THE WEEK.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2609, 19 May 1877, Page 2

THE WEEK.

There: have , been sorae remarkable fluctuations in mining stocks during the week, but they have not been induced by any unusual or unexpected developments in tHe mines, and the cause, in one case at least,'is difficult to account for. This is in Moanatairis, which on Thursday took a sudden rise. The members of the Stock Exchange had barely concluded their daily ' meeting at half past two or three o'clock, when Moanatairis were quoted, sales at £8 10s. The stock rapidly rose, and in the course of an hour sales iwerc effected at an advance of £210s. It was reported that the directors had decided to put iv a level towards the run of gold from the shaft. Again it was said that a breaking down had brought to grass a large parcel of rich specimens. Neither ; rumour—for it was only rumour—appears to;have been correct, and this was so ap.parent that in the evening there was ■a: declining market; but it is' said ■to be a fact that many small buyers were "had" at the top price during, the spurt. "The spurt; was a spasmodic one whjch has done harm to the market instead of good. However, in the actual appearance of the Moanatairi mine there is an improvement on last week. The ireef is -bigger, and assuming a more promising appearance in the winze ; while [ in the stopes it has improved in quality, and. good hauls of specimens have been made, indicating that the run, although brokenrmay not have been worked out on ; the level being taken down. r Although it; would no doubt have suited the interests ;of some to have been assured that a deviation* from the present mode^>f working was contemplated, in the long run it will be found more legitimate to continue a systematic course. In the case of the Piakos, which also took a sudden rise, the cause is attributed to a mistake of a telegraph operator, who made a message intimating that "nice" gold had been got, read " rich " gold, and so caused a run on the stock in Auckland. This affected the Thames market to a certain extent, but it was not influenced to the length of Auckland. The mine has improved in appearance. Good gold is seen in the big reef, and '' the crushing has improved, having assumed a more promising aspect. Some remarks have been made regarding the amount of, stuff being crushed, from the Piako. It is argued that with a big reef like ,that> now being worked upon more stampers could be employed. It certainly appears that such should be the case, and .with the number of batteries idle it is a fair presumption to say that good terms could' be made for setting 8C Jie of them in motion. If it will pay to keep thirty or forty stampers going, it should pay better to employ double or ■treble the number. It is a question for the management, however, as there may be difficulties"in the, way of getting out large quantities of stone even from such a large reef as that now being worked in .the Piako. The Caledonian has come | well to the front—that is comparatively. The Otago lode has been found to contain gold in the Caledonian ground, and shares hare reached £6. It may be that another run of good luck is in store for -this once famous mine, and that, like the Albumia and 'many other mines, under present management some of its former prestige may be regained. It is to be hoped such will be the case. To get gold unexpectedly may be the precursor of a new era of prosperity. The' Queen of May ha i. kept up its good name, and the fine yield obtained from last Saturday's cleaning up has enabled the shareholders to declare another dividend, with the prospect of keeping it up. The stock of the company looks like a good investment at present prices, and with the large area of. ground and present appearances an advance may be looked for. The Queen of Beauty has not fallen off. Its reefs are good, and returns favor the expectation that they should soon' be dividend paying. The Alburnia has produced large 'amounts of specimens, and' the, general stuff is of a rich character, so that the next crushing should produce a large yield and—what will be more satisfactory to shareholders — a handsome dividend. The week generally has not been an uneventful one. Many favorable signs have been noticed, and indications , of a general improvement aro apparent. , Some long unworked claims hare been started, new ground has been taken up, and tributes have reaped rich harvests as the fruits of, their labors. The good finds in some mines have lent encouragement to others, and generally there is a hopeful feeling of better things to come.

[With reference to the working of the Moanatairi, the .N .Z. Herald says s—" It was currently rumored that opening out from the bottom of the winze (26 feet) will be undertaken, and we believe that the rumor will be found to be correct."]