MINING NEWS

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 152, 29 June 1914, Page 16

MINING NEWS

TALISMAN CONSOLIDATED DEVELOPMENTS AT DEPTH. <»T TELEOnAPH— SPECIAL TO THK POST.) WAIHI, 27th June. The most important development works in progress at the Talisman mine are the drives north and south on the Maria reef from the bottom of No. 12 winze, which is now down to the random of the fifteenth level. The first round of holes fired in both directions disclosed a strong body of quartz, but the values were low. A second cut taken out of the north driVe proved the lode to be wider than the drive, with no walls showing and values still low, but on the south side, where the drive has been advanced to 9ft, payable values have come in again, the X'eef being wider than the drive, with only the footwall exposed. The winze will be carried down a few feet further to provide for the sump, and when this work has been completed driving both north and south on the lode will be resumed. At No. 14 level the main south drive is about under the point where the second run of pay oro came in on the Dubbo section of the Maria reef at No. 16 level, and for the last few feet the drive has been in country rock. In order to determine whether the reef has died out ov gone away into the east wall a crosscut is being projected east some little distance back from the south face. The country rock in the face is heavy mineralised, and shows little seams of quartz indications which point to the reel being close to hand. That the reef has died out seems quite improbable, as it lived some distance further south at the thirteenth level and was followed down by No. 17 winze (from No. 13 level) almost immediately over the spot where the south drive at the fourteenth level (which is bearing away to the west) ran out of quartz. On the west vein a winze (No. 7) has been sunk about 40 feet on pay ore, and the reef which was dipping west has changed its underlie going down, having evidently come back and joined the main lode. At No. 13 level the No. 8 crosscut to intersect the Welcome reef is out about the distance where the lode should be encountered provided its dip is the same as at No. 12 level. The country rock in the face is of the right description, and should the Welcome be intersected in this class of rock the ore body should carry values. The crosscut west from the Woodstock shaft, which passed through the Maria reef at about 100 ft, is now out 235 ft, and is traversing a good class of country. Provided they live down this crosscut will c*ut Shepherd's the Woodstock and Comes reefs, i | and the first-mentioned ore body should be met with from the present face. In the old workings overhead pay ore was won from Shepherd's reef, but the lode was somewhat erratic. The Maria reef is being followed both north and south from the Woodstock crosscut, about 100 ft having been driven each way. The drives are being carried along in the hanging-wall and are hugging the hanging-wall of the lode tluough which crosscuts are being projected at intervals of 500 ft. The reef runs from 4 to oit in width, and is a nice-looking body of stone, but though the sampling has disclosed values no payable ore has so far been met with. A rare quantity of water is coming from the Maria reef and the country in the crosscut, and this is being lifted by the big Cornish pump, which has just been placed in commission and is running smoothly.