OUR MINES.

Thames Star, Volume XIII, Issue 4328, 14 November 1882, Page 2

OUR MINES.

NEW PEINCK IMPERIAL,

The manager reported this morning: —" The drive in No. 2 section west is now in 65ft beyond the break, and has carried good gold all the way. We obtained scwfc really good specimens from here during the past week, with a rich show of gold left in the face. lam now stripping the "lead, and will break down again about the middle of the week. I am carrying a short stope forward over the drive for ventilation and timbering. On Saturday 2cwt of specimens were obtained from this stope immediately over where the first rich specimens were got in the drive, and the show of gold left is better than any we have had hitherto, and promises a good haul when we come along with the next stope. The second stope is through the break, and forward over the run of gold, but will not be earned any further for a day or two to enable me to timber up and fix passes in the drive. The drive in No. 2 section east has not advanced much during the past week, as I have had to bring the leading stope along for ventilating purposes. The lead here continues to look well, and produces some good picked stone each breaking down. I purpose opening up on the No. 3 lead, which branches off into the footwall in this section, as soon as the drive on the main lead is far enough advanced. The crushing is looking up as well as ever, and we have now got 1030ozs of smalgam from 90 loads of quartz. I have also lodged in the Bank of New Zealand for safe keeping 23cwt. of specimens, which will be treated at the end of the month as usual.—Gr. S. Clark."

MAEINER AND LONDON. These two mines have lately been attracting considerable attention, and shares have risen in price during the past month, no doubt owing to the good pros* pects met with in the New Prince Imperial, which adjoins the Mariner on its northern boundary. I visited the Mariner to-day, and was shown through some of the old workings by Mr C. Waite, the manager. He has at present four men engaged cleaning out a drive on the No. 2 reef eastward from the crosscut in order to connect with the old > xchange shaft, which would, create a current of air sufficiently strong to ventilate the other levels. So far about 300 ft in length has been cleaned out, and another 150 ft should take them to the crosscut from the shaft. Progress is very slow at present, as the old stull pieces which held up the stopes have given way, and the ground being wet the filling in runs easily. However, when the crosscut is reached better headway will probably be made, as the ground will not be so liable to collapse. Five distinct reefs traverse the Mariner ground, all having an easterly and westerly strike and dipping to the northward, except the No. 1, which dips southward. Three of these bodies of quartz, Nos. 1,2, and 3, run into the London ground. No. 1 reef is the largest, being in places 5 feet thick. It has been pretty well worked out above No 3 level, and though of low grade, some good payable quartz was obtained from it, especially in the London ground, where it appears to have been richest. Below No. 3 it has never been cut, and when it is met with it will probably be in the Queen of England ground. No. 2 reef is some distance to the north of No. 1, and is from 9 ! inches to a foot in thickness. This body of quartz has hitherto proved the richest in the mine, and besides yielding good j parcels of specimens, has produced a large amount of payable-quartz. From No. 4 level upwards to within about 50 feet of the surface this reef has been stoped out for a length of about 300 feet. All through it was payable, and in places was worth fully 20ozs per load. Below No. 4 it is standing intact to No. 5, or the bottom level, which is 400 feet from the surface, the only work done on it being a winze to open up the block. The block between Nos. 4 and 3 levels gave capital returns, and some good stone was also got while putting in the drive, so that it is reasonable to suppose that from No. 5 up to No. 4 will also be remunerative; Another circumstance in favor of this opinion is that the No. 2 reef has never been so rich at the crosscut as it has been on either side, so that even if the dirt from the winze was not so good as was expected, that does not prove that the reef is a duffer below No. 4 by any means. A hangingwall leader strikes off from this reef west of the shaft at No. 3 level, the junction of which dips to the eastward considerably, it being at No. 4 only a few feet above the" drive. This leader was worked very successfully by tributers between Nos. 3 and 4, bat below this it is intact. No. 3 reef was cut a few feet north of the chamber at No. 2 level. It is about 18 inches thick here, but is

smaller in places. Its course inclines more to the south east than that of No. 2 with which it junctions some distance east of the shaft. At this junction, in the London ground, some tributers got good gold between Nos. 2 and 3, and when the manager starts work in the London mine, be will sink a winze under this run of gold below No. 3, and. drive in to meet it at No. 4. The No. 3 reef is rather white in appearance, and has been worked a good deal at Nos. 2, 3 and 4 levels, but has always proved very patchy. Below No. 4 it has not been touched. West of the shaft, between Nos. 2 and 3 reefs, a cross leader, called the specimen leader, was met with. This was always pretty good, and made rich gold at its junction with No. 2, through which it passes, but on the south-eastern side it is only a seam of clay. This leader runs alongside No. 3 for some distance, and at this point both have hitherto proved payable.. The sp ncimen leader has been worked out above No. 4, but has not been touched below it, and the manager is in hopes that be will at any rate get payable crushing dirt from it at No. 5. No. 4 reef is small, from 4 to 6 inches thick, and has proved payable in places. The gold in it seems to be in distinct runs, which in some instances have been followed for a considerable distance. This reef was driven on at No. 3 level, but no stoping was done, and below that it is intact. No. 5 reef is about the same size as No. 4, and yielded well in the upper levels, though not so good lower down. .A. very large block, from No. 2 level downwards, is standing on this reef. It is, however, within a few feet of the New Prince Imperial boundary at No. 2, and will probably dip into that mine before it reaches No. 4 level. It is the manager's intention, as soon as the winding machi» nery is erected, to prove the block opened up on No. 2 reef. There is a good deal of water in the shaft, but this could soon be remove by means of tanks affixed to the winding ropes. The shaft is in good order, and the manager is of opinion that very little repairs are needed. Tenders for the erection of the machinery were to I be opened to-day,^ but it will take at [ least two months before it is in position, j and the poppet legs, <fee, erected.