THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 8477, 30 January 1891, Page 6

THE GOLDFIELDS.

[FKOM OCT. OWN COON"DENTS. ] Thames, Thursday. Golden Age.—The manager of this mine, Mr. J as. Landlord, i? at present concentrating his efforts chiefly to a new scheme which has for us object the development of the company's property upon the line of the Golden Ace reef—the outcrop of which traverses the whole length of the mine, and has never been prospectedand the adjacent country on its loot wall side at and near the surface in the brow of the hill above No. 1 level. Scarcely anything has been done in the past to test tni~ part of the mine, owinir, no doubt, to the sudden abruptness with which a spur of the range rises to a height of 100 feet above the mouth of the No. l drive, with an almost vertical precipice on its eastern side. This, no doubt, accounts for the fact of this portion of the mine being left severely alone to the present time, but _ the works now in progress will facilitate its being pro-pscted, at a very trilling cost to the company. The first work carried out in connection with the present scheme was the connecting of the surface by means of Dashes with the winze recently sunk from No. Ito No. 2 level. This was accomplished by first sinking a short winze from the floor of No. 4 drive at No. 1 level, to strike the underlie of the main winze, and sunk in such a position as to come under a pass formed through the old stones above the drive. The latter pass was then connected with the surface by sinking a few feet upon the outcrop of what is known as the cross lode, and thus direct, communication was effected from the surface to No. 2 level. From the top of the latter hole a trench has been cut upon the outcrop of the cross reef for a distance of 70 feet up the face of the hill, at which point a drive is being put in through a good class of sandstone, for the purpose of intersecting the Golden Aire reef, and also for crosscnttirifj to intersect several footwall reefs. Should payable qus-.rtz be found, of which there is every likelihood, as good runs of gold have been worked at different periods directly underneath, there will be no difficulty in getting it down to the roadside, as by tipping it into the trench cut on the outcrop of the cro-s reef, it will fall down through the passes and winze mentioned above, a distance of 200 feet, direct to No. 2 level, and from thence trucked along a tramway five chains in length around the side of the hill to a couple"of recently-formed paddocks alongside the Waiotahi main road. It will thus be seen that there will be very little handling of any quartz that may be obtained, and the cost of such will therefore be reduced to such a minimum that the manager will be able to deal advantageously with a comparatively low grade class of quartz. In addition to the above work, a party of six contractors are engaged driving upon No. 4 reef at No. 2 level. This drive is now in a distance of 2S feet from the main crosscut, and a point reached where the reef junctions with a cross lode, but the quartz has not yet been broken close up to the junction. No. 4 reef, however, has ranged in size from 9 to 12 inches, and colours of gold have been seen. The country so far has been very difficult for penetrating owing to its being interlaced with numerous quartz veins, but a change for the better is expected on the other side of the junction. As soon as this reef has been opened up a little more fully, and the surface workings also developed, the manlier nopes to be in a position to keep up •egnlar monthly crush [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN' CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Thursday. Moanataiari. —When breaking down the portion of the cross reef in the south drive at 100 feet level to-day on the footwall side of what is supposed to be the Golden Age reef, colours of gold were seen freely and a few pounds of picked stone were obtained. Good dabs of gold were also seen to day in some quartz broken in the rise above 200 feet level. A start is to be made to-mor-row morning to crush the picked stone on hand, in order to prepare for the monthly retorting on Saturday. May Queen.— Although the gas has been troublesome in the western drive from the bottom of the new winze" good progress has been made with the cleaning out of the drive. It is now close up to the junction. , As soon as the corner is turned energetic headway will be made to reach the City of London shaft. Thomas and party have started their contract for extending the crosscut south from the shaft on the present level. The course of this drive will intersect any lode met with at right angles, but the one first expected is the No. 2 City of London. [BY TELEGRAPH. —I'RESS ASSOCIATION.] Blenheim, Thursday. A telecrafh received in town this evening jtates that the Wakamarina Gorge Claim has been .pumped dry, and that great excitement prevails in Havelock. There is about ten feet of shingle to move before the 'bottom is reached.