MINING NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 13875, 8 October 1908, Page 3

MINING NEWS.

TALISMAN CONSOLIDATED. £11,883 FROM 4040 TONS. TOTAL TO DATE, £945,347. During tho month of September tho Talisman Consolidated crushed and treated 4040 tons of ore for a return of bullion valued at £11,883 7s 6d. This is the lowest return of the year, and is duo to tho water trouble at tho 13th level, where the richest or© 13 situated. However, a record crushing was not expected, as it had previously been stated by, thoso in authority that during th© next few months tho returns must diminish somewhat. Compared with tho record return of i-i+,467 from 3625 tons for August the prosent on© shows a decrease of £12,533 12s 6d. In th© corresponding period of last year 3772 tons yielded £15,335 7s. The costs for last month were £1 13s lOd per ton, made up as .follows:—Mine development, 8s 6d; mining, lis lOd; milling, lis 7d; general expenses, Is lid. Tho August costs amounted to £1 19s 9d. Tho total , amount won from the mine to date is £915,347 3s 9d, as shown in the following table of details:

WAIHI. CORRECTED GOLD RETURNS. TOTAL TO ; DATE, £6,925,241. In a circular issued to shareholders in the TVaihi Gold Mining Company, under date of July 25 last, the table, of gold returns given enables corrections to bo made in those reported for the current year, to the period ended April 18 last. The actual realisationfigures exceed those reported for the period in question by £7113, and bring the total won from the mine to date to £6,925,24-1, instead of £6,918,128, the total hitherto published. Following are the details of the corrections, the amounts in parentheses representing values realised: Period ended January 25, £60,241 (£61,684); February 22, £68,860 (£70,714); March 21, £71,850 (£74,272); April 18, £70,283 (£71,677). It will bo noted that the: return of 4,272 for the month ended March 21 last now stands as the rccord monthly return from the mine. In the circular referred to, it is pointed out, in connection with the returns, that the excess in value of actual realisations over cabled returns is mainly due to the difference between the market price 'of silver and the price at whioh it is always valued at mine, namely, 28 per ounce fine. The official report upon operations in the Waihi mine for the four weeks ending August 8 last contained the following information :— No. 9 Level: In the drive west on Wie Royal lode sft of ore was exposed, .with no visible walls. The . value of samples taken across the full- width of the drive waa-7dvrt gold, and 15dwt 4gr silver at 176Tt in, and ldwt 4gr gold and lldwt 15gr silver at 186 ft. In tho east drive on the same lode the values were 3dwt 16gr gold, and loz 7dwt silver per ton at 59ft, and.ldwt llgr gold and 17dwt 16gr silver at 69ft in. ' The flow of water had increased in this face, and the water from the Royal: at No. 8 level had disappeared. The north crosscut towards No. 4 shaft was in 137 ft from No. 5 shaft crosscut. There remained 155 ft to drive to reach beneath No. 4 shaft. No. 8 level: The Royal lode in the west drive was 6fb wide 775 ft from the north section junotion. The value from 660 ft to 760 ft was 3dwt 15gr gold, and loz ldwt silver. In the drive on the Rex lode the reef was about 4ft wide, and averaged, for 120 ft, ldwt Igr gold, and , 4dwt 4gr silver. In the level east of No. 4 shaft crosscut the Empire lode was exposing 4ft of sulphide ore, with the south wall in hand. Samples taken along the level gave assays ranging from 7dwt gold and 2dwt 15gr silver to loz 2dwt 15gr gold, and loz 19dwt 6gr silver. Bath pass proved that payable ore did not extend further than 47ft above this level. The Edward lode in the drive south was sft wide in the face (530 ft in), with the east wall in hand. The value for 71ft was 3dwt sgr gold, and 13dwt 12gr silver. At 455 ft in the lode was 15ft wide, and samples gave assays of from 2dwt 15gr gold, and Bdwt 18gr silver to lOdwt 9gr gold, and lOoz lldwt 18gr silver. At 290 ft the level was widened, and there a width of 34ft was taken tip, with the east wall showing. The south-oast crosscut was in to within 70ft of the Royal lode. At 575 ft in there was a reef, - 2ft 9in wide, worth 14gr gold and - 3dwt 16gr silver. At 580 ft there was another reef, 2ft wide, worth 7dwt 4gr gold, and lOdwt 9gr silver. Bull's south crosscut was in 405 ft, and at 348 ft a quartz vein, 2ft wide, was cut, worth 2dwt 15gr gold, and 12d\vt 17gr silver. No. 7 level The drive east of the Empire lode was suspended at 201 ft. "The value from 132 ft to 199 ft was sdwt 2gr gold, and lldwt lOgr silver. No. 2 reef in the east drive was about 4ft. wide, and worth, from 252 ft to 294 ft in, 12dwt 17 gold, and loz lOdwt sgr silver. In the west end - the" lode was 4ft wide, worth loz Odwt 7gr gold, and 2oz 2dwt 21gr silver per ton. No. 6 level: The Royal lode, 192 ft west of the Edward junction, was 4ft vide in the face, and worth, from 80ft to 177 ft, sdwt 15gr gold,, and 15dwt 18gr silver. No. 5 level: In the south drive 485 it from the Welcome lode the Edward lode was about 18in wide, and worth. 3dwt IJgr gold,, and loz pdwt lOgr .silver, - ■. ~'v

. TOKATEA. ■ • FURTHER PARCEL OF STONE. , The manager of the Tokatea mine telegraphed yesterday stating that strong blotches of gold were showing in No. 1 leader at the road level, and that he was breaking down that day. In the aftarnoon the manager wired as follows:—"Lodged in bank 141b of picked stone from No. 1 leader, road level, today." ■ v. ... ' In the course of the series of articles on the Coromandel goldfield, now appearing in the Herald, it was stated in the one dealing with the Tokatea mine that the work in hand there at present "is practically only prospecting." It is pointed out by Mr. ;J. Dawson, chairman of directors of the company, that, so far' as development work on a larger -scale is concerned this was pretty thoroughly done by the old company. The object in view now is to first test the block in hand at the road level and tribute level (80ft above). s A3 indicated in recent reports from the mine, V both these workings are giving results of an encouraging nature, and, if anticipations as to them, are realised, the company intends to go in for a further scheme, of development. This will comprise the continuation of a drive which extends, at a lower level, from the Kennedy Bay side of the Tokatea Hill to within 100 ft of a point beneath the block now being worked, a connection with which will then bo made so as to follow the run of gold down. In extending the tunnel in question _ for the requisite 100 ft three known reefs will bo cut.

KARANGAHAKE. The secretary of the Karangaliako mine (Mr. Wm. Gray) received the following telegram , from the manager last evening: — " Quartz in face Tankani level; apparently another reef highly mineralised; 15ft past other reef." RESIDENCE ON MINING CLAIMS. [JIT TELEGRAPH. CORRESPONDENT.] ' Waihi, Wednesday. ' In the course of judgment in . the Warden's Court on the application of j. E. Dare for forfeiture of section 44b, Waihi, owing to tho alleged failure of the: holder of the license to comply with the-residential claused of the Mining Act, Mr. E. J. Burgess, S.M., indicated that it was not the intention of tho Act that a section should be held under the occupancy of an adjoining section as in the case under notice, \yhen it had evidently been considered by the defendant that the ground was being legally held by his brother in conjunction with his (the brother's) own section. This view l had, however, been long held and recognised in the district, and he therefore felt reluctant to. order a decree of forfeiture in the action before him. Under tho circumstances ho thought the case would be met-with the imposition of a fine, but it would have to be olearly understood that no person could hold another section 1 under the conditions referred to. His Worship fined defendant £4, and costs totalling £1 15s. _ The Warden's decision makes it clear that the impression held :by some people that; they can - hold without' fear of jumping a section adjoining their own property without; residing on it, provided they make use of it,; is an erroneous one. . MINING IN UREWERA COUNTRY. [by TELEGRAPH.PRESS association.] Wellington, Wednesday. It was stated in Parliament to day, in re- : ply to a question, that an arrangement; has been made with the Urewera natives in • terms of the Urewera District Native Re-: serve Act, and a date will be fixed for the opening of the country for prospecting and mining. { , . NOTES. In the Dominion mine, Karangahake, the low level -crosscut is in 103 ft. The manager states that the country is more favourable for reefs. The surface. prospecting drive is proceeding in splendid sandstone country. It has been decided by ■ the directors of the Ngatiawa, Gold Mining Compnny _to close clown the mine at tho Groat Barrier, pending- reconstruction or some other arrangement whereby capital may be provided to connect the mine with the battery. In the Ready Bui lion , mine, Neavesville, i work on the footwall vein is to be stopped and a start is to be made south of the crosscut, where the manager , states that he can get some very nice prospects. He thinks the locality well worth doing a little more work on. Tho main crosscut in the Tairua Conqueror mine is in 162 ft. The country passed through for the week has been more solid and compact than hitherto. There is now an improvement, the country being in every way similar to that of the Triumph, where the rich deposits were met with. The winze from No. 1 level in the Silver Hills mine is down 23ft. The reef is 18in wide, but of low grade. The manager states that the rich shoot is, dipping more towards the centre of the ground. No; 2 lovel crosscut has been driven 10ft through oxidised country of a congenial nature. The manager of the Magnet mine, Thames; reports that in the drive on the hangingwall of the main reef there is firm blocky andesite in the face, ■ and that the reef is Bin wide. This portion continues to carry good minerals. In the drive the reef averages 18in, the quartz being heavily mineralised and the sandstone country favourable.

The manager of the Mountain King mine, Kuaotunu, reports that No. 2 level has been advanced a total distance of : 323 ft. The country is still of a hard nature, but lie is hoping to get a change any time, as the country in No. 1 level 200 ft above was a nice, mild nature of sandstone. A further distance of 50ft should put the level underneath where this country should be met with. The, leading stone at the intermediate level of the New Waitekauri mine is now up to the face of the drive. The manager reports that he has a fair tonnage of ore ready for a trial crushing. Poor results have j been met with so far in the winze at the } Queen level, but a3 it is 60ft from the break the .manager does not expect to get anything of much importance for a few feet further. In the Kirikiri .mine the low level on th© Horseshoe reef towards the winze sunk from , the top level 70ft on payable ore will open up a large block of ground available for stoping when it reaches the point that is being driven for. The country in the face is excellent, the reef formation is over 2ft in thickness, and when breaking it down good mineral is frequently seen in the ore. The face lias been extended 10ft during the .week. . ■'> In the drive on the Atlantio reef at No. 2 level in the Southern Queen mine, Thames, the country is hard. Although the reef is split up in the face, the manager states that the quartz looks very favourable for gold. In 'the fifth stope above this level the country is very firm, and the reef is very hard on the wall. No quartz was broken last week. The conditions are similar in the sixth stope east. In the sixth stope west some of the quartz falling away shows nice colours of gold. ' In the Tairua Triumph mine the Bluff level is in a total of 87ft. There is still 75ft to drive before No. 1 winze is intersected, or to a,, point directly underneath it. A few small stringers have been passed through during the week. The prospecting drive has been extended a total of 50ft. The drive is in a good class of surface country. There still remairfs 33ft to drive to daylight on the eastern slope of the hill. No quartz of any description has been met with in this drive during the week. A fair tonnage of ore from the Bluff section in the Golden Belt mine, Neavesville, wan sent to the mill last week, and a fair tonnage was won from the Golden Arrow section. A contract is about 1 to be lot to extend the Bluff crosscut to intersect the Britannia reef, where,, the manager states, some very encouraging prospects were obtained on■ the surface. The country in this direction is unexplored. In the drive in the Consolation section there has been no improvement, in the material passed through. Crushing operations last week yielded 80oz of amalgam. During the' week the _ manager of. the Golden Cross mine, Waitekauri, has been breaking out ore from the stope above Carbutt's, level. He states that good; payable stone continues to be won from here, and that the reef maintains a width of' 14ft.. The assay value of the ore treated last,week was £2 19s 7d per ton, and 240. 'tons have been delivered at the battery. The manager in testing a large surf block in the north section has 15ft of crushing material in the face, the average assay value of . which, throughout, is £3 15s per ton. The value of this block will-be tested by. a bulk cru4b-i-in& -j

The manager of the Scandinavian mine reports that the work of carrying the leading stope to an end of the ground 50 ft north of the rise has been - continued during the week. Work ,in tho north . drive has been • suspended meanwhile. Some of 'the ore ■broken out looks really well and occasionally colours and dabs of gold wore met with. This week it is intended to push the low level crosscut ahead with the object of cutting tho Black reef, which was worked in the overhead, levels. Tho footwall oountry where exposed anywhere, and which the crosscut will ponotrate, is of an excellent description and any quartz met with should prove gold-bearing...

The, manager of the Waitangi mine, Thames, reports that ho broke down tho hangingwall portion of the reef in the west section of the low lovel for. 10ft from -the rise. Some good minerals (copper and zino blende) were seen in tho footwall portion broken, but no gold was seen at this point. A leading stopo has been carried along for 10ft from the rise, which is up 30ft. The manager states that the reef broken out looks well and carries good minerals. During the week a fair amount of telluride ore was selected, which is of high value. There is also a liico band of telluride showing in the rise. In the second stope about 6ft is stripped ready for breaking down. A dig is being carried up, and the manager will be enabled to break down the reef free from mullock. _ About 3ft of the hangingwall of the lode is being taken out. At No. 2 level the' crosscut to intersect the main reef is in 53fc. The country is still very hard.

During the past week at the Kaukani low level in the Karangahake mine driving has been continued, tho total distance .attained being to date 216 ft. On September 28, as reported by telegraph, a reef was met with, and since then it has been cut through, the width proving to be about sft. The quartz was well mineralised and showed colours of gold in the stone. "I may state," says the manager, " that this is an entirely now find, as the first reef we expected to meet with is about 140 ft ahead, and it is quite probable other reefs will be discovered. before that ore body is reached. The country en-' casing the new reef is of a first-dlass description for gold, the footwall especially so, and I am of opinion wo will carry a good channel of country right through to our boundary. At No. 1 level the contractors have driven 12ft for the week, the country in the face at the present time being composed of jointy andesite interlaced with small quartz leaders and mineral veins. From the gene-, ral appearanoo of the' country I am of opinion that the : Woodstock reef is close at hand." •

The manager of the Champion mine reports that after driving Bft through hard andcsito country a change has taken place at tho battery level. The andesites have given place to grit, clay, and a carbonised formation, through which there runs a seam of coal about 6in in width. The gold values vary from 7s to 24s per ton, the latter being contained in the clay seams overlying the formation. As this change only occurred recently, it is impossible at present, to say what the value of it may be until more work has been done. The manager hopes in a few days to be able to pass down the ore lying between tho Smithy and Creek levels to the Rupnlomentary hopper at tho battery. This will allow him to start s toping from the surface workings. The suction gas plant is now practically, completed. A week more will have it in thorough working order, by which time the water-race for the battery supply will -be finished. * Champion North: The drive is now in 135 ft. Tho face contains an increased amount of quartz through tlio country, and better values, indicating tnat tho drive is approaching tho reef.

To December, 1898 .. ... ... £39.875 7 3 To December, 1899 ... ... ... 35.317 6 6 To December, 1900 ... ... ... 28 645 2 7 To December. 1901 ... ... ... 16.764 19 i To December, 1902 ... 24,262 13 4 To December, 1903 ... ... ... .88.095 6 o To 'December. .904 ... ... : ... 84,826 1 7 To December, 1905 , ... .... 129,088 8 10 To December, ,19M> .. ... ... 152.011 3 I To December, 19Crr » ... ... 184,447 13 1 Total ... .. ... ...£783.334 2 10 January. 1908, 3350 tons 18.215 13 9 February. 1908 . 3638 tons ... lt>-662 0 o March; i.908, 4015 tons 17.675 2 4 Audi. 1908. 4085 teas ... ... 17,295 5 8 May. 1908. 4237 tons ... ... 18,909 0 0 June, 1908. 4261 tons ... 18.884 0 0 July. 1908. 4181 tons ... ... 18.019 11 2 Auprxist. 1908. 3625 tons ... 24.467 0 0 September, 1908, 4040 tons , ... 11,883 7; 6 Total to date ... ... £945,347 , 3 9 Total dividends paid (since „ • - reconstruction) .. - ... £213,750 0 0