U. O

This shows that calls to the amount of £272,028 18s. 6d. were made ; £493,696 16s. paid in dividends; 522,250 tons of quartz crushed, of a value of £1,542,350 ss. 9d. Comparing these totals with those given by the Warden, there is £22,152 4s. less paid in dividends, 19,869 tons less of quartz crushed, and the value of the gold £43,668 14s. 3d. less than stated by him, while the yield of gold is 2,'4890z. more. It will thus be seen that none of the three statements correspond, and they can only be taken as approximately correct. The large area over which quartz-mining is carried on in the Eeefton District, and the rough and broken nature of the country, covered as it is with a dense forest and thick undergrowth, makes prospecting operations difficult to carry on far away from any known line of reef or belt of country in which auriferous quartz is being worked. In the early days of the field it was not difficult to get plenty of capital to prospect the ground and develop the workings of mines. People residing in the large centres of population in the colony invested money in mining enterprises by purchasing shares far above their actual value, thereby losing their money, which in course of time was bound to produce a bad effect on the district. People residing at a distance from the place of actual operations do not now readily invest their money in mining ventures ; and the people in the district not having sufficient capital to carry on mining operations so as to thoroughly prospect and prove the value of their properties, companies have had to go into liquidation that otherwise might have been brought to a successful issue. The principle, also, of attempting to work quartzmines on a system that the yield of gold must be made to pay all expenses of opening out and developing the mine, without making calls, is fraught with disaster. It in many instances entails double the cost of getting the ore and sending it to a crushing-battery, and the result is that many a good mine is rendered valueless by an imperfect system of working. There is another evil in connection with the working of many mining companies, and that is, a too eager desire to pay away every pound of surplus on the working in dividends, without making a reserve fund. It is patent to every one carrying on mining operations, that when a lode is opened out and stoping carried on is the time when the profits on the workings may Vie expected, and either a portion of these profits should be held in reserve to open up the ground at a lower level or the work should be carried on at the same time as stoping operations ; and there should always be some prospecting going on also , so that if the lode at one place failed to prove payable for working there was another place ready to place men on to keep up the leturns of the gold. Comparing the returns from the quartz-mines in this district with those of 1890-91, there were 4,225 tons of stone more crushed for that year, but the yield of gold was 430z. less. The extra value of the gold with the duty abolished gives £1,887 more last year than for the previous year. The yield of gold from the alluvial drifts was also 300oz. less last year than for the previous one, but the actual profits on the working of the mines last year was £3,418 more than for the former year. Taking the total number of miners employed in the quartz workings, their average earnings in this district last year was £189 ss. Bd. per man. That is, taking the value of the gold produced last year divided by the number of men employed in quartz-mines, which was 496. The following statement will show the comparative returns from this district since 1882 :—

The workings in the different mines being fully described by the Warden in his report, it is only necessary here to casually refer to the principal mines in the district. Keep-it-Dark. —This has been one of the best mines in the Eeefton District, and one from which a large quantity of gold has been taken. Since the date of registration of the company, about eighteen years ago, up to the 18th of December last, 112,351 tons of quartz have been crushed, which yielded 59,8660z. 13dwt. 9gr. of gold—about 2f tons—representing a value of £232,206 13s. 9d. In addition to this the company has received £6,678 10s. 2d. for crushing quartz for other companies, and £2,625 was paid up in calls. The expenditure in connection with this mine has been—for wages, contracts, and timber in connection with mining operations, £87,538 ; expenses in connection with working the crushing-battery, £29,182 ; cost of plant, battery, with water-race, &c, £11,767; and other expenses, including rent, taxes, surveys, manager's salary, printing, advertising, &c, £8,174 : making a total in round numbers of £136,661. During the same period £105,167 has been paid in dividends. The returns from the mine during the last year have not been so good as formerly, but, nevertheless, it has managed to pay £1,000 in dividends. The quantity of quartz crushed last year was 3,258 tons, which yielded 1,056f0z. gold, representing a value of £4,190, and the proceeds from crushing for other companies amounted to £1,927; making the total receipts £6,117; while the expenditure in connection with working the

54

Year. Calls made. Dividends declared. Number of Tons of Quartz crushed. Yield of Goia. Value of Gold. Yield per Ton. 1882-83 ... 1883-84 ... 1884-85 ... 1885-86 ... 1886-87 ... 1887-88 ... 1888-89 ... 1889-90 ... 1890-91 ... 1891-92 ... £ 61,345 49,456 29,333 24,565 21,596 30,432 38,919 27,531 20,404 25,956 £ 32,600 16,500 34,100 14,500 33,450 17,550 16,688 18,250 27,325 30,743 Tons. 18,928 23,433 34,349 27,198 23,930 24,403 28,564 32,394 39,643 35,562 Oz. 19,194 16,547 23,997 14,591 21,143 16,775 18,663 17,780 23,347 23,390 £ s. d. 74,856 12 0 64,533 6 0 93,588 6 0 56,904 18 0 83,171 15 5 66,030 11 5 72,720 18 0 69,676 12 1 91,998 8 10 93,885 5 1 Oz. dwt. gr. 10 7 0 14 3 0 13 23 0 10 18 0 17 14 0 13 18 0 13 4 0 10 16 0 10 19 0 13 3