MINING SUMMARY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 8987, 27 February 1888, Page 6 (Supplement)

MINING SUMMARY.

[from our own corresponded, Thames, Rah,-) The principal topic in minim, cirri ' been the introduction of foreign an -, hi * the district, through the floating 1 blf ° Moanataiari Company, Thames a 1,14 Prospectors' Mine, Marototo 'b? The Moanataiari has been floated it I®' on terms that do not meet general * 0,1 locally, being regarded as too favoS^ 1 the purchasers. The terms are a p • eto £75,000, of which one-third, in e wJ to the London syndicate.and th» venH 9> goea present shareholders) are similar* Me 25,000 shares remain to work th on which 10s are payable on all o tti[le the balance as may be necessary tI an * is probably about £6000, which will u' ;bt to be liquidated by the newly-fori3 V 0 pany The property could easily hav,?" 1 ' placed on the local market on e B , 1 1 favourable terms. The new comr»? la ' start with an excellent prosneet w 5 " as payable gold dips into the mine frfe Cambria. m the The Marototo has been sold to a <? -i syndicate, represented by Mr. II S\i ®5 The report of Mr. Seaver, a ! ytrs> expert sent from New South w glc&1 inspect the property, being favourable 1 ! Bale was effected on the basis of fn.vT ' a and 6750 paid-up shares in the com™. be formed to the owners, of whom \i' 10 James Corbett, Richard Mcßrinn a! " William Fagan are the chief. The improves as prospected, so that th^ 6 every reason to believe the Sydney tip? J 3 have secured an excellent bargain ' Several other properties are undpr „«• both in England and the colonies Jf? probability is that some of them S change hands. The Thames peopled abundance of faith, but capital is v scarce. The number of mining snernW,! 7 is very limited in the best times, and tT existing commercial depression' haintensified the dulness that to float a 50 thing in Auckland requiring a large out£ of capital would be a difficult task? I wh' briefly review some of the leading Tham mines, beginning with the e Cambria.—This mine has scarcely W, up to the usual standard, very little pS stone having come to hand during th month. However, the general dirt is o rrt nearly an ounce to the load, and there is I abundant supply for a long time to come'? recurrence of the specimens may be looked forward to, as the same lode gave fine rm eels in the drives at No. 2 level. T] lere ' a good chance of a patch at No. 4 level 7 mineral indications count for anything but the crosscut has yet 200 ft to go before th» winze from No. 3 level is reached. aiotahi.—This mine still continue? the steadiest gold-producer on the field, w month's return was 2040zs gold from i* tons quartz. Manukas— prospects of tlis mina are improving. Last month's yield *•« 40ozs gold, obtained from 30 tons of quart! taken from No. 5 lode and branches above No. 4 level. Gold is still seen in breaking down. Mulligan's leader, which yielded most of the gold at No. 3 level, has not yet been picked up at No. 4 level, but should be to hand on an early day. Prince Imperial.—Stoping is proceeding at No 1 reef above No. 1 level. A little fold is seen, but on the whole the result as been disappointing, considering the excellent show there was two or three slopes below.

Hand of Friendship.—This mine adjoins the Prince Imperial and the Waiota'ni. A drive is being carried along No. 1 reef at No. 2 level of the Prince Imperial, but hitherto the reef has been rather disturbed. The chances afforded by this work are by no means despicable, and the drive which is passing through the Prince Imperial at present should soon be up to the boundary, Saxon.—About twenty stampers are employed constantly on quartz from this company's mine. There has not yet been any cleaning up this month, but the return, will be payable. Winzes will be sunk on, the reef below No. 4 level, and as excellent quartz was left on the floor strong hopes are entertained regarding the result of sinking. Trenton.—The drive on the reef in tht Saxon when it reached the boundary was taken up by the Trenton. For 40 or 50it the lode gave quartz worth lb or 2oz to the load, but then it became mullocky, and has not been satisfactory since. However, it is now clear the branch followed is not the main one. In the Saxon, say 100 ft from the Trenton boundary, the lode divided into two branches, and the right or footwall one was followed. Since then the hangingwall branch has been driven on to within 50ft of the Trenton. It is much the stronger of the two branches, being 18 inches to '2fl wide, is heavily charged with antimony, and has all the appearance of a main. lode. Fifteen pounds of picked stone were obtained last breaking down in the face. Caledonian.— few miners are employed prospecting, but nothing of importance has been developed. The directors ar avoiding anything in the shape of dead work until the result of the negotiations in England for the sale of the mine is known.

Albuenia. — This mine is now being worked by tribut-ers, and some parties are doing fairly well. The manager has his eye on a pretty good leader in one of the tributes, which will soon be followed up to the company's ground, and may prove valuable for them to start upon again. Several private claims are doing pretty well, especially on the Karaka Creek. A large portion of the field is now held in extensive areas as special claim?, their present owners being hopeful of selling to moneyed men. Mr. Witheford has pegged out the Dart, whilst Messrs. D. B. Me' Donald and Edward Thomas have a large area adjoining, held as the Mineral Export Company. Mr. Wm. Murdoch, owner of Block 27, has converted that property into a special claim. Then, again, Mr. Thomas H. Crawford has a special claim of 70 acres, extending from the Cambria mine to near the Karaka Creek. It takes in the old Moanataiari Extended mine and the Collarbone Creek. Mr. "Hematite Edwards has another holding eastward of Mr. Crawford's ; and there are several more besides those just mentioned. Some, aa doubt, will miss fire, but others are aim® sure to be floated. We have plenty of lively ground, but capital is very scarce. , Various persons both on the Thames an in Auckland are experimenting with 3 vie to finding a process for treating the qua'', cheaper and more efficiently than a<>P' Milling pans, which have been by very favourable accounts, are M & erected at the Herald battery. , , The attendance of students at the & en of Mines has increased considerably sin the new year. ... At Waiomo the Paroquet made a s t u e crush, but little progress was made as, dry weather had reduced the creek so that there was not sufficient water« . drive the battery. The manager estim that the small quantity which was through the mill shaped for three ouni . the ton. Quartz which shows gold free ) still being obtained in the low level. The Mata Creek is coming into ta and several sales have been effected a rates ranging from £120 to £180 per . one-ninth of Whitley's claim. The lode > ( this claim has been driven on fifty te varies from two to six inches, out go been obtained all the way, whl f t -.gd, sionally a few very rich stones are o • w The quartz has a strong resemblance Thames stone. _ . There is very little in the o^ ne ® u " tricb requiring notice. At *\ai tribnters are making wages in the * „ Several parties are going pretty w Owharoa. Karangahake is stagn . _of are plenty of good reefs, but the the claims are waiting for eitn CaP tain capitalists or a new process. 1 near . fln Argall finds the Mammoth %e .L[j nod country. The district, however, adbe condemned on that account, joining ground is quite differen. * nuar y The gold returns for the month ofjan were about 1500oz. c n hird«y- • COROMANDEL, Since my last summary the 0 8 c or o-' for machinery has arrived jgno* mandel Goldmining Company, »nc _ rapidly being placed in jx . second most colossal affair, and w the D'S largest engine in the colony, _ jargerPump at the Thames being a & [ ton*The huge beam alone weighs « ffi , l be The manager says the machin Sep, an d capable of working 2000 fee® 0 f vrater unless some extraordinary inHM ingil j takes place no doubt it will. E JparativeV such a forward state that a c P£ inery » short time will see the iii2 oQp motion. A little prospecting is £

~ iso feet level, but some of the work Ud to be stopped owing to the influx of rater. Sinking the main shaft is going on iteadily. The country is first-class, and } er y little water is coming in.' Anyone rjsitintr this place will be struck with its nusy appearance and the systematic work froing on. It will be a grand thing for tho ffticrs and for this district if they succeed L striking rich gold in this mine. Foreshore. —A party of men have for lome time been working on the foreshore, Mid obtaining fair wages, although they have been working under great disadvantages for want of more help and proper machinery. They sink from eight to ten feet to the bed rock—the last two feet being worth from half an ounce to 12dwt per ton . The gold is coarse, and worth about £3 ' per ounce. They have discovered two leaders in the bottom and are n0 applying for a licensed holding. I understand they are in treaty with some Auckland gentlemen to build a breakwater and erect the necessary machinery, ft[K ) if the work is gone about in a systematic mannor, I have no doubt it will pay handsomely. Kapanga. —This claim still keeps up its reputation as a gold-producer, and, from what I can learn, it. is likely to do so for a verv long time. I am glad to see the manager lias applied for an additional 30 acres adjoining, as ib shows his belief that t | ie£ rold will extend further, and I expect to gee "several mines working on this lino of reef vet. Rob Roy.—This tribute party are doing ver well. There is every appearance of a ~0 0 crushing before long. r Mcl'ermott and party have a rich leader in hand up the WakaroaCreek. It is likely to shape well. Tokatka. —Tho several tribute parties are doing fairly well, especially Halpin's party, \vho"have" a tine leader in hand. They have taken out about a ton of rich stone and some general stuff'. Roberts' party in the low level have also some good specimens and picked stuff on hand. Royal Oak.—There is -nothing of any importance in this mine. There is a slight improvement in the winze, and tho tributers five sending down a parcel of stuff to the bitterv, which no doubt will pay well. '<vk'i'K thk North.—The tributers in this mine are doing fairly well. They have a parcel of good specimens on hand, and a fjr tons of'good general dirt. Mikikrel.—The manager is getting out Some fairly good picked stone. They have a dock of general stuff on hand, and the reef is looking first-rate. C'asti.k Rock.—Capital progress is being made in the low level, which is now in crand country. They have still about 300 »eei to drive before coming under tho rich shot of sold. Nelson.— claim is turning out large quantities of good crushing stuff. Tho reef is very large and the country good. YAtT.HAN's.—This ground has been let on tribute to Mr. McLeod, who is likely to do veil out of it. Jr bii.ee (Manaia). —Messrs. Blackmore and Ruthn are taking out some good stuff. The more their reef is developed, the better it appears to be. They will soon have another good parcel ready for the battery. I hear of some changes in this neighbourhood, which are likely to make a material difference to the district. Coltille Gold Mining Company.—This is the name of a new English company started in this district. They have some very valuable ground in their possession, and" if it is only worked properly I think will pay handsomely. I am sorry to say our gold return is very small this month. This is not caused by want of stuff to operate on, but owing to the great drought there is no water for the batteries.