MINING NEWS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1228, 5 July 1872, Page 2

MINING NEWS.

GUEY VALLEY DIGGINGS. * [from our own correspondent.] Ahaura, July 3. The progress of the rush to the Teviot ranges has received a fresh impetus in consequence of the finding, of gold in another claim at the Brandy Jack's end of the lead. New ground has been opened by M'lntyre and party at Bradford's Creek, a tributary of the Teviot, but nothing reliable is yet known a? to its real value. It is now agreed that the Teviot is likely to become a locality that will hold a population -for some time, and it is therefore of impoitance that the Government should fulfil a promise made a£ the beginning of the rush, that a track would be made from the Teviot either to Granville or the upper town at HalfOunce.

The golden ground at present opened at Hafford's Terrace, Half-Ounce, is giving more satisfaction, as it is farther tested. The discoverers are satisfied with their claim, and from facts which came out in consequence of the sale of a share on this lead by an order of the Resident Magistrate's Court, it would seem that other claims besides the prospectors are likely to pay well. There was, up to this, supposed to be a fault or break in. the Half-Ounce Lead, bet we an Mutton Town and Mabille. The claim, formerly known as M'Laughlan and party's, at Mutton Town, is at work for about a year, and most of the time the party are working good ground. Across the terrace separating tnis claim from the basin in which Mabille and party's claim- is situated, there is prabably the best claim now at work in the Grey Valley, of which Alfred Borjensen and party are the proprietors. Between the claim and M'Laughlan's, or Gardiner's, as it is now called, several tunnels were driven in, and waterwheels erected. One of these tunnels, the celebrated Long Drive, was taken in by an amalgamated company. Good prospects were got and one or two payable washings took place, but the run of gold could not be traced, Messrs Wheeler and party, poe of the old proprietors of the Long Drive., have formed a fresh company to further prospect the ground they formerly held. They think the gold is further to the east, and probably in deeper ground, which they know to exist, and which has never been thoroughly prospected. They are Banguine of success, an* to show they are in earnest it may be remarked that some of the new company have abandoned good wages elsewhere to take up the ground. If this party are fortunate enough to strike the gold here it will give a clue to 'the several missing links which have occurred at intervals along the course of this lead, especially at the lower end of it. The holders of the leasehold below; Mabille's have not yet come on anything of value, but they have not been able to do much actual prospecting so far, as the greater portion of the time since the application was made for the grant has been consumed in doing indispensable preliminary work. Inclines had id be taken in and shafts sunk before any real driving for the gutter could be gone on with. It was attempted to form a company, a week or two ajo, to take up a long tail-race to drain the ground about the upper township. It was proposed to start the race at Lonargan's old store, and to sluice the whole depth of the wash as the'raca was brought up. There was a false bottom worked about this part of the Half-Ounce Creek some years ago, and good patches were found on it. The present existing claims on the lower, or what is generally but incorrectly called the main bottom, could never be worked to advantage, owing to the vast quantities of water accumulating in the old workings on the false bottom above. This water found its way into the lower workings, and as a consequence, whenever a freshet or flood came, those workings were swamped, and the workmen driven out. This occurred repeatedly, notwithstanding the powerful pumping machinery erected on the claim, and the precautions taken by the claimholders to turn the flow of the water in the creek away from the workings every possible opportunity.; The swamping occurred so often that the owners of the claims became disheartened, and abandoned them one after the other. It was suggested in these reports about nine months ago "that the tail-race it is proposed to bring in now would be the only means . by which this ground would ever be worked profitably. It is even preferable to the erection of steam pumping machinery, as a certain mode of getting at the gold which is known to be distributed through more than twenty feet in depth of auriferous gravel. The project is hanging fire now, for want of a little. energy on the part of the promoters, but it is a good spec, a-nd whoever will see it completed, will see in it a profitable undertaking. A tail-race commenced at the place mentioned would command a large area of ground, all more or less, auriferous. The original Half-Ounce lead, from the town upwards and through the right-hand branch, could be taken in a face from top to bottom. It is said that an attempt will be made to' bottom a /shaft on Matthew's Flat when the fine weather sets in. This flat situated near the junction of the Amuri and Napoleon roads, and it is .thought that the Napoleon, Mosquito, Orwell Creek, and Topsy Creek leads will ultimately be traced running into it. A better plan) than sinking shafts for prospecting this flat would be to take a taiL-race or tunnel from the northern bank of the Ahaura river : into it. The required distance would not be any greater than has been driven in numerous places on the northern diggings, especially at Addison'sFlat. By taking a tunnel in at a sufficiently low level from the river all possibility of disappointment through mistaking the situation of the deepest ground would be avoided, The Duffer Creek lead is now paying better than ever it did at any previous time. Most of the claims are being blocked out, and all the work doing is directly reproductive. As a proof that there is some money* getting about here, it may be mentioned that a sum of L 56 or upwards was collected in Duffer Creek and the immediate locality, last week, for the relief of a former resident of Duffer Creek, who is now suffering from serious illness in Melbourne. The large sums of money sent from Duffer and Half-Ounce Creek from time to time— greater than from any other part of the coast—collected for the maintenance of the Greymouth Hospital, show that the miners must generally be doing well. .. -' Mr Guinness addressed the electors at

Ahaura on Monday. His speech was attentively listened to, and appeared to thoroughly satisfy the audience. There is no doubt Mr Guinness haß succeeded in gaining the confidence of his constituency in a greater degree even than he possessed it before, or at the time of his election to the Provincial Council. ; It itf* the general opinion that he has shown an earnest and sincere desire forthe welfare of the district ; and he has succeeded, in the face of great and ungracious opposi- ! tion on the part of the Nelson Govern- , raent, in procuring a few local advantages. If the road to the Amuri be made, the constituency, will mainly have to thank Mr Guinness for it. Thefiking the upset price of town lands on the gold fields at something like a price which, will.npt be utterly prohibitive of settlement, is also to be placed to the credit of Mr Gum? ness. The Provincial Secretary made, the, monstrous proposition that the price should be at the rate of Ll3O an acre. The motion was made in an underhand manner to a very thin house; composed chiefly of. "cockatoos" from the /•more settled districts." The bump of veneration is developed to such an enormous extent on the sconces of ■these "chawbacons," that they look upon any proposi-' tion made by his Honor or his Executive, no matter how atrocious, especially if it has any reference to the Gold Fields, ;as worthy of implicit obedience/Through the exertions of Mr Guinness the motion was negatived, and the price of town lots fixed at L4O per acre, which is by far too, exorbitant a figure. , Mr , Guinness,'. ,«:•„ knowledged the loyal support and assistance he received from his colleague, Mr Kynnersley, and from the Gold Fields members generally. Tt was expected the land in the towns on the diggings would be sold before this,/ but the probability of such an event' taking place is as remote as ever. It is not likely the Nelson Government will sell the land while they draw such a large revenue from it for licenses. That would,; be killing the goose which is producing the golden eggs. This is how tnematter; will be arranged. The Nelson <BE»ernraent and people know very wel^that r they cannot much longer keep control of the Gold Fields, and they will wait until all hope is gone of ever preserving their" existence as a separate Province. The> will not spend a shilling they can avoid on the South-west Gold Fields, and just before they lose them they will sell the town lands of Charleston, Brighton, Reefton, Ahaura, and other places, in order to make one grand and final haul; When what remains of the present Province of. Nelson after it loses the South-west Gold Fields, and when the Amuri and the Kaikouras are annexed to the Province of Maryborough, the existing staff of Nelson Provincial officials willexpect to be provided for somehow, and it is hoped and expected that, the plunder raised from the sale of the town lands and the. Brunner Coal Mine, added to whatever? other " boot" can be scraped together will be expended in forming a " special settlement," to which all these vampires can retire and prey upon each other when they have sucked everything eke dry. t