MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 8821, 3 June 1890, Page 2

MINING.

THE JJARBWOOD HEHFS: CUNNINGHAM'S CLAIMS.

Captain Pearae, who has these roefn under offer, and who is negotlatina with a Sydney syndicate for their purchase, received the first consignment of quart/.—viz., 15 tons—yesterday morning from Barewood. The reef lias been given up to the representative of tho Sydney syndicate to take out 100 tons of quartz and to satisfy himself as to tho value of the property. Twenty-five toua of this Btone is to be crushed at Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co's works and put through their mill; the balance of 75 tons to be crushed by Messrs Anderson and Jlorrleon, who havo just erected in tholr yard n very fine little battery, belonging to Mr Robert Belli. Mr Waters has made the plans for boxes for concentrating the pyrites, which will he Btmt to J'ootscrny for treatmont. Tho plates at the battery belonging to Mr Nelll are electroplated, and an electric current will bo applied to tho quicksilver wells. Crushing will bo going on all this week, and anyone interested should pay the works a vhit.

WAIPOni DEEP LE4.D COMPAKY.

The directors of the above company met yesterday afternoon to consider and take action on tho report o^.Mr Robert Hay, who laßt week made a careful and exhu -stive examination of the company's property, especially with the view of ascertaining the extent of tho available water supply and various heights and distances at which it can be brought to bear on the companies' eiaimn, comprising an area of 138 aorea. Mr Hay's report showed that 25 Government heads of water at a height of 389 ft above the bottom of O'Brien's claim could be obtained at« distance of 90 chains, and that there will be no difflsulty in raising the washdlrt to the necessary elevation. Mr Hay further reports that the supply of water at a lowlevel available for breaking down and sluicing the dirt to the up-take pipe is practically unlimited. He closes his report as follows:—" I m»y with confidence express the opinion that the company possets In their water rights a valuable adjunct to their property, and I must say that considerable discretion has been shown by your manager, Mr Hilgendorf, in taking up, amalgamating, and setting out tne various righto and placing them in a position that, so far as I can learn, is unassailable." • Mr Hay'B report being in every respeot highly satisfactory, and applications for 1250 ehare3 having been received, a committee was appointed to enter into contracts for the supply of the pipes ;recommended by Mr Hay. From advertisement in another column it will be seen that the balance of the shares are now open for application. Applicants will be dealt with in order of priority, present shareholders having a preference.

GOLD IN THE SHAG RIVER,

Ab an announcement appeared in our columns yesterday inviting applications from a party of Bteady practical minera to Bluica a portion of the beaohe3 on the Sling river, ono of our Btaff waited upon Mr Hobert Hunter, a farmer, residing about eight miles from Palmerstou, where lie holds 900 acreß of freehold land, and who invited applications. Mr Hunter stated that it waa his firm conviction Hint there v.aa plenty of gold in the Shag river, and that it could easily be obtained if practical men would apply themselves to the task. The spot which Mr Hunter intendsto throwopenforworkisaboutamile from Dunback. and hna boon held by him for many years past. About 25 ye^rs ago a party of miners worked on it, and obtained an excellent harvest, and ever since that time it has b;en occasionally worked. Eighteen years ago 20 or 40 Chinamen took it up, but their operations interfered with Mr Hunter's farming, and he ordered them off. They moved further up the river, but whenever Mr Hunter leaves tho locality they are back on his land again until he once more drives them off. Mr Hunter's object now is to give the ground, of which there might be about eight acres, to a practical body of men, ho being paid by them according to their " finds." He is positive that numerous crevices abound in the river, and that in those crevices the most gold is to be found. Hie farming business takes up too much of hla time to nllow him to work the ground himself, and rather than have the Chinamen, who will pay him nothing, working on it, ho thinks it would be advisable to givepractical men a chance of working it, and if four or five take it in hand he is confident they will each make from 10a to £1 per day. In both the old and new channels he considers there is gold, the latter being, in his opinion, the more likely to yield abundantly. The Faid Maid Gold Mining Company roport a return to the 23th May of 930z amalgam for 46 hours' work. ' Tho Upper Waiporl Alluvial Gold Dredging Company obtained 260z. Bdwt 12gr of gold for five days' dredging laßt week.