Minister of Labour’s Visit to Waihi.

Te Aroha News, Volume XXVII, Issue 4413, 20 May 1909, Page 3

Minister of Labour’s Visit to Waihi.

AN INTERESTING ACCOUNT. MARVELLOUS MODERN METHODS. (From the New Zealand Times May 10.) One of the most interesting subjects studied during the visit of the Hon. Mr Hogg to the Thames' district was the great Waihi mine, the mammoth crucible of the gold-encrusted reefs of the Thames. Every opportunity was afforded the Minister to study the machinery designed by modern science for the extraction of the precious metal from the ore in which Nature has embedded it. The first impression of Mr Hogg, who had some experience of mining in. the palmy days of the industry in Victoria, was, as he expressed it' to the writer, that the plant and machinery baffled description. No watchwork could be more varied or intricate, while the whole plant was on a most colossal scale. First of all the Ministerial party was conducted to the top of the principle building, from which vantage point a good bird’s eye view of the works was obtained. The buildings cover maDy acres of land. Then the ore was inspected—more like rotten rock and mullock than qua: tz undergoing the various processes?. First of all, the ore is submitted to crushing under stampere, two hundred in number, arranged in rows of five with fly-wheels between. The stampers are almost half a ton in weight, and as they ate twisted up and down with a crash, the noise is not simply defening but quite indescribable, the large buildings of wood trembling and shaking most omniously. A smail river of water flows over the works and the ore tumbles from one stage to another, emptying into barrels or cylinders, where it is further crushed, being transformed in the process from the consistency of coarse sand to that of silk-dressed flour. The final crushing is effected by round stones of flint. —Waihi and its Mine

Waihi, a well laid out town, with wide streets and particularly good asphalted paths, lies at the foot of a chain of ranges, all believed to be more or less auriferous. The borough has a population of over 6,000, and the town possesses a gas and water supply. The uiain street is lit with c°ntral lamps ; the (shops are well stocked, and the Government and Municipal Buildings are up-to date. Well constructed abattoirs outside of the town, a convenient hospital on seven acres of land, a school of mines, theatre, and several large, brisk hotels, make up the equipment of a brisk, go-a- head centre. On the ascent of a low undulating hill behind the mam street is the celebrated mine There are half a dozen shafts sent to various depths, of which four are in ac'ive work. Huge chasms a"e cut out of the hillside, showing where the hundiels of thousands of cubic yards of mullock have been removed for the purpose of filling up the great caravans and cavities resulting on the withdrawal of ore. By this means fie hill is solidified and the collapse 'of driv-s and chambers, with an inevitable subsidence of the town, is prevented. The mine was started in 1887, but its capacity for creating fortunes only began to be appreciated when the cyanide method of gold extraction was discovered in 1894. Hefore this time three dividends only had been declared, but since then the dividends have been large and consistent.

—Largest iu tbe World— Everything about the mine, engines and machinery is colossal. The cylinder of twenty-one tons, is the largest in the world ; the winding engine is 15 feet in diameter; fa length of the pump rod consists of a kauri log 5(5 ft long and 2ft square. Water i 3 raised over a thousand feet, night and day, at the rato of 2,045 gallons per minute, each stroke of the huge pump li ting 183 gallons. A great deal of timber is conßfanly used in the underground works and along with coal as fuel. This is now brought on trams for miles, for the surrounding r >nges are quite destitute of bush The building c ntlining tie piincipal ] machinery is o c concrete, and its foundation*, having to support an enormous weight of material, are 83 feet under the surface. —Au Output of £7,000,000 The output of ore avorages 1200 cubic yards per day. Fiom this about £3o,< 0) worth of gold and silver is extracted every month, the total product of the mine up to the present day being £7,000,000. Of course a'huge portion of this has been swallowed up as wages, plant, and other expenses. The Company’s superintendent. Mr Barry has a complete grasp of everything, and appears to be exceedingly popular. It is faid to bo due to his tact and tho way in which he encourages genuine merit that the mine and its machinery have attained their wonderful proportions. —The Benefit of a Rich Mine The town and Bor ugh of Waihi live almost entirely on the mine. There are other mines in the neighbourhood, but none of them have been very productive although a few are still at work, producing calls, however, rather than dividends. And not only the town but the country around for many miles owes its increasing settlement and prosperity te the great mine. From Katikati and Taurangn, nearly forty miles distant, mobs of fat cattlo were met with their noses towards Waihi, where they would in due course regale the beefeaters, This is unmistakeable evidence that the gold of Waihi is an imp or'ant factor in the production and extension of settlement in this part of New Zealand. 1 —Homes and Recreation - In the afternoon the Minist r drove out about four miles towards the beach through a lot of level flats covered with fern, said to be Crown lands. The land is not very rich but is capable of being easily broken in. The suggestions was made that it should be subdivided into suburban arras for the miners. Mr Hogg promised to bring this proposal under Ithe notice of the Minister for Lands

The line of road leads by a pretty direct route over a saddle track to the beich. After three miles have been negotiated through the level country referred to tbe road lies over, a chain of low hills, and the present formation extends as far as the saddle track, when a view of the ocean is obtained. Before the beach is read e two miles ahead, a swamp has to be c> ossed. and to complete the road a sum of £7OO is required. The main object of the road is to provide a good drive, some rocreation and a seaside resort for the mining community.