OUR MINES.

Thames Star, Volume XVI, Issue 4993, 13 January 1885, Page 2

OUR MINES.

DART. Stoping is proceeding as usual on No. 2 reef above No. 4 level. General dirt of fairly good quality is coming to hand, with occasional parcels of picked stone. Crushing will probably be started either at the end of this week or the beginning of next. In the north-west crosscut at No. 3 level, the contractors are making very fair progress. The sandstone is tight, but the face is now in 37 feet from the starting point. OLD CALEDONIAN. j Operations at No. 2 level are confined ! to extending the leading stope along the > east drive on the Red Queen leader. Excellent general dirt is coming to hand, and there is yet some 15ft. to advance before the face of the drive is reached. It is not improbable another winze will be commenced here shortly, at a point 180 ft. eastward of the one already sunk, so as to ventilate the No. 3 drive when it is extended underneath. The crosscut at No. 3 is making good headway through a favorable class of sandstone. It has now been extented considerably over 200 ft, and another 100 ft. should see the reef in hand. CAMBRIA This mine presents very little change to report. The quartz won from the various points in progress is being forwarded to the Golden Crown battery, where 20 head of stamps are kept constantly employed on it. Eighty loads were crushed last week for 3740zs of amalgam. In the intermediate drive, the foot* wall portion of the reef has not been broken since Saturday, and owing to the necessarily large size of the drive, only a small portion of it is so far stripped. The minerals showing are very favorable for gold, and there is little doubt but that good golden stone will be bagged at next breaking. The main portion of the reef has contracted to a width of four feet in the face, but the manager is of opinion another part of the lode bas branched off above the mullock showing in the face. At the 230 ft level the eastern drive is in 96 feet. It has broken through to the drive put in by the late manager, and the whole of the reef, which is over four feet wide, is being broken. The quartz does not carry nearly so large an amount of mineral as formerly, but gold is freely seen, and the stone looks very favorable, a good portion of the reef being composed of veins crossing and re crossing each other. The country is still a white sandstone. The leading stope over this drive is within about 40ft, of the face, the others following in succession. In the winze on No. 1 reef, remunerative dirt is coming to hand. The lode is rubbly in nature, and contains a considerable percentage of floury quartz. Gold is seen in breaking down, and in the bottom at present there is quite four feet j wide of crushing dirt. The country in the shaft is still tight. DARWIN. The western drive, and stopes over it, are still the only works in progress. The quartz from all three points is being sent to the mill. In the drive, the reef is still veering to the southwards though the curve is not so pronounced as was the case a few feet back. The reef is yielding over three feet wide of crushing stuff, and the minerals and other indications continue very favorable, gold being also seen each breaking. The fact of the lode turning in the direction it is, points to the probability of a junction vtith the footwall portion, which is carrying a more westerly course than the branch in hand. SAXON. . An improvement has been noticed during the past day or two in the No. 3 reef, in the seaward drive at No. 5 level. Colors of, gold were seen more freely in the quartz, and in breaking down last night the encouraging haul of lOlbs of specimens was made. The reef has lately been a compact body over a foot wide, but it has now split up, apparently through several veins coming in from the hangingwall. It was from two of these veins, which are from 2 to 6 inches thick, that the specimens were obtained. The face is now .within about 30ft. of the Deep Level Cross boundary. BRIGHT SMILE. Carting was commenced this morning, and crushing will be started at the Herald, battery on. Thursday or Friday next.