Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1907-01-10
NEWT MEXICO WILDE
FIRST IN DREDGING
| D j S R Y
Mining Engineer Sees Big Flu
ture For This Class of Min
ing in Gold Bearing
Streams,


New Mexico will yet surpass CALI
fornia and take the lead in the dredg-
ing industry, capital alone being re-
quired to accomplish this result
This Is the conclusion reached by r.
w. MADDEN, mining engineer of Albu-
querque in an article recently pub
lished in the New York Mining Re-
porter. on The Gold Dredging Indus
try,' The prominence being given ia
this industry in New Mexico lust now
as the result of the operations of sew
eral large corporations, makes the ar
ticle OF unusual interest. 1t follows:
The general public is prone to look
upon mining enterprises as a gamble
where luck and chance govern an.
while on the other hand, industrial or
commercial enterprises are supposed
to give a moderate but sure profit on
the investment. 1t has remained for
the dredging Of gold from aliuvial
areas to completely upset previous no.
tons on these points and to demon
strate beyond question that such min
ing Is as much "A legitimate enterprise
as n manufacturing industry with
the additional great advantage Of hay
ing an absolutely unlimited demand
loh iiHs " CtdNh ut all ui"llluCludiiDS
price, something which cannot be
claimed for any other business.
For these reasons gold dredging is
attracting widespread attention among
investors, and offers them greater and
more certain returns than any other
form of investment. When the ground
has been carefully prospeeted and
equipped with a properly designed and
well built dredge. the returns can be
predicted With an eXactness that chal-
lenges belief. Thus corporations oper-
ating gold dredges have calculated re-
turns for years in advance, and results
have shown an accuracy in ~forecasting
these returns that is not TO be
equalled In manufacturing or In the
marketing of any other products.
Gold dredging had its origin some
forty years ago in New Zealand where
it's principal development took place,
but ii remained for American enter
prise to improve the dredges and bring
them. to their present state of perfec-
ton. In New Zealand, ground which
averages only seven cents per cubic
yard in gold is being profftably worked
in fact so great are the profits, and SO
certain, that although there are over
hundred corporations engaged in
gold dredging in the United States
alone, you can find but few stocks OF
any dredging company on the market.
The placer fields OF South America
alone have produced over SO, 900, 000.-
10000 worth of gold, or about one
fourth of the total gold product of the
world, the same being saved by dredg-
ing and hydraulicking.
The gold dredge operates on the
principle of the steam shovel, but in
of a single bucket, there is an
endless line of buckets engaged in eX-
oaVating. 1t floats either on the river,
in a pond of its own making, The
scooped UP by the buckets is
automatically emptied onto screens.
which eliminate the boulders and
gravel, the screened product
being passed Yer tables which collect
the gold and black sands. The gold
is sold to the United States mint al
per ounce for gold 1000 fine,
and the black sands are Invested of
their gold and platinum values by
smelting. either on the ground, or at
The nearest custom smelter.
The tables used on the Risdon
dredge save practically all the gold,
even gold that is so i~mpalpably fine
that 1t can be squeezed through cha
skin from the amalgam!
In the days of the 'forty-niners," a
shovelsful Of dirt at a time We're
treaIeu DN mana, ana OnlN n cOafSeSl
gold saved. Today the modern dredge
handles automatically as much as
$500 cubic yards per day. All these
bid p~lacers can be reworked by
iredges and more money thereby
made from the fine gold than was pro-
inced by hand methods from the
gold and nuggets in the early
The industry is practically in its in
'ancy, but the capitalists of the min
ng world are beginning to see its pos
and are buying up available
lredging ground.
Philadelphia capitalists have re-
emily paid SO. 900, 000.00 for d tract Of
200 acres. The Guggenheiins have
ust paid 81, 500, 100000 for a similar
ract. The Lewissohns are investing
j 600, 5000 90 in a dredging PROPOSE
ion, and these are only a few of the
Ieals of equal magnitude that have
# late been recorded. The public,
iowever, will not have a chance to Sc
ure an interest In any n of these
propositions as the stock in same will
e held CLOSE" by the purchasers of