OUR MINES.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4606, 9 October 1883, Page 2

OUR MINES.

BRIGHT SMILE. The western drive holed through to the main tunnel a few days ago, and the manager intends to lay down rails in this drive and bring all the quartz and mullock through it, this route being considerably shorter than that hitherto used-In putting in the other drive, however, the slight-rise in it made a difference of about 2 feet by the time the drive cane back to the main tunnel. The manager is therefore taking up the floor of the drive to that depth, in order to level the road. Another 30 or 40 feet will complete this work. The leader i has looked well all along, a little gold being seen in taking it down. Three stopes are now being worked over the western drive. The first twoare just above the back of the level, but the third in hand is up within about 20 feet of the Bank of New Zealand.level, the stopes intervening between it and those .first-mentioned being idle at the time of ray visit. The leader shows gold in all three stopes, but no hauls of specimens have been obtained lately, though a few good stones came to hand last week. The eastern drive is now within 100 feet.i of the . point at which the Jamaica claim got some good gold on the level above. , The leader in the face has pinched into a clay seam at present, as it has done in several other places, but it will no doubt be picked up again in a few feet, as the country in the drive is favorable. The 'manager contemplates sinking a winze below the present bottom level, but it will not be commenced for a week or two. It will be put down at the point where the leader was struck by the crosscut, which will be utilised' as a chamber, and will thus be a continuation of the winze sunk from the level above by the old proprietors, which descended just at this point. The manager has now about 30 loads of qnartz broken out, but owing to the carters being unable to remove it to the flat on account of the bad. state of the roads, he has no room to stow it in the hoppers, and will soon have the passes full also unless the road improves. EXTENDED. The men employed in this mine are at present putting up a rise from the low level tunnel to connect with a shaft sunk to a depth of about 25 feet on the Monarch reef from the surface. . Good payable dirt was got in this shaft, but only a limited amount lof work was done. The rise is at present j in hard country, and the ventilation is also light, which makes progress slow. The distance to rise is between 60 and 70 feet. ; ALBtTRNIA. The only work at present in progress in this mine is the putting in of two crosscuts from the low level. One of these is for the purpose of intersecting Mears' reef, which yielded well where worked near the surface. The total estimated distance to drive was about 80 feet, and the face has now been advanced about half way, aid is in favorable country for progress. The second crosscut is also in about 43 feet, and another 30 fret should intersect the reef, if it descends at the point the manager estimates it should. I HAUBAKI (KAftANGAHAKE). Three hundred tons were crashed, and yielded 109|ozs of retorted gold, which on melting w.as reduced to 106ozs. The stuff from which the above return was obtained was broken out from the winze and the lower and intermediate levels, and was sent to the battery as it came to hand, so that it was mixed with a considerable quantity of mullock aud lower grade quartz. IVANHOE (KABANGAHAKE). Four tons crushed yielded Bozs 15dwts retorted, and Bozs melted gold. This was broken out, from the outcrop of the reef, and was crushed for the satisfaction of the shareholders, who wished to ascertain the value of the lode.