MINING INTELLIGENCE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 102, 22 January 1870, Page 6

MINING INTELLIGENCE.

The "Westport Times" says:— one of the finest samples of gold ever seen in this district was disposed of to the Bank of New Zealand. It weighed between seventy and eighty ounces, and contained several pieces from four to six ounces in weight The exact locality where the tempting parcel was met with was not stated by the fortunate discoverers, but it is believed to be from the Upper Buller district. The gold is of a much rougher character than is usually seen, even in these parts, there being a little or no fine gold amongst it. It is all of a nuggety description, and some of the nuggets are of a peculiarly contorted form, the apparent result of pressure by boulders, and tear and wear by water. The Thames goldfield may yet meet with a rival among the ranges around Daylesford, where, as the " Mercury " informs us, "a party of miners on Monday last obtained nearly nine pounds of gold from a lump of quartz not weighing much more. It seems that Tognini, Pitt, and party had taken up a claim in- a ravine, rejoicing in the singular name of Keep-it-Dark Gully, situated between Blanket Flat and the old racecourse. Here they traced a leader downward from the surface, and at ten fe;t below it met a pocket which was almost filled with the precious metal, In taking out the specimen it broke into three or four pieces, which, on b,ein.g placed in the scales at the National Bank showed a gro.ss weight of 106 ounces. Of this, it is believed fully 90 ounces are pure gold, and in the weight of the, mass excited the astonishment of all who handled it, It is not possible to say from present indications whether the leader, which is about four inches thick, will continue to be as rich. The gully appears to have formerly yielded much quartz as well as alluvial gold, and the neighbourhood of the discovery there, are several shafts 85 feet deep."

The Coroman.de! correspondent of the " Thames Advertiser " writes, under date of December 21, as follows :—": — " New fiSds are being daily made here ; and, as I have often said, all this place wants is machinery. ' A lease was applied for on Wednesday last of a block of ground on the Kennedy Bay side of the ranged which", if reports are to be believed,' will turn out something good. A man, named JoTm Castellitz, better known as Ginger Bluej has been prospecting in the ranges for the last six weeks, and. hit upon a reef- nearly six feet in thickness, with a number of surface Jeaders running into it. All theie were ; found

to contain gold, and gold has also been found jn the main reef. Castellitz thinks, from the prospect obtained from crushing and washing a piece of the stone, that it will average at £he least sozs. to £he ton. The shares in the company, J believe, ape all taken up, and the men go to work goon after the Ghristinas holidays, are over. A report was circulate^ this morning that alluvial gold had been found neac Ring's Mill, and that a rush had been made to the place. On going down I found about a dozen men in the creek washing the drift and sand from f;be. bed. I wa:> shown a few pieces of scaly gold which had been washed out of a pan of dirt. In one pan taken from the centre of the creek I saw washed about seven or eight pieces of scaly gold, besides some very fine gold mixed with the black sand at the bottom of the dish. Some of the men expressed their determination to give the place a trial, and see what could be fqund.

The Bank of New Zealand sent by the s.s. Auckland, for Sydney yesterday, 7,532 ounces of gold, valued at £4 an ounce, the silver having been extracted for the purpose of being forwarded to England. — " Thames Advertiser," Dec. 12. The " Thames Advertiser," of Dec. 31, gives the following results of crushing at several of the batteries : — Kuranui Company's return for December — 1024 tons of stone crushed, which yielded 3234 ounces of retorted gold. Prince Alfred Battery return from April to December — 1886 tons 1 cwt., from which 10,326 ounces of gold were obtained. Tramway Battery, from Nov. 22 to Dec. 31—162 tons of stone, which yielded 441 ounces 17 dwts. Golden " Crown. — The retorting of gold for this company's claim took place on the 30th December, which resulted in a return of about 1500 ounces.

The topic of all topics, the mines, is a theme on which generalisation ceases to be interesting. The successes of the very few are the only interesting facts which will reach you ; the remainder are nowhere. Golden Crown and Long Drive, of course, are A 1, and continuing to pay good dividends, are the investments of the day; but they open their mouths for large figures only. Belfasts, Moanataieris, luverness's, Shotovers. All Nations, Unas, Junctions, Eurekas, Otagos, and a few others, are in the second class, and good speculations to buy and sell in ; but the great mistake of most people, especially those who live at a distance, and indeed many who are here not engaged in that pursuit, is that they buy into these claims to hold for dividends. Some of them pay to do so, inasmuch as ail the " calls," are paid up ; but, as a question of trade, an invester will find his money locked up, he loses common interest on his money, and has to '*' fork ou Jo"J o " now and then to keep steam up. The advantages which accrue to speculators in these latter are apparent, and will pay any one who can find a confidential, lionest agent, to whom to confide a sum of money, he may make pretty sure of cent, per cent, and the rest. But, par excellence, the two former are the least troublesome ; for instance, say a Long Drive scrip can be bought for about £95, which, without any deductions, will bring in an average of two pounds ten shillings peii week, with this addition, that the more the dividend the more enhanced does the principal become. So with the others ; but the money can be more profitably employed by not waiting. — " Hawkes Bay Herald " Grahamstown correspondent.-