Page 2 Advertisements Column 1

West Coast Times, Issue 43, 12 September 1865, Page 2

New Mining Appliance.— It was about eighteon months ago that Messrs Villain and Groundwater patented here a submarine bo-it, specially designed to work at tho bottom of rivers, paiticularlythr.se •whoso sands have been proved to be highly auriferous, as in Otago. We published an account of the invention, whioh mado sorao noise at the timo, nnd though little has been beard of it since, it wa3 not lost sight of. A company, now known as tho \us« tralian Submarine Working Coinp.any was formed, and enough capital subscribed for a trial, which wo were enabled to witness yesterday. An opportunity will soon be afforded to the public also. For experimental purposes the boat has not been built as designed, but a substitute fully capable of illustrating the principle has been discovered. A perfectly new Cornish boi.'er, of considerable size, has been purchased, and fitted up with the necessary apparatus. This last consists of an arrangement of air-chambor3 and force-pump, by which thoso inBido the boat aro gifted with the means of perfeotly controlling their own supply of air, and by compressing the uir as occasion serve-?, they are able to open the bottom of tho vessel, and work at tbe ground beneath in the river or sea, as the case may be. For mining purpose*, tho porso; sin tho boat would be supplied with the means of sluicing tho stuff they raise at the rate of 000 loid per hour and the boat, when complete, would bo furnished with paddles for propulsion, rudder for steering, &o. From what we saw yesterday, eiibraarino working seemed to be robbed of moat of its difficulties and dangers, the process of raising and sinking being e*sy, and only retarded by Mid smal/ness of tho pipo used for admitting the water, a defect oupable of remedy in a few hours. The experiment was tried at the Melbourne Gaa Company's Dock, where the ■water is amply deep enough for tun purpose, but it h intended shortly to oarry the extemporised boat Into the deep waters of tho bay, and there illnstrate wort effectually its singular capabilities. -—" Argus," Aug. 19.