AUCKLAND'S GOLD MINING INDUSTRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13050, 15 December 1905, Page 6

AUCKLAND'S GOLD MINING INDUSTRY.

' : : ;THE KOMATA REEFS. ;v - ;; •■; : . ; ■.'•.•■-.,.■',,:.■,'...,• -.-■.■•■-'.->,'.' ;■-■-, ■:■'! '~'' - ". AN INTERESTING MINE . No. VIH. '." -" " fifoUK MINING COMMISSIONER,'', ';' About eight miles from Paeroa is the Komatai Reefs-mine, a-- very 1 steady and conI sistent bullion producer, which is now well opened up and has in sight considerable reserves, of, good ore. Tlio ijiine is situated on. the Komata Creek which hay worn a deep, and very picturesque valley , into the main goldfields, ranges a little distance to the north 'of the Ohinemuri River. Tho road to the. mine branches off• from the Thames-Paieroa ; Road, > and follows the course of the Komata Creek eastwards into the heart of, tho hills. . -. , The Komata Reefs is one of on* west payable mines, it being only -worked, for about ten years. Prior, to the year "J.'aOO it had only produced £30,669 worth of bullion. Since that date it has averaged from £25,000 to £37,000 per year, and during the last eleven months it has averaged from' £2500 to £3500 per month ironi 1250 to 1350 tons of stone, the total 'yield of bullion up 'to December, 1905, being £180,606. " -' :

The mine is well planned and well equipped, its twenty-stamper battery getting through a very high tonnage per month. It has been paying for development - aaid exploration work, adding to its plant, increasing its reserves, and at '■.'-■:■ same time paying, lately, very respecta/fe dividends on its 800,000 shares all o;:t of its gold returns. At \s\-s present time a' tr.be mill is lieing .installed, which, by; allowing coarser crushing at the baitttiy, will.'increase the amount dealt with aioiyfchly, an( at the same time permit a greater percentage of bullion extraction tent the stone treated. THE REEFS.''""

The workings of the nuiie av..- at present confined to two reefs. kaowa'rK-jwctively as No. 1 and No. 2. reefs i-te found in m high, steep ridge, -which lies-between the- watersheds of the Komata. and. Waisekauri Creeks.

The . reefs ' aia exceedingly irregular in size. They run parallel with one another,, at a distance -of from two or three feet >.;p to thirty and forty feet, the average distance ; apart being perhaps thirty iixt. The reefs vary from-a foot up to sixteen feet in. width, and the two reefs together .will average about six feet in width. There are oei"v&ia- characteristics in the Komata reefs which are'not to be found in those about Ktrangahake or Waihi. The quartz is hard, and if largely composed of calcite, some portions being as pumly w?dt» as Parian ii.ink, and, in fact, is uhw-jst indistingiiishabln- from this stoniv: lit p/iv-Xfithe coimt? v rock boidsiiag the reef L-> ;,-.* ifltorspe," with stringers that'it is difficult to say *> 'iere the stringers end amu 'the' reef bri/'uis. Properly speaking, there are no '•<-f»'ar*7-defiii«l walls to the reefs although./.;- ',::.-r..'. :-- ies irso in - ! i/i a regular dire.',. Tits c -.try rock i.-> much less oxidised bail 'x vbe more southern districts of the At ck'land goldfields, and, like the quartz, ij hue-grained and-hard;-:-A Waibi or Kai-Hingahake miner; looking at th,'- Komata cus.-;. 1 ;, wfu!(! •■ not i yrommncefavti-'.rably on it-- sy.'iearance, the •' ' J lion -value/ ?..Ktntr conf'.:- to narrow." vv !>3 ii..v.rtp':s.«.r;;d through ,uk .-• so- '-of clean whi'-o fN.-,ne.','■ Aj;.p3araii;->es go .-.. very little ;ri i'"iuing, i,.'r... ver, and the. sctual bullion, returns I'roi.ii this stone give an average of ; bout £>o per lots, and if toe quartz were selected in,,places .it,would I>p, quit© easy to o;et up to 350 or twice £&) per j i ■■!, ." ;-.,';. v. ..,,:.,. ( " ■ /IHE WORKINGS. ..-. ' The niiiie has (h.c, advantage of being -.vtrlwd by adit lev-si - -., the lowest or main level' being No. 8. From this level the workings rise to a) height of ,-'x>u< SOU/*-, butonly a pottion' of the reefs wbove No. 8 has been worked; (Jti the No. 2 reef, for instance, no -toping h;« been done below the To. 4 It '•?],. and even above No.; 4 ; there ':-. & very i-,r,se amount of quarts still i i L-j L-rojied <mi . As .a matter of- fact, quartz carrying move or less valuable oro exists to ci height of 900 ft above the No. 8 level, large portions of the rest's being absolutely intact for much of this distance; .so it will lie seen that the mine has a large amount of crushing stone in. sight and ready for sending down to the battery when it is wanted.

THE No. 2 REEF. The No. 4 level, en the No. 2 reef, is the lowest level on t-1 As body of quartz, but it is connected with the workings on the .':■?■.>. 1 reef. I followed this No. 4 kwl for liOOft on the course of the reef. There is a ran of 500 ft of payable ore here, and the face of tho drive is in good stone, so the ore shut* is of large; «&* and if it. lives down only to the No., 8, U.«v«l it will give a vertical depth of 400 ft ' between these two points alone. The average, width .of the reef is between 7ft and Bft, so that there should be a lot of good crushing stone both underfoot and overhead in this part of the mine. In the No. 3 level the No. 2 reef is of very large dimension;', being from 12ft to . 24ft in width. Whether it will maintain tin.-: size- as it goes down cannot be decided until the No. 4 level is calmed as far ahead ! on the reef a- the ITo. 3 level. In the No, 3 let-el tit.2 run of payable stone is 400ft-. long, and averages in value about 453 per ton. Tho reef it? intact to the level 100 ft overhead, intact to the No. 4' level below, and intact below the No. 4' level to indefinit* depths. • ■ , THE No. 1 REEF. A ' We crossed from the No. 2 to the No. 1 reef at the No. 3 level. This No. 1 reef is very similar to its fellow—the same, character of stone, the same class of country rock, In the upper levels this reef has been opened up on'payable stone for over 300 ft further than on. the No. 3 level, but whether the same run of ore will bo carried to this distance in the lower levels cannot be decided until they are extended further into the hill. The particulars given show that the Komata mine should have a prosperous future before it. The stupes already worked have supplied the battery for four years, and the levels opened ready for stoping show some years ofprofitable work ahead. It will be seen that the No. 1 reef has. excellent prospects if the ore shutes worked in the No. 2 level live down to the No. 8 level, without even taking into consideration what may exist in still lower levels. Tho fact that a shute over 300 ft long exists on this No. 1 reef, which in the upper levels is now yielding stone worth from £2 to £2 10s, with a width of stone ranging from 7ft to Bft, gives splendid assurances for future workings. OTHER REEFS. Other reefs are said to exist besides the No. 1 amd No. 2 described, but there is no occasion to look for more reefs while those opened up continue to yield such good stone. It is possible that the exten-" is ion of.the. workings in the Komata mine may have the effect of .revealing something of value on the Waitekauri side of the main ridge, for, undoubtedly, if the drives are pushed far enough' along the line of reef, they will be a guide to operations ou the Waitekaiuri side. THE BATTERY AND PLANT. The Komata battery extraction plantis about three-quarters of a' mile from the main drive, and is driven principally by water obtained from the Komata Creek. The mill is very compaict and well designed, and, at the time of my visit, was receiving considerable additions in the shape of a tube mill and vacuum plant for- dealing with slimes. Altogether the Komata Reefs mine is particularly ' interesting. If has some, unique features, among which are the character of the quartz; and the country rock in which the reefs- are found. The fact of two parallel reels existing so close together is not by any. means unusual, .but that reefs in such hard rock and showing such a inul-

'• • ; <■ _ . ' ' ,-tittido of stringers should exist so 'gothef .led jfit be separated by.' an unbroken ;* wall' of rock is certainly unusual. It ivy/possible,; of . course, , that : at; ; ; greater depths the reefs •ii-ay'coino'! together and' make one .veef between well-defined wall?. Still, even; the presence of well-defined '.walls is not,'a guarantee ;of payable quartz, nor is tho absence of well-defined walls of any great consequence while there is quartzcarrying bullion as rich aa that now being mined 'in the " Komata. There can be no doubt about the very important fact that the mine has large reserves of good ore actually in sight, and there is every prospect of greater . reserves being opened up as the lower levels are extended. L - I had an interesting talk with Mr. F. C. Brown, the general manager of the Komata ' mine, on the subject of prospecting on 'the I Auckland. goldfields. This gentleman, who 1 has seen quartz-mining country in other parts of the world, declared that the Ohineniu'ri field could' scarcely be surpassed in" the chances it offers for the discovery of new and, valuable mines. He says that if it were in America amd was subject to American mining laws it would quickly attract a, large number of prospectors and investors. He says* that in the past little encouragement has been'given to those who look for new reefs on the Auckland goldfields, and. without doubt, Mr. Brown is right in' this contention. This is a question wh : ;, is well worthy of special attention, feu uri the discovery of new reefs, or new ore bodies, depends the expansion of our- mining industry, and certaiulv no one is likely to go out into wild country and risk health and .time and money .unless tempted by the. possibility of large rewards. Whether the men who have openei vfl new fields and new reefs in tJw Auckland mining! districts have always benefitted themselves by, such work is *>xtfemeiv doubtful ; in fact, it would-be difficult to find a single instance where the original pros'pector of a claim ever got rewarded for his trouble in this Dart of New Zealand., while in America a.nd other parts of the world the prospector can and does win a fortune j if lie is lucky enough to strike- a payable I reef- ■ • ■,- . ' • „