MINING NOTES

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume XVIII, Issue 1039, 31 October 1889, Page 3

MINING NOTES

We are indebted to Mr. }lf ieiSori, legal manager o the companies named, for the following- information supplied by the mine managers and otherwise:— oolbex Gully co., SEjtrRSTisE. The batten is in full swing-,; crushing well and the tables looking very well; It is intended to continue crushing as long as the water supply will holdout, but owing to the exceptionally dry weather operations are likely to be impeded unless rain comes soon. Cn the ■ other hand, at the time of writing there is every indi- i cation of a heavy fall of snow or rain within the i.tst few days. This company intend as soon as the present crushing is completed, and duri.:g the dry season approaching, to remove the battery from itspresent site to one in Long Valley immediately below the tunnel mouth, and to erect reservoirs for the storage of the water for crushing purposes, to - fill which it has purchased from Messrs Darlington and A'len a water' right which will command the whole site and in favorable seasons bring in a co stant and sufficient supply of water. The stone now being crushed is vei 3" S o °di Rold being risible fully throughout it, and the result of the crushing should be a very satisfactory return. • - - - VICTORIA CO., KESTIIORS. ' The wdrking shaft has been sunk to a depth of 54' feet, the reef at the bottom beiug fully IS inches thick, carrying quite as good prospects as anywhere else in the mine.- - The mine manager has <"Oninienced tostope put stone at a depth of 44 feet from the surfaee, leaving 10ft. of a well, 'and has driven in for the stope a. distance of 15 feet. The shaft from .-which the trial crushing was taken has been bailed, cleaned out and sunk!6;feet deeper, uiaking'it 41ft deep in all, and at the bottonithe reef is 21 inches in thickness carryinggood gold. The miiie manager estimates the average width of the reef • in this shaft as two feet from top to bottom, and says thaE it carries good prospects for the entire distance* There ar'e between SO and 90 tons of stone at grass, the bulk of wuith has' come from the shafts alone^ The machinery ordered by this-couipariy for the conjoint use of itself, the Consolidated anA Break ©'. Day Companies, is now being carted to the batterysite. It consists of one rock breaker, two Challenge ore feeders, Reliance stamper battery (10 heads), two Frue vanners,-two'grinding-and-amalgamating pans and one settler. ■ Besides these a 35 h.p: Westinghouse engine and a suitable boiler have been ordered, a.<d will be on the ground in time.io supply power when the rest of the plant is erected, Air, W. Petersen, the mechanical engineer who accompanied the plant from San Francisco to erect and run it, is now at Neuthorii busily engaged in preparing the site to receive the plant, and its erection will by him be pushed on as rapidly as possible. Jlr. Petersen brings the highest credentials with him, and appears to be a most competent, painstaking and even enthusiastic man in his profession. ...... .:-.., - ' "(From Otra Nemtiorn Cobrespoxdest.

Settling down steadily to. work is the order of things at Nenthom just now. Specimen showing and the sound of the mortar seem to have given way to the steady look of purpose and the stained clothes of the practical miner, whose efforts can alone tell the real value of the field. Nenthornis fortunate in the.fact of being lutein date compared with the Carriek. Bendigo Gully, Macetown and Skippers districts. The 'prentice hands of managers and men who were trained on the above mentioned fields, and who have obtained a respectable vxpertaess at the expense of previous efforts, will be found really serviceable here ; and if directorates a-id managers will take advantage of the improved machinery which skill and science has placed at their disposal, there can be little doubt but that Centra] Otago will get a most effective trial during the coming decade, for it will take about ten years to give a field like Ncnthom a fair trial on the surface alone. A new battery called the Reliance Stamper Battery is reported at Nenthorn, the one already mentioned as coming from San Franeiseo for the Consolidated, Break o' Day and Victoria claims, a-d no doubt it will soon augment the music of the mill at Nenthom. Water seems to be the great want of this place, a-id I would take this opportunity to point out to Nenthorn residents that as far as domestic wants are concerned, they have the matter entirely in their own ha' ds as the Croesus Company bail enough to supply all the town with drinking water ; avd this proves beyond a doubt that the hill on which the Crcesus shaft is sunk, and which is higher than most parts of Net thorn township, contains a good supply of the imch-veeded element which needs tut the boring rods a ;d wind mill pumps to make it available for use in the township ; whilst it is just possible the rods would show the pinups to be unnecessary. Messrs ifalone and Barman's new hall for general public purposes draws near completion, and is certainly a credit to all concerned. It is certain to be in gr~at demand as soon as it is finished. Music and the drama seeiu equally anxious with the Warden and the gentlemen of the long rob» to patronise the accommodation which its spacious chambers afford, a-.d which points direct to an energy which far exceeds anything ever experienced on a gold fields rush in Otago before the opening of Nenthom. Notwithstanding the fact that proved claims are in full swing here, the indefatigable prospector is working ovr a large extent of country between llacraes and Silver Peaks. . - Splendid prospects are being "ot. in Xo.' 2 reef in the Zealandia Co.'s claim. In No. 1 the shaft is 62 feet deep, and they have driven 30 feet on the fifty feet level on a 3-foot reef. , The Croesus Company washed irp on Monday, 130 tons of quartz having been reduced duringthe nioiith. The result was 182oz. of retorted gold- equal to a return of a -shade less thin of gold per to:. Crushing has.been resumed. The trial crushinc of stone from the Golden Chariot qnartzclaim, reduced atilessrs Eincaid and Jl'Queen's buttery, Duuedin. yielded two ounces three pennywei hts to the toil—a most satisfactory and encouraging return.