OUR GOLDFIELDS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13226, 11 July 1906, Page 2 (Supplement)

OUR GOLDFIELDS.

t. ■ -■-. ♦— —— ; SUMMARY. [ £600,428 FOR THE HALF-YEAR. » DtRING the past four weeks,the mines of 1 the Auckland district have produced' gold " worth £101*721 16s 3d. Towards this the \ OhiDemurijfield contributes £80,105 9s Bd,' ; the Thames £20,419 5s lOd, and Coromandel i £1196 Os 9d. The returns just to hand complete the output for the first six months " of the year, and the value of tho gold won ' ; during that period is £600,428 16s 7d. This I l shows a gratifying increase of £91,318 lis j i 7d over the previous highest yield for a j • similar period, the second six months of- ] '. 1903, when the*' gold won V was / worth j ' £509,110 ss. The value of the gold ob- -. tamed from tho Auckland fields for the ', first six months" of ■ 1905 was £427,422 18s . 7d, or £173,005 17s lOd less than for the ' corresponding term this year. r The export of gold from New Zealand for the six months/of>the/present year was 265,1280z, of the value "of £1,070,434, an. increase of 14,5110z, valued at- £59,111, as compared with the corresponding period of last year. The quantity of gold exported last ? inbntli//wns/48,6400z, ; valued at £195,556, as compared with 45,6290z, of the value of £183,435, in June of last year. The export last month was made up as follows : — 19,6220z, £79,325; Auck- ; land,/*16,3760z, : £65,944; // Gfeymouth, 46740z, £18,712;- Hokitika, 27840z, £11,136; Invercargill, 20620z, £8250;. Nel : i son;/ 17500z, £6998; Westport, 13680z, £51911..The export of -silver last month was 77,8770z, of the value of £7881. '. •;■.'■■ The total export of gold from New Zealand /for;'the-:,past 50 years -amounts to 17,188,930oz", valued at: £67,401,649. , ; -:^^Most gratifying results continue to attend" the opening. up of the low levels of the Waihi i mine. At the No. 7 level,' which has already proved more resourceful as regards the production of payable ore thani level "•■ above, the famous Martha lode is i a solid quartz formation,: with,. a breast of stone fully 97ft in width. Driving on the parent lode further west than the de- ; velopment works were earned in : the level =' above is how proceeding, and the ore, body is showing marked improvement in values as the drive proceeds. ': This goes to show that/oh /the downward trend of the reef system the ; best values are ■■ travailing westward, a fact that augurs well for future operations, when the systematic development ot the western sido of the Martha Hill is undertaken, / as up to ;■; the • present ', the south-western ;■; portion of Waihi is practically unexplored. Evidently, the western end of the field has to be reckoned with, and apparently all -that is required is depth " to eaten up the run of ore. / This, of course, will come in time, and meanwhile the fact [. that the continuation of this great reef system from/the ; Waihi Company's western workings has great possibilities is decidedly j encouraging, especially when it is taken into consideration that the lode shows greater signs of /permanency, both as regards ; strength and consistency in value on the lower workings, than was the case in the upper levels, where the reefs were patchy and inconsistent. Going west, in addition to the parent ore bodv. there are the Welcome, ; Royal, Empire, Edward, and Rex lodes, ail being actively developed at the No. 7 level, and with the exception of the Rex lode all the ore bodies are looking well and carrying good values. Although the level has'been in operation now for over 12 , months no sloping has so far been done, the drives merely following the respective courses of the lodes, so that the immense bodies of stone are quite intact between the No. 8 and No. 7. levels, a height of 150 ft. These blocks alone would provide payable crushing material for many years* to- come, even without any further augmentation of ore reserves. / Some idea may therefore be gathered of what these lower levels are pro- , vkiing; in the way of ore reserves, and the ' management and >: shareholders ; are ; to - be congratulated on the great measure of suc--1 cess which has attended the operations.' At the No. 8 level main Royal lode is now in hand, and a splendid' body of stone, fully lift wide; has been exposed, the ore carryeven better values than is the case at the corresponding point at the level above. Driving on the reef both east and west is being vigorously prosecuted, and with most ' satisfactory results. The Empire lode will, in the ordinary course of developments, be tho next ore body to.be met with, and the ground will be gradually opened up until the wonderful Martha lode is exposed at I this level. ' . < '• .-; . - / /s/Tho attorney of the Grand Junction Gold ! Mining Company, John Chambers,' has; _ announced that it is intended to float a new company to exploit the Waihi South and ' Waihi Consols properties, recently purchas--1 ed by the Junction 'Company, though operations on th© ground acquired will be commenced by the Grand Junction Com- - pany. As theVVaihi South and West properties, and to some extent the Waihi Con--1 sols mine, are on the western side of the 1 famous Waihi mine, in which recent developments have proved that the best' values are travelling west on the downward trend of the reef system, active operations on the properties in question will be looked forward to with considerable interest. The lowest level of the Talisman mine 1 (No. 13 level) is still passing through its t; poor period, but it is hoped that the blank ij will soon give way to a remunerative block ! of ground.; The northern end .is being J | steadily advanced, the '.ode being about 2ft ' in. width, low values. The* southern -. end, however, has just passed through a ! reef about 12 wide, but as its underlie : and course are slightly different to the lode ' being driven for. the level is being extended '- with a view to determining whether the ; lode is still ahead. .The No. 12 going ' south has materially improved, the lode re- ; cently met with having been followed for ; 'a/distance of about 50ft. ; Satisfactory re- ' /suits are now btng. obtained at this point,' I the/reef; being about 4ft or sft wide, and - f producing ore of a payable nature. The , face, it may ho mentioned, is still uorth of . /the point where the management expects ,- to pick up the large part of the Bonanza J chute i of ore.; A large quantity of payable ;•: I I ore is still coming to hand from the stopes,

Arrangements have been made for the expenditure of a further sum of £3000 on the sinking, of the shaft on the Waihi Console ;' dated property, for the purpose of testing : the reef system at a greater depth. It is "expected that this amount will enable the «haft to be carried down between' 800 ft arid , 850ff, and the inoney is :to be contributed i by the Waihi Syndicate (London)— tof the option over the property— Con- . solidated Company and the Grand Junction Company, the latter to have the right of I jointly using the shaft. Should the syndi- , cate/ wish to extend the option beyond the f original date, a further term of six months r will be granted/contingent on their exendl ing at least £200 per month on the' Coni, solidated ground. • * , For years it has been known that the i Wbangarei Heads district is auriferous » , country, and for some little time past, at > Kauri Mountain,'in the vicinity of which . the main, reefs are situated, operations have I been active and with very gratifying results, Assays made by recognised experts have ' shown returns of £6 per ton, and investiga- , tions made by impartial judges have given j the assurance that this mineral deposit is of , a very promising nature. Mr. R. H. Har- : rison, a certificated ; mine manager, has [ visited the property, and after systematic ( cally examining the leads and reefs, has reported favourably. A company to thor- ' oughly exploit the ground is to be formed, f and it is stated that the bulk of the capital ; required will be subscribed in London. | The attorney of the Tokatea Consolidated • - Company (Mr. C. R. Walker) recently re- , ceived instructions from the directors in , London to commence development work in . the' company's property at Coromandel. A . start has been made in the locality from [ which gold was taken from the mine some time ago, and Mr. Walker, who visited the j" mine a few days ago, regards the prospects i as decidedly-encouraging. -