WARDEN’S REPORT.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2393, 2 December 1870, Page 2

WARDEN’S REPORT.

Mr Warden Pyke, writing from Clyde under date IGth November, reports as follows upon the condition of the Dunstan district for the quarter ending dOth September : In the division of Clyde circumstances have been very unfavorable for the production of gold; and the same may ho said of the Alexandra division. The Hooded state of the river has I.ecu prejudicial to the dredgers, and no less so to the sluicera ; and consequently, beyond proving new ground, very little Las been done during the winter. Just about the end of the quarter the river fell for a brief period, and some of the

dredges struck good gold ; but they are now mostly moored until next season, which it is to be hoped will be more propitious. The river-bank claims at Alexandra have been similarly embarrassed ; but wherever bottom has been reached good prospects have been obtained. Messrs Kctt and party have been busily at work in their new claim below Frenchman’s Point ; but, in common with other parties similarly circumstanced, they are singularly reticent as to the results. The escort returns, however, from both Clyde and Alexandra show that more gold than usual has of late been obtained in those divisions of my district. At Black’s, on the other hand, great activity has prevailed. Water has been unusually abundant, and the sluicers at Dry. bread, Tinker’s, and Devonshire, have reaped a rich hqflfest of the precious metal, At Tinker’s, Norman and party have chanced upoh a discovery of some importance. The workings along the slopes of the Dunstan range, from Drybread to Devonshire, are mostly confined to ground-sluicing, of from G to 12 feet in depth from the surface. Underneath lies a hard clay, which constitutes what is termed “ bottom.” Borman’s party have, 1 understand, lately pierced through this “ bottotn,” and at a slight depth beneath they have struck a bed of auriferous wash, the thickness of which has not yet been ascertained. The fortunate owners of the claim calculate that they have at least twenty years work before them. I have for some time been desirous of visiting this claim, but my ordinary duties have been so very heavy of late that I have not yet been able to visit it. 1 hesitate, therefore, to enter upon details founded on hearsay information only. At Black’s Proper the cutting of the sludge and drainage channels has infused new life and energy into the place. Much of the hill-ground abreast of the township has been taken up for sluicing purposes ; and a number of claims abutting on the drainage channel have been applied for and granted. To complete the sludge channel, however, it will be necessary to bring in water for Hushing purposes from the upper gorge of the Mauuherikia. For this purpose another small grant-in-aid is required, as the unexpended balance of the amount previously voted by the Council is insullicient. And it is also requisite that some arrangement should he made with the runholders (MessrsCampbell and Low), through whoso pre-emptive freehold is the only available line for flushing purposes. The Cromwell division continues to flourish. The shucers on the Kaw iran, at Bannockburn, on the Lowborn, and other tributaries of the Olutha Paver, and also those working on the banks of that river above Cromwell, sre all doing well. The miners are gradually extending their operations up the Lindis Valley, and facts are gradually demonstrating the correctness of the opinion, long entertained by those most conversant with the subject, that both faces of the Dunstan Cange (from the northern outlying spurs of the Mt. St. Bathan’s .Ranges to the Clutha River) arc highly auriferous, and that that part of the country has yet to be fully and fairly prospected.

At Bendigo, the Solway or Logan’s Reef continues to yield good returns. Most of the other workings have been for some time at a standstill, owing to the freezing up of the water-races. But with the approach of spring signs of vigorous activity are again apparent. iS T cw machinery is being erected by the Alta Company and on Colclough’s Reef, and the original Bendigo Company have just completed the erection of an additional 5-head battery ; so that before the summer is at maturity there will be in all .SO or S5 heads of stamps at work, which will afford ample opportunities for fully developing and testing the resources of the Bendigo Reef. T have no doubts as to the final result.

From the Elisabeth, Royal Standard, and other reefs on the Garrick Ranges, I have seen some excellent stone—less friable than that .of the Bendigo reefs, and carrying heavier gold. The veins are comparatively thin, but the stone is considered sufficiently payable to warr nt the erech'on of machinery, which is, I am informed, shortly to be set up in the vicinity of Smith’s Gully. Some of the larger mines—as the Aurora, Colclough’s, the Alta, and the Standard—have recently been registered under the “ Mining Companies Limited Liability Acts, ” not for speculative purposes, but from motives of judicious prudence, such as it would be well should more largely influence both miners and capitalists embarking in mining undertakings.

During the quarter the Nevis has sent in fully the average quantity of gold ; and so open has the season been that it has not been necessary to suspend mining operations throughout the winter—a circumstance which I think 1 may safely say is without parallel in the history of the Nevis.

Yield of Gold.—Owing to the gold robbery at Clyde only one escort has been despatched with gold from Cromwell, Clyde, and Alexandra during the quarter, and two escorts only have been sent from Black’s division—namely, in July and August. The September gold, amounting to 5,100 ounces, was sent fmm Clyde on Ist October, and, con equently, cannot be included in the returns of the last quarter. Omitting this, the quantities sent down for the quarter ending .‘loth September were as follows : Ounces, Cromwell 2591 Alexandra 1)1(3 Blacks ... ... ... 554 Clyde ... 754 Total from Dunstan district 5425 Population remains steady, as previously reported. There have been few new arrivals and departures from the district. The miners are everywhere evincing a desire to * settle down, and the tent has long since been abolished in favor of more substantial dwellings. Trim gardens are being cultivated in albiirections,' and agriculture is progressing wherever elbow room is obtainable.' From the statistical tables appended to the report it appears that there are 950 European alluvial miners, 325 Chinese alluvia! miners, and 150 European quartz miners in the district, The machinery employed in alluvial mining comprises 12 waterwheels, 22 hydraulic hcscs, 10 pumps, and ISO sluice-boxcs; and in quartz mining 2 crushing machines, with 20 heads of stamps, and 2 water-wheels. The approximate value of all the mining plant in the district is L 70,000, and the price of gold from L 3 12s to L 3 15g per ounce.