REEFTON MINING NEWS.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 879, 4 January 1889, Page 24

REEFTON MINING NEWS.

(FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.) Reffton, December 31. Mining operations on this field have closed fer the holidays, which terminate on New Year’s Eve, when work will be again resumed. In taking a cursory view of the various claims and their relative returns, I find that three new claims are crushing which were only prospecting this time last year, and although the battery returns are not so great as they were expected to be, yet, upon the whole, they are fairly good, more especially when it is considered that they are new claims with new machinery and have other drawbacks, which cannot be foreseen until discovered; hut good reasons are adduced for assuming that during the coming year a most prosperous state of affairs may be looked for. There can now be no doubt that the Drake has been losing gold from the . first, and is still doing so by the mineral contained in the stone which neutralises the quicksilver on the plates, but this is bein'* corrected. The last two crushings prove that the stone put through has fully come up to the estimate originally formed of its quality, and although a considerable amount of gold has passed over with the tailings, it is not lost, as the tailings will be further operated ou, which will tend to swell future crushing. Progress.—Crushing was finished on Saturday last, with the following results :—4oloz of amalgam from 183 tons of stone. This will give 16 dwts 19 grs per ton, to which must be added the blanketings, which 11411 further add to the yield and make the average lr dwts 10 <*rs. This return is calculated to make this property the most valuable on the field. The body of stone m sight predicts years of work and prosperity. About four months will be required to finish the main level, to erect the new stampers now being made, and to get the new engine to its place. Big River. —The mine manager reports

on the 22nd inst.:—“ The level has been driven a further distance of 35ft, making a total of 58ft.“ The country being driven through is underlying at an angle of 45deg north, so that wo may have to drive further ahead to reach the bottom of the winze, as laid off in the survey, viz., 75ft. This has been in hand for four weeks with six men, and considering the nature of the ground, the progress is satisfactory. The winze has been sunk a further depth of 24ft, total 9?ft. Not being able to get to the stone, as it lays too flat into the back wall, I have had to discontinue it. If I get anything like a fair country I expect to connect the tunnel and winze early in January, when crushing will soon follow.” Golden Treasure.—The mine manager reports : —“ Since my last the battery has been running constantly ; 135 tons have been crushed during the nine days’ crushing. During the past week I have taken prospects from the antimony block. The prospects obtained. I consider payable (I had to test it). Taking a small parcel, I sent it to the battery, and by the show of gold from it I think it is right. We shall be prepared to start the battery immediately after the holidays. I may state that there is a large quantity of the big antimony block showing gold. 1 have started to clean out the Band of Hope tunnel ; we have cleared and re-timbered 25ft. The total distance of the uprise is 70ft.’, Keep-it-Dark. - The battery returns show 76003 of amalgam from 230 tons of stone. Globe. —6020 z amalgam from 220 tons of stone. A sixpenny dividend has been declared. .• Alpine. —1320 zof gold from 480 tons of stone.