OUR MINES.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 4047, 17 December 1881, Page 2

OUR MINES.

CALEDONIAN.

Since my last visit the stopes on No. 1 reef in the east drive at No. 1 level hare been carried back some distance towards where the reef was first met with. They have also been carried upward about 10 or 12 feet. The reef is increasing in size, and continues to produce parcels of picked stone when broken down. There is, if anything, a greater quantity of mineral visible now than when it was cut 5 in the drive, a large quantity of antimony and copper being visible. The reef varies in size from two to four feet, and is a splendid, solid body of .stone. The mullock on the footwall contains a percentage of quartz and base mineral, and a stringer is also visible in it. These indications warrant the belief that the ■ Nolfi'2 reef is not far ofly and it is not improbable that the two reefs will ere long junction. Four men are engaged in these stopes, the object being to break; down as much quartz as possible, so as to keep the battery going. Work in the face of the drive, beyond the break, has been temporarily suspended. The reef there is fully three feet six inches wide, and looks very favorable for gold. The quartz obtained in breaking down has been sent to the battery with that from the stopes, and it is shaping for a good return. The manager has had Capt. Richards' crosscut, from the rise on the hanging wall of No. 2 reef, cleaned out to solid country, and is now cleaning out a drive oh the course of the reef. There is a deal of broken country here, bo the drives have to be timbered at carried forward. The reef is showing in one place in the cross* cut, and is heavily mineralised, and of a a favorable description for gold. It will yet be some time before work is definitely started on the reef. Three parties of : tributers are at work in this mine. Faltridge and party are taking down quartz on the hangingwail of old stopes on No 1 reef above No 2 level, and their crushings have for some time past given good returns. Wilton and party are sinking a winze on the Young ' American leader from No 2 level. They are down about 40 feet; and the leader is about 9 inches thick, rather hungry looking, but good crashing dirt McLean and party have started^to rise on a. small, vein. . This party obtained some, good stone a little-while ago, but the leader at present looks rather white and hungry.

ALBUBNIA. The manager under date 17th Decem* ber, 1881, reports as follows:—" Sops of Freedom tunnel 1: In my last I mentioned my intention of starting the men ; working in the crosscut to rise to meet the wince. . This, I am happy to say, was effected ) after rising about 25 feet, making the' block of ground now opened- up 158 feet. in depth. Since holing through was effected we have been engaged in straightening the winze (them having been a slight difference in the two surreys made), so that now the winze can be used as main passes without any difficulty, and also through, this winze we will now derive sufficient air to carry the tunnel to our boundary. As you are aware the lower portion of the winze was carried . down on the footwall, leaving the reef \ standing. We are engaged in shooting - down the reef. In carrying on this work we occasionally. see colors of gold,, but whether in sufficient quantities to be payable must remain to be proved by the , battery, which I will do as soon as pos-. sible. I may remark that since first starting, the mine has never been in so good a position to render low grade dirt payable, as the holing of this wiDze will save the great expense of trucking round by Dixon's and the Black Angel ground, some 1000 or 1200 feet, there bring'now direct communication between: 160 feet level and Sons of Freedom ~ tunnel, so that one shifting of the dirt will be ;- all that is necessary, where formerly it had to be handled two or three times. ■ It will now be necessary to form two . passes in the winze, with a ladder«way between, similar to the old Sons' of Free* dom passes. This work lam now carrying on as speedily as possible, but I do not intend at present forming the passes any higher than where I purpose opening out the intermediate, level, or about 90 feet above Sons of Freedom tunnel, whioh ~ will cut the block about equally in two. The expenses of this work wilt be very small compared with the .North Devon*. Columbia, or our own Sons of Freedom passes, as they all required a great deal of timber, while our new winze is through good solid ground, and will only require to be divided into compartments. Cross* cut: Since the men employed in the rise have holed through, I have had them engaged in driving the crosscut, which is now in a distance of 10 feet. We again yesterday cut a leader, four inches wide*' 1 well mineralised—but, in'fact the whole 10 feet driven has been a mixture of leaders and sandstone, and as, from the survey made, the reef we have been driving on is no far out of its original -j course,' and from the excellent appearance * of the country, I would be still led to believe that there must be a reef in exis- / tence of far superior quality to that we have been driving on, so that I purpose extending the crosscut in order to prospect still further. Whau level: The extra hands lately engaged in sinking the winze, owing to its great depth, are now engaged in making preparations for sinking a winze where we obtained some specimens in driving the level on Success reef, for, as the run of gold did not continue upwards, it is most propable it will be found to descend. The preliminary work I expect will be completed to-day, and I will start ■inking at once.—THOS. Radfobd."

MOONSTONE (WAITEKAUBI). The manager reports :->" I hare oat a leader iv the crosscut. It is about nine inches thick where cat, and is gold bearing but I cannot say if payable till I drivt. BOUI6 distance ou v, vruich X intend to do

so at once. This will if payable, prove of great importance to the claim, as it runs nearly through the centre of the ground. —Patbick Nolak."

GOLD RETUBNS. Hape Cbeek.—Ross and Wells have banked 21ozs 12dwts gold. Kxtbantti Hill—James and party have banked 37ozs 7dwts gold, the result of a crushing at the company's mill. Tarn O'Shantee.-—A parcel of gold from this claim, weighing 2ozs3dwts, was banked yesterday.