OUR MINES.

Te Aroha News, Issue 6, 14 July 1883, Page 2

OUR MINES.

cross-cut by a surface level about 30 feet ,}j } below the cap of the' reef. ~,Tne r quartz;^ broken out' in cross cutting, is Really VJV J good, and the dirt coming from^this ,\ block can he put down the winze dn/thft, ■ No. 1 and forwarded to the lottery, at,,.the same time as the ■ No.^ 1 . quartz. „ * The rise from N.o.' 1 Jevel 'to |ihe sur-r ,; face is being continued^ and gold 7 ' v showing as- -usual?- " - The -^hopper -will ; " soon be completed and wlil be capable of holding 160 tons of quartz. — - Colonist. — The winze connecting ,tha level with the surface, .is going on, and, the quartz coming from, }t As iv^erjr promising.. Gold is seen ; frequently and the quartz is of that, kindly; curly description full of' black' streaks, which seem to contain and hide, so 'much of the fine, gold in this district.' ' ], , s , ;' - I New Find.— The contract for carting .• i the shoots and rails for this mine had ; been let to Mr D Murphy for -£7r7 r 10 0 per ton. Many seem to think, that the present mode of connecting, with a shoot 380 feet long cannot be as gppd a job as if Mr Baylden's plan of connecting with a self-acting grade had been carried ou+. The wear and tear in a shoot so long as this must be great, but we understand , Mr Adams has arranged to. have the shoot fitted with false bottoms, . so that when one is worn it can be replaced by another. Werahiko and Waitoki. —Mr Cameron reports that he expects' to have finished this week his hoppers and shoots connecting with county tram. He will then commence breaking down, and when we consider the quality of the quartz already broken out and class of country in which the reefs are encased in these mines, we believe we are justified in expecting flattering results. Eureka. — The position in the drne has now beon reached at which rising will be commenced. The quartz broken out during the week prospects well and shows dabs of gold. * The rise to connect with the winze will soon be commenced. Welcome. — The manager reports : Operations are now confined to driving on the hanging wall leader. The quartz is highly mineralised with galena ore and copper pyrites. The quartz broken down during the week shows good blotches of coarse gold. Vermont. — The men are now employed in working out the footwall of the reef. The country and mineral indications are very similar to those of the Welcome. A few mora days should see the reef well in hand. Inverness. — A trial of five tons, now ready, will be forwarded to the Waiorongomai battery as soon as Butler's Spur tramway is complete. Lucky Hit. — A trial parcel of five tons is to be crushed.soon at the Waiorongomai battery. A.B.C. — In working on the leader during the week some good picked stone has come to hand, but it will be more easy to judge of the value of the discovery after a little more work has been done. Phcbnix. — Some leaders containing gold have been cut by the tramway formation ; here also, we are in the dark till work is done. In sinking place for a culvert in a creek (Stoney Creek) midway between Te Aroha and Waiorongomai, Colebrook, the contractor, found a piece .of quartz which might be classed as a specimen. We may yet perhaps have payable gold on the western side of the Te Aroha mountain. We expect next week to have information regarding Kamngahaka, Waihi, Waitekauri and Owharoa."

. * Under this heading we will give all the reliable information obtainable with regard to mining in the Upper Thames Valley. As we will receive only the reports of the most reliable and experienced miners, we hope to make •' Our Mines " a subject of interest and importance to miners and speculators. Many men who have visited this district have declared themselves quite satisfied with -the amount of gold showing, but seemed dubious as to what quantity of it could be saved. Experienced miners have always declared there would be no difficulty in saving- the gold which, although fine, is dense, and is associated .\vith_ncL mineral likely to .affect the quicksilver and prevent amalgamation. Many of these will be glad to have their convictions confirmed by the following extracts from a letter from Mr Edward Whitaker, As gold if lost by the battery process must be found in the tailings, a parcel of tailings from the last crushing fromthe ', Welcome', was sent to Mr Whitaker to be tested. The reply was that the assay showed — Gold, 16dwt. Bgrs., silver, loz 9dwt. 9grs. per ton, It would appear from this that the total loss was little more than one and a half per cent of gold. No gold could have been saved more easily, it would be very hard to get a ton of quartz which would return almost forty ounces and show a smaller per centage of loss. ... The Tramway. — But for the wet weather of the past few days, would have been completed to the top of "Butler's Spur self acting, grade." This will be finished, it is'expected, before next Saturday. All the difficult parts of the work will then be over, and . after this'] it ik ail fair sailing. , , „ , , , , \\

MINES, ' ;-" "^i There is little fresh to report tliis week as mostly all are employed at hoppers, shoots, &c, so as to be _ pr# T pared when the tramway is fiiiishep.