HASTINGS. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) June 9.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3403, 12 June 1868, Page 3

HASTINGS. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) June 9.

The Fitaroy Claim is still in full working order. They are now getting out some capital atone from the leader which, they crosied in the main drivej the gold oan be seen finely diffused through it ; * capital prospect can aUo be obtained from the mullock about the leader. Part of the workmen are engaged in carrying on the main, drive in. a Bouth-westerlj. direction, and part are following up the leader. The stone is of the same nature as Quinn and Cashell's, and the bearing of the leader in directly for the Golden Point Claim, leaving Quinns considerably to the west. After the ground has been fully prospeote.l and they sink upon the leader it is expected to turn out much rioher. A half working sha- c in. this claim wai sold on Saturday for £20. The Band of Hope Claim, is situated on the south lide of the same spur as the last-mentioned claim, which ii situated on the northern slope, but a few chains further to the west ; their workings have been carried on for about two months, and a drive of 220 feet has been put into the hill in a westerly direction. At a distance of about 170 feet a good goldbearing leader was crossed j oeveral fine specimens were picked out of it, and about ft pennyweight to the dish can be washed out of the mullock. The company are now engaged in making preparations to sink upon it in the shaft. The strata is of dark shale, and there is no doubt but when it enters the blue rook it will be found much more prolific. There is no claim as yet upon thin parallel. One sleeping h»lf share in this claim has been sold for £50, aud another for £30. One-tree Hill Claim has been actively worked for about six weeks ; this- olaim is situated about south of the last mentioned, and was found to. be auriferous from the commencement. Their workings consist of two drives, which they are oarrying simultaneously into the face of the hill from the bed of a small creek whioh forms the boundary between them and theFull Moon Claim, the former being on the north side and the latter on the south side. The dark shale in which their leader was discovered is of a very dense nature. The leader in the lower drive is. bearing in a northern direction, and is of considerable width and richness, but in the upper drive, whioh is almost, if not equally, as rich as the lower, it bears about north-east. They expect two leaders to unite about the centre of the claim, and form one continuous leader bearing north. It is expected that the leader at this singular division of the Btrata will be very rich. On account of the extreme hardness of the rock, it will take a considerable time to reach this ultima Thule of the company's operations. They have made themselves snug on the claim for the winter, having carried up weatherboards from the township along traokß whiob, in many places, form an angle of from 40 to 50 degrees with the horizon, and have constructed a capital house ; they have also succeeded in carrying up a forge, and an anvil, whioh alone weighs 1981b. An equal half share in this claim was sold a short time since for £150. • The Pull Moon Claim are also oarrying on two drives simultaneously into the opposite faoe of the adjoining spur which comes from the main ridge, which bean southerly from the Golden Horn Claim,, which occupies the summit overlooking Quinn and Cashell's, andextendstothePanamaßouteClaim. The upper drive isf olio wing the course of the upper leader of the last-described claim : they have also found it very rich from the commencement. The lower drive is following the lower leader of the opposite claim : they have found specimens in it which vie in riohness with any on the field. One share in this claim has been sold for £300, and one for £350, on which £10 deposit was paid and forfeited, and was subsequently sold for £375. The Panama Route Claim : This justly-celebrated claim is situated on a peak of the main ridge, about a quarter of a mile south of the last-mentioned olaim. A shaft has been sunk from the summit to a depth of about 60 feet, the latter part of which is following the dip of the leader at an angle of about 45 degrees, in which the stuff is amazingly rioh. A drive is Bituated at a depth of about 60 feet down the easterly side of the hill, and the leader has been traced along for a considerable distance. It is partly mullocky and of a width of about 18 inches, and the gold can be very plainly seen in large pieces by the aid of a oandle, studding the whole of the surface of this splendid leader. Another]drive has been put in about 100 feet below the former, and is expected to strike the former leader almost daily ; at that depth it is expected to be much richer than anything they have yet discovered. They have got out a great quantity of very rich stuff ready for crushing. One of the greatest peculiarities of this claim i», that the leaders are running nearly east and west, proving them to be an altogether different series from thoße on either side of the Tapu Creek, which run, as I before mentioned, nearly north \nd south, and the leader is much flatter j also, not dipping at a greater angle than 45 degrees. The dip is southerly. On dit, that Mr. J. McLeod, of Kaipara, is contemplating ereoting machinery for the use of this and adjoining claims. The Bank of England Claim is situated about seven or eight chains from this reef, in a north-westerly direotjon. This company have done an amazing quantity of work in prospecting their ground. They have suooeeded in striking a splendid leader in two drives into the southern face of the hill, which appear to take a direction about south-east. This leader is about from two to four feet in thickness, partly mullooky, and will be very easily orushed. The crystalline quartz which forms also a component part of it is very friable. The dip is about 45 degrees to the south. Several pennyweights of free gold to the dish may be waohed out of it, and so satisfied do the shareholders appear to be as to the capabilities of the claim that they alone are now contemplating the erection of powerful steam crushing machinery. An engine and boiler of about 12-horae power has been purchased in Auckland, and crushing gear to vrork ten stampers have been ordered from Sydney. The Bite chosen for its erection is on a watercourse just below the claim, a few hundred yards distant. . The Bluenoße and Pride of Caledonia Claims adjoin the Panama Route Claim, the former being on the eastern, and the latter on the northern boundary. A good deal of work has been done in the Bluenose, which consists of a shaft 60 feet in depth, and tunnels running north and south, and it is anticipated that when the workings are continued Borne short distance further southwards they will come upon the famous Panama leader, which is bearing directly across this claim. They also expect that it will be much richer, as they will strike it at a much lower level. The workings in the Pride of Caledonia reveal a splendid reef of solid quartz, which, for quantity, cannot be equalled here j a good prospect can be washed from the mullock about the reef. A small portion of the stone was sent to Auckland for analysis, and yielded a good return, although the gold was not visible in it, thereby proving the reef to be auriferous. In a drive recently opened, a prospect was obtained of two grains to half a dish of mullock. This claim is bounded on the north-west by the Bank of England, whose two gold-bearing leaders are making direct for the centre of this claim. The prospects of the Pride of Caledonia and the Bluenose being about equally good, the shareholders have amalgamated for the better working of the ground, which now forms, in the aggregate, that of eight men. In consequence of the unavoidable absence of some of the shareholders, and no prospect of machinery at the time of ceasing operations, the claim has been protected for the present. The development of the adjoining claims shows, with daily increasing certainty, what the future of these claims will be ; and the immediate prospect of machinery close at hand will cause the shareholders, at the expiration of the term of protection, to resume their labours with greatly increased confidence.