The silver state. [volume] (Unionville, Nev.) 1870-1903, 1902-07-30
DREDGING FOR GOLD.
Carried on With Greater Success in New Zea-
land Than Elsewhere.

Dredging for gold is carried on more
successfully in New Zealand than in any
other portion of the world, and at the
present time nearly a hundred dredges
are at work on the gravels of different
arivers most of them sessccudshrulitions
rivers, most of them successfully. many
earning dividends ranging from 100 to
200 per cent.
In dealing with dredging propositions
care must be taken in the preliminary
prospecting operations to become thor
FL. pnly aeauaipte with the nature 9f
the bedrock. This is most important,
and In nearly every instance governs
the chances of success in using dredges
for placer mining. Should the bedrock
De found of such a nature that the lips
Kof the dredge buckets cannot easily cut
Apr scrape 1t, one may be assured that it
xgill be impossible to recover the best, or
bedrock values, contained in the gravels.
There are some large tracts of alluvial
deposits suitable for dredging that will,
on prospecting, show sufficient values
from surface to bedrock TO warrant the
Installation of a dredge, even should
#cover; but great care and thorough pros
@pecting ought TO be carried out on a
aliberal scale before attempting to work
#such deposits by this method.
d Many tyres of dredgers are now on the
8msrket for working placer deposits
clam shell dredges. the steam shovel
.Rdnd, Archimedian screws, bucket and
Bladder dredges, and others-but of all
|Sthese the bucket and ladder dredge. In
Sthe writer's opinion, is the best machine
Nor this particular service.
II In New Zealand. where all classes of
5snining receive valuable aid in the way
Spf subsidies from the government this
snethod of dredging the placers has been
1dn vogue for over twenty years, and
}during the period every class of dredge
has received a thorough practical test
at the cost of large sums of money, and
at the present time one will see moth
s ing but the bucket and ladder type
with mechanical stakers for taking care
pf the tailings. successfully treating the
gravels. 1t is certainly no compliment
10 the ingenuity or business abilities OF
manufacturers of dredging machinery TO
md them inventing and manufacturing
the many different and similar kind Of
\ machines that have been iiberally and
Rracneally tried and proved failures by
ahe dredging faculty of New Zealand
years ago: yet there are evidences
[*nough In California, Idaho and Mon
tana and other parts of the United
States of failures entirely due to the
Installation of unsuitable machines. II
as not claimed that the New Zealand type
OF dredge is a perfect one; but It is the
result of experienced gained by many
Years of practical working and of trials
*ef everything In the shape of dredge
n that came along.
nj The most important faults in connec-
Htion with dredges of the present day are
n n connection with the gold-saving appli-
Iances. With few exceptions, these are
tof the rudest kind, the makers appar-
|ently using all their endeavors towards
kdesigning machines for digging capacity
kand allowing the gold-saving or most
3 Important enu of the dredge TO take care
kcf ltsef.-George II. Evans in Casters
%fagazine.