Ohinemuri Goldfield.

Thames Star, Volume XV, Issue 4805, 3 June 1884, Page 2

Ohinemuri Goldfield.

(PEOM OUB OWN COBBBSBONDENT.)

Paehqa, Yesterday,

It is rumored .here that, owing to the northern boundary of the proposed new County bping incorrectly described, the Ohinemuri . separationists are again doomed to dissappbintment. It is to be hoped that this is no*; so, because the separation movement has already cost the | residents a considerable sum of money, and should it come to grief upon this occasion they will lose all confidence in the would-be leaders of. public opinion here, and the majority of them will never again contribute a " copper " towards defraying the cost of the petition business. KAEANGAHAKE. Golden Crown G.M. Co.—The manager has just returned from Auckland armed with instructions to start sinking upon the reef at once. Two winzes will be started —one from the surface level to connect with the intermediate, and the other one from thence to a point where it will eventually be intersected by the low level. As both winzes are to be sunk on the reef at two different points where gold is freely visible in the stone, I ex^ pecfc to be able to furnish you with a good account of the work in the course of a few days.

Hatjbaki Gt.M.Cq.—After an expenditure of several thousands of pounds without any payable results, operations in this mine have been entirely suspended. Although the proprietors deserve great praise for their pluck and perseverance.it is very questionable whether the money was judiciously expended, because it is a well known fact that there are several gold-bearing reefs running throughout the whole length of their claim, which embraces an area of 12 acres. Nevertheless, for a period of 18 months they have confined their operations to driving and sinking upon one reef, and have kept religiously within an area of less than half an acre, outside of which the mine is practically a sealed book to them, and so it is likely to remain unless they make up their minds to let it on tribute.

Sib Walter Scon.—Driving in the surface and intermediate levels with two shifts in each is being vigorously pushed od, and gold showing freely in the stone is seen at every breaking down in both levels. The alterations to the shoot and tramway will be complete by to-morrow, arid the manager will then be in a position to keep the battery going steadily for some considerable time to come. It has been ascertained by actual measurement that the Hauraki Company's truck, which was supposed to be capable of holding half a ton, does not contain more than 9c wt., so that not more than 40 tons was put through for the late crushing, which would bring the return up to a little more than one ounce per ton. Ivxnhoe ■ Gr.M. Co.—This claim is admirably situated, having a stretch of 10 or 12 chains upon the line as wel[ as upon the underlie of the Sir Walter Scott reef, which has proved itself to contain gold in payable quantities wherever it has been broken into. In fact the present surface level io the Sir Walter Scott claim is not more than 12 feet distant from the Ivanhoe southern boundary, and the stone seems to improve in quality as work is continued in that direction. The northern end of this mine is connected with the Hauraki battery by means of a complete system of tramways, and just above the starting point of this tramway there is a well-defined reef outcropping, from which a trial crushing of 40 tons broken out some months ago yielded Bozs retorted gold. Since then the reef in question was cut through by means of a tunnel, at a depth of 20ft beneath the surface, and because " Fickle.Dame Nature" did not cause the shot of gold'from which the crushing was obtained, to" descend sight down into this tunnel, the management, in their infoiifc wisdom, deemed it advisable to condemn the whole affair and start operations at a point where they had already done some hundreds of feet of unprofitable driving, which is not $nd never will be of any practical b,e?ießt to the company. **

In writing unon tlae subject of mining in, thjs district, I ,am guided partly by personal observation, and partly by the opinions of those who are qualified to judge of such matters, and if I do. toi^ch people on the " raw " ocoasioßuHy they have only themselves to folanae.