THE GOLDEN CROWN.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 203, 29 August 1870, Page 4

THE GOLDEN CROWN.

Tbe following description of this farfamed mine is from a letter by the special correspondent of the Otago Daily Times ; — Starting from the Pacific Hotel, along a good footpath, formed on either side of a sea of mud which does duty for a "oad, a walk of a few hundred yards brbgs one to an extensive range of solid looking iron buildings lying between the hills and the beach, to which these very closely approach. These build iugs contain tha splendid plant of the famous Golden Crown, which has paid its shareholders dividends up to the 30th April Inst, to the amount of £90,392 16s. Bd, besides paying current expenses, and over £8000 I for the machinery aud buildings, at which we are now looking. The present expenses of this mine are about £250 per week. It employs 83 men, besides paying for a large amount of work done by contractors. The general rate of wages on the field is 365. to 425. per week ; but on ithis raine, none but the best and most ; reliable hands are employed, and their pay ranges from Bs. to 10s. per day. The entrance to the mine is close to the buildings, aud by the courtesy of Capt. Richards, the working manager, we were enabled to look closely into the whole affair. I will not trouble you with technical descriptions of workings which your readers would probably not care about, nor, from my descriptions, understand. Suffice it to say, that we traversed wide lofty chambers, from which the quartz had been taken to produce such splendid returns. Thence we went down winzes, and up ladders, and through holes of all kinds, in which a considerable number of men were busily at work iv various ways. The hours of working are eight per day. There are winzes sunk from the lower tunnel to the SO feet level : two of these winzes communicate with it, the other, will do so soon, and are to afford ventilation. In the mill there are twenty head of stampers, driven by a twenty-five horse engine, and the consumption of coal is 73 tons per week. By the way, it is worth mentioning that all the engines on the field use Bay of Island coal, which is delivered at 255. per ton. A second engine, of equal power, keeps the mine clear of water and debris. The consumption of water in various ways in connection with the mine is 170 gallons per minute, and, as this water must be free from mud, arrangements for filtering are connected with it. The chief source of supply is the mine itself, which is fitted with pumping gear, discharging over 200 gallons per minute. Iv addition to this machinery, the company has four of Wheeler's patent pans for grinding tailings, and all the best and most recent improvements for saving gold. Originally the claim was taken out by eight men, and the area 15,000 square feet. They prospected, but did not get much. On 18th March, 1869, the company was formed, having been then six or eight months in the hands of the prospectors, who had sunk a shaft and found the reef. The capital was fixed at the immense sum of £192,000 iv shares of £1000 each, "considered after the fashion of tbat scrip-mad season, as "fully paid up." The shares were soon quoted at £1400, and some, I believe changed hands at that enormous price. As a rule, however, there has not been much speculation in these shares — which are in tew hands and well held — a lucky event, as they have since been down to £400, aud not easily saleable at that. The last dividend declared was on 30th April — £7 per share. After this the gold fell off, as there was a break in the run, but it has been picked up again lately, and was at last discovered iv the deep level 60 feet below where it had been lost. The manager is, of course, highly pleased with this discovery, and entertains greater hopes, iis the lead is wedge-shaped, and thickens as the workings, hitherto at the api j x of the wedge, advance.

An exteusively plauned forgery of fivepound notes, of the Bank of New South Wales, Albury branch, has been discovered at Benalla, Victoria. Two meu named Smith and Dante have been arrested, and tbe printing plant seized. Smith had passed six notes. Daute had been released from Pentridge, after serving 12 years for forgery.