MINING NEWS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 23, 27 January 1912, Page 11

MINING NEWS.

TALISMAN CONSOLIDATED. IMPORTANT DEVELOPMENTS 1 AT DEPTH. [BY TBLEGRAPH— SPECIAL TO THE POST.] AUCKLAND, This Day. A visit to the underground workings of the Talisman mine (Karangahake) yesterday morning disclosed the fact that the development of the deeper areas it being attended with highly satisfactory results, one of the most important point* as far-as the future of the property* it concerned being the No.. 12 winsse from ' No. 14 level. This ha« followed the maia lode (the Maria) down 75 feet on its,!u»derlie, and has been in very high- grade ore for the full distance, with rich duet on tho floor of the winze. At- No. - 4 level the drive north on the Maria from' No. 6 winze is out about "235 feet", 1 with high grade material of. good average width right along to within a 'few feet of the, present face, where' the reef'i# smaller and somewhat distu'rbed-^vi. dence that it is in touch with the. fault. The face is between 170- and 180 -, feet north of ,the point, where the values gay* out in this particular' section, oOfo mine at No. 13 level', and, the"development is of considerable importance, in that it bhows that .the pay chutes are becoming moi^ continuous,, going down. In the south drive, which lias been going out on. good ore,« operations' have been, suspended pending the sinking of No. 12 winze to the depth required to relieve the water in the shaft, but- drivingfiwhl be resumed with the completion of 'iHe shaft work. At No: 13 level the\dttve south on the Dubbo Chute went out of pay dirt just after No. 15 rise, but the values came, in again a bit further on, and continued in payable ore, bllt of comparatively low grade, for a. distance 1 of , about 150 ft. In. this section of the mine the Maria has carried over 300 feet of pay ore, whereas at No. 12 level there was only, a small patch of milling grade, and with the values extending both north and south, with development at depth, there is every reason to expect that the values will bo met with when the south, drive reaches the Dubbo Chute at the fourteenth level. Preparations are now being made to sink a ,winze on the Dubbo Chufe from No. 13 level' immediately under No. 16 rise, which went up in good ore for over ISO feet. This will follow the lode down, and will ultimately connect with. No. 14. level. , The only other development work in hand is No. 13 level in the No. 3 crosscut, which is being pushed out to cut the -east veiij and exploio the country north of the present worklug. The Vein .should be 'intersected' in 40, t0 50 feet of driving.- The first set of pump workings .have ' been installed in' the Woodstock Shaft,* and. sinking will i>e resumed early ," next month.. The shaft is now down 20 feet below the Woodstock No.- 6 level, 1 which • is 250 feet down from thy collar of the .shaft, and the intention is to sink to a depth corresponding with the Talisman No. 14 level— a matter of 240 to 250 feet. , When • the shaft is dowji, d start will be made to develop the Woodstock«ore chutes back south to the Talisman ground and the Taukaui hill section going north. ■ ' THE CROWN MINES. BREAKING AND~OPENING UP OF FRESH BLOCKS. The most interesting works now in progress in the Crown mine, Karangahake, are the exploitation of the Crown, reef north on the Waitawheta level, and the preparations for opening up two blocks of ore on the Maria lode. The drive north on the Crown reef has now been advanced about 680 ft, .and in the , last 50ft driven' the ore has improved, and a rise ib in" progress to test the lodo upwards. At present the reef, is about a foot wide and heavily charged with sulphidesi the acsay value' being. £s 10s per ton. Almost immediately over this point some of the best ore in the mine was won on the surface, and the block i» intact for a vertical height of juatf on 700 ft. The No. 1 North block, eetimaied to contain 23,000 tons of ore, of an. average value of £3 11s per ton, k on the Maria reef (the Talisman Company's main ore body), and 'is to be picked up at the Crown mine No. 7 level, where a drive is now being pushed olib - to intersect the lode. This has beea advanced abbut 390 ft, leaving some 230 ft to be driven. The existence of the block 1 in the Crown mine us dv« to the 10d«,.. having changed its underlie 1 from west to east for a length of 200 ft, and a Vertical ' depth of 720 ft, after which, it againassumed its westerly underlie. At the mouth of the drive, at a point near the county road, a hopper is to be erected, and an aerial tram will be constructed from the hopper to -deliver the quartz into a hopper alongside the company's horae tram, so that the cost of transit of ore to tile mill will be comparatively small. .When^this block (No. 1 north block) has been taken out,' a drive will be put out from No. 3 level to intersect the eecond' block (No. "2 south block), which is 500 ft south, and also on' tho ' Maria 1 reef. Tina is estimated 'to average 2ft in width, and to contain, approximately, 25,000 tons of ore between ■ the Nos\ 1 and 5 levels. Owing to ceis taiji of tho levels having collapsed, it . has been^impossible so far to" ascertain the value of the quartz, but as the Talisman 'Company worked the lodo north to the boundary, it is reasonably assumed by the Crown management that the block will bo payable. The battery is now running two shifts daily, And, a start will shortly be made to improve the mill by the 'addition of the new treatment plant recently authorwed" by the Loiidon board of diroctorn.