THE NEW GOLDFIELD.

Auckland Star, Volume XXI, Issue 269, 14 November 1890, Page 2

THE NEW GOLDFIELD.

A TRIP TO KU.AOTUNU.

ITS PROSPECTS AND POSSIBILITIES. (Specially Written for the Star.)

No. 111. j It is nob necessary to assume from tho previous article, as some popple appear to have dorj.e, that we arrived at the conclu« Rion thftb the Try Fluko ie worked oub. Snch was nob tho case. The shot of gold ie pretty well exhausted, but the mine affords scope for very extensive prospecting. Th o prastfjnt reef is an extensive one, and from tlie present low level upwards for nearly its whole length of many hundreds of feet is intact, and assays at the rate of something like fifteen pennyweights/to the ton. It is believed by ; many peoplo, too, that the present shot of gold will make again lower down, Siiid to test this a 50J feet drivo is being put in ICO feefc lower down. Should the stuff- opened up by this drive il'ive good retnrns, not only tho Try Fluke bub all Kuaotunu will be benefited, for tha doubt whether the gold goes down to any great depth will be solved, and the permanency of this part of the tield assured. There is, too, a large quantity of tailings on hand, which are believed to contain onehalf of their original percentage of g;old, bub whether the balance will be saved by the new pane is a very open question. Besides other prospects the Try Fluke is now a large holding, some eleven or twelve acres having been added recently, and ovfen if the present reef should nob be wolith working, there is no reason to supposo that otbor reefs will not be cut in tha ground. With a good babtery as an asset, and these prospects to work upon, Try Flukes should be worth their present prices at all events, JUST-IN-TIME. We liked this mine aa well as jmytfaing wo saw on the Bald Hill, excepting the Red Mercury. There is no lack lof reefs, and tho gold ia very good, and frssoly distributed through the stone. The Just-in-Time has one great advantage. ;We wera told that the (ireat Mercury mine, : which is being , worked.by a Sydney proprietary, intends to work corresponding driv|3s with the Just in-Time, which they joW, co that eventually the drives going in en one side of the hill in tha Great Mercury will come out on the other side in the Juwt-in-Time. The latter claim, too, looks to tine Great Mercury for privilege?! in the may of crushing when it has its battery up. KED MERCURY. This was our fancy on t'ne Bald Hill. There is a prospect) of permanency about

it which many of f.he min/js lack. Very iibtlo has been heard of thrj Red Mercury since the excellent crushing at the Thames, but Mr Peebles is pushin/j on operations very well. Both in the vcpper aud lower levels the reefs are very good, and given a good process of there should bo capital yields from this mine for a very long time to come. Tho reef in the low leval pinched a great deal, bub i it has gradually widened out, and is at fc'he preHonb time prod ucing first-cistss ore. l.'heßed Mercury is undoubtedly a splendid property, and the shareholders would be very much aiive to theic own interests if they were to take the bull by the horns, mako a call, and put up a battery. A shilling or two a share expended in this, way would be a capital investment, an,d the extent of the mine, its situation and its prospects of permanency warrant the oxpendituire. Since this was v/rit'ten, the man ager's report shows the reef in the low level to have pinched again, but it varies considerably, and old miners at Kuaotunu are very sweet an the mine. ' The latest report says : " The atone to haftd from the north face low level bo-day is better than anything yeb seen f r< in the mino. The reef is, fully two. feel .->.-. i <Aiea wide. A splendid show in the face, t.umtry easier on hanging'wall." GREAT 1 MERCURY. The Sydney pr oprietary are taking steps to develop this property, Mr Dewar being , manager. There is no lack of reefs. They are everywhere, and some of them carry good indications of g.old. The area of the holdIng is also large. This mine will have its own battery, and wili have an immense tonnage of quartz to put through. CARBINE. Wβ were laob through the Carbine, hut we heard it spoken of as a first-class property. No secret was made of the fact that the stuff Leing taken out for the recent crushing w as picked, but no one would suppose tor *i moment that the general stuff from this mine would give such a, magnificent yield as fifteen ounces to the ton. The twonty-one tons, for euch ib was, came no b from the main reef bub from a branch reef. The main reef is of larsre size and payable, and with veins of such richness as that taken out, the Carbine people may xvtAl be confident. ROUND THE HILL. Wβ spent a considerable time journeying round the hill, but it is not necessary to refer tio each mine in detail. Some were being; vrorked energetically, and, again, others were ab a standstill, with little or nothj.ng to show for the money spent. We werfj, however, pleased with the general indications, and were quite convinced that a nu'enber of claims on the Bald Hill would prove profitable workings. We were dieappointed with some, concerning whie/a there has been a great deal of talk, while others, again, which are practically unknown in Auckland, are very likely-look-ijtig properties. The Secret, for instance, A nine-acre holding next to the Great Mercury, seemed a very good thing, and yet scrip were being sold freely a week or two ago for a few pence. Mr Nichols wae in charge, and he has in hand three very good reefs at all eveDba. One of bhese is the Just-in-Time reef, and all give good prospects. The scrip in this mine are better worth a shilling than half-a-dozen others I could name, which have been eagerly bought at that price. The Lady Carririfjton, too, is doing some good honest work, arid the prospects are good enough, while the shareholders will under the worst circumstances know that the money has been honestly spent in develqpiug the ground. The Obama is also doing very good work, and so are the Wairoa, Diamond, and others. The Kuaotunu has very good prospects, and they are also working energetically. NEW WORKINGS. On the slope of a hill parallel with the Bald Hill, there are five or cix claims including the Souvenir, Eagle, Hosie, Golden Crown and others. They have the best indications, there are reefs in haod, and they carry gold. The work done on some of these holdings ia not commensurate with the money spent, bub the directors are now in some instances falling back on the more satisfactory method of tunneling by con* tracb. There is every likelihood that something very good will be gob on this section of the field. /BELOW THE SWAMP. Wβ had nob time to visit many of the mines below the battery site, and ib would therefore nob be wise 60 express any opinion concerning them. The Lucky Hit had however, been getting . Borne splendid stone at the time of our visit, and the miners on all sides were, speaking well * a • gS were expected 0 u ° u- V v . 10 . t0r, » crushing, but the result, which naa been made knowp since shows that the sfcufi was scarcely payable' It is, however, expected to improve in the low level. Qn the battery side of thU holding is an amalgamed companY named the Queen, which waa very well spoken of

It takes in the Whangatnata and other grounds, and judging from the reefs in hand and the indications, ib should ba a very nood thing. For obvious reasons, I shall niob referto the other holdings individually, bait will rather leave them to be dealt". , / with generally later on. (To be Continued.) ~