THE INVINCIBLE QUARTZ-MINING COMPANY, REES VALLY, LAKE WAKATIPU.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6290, 10 April 1882, Page 3

THE INVINCIBLE QUARTZ-MIN-ING COMPANY, REES VALLY, LAKE WAKATIPU.

{JTkojt guk Spegiae Correspondent.)

The head of Lake \Yakatipu, and the country lying to the west, of .-it.as far as Skipper's Creek, has been known to contain gold-bearing quartz reefs for a considerable length of time, lut owing to the exodus of miners from this 1 .distriefc to fresh fields and pastures new, and the elevation of the country referred to making it difficult x>f access, has hitherto militated .against successful prospecting. A year or two ago Mr W. Davis,-.one of the gold-diggers of the early_ days of .the Shotover^ took the reef he is now engaged upon in hand. Some energetic prospecting soon revealed a well-defined lode, showing gold pretty freely. A trial crushing of the stone yielding 25dwt to the ton led to further exploration, which resulted So satisfactorily as-to determine Mr Davis and his party to set to work in & systematic manner.:- A very large amount of work was accomplished in a comparatively short itime; and, the prospects obtained proving en-: •couraging, the works were laid out on a most: substantial and thorough-going plan, in the ; ■execution of; which in their the party, however, found that larger means) 4han they could command i were required, ' and sooner than take'recourse to half measures ' or makeshifts, and-thereby risking a failure' which would involve their ruin and ■ react disastrously upon the mining industry, resolved to call in the aid of foreign capital. This led to the formation of the present public company, in; which the promoters retain the largest interest, and which counts amongst its shareholders many of the workmen engaged ' jjpon the mine, as well as a number of local residents, who are thoroughly acquainted with -.the nature and history of the claim and the • yroEioters—a fact that speaks volumes for the genuineness of the undertaking. The progress I the Company is closely watched by many mm.." 13 w^° wi^ devote their energies to prospecth.'1* other reefs which are known to exist in the neign bourhood should the Invincible Company prove successful, and it may well be said that to some. extent at least » considerable portion of the "W'^katipu district; watches with much and well-grounded hope the success of the Invincible CompaiTV.

THE JIINB'.WOBKS

are situated at an elevation of about 1500 feetabove the Hees River, on the sunny side of the hill, and consist of two levels, the Jower one of which is in to a distance of 250 feet, About 100 feet above this level the .sepond adit is driven on the lode for upwards of 209 feet. Ai 100 feet above this adit a shaft has been sunk to serve ultimately as a, pass, or means of comnaunication and ventilation between : the" different levels. Both levels and the shaft follow the. lead, so that none but payable material has been excavated in their formation, and are all safely tinjijered. From the extent these Excavations it will be seen that .■'.'■.' THE BEEF . . .

has been proved to a considerable deptff as well as distance into the hill. Its average wjdth has been ascertained to be from 6 to 8 feet, throughout which gold is distributed. It occurs ■ between well-defined walls^ running at a very slight angle fr,om the vertical,.. and is composed both o£ mottled quartz (go highly prized at Slacefcojyji) and of pure quartZj richly speckled with pyrites and mundic. It is the latter descrjptiou fft quartz which is the most promising, showing Gftarse .gold pretty freely, the gold in the mottled quartz being of a finer grain. The reef is S occ ;isionally intersected by horses of mullock, j but t.° a far less extent than is the case at Maceto,*™, wit;h which the Invincible is con-: sidered to Pc situated on the same belt. Mr ■ James Davis', c mine manager, showed me a j number of larg? boulders of quartz strewn over the surface of t^o claim, in which gold was plainly visible, 'j^ese boulders, of course, indicate the course C^ the reef, which can betraced for a considerable distance up the hill. In addition to the mine wo^to there have been •constructed . BEAT EOADS .of an aggregate length of four i^iles, all of which are situate on the dry and solid sideling ■of the hill, secure against floods and slips, and are'laid'put with,no mean engineering skill, •comparing favourably with the best survey loads of the district. That portion leading from the Rees River to the machine site—about -one mile and three-quarters in length—is a splendid piece of work, as may be judged from the fact that the cam-shaft and stamperfooxes, weighing each about 23ewt, were ■brought- up- the whole distance by dray. Another dray-road leads from the mine to the bush, Abounding in an unlimited supply of the best description of mining timber, which by it can be delivered at a minimum of cost at the mine-mouth.

We next come to the .crushing naachjnery, "which has been supplied by Messrs Tiiouison and C0,,'.0f Castlemaine, Victoria, and is of tho latest .and most improved pattern. The inactively ia now in .course of erection, and, it is estinrated, »"ill be completed in about six weeks. H will consist of two batterieß of five heads, each £cad weighing 7cwt. The motive power will--be flayed from a copious and never failing supplyof water furnished by a stream close at hand, .and will be .applied to an overshot wheel 24 feet id diameter by a width of 4 feet. The foundations and the frameHvork of the batteries are all of the Btrongegt .and most solid description—in fact, everything about the mine and works is of the mos,t sub.stantial and thorough-going nature; the very workmen, and managers too,_ are models ,of johysical efficiency, with nothing of the ne>/r iangled article styling itself "miner" about -.them. They are gold-diggers of the good old :atamp, content to eat their meals off tin plates ,-and drink their tea from pannikins. An eyen..ing spent in their company recalls the glorious .days/of early gold-digging life in Victoria and Otago before the introduction of "TJiankjou!"

c6m,r^ f y°, U ? and PaPer collars-direst corrupted of manly independence and honesty. J-he general prospects of tho Invincible are Pvflrv+tf- Onp °n rarely met ..with' in mining. sm-nS^ thuif .appears to combine to ensure its 1 the ™ is favourably situated on vl,™ nJ Sld, e of the hill, and protected by S t Wislaw from cold winds, and exsunnnl tf P &&t r :nters leads the manager to suppose that crushing operations may be earned onfall ivinter, at least there will be no interruption m the working of the mine. An unllmited supply of timber is close at hand, ana the Company commands a spendid stream I ot water. There will also be but little or no expense m conveying the quartz from the mine to the mill. AH this, combined with thoroughgoing and efficient management, will make verypoor quartz pay handsome dividends. There are now upwards of 500 tons of quartz at grass of tho same description as that tested by the Company, and which went 25dwt to the ton In conclusion, I have to thank Mr James .uavis, the mine manager, for the courteous and unreserved manner in which I was allowed to inspect the mine and works, and in which I was supplied with information about the mine