TE AROHA AND WAIORONGOMAI.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2166, 27 May 1886, Page 4

TE AROHA AND WAIORONGOMAI.

No. I. Fergusons Battery. With a view to familial ise our readers' with tho chief points of interest in tlie cxUMisive^area of country over which tins journal is circulated, we purpose guiiig descriptive articled of the most noteworthy feattue.s and pursuits to be met with in the piino.ipal divisions ot that large district. Much can lie written about Te Arolia, and contiguous looalitits that desenrs wider publicity than kis Inthei to been accorded, not only towards impartiii',' au mci eased knowledge of existing local attractions, but also to illustrate the indomitable energy and in<ltu,tiy of our people in the field of labour and in the use of capital. The subject ot our notice, on this occasion aro the works known by the name of Fergusons battery. To gain them, our reporter started from Firth's Battery at Waioron<roniai along what is called the Lower rT.iuk, a narrow road cutout of the side of the mountain and overlooking a deep piecipitous gorge called the Diamond f Sully, where it follows a sinuous course tor about two miles till Fergusons tramway and batteiy are reached. Our reporter continues : -The truck was in wry bad order, paiticnlarly t,inee the fall of recent showeis of lain, awl we had to step carefully along some vciy slippery places which invited a fall sheer down into th« rocky depths below. Thesceneiy in the gorge was very wild and grand. Thick bush covered the mountains on both sides, amongst which we saY large numbers of kauririkas and giant tree-ferns. At the very bottom a small mountain torrent dashed along over a bed of boulders. About half way np, at- tho bend of -the track, we. came on a wire tramway stretched across the gorge from one mountain to the other, n distance of about three hundred yards, which was used for transporting bulk firewood to drays on the track for convpyauce to the settlements. About twelve tons of wood pass across in this way per diem. A magnificent vista is obtained on looking backwards from here of the far spreading plain, comprising the Te Aroha, Piako and Waitoa blocks, with Matmnata, Richmond and Maungakawa in the distance. The county tramway lower level runs above the track for some distance. Just before reaching the battery, we crossed a slab-bridge, then along the suits of a high bank down the bides of which the bye-wash from Fergusons water-iace pours in the form of a waterfall, the water running across the track into the gorge below. We then caught sight of the' battery buildings,, aud, really, we stood and gazed in amazement at the nature apd situation of thn structures. Firat, at the terminus of the track, stands an immense receptacle, called the hopper, iuto which are emptied the truck- loads of stuff that come by ft tramway from tho reefs. The hopper is constructed of heavy timber, raised about twenty-five feet, with a ifieat screen at the end of the rails protecting- the trucks from falling headlong into the gorge, which ia heie nearly perpendicular. 'The btuff passes tbro-igh into two shoots, which, a little lower down, mtsr^e into one of larjre dimensions leidinir, at an inclination of SOdeg., into receivers two hundred feet be-low. The shoot is vory solid and firmly planted along the face of tlio precipice. By the bide of the shoot is a water-main, eighteen inches in diameter, which conducts the water from the race above to the battery. We worked our way down below, by the side of tho shoot and grasping the battens which strapped it. So abrupt was it, that it seemed as though a false step, or yielding of the loose earth, would send us through space. About half-way down, on a lcdtfe out out of the rook, a lar^e iron furnace is in course of erection. Below tliis un an excavated site, stands the principal building covered over with a broad, spreading roof. We were cordially received by Messrs Margetts and Ferg-mon, who showed us over the "Works and explained the process they had adopted. Tho system they hay« introduced is on the latest pattern, calculated to c ttract. the Unrest pc-iccntage of the precious metal with the least pos«ible v/iiste. Fh>r, taking us to an upper chamber placed at the end of the shoot, where the stuff from above was landed, ■wo wore shown the stone-crusher. Tho entire absence of the stampers, with their deafening noise, so familiar in quartz luiuiusr, is at once' deteoted here, In place wf them we see u simple piece of machinery placed about IS inches above the floor like an oven mouth provided with Ji set of massive iron jaws. The >s,'to»e is. thrown, into jbhis mouth and the jaws moving back and forwards silently crushe> it and lets it fall below. Seventy tons of stone cm be masticated by this inachine'in eisrht hours. When the whole of the plant has been erected, this will in reality constitute the third process through which tho stone will .pass. 'It is intended to erect a receiver higher up, which will divide the quartz into smaller parts. From that it will pass into the furnace below it, to go through a process of fusion in order to destroy all the refractory ores it contains ; from thence it will be taken to another set of breakers, the third process being tho one just described. The latter machine, the jaws, is Baxter* Patent Knapping Motion. After the stone leaves the third stage, where it has already been reduced to very small particles, it enters the fourth process and passes under arset of iron rollers like millstones, about five feet in diameter, revolving round a cen« tral shaft by mean* of a horizontal cogwheel. The quartz is reduced to a pulverised state, aud it passes through a perforated iron bottom beneath _ the rollers to a receiver, from whence it is taken to the amalgamators. This process i 3 precisely similar to the grinding machinery used for reducing flint in the glassworks in England, has been adopted by Messrs Ferguson and Margetts, and is not used in any other mining battery in the world. Both these machines' (third and fourth stagei) are set in motion by belt connections by hydraulic power, which is conducted here through the mains after a perpendicular fall of three hundred feet from the waterrace on the mountain above. We next enter a large chamber about eighty-feet long, one half of which is bnilt at an elevation, like a stage. On this platform are erected the amalgamators, of which there are eight, some of them working. Each amalgamator is iv the form of a largo ronnd iron tank, and cdtttainaatfthe .bottom" thirteen mullers, Tile c iron buckets, revolving on a centrifugal motion round the tank, each muller with an independent revolution. These contain tho quicksilver, aud when grinding the tank in filled with water, and the pulverised stuff is thrown in. Steam is then introduced through a pipe, aud the whole process is performed at a high degree of temperature, as the quicksilver acts more readily when well heated. The stuff is, at thi3 stage, reduced to the fineness of snuff. From the amalgamators it passes through a small flue, with cold water playing on it, to large square tanks, or settlers, ot which there are four, erectpd on frames on the lower portion of the chamber. These settlers receive all the sludge from the amalgamators, and the amalgam all settles at the bottom, from whence it is slowly ejected by specific gravity through a tube, and drops in small enamelled iron buckets. It is then ready for the lctort. The residium is then panned off by hand, and the quicksilver is returned to its original stats. This is the whole process, and it will be observed that, as in the more common system, there is no resort to stampers, receiving boxes, blankets, berdans, sluices, or tail-boxes, nor is there any sludge channel carrying away a large percentage of the precious metal. Tho whole plant is of the latest design, and very expensive. It is estimated that, inclusive of the tramway twenty-two chains in length, the expenditure of capital on these woiks, when completed, will amount to £20,000, avery lwgo aum for

a party of two or three individuals to invest on an entirely now field. The pluck, pcirteverancf, and energy displayed by Messrs Marietta and Ferguson are worthy of all praise, aud should rewive every encouragement. Should their anticipations be realised, the vast savings effected by their proccu will be an immense boon to the whole of the field, and will create a marked change in its prospects. It in wonderful to think that the heavy pieces of machinery were all conveyed to this difficult mountain region over a rough track, in very bad state of repair, carried down the aido of a great declivity, and successfully erected at the bottom' of a great raviue, without hitch oY accident. Mr Ferguson, for hit own s.ike, made several much needed repairs to the mountain track in order to keep it open for general use. Yet, the Piako County Council, in their stiffneckedness, refused to recoup him the outlay he had incurred, on the pretence that he had done the work without authority. That was very poor recognition of genuine public-spirit on the part of meu whose large expenditure of money will confer immense benefits on the district, the council included. In the process of amalgamation a large admixture of salt and sulphate of soda is used in order to precipitate the neutral elements in the minerals. The quartz contains a large proportion of sulphites. A considerable amount of traffic to the battery is therefore necessary, and renders it imperative to keep the track open and in good order. If the track is preserved in proper repair the cost of transit for goods to the battery, m well as stooe for crushing, will be reduced considerably, and the expense per ton will probably reach as low as fifteen shillings. Haviug completed our inspection wo retired to a amall hut- at the back of the works, and there partook of lunch, with appetites quickened by our pedestrian exertions. Rain was falling heavily at this time, but when it cleared off we took our leave of our courteous entertainers, aud scrambled up the mountain side ngain to regain the track. A mile down we climbed up a bank, and came on to the county tramway at Butler's Spur. We followed the line down, passed through the tunnel to the top of the incline above Waiorongomai, which place we reached in time to catch the 'bus for Te Aroha.