H.—s

8

Lyell. —There has been a good deal of prospecting done here during last year, which is carried on from tunnels driven in from the sides of the steep ranges which occur everywhere in this district. The Government are constructing a road from the junction of the Lyell Road and Zala Town Track to the United Italy Company's mining lease, which, when completed, will give the several mining companies in the vicinity of the Eight-Mile an opportunity of getting machinery on to their claims. Some of the reefs here have not turned out this year as well as expected, but there has been a deal of dead work done, which will tend to increase the returns for next year. The number of crushing plants in the Iriangahua and Lyell Districts is 16, comprising 228 head of stamps and 23 berdans, sof which are worked with steam and 11 with water of an aggregate power equal to about 250 horse. In addition to these there are 3 tailings plants, consisting of 22 berdans and two percussion tables, all worked with water-power. There are likewise 8 winding plants, 5 of which are worked with steam and 3 with water, equal in the aggregate to about 95 horse-power. Mokihinui. —This is a comparatively new field. Although a quartz-reef was successfully worked here a few years ago, it seemed to run out, and no further prospecting was done until lately, when gold-bearing stone of apparently a payable character has been found in several of the claims; but it would be premature to express an opinion on the permanency of the reefs here yet, as very little work has been done towards developing them. There is a small crushing battery that was erected here a few years ago, consisting of ten heads of stamps, that will be useful to test the stone from the various mining leases that are taken up. The Government are at the present time constructing a bridle-track from the end of the present track at Coal Creek to the reefs. Charleston. —This field is confined entirely to beach workings and hydraulic sluicing. A great deal of the latter operations are carried on with water from the Argyle Water-race, which is wholly a Government work. This water-race has cost up to the present time £10,267 Bs. 4d.; and the revenue from it last year, after deducting the cost of maintenance, was £153 16s. 3d., being about 1^ per cent, on the capital invested. It is at the present time being widened and put in a state of proper repair; the most of the high flumes that have lately been a source of expense to keep in repair, will be done away with, and thus lessen the cost of maintenance. The ground that is being worked with this water-race at present will in a few years be worked out; but there is a considerable area of auriferous ground that is said to be payable in the vicinity of the back lead, that the race will command by extending it about one mile further, which will .take at least ten years to work out with the present supply of water on the field. Wakamarina. —The gold-workings on this field consist of river workings which are carried on in the bed of the Wakamarina River; hydraulic sluicing, which is principally on the banks and valley of the river; and quartz-mining. The former is said to give good returns for working. The quartz-reefs are situated on the range on the north side of the Wakamarina River, about two miles above Deep Creek ; some of them have a great thickness of stone, but apparently of a very poor character. The gold is remarkably fine and very difficult to distinguish with the naked eye, yet in drilling the holes for blasting the stone gold is generally found in the drillings by panning them off in a dish. There has not been a large quantity of work yet done on any of the claims, nor any crushing machinery erected to test their value. Aniseed Valley, Nelson. —There is a mineral belt of country in this locality, which can be traced for miles, containing lodes of copper and chrome ore; but very little prospecting has been done on them to test their value. A large area of this country is taken up, and held in mineral leases and prospecting areas ; but they appear to be held more with the view to speculative purposes than to legitimate prospecting and working. Between the Roding and Minor Rivers a copper lode can be seen exposed on the surface for about 100 yards in length and from 4 to 5 feet in thickness, containing grey ore, red oxide, and carbonate of copper, intermixed with blocks of native copper. In February last no work of any consequence was done to test this,. beyond breaking the ore from the outcrop of the lode on the surface; but since then lam informed that a winze has been sunk down and a very rich lode discovered. There is no doubt if a lode of copper of this description were either in the vicinity of Reefton or the Thames, it would have been properly tested long before this, and in all probability would have been successfully worked and have employed a large population. The total value of works (assisted by the Government by way of subsidy or otherwise) completed and undertaken during the past year to develop the mineral resources of the colony is as follow : — £ s. d. Water-races .. .. .. .. .. .. 21,506 010 Roads undertaken wholly by the Mines Department . . .. 16,400 0 0 Roads undertaken by County Councils, and subsidized by Government .'. .. .. .. .. .. 35,938 1 6 Works undertakeifby Prospecting Associations, subsidized by Government .. .. .. .. .. .. 10,966 13 4 Construction of sludge-channels, subsidized by Government .. 5,750 0 0 Total .. .. .. .. .. .. £,90560 15 8 Of this amount the Government contribution is .. .. £67,271 9 4