OUR MINES.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4384, 22 January 1883, Page 2

OUR MINES.

HAND OF FKIENDSHIP.

Mr G. S. Clark, who is superintending the operations of this company for the present, has had the eastward drive on the Beach reef at No. 3 level cleaned out and rails laid to the face, and is now calling for tenders to extend it 100 feet. The exact distance to dri<e to the Imperial boundary is not known, but it is about 130 feet.... 'CALEDONIAN. " The chief point of interest in tbis mine at present is the workings on the cross* reef lately intersected in the Red Queen crosscut. The manager has three men employed here, two workipg in the north, drive and one in the south, and t!ae former work will be pushed ah&ad as rapidly as possible, in order to break through into the old workings, and thus obtain better ventilation. He wil! drive back 100 feet, and a short crosscut should the a break through. So far only 12 feet has been driven on the reef, which is about 9 inches wide and shows gold freely. Though airboxes are laid in to the face, the close weather makes the supply much less than usual, and consequently only one shift is employed at present. The stopes on No. 1 reef above No. 1 level are being continued as usual, about 3 feet of the footwall portion of the reef being taken out. The quartz contain g good minerals, shows colors of gold when broken, and yielded a few pounds of picked stone last week. At No. 1 level the reef is being driven on eastward, where a nice body of stone about 18 inches wide is showing. No gold has yet been seen. A rise is also being put up, about 40 feet back from the face. In this the reef is three feet wide, carrying good minerals, acd is very similar to that being broken from the stopes, though no gold has yet been observed. At No. 2 level stoping is in progress on the leaders in the footwall of the specimen leader. The stopes have been worked up to the intermediate level, and the manager finds that the leaders carry up higher still. Men are now engaged repairing the shaft, and as soon as they are finished, which will be one day this week, a start will be made to open out a new level 100 feet from the surface. The manager will then drive north and south to the boundary, a total distance of about 400 feet, and should pick up a number of leaders which have been successfully worked in other claims. There ifcan immense block of ground unprospected here, so if payable dirt is met with, a large quantity of quartz should, be available. ~ MANUKATT. The contractors are making excellent progress in a good class of country, having driven 30 feet last week, making a total of 60 feet since starting. They have yet 200 feet to go before reaching the Waiotahi No. 5 reef, though other reefs and leaders should be met with first. A start was to have been made to»day to sink a winze on the reef from the bottom level of \fche Waiotahi mine. The depth to be sunk before reaching the crosscut is about 70 feet. > t :-.■..'" ;