THE GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 13050, 15 December 1905, Page 3

THE GOLDFIELDS.

; :: ciIISMAN CONSOLIDATED. ;;; IMPORTANT PROSPECTING WORKS IN HAND. ; . FIFTEEN FEET REEF AT No. 12; '".' ■ Z-A /:'.. ■ LEVEL. •. ■'.; :■:';. - INTERESTING DEVELOPMENTS. [BY. TELEGRAPH.—OWN COKKESI'ONDENT.] Waihi, Thursday. Although the Talisman Consolidated mine [ at Karangahako has always been looked upon as a valuable property, the most optimistic never considered that within its area such rich ore reserves were going to be so speedily opened up as has been the case. The vast majority of those interested in mining have come to regard trie ores of Ohinemuri as practically low grade, and that success is only achieved by systematic working, combined with economical treatment in large quantities. '..'■ This is, in a large measure, correct, but it is also being proved that the lower levels are yielding a much richer grade of ore than that obtained in the upper reaches of the mine. This is especially so in the case of the Talisman Consolidated, Where a. mine of great and increasing value has been opened up down to the twelfth level. The .thirteenth level is also now, under way, so that this working will ere long be contributing its share to the output. Speaking generally, the mine is a great one,,.and the extent of its greatness was fully' demonstrated last month, when £20,000 worth of; bullion; was t.vtracted from the stone treated. The, pleasing feature about the return was that the ore crushed was won from all the points of .) ■development and general sloping ■ places, thus proving ' that the good values are well distributed over' the operating points, and not confined to any one particular rich chute of ore. This of course is a matter for congratulation, and the shareholders are undoubtedly indebted in a very large measure to the excellent mine and battery management and the general supervision of affairs by Mr. , Stansfield. . •;

■At No. 13 level, which has only been underway a short time, I found that a good deal of difficulty has been experienced in making headway on account of the crosscut from the shaft intersecting the lode just at the point where the "Woodstock fault crosses the face. The ground in consequence being very soft, the working had to be made perfectly secure, and this could only be effected by close timbering. -However, the obstacle was [overcome, and the exploitation of the lode commenced both north and south. The southern face soon advanced beyond the soft "mucky class of country, ami to-day it had been extended approximately a distance of about 25ft. The last firing revealed a much more solid class of rock, so that it can be said that the face is now practically beyond the influence of the fault. In the northern end, however, : very little has been done, owing to the. very sloppy nature of the country encasing the reef, and so far. the vein has only been followed northward for about 4ft. The face was cleared of debris this morning, and an attempt was made to pub in another set to-day. This should be completed to-night, and it is confidentlyexpected that before the Cnristmas holidays the northern drive will also be in firm or undisturbed country. At present it is impossible to gauge the width of the fault at this level, owing to the fact that at the No. 12 level it showed for a width of 15ft, whereas at the No. jl level it was only, 3ft, thus showing considerable increase in width as depth. is attained. With regard to the lode itself, it has not apparently been very much affected by one proximity of the fault, and in the southern workings-.-it: is giving great promise, "and producing about the same quality 'of stone as that broken out at No. 12 level. The opening up of the No. 15 level is, comparatively speaking, only in an initial stage, but the prospects so far'have afforded every satisfaction, and the intersection of such a fine masterly lode at the lowest working level of the mine has greatly enhanced the value of the property. Up .to the present" the returns of bullion have been won partly from the ores mined from the No. 12 level, and partly from the workings-above, and at the various working points everything is proceeding as satisfactorily as could be desired. The main No. 12 level itself has been extended north into the Woodstock section, and has reached a point underneath the Woodstock No. 2 winze, which had been sunk from the No. 5 level. It is intended to cany up a rise '■ from the No. 12 level to connect with the winze, but as a good deal of water is' expected it has been decided not to effect a connection until the level has been advanced some distance ahead The Maria lode here is looking very well, and to-day it was wider than the drive, neither of its walls being exposed. The. quality of the ore is also in keeping, and the opening up of a large and valuable block of ground is regarded as practically certain, especially in view of the fact that where an intermediate level was run out from the bottom of the winze the lode was fully 15ft from wall to wall. This in itself may not be regarded as anything exceptional, but it must also be taken into account that in the No. 5 level, where the winze 1 was commenced, the lode was also the same width, whilst the same dimensions of solid stone were a feature of the slopes at the back of the level. The fact that these points show a corresponding width confirms the consistency of the lode, and it is only natural to expect/ profitable results from the operations being carried on in this portion of the mine. In addition to this work, a rather important, prospecting drive has been commenced, its course being in an easterly direction, or towards the Crown Company s boundary. For many years it has been considered by .mining authorities that distinct roofs, apart from branches of the main reef system, exist between the Talisman .and Crown properties. So far this is merely an opinion j held by, ma'uy, and the value of the opinion will now be determined by the crosscut in question. Should anything of 'importance be unearthed the value of the discovery would be inestimable to both the Crown, and Talisman mines. ' The south drive on the No. 11 level lias now passed beyond the boundary of the Bonanza ore chute, and from its face a. crosscut is being driven westward. The country is very favourable for the existence of good ore, and it may be mentioned that when a sb H. mi was taken into"the country some distance back, to ascertain if it was carrying all the lode matter, some nice seams of quartz were met with. These seams appeared to bs running parallel with the main vein, and the present work was undertaken to define the lode, and ascertain whether operations were to-be cbniint'd'fco the main body of stone, or whether any lodes existed on the h&ngingwall side of the reef. The crosscut has now penetrated about 70ft est very nice-looking country. One of the most pleasing and interesting features of the work at this level is an important development connected with a rise which is being carried up to connect with the No. 5 winze sunk from-the No. 10 level. The rise has attained a height of about 140 ft above the level, and for every foot of the way high-grade ore has been won, and as stone carrying excellent values was also followed to the bottom of the winze the assumption is that'a rich block intervenes between the two levels. This theory' is strengthened when it is stated that the winze was sunk on the footwall of the reef, whilst the rise is being carried up on the hangingwall side, and in both rise and winze payable solid stone is exposed for the full width of the workings. A rather peculiar feature of the development is that a survey has revealed a width of 50ft between the two workings. Judging by present appearances, 'it would seem as if the reef is 50ft wide, when the dimensions between wall and wall {as revealed in winze and rise) are considered, but Mr. Stansfield is of opinion that it will be found the hangingwali and footwall portions ate divided by country , At theisaicc lime he is mystified ! by the development; which is rendered more remarkable/ by the fact that

; the, bottom of the winze is lower than the | top. of the rise. ; 'Both, are on solid stone, ! yet the workings are divided'by fully 50ft, However, : an" effort is:.; now. to be : made s to j solve the problem, and in a week or two it .should be known whether the. reef-has been,' divided with a block of country sandwiched ; between the two walls, or whether it has widened to the dimensions indicated. The development will be awaited with the greatest interest. At the No. 10 level driving south to reach the Dubbo section-arid sloping'' in the Bonanza, section are in progress. . The drive to reach the Dubbo requires about -more driving to get .underneath, the Dubbo workings, and the stopes are producing: large quantities of, payable crushing material. , In addition to the ordinary development works in the Bonanza section, a rather important development,has occurred in: a block to the west of the main stopes, at the back of : No. -10 level. .' It appears ..that two crosscuts were 1 ' run out with the object of locating the western branch at a point about 40ft above the main level. Both crosscuts were successful, revealing,', as 'they have done, a body of stone 12ft wide. The length iof the ore body is, of course, yet unknown/owing to it being, explored, but it is very pleasing to.record that 'though the reef was of poor grade, and only :3ft wide, when its exploitation was commenced, it has now widened out to 12ft, and with the increase in size has given a corresponding increase in value, with the result that;l2ft of good payable ore is now being operated upon. This discovery has added materially to the tonnage of;,'' payable stone available for crushing, and, as all the workings are connected with the ■ shaft, every facility is afforded! for economically delivering the stone from any point of the mine to the battery. From the foreging it will be seen that the Talisman Consolidated Company's property is opening lib-splendidly.

• WAIOTAHI. [iv ,\tgLegiUpij.—own coiuiEsroxnEKT.]' : " ■ Thames, Thursday. At the No. 6 level of the Waiotalii mine the eastern drives on both reefs are being continued. That on the No. 5 reef is now in a distance of 45ft from the crosscut, and the/reef is still keeping its average size of about 2ft. s No ' work-has yet been done on this reef westward of the- crosscut. The drive on the main reef is progressing slowly, owing to the fact that the whole of the reef, which is about 12ffc wide, is being carried along in the drive, and ■ the whole of this width* of quartz has to be handled and sent to the surface for crushing. No gold has yet been seen in the reef here, but there is still 20ft to drive to "reach the run of gold. At the No. 5 level the first slope above the. level is in progress from the rise, and very good crushing dirt is coming to hand from this stope. The eastern face of the drive is also being , continued, and the whole width of the reef for 12ft or 14ft is being taken in the drive, all of which is being sent to the battery for crushing. At the No. 4 level the extension of the drive on the reef eastward, and the stopes above the level, are temporarily suspended to allow the filling in of the stopes, which is not yet completed, and this work is somewhat slow, owing to the fact that the shaft has to be used the greater portion of each day for winding .quartz to keep the batteries going. The work of repairing the Mary Ann shaft is being .pushed on as quickly as possible, and the new boiler was taken up to the site this morning. When this work is completed it will be a great acquisition to the mine, as it Will give much greater winding accommodation, and will enable the' work of rilling in. stopes and winding quartz to be carried on at the same time without inconvenience.

}f4 WAIHI. . ; ; ""■ ' The lowing report on progress works at the- Wailn mine has been forwarded to the Loudon office of the company by mail: — No. 7 level :*•'■': Operations . have ' been almost wholly confined to this .level, and the ' results aire ''highly satisfactory. No. 1 shaft, Regina section— eastern drive has attained a total length of 310 ft. In 1 the,present, face sft of sulphide ore is exposed, with no walls seen. Average : value - along , level . from. 222 ft: to, 286 ft ~ is: Gold lofi lOdwt , 9gr,- silver 6pz''9,dwt 2gr per, ((hi. The full width of the ore -body at the ilS6tt.,»uuk is 97ft. -...It- was sampled in sft sec-. tions up to 90ft. and * carried an average value ivalue of: Gold liidwt 12gr, silver box fidwfc 2gi' per ton. Results of remaining samples not yet to hand. Have commenced another crosscut at 236(t to prove the full width and value. West drive—The end of the drive <3 now in 354 ft from the north-west crosscut. At the face sft of ore is exposed and no walls seen. Average value from 264 ft to 336 ft is: Gold 6dwt 6gr, silver 20/. 9dwt llgr per ton. The Regina section of the lode proved to be 17ft in thickness and worth an average of gold 7dwt 15gr, silver floss 9dwt 17gr per ton. Martha lode, north section—ln the eastern drive a total length of 236 ft is attained. In the face sft of ore is exposed,, 'with country on north side. The average value ■along the 'level from 159 ft to 223 ft is: Gold fl7dwt 9gr, silver 2oz 13dwt lOgr per ton. Western drive—This has been extended 40ft, making a total length of 219 ft; sft of ore exposed at face, with no visible walls. The value in the level .from 157 ft to -206 ft is:, Gold 13d\vt 18gr, silver So/. 7dwt 12gr per ton. Empire lode—The western drive has been advanced a total distance of 64ft from No. 4 shaft, north-west crosscut. A full face of ore is exposed, with no walls seen.. The average value along the level from 587 ft to 601 ft is: Gold Zdwt 19gr, silver 13dwt lOgr per ton. At. the 588 ft murk the full width of the lode was 25ft. The best values are contained along the hangingwall for a width of 15ft. This is chiefly sulphide '? ore. It was sampled in sections, the first 10ft ' being low grade ore, and the remaining 15ft giving 17dwt of gold and 12oz of silver. Main Royal lode—The eastern drive has been advanced to 517 ft from the north section junction; sft of ore exposed, with north wall in hand. The south wall was visible at 10ft back from the present face. The lode has the appearance of widening at present. The average value along the level from 446 ft to 484 ft is: Gold 12dwt 19gr, silver loz lldwt per ton. At 450 ft a crosscut proved the thickness of the lode to be 12ft, which yielded un average value by assay of gold loz 3d'wt 17gr. silver 1407. 6dwt lOgr per ton. The western drive has attained a distance of 427 ft from the north section junction. No. 6 level: Royal lode—Wurra pass has reached a depth of 105 ft; 3ft of ore exposed and no walls seen. The value from 70ft to 80ft is: Gold loz 4dwt 23giy silver lo?. 9dwt Bgr per ton. Adder pass is down 115 ft; 3ft of ore exposed, and no walls seen.

WATCH DISCOVERY.; Messrs, J. Thomas', P. Peacocke, J. Newdick (directors), and A. J. Denniston (secretary) ' visited the Waihi Discovery Gold Mining Company's property at Waihi on Wednesday. Mr. Haszard, surveyor, also asßompanied the party. The claim was thoroughly inspected, and it was decided that further prospecting should be done on No. 1 reef, at a point where the lode is outcropping, showing a width of 12ft.. It was also decided .that a drive should be put in to intersect the No. 2 reef in the hill, ■where it will have 150 ft of backs. The 'directors were favourably impressed with the prospects of the property, and it is their intention to proceed in an energetic manner to test the value of the different reefs. \ : :; ; >"-r^"-