Mining News.

Te Aroha News, Volume VI, Issue 345, 23 February 1889, Page 2

Mining News.

Kmcanoaiiakk. Aff.iiis cenonilly with ipsppot tn mining in this portion of the %£>-il<l % £>-i1<l Held have very considenibly improved nf lritf, find a much more Imp. i'nl iVoling now ]>ievMil.s ill. in existed a slioit titi'.f hick. So niriiiy hitter dis.ippmnlrmnts h;i"o lxien experienced will) regard to virious prof< j ssi'<! iiihodnred, lespeciing vxliich psipunine expoctfilions w. Ip in c/ich Ciise frp( j lv expr ssi-d that at last the i i_i!it p.nciss hnd he<Mi oluained, and thiiiir« would speedily < boom', only to he in ■'sich Mi^'ancp followed l>y utter failure; ilthou^h, to he sure, additional useful knowledge was ol'tainpd. Chief of con se nmonost these (iisappointmcnf? were those experienced with respi'ct to the La Monte and Parkes li'ocesse?. Once more, however, hope is n#ain in the ascendancy, and the result of new proce>isps now beui££ introduceil for the fir«t time into the district, nre awaited Tith tho crreatest interest. Thesuccessul flo itinyf of the Crow.i Mines into a wealthy Company, having on the Board of directors men of very ureat iufluoi.cQ aud full &f euti rprise, I

who will give the property a thoiough practical testing, is a matter for great satisfaction to the whole field. Associated with the Crown Syndicate,. in the development of their property, is another 1 very.strong Company, The Cassel Gold Extracting, Company, who have succeeded in obtaining such splendid results at Home from Crown ore ; particulars respecting which were recently published in these columns. Several representatives of the Cassel Company have already , arrived, and no time will be lost in erecting the necessary plant, which, it maybe added, is of a very simple character. Captain Noah Coward, who recently took charge of the Crown mines, . was specially' sent out by the Home directors for that purpose, and is a gentleman of very great practical experience in all branches of mining, having been engaged in mining pursuits at Home and abroad, since he wa9 fourteen years of age. Under Oapt, Cowards supervision work in connection with tho opening up and general development of the Company's property is steadily progressing. A rise is now being put up in the back of No. I tunnel, and a winze :s also being sunk in the bottom of same, preparatory to starting stoping operations. No, 2 tunnel is also being continued a considerable distance further on the line of reef, whilst a start was made on Wednesday last to put in a nevr tunnel 100 feet below the No. 2. Generally speaking, we understand the workings in all parts of the Company's property are looking very well, and by the time the Cassel Company have tho^plant completed, there is no donbt Cipt. Coward will be in a position to provide a large supply of ore. Active preparations have been started, nnd are now in progress by the Cassel Company in connection with the erection of their plant, and also by the Crown Company for such plant as they have to provide in conjunction therewith. Mr Percy Cox's Plant : Some particulars have already appeared in these columns regarding a small plant recently erected by Ohristchurcb. capital, principally for the treatment of ore from the Ivanhoe and Truro Licensed Holdings, which were some time back purchased at a pale in the Warden's office, Thames, by Mr Per' % y Cox of Cluistchurch, who, it will be remembered spent a considerable time at Wailoa, investigating the supposed gold .diacoveiy there, on behalf of Christchuroh sharehol leis, Nothing daunted by the failuie of the Waitoa field, Mr Cox had a good look round for himself, and being favourably impressed with the Karangahako portion of the district as a promising field for investment, purchased the mines named and has been carrying on work in connection therewith ever since, under the supervision of Mr John McCombie, who is well versed in mining matters generally in all portions of the Ohinemuri gold Geld, and who was also engaged on behalf of the Cliristchurch syndicate to practcally test the Wailoa find. Tho plant orated for Mr Cox and his paitners (Mr Cox being, however, by far the principal shareholder) lini been construct d entirely under Mr McCombie's supervision, and in connection therewith he h w intioducod some novel features, the principal one being the provision made with (he object of preventing ' float ' lo«s, which is known to be very great in innny ordinary stamper batteries. The plant already erected consists of f< up head of stampers, one pan and one pettier, a second pan will however 1 em position within the next few days. The motive power is n Pelton wheel, having 3(5 feet fall (the water being obtained from the Woodstock race), and capable of giving as high as forty horse power if required. The plant started work on Thurs 'ay of lnstweek, and so far is stated to be giving every satisfaction . The pres«ntamountof quartz treated i« equal to an output of twenty tonsaweek, but the output will be doubled, so soon as the second pan is in position, one settler being sufficient for two pans. The quartz now being 1 treated is from the Ivanhoe mine, about one hundred tons of ore from this mine has leen broken out and now awaits treatment ; whilst some sixty to seventy tons, from the Kenilworth, Woodstock, and other tributes is under offer. No attempt wha'ever is made to save any of the gold by means of blankets, etc., the crushed oi e running directly from the stamper? into settling pit*, of which there are two, and appoon us one is full the supply is diverted into the other whilst it is b ing emptied, and vice versa. ,A charge of half a ton of the crushed ore" is put into the pan at a time, and there ground for four hour?, during the last hour the 'muller' is raised and mercury added ; the whole charge is (hen run into the settler and there treated for four hours, after which the mercury is syphoned off, and; tho charge ma off by tapping the v»rionV pi ug holes in t he set tiers For t hat- purno?e,of. which there me five nl out ien inches apiit. The manner in which it is souirht to prevent, ' fiont,' loss is as fol'ovxs fnnd so far Mr McComhio sta<e= he is fully satisfied with the results) : Bv menus of a Californian pump, the water from the stampers as fast as it drains from the pits is raised and used over and over again, the same water in fact so to speak continually describing a circle The pump referred to is an exceedingly simple affair ; consisting of a number of slats of wood, fastened on a' belt about fifty feet long at intervals about two feet apart, which revolves within a box, about sjx inches square ; the slats fittingclosely within the box, thus carrying up -the water. We believe a pump of this discription has long been used in California and America for asimi ar purpose ; but with very varied results. The plant n ns at Hie follow ing speed per minute ; stampers,

80, pans, 55, settler, 9. It is intended to thoroughly test the present plant for three months, and then; should results prove satisfactory to at once enlarge it to twice the present size.' The old Ivanhoe battery has not been working for some time past, that is not the stampers, but grinding of tailings is progressing daily, under the supervision of Mr W.Littlejohn. Mr Alf. Shepherd we are glad to be able to state has wonderfully recovered from the effects ol the fall from his horse some months back, and the results from which for* some time "weie most, serious. ' " Mr J , M. Chambers has this week been superintending the loading of some plant from the La Monte furnace house, which is being carted away, and in order to facilitate matters Mr Chambers has had a crossing cleared in the Waitawheta river, and'the machinery is carted direct from the furnace house across the river on to the road, and thence to Faeroa wharf.