MINING MEMORANDA.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 206, 11 January 1872, Page 7

MINING MEMORANDA.

The deep lead at Blacks No. 3 seems to be a failure so far the Ida Valley company is concerned. Another company is however putting down a shaft on the supposed line of the lead.

A Greymouthian at Gulgong gives the following account of his experience at the diggings there: — "There is an immense population, but the Happy Valley and Black Lead are the only leads that have turned out well. There has been nothing fresh for some months, and I would not advise anyone to come up here. Where there is one on gold, there are five hundred doing .nothing. None of the outside claims have turned out well. There was great talk of the Canadian Lead at one time. They had thirty feet of washdirt, but I don't think it washed up to expectations. No other claims on that lead got any gold, although they have been working for months. Some of the claims in the Happy Valley- will pay £10,000 or £12,000 n man — rather tall work. The prospectors' claim on the Black Lead did not pay at all. ' The claims above the prospectors are no good, and only eleven claims below before it goes into the Black Lead, 4 which is shepherded by fifty oi 1 sixty on the private property. I was on Moonlight fourteen weeks, and sank seven duffers, ft is as hard to get a job as a golden hole."

An instance of being " blighted," as one of the men termed it, is related by the Guildford correspondent of -the "M. A. Mail." On Saturday two foot-sore and weary men arrived in the Fryer's district for the purpose of taking up a quartz claim, but on reaching the coveted spot it was found pegged out. The men had in the very early days of the gold fields worked an alluvial claim of surprising richness and bared a reef in which gold was seen. After many wanderings and vicissitudes the men found themselves on a station at Burke Town in che far north. The Melbourne " Leader," which, it seems, regularly reaches that lonely spot, informed them of the mining mania at Sandhurst and Castlemaine, and recollecting their rich reef they determined to come down and take it up, so shouldering their swags they started by land, and after nearly four tedious months they accomplished the 700 miles, and- found themselves M blighted."

The news from the dianfond fields of South Africa, continues of a most encouraging character, and the latest intelligence respecting the discovery of diamonds* at Dv Toit's pan and De Beer's is really marvellous. The number of large diamonds reported as having been found is almost incredible, and is quite unprecedented in the history of diamond ruining. At Dv Toit's pan we hear of the discovery of twenty diamonds of upwards of 20 cavats each ; of of thes^ II are more than 50 c irats ! Of diamonds weighing between 10 and 20 carats fifteen are reported. At De Beer's one diamond i 3 reported of 53 carats, and 17 of between. 10 and 20 carats each. .At the "other diggings the finds have also been numerous, and of considerable value. A private letter, just to hand from the diamond fields, speaks of two diamonds found at Dv Toit's pan weighing respectively 127 and 174 carats, and states that the last named has been sold for £33,000.