BENDIGO REDIVIVUS.

Cromwell Argus, Volume III, Issue 135, 11 June 1872, Page 5

BENDIGO REDIVIVUS.

iu pursuance of my promise of ;i fortnight I back, to endeavour to point out Uo\v success ; might be achieved in any further attempts to : test the paying capabilities of our reefs, I begto continue my story. Possibly the suggestions I am about to make may be set down by many as Utopian ideas, but at the same time they may admit their feasibility ; and if so, [ cannot see why posterity should be left to i do what can be done by this generation. If any benefit is to be derived, let us set to work j and secure it, and not stand idly by, saving, i "Oh yes ; these works will be initiated bye-and-bye, but not in our tim )." Why not in oar time I If it is admitted that such and : such works might prove remunerative, now is the time to attempt them, and let posterity shift for itself. With this introductory exhortation, 1 will commence at the farthest out reef,—viz., the Liiso and Shiue, Upper [Bendigo. This reef was discovered and pa: try prospected by the Rise an 1 Shine Sluicing Company ; but a difference of opinion among t\\i} party as to its merits has c.iuse.l adiscontinuance of operations. T.vo shafts were sunk in the gully to a depth of about thirty feet ; the stone is very hard, bat gold is plainly visible throughout. My plan would be to trace the lode into the hill, and drive a level. There cm be little doubt of its existence iu the higher ground, as surface of quartz, contain-, ing gold, lias been found by sluicing in line wit'a the workings. To do this a joinfc-st.oek company might be formed, in 8) rVivos, each I share contributing 2s. 01. per week ; which aggregate sum would pay the weekly wages ' and working expenses of t,vo men (also shareholders) to prosovf for three months, by driving th« said level. Thus in the event of the speculation proving a failure, the loss would fall lightlvon nil warm-il ; but of such an issue I have little fear. If the reef were traced into Luc range, an immense | slope of stone would present itself, the hill rising at an angle of 45 degrees ; the width hj, as at pre-; ;nt visible, fr >m s ; x to ten feet ; , waft power is already on the ground -—and i what more remains to be said I Inuthing. I now come to the Alta Reef. The rise and fall of this Company having been already i chronicled by me from time to time, it will be unnecessary to recnpit.ub.tc its past hr.torv. ! Suffice it to say, that during its progress surface workings were religiously adiiered to; jand to thir fa:t ab:ve m-y 1)3 attributed its

I oo I 'apse; The position of the reef admits of a tunnel being driven direct frem the mill level, which would reach the reef in about 80 J feet, at a vejtio.il dentil of 250 feet. There are also two reefs, or leaders, en route) a surface crushing from one of which yielded 14 dwts. per ton ; the other contains gold, bud lias not had a tru;!. On the spur beyond the Alta workings, a reef containing gold, ap* parently payable, crops for about a quarter of a mile, and in a direct iine is distant about 21 '0 feet from the aforesaid reef. Surely with these facts before them the shareholders might strain a point to aTord a further trial, and possibly recoup themselves handsomely for their past outlay. T Relieve men might be found who would undertake the necessary work on the payment of half-wages and a share : by this plan the cos u to uach shareholder would be very trilling. The result, under any circumstances, would for ever set their minds at rest as to the vahr.> of their speculation, which is at vet, T should sav, und jtermined. The mill which is hero erected was removed from a reef at Rough Ridge, where I have good authority for stating another is to be put up in its place. The Alta Company should beware of a repetition of such a fatal error. It may be considered invidious in me to okbr suggestions as to the working of reefs which are under management and in progress ; but as my lucubrations are entirely pro bom publico, 1 must " get leave to speak my mind." My idea is that of a grand main tunnel for the lines of Oolelough's, the Au- ; rora, and Logan's reefs ; which might be comi mcnced at a low level in Bendigo Gully, or ia that known as Swiper's. It would also in- ' tTseet the Iguana and Broadfoot's lines ; and j would in each instance give depths varying from 300 to 800 feet, would provide for very | efficient drainage, and do away in time with I the great amount of labour expended on windlass j ower. As each reef was reached, work could at once be commenced on the : lode ; and bv laying down turntables no in ' terferenee would occur with the forward progress of the drive, People who are interested may say,--Not a bid idea-, but how is it to he carried out \ Well, I must admit I am not at present sufficiently clear as to the ways and means, but due ventilation of the subject may perhaps show us a method of accomplishing the work. 1 am of opinion that such a highway " into the bowels of the land," for the development of its mineral resources, ! should receive as much consideration at the hands of our paternal Government as sludge channels or water races ; and having the same ! object in view, might, if properly represented, ibe subsidised in the same manner. Of course, | it is very hard to say what the reefs might be I like at these depths ; but taking the experiences of other countries as a criterion, there ! is very little doubt that the work would prove highly remunerative, and would force quartz mining here years in advance of what is likely to eventuate from the present slow, laborious, and expensive modes of working. There is nothing very new or original in the foregoing ideas : it will be noted that I only voted tunnelling at deep levels verms the anti-progressive system of shaft-working. jAt the new quartz-field, the Inangahua, in almost every claim, where at all pcaeieaok, the former system prevails ; and looking at the amount of ability and energy displayed by that mining community in con pioring alia >si iusuperable diffijuices, we must confess t'ley know their business thoroughly. Further, I an of opinion that owing ho the broken nature of tin country in this place, nothing permanent or steady can be relied on, until deep levels wo reached. I am afraid I have exceeded my limit, and will conclude by asking any who feel inte-re-ilol, and tlii ik the above m liter* worth attention, to give the -public their ideas on tho s.ib';e:. It ouly requires ag at on to bring f.tr'h good fruit; and any assishamo T can render co idu -.in■; t> such a coiuuuim I'ioa sha 1 be gl idly afforded. Heulig), hue 3. V!AT">TI.