MINING.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10619, 14 March 1896, Page 6

MINING.

NOTES FROM LYELL. (From Our Own Correspondent.) Lyell, March 13. Lyell Creek.—The mine manager reports .— "The winze has been Bunk 10ft for the week, making the total distance sunk 40/fc. The reef is increasing ia oize as we go down, there being neither foot wall nor hanging wall to be seen at present. Tho reef is not quits clean yet, being mixed more or lees with mullock, but appears to be getting cleaner and more solid as we go down. There is no difference in the quality of the stone since my last report." The manager for the Cocksparrow dredge reports for the .week as ' follows :■>-" We have dredged 106 hours for a return of 430z 4dwt of amalgam. The section of the scveen hayiug arrived, we will etart at once to put it in order, with other repairs, which I expect will take about a week to effect." 'AUCKLAND SHARE MARKET. " (Fbb United Press Association.) Auckla.no, March 13. The following are the quotations for shares in the leading mines on the Auckland share market :— BUSINESS DONE. Sales. Buyers. Sellers. s. d. s. d. New Moanfttaiari 10s 10 0 10 6 Virtoria ... 3s 1W 310 4 1 Golden Link ._ 10} d, fljd. 0 9 011 Kapai-Vermont ... 6s Sci, <m yd 6 9 7 0 Byron Say la Id 10 11 Central Isßd,ls6d 15 16 Golden Spear ... ... 5d 0 4 OS Ivanhoe Sfl 0 S 0 10 Queen of Waihi 2s 9d 2 fi 2 6 Talisman ... ... 10s, 9iM 9 » 10 0 Waihi Silverton 7Ls 70 0 73 0 Waihi Extended fid 0 « 0 (ij | Waitekauri 90s 87 6 95 0 Woodstock... ... ... 24s 6-i 24 0 25 0 I Hercules 10i 0 8 010 ! Bunker's Hill 63 Bd 6 0 7 0 (NewGolconda .... ... Is4d 1.2 1 4;, I Progress Castlerock ..." 6;1 0 6 0 7 I Welcome Find...._ ... SslOd 2 8 3 3 BUVKRS. ' ■ Alburnia East, sd; Broken Hill, 6d; Cambria, Is4d; .Chines,-sd; Goldeu Point, Is Id; Hazelbank, 3a ; Monowai. 5s ; New Alburnia, 4s ; New Wbau, ss; Puru Con«>lWat,ed, Is 2d; Scandinnviau, 9d ; WaiotaUi, 25s ; Aorere, 13* ; B»lfonr, 6}d; Invict*, 5d ;. Jupiter, 3s 3d; Kuaotunti, Is; Mnori Dream, le 6d; Maorilaad, 7il; Midas, Is tid ; Waitaia, 3s ; Alpha, 4s 4'!; Day Dawn, 4d ; Golden Fleece, s£d; Huanui, 1b 2d; Imperial, Is sii; Ivanhge, 8d; Nil Desperandum, 6jd; New Zralander, 4d ; Poitsea, 2d ; Puriri. 5d : Stanley, 3d; Talisman Extended, 1b 4d; Victor, 3s Id; " Waihi Consols, Is 5d ; Wealth of Nations, 4d ; Waitekauri No. 2, 7d ;■ Young New Zealander, Is 2d ; Zion, 6d ; Sovereign, 9d; I'oromandel Freebold Proprietary, Is 6d ; Four-in-band, Is Sd ; Hauraki South, 7d; Harbour Vi«w, 4d; New Tokatea, Id 4d ; Pnkewhau, 6d; Pride of Tokatea, lid ; Hauraki No. 2, lid.

NOTES FROM WAKATIPU. (From Our Own Correspondent.)

Abrowtown, March?.—News from the Achilles Gnldftelds Company is, to the effect that better gold thau ever has been struck in the shaft sinking for No. 5 Level, the stone continuing strong and promising permanence. The clean-up for last month now ie progress will be up to the average—tbat is, loz per ton. All the works in and about the mioe are being pushed ahead vigorously, including the new race, employing about 80 men.

The Leviathan and Crystal mines at Skippers' Point are progressing steadily, keeping the new battery fully: occupied. The stone, now going through, the mill is from No. 2 lode in the Leviathan. Hore a clean-up is also in course of progress. : The Crystal mine contractors aro making very satisfactory headway with the new adit, which at the end of its present contract limit (300 ft) will command 260 ft. of backs.

At Arthur's Point the Sew Hoy Big Beach Company are busy transferring the elevating plant to a new site, whore it supposed mniden ground will be found of grefct richness. This ground ia near the middle of the river, which has been dammed off bj' a substantial dam, and ere this note appears ill print everything will be in fulV working order. Two of the company's dredges—one at Big B-ach, the other at Tucker Beach—are getting good gold. • ■ ■ . Just at the time of posting I lesrn that the slone struck in the shaft in the Achilles Goldfields is sft wide and worth 2oz to the too. This lode is supposed to he the same as that worked in 1885-86; from which splendid returns were obtained.

CROMWELL. • March 7.—This district is at present suffering from the " yellow fever," which breaks out into violent fits of pegging off. The immediate causeof this fever is the exceedingly good returns — t perbaos magnified by the voice of Rumour, but enough at the lowest estimate to quicken the poise j and moisten the lips of those that listen ; and so Iwe pt.g off. The real reason is that people have found out what has been nearly forgotten, sud that is the fnct that all the gold is not yet taken out of the ground, and that by the vtmtunng of capital one may, even in these degenerate days, make a pile. Xbe Kawarau River ia pegged off from Cromwell to the Gorge; th's Nevis River has been rushed, and the unfrequented Carrick Mountain roadhasbeen traversed bybuggias driven by those about to peg and laden with tho pegs to do itwith. Local professional men have been galloping "Billy" and "Toby" at a headlong pace quite out of keeping with the ordinary indulgent treatment of those pampered prads in order to get on the ground before the "deep 'un" in the buggy. Last week's edition of the Cromwell Argus was full of notices of applications for special claims. The pleasing part about the whole business is that these applications are almct without exception bona fide, and that the applicants honestly intend to work the ground. Crookston and Roy have finished the pontoons of their dredge, and are ready to place the machinery. Falconer and M'Lay, having had their claim granted, are arransing for timber for pontoon building. The Electric Dredging Company are making arrangements fnr getting two more dredges on the stocks an soon as possible. This means that in a few months' tirue there will be five dredees working within a few miles of Cromwell. Each dredga will use between 10 and 20 tons of coal weekly, and this will require hewing, and carting, so that the dredge industry means an extension of trade in other directions; so "more power to their elbow," as Pat says. • •

UPPER TAIERI. Mining.—During the past summer a (Treat deal of prospecting has been carried on in this district by several bands of practical miners, with the result that several new applications have been forwarded to the proper quarter for extended areas of land for mining purposes. In tha neighbourhood of Lake Onslow (Dismal Swamp) a private party of six experienced miners has been hard at work with the hydraulic process prosecutinsßluicing operations in a vigorous manner. , At Old Canadians Messrs Diamond, Keen, and Co. have taken up an extended claim of SO acres for sluicing operations. The prospects washed from this claim are very good. Some remarkably rich patches of gold have been struck from time to time at Canadians. The Greeks diggings, Bitnated at the snmmit of the Lamrnerlaw, have attracted a great deal of attention from the mining element of late. The Mongolians, however, hold the best claims, and judging from the extensive operations that are being carried on by a large band of Chinese, I should say that the claim in question is yielding splendid returns for their labour. The European miners, lon the other hand, have done a vast amount of work in close proximity to the Celestials' claim. When one reflects, it certainly does seem strange (at a&yrate it does so to me) that while hundreds of Europeans ia New Zealand are tramping about the country in quest of work, the Mongolians on the other hand have established a home here, and make a comfortable living all the year round on the goldfields of the colony.

During the four weeks ending the 7th inst. 1950 tons of ore wero treated by the Waihi Company, £R602 worth of bullion, and from the tailings £6K4 worth was extracted, giving a total for the four weeks of £7286. Owing to the exceptionally dry season, the water power available was very small, and the necessary repairs to boilers interrupted the steam nowor for several days." the result being that not two-thirds of the usual quantity of ore has pasted through the mill.

Hauraki North crushed 70 tons of general stuff for 98oz gold. Another prospecting party has been formed in Hamilton. The necessary capital has been subscribed by a number of residents, and the services of a well - knovm prospector, W. M'Lean, obtained. Work; will bo commenced at once at Tarawera, on the Rotorua-Tauranga road, where a number of reefs are known to exist. Should tho conntry prove uninviting, it is likely either Raima or the Kicg Country will next be considered.