THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXV, Issue 9249, 31 December 1888, Page 6

THE GOLDFIELDS.

MONTHLY SUMMARY. [from our own correspondents.] . Thames, Saturday.'. The past month has been a very quiet one so far as new developments are concerned; but in many of the mines in which steady and vigorous operations have been carried on fair results have been obtained. At the present time, however, most of the mines are at a standstill, owing to the Christmas holidays, and advantage is being taken of the temporary suspension to overhaul and renovate the machinery and batteries, and to effect oth.'ir necessary repairs. 'lhe prospects of the Saxon mine have materially improved, ! as will bo seen from the fact that, during the month, 8520z melted gold were obtained from 605 loadn of general dirt and 1301b of picked stone. This splendid result enabled the directors to pay a sixpenny dividend, and also to purchase from the Prince Imperial Company their substantial battery of twenty-two head of stampers for £850. In the mine the outlook is very good. A large supply of payable quartz is still coming to hand from the stopes above No. 3 level, whilst good progress is also being made in opening up a new block at No. 5 level. In the Cambria mine operations are at present confined to three points, namely, opening up intermediate levels below No. 3 level upon Nos. 1 and 6 leaders, and stoning a block upon ' the hangingwall leader below No. 2 level. Payable quartz is coming to* hand from each of these points, and there is a probability that they will lead to something better. ; The annual meeting of this company was held a few days ago, when it was reported that the year's operations had resulted in a return of 38720z /dwt of gold, worth £10,829 18s Id, out of which, after paying the cost of winning the same and other necessary expenses, the directors had been able to pay the shareholders £2235 in dividends, and still had a cash balance of £'200 13s. The

.proposal to amalgamate this company's pro-' ' perty with the Trenton did not find sufficient favour with the shareholders, consequently s the suggestion has not been carried out. The ' Trenton company is still engaged in sinking its shaft, which is now down a , depth: of over five hundred feet. This work is now being carried out by contractors. The 'annual meeting of the Prince Imperial company was held a few days ago, at which the manager reported that during the past twelve months 241 loads of quartz had been crushed on behalf of the company for a return of 2820z 15dwt melted gold, whilst the ■ tributers had crushed 235 loads for . 4200z 1 19dwt. The balance-sheet, showed that the i total amount of liabilities was £803 0s 4d, while the assets, exclusive of the mine itself, were £2001 Is sd. The only work now in progress in the mine • on behalf of the company is the opening up of a block on a small leader between Nos. 1 and 2 levels. A party of tributers lire successfully working the same leader at and above " No. 1 level, and it is expected that the company will succeed in opening up a payable block also. The New Moanataiari Company having been successfully floated, a meeting of the shareholders was held on the sth instant, when the follow- , ing gentlemen were elected directors:— Messrs. J. M. Clark, C. B. Stone, J. L. Wilson, J. M. Alexander, 0. Dickey, and J. J. Macky. No definite plan for the development of the mine has as . yet been made public, but it is 1 understood that extensive operations are soon to be undertaken. Operations on behalf of the Deep Level Cross Company at the 100 feet level have been suspended, and this part of the mine is now let on tribute. At a meeting of the shareholders of the Old Caledonian Gold Mining Company, held recently, it was decided that the directors should be empowered to sell to a new company the assets of the old company, com- , prising mining and battery properties, for the consideration of the present liabilities; amounting to about £1200, and the following terms were approved of for the formation of the company —" The new company to have a capital of £6000, divided into 24,000 shares of 58 each, 3d per share to be paid upon api plication, and 3d upon allotment; that each shareholder in the present company whose , calls have been paid, shall be entitled upon application to two shares in the new com- ■ pany for each one share now held by him." The, last return of gold from the Waiotahi : mine was an excellent one, being 3240z from : 260 tons of quartz. From the Manukau 38oz ' have been banked during the month, the . result of 24 tons of quartz crushed. The i year's return of gold from this mine is 5050z 15dwt from 275 tons of quartz. In the Alburnia mine a new block has just been opened up upon the hanginawall leader at the battery level, eastward of : the old ' workings, and the first crushing of 20 loads therefrom, gave . a yield of 58oz 1 of gold., Since last summary a trial parcel of ore (18cwt) from the Marototo Gold and Silver Mining Co.'s mine, Marototo, has been treated at the Thames School of Mines for the handsome result of 5840z bullion, the total value of which is £175 2s, being 2s short in the grand total of 6s per ounce. Of this quantity of bullion 460z from the plates and boxes were worth 24s 5d per ounce ; 3230z 15dwt (first yield from the pans), 4s 9d per oz, and 2140z sdwt last yield from the pans, 3s lid per oz. In addition to the above return a few ounces are yet to . come to hand, besides which Mr. Montgomery intends roasting and treating the tailings (which were all saved) over again, and expects to bring •; the final return up to 90 per cent of the assay value, which was 7400z per ton of 22401b. It may also be added that the manager has several tons of ore now in hand of equal value to the above, and also a larger quantity worth from £20 to £30 per ton. At the mine, stoping operations are still proceeding, but the reef is very patchy, and the good dirt makes only in small patches. This mine is the only one being worked in the Marototo district at present. At Whangamata most of the leases taken up during the early part of the year have been forfeited for working. At Waihi the manager of the WaihiGold and Silvermining Company's property has latterly devoted the most of his attention towards pushing forward the completion of his new reduction works, but one or two unforeseen delays have arisen, which has kept the work back somewhat. It is thought, however, everything will be ready to commence the treatment of ore some time during the month of January. There being now a very large tonnage of ore at surface, operations in the mine are at present oonnned chiefly to prospecting works. At To Aroha the various works in connection with the new reduction plant of the Te Aroha Gold and Silvermining Company are progressing satisfactorily towards completion. The 14 new concentrators re cently erected were sot in motion a few days ago, and were found to work very smoothly. A new revolving furnace is now m course of

erection. With the commencement of the new year the manager intends to commence more vigorous operations in the mine. Four contracts were recently let in the Champion mine, Tui Greek, as follows —No. 1 contract: For driving 110 feet to crosscut, and 100 feet on line of reef, to W. Cornes at 17s per foot for driving, and lis per set for timbering. No. 2 contract: Sinking a winze 80 ■ feet, to J. Burke, £1 9s 9d per foot, and 4s 0d per p.-'; for timbering. No. 3 contract: Driving crosscut 40 feet, and 100 feet on line of reef, W. CorneSj £1 4s per foot, and lis per set for timbering. No. 4 contract: Driving 250 feet on reef (a large main drive), P. Dillon, £1 ]4s 6d per foot, and 15s per set for timbering. In the northern portion of the Ruakaka licensed holding, an important discovery of ore rich in sulphides of silver was made a few days ago. The size of the lode is not yet known, but so far as it has been opened up it looks very promising. It is with regret that I have to chronicle the non-success of the Parkes furnace lately erected at Karangakake, but this _ is partly acoounted for by the excessive costs incurred in procuring the necessary flukes, which all have to be brought from a long distance. The plant is now advertised for sale, and I understand that Mr. Parkes will return to England at once. At Waiomo the new manager of the Paroquet G.M. Co. has so far completed the alterations to the battery that crushing operations will probably be commenced within a week or two. All works in the mine have been suspended pending the completion of the aerial tramway leading from the mine to the battery. The Gem Co.'s mine is yielding a large tonnage of fair grade ore, and will be the first to utilise the Paroquet Co.'s battery. There is nothing fresh to report from the other ouWistricts, although a great deal of I prospecting is still being (lone. The monthly return of gold from the various mines and claims totals up about 35000za. COROMAND.nr,, Saturday. As is usual at this time of year, the past month has been exceedingly good in gold returns. Most of our mine owners and tributers contrive to have a very good crushing for Christmas, and this year it is no exception. Several lots have turned out 'first-rate, and on the whole most of them aro pretty well satisfied. Calliope.—This claim still looks remarkably well. The manager had a crushing of

29 ton Ai( or about 90oz of gold ?T e Wi g £° d specimens 8 taCouW^ tif lot, which have ;been sent tn-ffnni j v s-n^ttoU& are over fSffv* put up to connect theWpef and xW The tram is ? or&, bo that there wnf C' : & to:do to keep the battery A 6 . Colonist.— men are Eti?f«,?nU« j in this mine.. The owners are letefiS?! 4 thoroughly test its value, and I tfi , : : well pleased with the result so far • *?® ~ -' Castle Rock.—The contractors am mr,K mg fair progress in the low level S^ k * =- ; to ha • within measureable distanced ?£* " - shoot of gold within the next month. / tSe - —Several trial parcels Via™ if'*' taken out of this mine, some of thlm' S 68 ® ' good, but one lot was not up to e^w?»« ery but on the whole the shareholders^S cause to be satisfied with their prouertv - : Coromandel.— understand WbSU been sunk the desired depth, and a drive wfli now be started to intersect the various^ which carried good gold in the ings. The country is very good anJ?Fh£ light, so we shall hope for * succeMfnlT. for this venture. , successful ig SUo • Kapanga.—The usual work is coino> m • this mine. The gold returns have not Za£? °° d ke " ,ttU »p Stm olftikSj ewfcSnVstJi" li" b f.K„S: Ab °" a >»»=«* r ■ ■ Rob Roy (tributers).—This to n iVto turn out first-class. The present have driven a low level on the roof worked by McNeil. 8 rerf fat % Royal Oak. Both the eomtjanv nr.ii .i, ' tributers have had good crushing Th 9 pound is hard which makes prongs but the reef the company is woriE\te sized body of stone. The managX"£u& up a large back of the leader, which oucrU? g shape well when broken down ghtto Bachelors. As the name implies- this claim belongs to a pair of bachelors who have also, contrived to . make a pretty good thing out of it. They had a capital craE . a few days ago for o2oz. • s , Y «™« , American.-This claim adjoins the Bachelors and has also been doing fuirVwell ' A good deal of gold has been tek en out of tins ground from time to time, and it appears there is some left yet. . , Tokatea. — The various tribute parties have good orushmgs for the month, and are ~ likely to give a good account of themselves during the new year. 1 • •'•'.* •:«>. ; • . Bismarck.—l he owners of this mine have had another nice little crushing from, their small reef. Wo doubt more would have been got out, but one of the party has been sick a long time. However, the mine looks well for the future, as the ground is intact over ' head. .\V : . Mary Jane.—This is a new candidate for public favour, situate, on the west side of the lokatea Range. A very good leader is in hand, and is likely to shape well. About 15 ounces of gold were got from a small parcel.'. Queen of the North.—McLean's tribute has turned out very well for the last twelve months. _ They have had several good crushings during that time, and the eompahy have also had several parcels crushed for payable returns. • ' ' ;: - f v;.-' ;■ The following are the returns of gold for the month (except the Kapanga)Ness Side, 21ozs 15dwts; Bachelors', s'2ozs 10 dwts; Young American, 39ozs lOdwts; Climax. Sozs 12dwts • Bismarck. 68ozs 15dwts May Flower, 7ozs lOdwts; Eldorado, 43ozs lOdwts; Nelson,- lOozs 3dwts ; Mary Jane, 15ozs; Calliope, GOozs 4dwts; Rob Roy (Mullin's tribute), lOozs 19dwts; Golden Belt ' (Campbell's tribute), 4ozs, 3dwts; Tokatea (White's _ tribute), 19ozs ldwt; . Tokatea (Steel's tribute), 12ozs 15dwts; Tokatea (Dunkin's tribute), olozs 4dwts; Queen of the North (McLean's tribute), 24oza 12dwts; Royal Oak, 30ozs lldwts; Royal Oak (Mayn's tribute), C6ozs 15dwts; Success Extended' (McGregor's tribute), 26ozs sdwts; David's Prospectings, 14ozs; sundries. 3ozs 15dwts: total,6lsozs 15dwts. ■■■«>•< ; ■