MINING MATTERS.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1844, 31 August 1874, Page 3

MINING MATTERS.

Queen of Beauty.—Eotorting for the Queen of Beauty took place on Saturday iafter a fortnight's crushing at the three buttories hitherto omployed by the company. The total amount deposited was 809k)zs gold, obtained as follows :—From the liurunui battery, where 20 head of stumpers wore employed, 291-|ozs; from .Hull's battery, 236jozs'i unci fromthe company's own mill, 286k>zs, .This ■retorting was not final in either instances, and there will be an additional lodgment of about 200 ounces ion Wednesday. The crnshings, for .this company iiro now temporarily' suspended, not from scarcity of stuff, but because-'it ia found necessary to expend some labour on the engine shaft to secure it and make it more serviceable fpr.wprk. L ? or this purpose it istb bo stripped down,'enlarged,- and re-limbercd for a depth of 200 feet, and this work will ia all likelihood occupy about six weeks, but of course in tho moan time no stuff can be ruined to the surface, and hence the Htoppugo of the crushing The ■hands' mnployod breaking down the reef werd' discharged on "Saturday night. The nllonlion of tho company lias been forcibly culled to the necossity for some atterniton iin tho. shaft by tho. accident to Henry Hoach last week. ; Moanataiaki. — Itetorting for • the 'Moanniaiari Company took' place' on Saturday at tho company's mill, after a fortnight's run with 30 bond of stampers, which reduced about 750 tons of stone. Tho yield on this occasion, was moderate,' only amounting to 3160zs retorted gold, i The'stuff, as usual, came from all the workings in the mine. . : •'.": •■'. • ': : Kubanui.—There was a retorting for this company on Saturday, after a month's brushing with a small force. The result jwas 89ozs which, when melted, was reduced to 88ozs lOdwts. I Black Angel.—The trial'crushing of 'stuff from the brown reef of the Black jAngel mine, whore it has been opened 'at the bottom level of the mine, has not yielded a- payable result, but there is not much disappointjment in consequence, for although the lode was certainly, sufficiently pro-

mising in appearance to warrant, a fair trial; no great expectations of richness

were at--any-time *-■•; The crushing; took place attlto- Moanataiari

battery; i- There, wero about. 100 tons' ■ put through .for, a yiej,d of; 22ozj ISdwta gold. When melted this .was ..reduced to 210z9 T7dwts.,,

■ Gtoldbn 'CBOWN.4Tliere was a cleaning lip and retorting at'this.company's mill on Saturday,' after a fortnight's' crushing 1 ten" head of stampers for 1 eight hours,each day.) There were in; all '48 tons) put through themill, and the to,-.

suit was 1349Z5 ; retorted gold! 'When molted it was reduced to a bar, of 330zs L , ISdwfcs, losing only sdwts in the process. The stuff crushed came to hanii mainly, from the No. 2 reef, biifc there was a pro-V portion from the hanKing-wall 'some blocks of which still remain intact; [and it f was from this stuff that the heaviest proportion of the- gold : yiold was 'obtained. The L pros.p.eet ; B,iii the intermeIdiate.leycl are greatly .improved by the 'operation's nowgoihg'oii in the' : Manukau jmine. .The No. 2, winze an. this mine, 'which is being sunk to the Golden Crown jboundary, is ■' carrying down a "splendid llooking reef, which- is • full of the most ipromising■■'mineral.and.contains'a very fair, show, pf gold. ; .■ .The,intermediate ilevel is being pushed forward : tb. the line .of this winze whicbi.will bo,sunt to comImunicate with the level. ■.

; Gmw London.—ln Saturday's,issue we'alludcd to the probability;of the.june? tion of the JSo. I'and ,^o.4,reefs..being met with soon in .the drive omthe former, and Saturday's .work served still', further, to lend an air of probibility to this theory. .The change in '''•■ the class of county to .which we then • alluded has 1 be; come more confirmed, and it now exactly' resembles that surrounding'the No. .4 reef.'• There were other indications of the close p"'n'imity of the No. 4 reef on

Saiurjity ivoning, but they were not I sufficiently distinct to enable .the manager j to say that the junction was to hand. However, it will in ; all probability, be to hand to-day.. We are c not. aware whether the stoppage of the Queen' of Beauty shaft will stop the operations in this mine'also. It would be a pity that, anything should occur to retard the'' workings at'present, because'ih all likelihood the drives would cotnmunicateina few days or a week, and the result would be, that the mine would bo effectually ventilated. Thero are other moans of access, to the level. than by the Queen of Beauty shaft, and we have no doubt

the manager will avail himself of them. At the same time there appears now no doubt that the company will' have to ereefc their, own winding/engine, and we understand that at a recent meeting of directors this step was resolved upon. The company 'a shaft will no doubt be deepened, and preparations made without lurther loss of time for the erection of

their own winding machinery; so thai they may no longer be dependent' upon other power for facilitating.the operations of the mine, and crushing quartz when there is an abundance to'.hand. '■'■•''■ ExoHiNaK.-There was little further work done on the reef,on Saturday' beyond, squaring up the.;face and getting matters' in readiness for further stripping and driving,but the lode looks as well as ever it has done, and, is rather larger in the face than previously. The show of gold on. the foot-wall side of the reef has not been lollowed up, but from the indications and the class of stone, it is easy to anticipate that some'rich stuff will be found when the next section of the'reef is broken down. Under' existing cirstahces no attempt can be' made at working the reef so ! as 1 ' to get out a crushing on account of'the inadequate character of the ventilation. Indeed artificial ventilation is necessary toonable the men to continue the drives, and every effort is how being .made to reach the boundary of the Crown Prince mine, so as to effect a communication with the workings of the latter, and then procure the ventilation which is so much required. Meanwhilo the cross-cut is boiug continued to intersect the other roofs which strike ihrough the claim from the Crown Prince. It appears to be a settled ques lion now that the reef in hand is the Wo. 1 reef of the Crown Prince', so that if the No, 2 and No. 3 reefs of tho latter mine maintain their strike in tho same manner as No. 1 has done, they will bo intersected in this cross-cut, and tho No'. 2 reef must now bo close to hand. Albion Tiuwjtg—Povruty.—Crushing for Worthy and party; tributcrs of the I old Poverty and.Charleston mine, was] .completed on . Saturday night ,at the! Prince Alfred battery, but. rctortins; has been postponed until torday. There were I about 40 tons of stone put through the mill'and the result'is'likely: to prove a , handsome one. ■"'■' > ..

; TUero ara iu Irouud. uo-fewor,thaa76|' colleries, newly nil oij. which jesses*.QMQl.M