MINING MATTERS. (FROM THE "THAMES ADVERTISER," JUNE 9)

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3402, 11 June 1868, Page 3

MINING MATTERS. (FROM THE " THAMES ADVERTISER," JUNE 9 )

Tbe Homewwd-Bjund is the name o! a claim o •even men's ground, situate oa tbe bill a'jove th famous Kuranui Company's ground. It ha* beei opened some eight months, but since then haiohangec hands, and not one of the original shareholders re mains to reap tbe reward which it now promises t( yield. The prospecting drive was pnt in on thi ground adjoining, known us the Deep Lead. Tfaii has reached a length of 100 feet, with a shafc soul) from it to a depth of 60 feet. Here one of the EJuranu: Company* leaders was opened, which is believed te be the same now worked by the Eureka, and yielding so satisfactorily. A cross drive was also put in oo the leader, which has reached a iength of 46 feet, carrying the gold-bearing quartz the entire length, and yielding some excellent specimens. Ihe main drive is at present being prospected with a view oi ascertaiuiog the resources of the claim, and fresh leaders have been opened which promise an abundant yield of good paying quartz. A lower drive has been put in with a view of catting the leader from the upper one at a depth of 150 feet, and a shaft, closely slabbed the entire length, has been put in upon the leader. A winze has been put down 30 feet on the leader, and from the ground around the top of this winzs some of the best specimens were obtained — specimens which are estimated to contain some 70oz. of gold in one piece. The leaders vary from 6io. to a foot. The upper drive, which is now being worked, has been excavated some 36 feet within a fortnight, with very good results. Tbis working was originally opened by those who took up the claim, but,' gold having been struck in a lower part of the ground, it was abandoned. Mr. Kneebone, the 1 present manager of the claim, was desirous of ascertaining the dip of the leader worked in the Eureka (Golduworthj's) Claim, and, upon taking the compass bearings, traced it to the above-mentioned drive, where it has since been opened with so much satisfaction %o tbe shareholders. Ten pounds weight of specimens were washed out of a dishful taken from the drive. There are at present about 150 tons of quartz on the ground in readiness for a crushing, the only sample yet put through the machine, consisting of 1151b. of specimens, which yielded 105oz. of gold. A good prospect has likewise been obtained from a portion of th* ground at present unopened. A machine is in course of erection for the claim on an eligible site obtained from the Deep Lead Claim. A battery of four stamp-heads has already been put up, and space left for the erection of an additional battery of five head at leisure. Messrs. Eraser and Tinne are the machinists, and have done their work, so far as we are at present able to judge, in a creditable manner. > The work <>t conveying th* machinery on to the site was attended with great difficulty, owing to the situation of the ground, but a roadway having been formtd, with assistance from the Deep Lead Claim, communication along the Kuranui is now fully opened up. Tbe stampers possess a fall of ( 64cwfc. each, and the latest improvements are to be obtained for the amalgamating apparatus. The machinery is to be set in motion with the first crushing early next week, and will be available for use by the Deep 1 Lead Claim seven days every month. This grqund has lately been registered under the provisions of the Mining Companies Act as the ".Homeward-Bound Gold Mining Company," with a capital of £2,525. Mr. Richard Keals has been elected manager of. the company. The Wniotabi Gold Mining Company's gr«nnd ii an amalgamation of claims known as the 'Parnell Reef and Coombes and Townley'e. claim, the former containing aix men's and the latter ten men's ground, and is situated at the foot of the Waiotahi Creek, overlooking the flat. Tbe last-mentioaed party originally held a sluicing claim in the oreek, and whilst engaged at this work discovered a leader apparently coining from the direction of a retf t and at once took up the ground for reefing purposes. The reef, was discovered running straight for a distance of 1 some 80 feet, with a leader crossing it, aud a drive was put in on the boundary of the ground by the owners of the Parnell Beef Claim. Coombes and Townley's party put a shaft down 40 feet and another one adjoining 28 feet, in which two hkely-lookingjeaders were found. The main reef has been found to extend to a width of 3 feet, and runs underneath the bed of the creek, dividing the ground from the direction of the Perseverance Claim. One of the drives has been slabbed to a length of 100 feet, and another one, at present qloied up, has been clo»e>timbered throughout, involving a considerable outlay of money and labour. It is intended to put a drive in the centre, with a vie ir of working across it before coming up. A large amount of work has been done, irrespective of that visible in the workings, during the four months it has been in the hands of its present manager, Mr. Johnston. A road was commenced with a view of carrying it round Mulligan's ground, but the compensation .asked by the latter gentleman was repudiated, and the work was not proceeded with. A substantial bridge has been put across the oreek, which is'found of great convenience for the claims around, as well , as those extending some distance beyond. Some likely-looking stuff hns been obtained from two shafts on the ground, and there are now some 60 or 70 tons of stuff in readiness for a orushing. It is intended to erect a ten -stamper machine on the ground, and, pending the completion of t- is, no progress is mad* in getting out the quartz. A sample crushing of the general run of the quartz and mullock from the Parnell Beef has been made at Graham's machine with the following result, namely : three-quarters of an ounce to the ton ; whilst the yield from Townley's ground was half-an-ounoe to the ton. Some twenty men have been engaged preparing the Bite for maobinery to be ereoted on the ground. The Norwegian Claim, which had a crushing at the Victoria machine last week, and did not obtain the result anticipated, is at present crushing a parcel from their ground in Loom and Co.'s berdan, on the Hobson's Park ground, with a view of testing the difference of the yields. Respecting the crushing for the Mariners' Reef Claim at Graham's machine, with which a shareholder expressed so much dissatisfaction in our last issue, the following explanatory letter has been addressed to Mr. J. Home, signed by the .manager of the claim :— " Waiotabi, Bth June, 1868. Sir,— Referring to an article which appeared in the Thames Advertiser of the sth instant, I beg to inform you that we found no amalgam in the tailings for the first three days' crushing; that the entire working management of the tables was left in the hands of the shareholders of the claim, and that no blame is attachable to the machine fof the loss which occurred on" the fourth day's crushing. The shareholders of the claim are all' perfectly eatisfied with the maohine; amd intend cruhhing in it again. — lam, *°>J- T_GIRDIS, manager Mariners' JReef Claim.— Mr. J. Horhe, manager Hauraki Quartz Crushing Company." ' Graham's machine has been engaged crushing for Mulligan's claim, and from the appearance of the stuff on the tipple tables the result is expected to be very satisfactory. To-day a parcel from Tookey's olaim it to be' put into the machine. , The North Star is •» claim situated on the Moanatotiari, and adjacent to the Middle Star. ' It consists of four men's ground, and was opened about two "months ago. A shaft has been put down to an extent of 24 feet, and a drive to a depth of 35 feet, both having been put down with a view of opening the Middle Star reef. Some likely-looking leaders have been cut, but at present no indicationof gold has been discovered. ' ' j 1 The Eureka (Gojdsworthy's) crushing at the Victoria machine, on Friday last, resulted in a yield of 401b. of amalgam, from 30 tons of mullock. < The Victoria Cross Claim, aituate on the Waiotahi Creek, has been worked for the last three, months, and presents every prospect of rivalling any, claim on the creek. ( There aTe two leaders being worked 2 feet 6 inches aud 1 foot 5 6 inches respectively in thickness^ which have yielded 6 ounces of gold to the tbn of atone, from various quantities crushed. No gold is visible to the - naked eye, bub it can be distinguished, through a magnifying glass. • There are about 20 tons ■ of itone out on the ground which will be shortly cruahed. : ~ Dr. Aiokitf* new process of gold-saving w said to have been" very successful in an experiment u^on lib. -df 'stone taken from Heldt's claim, Moanataiati Creek, which 1 yielded 16nwt. 12gr. The olaim is situate near the Victoria machine, and as been worked some five months "as six men's -ground. Twenty tons crushed at Graham's machine yielded 86 ounce* of gold. ' ' 'J " J '"' ' ' ! ' The Princess Alice Claim, Waiotahi Creek; i* reported to be likely to turn out remarkably noh.> The shareholders, we understand, crushed slt>. of stone, which' was obtained from a leader taken from/ theface o* the drive, and when tested produced. 14 ! grain*, averaging 12 ounces to the ton.- _ This claim - consists of ' six ■>. men's ground, and joins ph« wellknown Liverpool Boy*', Ballarat, and Shs!mrock,iMi the sam* creek. - We congratulate th* j fortunate shareholders on the golden prospests beff>r* themj and all the more so when we consider the short time the ground has been v taken upland the oooaequent small amount *>f work tha« basbeen got ttjrongh. , ■ ; Quinnand'Cashell, Tauu Creek, , have f tplen lid show: from tb^ir leader, the mullock about which contains a gooft deal of gold without any iquartz ox pyritea whatever adhering to it ' The leader, ia now making a oonaideiable dip to the eastward. Thu company hay* a large berdan, worked by two men,, and a woodta stamper shod with iron, worked bj

one man. craahes tbe fct-iff in iti dry state, and wwaes it into the berdan. There is no doubt th«Ttho whole of the gold U sired, but tbe loss of time h aomewhat considerable* Daring the last thri-e weeks they have managed to crush about 6owt,, and that too after the «tuff had been roasted. Much dissatis'action is felt at the slewnws of the process *nd the waste of power. - < The Day Spring Claim, Waiotahi, have commenced oruahing at the four-stamper battery- whioh bas been completed to their order by Mesara. Fraier and Tinn«. The D»y Spring is worked by ft pactj of Auckland mechanics, and gold was struck about two months ago.