ALBURNIA.

Thames Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2863, 18 April 1878, Page 2

ALBURNIA.

I visited this mine to day. Proceeding into the workings on the Whaulevell came to the western face on the Sens of Freedom lode. The reef is a little over a foot (hick on the average, and looks firstclass, gold being frequently seen in the quartz, while there are also good metallic indications, amongst them there being traces of copper. Back from the face, perhaps 60 feet, is the face of the leading slope, which is following up the drive with all speed. Here the lode looks better tban in the drive, gold being freely disseuiiuuted through the stone in colors, and now and then little well-defined veins of the precious metal are met with. The block now beiug opened has every prospect of being a good payable one. 1 may mention that good payable parcels of specimens frequently come from this place. The No. 2 winze workings continuo to look well, but are without change of auy couipquence to mention. The drive m Carpenter's section continues to give payable prospects in the lode Of that claim. In the other slopes throughout the mine work is going ahead as usual. On proceeding to the eastern drive 1 found no work going on past the junction, and on reaching the extreme face of the drive I came to the place where the— NEW NOBTH DEVON are about to start operations, and there found Mr Mcllhancy, the managing director of this claim, who was there with some intending contractors for the hundred feet of driving which is shortly to bo started. To give my readers a better idea of the present < state of the faco, we must begin at a point some eighty feet back from the end of the'drive.. This is the point of the junction in the Alburnia ground of the specimen leader with the Sons of Freedom lode, and where the rich gold "made," and was afterwards cut off. After the latter ocurrence, for a considerable time, there was hardly any lode visible at all, the only trace being a little quartz in a seam of mullock. This continued to within 20 or 30 feet off the face, when the lode made again, and it was said that several times gold was seen, though it never was very rich. Within a dozen feet of the face there are traces on the roof or back of the drive where a horse of country came in, splitting the lode into two sections, though without disturbing the position of the footwall portion, which is a body of rather nice looking stone perhaps nine inches thick, while the hanging-wall portion is a small, disintegrated and rather mullocky. We now come to the extreme face, and from first appearances one would be confident that the two sections of the lode are coming together, as the hanging-wall is running -more towards the footwall. Closer observation, however, throws some doubt on this, for though the hanging-wall appears to have an inward inclination, the leader does not appear to follow it, but pinches down like a wedge, the acute angle, if any, being hidden in the face. In the upper portion j of the face the footwall section is the! same as it has been for the past 10 feet; I but tracing it down it becomes smaller, and shows more disintegrated stone than two or three feet higher up. Without commenting on the above, I may state that Mr Mcllhaney gave as his opinion that what I have above referred to as the hanging-wall is not the hanging-wall, but a clay head, probably the end of the horse splitting the lode. There is fine sandstone country at the back of the hangingwall. In the upper portion of the footwall section in face I saw some good copper indications, but no gold, though I was informed that gold was got a foot or so back.