MINING.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 240, 16 July 1872, Page 3

MINING.

Caledonian.— The find iu this mine which we reported yesterday, and which caused a great deal of activity in the sharemarket, proves to be of considerable importance and value. The locality is, as we mentioned, the old specimen leader, which has for some time been worked am. with good results, in what is termed the intermediate levels. Where this lode is

now being wrought on is some sixty feet north of what is called the Otago winze, frd consequently right in the body of the company’s ground. This lode has been followed at this level from the old workings, where it formerly proved so immensely rich, and has all along paid well. It has also developed into a large lode, and is now fully eight feet thick in the face. It has also run right up against the No. 2 lode, the hanging wall of the latter being the foot wall of the former at the present level, hut as it rises they again separate, the No. 2 keeping its own overlie, and the specimen leader rising more abruptly away from it. The lode itself carries two distinct veins of stone, one on either was that on the banging wall being of a dark color, and about three feet thick, gold

being visible all through it. The vein on the footwall is about two feet thick and shows more visible gold, but the other vein seems to have the precious metal more evenly distributed throughout, ami will, no doubt, prove the best crushing stuff. Between these two veins are bands of mullock intersected by clean quartz viens, the whole lot of which is payable crushing dirt, and is accordingly all sent to the battery. They are working the stuff out on a face of about thirty feet on the underlie of the lode, so that a large quantity of stone can be brought out. The floor of the present workings is about twenty feet above the level of the two hundred and seventy feet or main level of the mine, and the upper workings on the lode are consequently not far off the No. 1 level, where the reef has been driven on for a distance of about two hundred feet towards the Otago mine. That the gold runs downwards seems to be pretty clear, and the manager is of this opinion himself, so that he is about to put in a cross-cut from the low level to intersect the reef at a greater depth, and work on it from below. It is most likely the case that the Otago run of go’d, as it was formerly called, which yielded so richly and which was lost in the direction of the present find, has again been picked up, after having broken off northwards and at the same time downwards, and if this is so the probability of the main run having done the same thing becomes more likely, and the hopes of its being met with again below the two hundred and seventy feet level, and more to the north than the reef has yet been prospected, are considerably brighter than they have been. Over half a ton of good picked stone has been bagged since Saturday morning, and more may be expected to-day, whilst at the battery the crushing is showing up very well indeed, so much so that the manager was yesterday morning compelled to clean up the tables and ripples, as the amalgam was accumulating so quickly. At this rate the return for the week will undoubtedly be a good one—at least a thousand ounces, and very likely double that quantity. Taken on the whole, the present find is of considerable importance, and bears the stamp of something permanent, being as it is is in solid ground and there being a large section of the mine in that direction still unprospected. They are also working a nice looking leader on the No. 1 level which runs from the footwall of the specimen lode, and which gave good returns a few months since. This runs in the Golden Crown direction, and some nice looking stone has been taken out. Being just about the part of the mine which has yielded so richly, it is anticipated that something good may be found here, as it is thought to be connected with the other specimen leaders. The drive on tlm main lode at the low level has been pushed ahead between two hundred and three hundred feet, and there is a fine solid lode in hand about three feet thick. As we said before, great activity prevailed in the market, and the shares rose in value to £27, at which price they were quitted. Cure.—A good deal of work has been done, on the reef in this mine since they first started to open out on it. It has been worked for some thirty feet on the overlie from the level into the claim, but next to the boundary of the Manukau there is still a large portion of the lode still standing, the face of which shows excellent looking stone for some distance. Up to the farthest point that the reef has been broken down, it looks very well indeed, and has not«at till diminished in size, nor apparently in quality. The main level has. been carried ahead on the reef some distance, and shows that the lode takes a slue to the north, but in a short distance it seems to be taking up its own course again. Tn the face, a portion of the hanging wall side of the lode—some two or Ihrce feet — is iu hand, and looks very well indeed, showing a fair quantity of good looking metal, and altogether looking as if it would crush very well. The manager intends, we believe, to try a parcel of the stone from this part of the reef separately, in order to prove its value. Large quantities of stone are coming out, and the battery is kept going continually now. It seems to be a we’l-p oved fact now that the run of good stone is of large extent, and will furnish crushing dirt for some time to come. The show at the Tararu Battery keeps up well to about the same average as usual. Junction Tribute. —A retorting for the No. 2 tribute of the Junction mine took place yesterday, after about sixty or seventy tons had been put through, and a yield of seventy-three ounces was obtained, being over an ounce to the ton. Albion (Kelly’s) Tribute. —A crushing of a parcel of some sixty tons or so for this tribute was commenced yesterday morning at the Manukau Battery, and is likely to turn out very well. Twenty head at the same battery were also started on Nonpareil stone, and the remaining ten head are at work for the Bright Smile, who will probably clean up on Saturday next.