THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7004, 29 April 1884, Page 6

THE GOLDFIELDS.

[BY telegraph.—OWN coekbtoondkjt,] Thames, Monday evening. ShabxuabKbt. — Cambria, sellers Is 6d; Low L«vel, sellers 7d; Cross, sellers 2s; Imperial, sellers 15s; Caledonian, sellers 10s; Queen of Beauty, sellers 2s 3d; Sir Walter Scott (Karangahake), fall-share, 46, £20. Adelaide.—Twelve loads from the low level yielded 17ozs. lOdwts. of gold. This speaks well for this mine and Rocky Point. Moanataiari.—Guthrie, 550z5.; Phillips, 4oza. lOdwts.; Wate, 32ozs. _In the rise on No. 1 lode a series of kindly _ branch leaders is coming in from the hangingwall, and the lode shows colours of gold at this point * Dart. The shaft is down forty-five feet, leaving thirty-five feet more to be sunk. 301bs. of good picked stone were obtained 'from a piece of leader, jutting .up from the floor of No. 3 level, which speaks well for the blook underneath. Bright Smile.—The Candlelight leader is to hand in the Deeside tunnel,' and is about fonr-inches wide, and 'will be driven on to the pinch, about ninety feet, where it should junction with Garvey's leader, being driven on from the winze. |r&OH OUR OWN correspondent.] Te Aboha, Saturday.

Inverness. — Prospecting operations are being carried on in the western portion of the claim, where some very nice stone has been come upon and uncovered for some little distance. Probably as it iB driven on, the lode will become more compact, and something better may be found. The rise on the lode from the low level tunnel is now up over 35 feet. The reef, increasing in size going upwards, is now 18 inches in thickness, and assuming much of the same charaoter as th 9 atone in the upper level from where the good crushing was taken some few' months ago. ■ Chance. —The low level cross-cut isnowin about 145 feet. Another 10 feet, ifc is expected, will bring them up to the reef for whioh they are driving. From the nature of the country being driven through, especially as it nearß the reef, there is every probability of some good stone being met with; indeed the "chances" of striking gold are very good. Thb Battery Co.'s F Cllaim. —The workings of this mine, whioh ' are below the tramway, have just been connected with it by a wire and cage, Some 30 tons now: on hand will be got down to the battery and crashed as soon as possible, probably next week, when the Canadian finishes.

Canadian.—This company are having a trial crushing of over 60 tons put through the battery, and, as far as can at present be judged, it is shaping for a payable yield. The crashing will probably last until about Tuesday next. On the mine a winze is being sunk from the upper level some little distance back from the Colonist boundary, and, as soon as it can be arranged, operations will be carried on from the present low level of the latter company, who have driven up to the Canadian boundary, where they have left a grand looking reef the full width and more of the. drive.. There is no doubt a fine future before this mine.

Colonist.—The contract for putting in a fresh lower level has been let, arid is being gone on with. ..Theprice is 19a 6d per foot. A month-to six weeks, it is thought, will see them up to the reef with it. The south end of the present low level is up to the Canadian boundary'. The north end is driven out to the surface owing to the falling away of the ground in that direction. All the stone going to the battery is now ooming from the stopes above thia level and from a small portion of the reef still remaining in the upper level.

New Find.—Operations are going on as usual in this mine. ' Fair crashing dirt continues to come to hand from the Arizona level, where the driving is being pushed on with, north and south, on the lode. The operations on the No. 2 reef consist of sinking the winze to connect with the low-level tunnel which is being brought up, and which will open a splendid blook of country, giving 100 feet of extra backs on the reef. In the winze, which is now down about 35 feet, there is every indication of the going down of the gold, good strong dabs of it being seen occasionally in the stoae. The reef continues its average width of 3 to 4 feot. Stoping is going on above the present level, and 15 head of stamps are engaged on the company's quartz at the bottery. Diamond Gully.—Two parcels of 5 tonß each, one calcined and the other not, are being sent down to the battery as a trial lot. This stone is being taken from the lode from which some very fair specimens were taken some time back when Mr. Andrews had oharge of the mine. The manager is still driving on the big reef coming from the New Find, and known there as the No. 2 reef. Where first cut into.' some little time back, the reef was vory much broken up, but is now assuming a more compact form. Waiorokqcmai. —In this ground the manager is still prospecting on the " new reef". towardß the Wellington boundary, and also making preparations for taking out a crashing of 20 or 30 tons from a lower level. Wellington.—The oempany are working on a leader supposed to be a branch from the Waio rongomai reef. The lode is small at present, only some 3 to 4 inches in thickness, 1 but some very nice coloured gold is constantly seen in the stone. Reports aire 'to hand tc-night that the reef is improving in size and appearance.

The following mine managers' reports have been received:— Moanataiabt. —An improvement haa taken place since my last report in the rise above the tunnel level on tio. 1 reef. A series of kindly branch leaders, have come in frost the hangingwall and striking into the lead on which we have risen, and which has Bhown colours of gold up to the present. One of these cross branches is from 2 to 3 inches in thickness, and has produced specimens of copper and iron pyrites, which is by far the best indication we have seen in the rise. Should these good minerals make into the gold-bearing lead, whioh is likely they will do, X shall then expect to see a much greater improvement taking place. _ The country is good for gold, but very tight, making progress very Blow with two men only. The quartz in the intermediate level, below Guthrie 'and party, has a very promising appearance for gold. We have seen colours in it during the week, but no picked stone. No. 9 stope, above the 132 feet level, are without change to report, also the Morning Star stopes. Waitemata cross-cut: The main slide has been out through since my last, it being about 8 feet in thickness. The country underneath it is of a very favourable sandstone formation for gold, also for driving. A contract for 100 feet by four men has been let tp-day. the lowest tender being 9s 6d par foot. We shall clean-up and retMt on Thursday next", if the tributers* parcels areoOmpleted b'y that time. Martha' Extended- (-Waihi). —There is vary little change to mention in the {nine for the past wefek. The battery h*B been running steadily on quartz from the surfaee workings in the Martha and Dulcibel sections. The rise from intermediate level is up a little over twenty feet, and the reef shows a considerable improvement—being over three feet wide of nice-looking stuff. I have only had one single-handed shift in this rise, as I have all hands on the surface, taking advantage of the fine weather. 225 tons of stuff went to the battery for the week, the return of amalgam from the plates being 124ozs>. 1 shall clean up at the end of the month as desired.

Darwin, —The sinking of the well hole 15 feet is finished, and the timbering will be oompleted to-morrow. The contraot for joint oross-cut tunnel from No. 2 chamber' having deen let, the drive will be at once commenced by the contractors who are under obligations to keep going night andday. The manager hopes .to .be able to announce the catting of leaders from the footwall of the reef, as the tunnel prooeeds,' before the reef is reached at the surveyed distance of 103 feet. There has been no sign of the Waiotahi big reef in sinking the 245 feet, so that another cross-cut in the opposite direction—namely, towards the creek, will require to be undertaken to get it in hand. .