THE TERRACES IN THE SHOTOVER VALLEY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10755, 20 March 1897, Page 2

THE TERRACES IN THE SHOTOVER VALLEY.

j (By Qvr Wakatipu Correspondent.) I n. ! An tho moat important and apparent factors i of miniug prosperity in this district the terraces |of the Shotover cUim prominent attention. i Their geological and physical 'features have i been sufficiently described ia the preceding • article, and therefore do not require further i mention, and they will now be taken singly | ia the order as thay follow one another, com- : mencing at the up-st:eam end of the river, I and devoting attention to those only which are ! still in active operation. j Above the Sandhill several small parties and I individual minera are engaged in extracting J enough gold to make email mining wages, j with every prospect of dropping cm a rise. Amongst theau is one o£ the oldest identities in this district, !3r Daniel Scully, who in th.3 I past has done much good work ia developing j the resources o£ the Shocover, and at one time j held nearly all tho water in the valley, which j gained for him the name of the " Water King." j Mr Scully is also known as one of the pro - -1 pectors ot the Snowy River, Victoria. At prej sent ho is engaged in a rather arduouß unperj taking, but, witn ihe true spirit of the old gold-digger, he face 4 difficulty after difficulty with the energy of 30 years ago, and is is to be hoped that he will ba rewarded accordingly. IIIK SANDHILL is the nest point oE interest. A projecting spur turns the river at a sharp angle. Upon this spur, and at au elevation of about 100 ft above the river, is a terrace known as tho Sandhill. Very rich gold was mined here in the early days oE the rush by tunnelling, and the hill was then deserted for many years, until Messrs Orammel and Schustedt went to considerable expense to bring water to bear upon it, and it has now been nearly removed', to the great advantage of the enterprising operators. • The deposit consisted chiefly of sand and small gravel, though, a stouy wash overlies the ! bottom. Immediately opposite, on the western ! bank of tha Shotover, is I MESSRS MONK AND M'INNES'S TEBRACE, | famed for its richness and the general diffusion I of the precious metal throughout its deposits. i Through a very painful accident to my right I arm I was unßble to navigate the Shotover by ! the "chain" leading to the claim, so that I | could not pay a personal visit to thi3 infcerestI ing piece of ground. However, I have collected I information from reliable sources which will i convey a clear idea of its richness and pbeuliars- ' ties. A stony top layer resting upon one of I fine gravel carries gold in paying quantity, the tine gravel below it being very rich in the small gold that is the maiuata^ of the Shotover. Quite content with those two layers, Messrs Monk and M'Xnnes had been working away for years with highly satisfactory results, when the waste water,'cutting through the ivaah overij'ing the sock bolt-era of the terrace, which, according to the tradition, of the time, could not possibly carry any gold, seeing that there were two payable layers ovsrlying it already, exposed coarse nuggety gold in pieces of two and three ounces and even heavier, giviug the owners an entirely new claim on the same site, and perhaps a richer one than that hitherto worked. A scarcity of water is a great drawback to the working of the ground. Had there been anything like a good permanent stream within reach the returns from this claim would have' ranked with the richest on the river, and as it is they are nob far behind. There is still a large extent of ground to work, and the claim is one of the most valuable properties on the river. Below Messrs Monk aad M'lnnes's claim the gorge narrows very much, continuing like an alley for\bout two miles until SKIPPEHS POINT is reached. Here we enter the great basin where all the richest and most extensive gold deposits are spread out on terraces and in the river bed or hid away in the side streams and in the tenacious matrixes of mighty lodes that, like rifrs of: gold, penatiate.the hoary walls of the basin to unknown depths. Here lies the: great heart whose life-giving current is tapped by hundreds of eager men, defying the discomforts and dangers of their arduous vocation so that the hidden treasures be wrested from the darksome bowels ef the earth. Here, indeed, is the point upon which balances the destiny of the district swinging between disaster and prosperity. By far the greater portion of the golden wealth of the Shotover has been obtained from the basin between Skippers and Deep Creek, and iti is perhaps not too much to say thr-t, considering recent developments in lode-mining in this portion of the river, infinitely more remaihs to be dug. The alluvial terraces have been imperfectly worked by small parties in a perfunctory manner, while the lodes cropping out at the surface have been only scratched over, and with the exception of the Achilles mine no real opening or prospecting work-has been done. Arguing from the success this mine has met with, who will or can' deny that there is a brilliant future in store for lode-mining not only in the Shotover Valley, bnt also upon the whole of the quartz-bearing belt traversing the Wakatipu goldfield from Macetown to the Reed Valley ? aspinall's claim. This claim, renowned for its richness, comprised the wholß of Skippers Point at the confluence of Skipper* Creek with the Shotover. The richness of this piece of ground is a themo of go much interest that although it has been referred to in the preceding article of this series, repeated mention of it will not come amiss. In the early days of the field the Point was held by a number of parties, all of whom made quite *. uiee thing out of it, while some, like the Fion&y Bros., the Welshmen's party, old Abraham, and several others, took from it lobs that exceeded 10 and 20 thousand ounces a piece. In <;hi<s manner, with the subsequent gettings, fully IOO.OOOoz c'&a be definitely traced to the terrace. Adding,to this the gold taken out oy. the earlier workings and the loss and waste resulting from the imperfect gold-saving appliances and wasteful mauner of working rich deposits, the total output of gold may be stated at 150,0000z, representing roughly a money value of £600,000. As the Point contains only about six acres, this gives, an average of about "£IOO,OOO per acre. As specific illustration of the original richusss of the ground when' first worked it may he mentioned that it is upon record that 1780oz of gold wero obtained from one set of timber—that is to say, an Bft cap-piece and 4ft laths, or in other words from a piece of groupd Bft by 4-ft square. It may be questioned whether this find has ever been equalled in any part of New Zealand. In addition to such a.*jd similar heavy deposits upon the main bottom tile whole of the superincumbent wash was interspersed with gold to a depth o£ 150 Ft, and interlarded by layers from which as much as sdwt to the dish could be washed. The whole. Point i? now comprised in one claim, which is still known as Aspinali'g, though the origiual owner departed this life some years ago. The party i« entirely a private one, and is working the ground on principles that have been loug since initiated. A rock tunnel 500fs long serves as a tail race, tapping the deepest ground in the terrace, and being capable of working the whole of the ground. The party apply from 10 to 15 heads of water by a cozzle sin in diameter, under a pressure of 250 ft. There are two dams in connection with the work, and 250 ft of the tail race are paved with Aspinall's patent ripples, which are in much favour with many miners. Although the ground has been continuously worked since the early day* oE the gold rush, there are still many years of highly pro Stable work before the present owners. BURKE AND LONDONDERRY. TERRACES follow next, aad both have been rich in both coarse and flao gold. The greater part of the ground in these terraces is held by the Londonderry Sluicing Company, which, being involved in the fortunes—or ratter misfortunes—of the Colonial Bank, ig under a cloud. isowevec, ihe ground is of such a character thai; the present dormant state of things will not be allowed to last much iouger. Work has been suspended for some considerable speil of time, one of the chief drawbacks being the want of a larger race to carry more water. Burkes Terrace, ii somewhat encumbered with residences, which would interfere more or less with the free working of the ground, and on both Londonderry and Burko'a tarr&ces there are roads that cannot at pcfipenfc be trifled with. With the construction of the new Skippers bridge this latter ineouveuinuce will to *. certain extent be got rid of, and freer scope will bo afforded the sluicer. On Londonderry Ttsrraca was found gome of the heaviest gold that has been picked up in this district. I have been informed by a miner upon whose ?eracity I can absolutely r«iy that he has been shown and actually handled a purs nugget weighing lloz. Sneh pieces are of rare occurrence in New Zealand, and the piece hero spok«n of is the largest nugget (free from quartz found in the district so far as is known. The extent of "Buries is about 80 seres, ssid that of Londonderry Terrace about 100 acres, the greater portion of which in each case would psy for sluicing away. An yet they have been worked only on their outside edges, and by tunnelling. PLEASANT CHBEK TKBBACE. This terrace is famous for the celebrated lawsuit of Eager V. Oracc, an action for encrouct.itisnt, the claim being asssssed at £30,000, of which the lawyers had a spendid washing up. During the hearing of the ease plaintiff* oauneel led such evidence as to the value of the ground as in»do the whole mining community of Otago open its eyes with amazement. Subsequent developments* have added to the evkleuea of richness, amongst which ths.c of Huudcrsou and Boyla Bros., who took £4000 of gold ent o£ a small claim an granted in the early days of the diggings, 13 a notable cue. Plenty similar c^ses may be mentioned T/here even better results were obtained, but it

must be borne in mind, to correctly estimate I the real illustrative power of such claims, that 1 all were worked in the early days of the field with imperfect} appliances in the sluicing work i as well as in the gold-saving plant. Owing to tho expanse oC bringing to beat large bodies of water to ths best advantage, Plesaani; Creek .Terrace vtas allowed to lit neglected for many years, other localities oilering greater facilities drawing sway the attention of tho miners. It was at this time th»( Mr Robert Johnson, being persuaded of ths value of the ground, acquire-1 the water right" commanding tU9 terrace. Thiß took plac< about 1877. Since then Mr Johnson's name has been inseparably connected with Pleasant Creek Terrace, and much to his benefit. Besides profiting very haudsomely by hit work, Mr Johnson's olnicing operations were sc directed as to prospecting the ground and exploiting the several runs as to enable him to form an accurate estimate of thenralaes—a fact by which he. is bow likely to profit. Having reesntly entered an option agreement, ha is iv a position to demand a fixed sum that faithfully assesses the ground at its fall value, and has also evidence available to back up his demand witb —proofs of an incontsstible character which ought to pat negotiations beyond the risks of speculation. This rcciark does not apply to the presout negotiations any more than to any future ones, and so far »s Mr Johnson is copcerDed h<; is independent of selling at less than ths value placed upon tha ground by hiea. The preseut opt-iouists are now carrying on prospecting operations with a view of assessing the value of the ground to their own satisfaction. The terrace comprises about 150 acres, aud bning bounded by Pleasant and Stony Creeks and th<3 Shotover Hiver, forms almost a perfV.ci; square. Facing the Sbctover there was a shallow rua of gold from which Mr Johnson obtained a very handsome, competence in a few years, the amount; cf which is evidenced by fas capital house he has erected on the ground, containing eight rooms, which are famished iv a manner quite equal Co those of any private gentleman's town residence, nothiiig being spared to secure comfort and elegance, in both of which Mrs Johnson's'taste and tact arc conspicuously and fauoursbly displayed. Subsequent prospecting at the ■ north end of the tßTacs revealed the fact that what is the line of Grace's lead of gold carried gold in the gravel to an appreciable extent, and that that gold extended, through the whole' length of the terrace from Pleasant Creek to Stony Creek, at which latter point operations were started' to make the gold get-sit-able from Stony Creek on the down stream side of the terrace, so as to make the natural full,of the ground available in working the lead where Mr Johnson is still employed, with very favourable and profitable results. However, all the evidence of previous wotkiDgs goes to show that the beat of the ground on the terrace exists near its centre, and tapon the line of Grace's lead, which constitutes the deep ground of the terrace, and to work which to the greatest advantage requires a main rock tunnel tail race of IQOOEfc in length about 100 ft below tha bottom of the deep ground, and 250ffc of tunnelling in the direction of the deep ground on either side where the connection between the main tail race tunnel and the wash has been effected. The rest of the terrace beyond the lateral tunnels may then be worked by open tail races extending to the borders nf Pleasant Creek Terrace. The chief reason that Mr Johnson has not long since started the driving of the required rock fcuuneU is'that ths centre o£ tha terrace w&s held until about two years aeo by several strong parties, preventing the work being taken in hind. After waiting for 17 years he has at last acquired all these claims, aud now holds every available point of access for frhe full development of the deep ground. But in the meantime he has grown past the prime of manhood, and longs for rest and retirement rather than for tb.R undertaking of works which are perhaps more likely to benefit strangers than himself personally, and he has decided to give up "mining, provided he can come to terms with a purchaser of his properties. While carrying on recent prospecting in one of the claims lately acquired, Mr Johnson made the discovery of an entirely new run of virgin ground on a higher level and inside of the deep ground, and which carries excellent gold of a coarse nature, and could be easily worked were the proposed deep tail race constructed. This high level lead promises to turn out more profitable than any other known rnns in the claim, and the existence of which was until recently quite unsuspected, though Mr Johnson for some time had speculated upon the possibility of its being in the neighbourhood. To show how long it takes to thoroughly and correctly estimate the value of any gold-mining property it may be mentioned that in aluieing away the crumbled and washed down bank of an old face in order to gain access to the ground it wa3 found that the rubble contained gold to a very appreciable degree, and though it was well known that the top wash carried gold, its real capacity of yield was not previously tested by separate trials. At there ia an average depth of from some 90ft to 200 ft of wash over the ground under option this top wash is no small item in the total value of tho ground. Taken altogether, tho property ranks as one of the best and most legitimate mining specs in the South Island, and the comments I have made upon it are made with Mr Johnson's general approval, "Your Own" in publishing them being actuated by the desire of drawing public attention to a real genuine investment, in the hope of redeeming the reputation of New Zealand mines generally; indeed, it could be wished that there were mor's properties in New Zealand about which it would' be possible to writs with an equal amount of confidence. The water rights ia connection with the claim comprise 20 heads from Pleas*nt Cre«k, and if the quantity falls short of that amount jthe race is one of the safest aud best-constructed in the district, never even in the worst of seasons giving trouble of any kind. This fact; enabled Mr Johnson to work his claim with a minimum of expense. In addition to a good head of water there is' a largo dam on the ground which is of material assistance in the working of the claim. It may be mentioned that the Shotover terraces generally art composed entirely of loose free gravel, offering no difficulty in biinging down the ground »nd washing it away. There are no cemeutor baited layers of clay that give so much trouble in the saving of the gold, all being free running gravel tint may bs removed iv great quantities with medium streams of water, and from which the gold uisy be saved without special appliances, as it is mostly of a solid and heavy nature. These peculiarities adapt ths Shotover terraces to sluicing operations on 8 large scale.