THE KAKAHU DISTRICT.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1876, 9 April 1889, Page 3

THE KAKAHU DISTRICT.

[From the Pre*?.] Wo are indebted to Mr A. J 5. Or. Rhodes, M.H.R for Ukdstone, for a copy of the reoorfc furr.i'hod to the Minister of Mines by ProfeaßorTJhlrioh, giving an aoaount of hi« vi.it to the Kakabu aad Woodbury districts in South Canterbury, wbioh he made last month. From the repoit we take iho following particulars :-Bor:erjno3 was made to th<3 reports of Sir James fleotor and of Mr J&». Puke, Assistant O-.o'.ogist, who visited the district In 1885, Profesior Ufalrioh remarking that in all respects, especially the descriptions cf tha mineral outorops and conclusions drawn as to their value, sere so defiled and aooarfcte in Mr Parke' report that ho could supplement it by only a few obieivations oonoerning some unimportant now diicovenes of gold, ooal, etc., made since, The only pold workings exeouted since Mr Parks' visit wore a few holas sunk in a gully running from the south into the lower gorge of the Kakahu river. Prospeotj of fine scaly gold were found in eioh, and one man who opened out from bis hola is stated to have earned fair wagos, but prospecting had long sinoj been given up, the alluvial drift ia the gully evidently not on the whole being payable. As the gully ran entirely within the area of the older sohist rocks, the gold contained in the wash mnab have been derived from these rooks, aleo probably from the disintegration of fine quartz interlaminafcioDg, wbioh were in places rather abucdaat. Io was tie efore no unreasonable to suppose that better payiig plaoes than the gully under notioe might ex. iat within the erea of their extent, and as the range north of the gorge showed many lifts and small gullies which wero quite unprospecte:!, he thought it would be advisable to tost these by the sinking of holes and tin-diah trials, a work requiring but little expense and labor. Regarding the ferruginous quvrlz, conglomerates, and grits, which occur in some plaoes near the baso of the coal rjeks, notably, a abort distanoe above the upper marble quarry in the lower gorge of the Kikahu river, and of wbioh, acoordiDg to a report of Sir James Hector, a specimen aißajed in the Colonial Laboratory, produced at the rate of loz sdfffc of gold per too, they had not as yet received any trial, thoogu. this would be desirable in order to ssttlo the question whether tha goli was evenly distributed throughout the deposit in anything like t'ae quantity indicated by the above assay. In bis opinion that was not the case, olse more gold would h&ve been found by former proßpectora in the river drifo baloar tho onglomerate outorops. Even, however, in the case of good prospeo.s beinj obtained by trials of the conglomerate on an adequate scale, by crushing and ataalgamation, he doubted very much whother it would pay to work it beoause of tho great difficulties and expense connected with combating the water and the safe support of tho workings, tho roof being rather loose. Commencing with the seams of ooal in tha lower end of the gorge of the Kakahu river, the Professor stated that he was oonvinoed that the seams penetrated by the shaft srak by Mr Geo. Meredith would never pay to work, on account of too strong en influx of water,

and the same applied to several new outcrops discovered in the close neighborhood, in the bod and banks of the river. The seam opposite Cliff's old sawmill, previously worked, was of ralher poor quality, but might improve in depth. It cauld be opened with little expense both in strike and dip, and might provo very acceptable for local consumption when wood became scarce. The outcrop on Mr Hesketh'u farm could, in his opinian, not be profitably worked oa aocount of its vertical dip, and the expenses aud difficulties certain ti atiao through great icflax of water. The ee?m gaid to be two feet thiok, near the suspension bridge over the Kakahu river, previously worked, could not be examined owing to the slips from the hill above, but, judging from pieoes lying about, it was of similar quality to that opposite Cliff's old sawmill. As it was out of tne reach of water, Ike the latter, it might also be worked in c?je of soaroity of other fuel were it not for its veiy bad roof, the oosfc of supporting which wou'.d be out of all proportion to the value of tho coal wised. Other outowps two or three miles further up the river, never much thought of, were not visited. The seam near the point wbere the Beautiful Valley road crosßeothe Kakahu river, which was well spoken of in Mr Parks' report, the Profejaor considered was the moßt promising in the Kakahu district. It was exposed in the bed of the west branoh of the river for nearly 300 ft in length, dipping at the lame angle aa the stream, and about eight ohaius further up the latter there was another small outcrop, whioh most likely belonged to the same learn. The thickaesu of the seam appeared to be a good 3ft, and, though having suffered through water action, the cost was harder, and looked as good quality as the best found in the district. its favorable mole of deposition, it could easily bo followed aoross the flat on both sides of tho watercourse into the hills, snd its exploration then would be free of difficulties roga-edbg influx of water, whilst, judging from what was exposed on the banks of the stream, tho roof of the coal was also pretty firm. In order to render the coal available for household consumption and suou entsrpiises aa lime-

burning, etc., the main requirement was the construction o£ two or tbree miles oE good road for connection with the nearest main road j traversing the district. The outcrop of sup* j posed roofing slate on the banks of the Kakahu river, not far south of the upper marble quarry, proved ou examination to be valueless, as it did not split thin and smooth enough, and even i£ it did was not sufficiently tough to stand holing by the slater’s hammer. The industries of lime-burning and working the clays were still suspended, but they would have a good prospect of revival, end of being profitably carried on, wore the coal seam last described being worked and available at a reasonable price. The larger pieces of the schist rooks, which resembled marble, might be commercially valuable for ornamental purposes. Near the suspension bridge there was a large exposure of flue, compacted quartz said, such as is used in the manufacture of glass, but it would be inadvisable to start the industry m the district under present circumstances, and the sale of the sand could not bo conducted with profit at a distance. The only mineral of any value so far discovered in the Woodbury district was brown ooal. The outoropi occur in two different places, namely, the Waihi (Jorge and in a creek nearly two miles from Mr Tripp’s homosteai. Considering the first-mentioned, there were four scams expoaed, right in the fc.d of the Waihi mar, running across it with a southerly dip, the exact angle of which could not be ascertained, as no work had been done on any of the seams. The respective thickness of the four Boama were abated by Mr Geo. Meredith to be B£t, 21b, 3ft, and s£fc, but these thicknesses, being measured . outcrops in the river, are considerably in excess of the true ones at right angles to the plane of dip. iaegardiug the quality of the thickest seam, judging by Bpecimose broken out from under water, it aoomed to be of a more tough and woody character, and Icdb rich in carbon thnn tho ooftla o£ tka Kflkahn diatrict. Still it might, if worked, prere quite satisfactory for domestic use and foi feeding the furnaces or threshing machine engines, lime burning, etc. Its opening and ' working, except that it would have do be

done by shaft, would apparently not bo connected with any great difficulties, such as contending with much water, beoauie tho Booms extend on both sides of the river under pretty high banks of firm-looking more recent deposits. The coal outcrops near Mr Tr pp’s homestead were situated in tho bed of a small crook, the thioknesfl ol the seam being nearly 4ft, and its quality oeemod eqaa', if rot superior, to that of the largest seam in the Waihi gorge. Ho was doubtful if the exploitation of the coal would prove profitable, bacaueo of tho steep dip ot the seam, and tho probability of a strong influx of water.