THE THAMES GOLDFIELDS.

Ohinemuri Gazette, Volume I, Issue 42, 1 October 1892, Page 5

THE THAMES GOLDFIELDS.

The report of Mr Warden Nortbcroft ■on the Thames Ooldfields, just laid before Parliament, states :—

The raining operations, throughout the district for the year, have, with the ■exception' of those carried on in the Ohinemuri portion, been very discouraging, and thoagh the quantity of gold produced shows an increase ef 16,821pz 7dwt 6gra, there are v«ry few mines giving good returns for working $| this, no doubt, is partly attributable to •the fact that nearly the whole of the mining operations are confined to the parts of the field that have been worked for over twenty years. All the richest and most easily got at patches have been worked out to the depths mining is ■carried on, and I do not see any brighter future for such parts till strong companies with large capital, and the best and most modern appliances at their disposal, are formed to work at greater depths. Endeavours have been made to form such companies, but so far without success, in many instances, no doubt, partly from the unreasonable terms demanded by the promoters. There are fortunately, however, some English companies, such as the Waihi and Crown, in the upper portion of the! 'district, that appear to have a bright! tfutore before them, and there are Bum-; t>ers of legitimate mining vent es throughout the district only awaiting the advent of capital to tw:., them into equally profitable investment One of the greatest difficult..., perhaps, we have to deal with in this distiicc is the reluctance the yon ag and able-bod:c.a men ■have to go into the nnprospect^d parts to seek for fresh finds. They, unlike -the pioneers of the field, congiegate •near the townships, and prefer taking work where they 1 can get it to going, dnto the range?, where they would have to rough it for a while, though, if --successful, the rewa'd would be greatj 'For instance, the new discovery «t th« , iKomata: the owners, after months of discovered a reef from which the results obtained From a hundred tons of ore were of so satisfactory a nature that overtures were made to Mr T. H. Kussell for tire par•chase of the property; eventually the sale was concluded, and the property transferred to him for the sum of £3000 The ore is somewhat refractory, and access to the place is at .present difficult, %ut as Mr Russell possesses both means •and energy, thete is little doubt those «obstacles,will be overcome. The mines that are being worked with the most •vigour belong to English companies, lthe only exception, perhaps, be^'og the "Sylvia; in the Tararu VaUey, wh''ch possesses a very cemplete plant. None, however, of the mines throughout the •district have so far given piomise o f the (prosperous future that the Waihi Comipany appear to have.