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Prospecting. Great activity was shown in this class of work, but it was practically confined to the searching for, and examination of, alluvial-bearing ground. There are probably two thousand men working under the Unemployment Board's Prospecting Scheme, and these range from Collingwood and Marlborough in the north to the remote fastnesses of South Westland. A large number have made good with the assistance granted, others are likely to do so, and altogether there is ample proof that the scheme has justified itself. Drilling has taken place on the upper and lower Matakitaki, Murchison County; Blackwater, Snowy and Mossy Creeks, Inangahua County; Camerons and the Barrytown Flats, Grey County"; and at Stafford, and the Haast and Arawata Beaches, Westland County. Satisfactory values were got at Blackwater and Mossy Creeks ; also at Camerons and Barrytown. Inspection work (made during mid-winter), of the terrain situate between Weheka and Okuru failed to show any country that contained possibilities, apart from that which is adjacent to Bruce Bay and Hunt's Beach, and the areas named have value from a likely dredging point of view only. The area south of Okuru was not visited, but it seems, from information gleaned, that blacksand is almost everywhere present on its beaches, and that same is almost devoid of gold. The non-auriferous nature of the blacksand is no doubt due to the short lengths of the rivers within this territory, none of which appears to reach favourable gold-bearing areas. The blacksand is undoubtedly derived from a belt of chlorite-schist country that these streams traverse, in the mountainous regions of that part. It would seem as if this territory is unsuitable for prospecting. Accidents. There were four major accidents during the year, three of them being fatal and one non-fatal. The first fatal accident occurred at German Gully, where a shaft was being sunk in connection with the future operating of the Brian Boru Dredge. The shaft collapsed, and the man employed therein, Richard John O'Connell, was buried. The second fatality occurred at Callaghan's Mine, Hokitika, and was brought about through a steel truck trammed by the victim (Frederick Charles Stoop), coming in contact with an electrically charged wire. The cable was a cab-tire-sheathed one, but it had become punctured, thus allowing contact to take place. Kichard Vincent Cyril Sewell was the third victim. He was employed at the Blackwater Mine, and was returning from the Battery (after having delivered a supply of quartz), with some horse-drawn trucks to the surface level, when a slip came away from nearby sidling country and overwhelmed him. Joseph Baines was the victim of the non-fatal accident. He was engaged at the Blackwater Mine in carrying out rising work, and was in the ladder way, when, through some unknown cause, his foot slipped from a rung of the ladder, causing him to fall five or six feet, which resulted in his lower left leg being fractured. Prosecutions. Twelve informations were laid during the year. One was withdrawn and two were dismissed. The manager of a mine was convicted and fined for the following offences : (1) Not providing proper means of signalling on an underground engine-plane ; (2) when electrical machinery was in use did not have a competent person on duty ; (3) for failing to notify the Inspector of Mines previous to the introduction of electricity into a mine ; (4) for failing to provide adequate ventilation. A company was convicted and fined for carrying on mining operations at a mine where more than six men were employed underground without such mine and operations being under the charge of a duly certificated mine-manager. A miner was convicted and ordered to pay costs for adjusting or replacing fuses on an electrical circuit when he was not an authorized person. The manager of a dredging company's mine was convicted and fined for (1) not seeing that a shaft was securely timbered and made safe for the persons employed therein ; (2) failing to provide a proper ladder or footway in a shaft where persons were engaged ; and (3) not recording in a book kept for that purpose his opinion of the machinery, shafts, &c., after having examined same. A dredging company's mine-manager was convicted and fined for making no provision against the securing of a shaft for the protection of the persons employed therein. SOUTHERN INSPECTION DISTRICT (T. McMillan and G. W. Lowes, Inspectors of Mines). Qfaktz and Alluvial Mining. Waitaki County. Livingstone and Maerewhenua. —The Maerewhenua Goldfields Development Co., Ltd. (E. Williams, Manager) has been actively engaged, and during the year, the following work has been carried out: The Mosquito race has been widened and put into repair, its total length being 22 miles, including steel fluming, 3 ft. wide and 2 ft. 6 in. high of a length of approximately 500 ft. The Cook race has been widened for a total distance of seventeen Mies. During the year work was starred on the construction of two dams in Bushey Creek. In the lower one the core of masonry was built to a height of 25 ft. and a width of from 5 ft. at the bottom to 4 ft. at the present height. The earth filling has been sluiced in to within 1 ft. 6 in. of the top at the front of the dam and 2 ft. 6 in. at the back. In the upper dam the core has been built to a height of 25 ft. and the thickness of the core is 5 ft. at the bottom decreasing to 4 ft. 6 in. at its present height. The tail-race tunnel was driven 550 ft. A compressor had to be installed owing to the hardness of the rock. The pipe-line, consisting of 1,000 ft. of 24 in. pipes, 600 ft. of 22 in. pipes, and 300 ft. of 18 in. pipes, has been laid in Duffer's Gully for the operations to be carried out there. Approximately 300 ft. of 24 in. pipes have been laid in Golden Gully. Tests were carried out with the giant monitors in Duffer's Gully and they proved satisfactory. Sluice-boxes have been placed in Duffer's and Golden Gullies. The water was turned into the Mosquito Race on the 3rd November, 1933, and quantities varying from seven heads to thirty-five heads have been delivered. A large quantity of tailings has been sluiced out of Duffer's Gully and a start has been made to construct a tail-race. A crusher was installed at Bushey for concreting purposes. An average of fifty men has been employed during the year. Fifty-nine men were employed fossicking, prospecting, cradling, sluicing, and driving in the Livingstone, Maerewhenua, Dansey's Pass, Kurow, Hampden, and Oamaru areas. The gold won amounted to 376 oz. 7 dwt. 6gr. valued at £2,159 17s. 3d. The chief producers were C. E. Adams and V. I. Fenning, who are ground sluicing on the Maerewhenua field. A water-race is under construction to bring an efficient watersupply to work the Diggers Gully area, near Kurow. Waihemo County. Golden Point Gold and Scheelite Mining Co., Ltd., Deep Dell, Macraes (A. W. Turner, Manager).—No work was done during the year until December, when preparations were made to reopen the mine and the plant was cleaned up and put into order. 368 tons of quartz was treated for a return of 105 oz. 18 dwt. 16 gr., valued at £510 16s. 6d. Underground operations were resumed in January, 1934. Callery and Bradbrook, Mound Hill (between Macrae's Township and the Golden Point Mine).— During the past year, operations have been continued and the level alongside the Deep Dell Road has been opened up. The old workings are being explored and virgin, auriferous reef areas are being opened up. Four men were employed and 745 tons of quartz was mined and lorried to the battery in Deep Dell to be crushed and treated for a return of 183 oz. 9 dwt. 13 gr., valued at £1,162 os. 7d. The Macrae's Flat Gold-mining Co. (R. T. McKenzie, Manager). —Work has been continued during the year on the partially hand-worked ground on the Macrae's Flat, opposite the township, by electrically driven gravel pump methods. A new nozzle pump has been installed and operations have not been hindered from shortage of water since the early part of the year. As the work proceeds, the water-storage increases. The rainfall has been larger than usual in the locality for the greater part of the year. Five men were employed and 33,500 cubic yards of alluvial material was treated for a return of 327 oz. 12 dwt. 13 gr., valued at £1,866 lis, 9d. The men worked throe eightJiour shifts.

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