MINING NEWS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14147, 24 August 1909, Page 3

MINING NEWS.

WAIOTAHI. MORE PICKED STONE. [BY TELEGRAPH. —OWN CORRESPONDENT.] Thames, Monday. The manager reports for the week that at No. 6 level the stopes on the footwall dropper above this level are in progress as usual, the reef being about 12 in in width, and colours of gold have been seen. A prospecting rise has been started on the Mariners' reef, which is about 15in in width, but so far no gold has been seen. At No. 5 level the drivo to pick tip the main reef east of the break is in progress, but no quartz has yet. been met with. From this level he has started to rise on the main reef, so as to come up under the point where the- picked stone was obtained in driving. At No. 4 level this rise will prospect the main reef, and at the same time provide a means of working the hangingwall leader. Below the No. 4 level stoping on the footwall dropper has been in progress as usual, and good colours of gold have- been seen. The fourth stopo on the Curo reef has been carried west of the rise for ft distance of 30ft, the reef being about 12in in width, and dabs and colours of gold have been seen. The rise on the hangingwall leader of No. 4- level is up & distance of 29ft. The leader is now about 6in in width, and on Friday 251b of picked stone was selected, and in breaking down the leader to-day a further 51b of picked stone was obtained. The leading stope on the hangingwall leader has been carried 100 ft east of the crosscut. The reef at present is about 12in in width, and during the week some good dabs of gold have been seen. Later information is to the effect that in squaring up the rise a further 31b of picked stone has been secured. GRAND JUNCTION. [BY telegraph.— correspondent.] Waihi, Monday. Driving on the Martha reef cast and west in the north crosscut at No. 5 level in the Grand Junction mine is in progress. The south crosscut is now out about 400 ft from the shaft, which distance is well beyond the point at which the No. 5 reef was expected. It now seems probable that the stringers passed through at No. 5 level last week are identical with the No. 5 reef at No. 4 level, where only a small band of ore was showing in the crosscut. PRIDE OF TOKATEA. [BY TELEGRAPH.OWN CORRESPONDENT.] \ Coromandel, MondayNothing has been done upon the footwall lode to-day, the rime having been occupied in preliminary works, Which Will require another day or two to complete. I visited tho mine to-day, and was shown, over and saw stone broken out on Saturday, when the lode intersected, and what I saw bore out my previous impression. The lode is a strong ore body, running east and west, and the country is of the right description for gold. An importaltt feature is that the latest development is tinder the slide, whereas the gold previously Won has been above the slide. There is a largo extent above the point of intersection,, as well as. an enormous extent along tho course of the lode. The mineral' indications ar\e highly favourable, and tho outlook is in erery way promising. Of course, it is premature to attempt to pronounce upon the intrinsic value of the footwall lode at the lowest point yet reached in tho mine, but .it is in my. opinion one of tho best prospective *hows I have seen for many years. ; ;

WAIHI EXTENDED. . The manager of the Waihi Extended mine, reporting on Friday* states that the holes in the south-oast crosscut have been fired, and cleared up, and "that boring had been resumed that afternoon, the reef being drilled into for 4ft. The quartz obtained from the drill holes was still of low grade, the portion exposed showing practically no value. The manager is of opinion that the best point for values will be in -the south end, as they drive back, and ho hopes to have the face there fully manned this week. The water shows a falling off since the lode was stripped NOTES. The crosscut in the Reliance mine, Thames, has been advanced sft, with no change in the country. The low level in the Mount Welcome mine, Coromandel, is now in 30ft, the country being firmer and requiring no timbering. The leading stope has now been carried over the winze and timbered up. At this point the reef looks well, having come into contact with a mineral flat lead. The water in the winze has eased off considerably.

The winze in the Royal Oak mine, Coromandel, has been sunk another 3ft 6in. The average width of the reef is 9in, and the country is still well mineralised. In breaking down on Thursday gold was seen in the stone, but on the whole it was not so good as at the previous breaking down. The reef in the intermediate level has opened out to lft in width in fairly good country.

Driving on the Cambria reef in the Thames mino is still in progress, an additional 12ft having been driven for the week. The reef is composed of very hard quartz, which makes progress rather slow. On the hangingwall of tho lode a band of kindlylooking quartz about 2ft in width is appearing. It carries some very nice mineral indications, but 60 far no values, have been obtained.

In the Old Hauraki mine, Coromandel, Che 400 ft level crosscut for No. 9 reef has been Advanced 13ft. On Friday the workmen cut a) leader averaging 9in. It has the clip and bearing of No. 8 reef in the 300 ft level, and the manager considers it is the same. The country rock in the vicinity of tho leader .resembles that in tho upper levels, which carried rich ore bodies. The tributors are pushing on their drive, but there is nothing fresh to report.

Sloping has been in progress on both sides of the rise, north and south, in the Golden Pah mine. In breaking down the leader in the southern end strong colours of gold were* seen, and} some picked stone was secured. The leader is about 4in thick. In the north side of the rise the hangingwall portion has functioned with the main portion of the Tonus reef, making a strong body of quartz, about 2ft thick. A leading stope over tho intermediate level on tho Venus reef has been driven 12ft.

Very fair progress is being made with the extension of the low level in the Handsworth mine, favourable country prevailing. In the winze from No. 2 level a small cross leader has been mot with, which, although small, is very rich. Five pounds of specimen stone came to hand last week, while the main leader has produced about 21b of rich specimens, -worth loz per lb, with gold still showing. The crosscut from Huntly's reef in tho Irene section is already entering a better class lof country, being much easier to work than when started.

During the past week the road level crosscut in the Karangahake mine lias been extended to 113 ft. At this point the country comprises decomposed andesite, which requires timbering. A careful survey of the country intervening between the winze and the level shows that about another 80ft of driving will bring the men to the roof. At the Tankani low level the contractors have driven 9ft for the week, making the total length of the tunnel 716 ft. The country in the face, is jointly sandstone of a good description for carrying gold-bearing reefs.

The water in the main shaft of the Kapanga mine, Coromandel, is now 6ft below the flat sheet of No. 3 level, and the manager having connected the steam pipes with the big Cameron pump is now able to keep it down with ease. The manager .does not intend to lower the water any further at present until he has overhauled Nos. 1 and 2 main plungers, and has them ready to connect on the surface, which will take about two weeks. Excavations have been commenced for the pumping plant, and the work of dismantling the same is proceeding at the Golden Pah mine. , >

In the Kuranui mine, Thames, the Blythe reef has been driven on for another 26ft, and the 6in leader has been stripped for another 7ft, and broken down, the ore being stacked at the mouth of the- drive. In th« Shellback Waitangi No. 1 drive north-east 13ft has been opened up, and the leader taken down for that distance, the quartz being heavily mineralised. In Nq. 2 drive

north-east 6ft has been driven on the foot and hangingwall portions of the lode. A crosscut will be commenced this week, and put through the lode from wall to wall. In the south drive the leader, which has been driven on for sft,- is. about 15in wide, and presents a solid compact body.

i Operations in the Golden Belt mine during the past two weeks have been confined to the Bluffs section. A start has been made in making a new connection between the quarry and the tram line, and when this is finished the manager says he will be able to got the ore down dry, and the trams will work better. This week a start will be made in driving on the hangingwall leader in No. 1 level. The loader is shaping towards the present working at the Bluffs, and, as the level is situated about 300 ft _ below, the operations upon it will give an indication of what the ore in the Bluffs is like at that depth. It will take 450 ft of. driving to get to that point, ,and it will be through virgin ground.

The low level in the Tairua Monarch Consolidated mine has been extended a total distance of 615 ft. The country being penetrated is still of a firm nature. No. 1 level has been extended a total distance of 166 ft. A splendid class of brown sandstone country is still being penetrated. A leader about 2in in thickness was met with, which shows colours of gold by the dish. During the past two weeks two men have been engaged prospecting: the Triumnh section' of the mine. A trench has been put across the hill south of the Triumph old workings. On the 17th a nice-looking reef about 2ft 6in in thickness was located. , The hangingwall portion of the reef shows splendid-looking mineral. I am having a sample of the stone assayed.

In the rise from No. 5 level in the New Waitaia mine the reef has steadily improved in value, and is yielding high-grade ore. The last _ portion broken showed gold very evenly distributed throughout,' in addition to the few pounds selected. The reef?is from Ift to 2ft wide, encased in good country, and gives every promise of proving a richer block than the one above. The rise from the intermediate level is now connected with the No. 4- level, holing through 64ft south of the point where a few feet of sinking was done on the rich ore .first located. Gold has been seen within a few feet of the floor of No. 4 level, and whore connected, although not much visible gold is to be seen, a first-rate dish prospect is obtainable. As soon as the mullock is trucked out of the passes stoning will be commenced on this block. In the south drive at No. 5 level a flintv formation is crossing the face, and until this is penetrated it is impossible to determine what effect it will have upon the ore body. The battery should be in going order in about two weeks' time. - ......