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25 ft. of pressure. During the past year the owners have.driven 260 ft. of tunnel and erected a new water-balance, which is now in working-order. This work has been done for the purpose of working the stony lead which is on the western side of the claim. Garryoioen Mine (Area, 23 acres). —Messrs. Carmody and party. The face, which is worked by ground-sluicing, with a water-balance and trucks for taking the stones up an incline road, is about 50 ft. in depth, ten of which is black sand. Fourteen heads of water are employed. The black sand and all the finer stuff is carried through a tunnel about 3,000 ft. long. It passes over a hopper, where the stones are separated and taken in trucks of three-quarters of a ton each by a water-balance in an incline road to a height of 60 ft. The sand passes over tables 60 ft. wide by 20 ft. deep, covered with plush to save the gold, the sand passing through the remainder of the tunnel. The plush is washed in tubs, and then put into a churn-barrel with quicksilver and amalgamated. During the year 450 oz. of gold, valued at over £1,700, has been obtained by the eight shareholders at work. Venture Mine (Area, 60 acres). —The cement is obtained from open workings about 8 ft. in depth. There is an overshot wheel for driving the battery of twelve stamps of 3 cwt. each. During the year 9,231 yards crushed yielded 1 dwt. 1-J-gr. per yard by amalgamation. Five men are employed in the battery. The cost of mining and. delivery of the cement is Is. per yard. Dublin City Mine (Area, 13J acres; owned by Twohill and party).—The cement, which is 12 ft. thick, is crushed by eight heads of stampers of 3 cwt., driven by a 30 ft. overshot wheel. Some 50 tons are put through daily, at a cost of 2s. 2d. per yard. Five men are employed. ODea and party are also working a claim of ten acres of cement ground with good returns. The Golden Lead Claim, Halligan and party's claim, and Sullivan and party, as well as several other parties, are engaged sluicing in the district. At Cascade Creek several parties are engaged in sluicing, and in the Cascade Claim Patz and party are putting in a drainage-race for the purpose of lowering the water in the creek, where they expect to meet with payable wash. They also intend to erect a water-wheel for winding purposes. General Exploration Company (Limited). —This company has secured a number of mining properties in the Addison's, Charleston, and Mount Rochford districts, and is employing a large number of men. Mr. C. Dencker, the attorney for the company in the colony, reports as follows: — " We have five properties—three situated at Four-mile, near Charleston, and known as the Empress, Aurora, and Four-mile ; one in Addison's Flat, known as the Bendigo; and one at Mount Rochford, about nine miles from here, and known by that name. The first three properties above mentioned I will deal with first. These three properties have an area altogether of 259 acres, and contain large deposits of cement. The gold is very fine, and has a coating of oxide of iron, which makes amalgamation difficult. We have not commenced active operations at these claims yet, but have been, and are still, experimenting to find out the most economical method of working the cement, and we hope shortly to be in a position to place our orders for machinery. The ore is low grade, making economical working essential. The remainder of the ground we propose working by sluicing, the water for such purpose to be brought in from the Argyle Dam. The manager of the above-mentioned properties is Mr. E. G. Braddon. " The Bendigo and Rochford are both sluicing claims, the former containing 140 acres and the latter 100 acres. We have let a contract at the Bendigo for the construction of a tail-race tunnel, which, when completed, will be about a mile and a half in length. Besides this, another contract will be let shortly for widening about two miles and a quarter of the present race from the old Fairmaid Dam, constructing 26 chains of tunnelling, widening 15 chains of the present race from Reid's Creek and constructing 20 chains; also constructing a race 20 chains in length from Reid's Creek to Island Creek. Besides the above, a race is to be constructed connecting with the Nine-mile Creek, and a race from the Fair-maid Dam, which have not yet been completely surveyed. Up to the present time the Bendigo has not been worked. With reference to the latter property (Rochford), this property has been worked for a number of years by four shareholders on a very primitive scale. A contract has been let by us for raising the present dam (known as Lake Rochford) 12 ft., and constructing a race from Deep Creek to the lake. A by-wash 80 ft. in width and a race from the lake to the claim have yet to be constructed. Further races to be constructed will connect the dam with Wareatea Creek. A contract has also been let for the supply of 1,710 ft. of pipes, which will arrive here in about two months. The property shows many large boulders, which will have to be removed by machinery, and for which purpose we have just acquired a steam-crane. We are actively engaged in developing our claims, and in June or July we hope to start working operations at Rochford, and in August at Bendigo. I may mention that the tables which we are about to erect at Rochford will have a spread of about 200 ft. The manager of the Rochford and Bendigo Claims is Mr. A. G. Hill, late of the Wakamarina." Charleston. The Enterprise Claim is worked by a party which employs five men, who are engaged in cement-crushing. They have a battery of four stamps, which puts through 16 tons per day, giving satisfactory results. Birch and party's claim is worked by four men, who crush 8 tons of cement, with a four-stamp mill. Lander and Sons' claim, of 4 acres, is situated at Back Lead. This party owns a five-stamp mill, stamps 2501b. in weight each. During the year 2,340 tons of cement was crushed, for gold of the value of £2,635. Three shareholders are employed. A considerable number of men are casually engaged in sluicing, and several parties also earn a living by placing tables in the creeks below the other workings, on which it appears sufficient gold is caught to induce them to continue at this kind of work. Several parties also obtain gold by sluicing the black sand on the sea-beach.