MINING ITEMS.

Westport Times, Volume VI, Issue 977, 7 June 1872, Page 3

MINING ITEMS.

j excitement has been caused at g by the reports of *a rush [taken place on some ground jniile and a half from the back jdstock. A party of four pros- [ having struck a lead in a driven into a terrace to the of about 120 feet. A prosclaim Was applied for, and ito granting it, Mr Warden went on the ground, and a test je. The first dish washed only it speck of gold, the second much better, but the third jive grains. Others were afterwards with even better Altogether from six dishes a [ fully a pennyweight was I, Mr Aylmer granted to the ! i a treble claim. The lead, i.out 30 feet wide, runs east I and the depth of washdirtis 4 feet. Already about a mile id has been taken up- A very ish is expected, and a belief that there will be ground slong the lead for 2000 men. of the 'West fries' who has visited the rush, as follows :■ —On arriving at pectors' claim, the party were work bringing in timber for Inmway, which they are about lorn in the tunnel. They jbe able to commence washabout a month. For that I they have good faciSties, as item at the mouth of the hey can tip the stuff over ) feet right alongside their lies, and the stuff will not further shifting. The prosave cut a Bmall race from the seby, which will give them if water for washing-up in like wet weather, of: which ! is seldom without, and in her they can- [ occupy". them* driving for more washdirt. near the mouth of the' ppos'iiflael shows the best prostis 26 feet wide and from 4 deep. There is another lead or 80 feet within the tunnel lirt of which is from Ift to i thick. The prospectors have tough it 60 feet, and have not to the end of its width, and By shallow at the cc-mmence-gets thicker towards where » left off tunnelling. The rs are fery sanguine of havclaim, which will give them our years work. About 100 mfhe prospectors claim, on side of the creek, a party of nV*s, the Kanieri took up a ter,ay and commenced workBy had only driven 2 or 4 feet bill when they struck gold, their opinion, will pay well ospects continue the same. Hot believe that they are on lead as the prospectors, but |they have Btruck - another

toss News" eays:—"We learn O'Conor, the District EnM received instructions to ie Mikonui Eace as far as fully. The survey will be cd as early as possible. We lysay that this will be good lost people, and proves that teßrogdendo not intend to **B grow under their feet. nnelleys Creek Quartz Comt«a District, have struck "lent stone, at about eight the surface, and are now strike the main reef, one of 'ens shown is pure quartz ; Ww a kind of slate casing mis plainly visible. «ius claim is again in full us employing three shifts of « hours. There are about Mers on each shift. "ting of the directors of the "age Company en Monday "greed to take the sum of J*ek-£loo as the weekly "thehalance to go towards & old asset and £I4OO, p Drainage Board to the | the following items of Dl ng intelligence from the, Rtnea' : —" Several parties ■% set to work in the m ground on Mitchell's >o n. The prospects have I Satisfactory. There is a fptf ground of similar lft e Waipori district, which JJ the presence of populaia up its auriferous treasjamen on the Beaumont |irom the large quantity lt >ey "e taming over, must plenty of gold. On the Party of Europeans have

set in to open some ground.—At the Teviot all the miners are busily at work, the river is low, and there is every indication that it will remain so during the wintor. The plan of using trucks in the claims is becoming general —From Table Hill wo learn that the Alexandra Company is the only one milling stone, and that it is keeping 10 heads going. The reef in this claim is looking well. With regard to mining matters in the Mount Ida district, the • Chronicle' says : —" "We gladly report that the water supply is still abundant, and all hands fully at work, with average returns. All are looking forward to a still larger and cheaper supply of water, and the construction of a proper sludge channel- Were these works constructed, the population of this place would soon be quadrupled, while in an equal ratio the revenue would be increased. If the Government desire to invest the authorised loans upon really paying works, we fail to see any wl.ich wcu'd bo more reproductive than those to which we have alluded."

The retorting of the enormous mass of gold recently obtained from 16 tons of stone taken from Krohman's claim, Hawkins Hill, Tambaroora, was (the 'Sydney Morning Herald' says) an operation requiring no small ingenuity. The gold actually filled what is known in the iron trade as a 15in retort. To get it out of the vessel after being retorted was therefore a task of considerable difficulty. The following method was adopted with success : Keys, or wedges of gold, were placed perpendicularly in the retort at intervals so that there remained small spaces between them. The amalgam was then put in and retorted in the usual way, the keys remaining of course, untouched. In the opening made by those keys, a crowbar was inserted, and the monster cake wss thus easily lifted out of the vessel.