133

G.—3

Queenstown and Lake Wakatipu. Maori Gully Sluicing Claim (Area, 13 acres). —This claim is situated at the Twelve-mile, Lake Wakatipu. The owners, Messrs. Woodhouse and Houston, are ground-sluicing, with fifteen heads of water, for fairly profitable results. Moonlight Sluicing Company's Claim (Area, 54 acres 2 roods 21 perches).—Three men have been employed in this claim during the year, and 173 oz. 12 dwt. of gold, valued at £668, has been obtained. The Sugar-loaf Sluicing Claim (Area, 17 acres; Lawrence and Lynch, Owners). —During the year no sluicing operations have been carried on. A race to carry eight sluice-heads of water is being constructed for a distance of four miles and a half, the work being chiefly done by contract. Alexandra South. The Golden Beach Hydraulic Company are working a claim of 120 acres. The elevating plant, which is capable of raising the river-wash from a depth of 40 ft., is worked by twelve sluiceheads of water, with a pressure of 1101b. to the square inch. About a quarter of an acre of gravel has been worked, for a yield of 461 oz. 15 dwt. of gold ; value, £1,777 15s. 3d. Seven men were employed. Bald Hill Flat. The Bald Hill Flat, commonly called " Spear-grass Flat," is a flat or valley situated at the foot of the slopes of the Old Man Range, directly below the Old Man Rock, it being at one time one of a chain of lakes which I have no doubt existed in Central Otago centuries ago, drained by a number of small gullies and by the cutting-down of the Molyneux or Clutha River. In my opinion this particular flat or basin was drained by two outlets, one at the north end, known as Butcher's Creek, and the other at the south end, known as Coal Creek. This basin consists of about 1,000 acres, and has been prospected throughout. It has been proved that three-fifths of the flat contains gold in payable quantities for the hydraulic-elevating process of mining, and probably for dredging purposes would pay handsomely, as six times the quantity can be put away by the latter process. Very little mining has been done in the locality until within the last six years, when the Last Chance Elevating Company started their elevating plant. Since that time others have followed their example. This basin shows by its alluvial deposits that it must have been fed or the deposit brought down from the slopes of the Old Man Range by the action of water, as the wash is composed principally of broken schist-rock and quartz-drift. At the base of the hill in this basin Maori chisels and wooden bowls and the remains of Maori ovens have been found at a depth of 16 ft., the wooden bowls being very little decomposed. The bottom which the miners are working on is composed of various formations, some parts being of soft sandstone, varying in colour; other parts are of a rubbly clay. No defired reef-bottom has been found as yet. Nothing has been done to test what the deposits may be below this false bottom. Carroll and Lynch's Claim (Area, 16 acres). —This claim is worked by elevating. Six sluiceheads are used, the pressure of the water being 200 ft. About 140 yards are washed daily, the yield being about 5 gr. per yard. Six men were employed. Wilkinson s Claim (Area, 6 acres). —A branch tail-race 60 yards in length was cut through a heap of fork stones 25 ft. deep. Four sluice-heads, with a pressure of 100 ft., are used. About 26,400 yards have been sluiced since the tail-race was finished. Four men were employed. The Last Chance Elevating Company are the owners of a special claim of 64 acres. The claim has been continuously worked. Thirteen wages-men were employed. The following description of the locality, workings, and plant has been furnished by the owners :— " The Last Chance Hydraulic Elevating Company started operations about six years ago, their right of water being at that time eight heads from the Gorge Creek. Finding this right failed in certain seasons of the year, they purchased the Commissioners' water right of twenty heads from Shingly Creek, for which they cut a race seventeen miles in length, to convey a portion of this water to Bald Hill Flat. Since then they have purchased Quayles Brothers' rights of twelve heads from Shingle and Chasm Creeks. The whole of these rights give a very good supply the most of the year round. The company holds nearly fifty miles of water-race, which costs about £300 per year to maintain. They hold at the present time a special claim of 64 acres. Since they commenced operations they have washed away about 14 acres of ground, at an average depth of 23 ft. This ground averaged about 8 gr. to the cubic yard. The quantity put away per hour would average 7 cubic yards, or 168 yards per day for three shifts, which we mostly work. The plant consists of 4,000 ft. of pipes, varying from 7 in. to 15 in.; two elevating plants, with all the necessary valves, ball-joints, Little Giants, and bends for the working of the two elevators, which we have not worked for the last two seasons, owing to the scarcity of water. Our pressure is 320 ft., and we lift 31 ft. with good results, with 4f- heads of water in the pressure-pipes. The washing appliance for each elevator consists of 60 ft. of iron boxes 4 ft. wide, being bolted together for the convenience of erecting. These boxes are the company's own design, and found to be far superior to wood in every possible way. The ripples used on both lines are cross-bar ripples, made with 2f in. by fin. flat bars for the running part, and 16-gauge steel plate made in the form of angle iron, 2 in. in depth, riveted under bar to form the ripple. The company finds that this ripple cannot be excelled for gold-saving purposes. The company also use 24 ft. of boxes in the paddock, which the whole of the dirt passes through before passing into the elevator. These boxes are also iron, and provided with the same description of ripple as the elevator-boxes. In the lower 24 ft. of boxes the company can always depend on saving nine-tenths of the gold obtained from the paddock."