TEST TRIALS AT WAIORONGOMAI.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 171, 25 September 1886, Page 5

TEST TRIALS AT WAIORONGOMAI.

TO THJS EDITOR.^ " HERALD A Sib, —ln yesterday's issue. of your valuable paper I notice, under the heading of "Test Trials at Waiorongomai, 1 * a fetter from Hugh MoLiver, manager of the New Find Gold Mining Company,' addreeted to bis directors, in which he makes his statements in reference to the so-called teats, telling them what part of mine he got the quartz from, and enlightening them as to the merits of the New Bra plant compared with the Waioroogomia Battery, &c, and winds up by saying that in view of the statement of facts made by himself, he thinks it moat unfair and Ungentlemanly of me to attempt to injure him and others, by saying that I have not received fair play in rtc«iving tes*> trials of equal value and quantity as the Waiorongomai Battery, and he also states that I accuse them of attempting to injure my plant. Sir, I must again ask you to pardon me for trespassing on your valuable space while I mako a few more remarks on this subject, as it would seem absurd to allow suoh barefaced impudence and glaringly stupid assertions to pass unchecked, also his crowning remark that I behaved in an ungentle* manly manner towards him while he was doing the Simon-pure straightforward tking io every particular. I think, sir, this is going a little too far, in fact adding insult to injury, for I say without hesitation that W« hava not had the very slightest show of fair play in these so-called tests, and further I dare to say that there has been a most determined and mean attempt to injure a most valuable property in the eyes of the public in the birth of its starting. Why does Mr Me Liver take such a very lively interest in the battery ? Why has he run down the New Era Plant long before it was ready to start, and long before he -could knovr anything of its capabilities? I can bring him face to face with positive proof that be has done so ; and, further, that he and others have thrown all the obstacles they could in the way to hinder us getting a road, etc. And this is the man that is being injured by me, while I am simply endeavouring to protect the reputation of our plant by making a straightforward statement of facts— facts which he cannot reasonably face — a few of which I will refer to shortly. He states that our manager, Mr Wick, was well satisfied, and, I understand, he was with the first ten trucks of the ordinary crushing dirt, and he considered that all was fair and above board, and got a return of £37 7s 3d for the ten trucks, or at the rate of £3 148 7d per truck, which was considered <a fair yield by some of the shareholders of* the mine, and by the paople on the Etcchange generally ; for, taking thelcompany's last year's balance-sheet, the crushing of quartz, including tailings and specimens, for the whole year did not exceed on the average £2 18s Id per truck ; and I may here state that the ten trucks referred to were treated by Mr Wick, a man who has had little or no experience in treating the raw' ore in pans, although he has had long and most profitable experience of working tailings from batteries in the very same kind of pane. As I have already said, Mr Wick was satisfied up to the time of his depositing the gold in the bank, but his satisfaction was at an end when the result of his crushing was telegraphed from the bank to Mr McLiver before the gold from the Waiorongomai battery was deposited, which should have been done according to Mr McLiver's own arrangement It was two or three days after Mr Wick had deposited his gold in the bank before their battery result was deposited, which was at the rate of £5 5s od per truck, and was a marvel to tbe emining public, being nearly double their usual result, and far beyond anything they had come across for a long time. In this first ten trucks unfortunately, Mr Wick omitted to retain for us samples of tbe ore to make assay teats, and we therefore cannot deal <any further with that lot. But in the trial of the next twenty trucks of poor stuff which we got from them to treat we are fortunately ihapcsitiontobeabletodealwithMrMcJLiver on more open ground, for as I have stated in my former letter, Mr Wick took fair samples of the quartz, dividing the twenty trucks in two lots of ten trucks each, and as before stated, the bullion in the ore in the one lot is worth (11s 7d) eleven shillings and eevenpence per os, and the other lot {188 3d) eighteen and threepence per oz, showing that the ore was low grade. For lull particulars of assays, see my letter in the «• Herald" of the 4th instant. Our return from tbe 20 trucks was £37 7s 3d, or at the rate of £1 17s 4d per truck. , I moat decidedly assert that it was an utter impossibili.y for the battery to have got the returns they said they did from the same quantity and quality of ore. They would require to have got over 77 per cent, of fine gold of the fire assay ; instead of which, dealing with so much silver as << the ore contained, they were not likely to get more than 15 or SO per cent. But I was forgetting that Mr McLiver informs his directors that this battery, by which all these wonderful returnß are got from, can save four-fifths of the gold aud the balance in the berdans, thereby saving 100 per cent. With these results what need is there for going into a Lamont's furnace, a Cassel's gold extraction process, and pan processes, etc. ? After that, do wonder at Mr McLiver's big returns,? There is an interesting portion of Mr McLiver's letter, which I will quote, and in which he goee on to say :—": — " I see Mr Frasei states that he has obtained a large return from part of the ton of New Find quartz which I forwarded to Auckland, some time ago, to be forwarded by your Board to Melbourne. When I tell Mr Eraser that the ton of quartz referred to was obtained from the same run of gold as the 20-trucks test trial, and only 50 feet below where 20 trucks were obtained, perhaps he will not be eurprised now to know that the, WaioroDgomai Battery returned £3 2a per truck value for 20 trucks ; also, when I further tell him that the dirt from which the ton of quartz referred to returned from 60 to 70 trucks treated at that time, some £5 i3s 6d per truck, which my reports in company's •ffice will prove." Bir, in reply to the above, I would just simply say, that Mr McLiver has written hie own condemnation, and the only thing that I am surprised at is that with all his cunning he should give me such an oppor T tunity to show him up, for in the 10- truck trial wo were entirely at hie tender mercy, and had no opportunity to refute his «tatements other than his unusually large return from the battery, after two or three days' study ; but in the 20 truck trial, and also the portion of the ton he refers to, we get him out on open ground ; and, in the first plaoe, he says, in referring to the ton of quartz got out to be sent to* Melbourne {a portion of which I had the opportunity of treating) that at that ■ time (that ! is' when the ton -was taken out) he bad 60 or' 70 trucks of the same stuff trefated, and it yielded at the rate ! of £5 13s 6d per truck', and that the records in the company's office 1 will prove it. Now, Sir, in' my letter, which appeared in your issue of ■ the 4th inst., I g.ve the assays arid al 80 the result of the treatment of 800lbs weight of -ore by my plant in Stanley-street, which Is in everyjjartioular Blmilar to tbe jplatot «reeted at Vfftiorongomal; t»nd<Dy s rttensriaf to way ' letter olf eady mentioned, ,<y ou will

'find that my return wae at the'rate of £15 12s IJDd perjiruckj)f3powt (while jbhe,,triioka n he is in th e habit of treating are said to be more like two jfcona)., Now,Ls»r» it does not require much ,oftlcnlation to point out the enormous,, loss the company would sustain. The 4 difference in fav«ur of pan treatment being, at - the rate of as near as possible £10 per truck, which would be no small sum if even it were only for" the 60 or 70 trucks which he treated, but no doubt aproportionatelosshas been going on in , thousands. »of tons that havQ been put through the battery, to the detriment of a most valuable mine. How about Mr McLiver's battery returns ? and why did he not save 4-sths in the battery and the balance in the berdans, which he is bold enough to assert that the battery can do! His .company's books can testify that he only got £5 13 a 6d par truck while I got from 8001bs weight of the same ore at the rate of £15 12s 10 per truck, which shows really the true comparative result between the battery and the pan process, Mr McLiver gives his directors a full account of hew he is working the mine, and oarefully tells them where the ore was taken from for trial tests, and also says that 1 will nob be surprised when he informs me that the 20 trucks taken to the Waiorongomai battery were taken from the game locality as a ton of quartz was taken out to be sent to Melbourne. I can quite b«liev« him in that statement, for there is no donbt he would put his be«t efforts forward to procure good quartx. For ibim to get a return at the battery equal to £3 2s 6d per truck it was necessary he should go to the very best part of the mine known. But when he says that the 20 trucka sent to tho New Era plant canoe from the same lacality as the one ton of quartz was taken from, far the purpose of being forwarded to Melbourne, I beg there to differ with him, aqd say that it is not true, as the assay value of the bullion taken from that part of the mine shows it to be worth 34s 10J|d per ounce ; while the 20 trucks low grade ore sent to the New Era plant shows two different qualities of quarte, one portion, according to assay, being worth 18s 3d per eunce, and the other worth 11s 7d per ounce, and thereiore clearly proves that the quartz did not come from the same locality as the rich ore was got from. It is a farce for Mr McLiver and others to attempt to say that there was a fair trial. A man that will go and make such assertions, that the battery will save 4-stbs of the gold and the berdans will cave the balance, must have little perception or regard for truth. His description of the oattery plant and the pan piocess must be very edifying to the raining community. I am sure if they can only be made to believe this statement as regards the battery, they will see that there is no use trying to introduce anything new, or 4 in fact anything but a battery such as at Wairongomai, where he assures them that he can cave four-fifths of the gold in the battery and the balance in the berdans. By his remarks, I conclude however much be may know abouc goldmining he has but the merest superficial knowledge of gold saving. The Battery he seems co carefully to protect is not ?n the slightestdegreeldifferent to what I erected at the foot of the Kuranui Creek, and the firat battery made and erected & driven by steam on the Thames Goldfield. We had there all he so graphically describes, even to the large berdan, the first of which I made and fixed at the end of the table attached to my single stamper about 19 years ago. No , mining man of ordinary judgment would dare to make such absurd statements in reference to the capabilities of the battery, and his other equallyabsurd remarks about tbe pans and how they are worked need not be noticed further than that in both cases his statements are so absurd that it is easily , seen he is talking on a subject be knows j nothing about, \ Before concluding, I must notice a remark made by him in reference to some crushing that was done for Brigham and Burke and the Waiorongomai Goldmining Company, and in reply would say that, aa far as the Waiorongomai Company's quartz is concerned, I was up at the works when the crushing was goiug on, and I saw at once that they should not have treated the ore in the pan in the way they did, as it was full of galena, while the large amount of lead bullion returned showed that the ore was, unfit for the pan process. Another thing Mr McLiver is aware of, and that is, the difficult position that we were and are placed in for the present, having got a man from America who professed to be an expert, but proved himself not to be up to his business. We were thrown back on our own resources, and we are sure that our pre sent manager, Mr Wick, will not be long in gaining the experience necessary to enable him to cope with the difficulties, and the plant will prove itself that it is what is wanted, and ere long mines that have been closed up for want of a process that would | enable thsm to yield a reasonable percentage of the bullion contained in the quartz, will again c*me to the front, and Waiorongomai, instead of being the deserted place it now is, will flourish. This is the object in view in putting this plant up ; and we think at least if people cannot giro a helping hand, they should not throw obstacles in the way of progress. lam sure that there is nothing more urgently wanted in the present depressed state of this place than some process that will enable us to turn our valuable ores co a profitable account, giving interest to capital invested, labour to the working classes, and general prosperity to the whole community. Apologising for trespassing bo much on your valuable space — I am, &c, George Fbaseb. Phoenix Foundry, Auckland, September 9th, 1886.