VICTORIA.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1202, 5 June 1872, Page 2

VICTORIA.

The mineral statistics of Victoria for the year JB7l, and the comments of the Minister of Mines upon the subject of mining in the colony, whioh have just been presented to Parliament, are of an interesting character, and encourage hopes of a prosperous continuation of mining operations. Although the number of miners at work was less than in the previous year, the yield of gold has been considerably increased. The number of miners in ]870 was 60,365 ; but in 1871 it was 58,111. -The memorandum of the Minister, prefixed to the return just laid before Parliament, observes ' that if the year 1872 be characterised by the industry and activity which have -marked the proceedings of the miners dxiring the previous twelve months, it may safely be predicted that the yield on the average will be much greater than usual.. The success which has already attended mining at great depths in some districts of the colony is held out as an -" encouragement to capitalists to invest their money in efforts to recover the treasure which lies deep down. The veins at Clunes, Stawell, Steiglitz, and Sandhurst are, the Minister of Mines says, highly productive at great depths ; and this ought to give confidence to capitalists who have the means of exploring the reefs in other districts, which at the surface were known in past times to be as rich as any of those that row in Sandhurst aad Stav?ell attract ao much attention. The Minister predicts that in the beds of the shallow alluviums and deep leads in the Ballarat district, and at Fiery Creek, Ararat, aud'Chiltern, there will be found, undoubtedly^ at some time, Hio rich reefs from which the goM in these deposits was derived ; ; r and there are perhaps no more promising fields for the prospector than these areas. As the leads were rich, so unquestionably are the reefs from which the gold came ; and those reefs when discovered and developed will add immensely to the yield of gold. The Minister expresses a hope that some efforts will be made in a short time to open upthe coalfields of the "colony v and that the profit to be derived from raising tin, antimony, and other metalliferous ores, will induce those. skilled in this kind of mining to devote their labors to the exploration , of those parts of. the colony, which are supposed to bo rich in these deposits. The comparative amounts; of gold ex-

ported, raised, and; purchased ; :by the banks during the years 1870 and 1871. are. thus set down : — Exported, - : 1870, 1,222,7980z 3dwt; 1871, 1,355,4770z" 3dwtj raised, 1870, 1,304,3050z Gdwt; 1871, 1,368,9420z 9dwt 4gr; purchased by the several banks ; 1870, 1,244,9100z 16dwt 20gr ; 1871, 1,290,8440z 18dwt lgr. The number of Chinese miners has increased since the close of 1870. At that period they numbered 15,079, while at the end of the followiug year they had increased: to 16,669, or 590 more than in 1870. The miners are the holders of claims and leased lands of the estimated value of L 12,275,046, and of machinery worth L 2,060,885. The revenue derived from the gold fields in 1871 (exclusive of fees, fines, and forfeitures), was L 35,606 10s. The number of companies registered in the various Courts of Mines during the year was 1206. No silver ore was raised during the year. 1 There were exported 250 tons of tin ore, 17,8081 bof tin, and Bcwt of copper. . There were rai-ed 1575 tons lewt of antimony ores, and exported 1422 ton3 l3cwt of antimony ores, 135 tons 6cwt of ; regulus, and 106 tons lOcwt of antimony. There were raised 45 tons of lead ore, 995 tons of lignite, 50 tons of kaolin, and 1713 tons and 1500 square yards of flagging. . ■ .■_ •