SOUTH AUSTRALIA. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MINES. (From the South Australian Gazette Feb. 13.)

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 181, 24 April 1847, Page 3

SOUTH AUSTRALIA. SOUTH AUSTRALIAN MINES. (From the South Australian Gazette Feb. 13 .)

Adelaide Mining Company. — This Company was founded on the 16th May, 1846, by a few gentlemen putting their funds together to purchase the property surrounding the celebrated Montacute Mine, consisting of six sections, or 47 1 acres, and situate at a distance of 12 miles from Adelaide. The Montacute Carapaiiy endeavoured, some three years ago, to purchase the above property, but Governor Grey refused to take the amount offered; or, in fact, to sell the land at all, until he had subtnitted ihe matter to the Secretary of State for the Colonial Department. The result was that the property was to be put up at public competition ; previous, however, to this taking place the Manager of the South Australian Company sought to obtain the land by means of a pieliminary land order, which the Government refused to accept, a litigation ensued, and the sale of the property (which had taken place in the interim) to the above Company was, of course, undisturbed. The Company, on the purchase being made, im- • mediately proceeded to work, and the result was that, at the first half-yearly meeting, 50 tons of excellent copper ore had been raised ; but no permanent lode had been discovered. The ore had been sold at a good price — the average per centage being 28. The Directors being of opinion that a large deposit of ore could not be at any great distance, directed the captain to prosecute vigorously the workings from whence the principal part had been obtained ; and they had the pleasure of hearing that a copper lode, seven feet wide, and carrying two good walls, had been hit upon, and from which eight men have extracted 20 tons of very excellent ore during the last fortnight. There is every prospect of another lode being shortly cut in a gallery driving in a shaft below the level of the creek. As soon as this is done the mine wi'l be much more valuable than was expected, as the great depression in the price of the shares of this Company has been principally caused by the ore having been found in boils or lumps, without the appearance of proper lodes. Copper ore is also being obtained from a crosscut in the same section, which has for sometime past been driving.

The North Montacute Mine. — This mine, belonging to the Victoria Mining Company, is the only gold mink yet discovered hi the province. Ti-e capital stock consists of 3500 shares. The Company have continued to open the ground .or the last ten months with a small party (varying from 2 to 5 men), and have now between 2 and 3 tons of auriferous earth, taken from the lode ready to be operated on. The small quantity already cleaned up has yielded about one pound and a half of pure gold, which has been sold to the jewellers in Hindley-street ; and from the late reports of parties who have worked gold elsewhere, we are warranted in stating that with the necessary machinery and capita], it promises a considerable return. Some of the samples of the ore are very rich ; but the operations are not of sufficient magnitude to hold out hopes of the shares ri>ing in the same "proportion as the Burra Burra ; although many respectable partie> here enamoured of " gold mines," thiuk no price too extravagant to expect. We are informed, by a gentleman well qualified to pronounce a practical opinion, that on his last visit, he felt that Capt. Tyrrell and his small corps, were doing their best, and that the workings exhibited a perfect knowledge of the country ;' but without a very much larger body of men and the proper machinery, the proprietors must be satisfied, at least for some time, with a small return of the precious metal. The Kapunda Mines. — This, one of the original and richest mines of the Province, has yielded large quantities of valuable ores. Latterly the higher levels have only been in work, and the immense beds of copper ore in the lower levels are left until the steam machinery, daily expected from England, is erected and the water cleared off. It is expected that within six months the whole of this mine will be again in full work. One fourth of this mine was recently sold in England for £14,000 ; an immense bargain to the fortunate purchasers, and a much larger sum has been promptly refused for proportionate shares by the principal proprietor. The quantity of ores at present brought to the surface is considerable, and of equal, if not superior, quality to those already sold at Swansea.

Burba Burra and Princess Royal Mines. — These mines are upon 4a 4 a special survey of 20,000 acres, di&tance about 96

miles from Adelaide. This survey was taken in consequence of large' masses of copper ore which were discovered upon the extremities of the survey. The proprietors of this survey have secured to themselves the full extent of mineral land, inasmuch as the lodes run longitudinally through the survey. This has been proved by the workings which have been carried on, more especially in the northern half, when the principal lode shews a course of north, about 35° west. The general and almost unparalleled richness, as! well as extent, of this mineral property is partly proved in the fact that during the first year's operations 7200 tons of ore were extracted. Some portions of these being the first shipments, have alreadybeen sold in the Swansea market, and realized from £10 16s. to £31 3s. per ton. As these, however, were principally surface ores, and as there existed, (Hiring the first year, no available means for their due preparation, such as cleaning and classifying for exportation, the average return has proved more favorable than was expected. The last accounts from Swansea state that the Burra ores are in great favor, in consequence of their docility in the process of smelting. From the assays, which have been made here, of the generality of ore, the quality has varied considerably ; and since the shipment of surface ores had been from 25 to 80. Red oxides, grey ore, blue and green carbonates, and malachite, are the different descriptions of ore which have been extracted ; and some specimens of native copper have recently been found. As the workings in the southern half have not been formally carried on to the same extent as in the northern half, the amount of extraction has not bpen very considerable. All experienced miners, who have visited this district, conclude that, judging from the surface indications, which are very numerous, and the many east and west branches which join the main lod , some of which are from 1 to 2 feet and upwards wide, and contain copper ore, which, if well cleaned, would be a good marketable article. This district is the richest that has yet been discovered, and will eventually prove as valuable as- the Burra or Monster Mine.