THE HARBOUR CONE GOLD MINING WORKS.

A number of gentlemen visited the gold workings known as the Harbour Cone, at Portobello, last week, for the purpose of inspecting the ground which has recently (been opened by Messrs tihelmerdine and Basan, of Port' Chalmers. Amongst them were Professor Ulrich, 1 Mr Binns, inspector of Mines ; Mr Allan, the assayer ; the representative of this journal, and several others. The mine is situated at the base of the mountain range which forms the Peninsula of Otago, and is about three miles distant from Portobello, from which place there is an excellent district road, while Messrs Shelmerdine and Basan have formed a wide track from this road through the belt of bush which fringes the foot of the mountain in which the workings are situated, and in doing this, their energies were severely tried. G Id-bearing stone was first discovered at this place about the year 1871. A shaft was sunk some 30ft in depth, and three drives made in the face of the lode from which a quantity of stone w^s obtained and sent to Melbourne, where it was crushed, the result being that Bdwb was obtained from one ton of hard rock, and lldwt from half a ton taken from another drive, while from a ton of the decomposed cap rock 6dwt was taken. In those days these results were not considered sufficiently enmnerative by the prospectors?, Messrs Forbes and MAuley, who therefore filled in the shaft, and abandoned the workings, notwithstanding the expressed opinion of Professor Ulrich, that if the giound were properly worked it wo ild, acording to his Victorian experiences, pay handsomely.

Some months back Messrs Shelmerdine and Basan, who were prosj ecting in the district, came across the lead, and from prac ical experience felt as.->ured that payable gold existed in large quantities. 'J hey accordingly set to work, and after considerable difficulty succeeded in removing from the shaft an immense quantity of debrti, consisting of Btones, trunks of trees, &c. They then removed the old slabs which had been put in by the firßt prospectors.and again commenced getting out the stone ; some 12 tons of it was sent to Dunedin and crushed by Messrs Eincald, M'Queen, and Co., the result being Bdwt to the ton.

The.gronnd was thoroughly examined on Monday, and Professor Ulricli and the other experts were of opinion that the rock in the shaft was a trachyte diorite strongly impregnated with gold-bearing pyrites, which according to the Professor's opinion closely resembles certain trachytic rocks (tr achy <tio greenstone) seen by " him when travelling through -Hungary and Transylvania, and which are there rich in anriferous silver and lead lodes, while from comparative examinations of specimens the Professor is of opinion it is quite identical with, and hardly distinguishable from, the quartz ore {diorite greenstone) obtainable* in Victoria^ and which are themselves traven-ed by generally highly auriferous quartz veins., ' .

, Both the stone obtained from the shaft and that from tbe drives higher up on the face of the bill were found upon examination to be strongly .impregnated with very, floe grains of pyriv«B. The «res w>nfea4uuig- $&

sfone is fully 100 acres in, extent, and appears without doubt to . be a - contiuuous^range and one that can be very| easily worked. Indeed, all that is necessary j is to open a face, quarry out the stone 1 (which is easily worktid), and at once. crush ! it. We understand machinery will soon be put on* the ground, and hope to hear before' long that Messrs Shelmerdine and Hasan will reap the reward of their labours.