VICTORIA.

Grey River Argus, Volume XIV, Issue 1755, 20 March 1874, Page 3

VICTORIA.

The mining industry has progressed in a steady course during the past month with very fair success, the yields of gold reported being quite equal to tha average. There is, however, considerable depression in the stock and share market, attributed principally to the fact that investors in miniug property are paying heavy calls to work progressive mines, and therefore are not- disposed to speculate in more at the present time. There is no doubt that a djfreat deal of prospecting for quartz reefs is being carried on in the Sandhurst, Stawell, Ballarat, Blackvrood, Clunes, and other districts, and that it draws some-

what heavily on the means of the shareholders ; but the results obtained from the paying mines in those districts are, in most instances, quite a sufficient justification for the outlay on the progressive mines, from which good returns may be expected when the reefs which the diggers are in search of are reached. Sandhurst has again distinguished itself during the month with the yields from the Garden Gully Tribute claims, one of which — the No. 2 Tribute — has returned the largest cake of gold as yet obtained by any quartz mine in the colony for one fortnight's work. The cake weighed no less than 48850z of pure gold, and the richness of the stone in the claim is shown when it is stated that the gold was derived from only 511 tons. For the same fortnight's work the No. 3 Tribute had the handsome yield of 12330z from 353 tons of stone. The return of the No. 2 Tribute Company for the previous fortnight was also most remarkable and satisfactory, it being 44930z lOdwt from 490 tons of stone. The No. 3 Tribute had for the same fortnight 5470z lOdwt from 230 tons. Such returns, of course, give increased confidence to the holders of progressive mines on Sandhurst to persevere, in the hope that they may be rewarded with similar satisfactory cakes. The Bendigo Advertiser of the 20th instant thus sums up the result of the previous week's work in that city and the district around it : — " The amount of dividends declared during the past week at Sandhurst is unusually large, being L 29,991 13s 6d, whilst the calls are only L 3742, leaving the magnificent Bum of L 26,249 11s 6d in favor of the dividends. The gold returns are also very good, being about 10,000oz, and considerably above the average weekly yields. 'The large amount of the dividends is owing to the magnificent return from the Garden Gully Tribute No. 2 of 41550z from 511 loads of quartz, out of which a dividend of L 15,437 10s has been declared. This is the largest yield and dividend which has yet been obtained in Sandhurst. The cake was exhibited on Saturday evening, at the Bank of Victoria, and attracted a large amount of *■. attention. In the bank window a very fine show of gold was to be seen ; and, in addition to the large return from the Garden Gully Tributes, there were also other cakes and bars of smelted gold, amounting altogether to ovex 12,0000z. The dividends of one of the fortunata holders of Garden Gully stocks will come to something like L 17 ,000 for the week." In Ballarat, mining is described as somewhat dull ; but gradually, though irregularly, little facts and new discoveries crop up that help very materially to cheer and encourage the mining part of the population to work on, even in old and riddled ground. Three illustrations of what luck may be in store for others are recorded. A party of 10 quartz miners., working in a small claim on Ballarat East, received L2lO each man as the result of their fortnight's work. At Napoleon's the Slow-ard*Sure Company found close to, if not in, old ground two nuggets, weighing together 81b. At Elaine, a small party went into an abandoned shaft about 30ft. deep, in which those who sunk it could find nothing, and had not sunk more than 2ft deeper, when they cut a small but very rich lode of quartz, which is improving. Besides this, the Britannia Company, Ballarat East, have for months past been raising and crushing quartz so good that, with their very simple appliances, they have been enabled to divide from LlO to LlB per man, per fortnight. On Ballarat East the quartz-miners continue their labors cheerfully, and new mines continue to be opened ; to which the erection of a new public crushing battery has doubtless given some impetus, as the great drawback for some time past has been the difficulty of getting stone crushed when it was ready for the mill. . The news to hand from Pleasant Creek, Creswick, Elaine, and Blackwood, gives indications of yields of gold soon. Buyers of large parcels of Extended Cross Reef, Magdala, and other Stawell shares have been making up all that could be got cheap, the general opinion being that the late discoveries of the immense and rich reef in the Extended Cross Reef mine will prove the most important ever made in Stawell, in consequence of its depth below the surface, its character and its position in the earth.