PUHIPUHI SILVER FIELD.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 443, 5 February 1890, Page 5

PUHIPUHI SILVER FIELD.

INSPECTOR GORDON’S VISIT. A FAVOURABLE REPORT. In the report made by Mr Gordon, Inspector of Mines, in regard to Puhipuhi silver fields, which he recently visited, he says that since his last visit a coiisiderable amount of work of a preliminary character ha 3 been done on the prospectors’ ground, and an adit has been constructed for about 60ft to cut one of the lodes about IOOf j below the surface, which lode contains a good deal of silver on the outcrop. There are eight or nine different lodes in the prospectors’ ground, all of which contain gold or silver to some extent; but the two principal ones are the silver lode and Wilson’s. The silver lode has been prospected to a depth of about sight feet belovv the surface. At this depth the lode is about 2ft 9in in width, and contains a fair percentage of ruby silver with a little native silver. There are also good specimens of ruby silver to be found in Wilson’s lode, which is about 18 inches in thickness, but scarcely any work has been done on this lode yet to justify an opinion being expressed concerning it ; indeed, the same may be said in regard to all the lodes. Still the silver lode has certainly the appearance of being a payable one for working. Seven parties claim to have discovered payable reefs, but Mr Gordon considers some do not bear out this assertion ; it is, however, a place where there are a number of mineral lodes all through the forest from Waiotu to the Kaimanaka river. Mr Gordon considers that the discoveries made justify the opening of the ground lot mining, if this can be done and at the same time conserve the timber. The estimated quantity of kauri timber on the Government land is nearly 129,000,000 feet, which ought to bring in a revenue of £64,500 if the timber is nob destroyed by fire. He recommends that the forest should be opened for mining, but before such is done that regulations be made under the Mining Act, 1886, for prospectors’ licenses and prospectors’ mining leases to be amended, so as to embody conditions necessary to working ground in a State forest outside of mining district. The following assays and tests have been made from the silver lode in the prospectors’ claim :—By Mr Galbraith, Auckland, 9140 z bullion per ton ; Mr Burns, Bank of, blew Zealand, 6620 z ; Mr Burns, Bank oil New Zealand, 5320 z ; Mr Park, School of Mines, Thames, 1740 z ; Mr Park, School of j Mines, Thames, 1540 z ; Mr Park, School of : Mines, Thames, 115 oz ; Mr Park, School of Mines, Thames, 114 oz. ‘ There was also a parcel of 2001 b of stone sent to the School of Mines at. the Thames, which produced bullion, its value being at the rate of £lll7s 5d per ton. Three tons of stone were sent to the Waiorongomai plant for treatment, namely, one ton from the silver lode, one ton from the blue reef, and one ton from the black reef. The ore was crushed wet and concentrated. The returns from the blue and black reefs were equal to about 12s per ton, and from one ton of ore from the silver lode about 201 b of concentrates were obtained, which contained bullion at the rate of £1 12s per ton. From Wilson’s reef Mr Whitaker, of the Bank of New Zealand, got as high assays as Boz of gold and 2540 z of silver to the ton, and Mr Burns, of the same Bank, made assays from stone found outside the prospector’s ground which gave the following results : —No. 1 sample : 19dvvb 4gr gold, Boz 3dwt silver. No. 2 sample : lfdwt Bgr gold, 230 z 16dvvb silver. No. 3 sample: 4° z gold, 530 z silver.