MINING NEWS.

Evening Post, Volume LIII, Issue 4, 6 January 1897, Page 6

MINING NEWS.

[bt telegbaph.—peess association j Auckland. sth Januar}-. On business being resumed at the Stock Exchange to-day, a hopeful feeling prevailed, there being buyers for a number of stocks. Several leading London mining men, shareholders in Auckland mines, including Mr. Cecil Hartridge, have arrived at Coromandel for the purpose of inspecting the various English mines. . (Received January 6, 10.10 a.m.^ Melbourne. This Day. A discovery of great interest has been made by the officers of the Geological Department in Gippsland. They came across gold in a formation consisting of barytes, mixed with quartz, commonly, though erroneously, described as heavy spar. The existence of gold in this formation is not unknown to science, but so far there has not been an instance of gold-bearing barytea being discovered in Australia. The diggers are having anything but a rosy time at Cullensville, according to- the Marlborough Express, owing to their inability to cope with the water. Eight pumps (Cornish) are going night and day to drain the Hibernian, Lucky Hit, and Te Ore Ore claims, but owing to the large quantity of open ground and the inadequacy of thq fluming for carrying the water, Jittle impression is being made. Those interested are talking of petitioning the Government to construct a concrete dam across the creek and erect fluming. If this were done very little pumping would be necessary, and the work would undoubtedly greatly assist those who will eventually work Cullen's Flat. A considerable number of claims, says the Nelson Colonist, have recently been pegged off in the vicinity of Mount Arthur and the Table Land. Two of the claims are being secured with the object of working the deposits of asbestos that exist there. Some of the asbestos that has been brought down is of very excellent quality, dividing into silk-like threads between six and nine inches in length, while some may be longer. This asbestos is believed by those who have been opening it up to be worth about £40 a ton, and they contemplate putting down a tramway to facilitate getting the asbestos to a place of shipment. Others of the claims that have been marked out are for quartz-mining, while from some it is proposed to obtain the gold by means of hydraulic sluicing. The present drawback on the Table Land, which is nearly 4000 ft above the sea, is the difficulty experienced in securing sufficient water, and the roads are also bad.

At the Magistrate's to-day, John O'Con nell, jun., was ordered to contribute 7s 6d per week towards the support of his father.