Makara Goldfield, Wellington.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4613, 17 October 1883, Page 2

Makara Goldfield, Wellington.

A parrel of ten tons of quartz from a reef in the Qu^ en of Beauty mine at Makara, near Wellington, arrived last night, and was being treated at the Herald mill tosday. A trial lot of scwt of dirt irom another reef in that mine is also being put through the same mill. As some intere ;t bas lately been excited re this field among Thames miners, the following particulars about the reefs there may prove of interest. They are culled from a report on the field by the Wellington Post's special, Mr J. R. Gibbons, an old Thames roanj:—" The field is situated oa the private property of. Mr Robinson, who, however, is affording every iacility for the testing of tiie reefs. A le.se of ten acres was obtaircd from him by Messrs Shakespeare and Frosnran, and the Qufen of Beauty Company floated in 24,003 shares to work it. The bodies of stone which exist on the property are to large that thousands of tons of quartz cou'd be removed- without much difficulty, and if the trial crushing (referred to above) yields an oacce or so to the ton, it is safe to conclnde tbrt somn hands 1 Me dividends are in store for the shareholders. Four lodes bave been discovered on the Queen of Beauty ground, but only upon two of tfiese bas any work been done. Both bodies lie close together, only a few, feet separating them, and yet they are as unlike each other as possible, one being composed of rotten brown quartz, and the other of soft blue looking / stuff. The latter reef has been tested in two places, and at both levels the quality appears to be equal. Eighty pounds of uirtfom this reef was recently tre-t d ut the Thames, and gave sdwts gold. The brown lode, which is fully seven feet wide, has been exposed for about ten feet, and occasionally some very nice goldbearing stones are obtained from it. One piece which I saw sticking out looked as if the piece of quartz had been sprinkled with fice gold. I broke out a dishful of stuff from this part of the claim, and on washing it at the creek below I was much pleased to see a very nice " tail" of gold in the pan. The blue quartz is, however, said to be the richer of the two. The company have secured a battery site and water right on the flat below Mr Robinson's house, and a firm of iron-founders &b the Thames have offered to supply a 20-stamper battery, complete with berdans, &c, at a reasonable figure. With the expenditure of £2CO or £300 a good road could be made down to the flat, or a self-acting tramway could be constructed for a fair outlay. The whole of the land in the vicinity of the Queen of * Beauty mine has been taken up, and already another company hf 3 been form: d to work the ground, which is bound to contain the reefs unearthed in the prospector's claim. A vast area of land lies rlso been taken up on behalf,of a Melbourne syndicate, and] effort! are, I understand, being made to float a company in that city."