THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8162, 25 January 1890, Page 5

THE GOLDFIELDS.

[from our own correspondent^ Thames, Thursday. New Prince Imperial.— operations which are at present being carried on in this mine on behalf of the company are confined wholly to opening up a block upon what is known as the tributers' lode, between Nos. 2 and 3 levels eastward of the shaft. From the former level a winze is being sunk, and this has attained a depth of nearly 80 feet. For the first 50 feet the leader went down almost vertically, but at that depth it took a very strong underlie to the southward, which it maintained until within about 10 feet of the present bottom, when it changed its underlie to the opposite direction. Where now being operated upon, the leader is fully a foot ir> width, well mineralised, and showing gold pretty freely at every breaking down, whilst it is also encased by a good, although rather tightish, class of sandstone country. At No. 3 level, what is supposed to 1)e the same leader was intersected in a crosscut put in a distance of about 20 feet past No. 2 reef. There the leader is also a foot in thickness, and carries an excellent class of mineral, but no gold was seen in the little quartz broken in passing through it. A start is now to be made to open out upon it with the view of driving west-. ward and reaching a point directly underneath the winze, wheu a rise will be put up to facilitate the connection. The vertical height between the two levels is about 100 feet, but taking the underlie of the reef it will be much more, so that it will be seen that the company has a fair prospect of soon having a large and valuable block opened up on the loader in question, Thames, Friday. Sharkmarket.— buyers 2s 8d; May Queen, sellers Is 6d: Moanataiari, sellers 5s 6d, buyers ss; Alburnia, 2s 2d, buyers 2s 2d ; Prince Imperial, buyers 3s 3d; Trenton, sellers 3s Bd. Moanataiari.—A pound or two of picked stone was obtained yesterday from, a leader in the footwall of the Golden Age reef, at the western intermediate drive, above the Point Russell level. To-day a little stone was ob-» tained from a footwall leader in the eastern drive at the Point Russell level. Lone Hand —Another contract for 100 feet has been let for extending the low level drive, which is now within 83 feet of the company's boundary. Norfolk.All hands in this mine have been discharged, with the exception of two or three miners. This step has been taken owing to the non-payable nature of the quartz taken from the mine, and recently put through the company's battery. Trenton. —We have out through the footwall lode ; there is about 18 iuches of crushing dirt. In the bottom of the drive the lode is well-defined, but it is a little split up in the top, but on the whole it looks very well indeed. As per wire yesterday, 3ib of picked stone were obtained in looking over the dirt after the shots were fired ; also colours'of gold were freely seen through the quartz. I will now commenoe and drive on it to the Saxon boundary, so as to get ventilation as soon as possible. In the course of another week we will have to be looking out for a battery to