ALBURNIA MINE.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 112, 13 May 1926, Page 4

ALBURNIA MINE.

THE RECENT DEVELOPMENT

REVIEW OF POSITION,

ißy Telegraph.—Special to "Star.")

THAMES, this day,

Now that the excitement consequent upon Snd.ng gold in the Alburnia Mine "has somewhac subsided, it :3 posi.bie to j calmly review the position as it exists j There i=> no dout>t that the optimism (I.splayed in Auckland was but a reflex j of the opinion of many people at i Thajnes who remember the former glory i of the goldfiehl. The finding of gold in J any part of The field, as distinct from j merely colours of sold, is quite a sufficient excuse for optimism, and the cir- I cunistances under which the present find has been made is one more verification of the old adage. "Where it is, there it in." The present company, after' clean injr up the level to where their pre- i decessors had ceased work, proceeded to drive on the Orlando Beef, with the j intention of reaching a point about 400 ! feet ahead. That objective is still in view, and the recent find is very encouraging, seeing it was made at least 200 feet before it- was expected. It is characteristic of this field that unless gold is visible in the ore, then not much value is attached to it. Then again, the rich deposits in nearly all cases have been of a short length, and preceded and followed by long lengths of barren ore. This has been exemplified many times in the Alburnia. The reef where the gold was recently found, and in the present face shows considerable alteration to where a crosscut was put in forty feet back. The footwall portion of the lode for about twenty inches is interlaced with dark mineral scams, and it is from the breaking down of this that the picked stone has been obtained. The balance of the reef, which is about ten to twelve feet wide, is a rather hungry looking quartz, with a mineralised band of about nine inches on the hangingwall. Work at the mine has settled down to normal methods, and driving on the footwall side of.the reef is proceeding. The present position may be summed up by saying it is encouraging to knowthat gold has been found at this point, a further extension of the work in hand may disclose more of the precious metal, but there is nothing disclosed to warrant undue optimism. A good deal more- work will have to lie done before a definite opinion can be formed as to the value of the present development. W-hile the gold-bearing ore ■o far obtained may be fairly classed as picked stone, it must be understood that it is not by any means specimen stone. MANAGERS' REPORTS. *-^ e «^ c mana f e F reports that the drive total &»5 ™ ef ha ? been "tended sft: W w? £ The reef erases Gin wide. fcut has been very mixed with mullock and iron stone. In the face the reef is £_i ta £ a^ ln ' The flrive east on Rossreef has been extended 9ft; total *>7ift The reef U still very small/ After another ™. e th f? T l? nS !.* is lnte *ded to crosscut south to try and meet .Barry's reer, then Hunt 9 reef and then drive east on both reefs towards the slide. There are also a good many other leaders about this locality that carried rich gold on the surface. The drive north on the cross leader has been driven 3ft: ..otai _20ft The leader here averages Bin wide, and looks well. The country is still interlaced with mineral veins.