OUR MINES

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 4025, 22 November 1881, Page 2

OUR MINES

MOANATAIJtI. The manager reports:—7o feet level: Work here was suspended 14 days, since there being no favorable prospect of getting on any thing payable. This ground has not paid more than half cost for the last two months, and the falling off in No, 3 has of late greatly increased the diffi* culty of getting even a small return. A drive is now being put in at the 132 feet level, west of tfo. 2 slide, on the banging

wall branch leaders of No. 3 reef; no gold has been seen since commencing this work, but the prospects are good. Slow progress is being made owing to the hard ground, and also having hot air to contend with. We shall shortly, com* municate with another drive, which will improve the air. Tunnel level, iSo. 3 footwall leader: Sinking and underhand stoping has been carried on for the last few days, below where, we obtained a little gold when driving. A few pounds of picked stone have come to hand from these stopes, but not enough to pay cost, including general stuff. Herald's reef, 132 feet level: There are a series of branch leaders in the stopes, averaging in size from two to eight inches. The general stuff shows an improvement on former crushings, and occasionally a little picked stone is obtained. 80 feet level, All Nations' stopes : t The leader averages nine inches in width', but has not shown gold lately. The general dirt yields about lOdwts gold per ton. 80 feet level, No. 9 branch leader: In stopiug here picked stone is not found so frequently as formerly, yet the leader is scarcely ever broken without showing gold enough to prove that the value of the quartz is equal to the cost of getting it. We have been obliged to put in an immediate drive from the old stopes below 80 feet level, and then rise to last named level, in order to increase the current of air. 150 ft level, south west of main crosscut, JNo. 9 foot* wall leader: A few pounds of picked stone were secured from the hanging-Wall portion of this leader when last taken down, the gold being freely disseminated through some of them. The leader is small and the country very tight at present. Central Italy: The crosscut is now secured for a distance of 90 feet from shaft; here we have discovered two drives east and west on the course of what I believe to be one of the Nonpareil reefs. Being so near main slide, it is very much disturbed, and we cannot ascertain its dimensions until a great deal of stuff is removed, and the drives are timbered up. I managed to get a small parcel of three tons through the battery, and found it contained only a small per eentage of gold, but I am told this reef is very patchy. Morning Star section: Two drives are being pushed forward westerly on leaders, followed by stopes, also a winze is being sunk, which is down 20 feet. The quartz from this section is remuneratiTe.-rJ.tG.Vivii.tr. GOLD IIETUBNS. Caledokian.—McLean and party, tributers in the above mine, hare banked Bozs lldwts melted gold.