MINING MATTERS.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1810, 11 May 1874, Page 3

MINING MATTERS.

Ofiowif Pbinob.—We are glad to have to report a farther rich find in the Crown Prince mine, which on this occasion has occurred, or rather reourred, ia the winze on the No. 2 reef. On Saturday afternoon a fine parcel of 251bs of specimens of really splendid quartz came to hand from a depth of 45 feet, that being the depth-to which this winze has now reached. In the winze on the No. 1 reef, which is also down a good depth, the reef looks well, and gold shows through it pretty freely, so that in the only two workings which are now going down on the reefs with a view to opening up the next level, the prospects are rich. The sinkiug of the suafc will be resumed to-day or to-morrows _ The'opening set of the chamber, which is being opened in the shaft at the present level, will be fixed in position to-day, and as soon as that'is accomplished the sinking will be carried on without intermission. As we previously l stated, it has been determined to sink the required depth by wages men instead of contract. The communications recently effected between the/main workings and the new shaft, where the chamber is now being excavated, affords increased facilities for sinking , economically, for, instead of having to raise the stuff through the new shaft by means of a windlass, it will be loaded into trucks at the 1 chamber, thenrun through the level to the working shaft, through which it will be raised to the surface by the'horse-whim, thus effecting a very large amount of manual labour. ■ ■ • Red .White and Biue Tawum-The crushing of 23 tons of stone from Brown and party's tribute .section of the Bed "White and Blue mine, was completed on Saturday at the Imperial Crown battery, but retorting has been postponed until this'morning. There are 83ozs of clean hard amalgam from the general crushing,, and sozs 15dwts melted gold from a small parcel of specimens treated at Spencer's battery. The average yield will therefore be a very handsome one. OiD WHiU.—A retorting took place at the company's battery on Saturday, and a yield of 2260zs gold, was obtained as the result, not of any crushing, but merely from the tailings, blanket-washings, &c, treated in the fourberdans at the company's own mill during the last fortnight. Tho return may "therefore be looked on as an extra lot. Wo have recently alluded at considerable length to the operations upon which the men have been recently employed, filling in-the stopos, repairing workings, passes, and levels, and generally reducing the mine to good working order, as well as opening up a drive at the of : the Black Angel .reef with tho object of affording an opportu-

nity for fairly commencing operations upon this lode at the same time that work is resumed on the reefs all over the mine. These works have been satisfactorily accomplished, and the workings are now in much better working order than ever they have been before. Work will therefore be resumed fairly on tho reefs today, We do not mean to say that there has been any soarcity of stuff while these workings were being carried • on. <. In fact, quite the contrary is the case, for there was no water to supply the tables at the company's mill. Crushing had been discontinued at the Manukau bat-

tery in conseqnenoe of arrangements having been made with the Moanataiari Company for the use of 20 head at their new mill. This crushing has not yet been commenced, and the consequence is that the quartz paddooks and even the drives are now full of quartz. But now that the branoh line over which the stuff

is to be conveyed to the Moanataiari shaft is constructed the manager is sending quartz to that mill, and thus making • room for that which is now to bo broken out. In fact a commencdmeufc was mide on the main reef on Saturday evening, and from amongst the small quantity of stone broken out there was selected a parcel of 401bs fair specimens not quite so rich, certainly, as some of those exhibited some time ago, but too rich to be merely classified as

picked stuff. The drive on the .Black Angel reef will be timbered up to the face by this morning, and men will be at once set to work driving on this lode, of which there is a large.extent in the Whau mine, wholly unprospeoted up to the - present. During the present week the whole operations of the mine will be in full swing, and unless we much misjudge the appearance and prospeoti of tho main lode and the'hanging-wull reef there will be a large quantity of specimens and picked stuff shortly ready for the mill. From the capital order in which the mine now is for working, and the greatly increased facilities, there will be no difficulty at all in keeping up a full supply of quartz,'not only for the 20 head employed at the Moanataiari battery, but also the company's own mill, which will be started as soon as there is a sufficient supply of water in the ereek.

Queen of Beauty.-Retorting for tho Queen of Beauty took place on Saturday afterafortnight'sorushingatthecompany's own mill .with 20 .head of stampers, and at Bull's battery, where the full force is at work on stuff from this company's mine. The total,resulfc is the largest yield obtained for nuny months past, and the average of the crushing is also much higher than usual. The stuff orushed at the company's mill yielded a handsome result of 3710z5, while that put through at Bull's machine yielded 2290za, thus making the total yield for the, fortnight exactly 600ozs of gold, out of which the shareholders will be able to pay them-

ielves a handsome dividend. In regard

to the mine works we may state that very rapid progress, is being made with the driving of the new level on the course of the No. 2 reef towards the City of London boundary, and a considerable proportion of the stuff crushed during the last'fortnight has been obtained from the main drive at this low level, and from winzes which are being sunk to meet it. ' Moanataiabi.—A splendid yield of 3630zs gold was obtained on Saturday as the result of 300 tons of stone crushed from the Moanataiari mine. The yield on

the whole is, we believe, the largest that has been obtained for the last 12 months, at least since ,Mr Bowe took over the management of the,mine, and in the face of redueed crashing pawar and a reduoad mine force, is in erery respect a .most satisfactory return. We may: state that during the fortnight there were rery few hands at all actually employed in mining. The greater number were at work on the surface making the outting to tho shaft and constructing the branch Hue, by which the Old V7hau stuff is to be sent to the shaft to be tipped down into the Kuranui Hill tunnel for transit to the battery. The manager estimates that the profits of the last fortnight's operations in the mine are fully £6)0, and this taken in connection with the. gradual im-

provenient which has taken place' in every crushing since the new battery started work is a vary encouraging feature. Of course it would be difficult, indeed impossible, to say that the yield for

the next fortnight would be as rich as this.. There are so many reefs to work, and they are of sued a pafcoliy character, that it is absolutely necessary to work

them on an extensive scale, and this, it appears, the compahy, with a heavy debt and small means, are not at present in a position to do. It will be matter of re* gret to the company generally that Mr, Mr W". Kowe, the present manager, is about to resign his position. He has not yet done so, but expressed his intention of for warding his resignationsome fewdays ago. Of course we are not altogefcheraware of Air Howe's reason for this step. There may be others, but one reason, and we believe the principal one, is that he does not agree with the aotion of the direotors in knocking off the hands and limiting the workings of the mine. He believes that the mine oan be made to pay better with a force of 40 head of stampers than with half that force employed for the company and the remainder let for hire. A. great deal of the heavy expenditure recently incurred has been with, a view to preparing for keeping up a full supply of quartz for the new mill, and .with this object in view old drives which had closed together have been re-opened and retimbered, and old passes have been similarly dealt with. This is for the purpose of working out the upper levels, and is wholly irrespective of the operations carried on with a view to opening permanent new and deeper levels. If the expenditure incurred in the upper portion of the mine is to be utilised, that portion of the mine ought to be worked out immediately, otherwise the timbers will give way and link, and when it becomes neoessary to work this portion of the mine hereafter it will most probably be found that the money already expended has been wasted, and that a similar expenditure will be again necessary before anything oan be done towards working out those blocks, that is, of course, if any great length of time elapses before the work is undertaken. Under all the circumsfcanoes, we think it a pity that the company did not for some time at least carry out the works on the extensive scale intended when the new battery was erected, and we can look on Mr 'Howe's resignation in no other light than a serious loss to the company. Kubanui.—Tho last fortnight's crushing for the Kuraaui Company yielded a less return than any during, several years past. 'There.were 20 head of stampers employed during the fortnight, and the total yield obtained _ from the cleaning up and retorting which took place on Saturday was only 87ozs, and this when melted was reduced to 86ozs lOdwts. From the patohy character of the lodes, this result ought not ' to bo surprising, and it is (juito probable that during |he next fortnight stufl; will

be taken out and crushed which will compemate for the falling off in the last fortnight's return. \ , .'-. , UoußiN.-On Saturday morning and during the previous night there was a very Hue show of gold in the Ooliban reef, and on Saturday a parcel of specimens weighing 681bs Bozs was lodged for safe keep- ■ , ing in the Bank of New Zealand. Some ~ of these stones were remarkably rich, and, \ all were of good quality. Go&den OiM.-On Saturday forenoon there was a nice show of flaky gold met within the main drive at the 260-feet level' of the Golden Calf mine. There , will' be a cleaning up and retorting for the s company this week at.the Prince Alfred battery, where 10 head of stampers havo been employed for some time past. Geobo-e Stephenson.-A imall.paTeel of gold whitsh, when melted, weighed.2ozs 12dwfcs, was lodged in the Bank of Few Zealand on Saturday, as the result of ft ;■. crushing for the George.. Stephenson claim, Hape Creek. . ■'.''■'.. North Star Tribute.-A omshingfot . the tributes of the North Star mine was completed.on Saturday at the Bedford battery, Hape Creek, and a yield of 15ozs * ■ 17dwts melted gold was obtained as the result. There were, we believe, about,2o tons of stono put through the mill. Golden Cbown. -A retorting took, place for the Golden Grown Company on: • Saturday morning, from which a return lof 96ozs gold was/obtained. There were in all 65 tons put through the mill duringthe fortnight, and .the whole of the stuff, was taken out of the hanging-wallleader.: s