The Mining Industry.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 287, 4 August 1888, Page 2

The Mining Industry.

The followin^extracts from 1 the General 1 Annual Report! on^tho Mining Industry in the Colony, for the twelve months ended 31st March; 1888, presented to both Houses of the €rener»l Assembly, will be perused with interest by our readers: — In the report the compiler, Mr Jamea McKerrow, Secretary of Mines, states : — " Although NewZeuland contains ores of nearly all the pricipal metals, yet mining operations on an extensive scale have been 1 confined to gold and coal. The surface deposits in both cases naturally receive attention in the first instance ; but that stage has long been passed and 1 attention given to- winning the deeper-seated deposits and' to the parent-rock of the gold and other metals found in association with it. Nature guards her treasures so well that mining enterprise is always confronted! with some problem requiring the exercise of the highest skill and science for its solution. In the Nortli Island the problem at present is how best to* separate the gold, silver, and other metal found in combination in certain lodes in the Thames district. In the Middle Island the difficulty is in treating stonecontaining arsenic, antimony, and sulphur associated with gold. In the alluvial wui lungs the problem is how best to work the river beds' and sea beaches by dredges." The total value of New Zealand mineral products from the Ist January, 1853 totlta 31st December, 1887, was £50,981,028, th«r innount accruing from minerals,) being. £6,813,731, and from gold and silver,. £44,167,297. The number of persons engaged in 1 goldmining on the 31st of March last was11,720, and at the end of the previous 1 year 11,782. The value of gold exported for the twelve months ended the 31st March being £766,330, gives an average earning for miners of £65 4s 3d ; whilst for the previous year it was £80 12s 7d. The value of plant and machinery in connection with goldmining at the end of last year was estimated as follows. — Machinery and plant employed in alluvial l and quaitz-mining, £508,921 ; water-races, exclusive of those maintained by the department, £727,637 ;tail races, £170,717 ; dams and reservoirs, £105,364 ; sluices, £16,734 ; water-races, constructed and maintained by the department, £370,198. Total, £1,899,571. The above, arranged in provincial districts, gives for Auckland £253,348, Marlborough, £7,970, Nelson, £590,491, Westland, £428,184, Otago, £622,578. The amount of revenue collected for the twelve months ending the 31st March last for miner's rights, licenses, etc., was £17,189 5s lOd, and from gold duty, £20,108 5s lOd ; making a total of £37,297 11s Bd. This is paid to the local bodies of the district from which the revenue arises. The total of goldfields revenue collected since 1857 amounts to £2,196,849 9a lOd. The quantity and value of gold entered for duty for exportation from New Zealand for the years ending the3lst March r 1886 ii nd 1887, together with the districtsfrom which it wasebtained. is as under: —

The total quantity from January, 1857, to 31st Mm eh, 1888, was 11,273,3060z5, valued at £44,251,612. The quantity of mineral ores (the product of mines other than gold), and kauri gum, exported from the colony for the year ending 31st December, 1887, was :—: —

The gold duty for the year ending 31st March, 1888, amounted to £20,108 5s lOd, and the goldfields revenue tor the same period to £17,189 5s lOd. The number of quartz miner's employed in the Auckland District during the years ending 31st March, 1887-1888 was as follows.' —

The number of men employed throughout the colony is summarised as follows i —

There are no Chinese engaged in this branch of the industry. Making a grand total of 11,720 persons employed asminers foi the year ending 31st March, 1888.

' , ) Mr Mcßriar, agent for a new explosive which is said to be more powerful than dynamite, and less dangerous to handle, will conduct some experiments at Waip - rongomai this afternoon, on the Te Aroba S. and Gr.M. Co.'s property. We understand this explosive is highly adapted for mining operations, and has given satisfaction at the Thamnes. , \ All the village settlers and perpetual lease holders at the Waihou are actively engaged in preparing the ground for spring crops.

Year ending 31st March, 1886. District. Quantity Value. Auckland ... Jl,9BGoz £126,723 Marl borough ... 1,120 4,056 Nelson ... 2,0 ( J9 7,82 ft West Const ... 95,078 380,251 Otago ... 61,478 244,021 Totals 191, 961 om £762,877 Year ending 31st Marcii, 1887. District. Quantity. Value. Auckland ... 32,051 ozs £127,390 Wellington ... 47 '169 Marl borough ... 477 1,723 Nelson ... 2,658 9,966 West Coast ... 116,998 463,94G Otago ... 79,850 319,406 Totals 232,081 ozs £922,600

rroduct. Weight Value. Silver ... 20,8090zs Antimony ore 134 tons Manganese ore 305 „ Mixed Mineral ore 144 „ 3oal ... 44,129,, Joke ... 183£ „ Kauri Gum ... 6,791 „ £3,453 3,989 895 4,142 44,650 26G 362,449 Total value £4,805,654

District. North Hanraki South Hauraki Te Aroha • •• 1887. 150 986 102 1888 30C 871 76

Alluvial Miners. Europeans. Marl borough ... 140 Nelson ' ... 1,742 Weetland ... 1,704 Otago ... 2,771 Chinese, 510 671 1,812 Total 6,357 2,993 QtrAKTZ Miners. Auckland Nelson ... „. ... Westland ... Otago 1,247 652 40 431 Total 2,370