THE MINING INDUSTRY

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 160, 10 July 1886, Page 2

THE MINING INDUSTRY

The following interesting I«Ucr appeared in the Auckland Herald tin's week :—: — Sir, — In your issue o£ June 25 there oppea red ft paragraph regarding 1 n process for abstracting gold and silver from quartz by means of: a new smelting furnace, patented by two local gentleman, Messrs Hunt and Carson, and which process the pntentoes claim to bo, more economical than that we know as the wet jacket orLaMonte furnace. However costly this latter furnace may have been in its treatment, and on this ground alone was it rejected, it is satisfactory to know that the La Monte System opened our 'eyes to the immense wealth that abounds in our reefs at Waihi, Karangahake, Tui, and other districts, and has shown very plainly that the old battery sy.stpm, so long in vogue, is totaily unsuitable for the class of ores recently discovered, inasmuch that under the inopt f o,YOuvf\ble conditions the battery only extracts about 30 percent, of gold. On the other hand, wo now learn that for year 1 ? we have been rejecting reefs or ore that under an improved sys tern of treatment will yield gold that will pay for the reduction and Manning of the ore, whilo th^ vase percentage of silver | that can be saved would constitute a very | handsome profit. By the advent of the La Monto system and the technical education initiated by the Government at the School of Mines, Thames miners are now ■ becoming expert in detecting rich stone in other founs than when gold is visible to *he eye, and to this fact alone is due j the discovery of such mines as the Union, i Rosomont, and Silverton at Waihi, Adeline and Woodhtock, at Karangabake, and the Champion Company, Tni Creek, eaHi | of which sent ore to the furnace which realised in value from £9 to £100 per ton. Two years ago a couple of the foregoing mines were abandoned, as the colour or piosence of gold to the eye was not sufli- j ciontto wan ant furthei developement, but increased knowledge of metals in other form" than tl visible" have again brought ! them to the front, and the largo parcels oC ore sent therefrom to the furnace stamped i them at once as rich mines. It is voiy evident to mo, sir, that the dawn is on\y just bi caking, and that we shall shortly «cc such a revival in mining as we have j not expeiienced foi jeus. It may not be in the extiuordinery richness of any one mine, but in many ore is in sight which would p»y remarkably well if a method ; o£ extracting the silver and gold -it a: moderat3 cost was available. If Mr L.i Monte couid have smelted the ore at £3 per ton, as he guaranteed to do, the j Upper Thames, at .this moment would be cmplojing hundreds of men, and thus in a i great measure relieve the intense pressino ! now generally felt throughout this city. ' The public are unaware of the tiue value oC the mines in the up-country, inasmuch as the two battciies (Waihi and Karangahake) are incapable of doing justice to the reefs in the neighbourhood. Hence the discovery o£ any process that will extract 70 to 80 per cent, of the precious metals at a medium charge, would be hailed as a great boon by the mineowners, and ultimately prove to the invebtors a source of wealth. That the requirements for saving- the precious metals wiU not be confined to a single piocess, is conclusive, that this was forcibly impressed upon u^ by LaMontc's experts, who repeatedly stated that much of the ore sent to the furnaces was better adapted for the mill and pans, and could bo manipulated by the latter at a tithe of the smelting cost, with equally beneficial results; Advices by the late mail corroborate this. Se/eral fairsized parcels fron the Tui Creek district were sent to America, and the returns were at the i ate of £56, L 34, L8 and L 3 10s value per ton, the higher qualities to be treated by tho mill and pan process, and the two lower by a furnace. From this and numerous other trials, it is evident tlirt a variety process is necessary for the reduction of our ores, and it is therefore a niattci of congratulation to know, that while tho fire process is being investigated with a view to moderate the cost of smelting, a new milling and pan treatment is, or will shortly be, upon its trial. In fact, the preliminary trials of Rail ley's pans have been of such an encouraging nature, that a company are now erecting works at Karangahake, and tho promofcora thereof ( claim that they will save from 75 to 80 per cent, of gold and silver, at such a price as will make the treatment available for numerous mines, that are at present unable to profitably reduce the bulk of their ore. Should either the smelter of Messrs Hunt and Carson, or the milling and pan treatment of Mr "Railley fulfil the expectations of the inventors, then may we see the revolution in ruining that I have already referred to. That there are a few ; capitalists alive to the importance o£ ro- i cent dovolopentents is confirmed by the fact that several mining companies will \ .ship by next direct steamer to London, i pi reels of ore from 10 to 25 tons each ; I and I have no hesitation in Baying that the bulk of it will run over Ll5, and somo up to< ayo, over L3O per ton. It may not be out of place to point out what a grand opening there is at the present moment for an enterprising morchant or financier with an agent at home. Advances upon ore in Australia, North and \ South America, can be secured, and are daily made, and for the life of mo I don't see why the big institutions in Queen street cannot make as legitimate a business of it as they do out of advances upon wool and produce. My principal object in writing, sir, is to draw tho capitalists' and public attention to the new mining districts, which so far have proved, and piomise to be, above ordinary merit. But the reels therein are entirely different in their constitution, and therefore require varied treatment from the reefs of the Lower Thames. It therefore- becomos iinpcrtive to get out of tho old rut of crushing by battery ; and if any promising invention is brought forward it should receive, not only the support of mine

owner*!, hut also of the capitalist, if we would iiovo the general depression removed. The Governmonl claims credit for 'having a little paternal interest in in local industries. If they are true to their sentiments, and in reality want the industry to go ahead, let them put aside L5OO or L 750, and send a man to America to inspect ail, the most modern machinery at work, and in a mission like this a grain of practical knowledge is Avorth a bushel .of theory. The delegate should be a practical and sensible man, of the stamp of John Hall, Long Drive Walker, Tom Dnnlop, Heighwfn, and numerous others in our midst, who know and can handle machinery, and would readily pick tip and apply any "notion" thnt the Yankee might have to impart. To such a delegate wo can entrust a iorr tons of ore from the numerous mine", and who would after examination of the machinery at work in the various mining States, decide upon one or two methods, and thereupon manipulate the ore under personal supervision. Such a couise of procedure would be priceless in comparison to the folios of leports elaborated by the learned professors and doctors usually Commissioned Irom the work by Government; I have already trespassed too much on yoih space, but if you can squeeze in the appended returns it *vi]J give your readers somo idea of the large percentage of silver contained in our reel's, the whole of which is worthless to us under the old system of crushing by the battery.—l am, &c, Joshua JACKSON.

Furnaoe Output, Adeline, 5 tons, 1290z 3dwt goldjl2G;|oz silver ; value, £541 14s. Rose, 16 tons, 550z gold, GOoz silver ; value, £281 9s. Rose, 2 tons, 4Goz gold, 91£oz silver ; value, £202 10s. • Dubbo, 5i ton«, IG^oz gold, 54ozsilver ; value, £65 7s Gd. Kenilworth, 19 tons, Boz gold, lG4oz silver ; value, £65. Kenihvorth, 5 tons, 9oz gold, 210oz silver ; value, £78. Ivanhoe, 5 tons, 84oz silver ; £G37 10s. Grown, 50 tons, 760z gold, 4780z silver: value, £400. Silverton, 7£ tons, value, £28 15s. Rosnmont, 3£ tons 2cwt, 4oz gold, 40oz silver ; value, £24. Rosernont, 14£ tons, 19£oz gold, 178£oz silver ; value, £112 13s. Rosemont, 23£ tons, 30£oz gold, 287^0z silver ; value, £179 17h. " Rosemont, 6£ tons, 12oz gold, lGO^oz silver ; £82 14s Rosemont, G| tons, 260z gold, 4900z silver; value, £21585. Rosemont, 2f tons, 53 OZ gold, 31?oz silver ; value, £28 18s. Union, 9£ tons, 52|oz gold, 304}-oz silver ; vahie, £272 ss. Union, 2 l-10th tons, 9£oz gold, 51£oz silver ; value, £48 14s. Union, 3$ tons, 3|oz gold, 4310z silver ; value, £23 10s. Rutro, 4| tons, Boz gold, 177i0z silver : value. £67 15s. Butro, 5-V tons. 4^oz gold, 490z silver ; value, £29" 9s. Tui, 2 tons, value, £44. Tui, 28 tons, value, £294.

Battery Treatment. Sntro, 20 tons, loz 18dwt gold : value, £17 3h 6d. Union, 34 tons, 54^-oz gold: value, £135 1656(1. Union, 01 tons, bGoz gold ,• value, £145 16s Bd. Rosemont, 22^- tons, s^-oz gold : value, £l4as9d. Adeline, 13 tons, 9ioz gold : value, £2a3 3s»d. Keuilvvoith, 19 tons, 17oz gold : value, abo.it £42 liX Silveiton, 50 tons, 1920z gold; value, £585 ss. This last lot contained sowt rich stone.