OHINEMURI GOLDFIELDS.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 202, 28 August 1888, Page 5

OHINEMURI GOLDFIELDS.

SPECIAL VISIT TO THE FIELD;

(FROAI OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.)

After leaving the Kenilworth, the next mine en route is the

CROWN,

which was floated in Glasgow recently, and which, it is said, will liave a ; working capital of £25,000, which is to be spent in actual development. The now Company's property embraces a considerable area—not much less than 100 acres—and it includes the Monastery, Abbey, Priory, and Sutro mines. There is a perfect network of reefs running throughout the whole concern, and from several of these large parcels of ore have already beßri treated by various processes with results fairly satisfactory. In the Crown section of the property a considerable amount of dead, work iri the way of opening up on the main reef has already been accomplished,; and as the outcome of these operations there is a Jarge tonnage of ore in sight in the mine, as well as a considerable quantity to grass awaiting treatment. Here tho mine workings are connected by a self-acting ground tramway with Eailly'a Mill, which is located about a-quarter of a mile lower down the spur, and on the bank of the Waitawheta Kiver. ■~.,■ :,,, ~ •, ; " ,■:"■ ■

From hero I wandered round to the Imperial claim, which is now being worked by the owners (Clements and party), who are breaking out aome good-looking ore, which they intend sending to Mr Parkes for treatment and from which they expect a very high assay return. Thence I passed over the .Diamond mine, whei'e all was silent, and in due course reached the Rose claim, which is being-worked by a party of tribufcore, who, up to the present, have done fairly well out of their venture.

THE ADELINE,

• The last claim which I visited on this lino ;of reef was v the Adeline, where two men are now employed on behalf of the Company, which has been compelled by the Warden to resume operations. Abouu 18 mouths ago,; When this mine was in full operation, some splendid returns were obtained from the treatment of ore by the battery process, but the whole; of the proceeds—less current expenditure— wore paid away in dividends, and as a matter of course the directors very soon found themselves at: the end of their financial tether rope, and the mine was shut down in consequence. Still it is generally Relieved to be good property, and with more judicious management, it may again come to the front as a bullion producer of no mean capacity. Several parties of men are at work prospecting hereabouts, /notably Byrne and Qu in ton, who have each' spent about 18 months looking for a reef which had some exceedingly rich gold-bearing stone found littered on the surface, but as yet their patient search has not been Attended with success. ■"■: The only other mines at work in this district are; the ;

IVANHOE AND TRURO

which belong to a syndicate of Christohurch capitalists, whou bought them in the Warden's .Court, Thames, where they were forfeited and sold for non-work-ing about four months ago. Since taking possession the • new owners have had a staff of. nine men continuously employed in developing their property. The old levels have all been renovated and refcimbered^ and the work of testing some of the blocks of reef country left standing bythe original owners is how in progress; In .the Truro section a lowlevel is now being driven co as :; to intersect the " Scott " reefc. at a depth of; about 200 feet under the old workings. This level is now in a distance of about 150 feet, and the manager expects toJmeet with the reef every ■shift. At the; northern end ..of. the Ivanhoe mine a crosscut is in progress to intersect the reef known as " Liddell's," and as there is only about 30 feet to drive it is expected that .this work;will be done in a very short period ot time. Embraced within; this syndicate's area is the oid Sir Walter Scott mine, which yielded so handsomely about 4 years ago. It is a notorious fact that this mine, came to grief in conssquence of the grasping greed of the shareholders, who clamoured for dividends when they ought to have been paying, calls in1 order to thoroughly develop their property. In looking pyer the lyanhoe Company's battery books I find that, during the ; five months ending November, ! 1884, 641 tons of quartz was treated i for the.Scott Company for: a return of ; l,200 ; 'ounces of gold valued about i fifty-three shillirigß per ounce, and this was | j the result of sundry scratchingg on the;sur-.,' face. Although this property passed through the hands of several parties, it 1b only now that an .effort is being made to test the reefs at a deep level* and much interest is being centred in the results which, sliould, fe^ knawn very ehortly, ,