MAORI KING DREDGING GO.

Greymouth Evening Star, Volume XXXI, 22 August 1901, Page 4

MAORI KING DREDGING GO.

The following is the official of Mr Poppelwell, who prospected this claim, which adjourns the Maori Queen at Maori Creek:—“With the exception of two bores, which I put down to a depth of 16ft and 15ft respectively, to prove the depth of the ground. I confined my operations to sinking shafts as the most satisfactory way of testing it, and I am thoroughly satisfied with the prospects obtained in the top material as far down as could be got owing to the water. I was disappointed in not being able to bottom a shaft as 1 do not doubt that I would have found it very rich, but as further sinking would require the assistance of an engine and pump I did not consider the further expense warranted. The following is a detailed result of the prospecting : No. 1 shaft; Sunk 6£t to water, and bored 10ft further to bottom. Kesultfrom -j cubic yard, 1.340 gr, equal to 2.68 gr to the cubic yard.

No. 2 shaft: Sunk 13ft to top of solid wash (stopped by water), gold all through gravel. He suit from 3 cubic yards s'jgr, equal to 1.92 gr to the yard. No. 3 shaft: 3ft deep (stopped by water) gold from surface. Result from I cubic yard, .718 gr, equal to 2£gr to the yard.

No. 4 shaft: 14ft deep. Could not bottom for water. Result fnm cubic yards average material, 10.88 gr, equal to to the yard. No. 2 bore ; loft. Result from i cubic feet. ,084 gr, equal to 4£gi to the yard. Result from one cubic yard from bank of river at water level, put through sluice box, 1.416 gr to the yard. Worked out, the results averaged 2gr per cubic yard. All the results were obtained by sluicing the material through a box.’’ In a letter to the Secretary Mr Popplewell says :—“As regards the prospecting, lam satisfied that the gold I got in the shafts must live down to the bottom owing to the nature of the wash. It was of such a loose, free nature that I was surprised to find any gold in it at all, as in such ground I would expect the gold to be on the bottom. Had I been able to reach bottom in the shafts lam convinced that the resul s would have been more satisfactory. The results got in a shaft on the Maori Queen claim, which is above the New River lead on Maori Creek, averaged •Jdwt to the yard from top to bottom, but all the gold was got on the bottom, which was reached by the drainage afforded by an old tail race. In all the tunnel work ings in the terraces also the gold is got on the bottom and in the solid wash, which varies in thickness from 3ft to 2ft. As I touched the top of the solid wash in one of the shafts at 13ft I concluded that the depth of the ground would be 18ft by adding, on sft as the depth of the solid wash.

A bore plant put down on the Twelve mile, at the lower boundry of the Maori King claim, bottomed at lOJtt. The depth attained in the two bores —15 and 16ft. espectively—was into the solid wash, and allowing that to be the average depth, that would make tho ground from 18 to 20 feet deep. The depth in the Maori Queen claim was 22ft in the deepest shaft, and as the flat on the claim is more confined than on tho Maori King I would naturally expect it to be a little deeper. In recommending a dredge capable of dredging to a depth of 25ft I considered it would be able to bottom on any part of your'claim. I would have been very much better satisfied bar! I bottomed, but as I touched the solid wash, the boring being so much slower and expensive, I concluded to leave it at that.”