MINING.

Thames Guardian and Mining Record, Volume I, Issue 242, 18 July 1872, Page 3

MINING.

Caledonian. —un Tuesday evening, the manager sent down about three tons five hundredweight of picked stone, taken roughly from the reef, which had accumulated since Saturday last. This was crushed during the night, and a return of six hundred ounces of amalgam, which will yield at least two hundred ounces of gold, perhaps more. This gives a return, of over sixty ounces to to the ten, and proves that a rich patch was met with in the reef. Yesterday afternoon and last night stuff was being broken down again, and more good stone is expected to he to hand to-day. The appearance of the lode in the mine is not so good as it was a day or two ago. The vein on the footwall is not so well defined as it was, and less gold is showing all over; hut still there is show enough to stamp the lode ns highly payable. The contractors are engaged, as well as driving, in taking out a parcel of five or six tons of stone from the No. 2 lode, next to the specimen reef, in order to test its value at this spot. A good deal of stone is lining broken down, and the battery will he started again this morning, stone being sent down yesterday afternoon. The small leader that wo reported as having been worked on the No. 1 level, towards the Golden Crown, is well defined, and in good country, hut no gold has yet been seen, though a change might take place nt any moment. As we have already said the’ battery will ho started this morning, it having been Stopped yesterday morning for want of stone. An accident also happened to the pipe which brings the water into the boilers from the main pipes in the street. This sprung a leak about one o’clock in the morning, and the water getting in amongst the tailings piled up in the yard caused them to swell so as to hurst the the fence down at one spot. This damage was not caused, ns many thought yesterday, by the flood, hut was simply the result of the leak in the pipe. The fence was repaired during the afternoon and strengthened by supports, and the pipe lias been fixed now at a slight distance above the fence, well clear, so that in case of any future accident it can he easily got at. A good week’s yield of one thousand ounces or more may he looked for in spite of the delay, as a large quantity of stone can he reduced by the full power of the battery. Golden Crown. —This company’s battery was stopped yesterday morning owing to the flood which came down the Waiotahi Creek and completely flooded the buildings, having overflowed from the culvert. Cure. —The reef in this mine is not looking quite so well as it has done lately. More mullock is coming into the lode in the face of the slopes, and the stone does not show np very well. However, tiie manager of the battery reports that the show at the machine is equal to the average obtained last week, and though it is j hard to estimate the probable yield, it ought to be over an ounce to the ton. Dixon’s No. I.—A start has been made at the Ballarat and Chines Machine on this company’s stone. On Thursday afternoon a start was made to send down stone j by the self-acting tramway, and in less than an hour the paddock was emptied, the contents being transferred to the mill. In all 43 trucks, each containing a ton, were sent down the line without a single hitch, and fifty could have been sent down within the hour if the stuff had been handy. The platform has been finished, and no further delay need he anticipated to the work. The stone is ! showing np very well at the machine for a very good return. Goodall’s Machine. —A start Will he made on Monday next at this battery, after the repairs are all complete. The Inverness are ready to start crushing, having a good paddock to commence on, and the Bendigo Independent trihuters are now sending down a lot of stone by the Moanntaiari tramway'. Manukau Tribute —A crushing of a parcel of three tons of stone for Murphy's tribute has given a return ot five ounces eight pennyweights of melted gold. The yield is considered satisfactory. We are informed that the company arc about to start to work at once I on the main reef next to the Cure boundary, and expect to get some good stone ! from this place. Sunbeam. —The carters started on Tuesday to take stone to the Tararu Battery from tin’s mine, hut had to knock off yesterday, owing to had weather. They will, however, start again to-day if fine enough, and crushing will be commenced probably this afternoon, or tomorrow morning. Nontareil. —The prospects of this mine have brightened considerably during the past few weeks, and ere long we hope to be able to give some good reasons for saying so, by chronicling returns of gold.

The Waitemata leader met with in the cross-cut from the forty feet level promises to be of value to the company. The lode is some six feet thick, of which about three feet can he considered as good crushing dirt, and from this have been taken a good deal of picked stuff and specimens, some of which arc as rich as any ever taken from the mine. They are driving both ways on this lode towards the Waitemata, and also towards the slide to which it no doubt runs, whilst over head there is a very large area of countrv right np to the surface through which this reef may be supposed to run. The manager is stuping for the main reef in the low level, and is also following the two veins which were met with running into the hanging wall, one of them about a foot and the other eight inches thick, both showing gold in payable quantities. The vein on which a rise was started close to the slide has developed into a tine lode two feet thick, and gold-bearing. There are between three and four hundred pounds of picked stone in the strong box, and the crushing at the Manukau Battery, where twenty’ head are employed, is looking very well indeed. Everything about the mine is now in good working order, and lots of stone is coming out.

Golden Calf. —Yesterday a few very good specimens were taken out of the lode in this mine, and the reef is reported to be looking very well, the quartz broken down during the ciay being of very good quality. A great rise took place in the price of shares during the day, and sales were effected as high as 47s Gd. Waitemata. —Both the lodes being worked on in this mine arc turning out very well, and are furnishing good looking crushing dirt, of which there is now in paddock some seventy or eighty tons, so that a cmiliing can soon he started. There is also a nice parcel of good picked stuff on hand, and the prospects of a good return are very encouraging. The mine is being well opened up for future work, the ultimate object being to get in from the Nonpareil low level as soon as practicable.