PROFESSOR BLACK'S REPORT.

Evening Star, Issue 7197, 27 April 1887, Page 2

PROFESSOR BLACK'S REPORT.

[Feom Que Pabliamentaby Repoexeb.]

WELLINGTON, Aran. 27,

Professor Black, in his progress report on the Shotover and Skippers district, says:— "I found gold in every piece of quartz tested in this district, and, on the whole, a better result the lower the level at which the stone was taken. This is a strong indication that where gold is got in the outcrop of a reef high np on the mountains in this district it will probably yield a better result when followed down to the level of the present creek, which is borne out by the character of the stone now for some time being taken out of the famons Phoenix mine, and also by the high assays (from 2oz to 6oz) invariably got from the stone in the Maori Point reefs at an altitude —the former of 2,500 ft, the latter of say I,Booft above the sea level. If this be true of Mount Auruni, to which I have paid particular attention, it means that to work the numerous reefs that traverse the mountain to the best advantage, it must be pierced by a tunnel at a low-level, say 2,500 ft to 3,000 ft above the sea level. This, if driven from the left-hand branch of the Shotover in a southerly direction, would cut the reefs that underlie or dip to the northwest, or at a level some of them from I,oooft to 3,500 ft below this outcrop. This of course would give an enormous quantity of stone in the banks, which could easily and without much expense be sent ;out of the tunnel to the batteries that would be erected on the Shotover. Besides the proved auriferous character of the quartz lodes of Mount Aurnm, as shown by assay and inferred from geological considerations, there are other features which distinguish these mountains as a most hopeful field for successful quartz-mining on a large scale, viz., (1) The Skipper's Creek, from the wash of which for the last twenty years such a large quantity of alluvial gold has been taken, rises high up in the south • eastern side of the - mountain, and must have derived its gold from the debris of its reefs. The same applies to the Shotover terraces, which are proverbial for being one of the richest alluvial fields in New Zealand. (2) There is abundance of timber suitable for mining purposes in the Sixteen-mile Bush, in the immediate neighborhood, and ample water in the Shotover (left-hand branch) running past the probable site for batteries, for this field to give a crushing power of the best kind, which would therefore be.abundant and cheap. (3) The gold of the district is of excellent quality, peing worth L3l9s per ounce gross. In conclusion, I must say that 1 am convinced that there is a future of great prosperity for this goldfield, provided that facilities are given for opening up the reefs at the proper depth, which can only be done by devoting large areas for the large operations that will be necessary."