COROMANDEL. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) August 27.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXVI, Issue 4062, 29 August 1870, Page 3

COROMANDEL. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) August 27.

Tun Little Wonder has declared a dividend of ±"227 per full shaie, after p vying all exjioas'jrf. This handsome division, arising from tho nch specimens crushed at the Thames last weok, is another matter-of-fact evidence, showing the richness of this distuot, 03 ing aloud for machinery to reveal its great Mealth. TJio hhaic maiket continues active : amongst other sale^, 1 have to lepm t a ciuaitoi -share in the Harbour View for £'?"»(), and a luilf-sluve in the All Nations for Cl7-J. The last-named claim is in a splendid position, being bounded by some of the best claims on this ticld, namely, the Tokatea, Excelsior Peep o' Day, and Day Dawn. Eii^lit men's giound ivas taken up, and the shaieholdeis luivc done a considerable amount of woik. A dine was fust put in at a iiiLjli le\ el for about I(h) feet, and a capital kadei was cut, with much gold, but somew hat broken. Woik is now being carried on wi'h much spirit on the Kennedy's Bay side, and the tunnel is m about -10 feet, duvui'j; m ith a view of cutting the Poop o' Day lcadei at a low levoi. which there is every probability of the men doing m anothei 100 feet In the event of the Peep o' Day le.ide, being tound m thi, diive. it would pla^e the claim aii'on^ ilio foiemost on the held. Tho Little and (iood, nevt the 1 loyal Oak and Little Wonder, is l\»c men's giound, and has been prospered with much success. Three timnph ih-ue been pufc in, two on the Coromandel side of the range, and another on the Kennedys Bay side Yciygood stone is being l)i ought to grass fiom'the Kenned) 's Jiay drive, from a leader varying from IS inches to 21 inches wide. This stuff will ass-m edly turn out well under the stamper boxe*-, and as soon as the roads become haidi'i a lot of it will be sent to the mill. The very splendid specimens which placed this cla'in so pi ommcntly before the public were obtained from the (Joromandel side of the lange. Several interests m this ground have changed hands recently, at a high fijnio ; and the piomising piospf'tis fully justify an advanced puce. — An mfiuenii il meeting of the shareholders in the King of the ilangcs was held at Yelland i i Pacific Hotel on Thursday. Mr. D. M. r>ccio was m the chair, and a long discussion ensued m cousulciing the able icport of Vy Booth, the manager. At no future tune did the prospects ot the proprietors appear blighter. Work has been discontinued upon the wide leefs m consequence of the discovei v of a lioh leadc" last week in a gully near the boundary of tho Shooting Star. All the men are now employed in driving upon it, and hay got in about fifteen feet, and, as the woik pi ogi esses, rich indications are met with. This valuable leader is from ten to twelve niches wide, and about six: tons of stufl a>o now to grass ; and, when a crushing takes place, the yield of gold will no doubt be veiv laige. The stone from tin-, specimen leader is as rich as any 1 have yet seen horn this ground, and will continue to maintain its piesent high character. This giou'i'l, like so mucli moio on tins field, is in -want ot means to convey its valuablo stone to a battciy ; and, in the meantime, a call has been made of XlO per share, and any shaieholders who may have paid future calls <ue only required to pay the balance up to that amount. The vicious piaotice of absentee holdeis not paving their share of the moi king expenses has caused no little inconvenience to the proper working of this claim, and its piesent good position is eminently due to Mr. liooth, the energetic engineer. The giound fiom this claim has not yet been half prospected, and from its situation, also tho valuable stone already revealed, conclusively demonstrates the fabulous wealth awaiting tho lucky shareholders. The call ot £!(> a shaie is made payable on September 1?., and any defaulting shareholders will be sued for their respective amounts. — With so many claims opening up gooil reefs, with gold moie or less freoly distributed, it is j marvellous that the project of amain tunnel, « so often mooted, is not carried out. It is a scheme appioved of generally bv all who have any acquaintance ■with the held, and a woik of that natiixe — a mam pio^pectmg tunnel from one side of the range to the :ither at a low level — would do more than .uiything else in testing tho extent and richness of these hi'K A vei y high authority .n mining mat f eis — a gentleman of great exjeuence in goldmiuing in manypaitsof tho rtoild — deelaicd himself highly m favour of »uoh .a woik, when he visited this fluid a ;hoit Lime tiza There seems to be a great ,\aut, of public spirit and enterprise in this novincc, when such an undertaking could )c earned out for £10,000, and yet nothing lone. A company, m other paits, would be 'ormed with ease, the funds forthcoming, uid woik vigorously pushed on. When w ill the sluniLci ins; capitalist awaken to the im,>oi taut fact that (Joiomandel is worth tiymg? ■since the new manager, Mr LawiencePidgeon, lias taken eh irge of the f rolden Belt Claim, woik has been pushed ahead with an amount jf vigour quite now to the Tiki district. A main le /el has been entered to intersect the reef running through the claim, which was 3ut at a distance of 128 ft. from surface. Tlrs drive was completed in three weeks, and tho work rellects great credit on the manager, being securely timbered through - rat, and altogether is an admirable specimen Df mining w orkmanslnp. The lode averages % thickness o? two feet, and, although no rich, specimens have been obtained since cutting it, gold is to be seen every shift, and seems bo be well distributed through the stone, which gives every piomise of a good crushing. No work lias been clone on the rich specimen leader of late, as the working on it hitherto has been done by means of a shaft, and the manager intends to push the main level up to it, when it can be opened up to great advantage, also giving a level of 100 ft. for stopmg out ; and, from the rich crushings already obtained from this leader, a splendid return will, I have no doubt, result to the shaieholders. The Queen of the Tiki is on the same line of reef as the Golden Belt, and the work is progressing with, much spirit. Splendid gold is being obtained every day. Pioadinakmg has been very geneial of late on the Tiki ranges, but llie distance of some of the best claims from the machines now in course of erection will render the cartage of quartz a heavy item of expenditure. A capital opportunity for a good machine offers itself on the Upper Matawai Creek, where there ifi an excellent site for a good batteiy, wiifh a plentiful supply of water at the foot of the falls, on the Golden Belt Claim. An ordinal y shoot could be constructed, which would convey the quartz from the tip to the machine, thereby doing away with all carting, A battery in such a position could command, with just as much ease, the Queen of the Tiki and the Ailsa Craig, as all these claims are on the same line of reef, and furnishing an unlimited supply of stone, so that the mill need nsver be idle for the want of quartz of a rich description. The new district engineer, Mr. Aicken, displays great activity, evidently determined to give satisfaction, and has become a general favourite. On Wednesday lie was busy in taking soundings for the new pier at Keven's Point, and he has selected a different site from that originally chosen, gaining a greater depth of water with a much shorter pier, thus saving a large sum to the provinciil exchequer. There is every probability that the tenders for this work will be advertised almost immediately, much to the gratification of the residents, and the satisfaction of our visitors. — No tidings have been gained of the missing man Henry Jones ; and, four weeks having now elapsed since he was last seen, it is feared that he must have been drowned in one of the creeks §n the Whangapoua side of the' ranges. — Mr. Crof ton's tender has been accepted for the Tiki road works, and j under the superintendence of such an able [ contractor great improvements may be looked for in that district. , - -