TE AROHA.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4478, 12 May 1883, Page 2

TE AROHA.

Eubkka —The reef in the low level still presents a favourable appearance, and fair prospects are met with in driving. In the Welcome, the manager is-still securing rich quartz from the leader in the open cutting. The Inverness reef in the drive is composed of rubbly quartz, some blocks being of large size. The dish prospect still continues good, and gold is freely saen in the solid stone.

The Tramway.—Mr Adams is pushing on the works with all possible speed. Six sets of timber are already placed in the tunnel at the end near the bridge through the point where the large slip took place. The sets are 11 feet high, 8 feet wide at bottom, and 6 feet at the top in the clear. The drive is now being reduced to a size sufficient to admit of trucks passing through in order that the material for the remainder of the tramway may be got through without delay. After communication is effected the tunnel will be stripped to the full size, .At the other end of the tunnel they are driving through the slip, and the mass of rubbish which has to be removed causes great delay in forwarding the work. The grade of the Butler's spin self acting section is being straightened, a tunnel timbered in a similar manner to a winze on the underlay of a reef has to be made for several claims of the distance. The steel wire rope which is procured for working the trucks on this section weighs 2| tons. It will at once be apparent that some power other than the weight of the 2 full trucks at the top is necessary to raise the weight of this rope with the empty trucks attached from the bottom. On making en quiry of Mr Adams how this was to be effected, he said in the first place the drums round which the wire ropes are wound are only^ 2J feet in diameter to start with," but when the wire is all wound up the diameter is increased to 6 feet; the full trucks have therefore a power of raising more than their own weight in unwinding the rope from a 6 feet drum to winding one on a a 2vj- drum. In the event of this being insufficient to start the trucks from the bottom a balance truck will be used, this will require a drum of larger diameter attached to one end of the axle of the main drums, and a separate line of rails laid down alongside the main double line. The balance truck will be weighted sufficiently to set the whole in motion when the break-band is slacked off. The balance-truck will be lowered down to such a distance as will be required for the down trucks on the line to have power enough to raise the empties without any aid, and there it will stop until the empty trucks are brought up to the same place ; a trigger will there be fixed, a blow on which from the empty truck will throw the balance drum into gear, and the truck be.hauled up again to the top.—Waikato Times.