MINING SUMMARY.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4248, 12 August 1882, Page 1 (Supplement)

MINING SUMMARY.

Mining matters have been pretty brisk during the month, shares in the Queen of Beauty and New Prince Imperial mines being in demand at advanced figures. The other Thames mines have not figured conspicuously on the share list, but good business has beea done in Te .Aroha and other up country stock. The mine claiming most attention is the Queen of Beauty. Since last mail, the drive at No. 9 level has been pushed on, and is now in nearly 90 feet from the chamber, leaving only aboui 16 to drive to get under the winze from the level above. A considerable improvement has taken place in the reef, which is now about 10 feet wide, and in appearance greatly resembles the stone in the winze. It has shown good rough gold, though not so much as was expected, and at the mill shaped for about 15dwts to the load. The winze at No. 8 level is down about 42ft, and is still in the heart of the reef, which must be of Tery large size here. The stsne has improved very much during tho last ten feet, and good parcels of picked stone and specimens have come to hand. In the other portions of the mine there is no change to report. The battery has been employed during most of tho past three weeks on company's quartz. The crushing of general dirt from the winze gave a splendid return, 18 loads yielding 138ozs retorted gold. On Sunday last the turbine which drives the pumps broke, causing a delay of 8 hours, during which time the water rose to No. 8 level, stopping operations in the bottom drive and in the winze at No. 8. Pumping was resumed with steam power on Sunday evening, and the water reduced somewhat, but the present speed (eight strokes per minute) is only sufficient to keep the water at a standstill some 15 feet below No. 8 level. Another turbine was placed in position to-day, and the manager now hopes to have the water down in a few days. New Prince Imperial: During the whole month the manager has been busy moving the engine, erecting new poppet heads, and placing the guides in the second compartment of the shaft. All these will be completed next week, and he expects to be able to start winding about Wednesday. Very little has been done in the mine. The contractors have finished sinking the shaft, the depth of which is now 340 feet. The leader men* tioned in our last summary is now about 2 feet thick, and showed colors of gold frequently when broken. The winze on the Beach leader east of the shaft bottomed on solid country at a depth of about 60 feet. Another 10 feet have been sunk, the leader showing gold whenever broken down. The manager intends to start men here on Monday. Caledonian: Soon after | last mail, the specimen leader at No. 2 level was cut in the drive east by a slide, | and no gold has been seen in it here since. The manager now intends opening out on ■ it westward, and hopes to have better success there. Work has recently been started on No. 6 reef, under -where Mr James got a good patch some years ago. A good sized reef is in hand carrying good minerals, and also showing a little gold. The other workings have shown very little I change, except the drive on No. 1 reef at the top of Captain Bichards' rise, where the reef has of late produced some nice gold-bearing stone. Southern Cross: The hangingwall leader becoming poor, crushing has been stopped. No dirt worth saving is now coming to hand, bat prospecting is going on in several likely localities. Thames Deep Level Tribute : The drive at the 500 ft level is being pushed ahead in a g"od class of country, and the manager expects to have the reef in hand very shortly. Thames Grolden Crown: The return for the month is a payable one. The crushing dirt from the Cure section not proving so good as was expected, the manager has put some of the men from th«re to work in the Crown section, where better success is being met with. Waiotahi: This mine continues to produce good quartz, and another payable return has been banked for the month's operations, Mtanatairi: The last crushing gave a good return, and the mine continues to look healthy. Kuranui Hill: The stuff from the Junction section is not shaping so well as expected. Several prospecting drives are being put in with encouraging results so far, and the manager intends to open up a block on a leader ,from which a tribute party is taking good quartz near the surface. Albunia : The manager is driving for a leader now being worked by a tributer, and which is yield* ing over sozs to the load. He expects to get it in less than a month, and if it proves payable can take out a large block on it, 1 as it is comparatively un worked below the tributers' drive. Several claims are at work in the Waiotahi and Karaka Creeks, and the Adelaide and City of Manchester in the latter, and the Pinafore, Bright Smile, and West Coast, in the former are taking out good crushing dirt. The Otanui field continues to attract considerable attention. The Eureka reef is producing good picked stone at every breaking down. It has been driven on about 14ft towards the Bonanza and several on the other side of the orosscut, and isstil between three and four feet in thickness. The Bonanza are driving for the above reef, and expect to get it in about another 60 or 70 feet. The Albion and Arizona are also driving for it. The Anglo-Maori are driving on their leader, which is producing good gold-bearing stone. The Oriental and Crown claims are also working. Several new claims have been pegged out on the supposed line of the Eureka reef, so that this district should go ahead as soon as the track is completed. The Upper Country is going ahead as well as could be expected, though opera-* tiona have been greatly retarded by the bad weather. There is nothing fresh to report from the mines at Te Aroha, but the township is spreading rapidly, and carpenters are in demand. At Owharoa, ihe crushing of the Smile of Fortune is shaping for a good return, and both

Campbell and Farmer have had remunerative crushings. The first return from the Young Colonial, Waihi, is to hand. The yield was about 15dwts to the ton, which is payable, though not nearly so much as was expected. The Waihi and Martha crushings are reported to be shaping well. & t Waitekauri several tribute parties are getting good returns, and some of the claims are also on payable quartz. Prospecting at Karangahake is being pushed ahead, and the claimholders are sanguine of success. A battery is being erected, but it will be some time before it is ready for crushing.