95

0.—3

Southland District. Bound Hill. There is still a large area of unworked auriferous ground in this locality, but the scarcity of water, together with very little fall, limits the quantity of ground that can be worked and the number of men that can bo continuously employed. In former years there were about three hundred Chinese employed on this field, but now there are only about one hundred and sixty, and about sixty Europeans. Several of the claims belonging to the Chinese are said to be paying from £6 to £10 a man per week, while other claims are not paying wages; but taking all things into consideration the ground must be tolerably rich for men to make wages with the mode of working. A sluice-head of water here is termed a Bound-hill head—that is, the quantity which will pass over a notch in a board lOin. wide by lin. deep; and about four of these heads are used to work the ground, which is in some cases from 50ft. to 60ft. in depth. This small quantity of water, together with the extremely little fall there is to carry away the tailings, can do but very little work. Some years ago Dr. Young, of Invercargill, and some other gentlemen, took up a claim in the Ourawera Valley, and erected a steam-engine and elevators to lift the material. A shaft was sunk, into which it was intended to sluice the old tailings and sludge and to lift the whole of the sluiced material and water by elevators, but very little work was done before the scheme was abandoned. Another party erected a steam-engine higher up the valley to work the ground on a similar principle as that proposed to be adopted by Dr. Young's company, but this venture also proved a failure. It has been, however, believed that there is a large quantity of gold in the Ourawera Valley, but the depth of sludge and tailings on the surface has hitherto, until recently, prevented any one from working the ground advantageously. Bound Hill Syndicate Company. —In 1883 application was made to the Government for a subsidy to construct a sludge-channel up this valley. Plans were sent in showing that the length of the channel was 3 miles 67 chains, and that the fall in this distance was 55-7 ft., or about 2-lin. to the chain. Another survey was made in 1885 by Mr. David W. Wetherly, Assistant Engineer of the Public Works Department, Invercargill, with the view of constructing a sludge-channel. The survey in this instance was carried for a distance of 2 miles 79 chains, and the terminal point was 44-sft., about high-water mark, or close on 2Jin. to the chain; but considering there was about 15ft. tailings and sludge on the surface of the ground at the upper end of this surveyed line, there was not sufficient fall to make a sludge-channel of any great value. Again, in 1889, application for a sludge-channel was made by M. G. Evans ; and Mr. L. 0. Beal, Mining Engineer, Dunedin, on examing the locality, recommended a double channel with tramway on each side, so that a Priestman grab could be mounted on a trolly and made to lift the tailings and sludge into the channel. Mr. Evans went to London and floated a company to work the ground, with a capital of £50,000, of which amount £19,800 was given the promoters in paid-up shares, thus leaving a working-capital of £30,200, of which £15,000 is paid up ; but shares to the value of £10,000 are held in reserve for future issue, so that there is only £20,200 actually available at the present time. This is now known by the name of the Bound Hill Syndicate Company. The Syndicate Company has purchased the most of the water-rights in the district, and had at the time of my visit about ten sluice-heads of water. They utilised from six to seven sluice-heads in working the ground, and the balance of water is sold at the rate of 15s. for a Bound-hill sluicehead per week—namely, lOin. by lin., with no pressure-board. A survey has been completed of a water-race from the Pourakino Creek which will be 34 miles in length, and it is stated that after this race is constructed there will always be a supply of at least twenty sluice-heads. The company has also commenced to construct the sludge - channel from the ocean-beach near Wakapatu. Short piles have been driven for a certain distance 13ft. apart to allow sufficient room to construct boxes for sludge-channel in between the rows of piles. In regard to the company's present operations, they have opened out a large paddock at the edge of the valley with a hydraulic elevator ; the ground is from 20ft. to 30ft. in depth, and they are elevating the material about 40ft. The water is supplied to the elevator by a line of wrought-iron pipes 13in. in diameter, having cast-iron flanges every 20ft., and the length of the line is about one mile, having a head or pressure at the elevator-jet of about 337 ft. According to a pressure-gauge that was fixed on the main-supply pipe, about 40ft. above the level of the nozzle of the elevator, the gauge show 7 ed a pressure of about 1281b. to the square inch ; but when the elevating and sluicing nozzle was at work the pressure stood at 1001b. ; the elevating nozzle being 2sm. in diameter, and the sluicing nozzle lfin. in diameter, which would deliver about six and a half sluice-heads of water. Taking the pressure shown on the gauge 40ft. above the bottom of the paddock, and the pressure due to 40ft. head, which is 17'21b. per square inch, this shows the total hydrostatic head when sluicing is carried on is only equal to 272 ft. 6in., whereas the actual hydraulic head is 337 ft. according to the pressure shown on the gauge when the water is shut off the nozzles, the loss in the head being in this case 64ft. 6in. which is absorbed in friction by six and a half sluiceheads of water passing through the pipe, thus proving conclusively that the main-supply pipe is too small to admit of the water being utilized to its fullest extent. Their washing appliances consist of a short length of sluice-boxes, 3ft. 6in. in width, fitted with angle-iron ripples. At the end of the sluice-box there is a perforated iron plate, 16ft. long, having holes -Jin. in diameter, with -Jin. centres. The fine material that goes through the holes of this plate falls on to a board in the shape of a saddle-back, which leads the material into tables covered with matting on each side of the main sluice. There are five tables at each side, 3ft. wide and 12ft. long set at right angles to the sluice, and the water and the material is led from these tables into a waste-sluice to convey it away clear of the workings. This waste-sluice is constructed on a grade of lsin. to 12ft., being equal to to the chain ; but they find that this is too little fall in order to keep the sluice clear. They are constructing a second elevator, and giving the flume for carrying away the tailings and sludge, liin. to 12ft., or 7Jin. to the chain. From the experience the