5

C.-2

Waihi Mine.—The following are the returns from this famous mine since 1890 :— Tons. £ s. d. 1890 ... 21,112 13 0 1891 ... ... ... ... ... ..: 23,935 5 11 1892 ... 18,236 44,888 2 4 1893 19,805 61,900 10 11 1894 ... ... ... ... ... 24,864 82,827 2 2 1895 ... ... ... ... ... 33,670 120,334 2 2 1896 ... ... ... ... ... 34,400 137,321 8 2 1897 ... 40,764 144,040 9 7 1898 ; . 77,929 253,304 12 5 1899— Period ending 4th February ... ... 8,538 24,256 0 0 4th March ... ... 7,152 22,076 0 0 4th April ... ... 7,635 22,095 0 0 4th May ... ... 7,534 22,779 2 6 3rd June ... ... 7,890 25,723 5 3 Ist July ... ... 7,715 24,444 0 0 296,132 1,031,037 14 5 From the Waitekauri Mine the returns are : — To December, 1897 ... ... ... ... ... 85,490 11 0 For the year to December, 1898 ... ... ... ... 64,052 6 0 Period ended 28th January, 1899 ... ... ... ... 8,731 0 0 25th February, 1899... ... ... ... 0 0 25th March, 1899 ... ... ... ... 5,629 0 0 169,920 17 0 From the New Zealand Crown Mines the returns are :— Tons. £ s. d. Prior to 1898 .... 138,104 0 0 In the year 1898 ... ... ... ... 25,563 52,024 0 0 January, 1899 ... ... ... ... 2,664 5,592 0 0 February, 1899 ... ... ... ... 2,524 4,889 0 0 March, 1899 ... ... ... ... 2,730 5,652 0 0 33,481 206,261 0 0 Taueanga and otheb Disteicts. There does not appear to be an immediate prospect of any great addition to the returns from the refractory ores in the Te Aroha district, nor from the Tauranga, Puhipuhi, or Great Barrier districts, until suitable quartz-mills are erected. A parcel of ore from the Great Barrier mines is, however, now beinotreated at the Woodstock battery at the Thames, to confirm tests of samples sent to San Francisco and Chicago. If the results from the crushing are satisfactory, a plant will be erected at Great Barrier, which it is expected will be completed not later than March next. Nelson and West Coast Disteicts. The return of gold from the Progress Mines, near Reefton, has been most gratifying, showing that the resources of this district are by no means exhausted. The quantity of ore operated on since May, 1898, was 37,500 tons, which yielded gold to the value of £63,593 3s. 7d., and the further treatment of 344-5 tons of concentrates by the chlorination process yielded gold valued at £5,315 15s. 10d., or a total value of £68,908 19s. sd. A fair proportion of the ore was obtained from the deepest workings of the mine, the reef at No. 7 level improving in appearance and in value as operations were extended. It is therefore apparent that deep mining in this district has, so far, proved successful; and this, with the recent discoveries made in the Keep-It-Dark, Big River, and other mines, give promise of a continuance of further profitable returns. The yields from the Aorangi Mine, which forms part of the Taitapu Gold Estates freehold property, show that future satisfactory returns may be expected.