COROMANDEL.

Auckland Star, Volume XXVIII, Issue 274, 25 November 1897, Page 5

COROMANDEL.

Coromandel Mining News.

(From Our Own Correspondent.)

During the past month things have preserved the even tenor of their way. Nothing- sensational has occurred to induce a feeling- of excitement; but it is generally believed on all sides that there will be a steady advance during the next few months, as several new companies are opening up what are believed to be payable blocks of ground, and are already making arrangements for trial crushing. In addition to this, our principal gold producers, the Royal Oak and Hauraki, still continue to yield Satisfactory returns, which in the latter, case will no doubt' be further augmented

,as new levels are opened up; while the potentialities pertaining to the new find' on the Karaka Block in the event of this being satisfactorily proved at a depth of which there seems no doubt, are 'too obvious to require any dilating upon. The reef here is a large one, between 3 and? 4 feet thick, and is undoubtedly a branch of the big vertebral lode—the Tokatea itself. It carries the gold well distributed through the stone, the footwall portion being the richest, and the crosscut, which is now going ahead to intersect it at a depth of about 90 feet beneath.' the outcrop, should determine finally theapproximate prospective value of the lode The above find only tends to show that although Coromandel as a goldfield is one of the oldest in New Zealand, here right at our back doors, so to speak," valuable reefs have been lying unknown and unprospected. Outside Coromandel j the district attracting great attentionjust now is Opitonui, lying practically between the former place and Kuaotunu on the eastern Tokatea slope. The Kauri Gold Estates are here carrying on opera-' tions of great magnitude, and the future is regarded in a hopeful light. The characteristics of Opitonui are analogous to Kuaotunu in the matter of large ore bodies of medium or low grade ore, witlr occasional chutes of richer stone. Large development works are now in progress and extensive blocks on the different reefs" are being opened out in readiness for the erection of the crushing plants, which will be proceeded with in due course. The exact mode of treatment has / not, T j believe, been decided upon yet; but it is" understood that cyanide will form the j basis, with doubtless adjunctive plant for ore not amenable to that solvent. The land sale of leases for town lots in the future township of Opitonui, which took place a week ago here, created very, spirited bidding, all being disposed of at a premium—this fact is significant. The Coromandel County Council have-at last i realised their position in regard to the ! new district, and foreseeing that unless J some adequate -orovision be made for j traffic from Coromandel the trade must inevitably pass through another channel, they have -called for tenders for the improving and reforming of the existing road, which during the winter was almost impassable. This work is absolutely | necessary in the best interests of both ] places, and it is to be hoped the road will be now placed in a thorough state of repair. Altogether this end of the peninsula presents a healthy aspect, and | althoug-h a number of the wild cats have i dropped out of sight, they never will be ■ missed, while the legitimate mining- ven- | tures, if not actually producing returns! j are holding their own, performing systei matic work v/hich may bring its reward at any time. The mines on the Hauraki belt still I remain active, with no startling change i to report. The Special turned out £1,500 odd again last crushing, which says a j good deal for the way the mine has been j managed that it continues these returns • with no fresh ground "broken yet. In the Union Beach Section the re-opening of the ISO feet level is being vigorously pushed I ahead, s.nd no distant date should see the reefs in hand again, when a repetition of I former days is looked forward to. i Goldmen Pah are busy sinking their main ! shaft. Hauraki Main Lodes are now driving three level crosscuts from the 200 feet level in northerly, westerly and southerly directions. So far no reef has been intersected, but the rock is auriferous, and the re*;fs by survey are still in advance. Hauraki South have had considerable I ctiffieulty in getting their new Worthing- ; ton pump to work properly, consequently j work in the shaft has been'thrown back ! a goad deaL I believe it has now been j rectified, however, and the sink should I now go on smoothly and uninterruptedly, j Bunker's Hill have secured a few pounds I of picked stone from the cross leader I below No. 1 level in the winze. The leader j looks well and from the appearance of ' the stone it is surprising the gold when ; it makes does not show a little more continuance. The N.E. prospecting crossrut from No. 1 chamber should tap something of value towards the old lona shaft. This work has not long been iiiaugurated. ! Welcome Find has proved somewhat disappointing at No. 2 level, although ; the specimen lead has certainly produced some very fair stone, but not in the quantities expected. It would apnear desirable to further exploit this lead by driving on it, as it seems strange that the I present run of gold should beconflned. to j such a small area. This work I believe is to be undertaken. The Golconda Company after shutting •lown the mine for some months, have made a fresh start with more capital. I ; have always considered that the company j should make a nersistent endeavour to -locate the-Hauraki North- main reef, 11 which must (by survey) traverse- the Golconda ground To expedite operations a steam winch has been erected to dis- ; place the old windlass, it will also prove more economical. j Hauraki North is still on a payable run I of ore of medium grade, but as richer chutes are of regular occurrence the returns may be swelled at any time. There i? no doubt to make the main reef pay a large tonnage should be treated, and this has not been possible with one ore crusher, the other one now in course of erection should assist in doubling the present capacity. Hauraki Associated started their new bp.ttery last week in presence of number of directors and others. Chief difficulty ; now confronting the company is the quesr ■ tion of transport of ore from the mine to J the battery. In the meantime it will be i carted—an expensive and tedious process, ! especially if the general ore is looked to | for returns. If the latter point is proved I as satisfactory, the sooner the aerial tram iis up the better. The mine is being vigorously and well opened up. Tokatea Consols had their first crushing at Scotty's of 20 tons ore for a return of 1120 ounces, valued at £343 10/. This is I very encouraging and should stimulate further endeavours. Several of the loaders now being worked are looking well. Another highly successful crushing is expected this month from the Royal OaK, as rumour hath it that ore of exception- .' ally rich quality has been broken down I during the month. The fact that the present rich patch is encased in a calcareous slate formation goes a long way to disprove the theory held by some that on the northern fields the aniesite country alone is conducive to the existence of gold bearing reefs. Scotty's Hauraki have created a general feeling of satisfaction by once more resuming operations. This week Captain, Hodge started 25 men, and the practical development scheme conceived by him will now be given effect to with it is hoped gratifying results. New Hauraki Gold Mines, adjoining the Success and the Karaka Block, are now cross-cutting to intersect the new reef discovered in the latter ground, -which has been located in the New Hauraki. Several pounds of nice stone were I believe secured from the outcrop here, and the lower levels will further investigate it. Harbour View protection having- expired the company have remanned their ground under Mr Arch. Kelso, who is intimately acquainted with the whole locality. Several rich patches were taken out here in the early days, and the character of its situation is such that the same might occur again any day. At present the development of several fine leaders is proceeding, and gold is seen through the stone. Very little continues to be done" with our foreshore claims, which remain as of yore in the virgin state—a vast expanse-'of- surfa.ce mud at low water. They are, however, in the auriferous' channel of country, and might prove profitable ventures; but 'doubtless little will be done until some criterion is established by the Hauraki Main Lodes, a foreshore claim itself. The outlying districts are just now rather auiet. At Manaia one or two mines are looked upon as likely to go offshortly, in which case things will receive a much wanted lift there. Several parties of tributers are, it is reported, doing- very well, but tributers have very often the happy knack of doing what a company may fail in. At the Tiki the Progress-Castle Rock, are still pushing ahead under new management. Incidentally many people -would like to know the reason of the. change. The Pukewhau has also resumed work with two men, who will not, I am afraid, be able to accomplish much in the hard ground obtaining there. On account of another option having been granted over the Four-in-Hand at Waikoromiko, little work is going on In the mine. As this mine exercises a" considerable influence over the immediate future of this district, it is to be hoped it will be successfully floated this time. At Kennedy Bay the Bay View and Flossie (late North Star) now claim the most attention. Last week the manager secured CO lb. of stone from the Bay View No. 1 leader, of fair quality I believe, and a winze is now being sunk on the same. From the Flossie the manager who found the outcrop of the main leader some distance from the present workings brought over several pounds of stone showing nice blotches of the precious metal. This is encouraging and may. lead up to something better. At Cabbage Bay the "White Star Syndicate are still conducting prospecting and other operations, but it is not possible to obtain full and reliable information as regards results. The Jersey seem to have struck a payable leader on the surface, as the stone shows gold freely. It is of course of small size, and the stone characteristic of tha district is very fine grained and extremely hard. A trial crushing of two tons will be put through the battery this week for what is anticipated wi\l be a good return*