MINING MATTERS.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1858, 7 July 1874, Page 3

MINING MATTERS.

Caledonian.—The usual weekly retorting for the Caledonian Company took placo yesterday, and the yield obtained is a good payable one of 81ozs. There were 81 tons 12cwt crushed. The stuff has, as before, come to hand entirely from the old workings and the intermediate level lodes. There is no change or improve-, ment in the east cross-cut. It is extremely hard, and the contractors are making but poor progress. The extent of blank country at the foot-wall side of this reef appears •to be remarkably great. Measuring from the foot-wall of the No. 2 reef in this level, the cross-cut is now in 170 feet, and not a trace, of quartz has yet been met with in it, The drive will, however, be continued to the boundary, but it will be a costly piece of work if the country does not become better than it is at present. The drive on the course of the No. 2 reef northward has now nearly reached a line with the No. 4 winze, and a connection will be madehoro, by putting up a rise to the latter, which will afford such ventilation in the bottom level that the furnace can then be done away with, there being no more necessity for underground fires.' This will not only benefit' the Caledonian Company, but the Albion* and as soon as it is accomplished the' manager will open out on one or two of the leaders wHich have been interjected in the cross-cut driven into the latter mine. •- •

Invebness Tribotb.—A crushing'.for Oatran and party,-tributers of the Inverness, was completed yesterday at the Prince Alfred battery after about 40 tons of dirt had been reduced.The return was a.modcrate one, .only amounting to 27ozs of gold. • '

West Coast Tbibute. — A typographical error in yesterday's issue made the result of the crushing from this tribute appear 32ozs. It should have been 72ozs. • W hen melted the parcel was reduced to ; 69ozs Bdwts. The tribute is, we understand, held by Mr Weatherall and party, and the result is a good payable one.

• Queen of Beauty.—A. farther addition was made yesterday to the already large o'rushing force employed by this company. Ten head of stampers extra at the luranui battery, making the total force now employed by the company at that mill 20 head, in addition to 20 head at the company's own mill and. 23 head at Bull's battery. At present tlie company's own mill is stopped for some slight repairs, which will be completed on Saturday, after which the force alluded to'will be .employed to its full capacity. In the mine the show in both reefs and in the little leader is splendid, and the crushing stuff now coming to hand should yield splendidly.

■ Manukau.—The specimen crushing for the Manukau was continued yesterday, and some of the stone put through was magnificent. Many of the specimens when broken presented the appearance,of solid masses of gold * There was no particular change in the mine to report yesterday. There were no. more, specimens brokon' down, but there is a splendid iot ofgold' in sight.; : Whether, any now showing will be included in tho present specimen crushing,we cannot, say, nor is it quite certain that tlie' crushing will be completed to-day, but there is a very large quantity of amalgam on hand,, and every indication of;.a splendid yield. We are •informed that it h the intention of the shareholders to pay a dividend of £1 per share, or a total of: £2,000 to each shareholder out of the result of the present crushing and money whioh remained over from the last one. Thii will be 1 making a good start, and from the prospects in .view there is every ream to believe that large dividendsVmll in future accrue regularly from the operations carried on in this mine. <, 'j;:,: .V"' ■ Cube.-—We.have little to add regarding the reef discovered in the crosscut driven in the Gure mine to what appeared in yesterday's issue. There has been nothing further done ou it. 'The men were trucking away the stuff which had accumulated from the'drive yesterday;'' The lode so far does not present anything like a defined appearance, but it is evident that its .underlie ; is in the same direction as .that of. the ;No3. l and 2; lodes and the Manukau reef. So far gold has not been visible, nor is there any mineral showing, but it would be premature at present to give an opinion either as to thequaliiy of the reef or even as to its identity. At all events,.we. may state that the cross-cut is now in 1 about 58 feet from the drive, or considerably over 60 feet from the footwall of the. No. 2 reef. Operations on the face will probably be resumed to-day, and no doubt before evening more will be known; regarding'the lode., j

..Beight. Smile.—There was no retorting; on Saturday for the: Bright Smile, although it, was the 'day on which the fortnightly oleaning up should have taken place; But as there will be a stoppage at the Imperial Crown . battery on Thurs'day next. in order to 'clean out the reser.voir,: it' was deemed advisable to postpone the. cleaning up until that day and obviate the necessity",.for, a second cleaning up, At the company's own battery the crushing' power was reduced to ten head, while the cylinder was being bored out and the- engine repaired last week for several days, but is now in full work, again, and the cleaniog up at this mill will take place on Thursday next also. In the mine the prospcots in all the reefs are as rich as ever, but there is no great ohange to notice. Gold shows pretty frequently in all the workings. Centbaii Italy.—The crushing for the Central Italy will be finished to-day. The prospects of a good payable yield are ex* cellent, and with the addition of the picked stuff on hand tho average should be a very handsomo one. The specinrns and picked stuff will bo treated this morning at the single-stamper battery. The workings of the mine are at present chiefly confined to the levels opened from the winzes sunk,from No. 8, or the main level„of the'mine. . There are three distinotlodes in hand, two of which have already been worked to a considerable extent advantageously. Loed Nelson.—ln a very short time Jthe wire tramway which is to afford a transit for quartz from this mine to the battery in tlio Karaka;, Creek . will be in working order, and the, proprietor of the mine Mr Greenville set to work to break down stuff in quantity. tHitherto the criislrings have' been from the upper level, and they have paid handsomely. The battery, although , comprising only 6 head of stampers, is capable of treating upwards of 40 tons a week. In view, however, of the increased facilities for forwarding stuff to the mill, and the necessity for keeping up a constant supply the mine is now being opened np from a lower leyel by means of a drive into the hill.' In this drive, although the main lode has not yet come to hand, a leader of considerable promise has beeninterseoted within the last week, bat it has not yet beon tested. '

Qgkbnt of tub Mat.—Tho old winzi «,hic!i tia§ for gams tin*?

past been cleaning out and repairing was in a very bad state, a great portion of it having fallen in, but it is now timbered up so far as they have gone, and he expects to reach the bottom to-day. A rise will then be started to meet it from the level which was continued from the (City of London workings to meet the winze, and if there is no increase in the water .from this communication "the Queen of Beauty Company will readily accord the use of their level iu working' out the block.