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the latter part of the year also. The returns from this plant were satisfactory, there being a saving shown in cost over the method previously prevailing—that of shipping to, and having the concentrates treated in, Australia. The battery crushed 2,164 tons of ore for a yield of 1,806 oz. 15 dwt. of gold, worth £15,127 ss. 2d. The total yield of gold since the commencement of operations amounts to 24,189 oz. 16 dwt., valued at £128,850 15s. 9d. . Wealth of Nations Battery.—A. P. Watson, superintendent, and three men employed, but nothing produced. Work is now suspended. Murray Greek Mine.—J. Thomson, manager, and ten men employed. Very little work, apart from the advancing of Nos. 3 and 4 levels (for prospecting purposes), was done for the period. Operations ceased at About the middle of the year, and were not again resumed. Big River Mine. —T. Thomson, manager, and twenty men employed. Development work on this property was practically confined to crosscutting, in an easterly direction, on Nos. 3 and 4 levels. The work done on No. 3 level proved nothing of importance, but that undertaken on No. 4 resulted in the discovery of a block of stone at a distance of 311 ft. from the shaft. This stone has a length of 100 ft., an average width of 6 ft,', and values of about 1 oz. of gold per ton. It is possible that further prospecting on this line of reef may reveal additional blocks of payable ore. Several small blocks of stone situate on Nos, 2 and 3 levels were worked to the exhaustive stage during the period. The shaft is to be reconditioned down to No. 5 level so as to enable the expected downward continuation of the reef, found on No. 4 level, to be exploited. The battery crushed 1,009 tons of ore for a yield of 690 oz. 11 dwt. of gold, of which 558 oz. 17 dwt. was obtained by amalgamation, 71 oz. 19 dwt. by cyanidation, and 59 oz. 15 dwt. by the treatment of concentrates, the value of the whole being £5,715 9s. 3d. These figures represent the total yield of gold and value thereof since the commencement of operations of the reconstructed company. Homer Mine. —D. Absalom, manager, and two men employed. It is stated that a considerable amount of development work has been carried out on the property for the year, also that surface-prospecting has . resulted in a continuation of the existing reef being found to the north and to the south of the mine workings. The property is reported to be under option to a group of London investors. No stone has been produced for the period. The total yield of gold since the commencement of operations amounts to 162 oz. 3 dwt. 9 gr., valued at £791 3s. 6d. Westland County. Mount Greenland Mine.—W. O. Bierwirth, manager, and six men employed. It is stated that the reef has been found on the west side of the well-known fault-line on this property, and that surface prospecting between the known reef channels has revealed other ore-bodies. It is proposed to install additional treatment plant (of a modern nature) during the coming period. The battery crushed 462 tons of stone for the year, the yield being 431 oz. 10 dwt. of gold, worth £2,419 7s. 6d. The gold produced since the commencement of operations amounts to 3,619 oz. 7 dwt. 5 gr., worth £15,616 9s. 9d. Dredge-mining. Mataki Dredge, Murchison County.—T. B. Gillooly, dredgemaster, and sixteen men employed. This dredge worked for 91-2 per cent, of the possible digging-time, or for a total of 6,699 hours 55 minutes during the period. The gravels treated (average depth of ground 16|- ft.) amounted to 669,274 cubic yards, and from this, was obtained 1,663 oz. 18 dwt. 2 gr. of gold, valued at £12,096 3s. Id. The total yield since the commencement of operations amounts to 2,194 oz. 7 dwt. 10 gr. of gold, worth £15,517 12s. Id. Worksop Dredge, Inangahua County.—T. I'. Turner, dredgemaster, and twelve men employed. 151,128 cubic yards of gravels treated by this dredge gave a yield of 1,055 oz. 5 dwt. 10 gr. of gold, valued at £7,715 2s. lOd. Dredging did not commence until July, and the depth of ground worked averaged 20 ft. The dredge is operated with a Diesel oil-engine. Brian Boru Dredge, Grey County.—N. Curnow, dredgemaster, and fourteen men employed. For the period 594,594 cubic yards of gravels were treated, with a resulting yield of 1,477 oz. 6 dwt. 9 gr. of gold, valued at £12,283 Bs. 2d. The total yield since the commencement of operations amounts to 2,476 oz., 19 dwt. 9 gr., worth £19,496 lis. lid. Bimu Dredge, Westland County.—P. B. Lewis, dredgemaster, and forty-eight men employed. This dredge (buckets 12-cubic-feet capacity), was in operation for a total of 6,805 hours and 23 minutes, which represents 91-8 per cent, of the possible digging-period. A superficial area of 44'037 acres was excavated during the time referred to, and from this a total of 2,824,364 eubie yards of gravels was dug and treated. The ground averaged 41 ft. in depth. The decrease in yardage handled, when compared with that of the previous years' operations, was due to the digging of a large area of shallow, though payable, gravel on the south side of the property, and this involved the excavating of from 15 ft. to 18 ft. of Brighton bottom, which, owing to the clayey and sticky nature of its formation, greatly retarded digging-work. The yield amounted to 14,965 oz. of gold, valued at £122,526, which represents an average gold content of 10-4 d. per cubic yard, based on gold prices and exchange-rates ruling throughout the world. The total yield since the commencement of operations amounts to 162,794 oz. of gold, worth £800,140 9s. Stafford Dredge, Westland County.—D. M. Pettigrew, dredgemaster, and fifteen men employed. This dredge (commissioned near the end of the year) treated 48,004 cubic yards of gravels for a return of 328 oz. 4 dwt. of gold, worth £2,540 lis. Id. The dredge is operated with electric power throughout. Ground depths averaged 25 ft. for the period. Okarito Five Mile Beach Dredge, Westland County.—D. A. Mitchell, dredgemaster, and eleven men employed. The screening-apparatus referred to in last report was duly installed on the dredge, together with a pump of modern design. The straightening of the supply pipe-line, and the substitution of an improved type of turbine or impulse wheel for the one in use, gave an increased water-pressure of 23 lb. per square inch (from 75 lb. per square inch to 98 lb. per square inch). The changes made were reflected in the time worked and the quantity of material treated for the period. The former amounted to 5,274 hours 25 minutes, or 73-1 per cent, of the possible digging-time, and the latter to 312,453 cubic yards. The yield amounted to 1,630 oz. of gold, worth £11,845. The total recovery amounts to 10,033 oz. 18 dwt., valued at £62,298 6s. 3d. Gillespies Beach Dredge, Westland County.—D. Caithness, dredgemaster, and sixteen men employed. This dredge (a new one) is fitted with buckets that have a capacity of 5-| cubic feet, and which travel at the rate of thirteen per minute. The dredge is operated with electric current that is generated at the company's own power-station on Lake Lyttle, ten miles distant from dredging-operations. The power is transmitted from the generating-station at a pressure of 11,000 volts to the claim, where it is stepped down to a pressure of 400 volts. Actual dredging commenced on 10th February, and the material treated from then on to the end of the year amounted to 505,322 cubic yards, which gave a yield of 1,735 oz. 12 dwt. of gold, worth £.12,460 17s. 7d. The ground worked was 19 ft. in depth on an average. Alluvial Mining. Mahakipawa Mine.—F. C. Calvert, manager, and thirty-two men employed. Development work on this property has been carried out continuously in a southerly direction, a total of 840 ft. of driving and 135 ft. of crosscutting having been undertaken. A rich run of wash was discovered early in the year, and this was blocked out over a length of 160 ft. and a width of about 25 ft. Values then got poor, and the bottom rose sharply. Crosscutting proved, however, that the lead had continued in a more or less straight line to the

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