MINING MATTERS.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1853, 9 September 1874, Page 3

MINING MATTERS.

Bbimt Smile.—Driving on the new lode discovered in the Bright Smile was commenced yesterday, but very little stone has been broken down from it. Amongst tho small portion taken down", however, was a very fair show of gold, proving clearly that the specs which were visible when tho lode was first intersected are by no means solitary, and thero is very good reason to believo that tho lode will prove a very valuable acquisition to the reefs' previously worked upon. Albion.—Kelly's Tribute. — The quantity crushed for this' party at the Prince Alfred battery for the gold lodged, on Monday was 35 tons, not 25, and the average was rather less than an ounce to the ton.

Inverness Tbibute. — Gatran and party, tributers of JVo. 2 of the Inverness mine, commenced a Vsruahing yesterday at the "Prince Alfred\battery \

with a force of ten head of stampers. The stuff was taken out close to the place from which the recent good crushing for Schofieldand parly wasobtained, and themen are now pretty sanguine of a payable yield. Waiotaiii. - Very little has yet been done in this mine towards developing the section of the Manukau lode which traverses the ground. In fact the total distance driven on its course is only about 6 feet, and this is in a northerly direction towards the Manukau boundary, The lode is fully 6 feet wide, and the quality of the quartz as well as the nature of the minerals which impregnate it, promises well for gold, but no gold has yet been visible sinco the level wasopened from the jS'o. 2 shaft. The quartz is hard, and the reef contains numerous vug holes through which many shots are lost, and those causes make the driving slow and difficult. Bat there has been another cause, and that was that the shifts wero not fully manned, but this is now remedied, and the shifts are now to be worked regularly as in other mines. The manager is also driving on the course of the 3-feet reef as it is called, and although for some time this reef was poor-looking enough, it now shows a considerable improvement, and although it dees not show gold, the class of minerals which it contains and the character of the lode generally certainly appear to promise well for the futuro of the reef, from which, in all probability, the company will soon be obtaining some good payable crushing stuff. BiRD-iN-lfAND.—The reef was struck in the low level yesterday, and simultaneous with the finding of the reef a good rich show of gold was discovered, so that the augury for the new level is very favourable. The reef was not penetrated beyond a few inches, and scarcely moro than a capfull of quartz was taken out of it altogether, and it was amungst this small parcel that the gold to which we have alluded was visible. Of course the width and character of tho lode at this level is already pretty well known and proved by tho winzes which have been sunk on it, but although gold was frequently visible in the winzes the find of yesterday was unexpected. The reef was only reached in the cross-cut yesterday afternoon, and it will not be intersected to-day as there is other work which must be done before opening out on the lode. The men will be employed to-day fixing the guide in the shaft, and there is a quantity of mullock to remove, but in all likelihood by to-morrosv there will be a fair opportunity for cutting through the lode and starting to drive towards one of the winzes which has been sunk. As the country is good there will not bo much time lost in opening the lode to a sufficient extent to enable the manager to resume permanent crushings.

OiTf of London.—One of the most important events which hag occurred in this mine for many months took place yesterday, when the drive on the course of the No 4 reef from its junction with the No. 1 lode broke through to the drive which had been entered from the junction with the No. 3 reef near the City of York boundary, thus effecting the c6mplete circuit of ventilation which was so much required, and the want of which has so greatly retarded the operations of the mine, especially at this end, for many months past. .Latterly the air has been so bad that even with the artificial ventilation procured by the use of a powerful fan, kept in constant work, it was with the greatest difficulty men could work at all, and at times when the air overhead was heavy and thick, they were obliged to discontinue. Perseverance in this case has been rewarded at length, for there is now a current of air circulating through the miue, which almost amount to a heavy throughdraft, and in future the operations of the company will be carried on with greater vigour iu consequence, besides which the cost of artificial ventilation will be obviated. The opening is already a large one, and the first work arising out of it will be the opening up of the No. 4 reef. There is a long length of it—from 200 to 300 feet —to drive on to the Exchange boundary, and the manager will immediately take out for crushing a parcel of from 150 to 200 tons exclusively from this lode, so as to have a fair trial of its worth. In the other end of the mine where the Queen of Beauty manager has followed the junction of No. 1 and No. 2 reefs up to the boundary of the City of London mine at the 270-feet level, as we have already described, nothing can be done at present, but as soon as the repairs to the Queen of Beauty shaft are completed so tnat there will be a msans of getting the stuff broken out raised to the surface, the drive will be continued at this level through the City of London mine. Too much importance can hardly be attached to the results of the work effected yesterday, for it will not only enable the City of London Company to open up and develop the reef in the end of thbir claim next the City of York boundary, but the latter company will also reap advantage in being able to continue the drive on the No. 3 reef, which has already reached their boundary, through the largest section of' their claim.