MINING NEWS

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13846, 4 September 1908, Page 3

MINING NEWS

THAMES DEEP LEVELS: THE DEVELOPMENT SCHEME.A LEGITIMATE VENTURE. IN THE LIGHT OF THE PAST. SOME FACTS AND FIGURES. GREAT POSSIBILITIES. -■. No question in connection with the mining industry in the North Island of New Zealand has ever presented a more interesting problem for solution than that of the opening up and exploitation of the Thames deep levels. Now that the opportune time has arrived for the formulation of a scheme of deep level developmentthe Queen .of Beauty shaft being down to a depth of 1000 ft, thus affording a suitable starting point for exploratory crosscuts— deliberations of the representative committee set up to consider and report upon the whole subject are fraught with especial interest. Already it has been mad© apparent that th© committee in question is making a conscientious and thorough endeavour to deduce a. workable plan of operations which shall meet with the approval of all the mining companies concerned, audit is to be hoped that the outcome of their labours will be the energetic prosecution of an undertaking which shows every promise of giving an adequate return for the capital that will have to lie expended. The element of risk which makes all mining ventures more or less speculative certainly exists in connection with tho deep levels of the Thames field. On the other, hand it cannot be said that nothing is known of them, seeing that boring operations long ago proved tho existence of -bearing strata below the barren area. If only the geological conditions that have led to successful mining at such great depths at Ballarat and other places prevail at the Thames the development of the deep levels on the latter field must inevitably lead to millions of pounds worth of gold being unearthed there. In short, there is not, anywhere in the world, a more legitimate mining venture. It is, of course, a matter of history that the Thames, is "patchy," but it is equally historical that the patches have been phenomenally rich. The real point is that the whole of the gold won from the Thames mines has come from comparatively shallow workings. These are now pretty well exhausted, and if the field is to live as a thriving contributor to the Dominion's bullion supply it is a case of going down. BONANZAS OF THE PAST. In forming an estimate of the possibilities of mining in the deeper areas at the Thames it is only natural that it should be based upon the actualities of the past. Bearing in, mind the fact that, the world over, quartz reefs frequently give more ; consistent returns the deeper they are worked, the argument for the development of the Thames lodes on their downward trend is strengthened by' figures that are on record dealing with the Bonanzas oi the past. It is computed that the Thames field has yielded gold worth between £5,000,000 and £5,000,000 to date, over £4,000,000 of which was won in the early days (1867-1875) from a working area of about 200''acres. Most of the rich patches were contained in a gold zone running' in 'a downward direction about north and south from the Shellback to the Karaka Creek; and a fairly straight lino could bo drawn which should pass through each rich patch in this zone. No reliable data, is available tc• jhqw Jhe jc^uaj, individual yields, of the, various Thames'mines in these fabulously productive early days, though the collective yield in 1371 alone was £1,188,708. What the respective shareholders, however, gained from them in the shape of dividends is .on record. For instance, Hunt's Sliotover claim yielded £40,000 apiece to the four original discoverers and £15,120 to the company that afterwards acquired it. The Long Drive Co. paid dividends amounting to £52,000 in a few years. ; . The .'.Golden .Crown Go. disbursed £141,904, in addition to rewarding the original owners handsomely. The Caledonian Co. took out 10 tons of gold and paid £553,440 in dividends during the first year of its existence (1871). So.rich was the gold in the latter " find " that in some instances it had to bo' cut out of the lode with a chisel, and though the patch "cut out," like all the others, it was a large one. The Cambria, again, paid £48,825 .in one year; the Moanataiari (from which over 10,000oz of gold were won in'one famous week) paid £117,993; the Nonpareil shareholders received £14,670; the Kuramu disbursed lj £41,2/7; the All Nations £41,445; the Cure I £17,000; the Manukau £15,750; tho Old Whau £11,650. Later the New Prince Imperial Co. paid £60,750 in three years from a mine that was sold for £800, and on which the new shareholders paid a call of £450 to carry on with. As recently as in 1905 and 1906 the Waiotahi patch came to light,' shareholders receiving in the former year alone £51,000 in dividends. It was the discovery of this pay-streak in the Waiotahi which gave a fresh impetus to mining at the Thames, showing how a "bit of gold" may stimulate and encourage other mining companies to make renewed efforts in the search for it. The Waiotahi "find," moreover, is evidence that it is not unreasonable to hone that the old bonanzas did not represent the sum total of tho treasure hidden in the Thames auriferous belts. Since the original rush to the field in 1867 every claim to the south of the Shotover, in the Shellback Creek, as far as the Queen of Beauty, has proved a good investment at some time in its history. BELOW THE BARREN STRATA. As has been stated, the whole of the rich gold won at the Thames has so far been taken from, one gold-zone of comparatively small area. Not only so, but, in no case, has it come from a depth greater than 600 ft below sea level. In most cases the rich chutes worked were considerably shallower, and much of the development work on the field has been done at an,altitude in the spurs. The only attempts hitherto made to get an 'indication of what the deep levels hold in the shape of reefs, have taken the form of boring. There is no doubt but that the existence of a known barren strata below the productive area of the Thames has ini fluenced mining companies in hesitating to go deeper. Until the drainage question was set at rest by the installation of the bit pumps the water trouble, of course, had a retarding effect upon any such enterprise, but since the latter difficulty has been solved there has never, until the present time, been a serious effort made to prosecute deep level development on a large scale. Even the existence of the barren area referred to has not been entirely responsible for this delay in the settlement of an important problem.. The element of uncertainty which has unundoubtedly been partly responsible is largely, however, if not completely, set at naught by the results of the boring operations already mentioned. The Victoria Co. was tho first to adopt this method of testing the lower levels, but, although good indications were obtained by that company down to between 800 ft and 1000 ft, its bore-hole was down on the foreshore and rather out of the line of known reefs. It was from the boring operations carried on in a different part of the field that the most encouraging results came—results which should instil very hopeful anticipations in the minds of those concerned with the carrying out of the proposed deep levels development. RESULTS OF BORING. The first of those bore-holt? was drilled to a depth of 1500 ft iu the Kuraaui-Caledoniau Cp.'s . ground. ~ This hole proved useful in more way* than one, It revealed the fact],

that the barren strata was seme 400 ft thick. ' At a depth of 972 ft a splendid channel c# ; country was entered, and? at 1034 ft i refS '<: was cut, m country rook which.was practically a counterpart of' that which eneasecti ' the rich Caledonian patch. This "aixdesite: country, brought up by the bore,- was as-'; sayod, and returned values of from 11«;;,4«1, to.. 135.6 d per ton. The quartz-being "vuggy" no core could be obtained;, and consequently the value could not be "ascer- . '"* i tained. A second hole close to the first on© was drilled to 1500 ft, but in this the reef was not touched. Sufficient was shown, however, by the first hole to prove definitely; that, at a depth of 1054 ft, tho Caledonian /?§ reef,, which gate siieb astounding values -iis the surface levels, is in existence in country v ; sii excellent as to practically ensuro rich Ore being discovered in it if systematically-work-. ed. A third hole was sunk in the ground formerly known as the Moanataiari Extended. This was drilled 1200 ft with the object? of cutting the Golden Age (Caledonian) reef at alwut, 1056 ft, and further prove the ex-, istonce of a Second auriferous floor on th« eastern side of the Moanatsiari: slide. At'. 900 ft very good sandstone was met, which!' continued for the whole depth bored. Quartz", was also cut in this bore at 876 ft (2ft sin, through); at 1035 ft (Ift through); at 1092ffei (4ft through); and at 1166 ft (lOin through). A fourth bore-hole went, down 1500 ft in the. same ground. Similar favourable sandstone was penetrated from'9ooft downwards. NEW GOLDFIELD AVAILABLE. V, ;' Vg Reporting at the time upon the boring operations referred to the Thames Gold-: fields Improvement . Committee expressed! the firm, conviction that the operations hack ■ proved that a practically new goldfield lies. under the old Thames at 1000 ft and down-J wards. The time has now arrived for testing' this opinion. It has since been borne oufe by the discovery in the Queen of Beauty shaft at the 1000 ft level,; not only of ' ~' lent country, but of quart?,. Difficulties thatf formerly existed have been swept away, thai deep levels are within reach, the means ofi? opening them up are at lmnd. It merely remains, on the details of -a' suitable scheme of development being worked out,- for- th«!>. companies interested to pluckily meet the* cost, and before long the block of auriferous ground above and below, the. 1000 ft level atf the Thames may be yielding gold, and . ■ ing that the great argosies! of the old field , '" are intact at greater depths, instead of lying l "i dead and undeveloped as it; has for years. —: —~~\~ ~' '''' ■■■ v-' :; .:"'"v : :xil TAIBUA BROKEN HILLS. - •. ■ ~ £573 FROM 265 TONS. * ■ , ./•••■-...". '■■ . ; a.- :■;■'!-' : 'te;J TOTAL TO DATE. £87,575.' ' \ ' '■' ■ . '!: "! : ! '■ '". " ■■'' :; " " :. , .''-:- :v S- : ::^ During August the Tairua Broken Hills , Gold Alining Company crushed and.treated, 266 tons of ore for a return of bullion valued! at £573 lis. This shows a, falling off as com«i vpared wth the return for . July,' when 430 tons yielded £1010. It should be noted, however, that the crushing period during August was only about a fortnight. Thia 'accounts for the small tonnage treated. In \ the corresponding month of • last year 328 A- 'i tons gave a return of- £1655. The total! amount won' from the mine to date it) £87,575 IDs, as shown in tin* following table,' of details: < i, i

\ TALISMAN CONSOLIDATED. ■■:)■■ ■■■■■■■■ «■■■■■■■ Ci~- ■■■■■■■' ■';'<■■ ■*'•:■:"!■■■" : "-' '■H^;-y"- i m ty^^iXPtpilM [BY TKLEGRAPH.— CORRESPONDENT.], ' "'■■, ... ■ --.!_. -■•.-■■.: •.■•■-•>>■-■■'.■■-..:■■:■-.■. l; V i.'-4r';fi ■'.■'. \.\ ' Waesi, .Thursdjjji, ' The pressure of ''■ water from ' the lowe* workings of the Talisman mine appears tot, be decreasing as it advances up the'.Bhaftz*. V; The water is v now rising bajely 3ffc' p|r day,' ' . ■a fact which strengthens tho, opinion of, those who hold that the pumps stationed af|. No. 12 level will (when: the watqr.~reaphe* ; the point at which pumping operations wfljr bo commenced) prove quite equal' to holding! ■' tho water, below the No. 112 level. ' -■■!'••■ ___ PAEROA WARDEN'S COURT. . . - . - [by telegraph.—Awn coßtesPbidiEJl£j, (i '* .' '• ' ■ '■'•., ■:': Paekoa, Thursday. " At the Warden's Court to-day, before Mri; ' F. J. Burgess (Warden), the following appli-C . cations were granted:E. D. White, suiTenj*" ' der of Rahu special claim at Karangahidte;) W. L. Buchanan, permission*to.out five treent* "-.,, on Blocks 9 and 13, Ohinemuri survey dis-* - trict. Applications were • recommended to- , , . ' the Minister as follows:— R. Goudi%; ; ; '"; Alpine special claim of 100 acres, at Mam-' < tote; W. R. Goudie, Alpine Extended special claim of 80 acres, at Marototo. /"! \ A. R. Rao sued J. McCormick for forfeit ture of the Long Drive special claim., at, Marototo, for non-working. < Defendant dial not appear, and forfeiture was decreed, plain*;; • I tiff being declared first applicant. Costa amounting to £2 Is were given against dm fendant.. , .. "',. ;":,■; ; .-/ NOTES.- ; i ' |ff The manager of the Kapowai mine ha* opened out lOft below th« intermediate leval?',. f ' and started to drve east. This drive ia in/ sft, and prospects well. In the Coromandel mine the ore coming!, < • to hand from No. 1 reef is very satisfactory,- f \ according to the manager's report. A d«s tance of 10ft baa been driven on the No. 2 reef, which is now 2ft wide, the quartz being of excellent appearance. ' - , ;'.' ■' At a meeting of the directors of th«' Phasnix mine yesterday it was resolved td' make a call of 3d per share upon the cow tributing shares of tho company for the pur* pose of paying for the machinery recently erected on the mine, and to provide <bi' , necessary funds for the efficient working of J the mine. t. ■ ■ " ■ ' - ■■■• .*:■.; ■ , ■ ~.■: ::.!::. uzWn

In 1900 ..... ... .., £1.457 a 4 In 1901. 455 tons ... ... ... 1,79219 9 In, 1902, 5076 tons " ... ..... ■■ ... 23,666 0 01 ;i?SftS In 1903 ... ... 21,268 7 0 la 1904 ... ... ... ... ,■■:.„. . 10,726 0 a In 1905 ... ... ... ....... 4,669 3' « In 1906 ... ... ... 7,627 0 0, In 1907 ... ... ......... 10,495 ;0 9 - Total ... ■•.,.. .... .„ ... £81390 19 a Period ending— ,., ,. . * * • 1 , April 9, 1908, 1100 tons '. 2,032 0 a May 1, 1508. 360 ton* 695 0 3 June 3, 1908, 476 tons ... ... 880.0 tt July, 1908, 394 tons ... ... -. 994 ,ti August 1. 1908, 430 ten« ... ,-• ... 1,010 0 a September 1. 1903, 266 tons ... .■; '573 114S ■■'^■:^|? . Total to dat» ... ... ... £87,575 10 J 1 '&'• " 'h 11 *'?' h- v~- • ********—"**"* n'i 1 iiiiiiin'ii ......I . ,'.'■''' t