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the year, where it was found that the high values found in Nos. 10 and 11 levels were fully maintained at this level; in consequence, a large reserve of payable ore has been opened up. The No. 13 level was pushed ahead during the first part of the year; but owing to a larger quantity of water being met with than the pumping machinery could cope with, this drive had to be stopped until additional power was procured, which has now been done by a new Ingersoll Sergeant compound air-compressor having been installed at the Woodstock Battery to meet the requirement, and has done so admirably. The water was at once pumped out and the extension of the drive resumed. The country at this level has been more broken than at the other levels above, but no doubt as the work proceeds the country will improve. The following figures will show the development-work done during the year : Driving, 3,025 ft. ; rising, 1,241 ft. ; sinking winzes on reef, 302 ft. ; crosscutting, 1,352 ft. This company is to be congratulated on the success met with during the year, having treated 49,573 tons of ore for £152,011, which, after all expenses were paid, enabled the directors to pay to the shareholders the handsome sum of £60,000 in dividends. An average of 275 men were employed. New Zealand Crown Mines (Limited).— During the year the development-work undertaken at the mines consisted of the sinking of the main incline shaft, and a contract was let for sinking another 100 ft., and when completed the shaft will be 600 ft, below the Waitawheta tunnel level. This shaft is sunk in the foot-wail of the reefs, and at each level a crosscut has to be driven to intersect the lode. The shaft was sunk on the reef to a considerable depth, but as the reef took a different underlie it was deemed advisable not to follow it with the shaft, but to continue on the same grade as it had been carried down to No. 4 level, and in consequence the reef is a few feet in the hanging of the winze at the bottom. This with the sinking of the shaft is in a measure hindering the opening-up of the mine, as the developmentwork (sinking, &c.) on the reef is ahead of the shaft, which must add considerably to the cost of the ore produced. The work of opening up the mine on the reefs has been vigorously pushed on, and a contract has been let to sink a winze on the reef 240 ft. below the No. 5 level (No. 5 level is at present the deepest level). In this section of the mine at No. 4 level the reef has been driven on for some length, and the width of the reef and its values ascertained. Towards the end of the year an important discovery was made in the cutting of a reef in the southern extension of No. 5 level, which has proved to be over 5 ft. wide and highly payable. This is supposed to be the old Welcome reef worked on at and above No. 4 level, but enough work has not been done to prove this definitely. The New reef section (above the Waitawheta level) : The No. 1 rise has been extended in the reef to a height of 475 ft. ; the reef is only 1 ft. wide, with a value of £1 9s. 4d. per ton. No. 1 level has been driven north and south of the No. 1 rise, making a total length on the line of reef of 723 ft., with an average width of about 2 ft. and a value" of £1 10s. per ton. Early in the year some difficulty was experienced in getting sufficient ore from the mine to keep the mill going full time, but in the upper levels a little prospecting was done, with the result that several small ore-bodies were discovered of good values, and this with the ore from the other parts of the mine has kept the mill fully employed. The company's water-race on the Ohincmuri River has for some time been leaking and in much need of repairs. During the year a new bridge at the junction of the Ohinemuri and Waitawheta Rivers has been erected to carry the race over ; this is a good piece of work, and when the race along the banks of the Ohinemuri River, recently destroyed by the heavy floods, is restored and other sections repaired, the water-supply from this race will be available for use at the company's mill. During the year 22,000 tons of ore was treated for a return of £40,735. An average of 142 men were employed. The mine when last inspected was in good order. ' Comstock United Gold-mining Company.—ln the early part of the year a company was formed to raise capital to carry on further' development-work, and to enable this to be done a larger supply of fresh air had to be forced into the face of the low level, and to do this a small dam was constructed some distance up the small creek adjacent to the mine, and from the dam water-pipes were laid down to the mouth of the level, ] which conveys sufficient water to be used for a water-blast to force the quantity of air required through an 8 in. galvanised pipe, there being now abundance of air in the drive. The work carried on is chiefly development-work, and although it is said several reefs have been met carrying gold, yet no large parcels of ore have -been treated at the mill, and as the mine has been working for a number of years it is reasonable to expect some of the ore should be treated to prove its value. An average of seven men were employed. Te Akoha District. Hardy's Mines (Limited).—This company has done very little work during the year in the shape of development. The mine was protected for six months, and any work done by the six men employed was directed to breaking out what was considered payable ore that was in sight, amounting to 651 tons which when treated, gave a value of £532 11s. 9d., and this, together with the concentrates from 139 tons shipped to England, gave a total value of £1,859 7s. 6d. The bullion returns obtained from the quartz treated and the quantity obtained has proved very disappointing to the shareholders of the present company, which they were led to believe would be a payable concern if only a limited amount of capital was expended in opening up the mine. Komata District. Komata Reefs Mine.—The chief work carried out during the year was driving north on No. 2 reef at No 8 level, but this did not open out as well as expected, being small and of little value. A crosscut was driven at No. 8 level from No. 2 reef to intersect No. 1 reef ; this was also disappointing, as the quartz treated proved to be of little value. A quartz pass has been completed from No. Bto No. 4 level which was much required to give better facilities for passing the quartz down and saving handling. The No. 2 reef at No. 4 level was driven on for some considerable distance, the quartz obtained from here in places being highly payable, but in places there were blanks where it was rather poor.