THE TE AROHA GOLDFIELD (BY THE "STAR" SPECIAL REPORTER.)

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 153, 8 May 1886, Page 6

THE TE AROHA GOLDFIELD (BY THE " STAR " SPEC IAL R EPORTER.)

The decision of the shareholders of' the' New Zealand Smelting- Company has been awaited by miners in the distant rariges .with great anxiety, as a feeling prevails that the closing of the furnaces means the closing: of the majority 6f- the mines reoently opened up ; as, however expensive or unsatisfactory the LaMonte process may be it has proved bo far effective as 1?o have saved 1 gold which the melting process could not extract, while its suitability for silver ores is claimed to be unqoestionably the best» if not the only, system which has been brought into operation. Mr LaMonte has to be credited w : .th having infused great vitality into the search for and development of argentiferous ores, and to have led to scores of disconsolate miners spreading themselves ever Auckland's mineralised mountains who had previous to Mr LaMonte's advent withdrawn from mining works through several of our big goldfield centres having become depressed. An important plant, to treat ores by the dry process, and by using McKays pans, is now nearly ready to start work v up the Waiorongomai Creek. The proprietors (Messrs G. Fraser and Sons and aDunedin firm) deserve succeas ; and as similar plants have been the means of extracting gold 'and silver in enormous quantities from Nevada mines, there are just reasons to expect the "New Bra" plant will turn out a corresponding amount from the Te Aroha mountain. But tha miners have as yet turned the eyes of faith to the furnaces ac being tha only reliable separator of precious metals from the stono. To Auckland citizens the successful development ot the mines is of the highest importance, as just now there does not S9em to be any other "silver lining" to the cloud of depression which hangs over us. Our staple industries are in a most unsatisfactory condition, and one critic asks another what is to make things better. Some say a "big loan ;" but all will admit that a big output of silver and gold from the mines will in all respects be better for the country. It is generally thought that in order to extract the precious metals from the moun am reefs large reduction works are indispensable, and to provide such the community will probably be invited to assist, as struggling miners certainly cannot grapple with the difficulty. Co-operation at tho present time, to foster tho mining industry, is certain to be attended with good results By supporting the goldfields we keep the most experienced miners in our midst, men whose knowledge of each district and vaiious promising .spots enables them of'entitnes to go out when in funds, and trace up valuable, lodes, tuch as George McLeods discovery of gold on the summit of the Tokatea, at Coromandel, a mine which yielded £132,000 vorth of gold before making a call. The parallel find of this was Hunt's discovery at the Shotover, which set the Thames field in a blaze of excitement. At Te Aroha we can as yet only point to the New Find, which has been steadily working since ISB3, and which has yielded £27,000 worth of gold from a little over 9,000 tons, being over loz. to the ton average throughout. As regards . silver-mining speculations, it may be mentioned that a member of a firm doing business in Auckland invested £1,000 in a silver mine in New South Wales, and has made £30,000 by his venture. The Auckland people, who are all more or less interested in the successful development of our mines, cannot but feel how greatly their prosperity deponds on the continuance of an effective smelting or other process for the extraction of gold and silver, and il would be well if those interested would come forward at this juncture, as it behoves all who can to assist in establishing permanent works for reducing the ores.

LaMonte's Furnaces. The preliminary run of thirty days of the New Zealand S. netting Co , which has been working one of LaMonte's water jacket furnacoy, has not been an unqualified success, owing to the fact that the great bulk of the ore brought to the furnace for treatment has contained 90 per cent, and over of silica — this, of course, necessitating heavy fluxing, and so reducing the quantity of quartz melted. Bub- in spite of these drawbacks, it is acknowledged by those connected with our mines that the furnace has demonstrated how utterly useless is the battery treatment of these ores, and that there is an immense amount of wealth in our hills, which only requires an inexpensive process to produce dividends to investors. Steps are being taken to make arrangements with Mr LaMonte to increase the capacity of the present furnace and to continue smelting operations.

The Thames Furnace and the Te Aroha Mines. This leads to special attention being directed to the recent discovery at Te Aroha. The great feature in connection with the find at Tui Creek (referred to below) is that the ore contains within itself all the ele ments of successful smelting. Hitherto the ores treated have been especially deficient in lead, which has at s;reat disadvantage been purchased. Ironstone has now been found in the neighbourhood of Paeroa and Te Aroha, thus providing the remaining element needed in the reduction of the ore. With lead and iron at command, and railway trucks running daily direct to Te Aroha, how simple and inexpensive should be the work of treating the quartz compared with the-unforeseen difficulties} which have been found to exist in other parts of the goldfield. There are, ; however, many reasons to urge why the smelting furnace at the Thames could be used advantageously by Te Aroha mince, among which it may be mentioned that Mr Ilaliday, the patentee and inventor of the wire tramways, inspected the plans of the Tui Creek mines, with the view to- constructing a line, and stated that by the formation of such, ore could be , transported from the mines to the river for lOd per ton, ancl that by means of barges the stuff could be' forwarded to the Thames furnace at a trifling cost. Mr Haliday also expressed his willingness to undertake to erect the tramways, and guarantee that the quartz could be forwarded at the low price quoted. With such unlimited supplies of ore obtainable at Tui Creek, it would be very gratifying to learn that arrangements could be made for the successful extraction of the mineral wealth they : have been proved to contain, and there is certainly every promise of a big industry' being at some period established In this locality. Even if the gold and silver ores cannot at this period ( be treated locally with success, there is now every encouragement to forward it to the large reduction works in Great Britain, as large quantities regularly forwarded from all I 'parts of the world ; and J it may be ' noted that it would cost Messrs Cornea and party less money to send their ore from ihe pdine to England with such a tram way completed than it cost them at first to get it' down to the foot of the range, as they absolutely had to work the sledges .themselves' 'over the precipitous country!, Once they tried a bullock, 'but He

slipped over a declivity and took the quartz with hitn;; The ! fiVst cost Wafe r ie3 per ton to' the river. ' > !