a—3

14

time exceed the supply and necessitate the raising of the dam at Greenland Swamp, the construction of another dam between the present dam and the head of the race, and probably the tapping of another source of supply. Apart altogether from mining, the area of land which can be irrigated from this race is very considerable ; and during the past year the great value of irrigation has been practically demonstrated by a small flow of water which was supplied by the Alexandra Bonanza Company to one of the farmers in Ida Valley. The fact that no water-supply for sluicing purposes is available at Ophir accounts for the stagnation of mining in this locality. There is a considerable area of auriferous ground, extending for some miles, about which there is little or no doubt as to its being of a highly profitable character for ingAt Matakanui the alluvial claims find employment for some thirty men, and the results of working during the year are of a satisfactory character. A little work is also being done at Drybread Diggings ; but neither these nor the Devonshire Diggings can be worked vigorously until better water-supplies are available. At Cambrian's there is little change to note. The Vinegar Hill Claim is the principal undertaking, and there are a few other small claims in the locality. Hydraulic mining at St. Bathan's has during the year been confined (so far as actual working operations are concerned) to the claims of the Scandinavian Company at Surface Hill and the United M. and E. Company. At the former claim material is being elevated by water-jet to a height of 100 ft. vertical. The working of other claims is to some extent dependent on the deepening of the St. Bathan's main sludge-channel. A few men find employment (for the most part fossicking) in the localities of Blackstone Hill Ida Valley, Hamilton's, and elsewhere in the watershed of the Taieri River, and manage to make a living. At Patearoa, the operations conducted at Messrs. Stewarts' hydraulic claim have been generally satisfactory, and from recent reports it is understood that the ground is rich. A small party work a claim in the vicinity by tunnelling, the washdirt being treated in sluice-boxes outside. The operations of the Deep Stream Amalgamated Hydraulic Sluicing Company (Limited) were not very successful during the year; but the ground now being opened out is expected to yield better returns. In the locality of Naseby—including Kyeburn—about a hundred men are engaged, the majority of the claims being worked by ground-sluicing, although quite a number of hydraulic elevators are used. In most cases the men work single-handed or in small parties. The reduction in the price of water from the Government water-races has given an impetus to the industry, and caused attention to be directed to ground that could not be made to pay without water at a cheaper rate than that which met the requirements of the field for several years previously. At and in the localities of Clyde, Cromwell, and Bannockburn alluvial mining is, apart from dredging, of very small extent, only a few men now finding employment, in the branch of the industry under review. A sluicing claim, at which three men are employed, is being worked at Luggate ; similar operations are carried out near Cardrona Township, and work on a fairly large scale is to be conducted by the Criffel Lead Sluicing Company (Limited) at Criffel Face. The company has acquired the rights and titles of a number of small claims, and will thus be able by a consolidation of interests to cam out with every prospect of success operations which could not be satisfactorily conducted on a smaJl scale. The Arrow Falls Company continue to work the bed of the Arrow River and adjoining terraces in the gorge between Arrowtown and Macetown, and a few men also find employment in the gullies leading into the Arrow River. At Glenorchy, a small amount of alluvial mining is carried on by Messrs. Valpy Bros, and a few isolated men, but nothing of importance in connection with the industry is to be noted. Two claims have been at work at the Twelve-mile, Lake Wakatipu, but operations were retarded to some extent owing to the scarcity of water during part of the year. Hydraulic mining is also being conducted at Big Beach, Arthur's Point, near Queenstown (formerly the scene of operations by the late Mr. Sew Hoy's dredges), and at Moke Creek. The Shotover River and adjoining terraces continue to yield gold and so provide employment for a considerable number of men, the claims worked on the largest scale being those of Messrs. Davis and the Skipper's Sluicing Company. Apart from the terrace claims there are several situated in the river-bed, which are successfully worked by the adoption of a simple hydraulic jet-pump which was adapted to local requirements by Messrs. Alfred Smith and Sons, who work a claim in the vicinity of Skipper's Point. This arrangement has been of immense benefit to the miners in the locality and admirably meets requirements. At Nevis and Upper Nevis, some thirty men have been ordinarily employed in alluvial-mining work at the claims ; a water-race has also been under construction in connection with another claim about to be opened out, and dredging is carried on in the neighbourhood. In all, the gold-mining industry of the locality will provide employment, directly and indirectly, for about a hundred persons. In'the Nokomai Valley, the Nokomai Hydraulic Sluicing Claims—formerly owned by the late Mr. Sew Hoy, and now worked by a limited company with headquarters in Dunedin— have been worked during the year with successful results. Two claims are worked, and in the early part of the present year the company purchased the claim and plant lower down the valley formerly held and worked by the Lion Gold-mining Company. The method of working is by hydraulic sluicing and elevating, and thirty-six men, a good proportion of whom are Chinese, are ordinarily employed.