THE MAHARAHARA COPPER MINE. Napier, Jan. 30.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 340, 6 February 1889, Page 6

THE MAHARAHARA COPPER MINE. Napier, Jan. 30.

To-nigiit's "Telegraph" gives the follow- I ing particulars of the Maharahara copper ! mine :—": — " Some twelve months ago we pub- j lished a long account of a visit paid to the Maharahara by a special reporter, who described the locality of the copper find, and who ga-vo much information as to the appearance and prospects of the copper mine. The assays made at that time irom > the outcrop wero of so* promising a character—one by the Government Geologist, ]\)r Mckay, yielding 41 per cent, of coppev — that a very influential committee of promotors was formed. Included in the promoters were some of the best known men in Hawko's Bay, the Committee comprising among others : Messr: J. D. Ormond, T. Tanner, W. Nelson, J. H. Coleman, J. T Carr, K. Barker, N. McDinrmid, E. W. Knowlo, 0. B. Hoddley, H. A. Banner, J. Y. Brown, and Captain Russell, An oxpert, T. Washburn, of Nelson, recommended by Sir James Hector, was engaged to report on the mine. The report, alter Mr Washburn had spent a week in the localit}', was of a most favourable character, and it was seated that there is enough visible to justify the formation of a public company. Instead of at once putting the mine on the market, as speculators would have done, the promoters decided to have the venture thoroughly tested. With that end in view a drive was put in for a length, and later on a shaft was sunk to a depth exceeding fifty feet. The drive, through being put in a hill too low down, has not yet cut the lodo, though Mr Luca». who has -acted for some time as manager, considers thoy are now within ten feet of cutting the reef. To those with any knowledge of mining; a shaft it a much more severe test of a lode, and is also more satisfactory, than a drive. The lodo has been traced on the surface for upwards of 300 feet. The shaft, sunk to a depth exceeding 50 feet, has carried the lode all the way, and tho width is some 14 feet, so that there is in sight upwards of 200,000 cubic feet of ore, the assays of which, made at dill event depths and at long intervals, have averaged fully 25 per cent, of copper. That of itself would justify the formation of a company with a very large capital, but thei o is every reason to suppose that the lode is of great depth, for as far as the shaft has gone it carries it as strong as ever, while tho greater the deptli the richer the ore has proved. The ivoik of putting down the shaft and extending the drive entailed considerable expense. Somo £1,300 has been ppent on developing the property, while the promoters in the first instance only bound themselves to expend £250. The original finders showed their faith in the value of the discovery by only asking for one-fifth of the pui'chase money to be in cash, and for the remainder agreed to accept paid-up shares. The promoteis in the same way, now the mino is to be put on the market, exhibit their confidence in tho venture by only asking that a portion of the money they had expended in developing the property be returned to them, and not, as u&ually the case, demanding a consideiable sum of money by way of premium for tho work they ha\e done. They still further evince thoir confidence in the mine by subscribing for a very lai'ge number of shares on tho same terms as they are offered to the general public. It will be seen from the above that neither prospectors nor promoters have any desire to reap the golden harvest to which many will think they were fairly entitled on the strength of their past labours. The mine has many natural advantages. It is within seven miles of a railway station, to which for the greater part of the distance there is a good road. The ore contains a considerable proportion of iron, which is so necessary for ilux, while limestone abounds in the locality. There is a plentiful supply of both water and timber in the immediate neighbourhood, so that whether tho precipitating process or the Swansea smeltin °r plan be preferred, there will be no difficulty in adopting whichever should be the most economical process. An assay by a Government geologist, Mr Skey, showed the presence of gold, and it is probable that parcels of ore may be sent home for treatment, so that the by-products may be determined. The Cobar mine in New South Wales, which is some 600 miles from Sydney inland, has returned to its shareholders dividends aggregating £150,000, though the mine, being upwards of 100 miles from a railway station, has to be worked at a great disadvantage as compared with the Maharahara. The ore a^ Cobar has only averaged something like 12 per cent., while the average of the assays made of Maharahara ore has exceeded 25 per cent. These assays have been made in Napier, Wellington, Nelson and elsewhere, and as the assay is the test which is always relied on in England and America, it affords the best criterion of the value ot the mine. Tho promoters have very wisely not based their calculations on the present price of copper, though those best in the position to know seem to think the present quotation will be maintained for many years. The calculation they have relied on is that 10 per cent, of ore without copper, at £40 per ton, will pay Avell. That they have allowed a very wide margin for contingencies even at these low figures is evident when ore containing from 1^ to 3 per cent, can be profitably worked in Portugal, Germany and elsewhere. To-day the promoters took up upwards of 16,000 shares, and the remaining shares will be allotted to the public according to priority of application,"