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taken out down to No. 5 level, and the ground all filled in. There were at the time of my visit ten •BiGh at work underground in No. 6 level, and two men on the surface. Tramways, quartz-hoppers, find shoots were in course of construction, to enable the quartz to be sent to the battery, and when fcblnpleted and the No. 6 leVei properly opened out they will be able to keep their crushing battery fo! twenty heads of stamps going continually. The quarts; lode is well defined for about 4ft. in thickness; and alongside the lode there is a conglomerate body cf slate and Quartz mixed, which, when followed up, may lead on to a larger body of stone. 17; United Victory Company's Mine, LyelL-y-lßih March, 1884. This company has doilO nothing but prospect the ground Since my last ylsiL, They have only two men working by contract, butting in what was supposed to be a cross-cut; but iti reality is a tunnel following the strata of the bbuhtry; with iib indication of quarts. There is no mine manager, and, unless there is some new lode found, it is very prbbable that this company will cease operatibhs entirely, as the lfld§ that wae formerly worked was not of a payable nature. The country is extremely hard where thfey h&fS hitherto been at work; this, together with a small body of stone,- will not pay for working, unless the quartz is very rich. The ma'ih tunnel leading into the workings is in good repair and safely timbered; New MiNEg; Tllfe fbllowiiig are miiies thai; have no special rules made under the Regulatibn of Mines Act, and can only be dealt with as far as the geliei'al provisions' of the Act apply to them; but they will be requested to forward special rules for approval:— , , 1; The Ehcenix Extended Company's Mine, Beef ton. —2lst March, 1884. This mine has been ill operation for several years, but, b'wirig to. the difficulty of getting the quartz to a crushing battery, and the inaccessible nature of the country—which was without roads, so that machinery could not be got on to the ground—the mine has been prevented from being worked. But this has lately been remedied by the construction of a dray-road up Murray Creek to the mines in this locality. This company, in conjunction with the Inglewood Company, is erecting a crushing battery of ten heads of stamps, and two berdalis, driven by a steam-engine of eighteen hoi's'e^poVi'ei'; and are eonstructins tramways, shoots, and quartz-hoppers, to enable the mine to be worked. The quartz lode in this mine is from 2ft. to 3ft. thick. The ground is well timbered, and good ladders are fixed in the passes. There were, at the time of my visit, only two men at work. 2. Ingleiuood Company's Quartz Mine. —2lst March, 1884. This company has constructed a tunnel 1,500 ft. in length, and driven along the lode for 225 ft., which averages about 2ft. 6in. in thickness, and seems to carry a fair amount of gold all through. They have 125 ft. of back between the level of the tunnel and their No. 4 level. The ground is securely timbered, and good ladders are fixed in the passes. I cautioned the manager about leaving loose cartridges of dynamite lying about the drives, and he promised to get boxes made to hold them, and place them in a safe position clear of traffic. There were five men at work, underground and on the surface, but this number will be considerably increased as soon as the crushing battery is ready for work. 3. Inhermann Company's Mine, Beefion. —20th March, 1884. This company are not working the mine at present, as they are constructing tramways, shoots, and hoppers to convey the quartz to their crushing battery, which is in course of erection at the side of Eainy Creek, about 40 chains from the mine, consisting of thirty heads of stamps and four berdans, driven by a double-cylinder steam-engine of about twenty-five horse-power nominal. They have three levels in their mine, and an immense body of stone : the reef is 22ft. thick, and they have about 230 ft. of back between No. 2 and No. 3 levels. The stone is known to be poor, but they anticipate that, from the quantity they will be able to crush, and the small expense of breaking it out and conveying it to the battery, about 4dwt. per ton will pay all the working expenses. They have fair timber in their tunnels, but the ladders in the winze will require to be repaired before they commence to work again. 4. Deep-level Tunnel, Beef lon. —24th March, 1884. This tunnel is constructed for about 15 chains, going in a straight line for the Golden Fleece shaft for about 12 chains, and thence it bears away from this line about 7° to the eastward. There has been no body of quartz struck yet containing gold in payable quantities, and they do not expect to meet with any for a considerable distanco further. This tunnel is being constructed by contract. The timbering and ventilation are good. 5. Low-level Tunnel, Boatman's. —lßth March, 1884. This tunnel is constructed for 800 ft.; it is sft. wide at the bottom, 4ft. at the top, and 7ft. high in the clear, inside the timber. The sets or frames are made of 8-inch-square legs and 10-inch-square caps, and are placed in the tunnel 4ft. apart from centre to centre, having top and side laths above and behind • them 3in. thick. This tunnel is constructed at the joint expense of eight companies in this locality, viz., the Specimen Hill, Homeward Bound, West Welcome, Progress, Comstock, North Cleopatra, and Occidental, with the view of prospecting their ground. They have erected a turbine water-wheel and com-pressed-air machinery to work the rock-borers, but as soon as this plant was erected some disagreement occurred amongst the companies and the tunnel was stopped, 6. Specimen Hill Company's Quartz Mine. —lßtb March, 1884. This company have just completed the construction of tramways, self-acting incline, shoots, hoppers, &c, necessary to convey the quartz from the mine to their crushing battery, which is erected at the foot of Little Boatman's Creek. The connection between the mine and the battery is as follows : From No. 3 level to first hopper, 33 chains horse-tramway; to the second hopper, 17 chains of self-acting tramway, which is worked by wire ropes and a horizontal pulley having a brake at the upper end; from the second to the third hopper there is a length of 34 chains of horse-tramway ; and 120 ft. of shoot to the fourth hopper; thence 24 chains of tramway and 220 ft. of shoot to the fifth hopper; thence the quartz is conveyed for a distance of about 3 chains in measuring trucks to the battery paddock. All the tramways and inclines are constructed with light iron rails. The battery consists of fifteen heads of stamps and one berdan, driven by an overshot water-wheel 35ft. in diameter. There are three levels in the mine : the upper one is worked out, but there are 70ft. of back to take out between Nos, 1 and 2, and the whole of the reef between Nos. 2 and 3, which is about 84ft. The reef does not run continuous, but has breaks in it here, and there, and is intermixed with mullocky slate. The
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