MINING SUMMARY.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4224, 15 July 1882, Page 1 (Supplement)

MINING SUMMARY.

We are glad to be able to chronicle the fact that daring the past month mining matters, both on the Thames and in the up country districts, have shown a decided improvement, and promise to keep bright for some time to come. On this field the mine which has attracted most attention, and the prospects of which seem likely to influence for good the future of this field, is the Queen of "Beauty. In our last summary we were only able to state that the reef had been cut at No. 9 level (597 ft below the surface), and driving started upon it in the direction of the shot of gold, and also that a winze had been started on the hangingwali of the reef at No. 8 level. Since then the reef has been driven on for over 50ft at No. 9 level, and has opened out to fully 'Bft in thickness. A trial lot recently taken from it gave about 6dwts to the 10ad.,. This is not very good, but there is yet/some distance to drive before the fg^d bearing channel of country met with at No. 8 level is entered. - The next crushing should shape better, as some good colors of the precious metal were seen in the stone a day or two ago. The winze at No. 8 level is right under the shot of gold. When down about 12 feet, the hangingwali of the reef was met with, and found to carry good colors of gold. It is now down fully 30ft, gold being seen freely all the distance, but the reef is so perpendicular that it has only been pierced about 3ft. The stone is expected to improve as the winze goes down, as it is approaching the junction of the main and the Queen of the May reefs, where the richest gold has always been found. The block opened up by the winze will be 60ft in. height. The returns of the late trials from here show that the quartz i 3 rapidly improving in quality. The manager has let a contract for stoping out the main reef in another portion of the mine, and intends to keep 20 head of stamps constantly employed, >o that we may soon expect to see this mine well in the front rank of our gold*producers. The New Prince Imperial also promises to show up well. The contractors have just about* finished sinking the shaft, and another month should see the manager taking out payable quartz. Since last mail, some splendid specimen stone was obtained from the winze, and a good show is now in the bottom, which speaks well for the block which will be opened up on either side of it from the new level. A leader, about a foot thick, was cut in the shaft a day or two ago, showing gold, bat the manager is not sure as yet which reef it is. He is now engaged shifting the winding-engine, and putting on a second rope, erecting new poppet legs, hoppers, &c. Caledonian : A slight rise has taken place in scrip, owing to the discovery of a specimen leader in No. 2 level chamber and some good picked stone in a winze on some leaders at the same level. The specimen leader is right under the old shot of gold, and, as there is probably a good block to take out on it, things should look up a little. A trial lot of 27 loads from the top. of Cap*;. Richards' rise has yielded about lldwts to the load. The Old Golden Calf has i had a cleaning-up, but the return is poor —only lldwts to ther load,; Thames Golden Crown: A large portion of the quartz is now coming from the Cure section of the mine, but it is of low grade, and the last crushing was not up to the average. Waiotahi: Another payable return has been banked, the yield being over an ounce to the ton. Southern Cross: Crushing has been continued on quartz from the stopes on the hangingwali leader, and the yield has averaged more than an ounce to the load, though no gold was seen in breaking down. Driving is in progress on the main reef at the 400 ft level, and also at an intermediate level, but nothing of importance has been discovered. Deep Level Tribute Company : The pumps have been working steadily, and the water was reduced to the 500 ft level some days ago. Lower than this it cannot go till the clack valve is repaired, and a new set of rods connected. The manager has, therefore, started a crosscut for the main reef, which has never been cut here, and expects to get it in about a month. This drive will give room for (he water to rise while the pumps are being repaired, and will also drain the winzes from the level above. Moanatairi: A payable return has been banked, and the mill is now putting through another crushing. The workings are' now principally confined' to small reefs, but they all look promising. The prospecting workings are also looking well. Kuranui Hill: The last crashing was not nearly so good as the prerious one, but as prospecting is being pushed ahead in sereral good localities, better yields may be expected in the future. The Alburnia and New North Devon Companies are prospecting vigorously, but no quartz can at present be got to the mill, as the tramway is broken. In the Waiotahi Creek, the West Coast, Pinafore, and Bright Smile claims are pushing on work with good results. A new claim, the New Columbia, has just started work here, and several other parties are also at work. In the Karaka, the chief claims are the Adelaide and the City of Manchester, both of which are on good quartz. Two tribute parties in the Hape Creek mine are getting good returns. As will be seen in another part of this issue, prospecting at Waiomo is meeting with encouraging results. The Otanui field is attracting a consider* able amount of attention^ The County Council have let tenders for a track I to the mines, which should be ready in a

couple of months, when it will be possible to get a battery on the field. This, we hear, will be done as soon as practicable. There are now six claims working, three of them, the Eureka, Orierital.and Bonanza, being on.payable reefs. The Eureka reef i was cut after driving 100 ft., and is fully 4ft. in thickness, showing gold freely, and producing some picked stone every break ing down. This claim has over 400 ft. on the line of reef, and from the present level an arerage height of about 100 ft. of backs. The Bonanza is working on a reef about j 18inches thick, which has shown good gold for a distance of 60 or 70ft. as it was driven on, and no doubt carries the gold both up and dowp. When crashing power is available it is expected to pay well- They intend to crosscut for the Eureka reef, which runs through the claim. The Oriental have a reef about 2ft. thick in hand, and have found gold in it for about 80ft. in length. The Albion, Crown, and Anglo* Maori claims are all crosscutting for various reefs known to be gold bearing. The Upper Country districts are progressing, Te Aroha especially. A large number of claims are working here, and the district is going ahead rapidly. The show of gold is said by all who visit the field to be very good. The battery is | also being pushed on with all speed. Another good return from the Smile of Fortune (Owharoa) has enabled the directors to give a dividend of Is, the second since Christmas. Other claims here are meeting with fair prospects. Waihi: The first return from the Martha was not up to expectations, though the price of the gold was good. The next crushing is expected to be better. The Waihi and Toung Colonial claims expect payable returns. Waitekauri: Nothing fresh of importance to chronicle from here. Earangahake: Several claims are working. The Hauraki have had a trial crushing of 2cwt of general dirt, which gave the good yield of loz 6dwts melted gold, worth £2 9s per ounce.