A Trip to Te Aroha Goldfield.

Thames Star, Volume XIV, Issue 4664, 15 December 1883, Page 2

A Trip to Te Aroha Goldfield.

(Byoub Special Repoeteb.)

THE MlNES.— (Continued.) NEW FIND.

This is the Premier mine of the field, not only from the fact that it was here Hone Werahiko first discovered the gold, but also by reason of the excellent quality of the crushing dirt being turned out, the yield of last month's crushing being over, two ounces gold per ton, and that for this month shaping equally well. The ground is situated on a spur, within a short dis* tance of the highest peak of the Aroha mountain, and the summit of this spur is formed by the outcrop of the immense buck reef previously mentioned. It is not from this big lode, however, that the crushing has been obtained, but from reefs which strike off from it, or else He close to it. The big reef, however, shows gold, and the manager iutends to put a parcel of it through the mill to see what it is worth. Gold has been traced along the surface in the reef in hand, known as tho No. 2, lying on the footwall of the big -reef, for a distance of considerably over 300 ft. A level was entered 250 ft south of the peak referred to, and struck the reef, 4|ft wide, showing rich gold, the best being seen on the floor. A drive was puj in 30ft towards the Diamond Gully, gold being seen as freely as ever, and three shifts are now extending the northern drive, : which was in 25ft at the time of my visit. The reef has split here, one portion being 4ft. wide, and the. other 3 ft.; in both the precious metal is freely distributed. It was from these drives, and the lead'ffig stopes over them, that last month's crushing was obtained, and the fact that the dirt from the same reef at the big "blow" is shaping quite as well now, is sufficient to prove that the block between will be good. By the time the level reaches the blow it will give 150 ft. of backs.' The new low level is to be started after Christmas, and will strike the reef about the same place as the pre» sent level, only 100 ft. deeper. At the big blow men are employed shooting off the footwall portion, which is supposed to be the No. 2 reef. It is four feet wide, and gold can be seen in almost every stone broken, while in some it is in streaks several inches long. This reef appears to strike right through the big reef, while another lode, supposed by the manager to be identical with the Colonist reef, strikes off slightly to the eastward of north. Whether this is so or not cannot be determined for certain, but at any rate there are two bodies of excellent payable dirt in hand here, crushing stuff being shot down to a width of fully 9ft. where they junction, The quartz from here is put down a pass to the old Arizona tunnel, from which it is trucked to a shoot which conveys it to the Hopper on the big tramWay.- The quartz from the other level is also tracked to this shoot, and passed into the hopper. It will thus be seen that there is an abundance of quartz available, and there is not the least fear but what the manager will keep the 15 head of stamps now engaged fully employed as long as he is allowed to have them, while there is every probability of the dirt keeping up to the standard. The gold is very fine, but the stone carries a great deal mixed with the mineral. Last month's yield was a highly payable one, ( and no doubt the shareholders will soon receive a disbursement of profits in the shape of a dividend. * . ARIZONA. ' . This piece of ground lies to the eastward of the New Find. The manager is extending a low level to pick up a large reef discovered outcropping along the side of the spur, and in which a little gold has been found. The crosscut is in 117 ft., in hard country, but a change of ground is expected shortly, and the reef should also be close at hand. A number of other leaders strike into the ground from the New Find reef, but these have not been tried yet. CANADIAN. The manager is driving southward on the hangingwall of the New Find big reef, about four feet of quartz being taken out. The face is in about 40 feet, and the reef for that distance has prospected well, though for the past few feet it has hardly been looking so well. The best dirt is on the footwall of the reef, but this portion is here in the Colonist ground, though it will shortly strike into the Canadian. A paddock of quartz is on hand. A crosscut to pick up the Colonist No. 2 reef, and also a smaller lode a few feet beyond it (from which a trial of oOlbs stone yielded at tho rate of 2ozs per ton), is in progress, and the former should be to hand in a few feet. The face is in good country. COLONIST. " .- The top level in this mine, which lies between tho Canadian and Premier, is 150 feet above the tramway level. Here the reef has been driven -on 240 feet southward, and another 30 feet will take the face to the Canadian boundary. For this distance the reef baa averaged five feet in width, and has shown gold, the dirt proving of payable grade, as the recent crushing proved. There is yet quite two months' work for the stamps employed before this block is exhausted. Driving north has just been commenced there being seven chains in this direction before the Promier boundary is touched. The reef is looking well, and some excellent gold was taken out of the face at the time of my visit. There is another branch of the reef here forming in the shape of a bow, botl^nds junotiouing with tho mam lode/ ..ix^tze was sunk on this 43ft to the next level, the quartz averaging five feet in width and showing gold freely. No more work has been done on this lode yet. The main reef at this level has been driven on 3f»ft, the quartz being quite five feet thick and showing gold as freely as above. Another level, giving 80ft of backs, can be entered from the level of the hopper, the distance to drive being slight. No. 2 reef was cut 45ft from No.. 1 at the top level, and driven 'on 60ft. It is a good sized reef, and gold was seen for 35ft, No stoping has been done, and none of the quartz has yet been crushed, There are 60ft of backs. This reef also is in the. form of a bow, but is on ' the opposite side to the one mentioned; the northern junction wilL.be met with in the Colonist ground, but the southern one ia in the Canadian.

( To be Continued.)