OUR THAMES LETTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IX, Issue 2489, 17 January 1872, Page 3

OUR THAMES LETTER.

Tuesday, o p.m. No>TAiir.lL.—l'he shaft is now down the required depth of 100 feet below the present working level, and the contractors tiro engaged in sinking the weil und excavating for the chamber. Both will be finished by the end of the week, so as to allow of a cross-cut being started to the cast to intersect the main reef, which should be dona in seven to eight feet, as it is going down aim st perpendicularly in the winze. The winze on the underlay of the reel' has to be sunk a further depth of forty feet or so, to bo oil a level with the shaft, and when this is done the backs to beat away will be fully 100 feet in height, which will give them :v twelvemonth's work tit the very least. The quality of the lode going down to t his level, as tested by the winze, is very good general crushing stoue. Scarcely a shift comes oil* without a little gold. It is probable that the stringers that were gone through in the sinking of the shaft, and which eavc good gold, will be found when Ihe main lode conies to be opened on. If not, a cross-cut to the west, will soon touch them as well as manv others that were worked upon in the higher levels. The sluiF that lias been sent to the Criterion battery for reducing is from the winze and the stopes at the back of the last level, but in consequence of Iho sci.rcity of water crushing has ceased. Prince Imperial. — The manager is at present sending to the Waiotahi battery a parcel of stone that has been broken out from No. 1 leader, at the back of the 100-feet level, and ! am glad to state that the show so far is better than the two last lots that were put through. The manager is still driving on the main reef i:i ihe bottom level, towards the sea, and although the stone therefrom is as good-looking as any on the field, no very great prospects have been obtained. In the upper level, besides br-'aliing out from No. 1 leader, he is continuing the drive on the main reef into the heart of the hill, and here there is a great improvement in the lode. For «ome feet, back it litis been nothing but mullock, but now there is a foot of solid quartz, and tiiis speaks very favourably ior the ground ahead, as the drive is now close up to where the Mariners' Reef Company got such good gold, :it a ci-la:ice of about sixty feet overhead. Waiotahi Association. —The tributers of tins company have nt last commence 1 to send stone into the mill, and there are now five heads employed upon it. This stone is from behind tiie big reef on the surface, from whence eoine of the best crushings have been made. I am glad to state that there is every probability of g )od payable stone being gut froui t!ie opposite, or Manukau side of the mine, as the shaft sunk near to the boundary of tl c Manukau cut through a lode at a. depth of 70 feet, 18 inches wide, underlying ino the llauukau. The stone from tins is fdrly di--tr btited throug'i the whole of it. This shaft is Lei: u - sunk deeper, until it reaches the level of the boundary of the two claims. Qcce.v of BnAcri*. —The shareholders of this claim re-comi.ienced crushing last week at Buil's machine, where they employ the whole of the eleven heads, and it is probable, now thev are opening out their new low level rapidly, that an additional number of stampvrs will have to ue engaged elsewhere. The present low level is sixty feet: below the one that gave out such go.nl stone, and was the means of imparling vitality into a hitherto neglected part of the Held. However good it was at the 10-J feet Lvcl, there is every reason to believe that the 100 feet level will surpass the upner tin-' f<>r richness, as the cru-iling at the present moment is very good, and the stone from :h 1 wi'-ze that was crushed before Christmas confirms this. As in the llright ■Smile, which is a continuation of this claim's reef, the deeper they tesL it the more compact it is. In I lie present face of the drive there in fully four feet of good, compact stone, devoid of that blue mullock that was so abundant on the top. Stak or iiie Tiiaiiits date S!i->otinf Stur). —For several days past the manager of this company has been breaking out some exceedingly rich stono. equal to that found some two months ago, and which was productive of a. dividend, so that at the piesenL moment there is no iess a quantity than 1 tut. of rich specimens in baud. Tiiis stono is from the drive started from the bottom of the winze, 50 feet, below the main adit, and going in the direction of the Caledonian Company's ground. Jn order to work the lode on a larger scale than hitherto, lenders for the sinking of another winze have been called for, and by tiiis means more ground will be cut into blocks, which necessarily renders the out-put of quartz much greater. Crushing will be commenced tomorrow at Partington's, 25 to 30 tons having been sent down. Flying Cloud. —The reports forwarded from time to time during the last few days respecting this mine, are being fully confirmed by the crushing, which is now taking place at the Slanukau machine, where five heads of st-.nipers are employed, and the show on the plates pro die' 3 a yield of about li oz., exclusive of specimens.