THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOLDFIELDS.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 230, 1 August 1873, Page 3

THE DEVELOPMENT OF GOLDFIELDS.

A mere glance at the world's Groldfields and their history from the days of Ophir to those of : this Colony shows that they are not readily exhausted and abandoned. It is probable that at this day men are extracting: gold from the same fields whence Solomon derived his supplies for the beautifying of the Temple, and we find California not only maintaining, but steadily increasing its product. • . . . . Already Otago, our oldest Goldfield, is steadily increasing it's yield, and the western coast of the Middle Island, and the mines of Auckland will soon follow its example. The gold'at first is merely scrambled for by men working singly or in small parties, and with the crudest mechanical aids. A nevv G-oldfield is a Tom Tiddler's ground, where no one sets in to honest work, but rushes about from spot to spot, often leaving rich ground to seek something still better, and be the first to enjoy it. Law is almost unknown, and a communistic feeling prevails that every worker should have a chance, and capital be prevented from interference, so that the pioneers may reap the first harvest. This .is it which tempts prospectors, and attracts the most adventurous of gold-seekers in their train. As the news of. discovery gradually widens its circle, others follow till the country is over "rushed," and although great . seeming prosperity exists, it is almost certain that at such a time the average earnings of those on the field are much less than after the first ebb of the rush, and when the gross product is less. Gradually, as the easily gotten gold—mostly in creeks and river beds—becomes scarcer, it is found npcessary to induce capital and competition for the working of the ground, and mining only becomes a highly skilled handicraft in all its stages The first gold discovered is generally alluvial, the working of which-generally leads to the discovery of auriferous quartz reefs. Of both classes there are many mines throughout the Colony,, but as the alluvial are the oldest, their development has received the most attention, and is being largely aided by the Parliamentary vote for water supply. This vote of £300,000 is, we believe, all appropriated, and although it is too soon to expect results, there can be no doubt that' they will be satisfactory, and induce a. much larger grant for ; the same purpose. . . Some of these canals will cost from ■ £40.000 to £60,000, but are pigmies compared with some in California In California are some

canals directing 25 heads of water, with a pressure of 300 and more feet through a single nozzle, which gives such force as to tear down and disintegrate cement beds,

vrliicirwoi dd scarcely yield to the pick.' In claims worked- with abundance .:o£. water, brought under., pressure inwrought, iron pipes from a grea:t""h"eighfc, as muchas 20,000 tons-of earth are- washed away V daily, and a high authority states 'that ' less than ten-penny worth of gold to thecubic yard will "afford a fair price forwater, and leave a 'handsome profit'.J 6000 miles of canals have beerfmade in' California; where one canal delivers'6ooo'tons of water per hour. The earth -washed - away-. is often as much as 300 feet "id" depth. A sample claim is perhaps- better than, .a general description, and- we-abridge from a report of the U. S. A. .Commissioner, Raymond, a description of the Little York Mining and Western Co., California;" which owns 240 acres of mining! ground, with an aggregate depth, of one hundred' and seventy feet, of which 30 feet is hard, cement. The Company have two crushing mills, but have ceased to -use them,on account'of the superior facilities they enjoy for the construction of dumps (falls), which serve to break up and disintegrate the hardest cement, the claims having an outlet of 600 feet fall. The Company have 6000 feet of wooden troughs, five feet wide, for carrying water, and nearly four miles of iron pipe for conducting the water from the ditches. to - their mines, where they use. sixty heads" of water with the hydraulic nozzle, which enables one man to divert the whols stream to any point he chooses within - 200 feet. From the same authority w< 1 - learn that the oldest G-oldfields of America are only scratched, and that, " from the light at present thrown on-the subject, the writer, if compelled to hazard an esti- - mate of the area of the deep .'placer's,' would place it at between 400-and 500 , square miles, with an average depth of 120" feet, and-would feel confident that he had rather understated than exaggerated • the amount." ■*

In this Colony an enormous area of ground, asyet almost untouched, is known to be auriferous, and would be profitably worked by the ■ simplest. appliances, .if water were available; and plenty of partially worked ground, would : paj\to rework. .... . '.' Gold mining for many years will require an increasing water supply/as the poorer the ground is, the, more it is'necessary to economise its working, by a larger use of water. —' Wellington Independent/ ; : -