MINING.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 173, 29 April 1872, Page 3

MINING.

Moanataiari. —The return for the past week amounted to one thousand one bundled and twenty-six ounces of retorted gold. This, together with the nine hundred and seventy-four ounces, the result of the previous week’s crushing, was melted at the Bank of New Zealand, aud turned out two thousand and s : xty-two ounces fifteen pennyweights. Besides this the company had on hand, as the result of the picvious for'night’s work, one thousand six hundred ounces eleven pennyweights of melted gold, making a total return for the month of three thousand six hundred and sixty three ounces six pennyweights, out of which they have announced a dividend payable on Thursday next, which will in a'l probability amount to 10s per share, thus absorbing £6,750, and enabling them to pass a splendid balance on to the reserve account. This mine lias after a very long period of depression come to the fore in such a manner that we must now rank it as the leading mine on the he'd, and the probabilities are that it will hold its position as a first-class dividend paying mine for some time to come, as the immense area of ground a, command has only now been properly opened up for working, and the lodes that are iu hand are all paying well. In a vc y short time the company will bo in a poA'oa to keep a much larger number of stampers at work than they are vow doing, so that their yields may be expected to increase for some time to come. Caledonian. —The yield for the past week amounts to six hundred aud ninetysix ounces of gold, and this has been principally from general stuff, (lie amount of stuff from the specimen patch having been very small. There is no change to report in any of the various workings of the mine, everything going on satisfactorily and well. Kuranui.— The usual fortnightly return from. (Ids company is to hand, and is, we a-c sorry to say, a poor one, being only one hundred and sixty-eight ounces nine pennyweighfs of melted gold from about two hundred and eighty tons of dirt crushed, twenty head having been at work all the time. Queen of Beauty. —The usual fortnightly return from this claim is to hand, aid is quite up to the usual average, amounting to one hundred and fifty-four ounces of gold. The steady yields from this claim have stamped it as one of the best paying mines in the district, held as it is by only a few shareholders, and as the reef has improved with them as they get down on it, we think we are not saying too much when we assert that they have at command one of the be-t properties on the field, and one which can he worked economically. From one end to the other of them ground the reef lias now been pioved payable, never having been extraordinarily rich, but giving failaverage returns all through. Golden Crown. —The company have put through about one hundred tons of dirt during the past fortnight, which have yielded fifty-seven ounces three pennyweights and twelve grains of melted gold, being about the usual average of the stone crushed by them lately. The tribliters, during the same time, have reduced sixty tons, which have yielded one hundred and forty-eight ounces eighteen pennyweights and six grains of melted gob), being at the rate of nearlv two and a half ounces to the ton, a first-class return, considering the extent of ground they have got, and the size of the reef at their command.

Alburnia. —The return from this company for the past month is not a very heavy one, but a much larger one may be expected for the coming month, as the ground is now being opened up, and the manager will be able to send a far larger quantity of stone to the m ill tli rough the lowlevel tunnel from the batteiy level, which is now well in to the heart of the ground, and will veiy soon be connected with the shaft, thus enabling him to pass all the upper level stone down, and to send it to the battery economically. The yield for the month is two hundred and seventy-four ounces one pennyweight of melted gold. The battery has only been working half-time during the period, having,been stopped at night, and kept going only during the day. Central Italy. — The manager was compelled to stop sinking, and to timber up, as a very hard bar was found to he lying on top of the quartz struck in the sha.t, and the shootmg rendered the securing of the ground necessary. Today, however, ho will st.vt sinking again, and will prove what the lode in hand is worth. Eureka. —The crushing for this company was finished on Saturday at the Shotover Battery, but the final clean up aud retorting will not take place until to-day, when a good return may be expected. Red Queen. —This company’s crushing has been completed at the Prince Alfred Battery, hut the. retorting will not take place until to-day. The specimens on hand have been crushed, and will add considerably to the amount of the gold return. City of London. —As was stated in our issue of Saturday the manager was of opinion that the lode worked on was not identical with the Queen of BeautyBright Smile lode, and after an inspection of the ground by competent persons on Saturday the result tends to show that such is actually the case. In all probability the vein met with running across the main lode is the Queen of Beauty reef, and as a natural consequence the company’s property will be much enhanced by this discovery, as according to the sciike the company have a very large run of the reef through their ground, right over towards the Toronto lease. Owing to the bad weather, the road down which the quartz has been brought is now rendered impassable, and crushing has had to ho stopped in consequence. A clean up and retorting will take place to-day, aud-the result will, from the show, be

satisfactory. There is no doubt but that the company will have to erect a tramway from the mine to the fiat, or else during the winter they will hardly be able to send down eu l stone at all to the mill. The man . v-* k p ;~esto open out on the cross lode without delay, and to test its quality. Wade.—The result of; the crushing of fifteen tons for this claim at the Criterion Battery was nine ounces fourteen pennyweights fifteen grains of melted gold from fifteen tons put through.