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THURSDAY, JULY 21, li 



THE MINING INDUSTRY OF NEW 

 ZEALAND. 

 Report on the Mining Industry of New Zealand. 

 (Papers laid before Parliament, Session 1886.) 8vo, 

 pp. 334. (Wellington, New Zealand, 1887.) 

 The Hand-book of New Zealand Mines. With Maps 

 and Illustrations. 8vo, pp. 519. (Wellington, New 

 Zealand, 1887.) 



THESE volumes, which cover the same ground, and 

 to some extent reproduce the same information, 

 are in great part the result of a personal investigation of 

 the mining districts of our great antipodean colony, made 

 by the Hon. Mr. W. J. M. Larnach, C.M.G., the Minister 

 of Mines. From the Report, which is about six months 

 older than the Hand-book, we learn that the latter has 

 been compiled by the officers of the Mining Department, 

 under the direction of the Minister, in order to furnish 

 systematic information as to the area of mining claims, and 

 as to other particulars concerning the working of mines, 

 which has not hitherto been available. This result has 

 been fairly well attained in the volume before us, which is 

 a valuable summary, arranged topographically, of the con- 

 dition of the mines actually at work, the description of each 

 district being preceded by an historical sketch of the 

 early explorations. Among these, that describing the 

 progress of discovery on the west coast of the Middle 

 Island is especially interesting, as it goes back as far as 

 1836, when an early settler, named Toms, " on one occa- 

 sion was caught and thrown down by a large seal, re- 

 ceiving a severe bite on the thigh, but he escaped death 

 by deahng it some hard blows with his fist on the nose." 

 Other and more serious difficulties were encountered 

 from the opposition of the native inhabitants, whose 

 interests were finally purchased by Sir George Grey and 

 the successive Governors, subject to certain reserves, 

 which at the present time produce an income of about 

 f^AfOOO per annum, and as there are only about a hundred 

 natives on the west coast, they are comfortably fed, 

 housed, and clad, peaceable and sober, and generally 

 respected by their European neighbours. From this part 

 of the colony gold was exported of the value of nearly 

 ;^ 1 2,000,000 sterling between 1864 and 1873, and the yield, 

 though diminished, still continues, with the prospect that 

 the product of alluvial rocks will be more than eclipsed by 

 that of the quartz reefs, some of which have been proved to 

 be extraordinarily rich. The total produce of gold in New 

 Zealand between 1853 and the end of 1885, according to 

 the Report, is 10,789,560 ounces, valued at ^42,327,907 

 sterling, and the Hand-book gives the area of country 

 proved to be auriferous in the three islands as about 21,000 

 square miles. 



The product next in importance to gold, although per- 

 haps it is scarcely to be classed as a mineral, is kauri 

 gum, which is produced at the rate of about 6000 tons 

 annually from deposits in the North Island, which have 

 already yielded upwards of ^^3,500,000 sterling to the 

 wealth of the colony. The prosperity of Auckland has 

 been largely aided by its kauri gum fields, and the 

 Voi^ XXXVI. — No. 925. 



valuable kauri tree, which is only found in the northern 

 forests of the North Island. 



The coal of New Zealand seems to be largely of the 

 character of lignite, though some portion is of a more 

 highly carbonaceous character. The output at present is 

 little in excess of 500,000 tons, which suffices for about 

 three-quarters of the consumption of the colony. Several 

 other minerals have been produced in small quantities, 

 but their aggregate value is insignificant when compared 

 with that of the three staples noticed above. 



In going over the detailed accounts of the different 

 gold-mines, given in both volumes, we cannot but be 

 struck by the great diversity of the character of the 

 deposits, and this, as might be expected, has led to 

 several interesting modifications in the method of work- 

 ing. Among the more remarkable of these are, the use 

 of a steam dredger for working auriferous alluvial gravels 

 in the channel of the Molyneux River, and a method of 

 lifting similar materials by a water-jet aspirator applied 

 at Gabriel's gully in the Tuapeka district. These are 

 described at some length, but the descriptions and 

 illustrations are not as full and precise as they might 

 be, considering the interest of the subjects. Another 

 novelty is the use of electricity on the large scale for 

 driving a stamping mill at the Phenix Mine, in Otago. 

 The current produced by a pair of turbines of about 100 

 horse-power and two Brush dynamos is transmitted to a 

 distance of about two miles to the crushing battery, which 

 contains thirty heads of stamps and is driven by a Victoria 

 electromotor and a Leffel turbine conjointly. This is 

 probably the largest application of electric power to 

 mining purposes that has yet been made. 



Mining in New Zealand appears to receive greater sup- 

 port from the State than is customary in most other 

 countries, as not only are large sums devoted to the 

 opening up of roads and pack trails through the 

 country, but contributions are made towards the con- 

 struction of water races and channels for tailings, and 

 subsidies are paid towards prospecting in different 

 localities. These grants are made contingently upon 

 much larger sums being furnished by local or individual 

 effort, and, according to the testimony of the Reports, 

 have been of great value in encouraging discoverers. 



A point of interest in connexion with the econo- 

 mics of New Zealand mining is the general establish- 

 ment of local schools of mines, or, as they are called 

 in some localities, chemistry clubs, in the different 

 mining centres. These are organized apparently on a 

 system somewhat similar to that of the science classes 

 of the Science and Art Department, the instruction being 

 given to the members by means of a staff of seven 

 teachers under the charge of Prof. J. G. Black, of the 

 University of Otago, who travels through the different 

 districts giving lectures and laboratory demonstrations, for 

 periods varying from two to five months at each, accord- 

 ing to its size and importance. The course of instruction 

 includes mineral chemistry and assaying, mineralogy and 

 metallurgy, and provision is being made for the addition 

 of the subjects of mining engineering and surveying. The 

 results expected from the scheme are set forth in full, 

 from which it appears that miners will be able to assay 

 ores and metals of every kind, be able to assay their own 

 bullion, and become generally familiar with the metal- 



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