MINING INTELLIGENCE.

Evening Star, Issue 3578, 11 August 1874, Page 3

MINING INTELLIGENCE.

{From, our otm Correspondent.)

UPPER SHOTOVER. August 5. The valley of the river widen* consider* ahly frem the sandhills to above the branches, and although extensive river flats and some tempting rock-bound terraces pro* sent themselves, very little work has been done at this part of the river, which, as the ground is shallow, is therefore the heat for parties with limited capital. At the branches the river flats and low terraces are of immense width. The flat has turned out large quantities of gold during the last few years on a false bottom at a depth of 6ft, and there is scope on the terraces for enough agriculture to supply the neighborhood. Higher up the river on both branches mining is confined to few isolated parties, at wide intervals, who must lead a very solitary and hermit k'nd of life, besides suffering much inconvenience from the climate, as this is the very home of the snow. The Shotover has one great peculiarity which re. tards the operation of the miner very that is, it run very flat ; in w«rds, jt has very little fall. While the Arrow has an incline of about 40$t per mile, admitting ol the ready of drainage tailraces, the Arrow has not much more than a third of that amount, and the working is therefo-e proportionate expensive ; and the consequence is that there is a large extent of unworked ground on the Shotover, while there is very little on the Arrow above whore the lead was lost at the township. The Upper Shotover, from the sandhills to tbp sources of the stream, is a'most a new fie d. At present, winter has set its seal qpon the latter part of it, and even if visited little Tfould be seqp except snow and ice ; although in summer, I believe that it would well repay a visit, as it has not yet attracted much attention. A miner on the the left hand branch told me that h,e Vad been making fair wages for some time, but had been frightened away by falling masses of ice, the channel of the river in which be had been working bring narrow and hundreds of feet deep in the rock, with enormous icicles hanging overhead, some of which would fall occasionally with a great crash and scare him out of his wits. He expressed his intention of returning again iq better weather.

A very important ay in or branch of the Shotover is Moke Creek, about five miles above Arthur’s Point, as no doubt that creek poured a flood of riches mtd the main stream. The rich claim "at the junction referred to in a former letter is some evidence in support of this view. Moke Creek has other resources besides gold, for in a land slip in the creek numberless specimens of the best copper ore are to bo found, and extensive forests of magnificent timbsr are in the vicinity ; one pitch is about 1,500, acres in extent, another at the head of Jones’s Creek of two or three hundred acres, the trees b ing thick and about SOffc high, and growing so close together that the sky can scarcely be seen in travelling through it. this latter bush being close to Stoney Creek on the Shotorer, will by and-bye be the source of supply for the terrace claims near Skippers. Various small attempts have been made t© prospect the mountain for copper in the vicinity of the land slip, and eighty acres for a mineral leise was applied for by Bradshaw and another many years but only recently a survey" been ordered with a view to the execution of a lease. It seems highly probable that proper search will find the lode which may traverse a large extent of country, and prove of great importance in the future. The construction of a dray road to Moke Creek, which is contemplated, would stimulate discovery, and it is only fair that when private enterprise is willing to furnish large sums of money to develop resources of such importance, the Government should provide means of communication. For instance, the Shotover Company lately spent LlfpOfl in the construction of a single tunu%l to supply the plaim with water, ia such oases is it unreasonable to expect the Government to second such efforts by providing safe means of transit for passengers, machinery, and goods. _ Moke Creek and its tributary. Moonlight, have yielded steadily, and well up to the present, and from their extensive terrace formations have still enormous areas of nnworked ground. During the last year or two a number of valuable tracks have been constructed by the Government here, which will greatly benefit the place. Messrs Lanton and Gardiner have extensive stores, dwellings, butchery, gardens, &c., which is almost a small township in itself. The buildings are romantically situated on a wide plateau at the junction of Moke and Moonlight. They are running a largo number of sheep, and they command the whole business of the neighborhood ; by their aid many large fining undertakings have been carried out. The local Miners’ Association has shewn itself most active in all that tended to the advancement of the place, and in relieving cases of misfortune. In connection with the subject of the probable existence of a copper lode, there is an important saving in being able to work suck a mine at a level which would command a large body of ©re above the main tunnel. In most countries where mining ia carried on shafts have to be sunk to a great depth, and mines are only kept at work by the aid of pumping machinery of enormous power. In these mountains a mineral lode can bo worked from the level of one of those deep gorges which intersect them, as in the ease of the Skippers Beefs, where the main tunnels not only drain the mine, but admit of the working of the 'reefs for thousands of fast overhead by simply knocking down the quarts and shooting it down the “passes” into waggons running on rails to the machine, while the refuse ahd mullock go to fill up the ground so that timber to support the workings is only'required to keep

fch» passes ” open. This great advantage 1 referred to in connection with the coal seams of the Kawaran, which lying perhaps 20' 0 feet high, the difficulty is not how to iaise the ore to the surface, but how to bring it down to the level of roads and townships. Another gift of Nature, which apples to the ■Shekover and Arrow townships, is the grazmg capabilities of their ranges. The quantity of sheep and cattle thriving there ensures a plentiful and cheap supply of meat on the spot, while the terraces afford ample aud suitable sites for residence and cultivation.