The New Gold Find at Coromandel.

Thames Star, Volume XI, Issue 3632, 17 August 1880, Page 2

The New Gold Find at Coromandel.

The special reporter of tli<3 Star thus speaks of the prospectors' claim at Castle Kpck. The drive in Tiernan's and Coglan's claim is 50 feet in length, at the face of which the reef is cut, at right angles The drive is continued on the reef 60 feet, 30 leet of which the prospectors informed me contained visible gold in the stone as it was broken down ; and to sub stanliate the correctness of their statement, many pieces of stone containing gold were seen on the heap of quarts laid aside for crushing. The difficulty of conveying the stuff in quantity to a battery is so great that it would take stuff worth 2ozs to the ton to pay for carriage alone. No ordinary yield would under such circumstances, pay ; and unless by further development a good patch of rich specimens be brought to grass, sufficient to pay for the en-ciion of machinery on or near the claim, the district is not likely to advance as at first anticipated. Capitalists are becoming chary about investing in mining p'Oparty, unless there be a prospect, of dividends looming ahead. The reef here referred to is .situated on the eastern side of the range, on land the property of Mr C. A. Harris, jun., from whom a claim of eight acres has been acquired on very reasonable terms, having the undelay to a great depth. The position of the reef is, however, so near to the property of Mr Mackintosh, that it became necessary to acquire also a claim of 10 men's grounti from here, situated on the Coromandel side of the range. Through this piece of ground the reef has been followed on the outcrop a distance of about 600 feet, and on the fall of the hill a drive has been pat in on the reef 90 feet, every stone of which, when crashed, yields good prospects. Below this again ii a drive where the '

prospectors are at present at work. 30 ■ feet in, the reef hns just been cut, so that a few days more driving will prove whether it is (qually rich at this depth, viz., 70 feet from the outcrops on the surface. I believe it is possible to make a road to the Matawai Battery, if the owners of the property would grant concessions sufficient to encourage prospectors and capitalists to incur expenditure in improvements The Macdonnells' claim is situated close to Tiernan and Coglan's claim, wholly on the Coromandel side of the range, and all the different reefs running through the former have been traced into the latter, with the same good show of gold in the stone. A drive has been put by the Macdonnells 50 feet, and four reefs have been cut in this drive. The principal one at the face of the drive, which has been opened on for about 12 feet has the best prospect, and sbout 2Olbs of specimens have been broken from this reef. Further down the hill frotn this point there is about 300 feet of sur face trenching dove for the purpose of discovering the outcrop of reefs, and here we find three fine looking reefs,'which require driving on to test their value. No other claims have as yet been taken up in the vicinity, but the proprietors of lands adjoining are, I believe, willing to give prospecting permits on the most liberal terms.