OUR MINES.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4490, 26 May 1883, Page 2

OUR MINES.

QUEEN OF ENGLAND. The No. 1 reef at No-. 3 level has now been broken for about 30 feet in length since work was started, anditia Mr Hill's intention to put in a good dig both east and west before again breaking down. In the western end there is a considerable improvement in the reef. It is a little smaller, being about 2|- feet wide, and is much more compact, with belter defined walls. Its underlie, which was at first to the southward, has also changed, and it has now a strong dip to the north. This change the manager regards as a favorable indication, as all the good goldsbearing reefs on the field underlie in that direction. Eastward a small break has crossed the face, but the reef had not yet been broken beyond it. MOANATAIRI. The wheel at the battery is now using about 2| sluice heads of water, the nozzle having been bored out to 2J inches. It was feared that there would be hardly enough water to keep the mill going when the Golden Crown was working, but all the batteries taking their supplies from the 20 inch main were going this morning, and the speed of the Moanatairi did not drop much. The manager is now opening up some blocks of ground known to be gold bearing, with a view to testing if they will pay with the cbeap crushing power, and he expects shortly to be able to keep the 20 head employed one shift per day on company's dirt. BBIGHT SMILE. The manager to-day banked 50lbs of specimens obtained from the reef in the leading and second stopes over the low level drive being put in towards the old Candlelight and Jamaica claims, in which rich gold was got in the early days. The reef where the stone was obtained is from 4 to 8 inches wide, and a little gold was left showing. DEEP LEVEL CROSS. The drive at No. 3 level having gone through the big slide without cutting the flow of water in the stopes, work has been stopped, and the stopes near the slide resumed. No. 2 reef in - the winze, though small, continues to show gold when broken down. Cleaning up and retorting for the month will take place on Thursday next. QUEEN OF BEAUTY. In fossicking in the winze at a point about 10 feet above the roof of the No. 10 level, the manager found a small white vein about half an inch wide striking off into the hangingwall of the dropper last met with. He took some of this down and found it showed gold freely. About a pound weight of small picked stones were taken from it. The discovery is not of great value, as the stringer is small, but it shows that the gold goes down below No. 9 level.