THE TASMANIAN SILVER FIELDS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XII, Issue 3949, 27 October 1891, Page 2

THE TASMANIAN SILVER FIELDS.

Ziehan as Zt Is.

A gentleman at present in Maxtorton, who has returnad from Zephan, Tasmania, within the past few days, has been good enough to give us the following information concerning this new region of enterprise, where silver is said to abound, and where prosperity and wealth, if not within the reach of all, are at least expected to be achied by many. At a rough estimate a ten pound note will, at tho present tim" of rivalry in steamer fares, carry a passenger right from Wellington to Zeehan, and it should include every expense en route. Tho time of journey averages ten days, provided the connecting steamers are caught. The fare Wellington to Sydney is £2 10s by direct cheap steamer j from Sydney to Hobart(competitionagain!) £1 ; nnd from Hobart to Zeehan, by steam and rail, £1 10s. This totals £5, leaving the second five pounds for sundry expenses On the way. Zeehan is reached by a twenty hour journey in a two hundred ton steamboat to Strachan, in Port Macquarie harbour. The railway is formed for miles, and will be completed the full length in December. In the meantime the last tire miles has to be travelled by a tramway which runs right into the centre of the township of Zeehan. The through journey from Hobartcan be made three times a week. 0 ntil quite recently no tramway was available, and a very rough tramp had to be endured through exhausting countr). Zeehan is n place containing five thousand people (5000), and in appearance it is something like our township of Pahiatua, except that .most of it is under canvas, only the hotels (of which there are eight), the stores, and several ot'ier principal buildings, including a few of the best houses, being of wood. There are several churches, of which the Church of England and the Roman Catholic have resident ministers. The hotels, which are about up to the average New Zealand country "pub," a»e always full, and three in a room is the usual thing. The food is fair, especially so now that fresh meat can be brought from Hobart three times a week. The tariff is two pounds ten shillings a week and this includes free beer at dinner, but not boot-cleaning. The novice who leaves his boots outside his bedroom door at night spends the next day in an endeavour to tracj and reclaim them. Everyone seems to have plenty of money, and although there is a lot of " liquoring up" always going on there is no great rowdiness displayed, and decent order prevails. There has in the past been plenty of work ranging from, 10s to 12s par day of six hours, but owing to the recent Bank failure tho demand for labour has undergono a depression. This, however, will only be temporary. The main street of Zeehan is now being metalled. It and all the others have hitherto been very muddy. They are courderoy rosds. There is plenty of rain, more especially in the winter, hut it is not cold. There are two banks, ami there was a third when the Bank ot Van Diemen's Land was open. Letter writing is somewhat at a discount, and everyone telegraphs. Consequently, all telegrams to roach their destination in anything like time have to be made " urgent." The telegraph office is too small for its business, and hence t his great nscessity. A very fair proportion of the popu* lation consists of women. For instance, at a recent church concert them might haye been seen quite two hundred lidies, the wives of men who have settled there, and so forth. Concerts have been the only amusement so far, and they have been crowded. A professional company would " strike oil " at Zeehan now, and as the journey is less difficult no doubt ou'side entertainers will find their way to the field. A residential site in either Zeehan or Dundas (seven miles away) is to be had for ten pounds under certain conditione. The area is a quarter of an acre. Tho central positions are now all taken up, but persons who wish to build can obtain a grant of land for the purpose within half a mile of the post office —less in some cases.

The silver mining claims are on land leased from theGovernmentat five shillings per acre per annum, and the country is pegged out for a radius of eleven miles. There are over four hundred companies in existence and in course of formation already, and it will be impossible to find capital to float them all. The silver lodes go down hundreds of feet, and the greater the depth the richer is the ore. The Silver Queen (Zeohau's best and most noted claim) i 9 280 feet deep, while at Broken Hill (New South Wales) the shaft is down 600 feet. In other parts of the world greater depths still are sunk. The course ot operation is very siuipld. A shaft is put down, pumping gear is erected to keep the mine dry, a drive is made to the lode, ore is raised and sold " at grass " to the smelting companics. Up till now ore has had to be sent to Australia and abroad for soielcing purposes, and it has paid even with that enormous expense added, but already the first of a series of large smeltiDg works will hare been erected in Zeehan itself. They will be on the most improved principle up to date, and of the largest capacity made. The Dundas fields, as mentioned before, are some few miles awav, and it is here tho Zealandia claim, which was recently partly suhsoribed for in Wellington, and in other New Zealand towns, is situated. They have the appearance of richness, but as yet there is no population on the spot of any extent, and they are not, so far advanced as tho Zeeban holdings. Their development will therefore be later.

The general surface of the country, ! it should hare been remarked, is undulating and mostly " bush." In parts it 5s of a boggy nature, eorored with button grass. To turn to the mines themselves the Silver Queen is the most substantial one bo far. It ha« been paying dividends at the rate of 200 per cent per annum, and is now commencing to return 500 per cent on the paid-up capita). It is impossible to estimate,

to what extent the results may expand as the mine is as yet only in its infancy. The first thousand tons of ore produced silver worth £24,000. The average yield has been 113 ounces of silver to the ton, worth three shillings and ninejierice per ounce. Some of the ore even went hm hi»h as 415 ounces to the ton. The shares upon which only twelve shillings have been paid up are selling seven pounds (£7). The output of this mine is to he increased four-fold as soon a3 ne»v machinery now under erection is completed. There will then also be no extravagant freight to pay, as smelters will be dose at hand.

The " Western " mine in the same vicinity has several good lodes on its property, and has 800 tons of ore " at gr-iss" awaiting the erection of smelting appliance?. The trial assay returned £l9O for 20 tons of ore which waa «ent all the way to Germany, and this was the nett result after every expense had been paid. The proportion of silver in this claim is said to have run in some of the tests from 175 ounces to 220 ounces to the ton. Even the general average for Broken Hill ore is only 40 to 50 ounces, while that At Zeehan, taken all round, ia estimated to yield from 70 ounces to 80 ounces. Shades in the Western have 2s 6d paid up and are selling at 14s.

The Silver Crown which has only teen prospected but hns five distinct lodes, and has given rich results from tests is being placed in the English market. Its shares (60s paid up) aro selling at £43. The holdings of the respective companies average 80 acres each, and ot the various mines fully 20 are so far proved to be "good," and are consequently at a premium.

lu reply to nn enquiry as to where the Great Eastern Silver Mining Coaipany's property was situated, our informant stated that as far as position went it was particularly well placed, and its prospects were regarded as excellent. Its situation is only twenty minutes from the Post Offiuo, and it is in the immediate vicinity of the mines previously referred to in thin article. It is said to liars three lodes running through it, ono being the best defined locle in the field. It is considered to be by far the best of the claims which remain open to the public. Its secretary, it is understood, has himself shown his confidence in Zeehan's future by investing some hundreds of pounds there, nnd in this he is only following the example of many other capitalists who consider that the Tas' manian Silver Mines have a great future, and that many a fortune lies in the ground around Zeehan,