C.—3

56

Crushing Plants at Thames. Tho Thames is the principal goldfield in the North Island, where large returns from the mines have been obtained, and the place where the greater portion of the reduction-plants have been erected. The character of the gold, and tho large percentage of metallic sulphides in the ore, have made the whole of it of a semi-refractory character, while in some cases very refractory ores are found rich in bullion according to assay ; but the method of dealing with it on a large scale fails to extract a fair percentage of its value. A great number of improvements have been made in the methods of extracting the bullion from the ores, but still there is plenty of room for further improvement. It is an easy matter to state that a plant is not constructed on such a principle as to be capable of extracting a fair percentage of the bullion, but it becomes a more difficult matter to show the most economical method of treating the ore so as to obtain the precious metals it contains. During the last year an American mining engineer, Mr. T. A. Eeckards, visited the Thames, and the outcome of this visit is that he wrote a couple of articles in the Mining and Engineering Journal of New York, condemning all the appliances in use, without giving any inkling of the method which ought to have been adopted to remedy the defects. He gives some very wholesome truths in reference to the field when he states :— "Few mining districts have had so brief but brilliant record, and few, perhaps, have lost such a large proportion of the gold extracted from the mines. Milling is conducted under the difficulties presented by ores of very variable and very complex composition; but, so far, the efforts made to overcome these difficulties have been of the most elementary kind. It is for this reason that the tailings-mills are to-day among the most profitable undertakings on the field, and that the mining industry of the place is at a lower ebb than its history has ever known."

Avon Numl of Men 1 ployi ■age iber r ibuters. For Owners. For T: Tail ings. 1 em. "cod. Locality and Name of Mine. Area. Quartz crushed. Mullock. Gold obtained. © a ,/! O to CO J* iH CD 0 Quartz crushed. Gold obtained. Quantity treated. Gold, obtained. Viamcs County —con. Vaiokaraka cand Collarbone— May Queen Crawford's Special Sundry claims A. it. p. 29 2 27 78 0 0 12 7 3 1 Tons cwt. lb. 823 10 0 Tons. Oz. dwt. 494 6 Tons cwt. "i 10 Oz. dwt. 6 18 Tons cwt. Oz. dwt. 39 "0 0 45 0 107 2 27 22 802 10 0 539 6 4 10 6 18 karaka— Adelaide Lone Hand Claremont Christmas Eve Hokianga Karaka lona (McWilliams) Enterprise Sundry claims 12 0 30 27 2 35 10 0 5 0 0 2 0 30 10 0 0 5 0 0 3 0 0 2 2 1 2 9 12 168 0 0 4 13 14 0 0 55 50 0 0 132 0 266 9 20 12 56 9 130 0 507 0 169 13 370 0 'V 61 15 17 7 350 4 653 0 198 12 3 1 6 0 0 85 30 10 0 97 0 90 06 0 21 17 28 350 5 20 904 1G 1,350 0 738 5 rna Hill and Te Papa— Dives Occidental Pride of Karaka Magnolia Homeward Bound .. North Star Just-in-Time Sundry claims 21 3 15 21 0 9 14 3 24 17 2 30 3 0 22 30 0 0 2 0 0 6 6 2 6 1 4 G 2 4 90 "l 12 300 0 0 16 0 0 48 0 0 63 0 0 34 10 8 381 16 134 10 30 15 133 0 13 12 116 18 67 10 66 0 63 0 86 0 69 18 49 12 77 0 198 8 110 2 20 25 16 551 11 20 810 11 273 10 403 18 Cape Creek— Consols Souvenir Sundry claims 29 3 31 14 2 10 8 20 2 20 "0 0 60 0 805 10 43 0 480 17 34 13 848 10 515 10 44 2 1 22! 20 0 0 00 0 'uriri — Puriri 4 0 0 ' 2 44 0 0 31 10 'airua — Bonnie Scotland .. 5 0 0 45 0 0 65 0 Totals* 1013 1 10 13,025 0 19,309 OJ 428 253: 125,106 11 25 21,100 19,325 10 7,531 12 4,478 12 * Also bullion, 3,985oz. 5 dwt., value £2,182 Us. 8d.