OHINEMURI GOLDFIELDS. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

Waikato Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2232, 28 October 1886, Page 2

OHINEMURI GOLDFIELDS. [FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]

karangahake. ii J \HKO\, October 20. New Qr\Ki"/ Reduction 1 Wokks.— -This plant is now report r>d finished. All the planking ii in tin w«t3r race, and although some, little tx'iihle was cius ?d by the recent fiesh bringing a few logs do»vn, the difficulty was soon overcome. There is nothing to do now but to wove the bolting, fix the buckets on the i c'ton wheel, and ■give the order to "htand by." Thete is nothing to stop the manager from a preliminary canter at the end of the week. Nothing has yet been done by any of the adjacent claims to connect with the mill. This is to be deplored, for unless some means of transit from mine to mill is opened up, such as an aerial or ground tram the n iture of the country will cause a large exlr.i expen-e f'>r hedging a few cwt at a tima down the steep grade that leads to the battery. There is one thing very evident in regard to this plant, and that is that it 'u the forlorn hope of the district, so far as concerns the attraction of Auckland capital. Tliero have boon so many fiascos, such a number of juvenile poultry prematurely reckoned on that never saw light, that moneyed men in town were getting sick of the name of Ohinomuri. It is to bo hoped, however, that we shall change all that within the next few months. The action of the Chamber of Commerce in so readily recognising the claims of this field, and the identity of its interests with that of the Auckland city, has been favourably commented on here. The chairman of the Ohmemuri County Council endeavoured, I may say, en passant, a few months ago to get the council to correspond with the president of tho Chamber in re the f-ame matter, but he was scoffed at by mont of. his colleagues, aud now tho Thames Council havq taken the tnattnr up, and done some real yeoman's seruce to Ohinemiiri. Truly a prophet hatli no honour in his own country. Sutko.— Scseu extra hands have been put o» in this mine in order ti> get out a p.ircpi of quartz for the new mill. The quartz h of ;i very good grade, and should return \re)l by fchs pan {U'oaesq. Adkmxk.— The No. 2 stuff now crushing .it Hie Moanataiari Battery, Thames, i* showing for a return of about Gozs. to the ton. The No. 1 qivwtz will probably return at three or four times that rate.

Waihi. Therojs nothing very startling 1 to repoit from this district thjs wepjc. All the niiiiosarc iopffinjr along, doing goo'l \yoik awl proving themselves permanent instilutii>n». At Karangahake all eyes are hved on the new mill, and I ha\o heard it confidently &t ited that should the Karancralnike plant bo a success, a similar one will be erected at Waihi. The pan system is one eminently fitted for Waihi quartz, the furnace process requiring an excesshe assistance ixorn foreign fluxes, and thefje ores being

very refractory, containing ais they do fiom 00 to 95 per, cent, of silica. The Martlu Extended mine, under the able managenient of Mr T. H. Moore, would soon pro\d a di\ idcnd payer if another 10 per cent, of the noble metals could be saved. La^t financial year's crushing was 5,251 tons for I,2o2<izr. 18d\vts. retorted gold, and even at that low grade there was money in hand.

Waitekauri. This historical part of the field is still re! garded as a Tom Tiddler's ground for small pat tiea nnd the " wot king man." One old digger, Harry Skene, has got a little " knifp-blade " reef all to him. f-plf, where he leisuielv picks away, crushes and banks. His last crushing was 250z. for 3 cwt. stone. Had this happened at Waukaringa or Kmiberley, Reuter and the Press Association would have flashed ito\erthe globe. Hollia and patty are aUo doing very well, and a number of prospector* are supplicating Dame Fortune. The?.fl Litter are mostly working under the Regulations for Aid to Prospecting, Class \. which allow them a (■rovernment subsidy of 15s per week per man, to the extent of three men in each comity riding.

General News. There are likely to be several law units between various contractors am] the Obinemuri County Council. The canus belli is the maintenance contracts for the several sections of main road in Ohinemuri, which were taken in the first place at an absurdly low price by the contractors. As an instance, about 3 or 4 miles of the very worst road in the whole province, the Owharoa section of the Thames-Tauranga main road was contracted for, to maintain form, clear out watortables, &c.;, &c M and keep in order for G months for £19. The Paeroa* Te Aroha road, 14 miles, was taken ali £00 on the same terms. The council did not keep the contractors up to specification, until the eleventh hour, when they re-j entered the whole of them. Hence these tears. Mr Matthew Burnett lectures here to-l night. Great preparations have been made 'for' his reception. He is needed in Ohinemuri. A tremendous fre.sh came down the Ohinemuri river during the week, the largest that has been experienced for about years past. A number of logs wero| brought down from the bush. At the Paeroa Sawmill, a large order for kahikatea piles for Mr J. 0. Firth* new flour-mill Auckland, is being executed. The architect for the building states that this cla^s of timber is equal t'> kauri f<>r piles, when hermetically sealed under ground.