THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7271, 9 March 1885, Page 3

THE GOLDFIELDS.

[from otjb own correspondent.] Thames Saturday The past week, like too many of its immediate predecessors, has been dull and uneventful. A change in the weather brought enough water to set all the batteries agoing, but it has not proved beneficial in other respects, as some of the mines are much retarded through light air, amongst them being the Saxon, Caledonian, and Moanataiari Extended. The deep level prospecting mines, although there are favourable country minerals that are usually considered the best indication of gold, and as kindly-looking quartz as one would wish to Bee, have not shown gold. The Moanataiari No. 9should have been to hand in the northern cross-cut of the Caledonian Low Level ere now. In the Queen of Beauty the lode is about a foot wide. The other branch, which was a fine looking leader at No. 10 level, should be to hand in a fortnight at most. The Cambria presents little alteration. Although no specimens have come to hand from the second Btope, intermediate level, gold is seen very freely. That specimens are not seen is strange, as several parcels of picked stone were obtained from the drive overhead, 30 feet above this level. The lode will not be broken down in the drive going eastward, the object being, no doubt, to drive on the Moanataiari Extended boundary, about 100 feet ahead, as soon as possible. The hanging wall will be skirted, and just sufficient quartz taken to test its quality. The goldbearing lodes recently cut in the northern cross-cut of the Moanataiari Extended should prove valuable to both mines. As the leaders are only a few feet apart, they probably junction not far away. They were met just where an angle of the Cambria joins on to the Moanataiari Extended, so that in one . direction they strike into the heart of the' Cambria, and in the . other pass through the breadth of the Moanataiari Extended. The Cambria has purchased half of the Moanataiari Extended plant. for £1000. The shaft is to be sunk- 150 feet further at joint expense. Preparations therefore .will be commenced on Monday, the first work being to construct a cistern, which will probably occupy a fortnight. In the meantime the northern crosscut will be suspended about a week. In this direction the manager will endeavour to communicate with the old Venus shaft as a means of obtaining ventilation, as it would be impossible to prospect the lodes under present circumstances.. The-.southern.cross-cut has been stopped entirely. ' The ; 6niy'work going on in the Darwin is .sinking the winze. The lode looked well on visiting day, and colours of gold were seen last breaking down. A demand set in to-day for the shares from Auckland, quotations running from 7s 6d to 9s 6d, and Thames folk are enquiring the why and wherefore. ' The Golden Crown shaft is down about 145 feet in excellent sandstone. The Manukau is working on payable quartz and the manager is waiting for some of the batteries to have sufficient stampers disengaged, to enable him to crush. The contractors in the cross-cut at No. 3 level of the Caledonian have been retarded greatly by gas and light air. The survey shows that the lode may be to hand any day, and 70 feet cf'driving on it will reach No. 1 winze. In No. 2 winze the leader is about a foot wide, and colours of gold were seen last breaking down. Ellis's leader also shows gold, and ought to be good crushing dirt. In the Imperial a fair start has been made in the intermediate level in No. 1 lode. Two or three feet broken down looked well, but no gold was seen. This quartz, however, should crush well, as it was of excellent quality in the level overhead. In the Cross the winze in No. 6 leader is being sunk. It is down about 12 feet, and a fortnight should hole through to the drive from the Prince Imperial. No. 2 leader is being driven on, and colours of gold are seen. A parcel of quartz from leaders Nos. 2 and 3 is being crushed, but is only shaping for a moderate return. The Saxon shaft has been almost at a standstill this week owing to the men being unable to work because of the lightness of the air. However, the shaft is all but finished, and a week should see it completed. The only other work going on is sloping a leader on the hangingwall of No. 1 lode. • This leader showed specimens under the late management, and crushed well. Colours ■of gold are seen. A parcel of quartz from No. 3 leader is being crushed, but is not likely to be more than payable. The old topes in the Kurauui proved not to be. payable. No. 2 leader is now being atoped at the 80 feet Albion level, and some passing through the battery is expected to be payable. In the Rocky Point gold has been carried to the new lode 80 feet. ■It is large in the western end, perhaps three feet wide. Here dabs of gold were seen last breaking down. Eastward, gold is seen freely in the veins on the wall of the lode, and the quartz should be payable. About 70 loads are on hand, and the manager is waiting his turn at Bull's mill. The crosscut at the level above to enable the new leader to be worked is making good progress, 20 feet having been driven during the week by four men, The Dart cross-cut is in about 130 feet.

At Otanui matters are dragging wearily along. The Eureka battery will not be ready for a, fortnight yet, and the leader is not yet to hand in the Oriental. There is little fresh from the upper country. At Karangahake the Sir Walter claim has stopped work, the shareholders being, it is said, unwilling to pay more calls. At Waihi, a winze was sunk below the level 45 feet. A small cross-cut put in showed the lode to be gold-bearing, although not quite so good as overhead. There is an ample supply of quartz opened up for a considerable time to come. In describing the Thames mines I forgot to mention that about seventy pounds of specimens came to hand from the- Telegraph claim (formerly Siam), Shellback Creek. The lode is two feet wide. The shareholders, at least some of them, have hung on tenaciously for years, and well deserve the reward which the mine bids lair to yield. Sharemarkkt. —Cambria, 9s 6d, buyers 9s ; Darwin, 8 1 to 9s 6d ; Moanataiari Extended, sellers Is 9d ; Imperial, 93. WEEKLY GOLD RETURNS. • oz,dwt.gr Caledonian, Wills* tribute .. .. 10 15 0 Ditto, Homo's tributa .. ... ■ 310 0 Cambria 1.000 0 0 Dart, Sullivan's tribute .. .. 14 15 0 Don Pedro, Jaukin's tribute .. .. 512 0 KuranuiHill, Wilson's tribute.. .. 55 5 0 Ditto, Thomas's tribute .. .. 3 9 0 Lonehand, Gribble's tribute .. ".. 3 0 0 Magnolia, Rabe's tribute .. .. 9 2 0 Moanataiari, Citran's tribute .. .. 2 11 0 Ditto, Jones, tribute.. «... 13 8 0 New Prince Imperial .. .. .. 320 0 0 Walotahi' ..' .. ,_. ',;. ir .. 253 9 0 Tofai^-';.^^;.;^., ' : ..'1,694 19 0