THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD MIXES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XII, Issue 4259, 8 July 1875, Page 5

THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOLD MIXES.

;If gold-mining operations in South Africa arc not yet conducted upon any very extensive scale, it is unquestionr.Vo that the area j over which the precious metal is known to j exist is constantly increasing. The earlier efforts of the diggers wore confined to the district around the little town of Lydenberg, in the Transvaal Republic, and operations are still being carried on there in a steady if not very brilliant fashion. A correspondent to the Timt'ii now describes what is going on in two different spots, one 200 miles to the north-west of Lydenberg, and the other 300 miles further into the interior in the same direction. This last must be in the very heart of the continent, and it is only what might have been expected that British enterprise has there found congenial employment. It is the headquarters of the London and Limpopo Gold Mining Company, which carries on quartz crushing by machinery, under the superintendence of Sir J. SwinI burne Brown. The other place is occupied I by the Transvaal CJoId Mining Company, whose superintendent is Mr. E. Button, and as a proof that both companies are doing well it is stated that more machinery has been despatched from this country to enable crushing operations to be conducted on a larger scale day and night. It is interesting to read that to the 14 far north" even of those remote goldlields, and lying towards the Zambe.-i River, Mr. Baines, the South African traveller, and Herr Carl Mauch, the discoverer of the v;ist ruins of Zimbabye, or Zimbao, supposed to be the ancient Ophir, have found three more very extensive systems of reefs which, says the correspondent, are " only awaiting their development by European enterprise and capital." At present, according to Ilerr Mauch, these reefs are worked in the most clumsy fashion by the natives, but even with this serious drawback they are said to yield 44 nuggets as large as hazel nuts.'* It is by no means improbable that the gold discoveries will do as much fur South Africa as similar discoveries did for California and Australia. The report of a few monster 14 rinds" would draw crowds of adventurers from every quarter of the and nomadic as this ela>s i>. the ctie«.t> v. ..aid in-, vitaMy be to promote the r-cUN-menr of district* hith-i to unreclaimed by civilised wan. W.-are told that among>t the mountains t.f the Tran-vaal "an abundance of iron and .-..ai" that galena and lead are found in e. rt.iin districts, and that lately & e< ki!." mio" has yi« Id.d nickel >ilver in >ome quantities Add to this, that there is .-careele any \ ro in- e, European or seini-Lr. p eal, which will n< t ilourish in the Transvaal, ''if situation be but stu-lied. ' and it \\ oul 1 appear vain to est mate the future possibilities of South Africa,