MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10263, 22 January 1895, Page 2

MINING.

COAL ISLAND, PRESERVATION INLET

AND MAINLAND. (From Ouk Own Correspondent.)

January s.—Things are very quiet on Coal .Island. More than half tha miners left for the holidays, and most of them will not return. The few who ate left are idle for want of water.

On the beach between No. 1 landing and No. 1 creek Ramsey and Powell are on fair gold, and would do vory well were they able to get plenty of water.

There is only one hatter left now in No. 1 oreek, and in No. 2 creek the only claim at work is that of the Prospectors.

in the inlet a few parties are at work on Crayfish Island, and doing a little. A few quartzreif claims have been marked off there this week. Oa this little island the first quartz claim in this district was pegged ouf, but after some prospecting it was given up. It has been several times marked off since, but nothing of any account has been found. However, two and a-half claims are once again marked out, and the lucky owners say that they have got on the right run at Hat. It may be so, but we shall see.

On the mainland at Long Beach, and almost in a line with Crayfish Island, another little spurt in the rcof line has taken place. A few jiarlips wero for the last 12 months looking for a reef in that locality, and one party was then said to have struck the reef, but nothing was done to. it until laati weekj when a big block was

forced out of the face with a crowbar, which was found on examination to abow a lot of 6ne gold. A mild rush was the consequence. Some of the shareholders are wry jubilant, and strut about with (lie ail' of £10,000 » year men. This block of stove is certainly good enough, but the very tact tbat they were able to dislodge it wilh a crowbar shows that the reel: is, to say the least of it, of a very loose nature, and consequently requires to be thoroughly prospected before its value can be relied on. 'ibis reef is supposed by some to b?, the; same as that at the Wilson river, which promised so fair, but bai not yet done much for the (shareholders; and still more siugular, pome of the shareholders' in thu reef at the Wilson are also shareholders in this reef at Long Beach, and also jn the reef claims at Crayfish Island, having thus a monopoly of the whole field. lam alto informed that at Long Beach they ar^s going to apfljy to the warden for pennicsiou lo amalgamate four 30----acre claims, making one claim of 120 acre*, and that ia a plaew within 200 yards of where the s.B. Invereargill cua lay at anchor, and with no no natural difficulty to contend with. I trust tpis most iniquitous amalgamation will pot be granted, for it is playing ipto the hands of capitalists with a vengeapee, and will retard the opeuing up of this line of teef indefinitely. They may employ the pjoper number pf men for come time, but it is seldom that large companies employ more than half the number the rules require, except when they are on very rich stune, aud tfyey almost always wor|c from one end, ami tbeu tha parties holding the next claim to tutra are about a quarter of a mile away from where the reef is struck aud have prf.cidna littlp chauco of striking it unless iWhappens to crop up. If it don't'he owners after a short trial throw it up, and wilt, if ibis any good, be taken up by the large company. No claim on any reef should be allowed larger than 30 acres. If that doesn't pay the rest of tee claim has but a pooe chance of being tried. 1 do not know of a single claim in New Zealand larger than 30 acres which was not taken up for the solo purpose oi! making money by floating. I could give scoresi of them ; and 1 do not know of. >oy in Otago vfhiph paid. There are several alluvial claims on the terraces at tho Wilson which pay 1 low wages ■Hfh.en water is plentiful, bud they ate air present almost idle, They are the only ooes doing 'anything just now. There is a Government purty out prospecting at Chalky Sdund, and they are said to have opma across some gold. I'here arq some very gqod and experienced winqrs in tt?P party; and il under a capable leader they ohould give gqod account of themselves.

Another private party, M'Cormack and Benson, aro about starting away on ' a three or four mouths' tour, and haying both scientific knowledge and expeiience, good results are almost sure to follow should they happen fo trots, gqldTbparing strata. Latbb;

Tbe s. s. Inveroaraill having gone the rounds of .the gounds enables me to give a little mo« information re reefs. The Golden Sjte Company, Wilaon . river, are getting out some fine specimens, and great things are once mota predicted, ;

The new find at Long Beach, Preservation Inlet, looks very well. The shareholders ara very saagnine. All the available ground' is pegged out.'

It leaked out here that there were soina shares in this ground for sale cheap at lnv<srcargill, and three determined men hired an open whaleboat and started for Orepuki, and thence by train to Invercargill, to pick up the shares before the holders could withdraw them from sale, and as the weather ha,s been very favourable no doubt they arrived there all right.

A REPORTED BICH FIND,

(From Our Own OoRBESPONnENr.)

Bald Hill Elat, December 23. A find In quartz which is causing a sensation is reported from Mr H. Symes's claim on the rariga The stone, wtych has been proved for a length of 50ft, is very rich, 3dwt of loose gald being the average prospect from a dish of the stuff, while tha hard stone is held together with the precious metal. So far as present appearances go this looks the best thing in quartz yet discovered about here, and that means a good deal as tha reefs about are not easily beaten for short, easily, got rites- A clean up is expected in a week' oi two's time, and, although tha small battery is unable to eppe with tha quantity of-stone,-a gaod cake may be expected.' -