THE GULDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 6966, 15 March 1884, Page 6

THE GULDFIELDS.

[BT TELEGRAPH. —OWN* CORRESPOMDDKST.] Thames, Friday evening. Siiarhmarkkt. — Bright Smile, sellers Is ; Dart, sellers 2s ; Cross, sellers 2s Gil ; Imperial, 15s, sellers 15s 6d, buyers 15s ; Queen of Beauty, sellers 2s 3d ; Manukau, sellers Is 7d ; New Find, buyers 93 ; Waiorongomai, sellors Is; Canadiau, sellers 3s ; Cambria, Is 7d, sellers la 9d; Low Level, sellers 9d, buyers Sd.

Dart.—The Alfred leader at No. 2 level has opened out to 16 inches in a fine class of country. Dabs of gold are seen. The junction with the specimen leader should soon be met. Preparations are being made lor sinking a sh'att. London. — Tivonty-ona loads of general dirt and SOlbs. picked stone yielded 20ozs. lOdwts. gold. [from OTJK OWN correspondent. ] Te Aroha, Friday. Operations on " the hill" are being pushed steadily ahead, and if wo have lately had no very rich discoveries of gold to chronicle, still it may ba said that a large amount of real work has been done. ' The development of the mines is being peraeveringly gone on within very many cases, and encouraging, prospects aro constantly being met with. The crushings at the Waiorongomai battery prove that Our large reefs aro more than payable, and although at present the'expenses connected with getting the quartz down to the mill and crushed are very high, these will in time be considerably lessened, and larger profits will eventually accrue to the shareholders. A good number of men are employed on the claims in various ways; some getting out quartz.to send down to the battery, while others, and perhaps the greater number, are simply prospeotiog tho various holdings upon which they are at work, and the result of the labours of these men will no doubt be that more good and payi-ble reefs will yet be diifcovered. New Find.—Operations in this mine continue pretty much the same as for some time past, but as only ten. head o£ stamps are being kept goiug at the battery, more care is being used in picking the stuff. The reef in tbo Arizona level continues to look well, and csrry gold, whilst being driven on in both direotions, as al»o in the rise which is going up at the end of toe crosscut. Some very fair dirt continues to come still from the surface above this level, and there is every prospect of the gold going right through the block. On the No. 2 rcef t three stopes are being carried on above the level, and tho winze is being continued to meet the low level tunnel which is being brought up to the reef 110 feet below the present level. There is overy indication of gold going down in the winze, as some very nice specimens are occationally met with.

Waiorongi'MAl. — Prospecting on the Three Fools reef still continues with very encouraging results, some very nice looking gold being found in the stone efery now and than.

Diamond Gullv.—The manager is expecting to strike the Ne\y Find reef every day now, indications of it beiDg already in the face of the drive. Water is coming in freely, and small veins of quartz. Some very good gold was found yesterday in stone taken from the specimen leader, and very near to the Coquette boundary.

Eckcka.—Good progress is being made with the wire tramway connection. Another month or so should see it comp'cted, and at work, when a quantity of stuff will be at once got down to the battery. The manager is still pushing on with the drite on the intermediate level, his object being to get the mine opened up aa much as possible.

Yclca>\ —The first crushing from this mine is now going on at the battery, five head being engaged in reducing a parcel of about 50 tons, .a good deal of interest is being taken in this crushing, the mine being on the same line of reef as the Premier.

Hkeo (Te Aroha).—A meeting of directors was held at the company's omce on Thursday last, at which the inspector of the company's claim was present. The works proposed at the latter were discussed in conjunction with the return from che trial crushing of 20 tons of quartz, which yielded Sozs. 2dwis. melted gold, and sold at £2 ISs per ounce. It was decided that there wa» sufficient encouragement to put in a low leve!, to give 130 feet of backs, and to connect the same with the tramway line by trestles and trnck-line; also to sink a wirz- on the lode to connect the intermediate -a . surface levels. Two feet of the hangingwall only of the lode was stripped and crushed, but a cross-cut will be pnt right through it to ascertain its width and value properly and to give the claim a fair trial, the directors having confidence that farther developments will prove the mine to turn out payable.

WaiciEOGOM^i. —The first ordinary meeting ol tae company **as held yesterday, at Mr. F. A. White's cifica, Qaten-street. The business combined thai of an annual meeting and an extraordinary meeting. The attendance was small, and Mr. Joseph Newman occupied the chair. Mr. F. A. White, the Secretary, read the advertisement coaveniog the meeting, and h<? also read the directors' report and balance-sheet. The report showed that £471 4s had been expended in opening np the mine, but aa there was no probability of getting 3, crushing at Te Aroha from the Battery Company, the directors recommended the advisability of the company taking sha.re3 in the Kxce!sior Battery Company, which would then put them in nearly as good a position as il Mr. Cook had erected his battery at Waiorongomai. The balancesheet showed leceipts :—Calls, £410 17s 3d ; premium on shares, £S5 Ss 4d ; total, £49K 53 7d. Expenditure : Wages, £270 3s, with mine expenses, etc. ; total, £471 4s Sd. Cash in hand and bank, £25 0s lid ; total, £496 os "d. Mr. Thomas Scott, mine manager, also forwarded a report as to the prospects of the mine and the works iD progress. The Chairman moved the adoption of the report and balance-sheet. Some discussion took place as to whether it would be more advisable to dispose of the SOOO reserve shares of the company to meet requisite to purchase the shares in the Battery Company, or to make a call. It was finally resolved that the directors be authorised to disposed of SOOO of the companv's'shares, for the purpose of taking up £300's worth of shares in the Excelsior Battery Company, at Te Aroha. Meisrt. J. Newman and \V. Wilkinson were re-elected dirnctors of the company. A proposal was made to authorise the directors to let portions of the mine on tribute, but i; fell through ; the feeling being against the letting of tributes ou':v over such portions of the mine as had been prospected. 4 vote of thanks to the Chairman terminated the proceedings.