OUR GOLDFIELDS.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVII, Issue 109, 11 May 1896, Page 8

OUR GOLDFIELDS.

UPPER THAMES MINING,

WAITEKAURI

MONARCH.

This Bpecial claim Ilea north-east of the Waitekauri Company's property, and is bounded towards the north by the Waitekauri Amalgamated. At present only two men are employed, as the Company have obtained partial protection owing to negotiations which are pending for the disposal of the ground. These two man have been doing prospecting work and have unearthed a very nice-looking reef, aboub 15 or 18in wide, and' which I am informed assays very satisfactorily. A start has now been made to cub the reef in the solid by putting in a level some distance down the spur, and when this is done, tha ralue of the lode will ba better knpwn. WAVERLEY. Work haa boon stopped here for the past fortnight, owing to tho necessity of providing some means of ventilating the drive, and this has how beon very satisfactorily accomplished by means of a pelton wheel and a fan, driven by the water which is coming out of the drive. Mr Bull, of the Thames, has had charge of the work and has left everything in thorough working order. A start bad just been made to continue the drive. The manager showed me a reef which has been cut in forming a road above the drive, and which he considers to be tho Sir Walter Scotb lode, now being driven for in the main level. This reef appears of excellent quality, being nicely streaked with blue, and a very good prospecb is obtainable by dish test. I should think that where it has been uncovered must be very near the Woodstock boundary, and bhe reef, aa far as can be judged, will traverse both properties. This appears te me a very important discovery, more especially as the lode is carrying a payable percentage of the precious metal, and will almosb certainly improve lower down. CHELT. | The low level being pub in from the Grace Darling creek has beeen advanced 110 feeb, and is ab present passing through good sandstone country,'which has greatly improved during the latter part of the drivo. Another 30 feeb will, ib is anticipated, lead to the cutting, of the reef. The surface prospecting works being carried on, have not led to anything fresh of importance being discovered. WARD PROPRIETARY. Tbe drive from the ' river level is now in a distance of 290 feeb, and another 60 feeb will, ib is estimated, bring the face under the cap of the hillAs yeb there is no appearance of the solid, and I do nob think there is much chance of meeting ib ab this level, at any rate without driving nearly to the. back boundary. The sandstone rise at bhe back of the hill on the Ruapehu ground, bub the bed of tbe Ohinemuri is evidence that no solid formation is to be' met there. In my opinion it dips, and the better way would be to sink from the present level and find ab what depth ib can be meb. Very good progress is being made with the tunnel, considering the country being penetrated. HEITMAN'S FREEHOLD. Sinking operations have had to be suspended here awaiting the erection of a suitable pump to cope with the great influx of water which occurred in the bottom of the shaft. This was probably caused by the solid sandstone having been reached. Great delay has taken place in the getting of the pump to the ground, partly through its coming from Sydney, and now through the difficulby of gebting it carted out from Paeroa. When in position and the shafb emptied of its accumulated water, sinking will be continued bill well into the solid, and bhen driving will'be commenced, to pick up any reefs which may exist. Tha Company aro to bo commanded for their* foresight in providing a sufficiently powerful engine for a winding and pumping plant.

KINSELLA'S OWHAROA FREEHOLD.

Tenders for driving 200 feet in this property were accepted on Monday ab 7s per foot. This drive will be started at the Waitekauri River level, and will pass under the road, going west. A very ÜBeful office andsmithy has been erected close to theroad. and it was when clearing a level spaco for this thab the rich stone reported by me a few days since was found. I was shown the spot, and also some of the stone, but there is no appearance of any reef, and the two or three boulders of quartz are evidently of a class with the many others to be picked up all over the low ground here and in the gullies. Some of this stone is very rich, and the reef from which it came is well worth the expenditure of a few thousand pounds to find. When I came along to the Bmall creek crossing the road between Kinsella. and Heibman _, I found Ned Bain and Bill Powell hard at work washing some of the loose dirb which they had dug oub a few feeb back from the creek. Their only dish was an old shovel, bub with this they managed to show 15 or 18 colours of free coarse gold-after washing. A lob of loose quartz is lying all around, and the only point to be settled is, where did ib come from ? There is little doubt the reef will ultimately be found, but I incline to the belief thabib lies some distance back te tho wesb. OWHAROA COMPANY. The Elliott) tunnel is now in over 700fb, and is passing through very fair ground. Tho prosonb contract is for 300 ft, which will bring tho full distance driven to 900 ft. A largo influx- of waber book place some distance back from the presenb face, and is still troublesomo, bub the drive in bhe face is now probty dry. TEUTONIC. Tho second contract In bhe preeenb drivo wan leb on Wednesday ab 9a 6d per foot for 200 feeb. Tho ground is very good for working, as may be Been from (he prico, and n very nice class of sandstone in boing passed through. This crosscub is going due wesb, and should thoroughly prove the ground, ab any rate, to tho depth of the drive, which is nob very groat. BRITISH EMPIRE. Mr A Thorburn ie manager here, and is putting in a mum level crossing the country, and which is intendod as a proupocting tunnel, and also to cub the reef known as Peter Prudonco'e reef. Prudonco holds one man's ground under his miner's right, in the centre of bhe Empire property, and in this he has a tremendous reef or quartz formation about 60 feeb wide, but nob of a payable nature. The Empire drive is now in nearly 700 feet, and eeveral small veins of quartz have been cub, in all of which _ little gold can be gob; For come

time driving h.s been slow through hard country; but the ground in the face ia now much easier to penetrate. • • WAITEKAURI KING. This claim has" now been amalgamated with the Success, Surprise, and Ellen, and is under the charge ,of Mr W. Comes. A drive is being pub in easb from the Scotia Creek wibh the object of cutting the Ellen reef and any others which may exist between. This drive is advanced 100 ft, and is timbered right through, bub ib will take 700 or 890 more feeb of driving to pick up the Ellen reef. This is a small reef aboub a foot wide, carrying good gold. A winze was sunk on ib aboub 10 feeb, and ib appears to be opening out, whilst a parcel of ore sent to the Thames School of Mines is stated to have gone aboub £50 bo the ton. The winze had to. be stopped, owing to the water difficulty, but, as far as this lode has been explored, ib promises very well indeed.