85

C.—3

Battery Returns for the Year ending the 31st March, 1893 — continued.

Westland District. Very little has been done towards developing the quartz workings in the Westland District, although a good deal of prospecting has been done at Taipo, Donnelly's Creek, Cedar Creek, Constitution Hill, and Eangitoto ; but so far nothing of any large extent has been found. During the last year a few tons of stone were got up Donnelly's Creek, which gave a return showing that the leaders found were well worth prospecting. Mr. C. Porter has been working on a leader which varies from lin. to lOin. in thickness near the junction of the two branches of Donnelly's Creek, and altogether he took out 45 tons of stone, which yielded, he informed me, 520z. gold. Mr. Porter is now engaged in constructing a lower adit-level to work the leader to a greater depth. Moraline and party are prospecting higher up the left branch, and constructing an adit-level into the range, but the chances of striking a payable lode at the place where they are working is not great. At Cedar Creek a prospecting drive was, at the time of my visit to this locality, being put in from the end of the lower adit-level in the William Tell Claim; but this work has been suspended for the present. Judging from the character of the country rock, there is a probability of stone of a payable character for working being found in this ground. At Constitution Hill, Antonio Zala has been prospecting for years, and during an interview with him on my visit to Boss he stated that he first cut a leader in the face of the hill, and drove on it for some 65ft., finding a little gold in the stone. During last year he was engaged in constructing an adit-level about 300 ft. lower than the first drive he put in, and had about 140 ft. to go to cut the leader he found higher up the range. There are numerous quartz leaders and veins in this locality where the colour of gold "is occasionally seen in the stone, and there are several large quartz lodes where no gold can be seen ; but no prospecting has been done beyond that by Antonio Zala, who has been working there for the last five years. Otago District. Nenthorn and Baretvood. There is now very little quartz-mining being carried on at Nenthorn; at the same time it is a place which ought to afford a good livelihood to a number of working-men. There are numerous auriferous leaders and veins of quartz in this locality running almost parallel with one another, which would pay working-men to take out and select stone for crushing but which would never pay a company to work. The mere fact of so many companies starting quartz-mining operations, and

Battery. Quartz Crushed. Amalgam. Retorted Gold, Tons Lbs. Oz. Oz. Irushington— Keep-it-Dark Keep-it-Dark No. 2 South Pandora 1,550 2,097 53 0 0 0 1,574 4,596 20 478 1,502 6-10 )evil's Creek— Globe Inkerman Progress Supreme 3,700 6,190 1,986-10 9,297 392 8,484 402 0 0 0 0 10,994 451 10,638 190 3,539 167 3,688 17 lerrijigs— Golden Lead Sir F.Drake Al Exchange Cumberland 18,575 22,273 7,411 5,439 0 224 0 3 448 45 1120 3,952 0 2,666 203 101-5 3-10 12,664 936 64 44 016 4,339 iig Eiver ... 9,663 1568 15,637-60 5,383-16 1,444 7,690 2,603 .yellAlpine ... Tyr Connell United Italy 11,110 26 20 0 0 0 16,734 659 60 6,292 346 24 Grand totals ... .). 11,156 17,453 6,662 55,534 870 80,973-90 28,228-46