MINING NEWS.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1191, 26 December 1884, Page 3

MINING NEWS.

On the Old Man Range everything is now locked up for the Christmas and New Year Holidays, and it is to be hoped the miners will return to their labours with renewed vigor and energy to develop the resources of this mountain of golden bands of stone that course through it in every direction, The prospects of the White’s Reef Company were never better than they now: are. According to the Manager’s report the new sbaft is now down 56ft from the surface, carrying good payable stone about 2ft 6in in width for about 4 ifi, and from which he says there will be a large quantity' of stone got. By the indications be says he hopes to shortly get through the slipped and broken ground and strike more solid country; Ar* rangements have been entered into with the owner of the Conroy’s crushing machine to crash some ten tons of stone taken haphazard from the heap of stone raised to see if it will pay just yet to erect a battery of their own. The contractors for driving the tunnel into M«rvyn and Wopkey’s claim are pushing ahead well with their work. They have passed through any number of leaders carrying gold, bnt none of sufficient thickness to baof any value. The indications ave decidedly promising and hold out every hope that by when the tunnelreaches under the surface workings something, good wilt be struck. This claim has up to the present held a premier position in the estimation of most of claiuaholderaon the bill, and everything 1 leads to the belief that the most sanguine expectations of the shareholders will be oh tained. Lythgoe and Grey are spill getting excellent loose gold : from the surface leaders in their claim; The stone is mostly of a loose friable nature, and by sluicing, the gold is easily separated. The Old Man Range Company and the Union Company are also driving, but little is said or known of their doings. The Great Western Company after having sunk a shaft 60tt are now driving and have come into the reef which is about 18 inches wide and very solid likewise it carries good gold. This Company are also sending a number of tons to the Conroy’s mill to be crashed as a test of the value of their claim. From the solid nature of the ground in this claim the prevailing opinion is that it will prove equal to any on the Range. Mr Macgeorge, county engineer, assisted by Mr J. Campbell, surveyor, has surveyed the track to the Waikaia Bush. He speaks of the track, with the exception of some 700 or 800 yards of swamp, as being easy of construction, and that the amount of money set aside for the work by the Government will be amply sufficient. Mr Goldfields Inspector Gordon passed through the district lately, but did not ■ deign to refer to this track upon which he so elaborately reported. Mr Ranger Hughan during this week visited the bu"h to inspect the bush areas applied for, but nothing has transpired as to what he thinks of either the applications or the bush. It is to be hoped his report will not be against either, as there is no doubt but that the success of the reefs depends mainly on the facilities for getting timber from the hush. In general mining there is nothing fresh stirring. The two dredges continue steadily at work and are obtaining a fair amount of gold. For some time past a large amount of money has been expended in perfecting the machinery on both. Now, however, ai everything is as near perfection as possible, it is accordingly to be, assume.! that with perfect machinery a greater amount of gold will be got and the divi dcnds to the shareholders materially in creased.