Mining Review of the Week.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3660, 18 September 1880, Page 2

Mining Review of the Week.

By far the most interesting of events in connection with mining that has happened in oar midst for some time past was the. starting of the Golden Crown' battery on Thursday last. The interest attached to this event is twofold. First on account of the inauguration of active operations in connection with a long silent though valuable crushing "plant* and supposed to be the harbinger of a period of success, and secondly from the fact that the battery is. worked-by the first genuine water engine ever used in connection with mining "on ibis field, or indeed in any other part of the. colony. It is to this second ' matter that it is at present our intention to refer, as we look on the erent as of far greater importance thau may at first appear on superficial examination. To explain our meaning fully we must digress a little and remind our readers of the anomalous position of the Thames gold field as compared with other auriferous localities in the Australasian colonies, viz., that while the cost of winning the gold is above the average, ani the deposits of the precious metal are not to any appreciable eztentricher, theintriusic value of the gold itself is from 30 to 50 per cent under what is obtained by the mines of the sister colonies. We might add to this the exorbitant taxation of the mining industry —far greater here than anywhere else— and it will be seen at a glance that persons engaged in mining pursuits on the' Thames have, to economise their expences as much as possible to leave the balance on the right side of the ledger. The Price water-engine which entered on its career on Thursday is guaranteed to give the same power as the most improved species of turbine for one half the cost, and as che»p crushing is a desideratum, we will be excused for writing warmly in favor of its general introduction into our crushing plants in place of the turbines. In support of this we would cite the case of the Alburnia battery, a machine of the same size as the Golden Crown, and driven at present by one of the most economical and effective turbines on the field. The cost for water for motive power averages £4,8 per month, while the estimated monthly cost to the Golden Crown Company for water will be something under £30. We foresee, as attendants on the introduction ©f this motor, cheaper crushing, larger returns (from low grade stuff now unpayable from the expense of crushing) and a larger margin of profit for those interested in legitimate mining ventures. We hope and expect to hear in the course of the next few weeks that several orders have been left with Messrs A. and G. Price.