SOUTHERN CROSS.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3623, 6 August 1880, Page 2

SOUTHERN CROSS.

The mine manager reports as follows :•— " The reef in the bottom of the winze is split up, and the country is bird shooting ground, on which .little progress can be made, in consequence of which I have taken men oat of the winze for the present, and set them to stbpe oat quartz from the cross reef. Hanging wall leader: This, leader is in very light ground, and in; making more quartz as we get ahead on it. The end at t!ie present is a mass oV quartz veins interlacing each other and varying in thickness from haltac-inch. to three inches. Owing to the amount of quartz in the face, the whole of the stuff coming out is kept for crush* ing, as all the eatings near the reef are highly mineralised. The quartz contains more mineral than formerly, and we got some stones showing gold to day. The cross-cut at surface level is up to the i specimen reef. The reef has an underlie of five feet horizontally to .three feet ! vertical, and carries three inches of solid quartz with a white clay seem on foot* wall, and about nine inches of dark blue mineralised casing on both sides of reef. One reef is a good sample of quartz carry* ing gold, and contains more mineral when cut than higher up where the specimens rere found, the reef is making thicker .as it rises in the drive. Crushing: There have been ten loads of quartz crushed, which have been taken from several parts of the mine, and which yielded 20ozs Bdwts of amalgam. There were also 16lbs of specimens crushed, which yielded 20ozs Bdwts of amftlgam. Total, when retorted, 17ozs 16dwt»j smelted VJoii 6dwts of gold. The money has been sent up to bank in Auckland. There are two men working on hanging

wall leader, two men putting up rise on cross reef to slope quartz, two men cross* cutting specimen reef at surface level, and they will start to drive upon it when through. One man is putting in crosscut to specimen reef at tramway level, one man trucking quartz and mullock throughout the mine, and one man making sets, laying roads, etc., as required to keep the different men at work in their faces.— Yours, Ac, Geobgb Black.