OUR MINES.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3995, 18 October 1881, Page 2

OUR MINES.

MOANATAIKI. This company finished crushing on Saturday last, and the amalgam was retorted yesterday. The melted return is 122bz8 13dwts gold. 119 tons of general stuff and lcwt of picked stone and specimens were crushed. The manager reports as follows : —" Morning Star section 50ft level: Driving and sloping are being carried on here upon two small leaders, both of which are more than payable. Morning Star, 80 feet below tunnel level: Two small gold bearing leaders are being worked, but the yield hitherto has not been much. 80ft level, 2*l o. 9 branch leader. The rise and leading stope started a few days since proved a perfect blank as far as gold is concerned. 'Jhe leader maintained the same strong aud regular character that it did in the drive, but j showed gold fill yesterday, when a few pounds of picked stone were obtained from top of rise; the leader is patchy 150 ft level, No. 1 reef: The face of drive is in a very disturbed state, caused by a. large water course intersecting the reef, and also being in proximity to a slide. Tunnel level, No 3 footwall leader : Eising and stoping is being continued at this point to prove the nature of the leader, and to see whether the gold makes upward. None has been seen so far, but it is possible the leader will improve below the drive, as gold was chiefly seen when driving at the bottom of'this level. No 3 stopes, 70 feet level: The leaders here are small, and the quartz is of low grade. Nothing is being done on No 9 reef at present. Central Italy: The drive has been repaired for a distance of 30 feet south east of shaft. This work goes on slowly, as it is only occasionally there is a man to spare for the place.—T. G. Vivian." KUBANUI HILL. Cleaning up and retorting took place at the battery yesterday afternoon, and the gold, when melted to-day, weighed 36ozs 6dwts. This was made up of trial lots, mostly from new portions of the mine. A parcel of 4 tons from a leader in the Junction and All Nations section yielded 6czs gold, and as a large block is opened up ready for working, good results should be obtained. Another parcel of 40 tons from the same locality gave the poor return of 140z9 gold. The remainder of the return, 150z9 6dwts, was obtained from the surface dirt. This portion of the mine has been fairly tried in four places, and has been a failure, so operations will be suspended for a time. A trial parcel of 3 tons from a 3 feet reef at the beach level, in the Poverty and Charleston sections, gave loz of gold. This reef has scarcely been touched as

yet, but the manager intends to start driving on it at once. The contractors have nearly finished the chamber in the Albion shaft and a drive will shortly be started irom here towards the Poverty section ; the object being to pick up some leaders which are known to exist in that direction At the No. 2 level of the Caledonian the contractors are making slow progress with their drive on the Young American leader being only 22 feet, which leaves about 100 feet to go before the boundary is reached. The ground is very hard.

SOUTHERN CROSS.The manager reports as follows:—I have been stoping on. both sides of the winze below -the battery level on No. 1 reef, but the quartz that has been crushed from here has been very poor, but I think it will improve as it is risen upon, besides we are getting up close to where we had rich specimens. There have been two men working on the leader in the hanging wall of No. 1 reef, the quartz that has been broken from here has a very good appearance for gold, but it does not show up for much at the battery. I intend to rise on this for a few days, to see if it improves upwards, before I stope any more out of it. The block of ground that ; we have ben working on the eastern side of winze on specimen ..leader is nearly worked out, it is from here the most of the gold has come. I purpose opening out on the western side of winze as soon as this block is finished.—J. Coutts.

a OWHAEOA. The proprietors of the Lucky Hit claim have crushed a parcel of quartz at the Smile of Fortune battery for the return of 119ozs retorted gold. The return for the Smile of Fortune tributers, Oats and party, had not been bauked up to the time we went to press. Is is estimated to be fully 2000ozs. GOLD RETURNS.

Moanataiei.—Whisker and party have crushed 6 tons for the return of 9ozs lCdwts gold, and Brown and party's parcel of 6 tons yielded 4ozs 13dwts.