OUR MINES.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 4016, 11 November 1881, Page 3

OUR MINES.

ALBURNIA. The drive on the Sons of Freedom reef is being pushed ahead in a good class of country, and the face is now 90 feet from the Whau boundary. For some distance the drive has been carried on on the footwall of the reef, but last night the manager broke through to the hanging wall. The reef is a fine body of stone 6 feet thick, but no gold has been seen in it as yet. The winze from the 160 ft level on the same reef is down 91 feet. There is a good body of quartz here, but up to the present it has proved poor. ALBION (Late COLUMBIA). The surface drive has holed through into the rise, and the manager now finds that the damage done to it by the escape of the water from the old shaft is more serious than he at first thought. It will take some days to put the rise iv good order. The connection of the drive with the rise has created a splendid current of air, which will enable operations to be resumed in the main tunnel. HOPEFUL. Fifteen loads of general crushing dirt, and the picked stone obtained while taking it out, have been crushed at the Herald mill for this company for the fine return of 95ozs lOdwts retorted gold. The melted return was 93ozs 12dwts. GOLD RETURNS. Ctjbe.-^-A crushing of 13 loads at Bull's battery for McKenzie and party has yielded 23ozs 12dwts gold. This dirt came from a portion of No 2 reef which w^ijfift by the Cure company when they worked that reef some years ago. Kusanui HiLL—Hodge and party have crushed 15 tons for the return of llozs gold. Moanataiei.—Whisker and party have crushed about 6 loads for the fine return of 29ozs 6dwts melted gold. WAITEKAURI. Butler and party have cleaned up at the Waitekauri battery for the return of 1089ozs gold, which was brought to town last night. This is not nearly so much as they expected to get, but it is nevertheless. a capital return, as only about 400 tons of quartz have been crushed.