Novell Riles of Silver.

Evening Star, Issue 7449, 18 February 1888, Page 1 (Supplement)

Novell Riles of Silver.

The supreme position which Broken Hill mines have attained in the estimation of investors in the three leading capitals of Australia makes all the reliable evidence obtainable in respect of them a subject of interest. We reproduce from the columns of the Broken Hill ‘Times’ the following report upon the mines there:—“lt would he utterly useless to describe the features observed by me in the various mines I have inspected, so far as I could decide, after many years of experience of other silver and lead deposits. After the accumulation of evidence of all these, 1 can fearlessly assert that the Broken Hill mines eclipse them all, when it is considered that ‘actual mining’ has scarcely beep commenced. It will be requisite at this point for me to refer to the preparations made for winning the rich ores by the parent company in large quantities in the near future, but having had the courtesy extended to me by Alessrs Patton and Piper to examine their workings at tlieir lowest working level, I can only say that these preliminary works, which will eventually confer large benefits upon the fortunatejproprietors, are all but in an infantile state. The system is an admirable one, and would delight any mining engineer, seeing what the results arc likely to he when a very in«cl: increased smelting power will he put to use, and when the ore is not, as at present, dressed and concentrated by manual labor, but by the best acknowledged automatically working concentrating machinery, for which I am glad to say Air Patton has already made ample provisions. Having thus referred to that Company it should he stated that in the immediate neighborhood, both north and south, the Broken Hill North have erected and are working a powerful plant upon the continuation of this same lode-foundation ; and others in that direction are in an embryo state of developing for a distance of oyer seven miles the galeniferons-carryiug rich silver ores in that direction. I may now turn attention to the southern extension of this lode, which, at the 210ftlevel, measured about 200 ft from wall to wall in the Proprietary Company mine, in which I almost omitted to mention that a soft crystalline vein matter, stained by ferro-manganese, exhibits a large percentage of chlorides amongst the resplendent c iruscations of carbonates of lead. The next company I inspected was the Central, where a splendidly-constructed winding and pumping plant has been erected, and about the best constructed shaft has been sunk to the footwall. Theplatisunusuallyroomyaudwell timbered for any amount of work that may be anticipated in the near future ; the lode was intersected at a distance nicely calculated by the mining manager. To speak of the contents of the lode, as so intersected for about a score of feet, I am afraid to say too much ; the whole formation is teeming with silver ore of high value, and a considerable ‘ spat ’ of native silver. Another feature was here observed, i.e., the occurrence of green carbonates of copper cncrustating red oxides, which in turn enclosed nuclei of pure native copper. Both north and south the geological evidence from a mining geologist’s point is indeed very fa\ orable for extension, and from what I have seenunderground this metalliferous belt will, if properly worked and managed, doubtless become one of our permanent sources of wealth, beneficial to all concerned,—G. Tiiurkaxt, F.G.S., London, Inspector of Alines and Geologist for the Government of Tasmania.”