steam ft hud taken 14oz to 15oz of gold to run the dredge; 'now it took 9£oz. Replying to a question, the Chairman said they were taking up another 100 acres. The report and balance sheet were tben adopted. Mr 3W. Rivers and Mr Wm, Stevenson trerd' elected directors, and Mr E. R. Smith auditor. THE GOLD PRODUCTION OP VICTORIA. The following figures, which are taken from the -official statement issued by the Viejtprian Government, show the 'amount of k gold won in ' Victoria during the past 46 years:— From 1851 to 1896, 61,034,6820z ; during- 1897, 812,7660z; 1898/ 837,2570'z; 1899 854,5000z;- 1900, 807,4070z; 1901, '789,5620z; ' 190J, 777,7880z; 1903, 022;4240z; 1904 821,0I7oz; 1905, 810,0500z^ 1906, ' 834,775 ; '1907, 764,2700z: total, 69,956,4480z ; vaiue, £279,471,595. • • . - ' The 'dividends paid "by- public companies'- in the State year by^ year since 1896 ore «s fouW:— lß96, £519,695 8s; 1897, £537,094 7e; 1898, £615,634 6s; 1899. £566,305 4s; 1900, £453,332 11s; 1901, £427,897 8s; 1902, £472,135 4s ; 1903, £601,152 16s; 1904, £623,397 17a; 1906,- £451422 18a; 1906, £484,793 2s; 1907, «317,411 118. DREDGING RETURNS.

.Total 233 16 0' DUNEDIN .. STOCK EXCHANGE. The following 'are the latest quotations, jrubjeot to the usual brokerage: — Dbedgiko Stocks Al«xandr» Eureksu— Sellers 5s 6d? Alexandra Lead— "Buyers 9d. Bignell's No Town— Buyers 2s 9d, sellers Bkickwater (contrib.)— Buyers 3s, sellers 7a Central Charlton— Buyers 3s, sellers 7s 6d. Charlton Creek— Buyers 4s. Chfcago-^Hers 7s 6d. Electric— Buyers 7s, sellers 10s. [Enterprise— Sellers 6s 6d. Golden^Bed— Buyers. 13s, sellers 14a. Hepsey's— Sellerp ss. Lady Roxburgh (contrib.)— Buyers Bs, sellers 8o 6d. Koputai— Buyers 475, sellers 48s. / MMmherikia— Sellers 17s. Molyneux Kohinoor— Buyers 2a, sellers 3a. flftßldy Creek— Buyers 15s. • {New Roxburgh Jubilee — Sellers Bs. New Trafalgar— Sellers 19a. Pactolua(ex div.}— Buyers 235, sellers 2os fid , " " Ri«i .and Shines-Buyers 24s 6d. Bising Sun^Buyers 255. [Waikaka Queen— Sellers 6s. Mtmiko Stocks. Talisman Consolidated— Buyers £Z lla »d, *>ll«rB £2 12s 9d. Sfcaihi— Buyers J», »ellet» & -*

Big River — Buyers 13b 6d. Barowood— Buyers 6s, sellers 10s. March 3.— Lady Roxburgh (contributing), 8s Bd. March 4.— O'rig, Is 9S; Talisman, £2 13s. March 6.— Golden Bed, 12s 9d; Milburn Lime and Cement (10» paid), 13s lOJd. March 7.— Mblyneux Kohinoor, 2s.

Waikaia, Waikaia, 136hrs Gold«n Treasure, Miller's Flat, ireek _._ . . Rising Sun, Cromwell, 133hrs fiow&tai, Waikaia, 138hrs Golden Bed, Miller's Flat, lafhrs . . ...» ifEystexy Fiat, Waikaia, 136hrs Bine and Shine No. 2, Clxitha River, 138hrs Alexandra "Eureka, Alexandra .. lady Roxburgh, Roxburgh Hewey's, Waikaia, 156hars W»ikaka^TJnited No. 1, Waikaka, 129iurs Mastertori, Waikaia, 136hrs .. Central Chariton, Gore,' 131hrs Sandy Point, Alexandra., 113hi9 Otago No. 1, Miller's Flat, i26hrs Otago No. 2, Island Block, 182hra Electric No. 1, Cromwell, 133hrs ;W*ik*ka United No. 2, Waikaktt, l'Hhra Cn«rlion Creek, Gore, 5 days .. Chicago,- Alexandra, llOhrs Kuri, Waikaia, 115hrs .. .. jftdlsy's Revival, Uppesr Clutha, 70hrs ■.1 - •• •• iMhiddy Creek, Waikaia, 121hrs Jtolyneux Eohinoor, Roxburgh, llShra Electric No.' % Cromwell Enterprise, Alexandra, 3 days.. Biriteers, Waikaia, llGhrs Oz. dwt. gr. 95 10 0 79 0 0 70 0 0 68 0 0 59 14 0 66 16 0 48 9 0 ,44 16 0 42 15 16 41 IT) 0 34 14 0 28 4 0 26 IT 0 26 9 4 26 0 0 21 0 0 20 13 0 17 9-0 16 0 0 15 18 6 15 4 0 14 10 0 14 6 0 13 5 0 13 5 0 12 11 0 9 10 0 • Total 884 19 20

161. 'actolus No. 2, 162hrs 'actolus No. 1, 136hrs tallaghan'a Creek, 112hrs Sl*okwa.ter River .. ... few Trafalgar, 131hrs ..; 109 53 527 22 20 15 0 14 13 14