THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5374, 6 February 1879, Page 2

THE GOLDFIELDS.

[FKO3C OUR OWN CORKESP 0>" D E.NT.] | Thames, Tuesday, j Kuraxut.—Operations on the battery level are being pushed a-head with vigour. Tha lode has been driven on eastward abent 30 feet beyond the poiut where the winzi will strike the level. In the face the lode ii about a foot thick. The country has a favourable and encouraging appearance. A rise has just been started to connect with the winze which is being sunk from the level abjve. From tbe poiuc where this rise has been commenced iu to the face, the quartz obt diied is good crushing dirt, tbe gold being coarse a'id heavy. The men employed sinking the winze are making fair pmgretis, and it i-j hopxl that oy the end of the week it will be holed through to the rise. It is now down about Sj feet At the bottom the reef is about a foot thick, and its appearance is very much similar to that on the battery level. The underlie of the reef is rather fiat, and it is calculate! that between the battery and Shotovcr IsreU there will be 110 feet of backs to sto;;e oar. The tests from the wiuze have, on tha whole, been excellent, go that it may be anticipated that a considerable portion of the stutfobtained betweeu these lev» la will crush wellOn the Suotover level the operations westward have beeu suspended for the pre* sent, -the men having b:en moved into the stopes eastward of the crosscut. In thtse stopes the country u inclined to give, and, eonaequeatly, thi manager is auxious to get the quartz oat as quickly a3 possible. The amilgaui obtained during the past month was ret.rted yesterday, for the return of 4G7ozt:. lOdwts. About 5*20 tons of general dirt were crushed this yield. Tne return is not so good as anticipated, the amilgam nut having turned out nearly so much g«»ld as it did the previous month. During the month tbe pf°' bable yield was estimated by the amalgaE obtained from the plates, expecting, as usua, that there wuud be a considerable quantity ia the stamper-boxes. Unfortunately* however, when these were opened, is found that there was very little them. The gold has also proved much &ner, and consequently the amalgam did not prove uea»ly so rich in the precious metal. December 204»Z3. of gold were obtain^ 1 from about 3GOjzs. of amalgam. This month there were over 990 Z3. <>t amalgam, from which 467 % z*. of retorted gold baj" e be-su obtained. The gold obtained from the quartz broken out of the winze ie of a coarse description, and it is expected that dun a s the next month a considerable quantity 0 sf.ufF from this locality will be crushed, can only be hoped that the yield will prove. Westward of tbe present wor* there is still a large block of ground undeveloped, and it is in this direction tW| the richest deposit of the precious ni e may be expected to be met with.