INANGAHUA ITEMS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1506, 2 June 1873, Page 2

INANGAHUA ITEMS.

[herald, may 31.]

MURRAY CREEK,

Anderson's. — The work of erecting the berdan was completed on Thursday, and on Friday the machine was put. in motion. On Tuesdey and Wednesday the batteries were driven by water taken from Murray Creek, as on those days the flood-gates of the race were closed in order to prevent the possibility of any accident which might have happened had they be"en left open. Beyond two 1 boards broken in the side of the race near the cutting at Rock Point, caused by the limb of a snag brought down the river during the ; fresh, no damage was done to any part of the company's works. The contract for driving 100 ft in the;main tunnel has been secured by Lyons and party at 26s a foot if four men are employed, and 28s a foot if six men are employed. ;The object,- no doubt, of a premium being offered for six-men is to t push on the work of opening the mine ' in order to facilitate future workings. The reef in Anderson's continues of fair thickness carrying good gold. During the past week^ tW three batteries have been employed in consequence of the necessary repairs' to the cam shaft; having been completed, and the tables, taking into account the quantity of stone put through, are 'fully up to the" I average. i iThe Otfnthly pay-day comes round in abotxylnree weeks, and ' the company then purpose cleaning up and paying off the entire £ debt due to the contractors,; Findlay, ~ Haworth, and Co., the directors.: having arranged with the Bank of New Zealand for any overdraft required at eight per cent., whereas the company are now paying twelve per cent on the amount due to them. It is expected, however, that the next cleaning up will very nearly, if not quite, yield sufficient to pay oft all liabilities without having recourse to any assistance. Meanwhile the prospects of the company are excellent, a steady firm reef being followed to the north, with every appearance of continued solidity as the heart of the hill is being penetrated. -Shares are ■•■ now eagerly in? quired for at L 5 but none offering, and the tendency is to advance. We are quite of opinion that in less than two months quotations will advance to L 9, the figure reached during the first crushing. At L 5 the cost of the mill and water-race is not covered, irrespective of the claim itself, which is one of the largest in the district, and proved to be capable of returning handsome dividends. Wealth of Nations.— On Tuesday some damage was-done to the race by the washing away ;-of .its banks in several places by the large volumes .of water .that poured into it from the numerous feeders by which it is ;at present supplied. The damage 'done, however, did not interfere with the working of the machinery as an ample supply of water came down the feeders into the race below the breakages. The work of restoring the damage has already been completed. At the machine. ' site the scraping of the plates, on §atiuv 4ay, resulted in obtaining' a handsome parcel of amalgam. J^i tiie miqe, during the storm, a land-slip occurred, which buried the reef at the surface; workings, besides tools and a section of thetramway. All the debm has to be cleared: away and sent down a pass to a lower level j thenqe, trucked out of the mine. Enegetic, — The contractors haveoeased working in the shaft owing, it is understood, to the reef being so hard that they are unable to make half working expenses. It is to be hoped that arrangements will be speedily made for the sinking fn9rder that no unnecessary delay may. arise in opening the mine. The shaft is down 87 feet with 53 feet more to go to the foot of the level, along which a tunnel is now being driven to meet it, ' United Band of Hope. — P. Ross and party, the successful tenderers for the work of driving a new tunnel, 400 feet in - length, have : been engaged during the week cutting rails for a tramway and in general work about the claim. Westland.— The balance of the 150 tons of stone purchased by Mr Wise will probably have been put through the battery by the 31st inst., when the machine will again, be idle. , ■„■--■' RAINY CREEK. L Rainy r Creek.-^The work .<$ sinking the prospecting shaft) now down 74ft, "hal been discontinued for the. present. The contractors are now employed 1 in putting in a drive to the west, commencing 20ft from the bottom of the main phaft, and 54ft .from the surface, in hopes of meeting * with the uriderly of the reef which, contrary to the generality . of rthe, quartz strata in this district, is, in this instance, to the east j the iihderly in nearly all cases being to the west. Three men only are employed on the work. * Alluvial Workings.— About 20 men are engaged at different . points on the creek (me mile and a-half front ;its" junction with the Inangahua, sorn^e of -ffiihom are doing fairly, others nothing at all, the storekeepers having to find the "ways and means" of subsistence. There is no defined lead or even indications of any, the gold got being in small "pockets," and is usually coarse and heavy. When one " strikes a patch" it is sure to be good, and may remind him of the pocket placer diggings of California in by-gone days. The late severe weather has con--siderably interfered with the workings, most of the men having decided to lie by rather than carry on operations during rain and snow-storms. The weather during the past ten days das been all that could be desired by the miners. At Rainy Creek, one. party of miners washed out upwards of L2O per man for the week, obtaining a. fair sample )f gold. One piece weighed 2oz, and a number ranged, about 9dwt,