THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9531, 25 November 1889, Page 6

THE GOLDFIELDS.

'■■■'■' " ■'■}■-''s,?■?*'■ :-.;■ v- ' •" 0 ' ,! V'-.'. ,! -'"'J■■..■■^■> i :"' : :-:'^ [FROM OUR OWX COnUESPONDKNT.] Tiiamus, Saturday. Siiaremaiikkt.— Queen, Is 6d, buyers, Iβ sd; Moanataiari, sellers, 4s 9d, buyers, 4s 3d ; Saxon, sellers, 6s 6d ; Trenton, sellers, 38, buyers, 2s 9d. May Qokkn.— progress has been made this week in cleaning out the drive towards the City of London shaft, but there is still considerable work to do before the job is completed. , ■; v Big Pump. —Tho pump has reduced the water this week a further depth of 13 feet 2 inches, which brings it down to a total iepth of 48 feet 8 inches below the 400 feet level since the work was commenced on October 29th. Saxon.— progress is bein«r made in 3xtending thotwo drives eastward upon tho footwall and hangingwall branches of the main reef at No. 5 level, and a good supply 3f crushing dirt is coming therefrom, in which colours of gold are freely seen. The stopes above this level are without change. rhe crosscut which is being driven in at this level is in a distance of 25 feet beyond No. 1 footwall lender, and'Hiumerous small k'eins of quartz are being met with. On Puesday the usual fortnightly retorting will lake place, and as the battery has had no interruptions there is every probability of a air return of gold being obtained. ' Cambria. Very little quartz has been

broken this week in the western drive at the intermediate above No. 3 level, which is duo to the rather slow progress made through the quartz being very hard to shoot out, but colours of gold have beea seen in the little that has been broken down. The mineral in this direction is not so much confined to a vein as was previously the case, but is more scattered, and occupying a larger portion of the reef. In the second stope above the eastern drive the mineral vein still remains intact, and a portion broken down to-day showed gold freely. In the drive upon No. 7 leader, at the intermediate below No: 3 level, there are now about 15 inches of crushing dirt coming to hand, the two branches of the leader being now almost united again. In the stope above the drive the leader remains in two branches, but furnishes about 12 inches of crushing dirt. The second stope above the western drive at this level has been yielding the best quartz this week, together with a few pounds of picked stone. The leader is about eight inches thick, and looking very well. Lon t k Hand.—The reef met with in the low level during tho week is a nice compact body of quartz 9 inches thick, and is running nearly the same course as the drive is trending, so that in all probability it will be convenient to carry it along for some distance. The quartz is of a very promising character, containing good mineral indications and a considerable percentage of silica, which is a very good feature for gold. A very limited quantity of quartzhas yet been broken down, but colours of gold were seen in this, consequently it is quite reasonable to suppose it will prove payable. To prove this, however, a trial crushing will be put through the battery as soon as a sufficient quantity is accumulated. It is only right to state that the drive is now passing through a section of the Adelaide claim, but in accordance with the terms of agreement re the driving of the level, the Lone Hand Company are entitled to deduct the cost of operations from any gold that may be obtained in driving through this section, the surplus, if any, to be handed over to the proprietors of the Adelaide claim. About 14 feet of the Moa reef was broken down during the week at the upper level. It averaged about one Foot in thickness, and carried a good class of mineral, but no gold was seen. The quartzhas' been saved, however, for crushing, and will be treated separately to test its value as soon as a sufficient quantity lias oeen accumulated. The usual supply of juartz is coming to hand from the leaders jeing worked upon in the Lone Hand section, and the City of Manchester reef, :olours of gold being seen pretty freely. Waihi Gold and Silver Mining Co.—

Excellent progresses being made with the construction of this company's new plant, and it is expected that the erection of the machinery -will be completed 'and ready for operation by the middle of next month. There is still considerable to accomplish, however, before the water-race is completed ; but it is probable that if this is not finished in time to provide the motivepower for driving the machinery when the latter is ready, steam-power will be brought into requisition for a time. When the plant is in working order, and the treatment of ore is commenced, the modus operand* will be as follows:-—The ore on being brought into the mill will .be tipped over a grating made of strong iron rods. Tho fine ore will thus fall to the floor below; "and the coarse ore passed through a stonebreaker, after which the ore will be dried, aud then taken to the hoppers at the rear of the stampers. Tho stampers, of which there are thirty, of 9cwt each, are on the dry-crushing principle, fitted with self-feeding apparatus, and capable of being driven at a speed of from 90 to 100 blows per minute. They will discharge through wire gratings into a receiving shoot, when an archimedean screw will pass the ore on to an elevator, which in turn will discharge it into one of White and Howell's rotary furnaces. After being thoroughly roa3ted it will fall into a cooling chamber, and then" fod into amalgamating pans, where the bullion is extracted. The whole of the machinery, is so arranged that the passing of the ore along from one point to another is done automatically, therefore tho manual labour that will be required will be comparatively trifling , , and the whole cost of treatment reduced to a minimum. The length of the waterrace under construction is nearly four miles, its measurements being nine feet wide at the top, four feet six inches inthe bottom, and three feet six inches deep. The supply of water is to be obtained from the Ohinemuri 'River, which will run through the race at a speed of three miles per hour, and a fall of 51 feet has been provided for the water to strike the Pelton wheels which are to drive the machinery. When the plant is completed it will be second to none in the colony. ■ ; : [BiT TELEGKAPH.—PRESS ASSOCIATION.] . Reetton, Saturday. • The gold returns for the week are : Globe, 1720z. amalgam from 185 tons ; Scotia, 308 oz. amalgam from 414 tons; Inglewood, 70 oz. amalgam from 40 tons ; Inkermann, 176 oz. amalgam from 70 tons.