THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5635, 8 December 1879, Page 5

THE GOLDFIELDS.

MONTHLY SUMMARY. [FROM OUR OWN' CORRESPONDENTS.] Thames, Saturday. After a somewhat lengthy period of deprestiou, another season uf prosperity in connection with mining affairs seems to be opening up. The indications of improvement which were noticed towards the enl of last month have considerably increased, and the prospects of some portions of the goldfield are most encouraging. The sale of tbe big pump plant, which wae to have taken place on the 25th of November, was postponed, owiog to some difficulty in defining the boundaries of the freehold allotment. The County Council arc, however, determined to have the plant sold, and, as soon as the ground has been surveyed, the whole will be offered. At present the pump is still kept going by the .Mranataiari Pumping Association.—Moanataiari : There is no cbange in the Point Russell section of this mine. The operations on the adit level are producing a considerable amount of good payable crushing dirt. In the south cros3-cut on the tunnel level a largo lode ha 3 been met with. When the casing of thi3 lode was first cut through a large volume of water was released, and the flow was so great that the tunnel was completely flooded, and the whole of the operations in the mine stopped for two or three days. This difficulty, however, has been overcome, and everything is going on as usual. On the hangingwall of the lode a quantity of limestone was cut through, aud the lode looked very poor. On cutiing farther into it, however, the quartz has improved in appearance, and mineral indications are shuwing. At present it is premature to form any opinion of what the lode is going to pro\ e. The operations oa No. 3 lode arewithoutanychange. The uum- rous leaders iu this portion of the mine are producing a considerable tonnage of really good crusbiug dirt, and occasionally small parcels of picked stone are obtained. On the SO feet level a crosscut is b. ing driven undcv the tunuel level workings oa No. 3 towards the slide. In this crosscut a healthy-looking lode, 3 feet thick, has been intersected, but as yet 'nothing further has been dona on it. Tne stopes on the Nations leader above tLe 150 feet levtl arc yielding go id cru-hii'j:, dirt. The general crushing nas shown up very well, and the return for the mont.ii is a good one, notwithstanding the stupi.age through the flioi ing of the tiiuuvl—Kurilnui : The opt rations at present beiOj- carried on in this mine are liini ed. On t!iu β-jauii a iinall Ic.clr near the O.UlMo.v*' abaft, from which good prospects are obt.iined, is being driven on towards the Moanataiari giound. Ou the L'hl No. 3 level, a small loader iu the llazjlljank section of the miun is also being prosp cted. The drive on this leader ia going through a good class of couutry. The manager exacts to come on the junction of two large lodes short'y, and it ie possible that ou thi-i junction _<;old will be met with.—Caledonian. — During tliu month the operations in this ininu have be n entirely suspended. It is rather unfortunate ttiat such valuibie ground as this company hold should ba lying idle-, especially after the excellent pruspeeti which were lately obtained ou the No. 3 level. The operations in the Golden Calf mine are without clung?. The Cure aad Red Queen Companies are doing nothing at preseut, the ground being merely worked by tiibuters. — Alburnia : The impruvemcut noticeable iu the western end of tlitj 70 feet level towards the eud of last month has continued during the mouth and a really excellent ruu of gold has been brought to light. .■Since the gold was liistmet with it has been driven uj;oii between GO and 70 feet. Stopirjc operations ou tho run have also been started and a large quantity of goad picked stone and spec in-i.s have been obtaiuod, which have materially increased the mouth's return. About 30 feet back from the preseut face a leader struck on to tho main lode from tha footwall, and now rims parallel with it. This leader alao carries very good gold. Above tiie level the stopes aro fully 00 feet in length, and along the whole distauco gold can be traced, it being especially rich towards the face of tho leading stope. The gold is also making back eastward over a block of unpayable ground that was driven through on the level, so that as the stupes are carried up the ruu of geld lengthens out both ways. From the roof of the drive to the floor of the level above there are 70 feet of backs, so that the company have a. large and valuable block of ground to work upon here. All along the floor of the 70-leet level good gold has been left, anel there is every prospect that the deuo'.it of the precious metal has gone downwards to a considerable depth. The footwall leader is beiug driven upon eastward, and in tbe face of th>s drive tnere is a line healthy-looking body of stone fully a foot thick. This leader is quite a new thiugin the mine, and is likely to prove a valuable acquisition to tho cjmpany's property. The full ext-nt of this new run of gold Jias not nearly bee:: proved yet, but it is quite certaiu that with careful management the company will have many niiuths of prosperity before them. The stopes iu the eastern end of the 70-feet level are pro dueing a large quantity of good payable crushing stuff. Tho reef here is between 3 and 4 feet ttiick and his been opened up for nearly 200 fe.-t. Tho backs overhead here, are the tame as at the western eud. On Dixon's lower level, which is 90 feet below the 79-fef t l--vel, driviug eastward has been continued a'l the week, aud good prospects have been met with. Tho reef here is fully 3 feet thick, anel it has been driveu about 100 feet, aud the whole of the quartz taken out has been payable. The western drive has only been re-started within the last few days. Tho prospects in this direction arc moat encouraging, aud it is qute μ-jssiblo that during tne coming mmtii tiic run of gold which has been discovered ou the level above will be picked up ou this level. The general crusuing during the month has bseu unusuilly good, aud together with the pickid stonf, hasyielded tho largest return lOdwts.) the company have ever had. and the di:ec:ora hive been unable 1 t■> declare a dividend of 17- 6M per sliiu'j on SOOO shares, the number of tin: company's stock. Notwithstanding t'.iis large return of gold, there is still plenty of gold showing in this mine, and the future prospeels of the company were never better. — Waiutahi: On th-; No. 3 level the operations of No.«. 4 and 5 lodes are being pushed for. ward vigorously, and ou both sides a good length of st.pes has been opeued-up tioin which a fair amo: nt of good crushing dirt is obtained. The stopes on the junction leaders above the No. 2 level arc also yielding a Urge, quantify of good crn-hiug dirt. Tin now lole rccenly ■discovered in the hangingwall of No. 5, above this level, is proving more valuable, than wa« at fir=t anticipated. The quariz obtained from it is really good crushing dirt, and 0.-oa-ionally small parcels of rich picked stonen.ro brought to yr.iss. Tho gener.il crushing for the month has yicl lid much better than the previous one.—Queen of ileauty : The contractors who arc putting down this company's shaft for the reception of the pumping column are making good progress, and in about a couple of weeks til- y expect to be level with the ualcr. The work of e-i-tctin" tho machinery is alto proceiling vi ry s .tisfaetorry, and it is expeoicd the pump will be all ready for starting sometime in February next. The directors are deserving of credit for the energy they are displaying in carrying out these works. The following are the

Coromandel, Satnrday. Aβ we are coming near the Christmas holidays a considerable amount of activity is shown by the various tribute parties and email claimholders to have a crushing. Otherwise every thing is still very dull, and the otlook ia not very bright. One or two claims have resumed work after a long period of inaction. Amongst others, the Good Enough commenced operations by sinking a new shaft, and it is intended to test a portion of their ground hitherto untried. The shaft is going down through Bplended country. Should any leaders be struck iu the vi inity, most likely they will contain a fair show of the precious metal.—The Union Beach also resumed wo-k last week. Tha pumps were set going to clear the mine of water. It is intended to let a considerable portion of the lower workings on tribute. Probably some prospecting will also be done on the company's account. The battery has been set going to crush about 50 tons of (juartz for Norman's tribute. The yield was not quite up to expectations, but averaged about l.Jozs. per tou. Ryan's party are putting through a parcel of some 10 tons, which, hoivevor, is not shaping very well. Meredith will follow with ahout an equal quantity.— New Golden Pah : Nearly all tho work in this mine at present consists of dead work (prospecting); a level is being driven seaward to cut two Jarge reefs which crop up at low-water mark. A very fair show of gold can be got from them. Other diives arc pushiug in in other directions, but nothing payable is to hand. About 20 tons of quariz from the stopes wae crushed, but did not come up to expectations.—Bright Smile : The new manager, Mr. C. Wells, is getting the drives and stopes in order. He is highly pleased with the prospects of the mice, and hopes to send a large parcel to the battery within a few weeks. Mayfield : The shareholders of this claim had a crashing of 14 tons and 1001b3. specimens for a first-class return of 94ozs. The reef in this mine is very patchy, and when the workmen are off the g Id, the stuff is hardly worth saving. However, there is a large block to stope ont, and, judging by some good patches, should bo got before it is finished.— Pride of Tokatea ; Larje number of tribute parties are at work on different sections of this mine. Some of them are very successful. The company is very .liberal in their terms of tribute. Iu fact, many of the parties would rattier hold the ground on tribute than go to the expense of sec.iring tbe ground as a claim fur themselves. Collins and party had a crushing of S tons and a parcel of picked stone, and obtained 390z3. Ileenan and party will have a crushing of 10 or 12 tons next week. Several other small lots are to follow.—Tokatea : The manager is still i ngaged ia opening up the No. "2 lealer, which bids fair to turn out a large quantity of payable stuff. A good deal of work has been done on the All Nations leader. Thresult is not very good.—Bismarck : A large quantity of low - grade stuff has come to ijiass and has been treated (luring the last month. It is unfortunate the stopes did not tura out equal to the drive, but there is a decided improvement in the last stuff to hand ; but at a very unfortunate time, the driving-wheel of the pumping and winding has bioken, causing a stoppage of all the work for a time. — Queen of tho Norlh : The shareholders hid a crushing of about 20 tons early in the month f r the magnificent rjturn of 300ozs. The leader still looks remarkably rich in the stopes and drive. A contract has just been let to put in a lower level, which will give good backs on the leader and better facilities for seuding stuff to tho battery. The following are the gald returns for the month :—

[by telegraph, own- correspondent.] Thames, Saturday. Gold Returns.—Moanatairi Company : 4430z9. lOdwts.; Thomas's tribute, lOozs. 2dwts ; Moyle's, 13 zs. 3dwts. ; Hickey's, loz. Sdwts.: total, 4770z5. 3dwts. Moanataiari. — The usual fortnightly cleaning up and retorting for this company took place to-day, and, notwithstanding that the battery waa stopped one or two days tho return is a larger one than has been obtained for some time past. During the past fortnight 220 tons of general stuff have been crushed for the yield of 4(3uz3. lOdwts. retorted gold. The excellent return speaks very highly for the quality of the quartz which is beiug obtained from the No. 3 lode and its numerous branches. Thorms and party, who are tnbuting in this mine, have crushed about 7 tons of general stuff for the return of 19ozs. 2dwts. melted gold. Moylc and party, another crowd of tributers, have crushed about 30lba of picked stone, for t'ie return of 13ozs. 3elwts. melted gold. Shake.uauket.— The sharemarket has been much firmer t i-day, and the leaeling stocks are inquired for at advanced rates. Sales : AlburnU, 5Ss to GOs ; Moanataiari, 49s to 50s ; Queen of Beauty, 5s 3d. Sellers : Alburnia, GOs ; Moanataiari, 52s (id ; Kuranui Hill, ss. Buyers: Alburnia, 57s Gd ; Moauataiari, 453; Queen of Beauty, ss; New North Devon, Is Cd. GOLD RETURNS FOR THE WEtilC. < z..1 wt.gr. Albumin Company Vi'i 0 0 „ Whitiiker's tribute ... 817 0 City of Manchester claim 22 3 0 Golelen Cup claim 3 7 0 Inverness, Thomas's tribute ... 27 17 0 Moanatuiari Company 413 10 0 ~ Murtin's tribute 154 10 0 „ Doliihunty'B tribute ... 113 0 „ Hayea's tribute 2S G 0 „ O'Buglien's tribute ... 017 0 ~ Thomas's tribute ... 1!) 2 0 Moyle's tribute 13 3 0 " Uickey's tribute ISO Portia claim 3 18 0 I'luto claim 3 17 0 Scotia Gully 7 H 0 Tuokey, Aahe's tribute 10 17 0 Wiiiotuhi Company T.\% 3 0 Welcome, lUlnh's tribute ... 9 7 0 Total llo'.S 0 0

GOLD itElUllNS FOR THE MONTH. (.z.dwD.Rr. Albumin Company, 257 tons ... 3039 10 0 tributes, 78 tons U* 0 o Blade l'liuce claim, 7 tons ■' !? 0 Caledonian tribute, 30 tons ... ■*'■ 10 0 Cure tributes, 8 tons CO 10 0 Ualiforni* ckim, 50 tons 30 0 0 City of Manchester claim, 15 tons 23 .5 0 DeciJc claim, 25 torn. 21 0 0 Duke claim, 9 tons .13 18 0 Golden Cup cliiim, 5 tons 3 / 0 Hopeful claim, 12 tons U ]•? 0 Inverness tributes, 20 tons ... 20 11 0 Joker claim, 75 tons 122 2 0 Kuranui Company, 150 tons ... 'Jl> n> 0 „ tributes, 02 tuns 131 l> 0 Littlo Chriasy claim, 5 tons ... 7 4 0 Little Maggie claim, 10 tons ... l< U 0 Luck's-AH claim, 3 tons : » !' ° Mo.mataiari Coni]>any, C00 tons ... GS!) la 0 ,, tributes, 85 tons 32L 7 0 Messenger's tributes, 12 tons ... '.) 1 0 New North Devon tributes, 21 tons ... ... ••• *" 2i> o 0 Old Wliau tributes, 8 tons ... 1! ' J Old Golden Calf tributes, 3 tons... 2 3 0 rrince Imperial tributes, 15 tons... 12 18 0 Plato claim, 7 tons <{ i< " Portia claim » |° " Kadical claim, 9 tons 2J 12 0 Kevvard claim, 50 tons 70 0 0 Red Queen tributes, 12 tons 28 I 0 Spiro flleliora claim 5 tons ... C 0 0 lundri°e f 3 FOrtUnOt^ UteS :. • ™> 9 » Tookey tributes, 2C tons 34 l= 0 Waiotabi Company, 180 tons ... 238 3 0 Welcome tributes, 14 tons ... J 7 0 Waitekauri tributes, 2o tons ... 17 U 0 Total gold ... 5704 19 0 Total tens, 1902.

Oz.ciwt.gr. Queen of the North 373 5 0 Bismarck 57 11 0 Golden Point, Thode'a tribute ... 21 3 0 Speedwell 2S o 0 Tokatea G2 0 0 Pri.ie, Collins's tributes 3(1 15 0 New Golden P.ih 10 13 0 Mayfielil 95 13 0 Union Beach, Norman's tribute . . 72 18 0 Corby 7 4 0 Sundries 10 13 0 Total 784 15 0