INANGAHUA MINING ITEMS.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIII, Issue 1595, 15 September 1873, Page 2

INANGAHUA MINING ITEMS.

L HERAID > SEPTEMBER 13.] Tenders for driving an uprise shaft 53ft and extending tunnel 130 ft for the Invincible Company close on Saturday next. ; The quality of the stone in the shaft at j Anderson's continues excellent, being much superior to the general character of jthe stone passed through the batteries |durinsj the last few months. When the [mine has been more opened up, enabling ithis better class stone to be raised in iquantities, the company can fully calculate lupon a crushing superior to any yet obtained. I ' Energetic— A general clearing up took iplace on Monday last, and resulted in obitaining 1660z melted gold. There were £60 tons of stone put through the batiteries during the crushing, all of which was taken from the rqef in the middle jtunnel. The yield of gold per ton, although not quite so large as were the returns from previous crushings, is satisfactory, especially so when it is considered that there are thousands of tons equally good, and easily available from the levels jalready opened. The workmen in- the shaft expect to break through into the middle tunnel on Monday next." When ithis is done, less men than are now required will be able to keep the machine supplied with stone. There are 100 tons of quartz now lying at the mouth of the shaft, ready to be sent down to the paddocks whenever' a passage shall have been opened^ The fan recently erected for the purpose of ventilating the mine has been found to answer admirably the purposes of its construction. On ; Monday last, whilst the manager (Mr Bray) was in the act of examining the casing of the drum, three of the fingers of his right hand were caught by one of the blades of the fan and badly crushed. The escape from the loss of his hand was most providential. North British. — The third contractof 50ft, driving west from the foot' of the main shaft, was completed on -Saturday last, on which day a meeting of directors was held m Reefton, when it was decided to continue driving west for the reef. A fourth contract for driving 50ft, more or less, has been let at L 2 53 a foot, and work recommenced on Thursday. Strong hopes are entertained that the reef will be cut within the execution of the contract. Ajax. — The drive for the reef at the 90ft level has been commenced. The probable developments of the work are of the utmost importance, and are looked forward to on all sides with a greater amount of interest and anxiety than any other work of the kind in the district. A whip to be used in raising stone frqmthe lower level through the main shaft is in course of erection. This mode of raising stone is certainly the most expeditious, thougii by no means the most judicious method, as it is a well-known fact that in Victoria many valuable lives have been sacrificed through its use. Anderson's.— The main shaft is down on the reef 20ft below the main level. At this depth the reef is lOin thicker than where it was opened at the mouth oi the Bhaf t. The quartz sent up is as good from the bottom as any ever taken from the mine, and is rich enough to more than pay the expense attending its removal. The damage, before reported, to the machine has been repaired, and the battery set in motion at 12 o'clock on Sunday night. At that time there were 150 tons of stone in the paddocks.