WARDEN'S REPORT.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 182, 3 August 1871, Page 5

WARDEN'S RE PORT.

TUAPEKA DISTRICT.

Mr. Warden Simpson reports to the Secretary of Land and Works, as follows :—: — I have the honour to hand you the gold mining statistics -fur the quarter ended 30th June, 1871. Tt will be observed that the amount of gold escorted exceeds that of the previous quarter by about 23000z5, and that of the corresponding quarter last year by 1200<>zi. I am rat'ier surprised at the fact, as up to the end of June the season h.ul been so very dry, comparatively speaking, and in parls of the district the water snnply as small as it was in the middle of the summer. During the quarter, I have granted two prospecting claims on quartz reefs discovered in the district— one on the Beaumont River, near the Devil's Backbone, and the other on the Lammerlaw Creek, Waipori, about four miles above the township. No trial crushing has been made of the stone from either of these reefs, therefore very little idea of their yield can be formed, but gold is visible in the stone.

The only other discovery that has been made during the quarter is the existence ofg)ldin pxya l il« quantities on the top of the Conical Hill opoosite Havelock township, known as the Bi^ Hill. There was a slight rush to the ground at first, but a li tlo prospecting brought out the rather remarkable fact that the wash o'lly existed on tho very cap of the hill, which is less than 10 a,cres in extent, and seems to be a sort of basin, so far as known about 25 feet deep, and quite isolated. The cap of the hill ia about; 800 feet ab'ive the level of the sea, and lies in a direct line between the workings at Blue Spur and the workings at Manuka Creek, and which line would cros3 the saddle to the east of the Ronnd Hill. The gruafc imparlimeut to tha working of this ground will be tho difficulty of ge f Hng a supply of water high enongh. Whsit drew attention to this hill was the similarity of the conglomerate rocks on the surface to those on the hills in the neighbourhood of Manuka Creek, where the ground has turned out so well.