MINING IN SANDHURST.

Otago Witness, Issue 1324, 14 April 1877, Page 4

MINING IN SANDHURST.

There has been no news of a startling nature from any of our quartz mines during the week ; indeed the length of time which has now elapsed since any new discovery has been made on any of the various lines is unusually long, nothing of any importance having been found since the cutting of gold-bearing stone by the Garden Gully Railway Reserve some nine months since. In the interim, as reported from week to week, a very large amount of prospecting has been accomplished, but with no result which could be deemed satisfactory to shareholders generally, or encouraging to mining investors as a class. The proceedings at the new rush at Homebush has caused some share of excitement here during the past ten days. The locality of this alluvial ruah is about six miles from Sandhurst, one mile south of the M'lvor road. The mining surveyor describes the Btrata to be a " tertiary formation overlying the ordinary schistose formation," and to the ordinary miner is known as a made hill, similar to the White Hills and other hills so common in this locality. The wash is about 3ft. in thickness, the sinking about 40ft., with a soft sandstone bottom. There is at present about 300 men on the ground, claims being marked out for a mile on the supposed course of the lead and for a width of 20 chains. As yet the only shaft bottomed has been the prospectors', but as some of the others are now down 30ft., something further will

be known of the value and extent of the wash within the next week. There is no water on the ground, but the Government have given instructions for the erection of a dam, which will be a great boon to the miners. The yield from the prospectors' claim so far has given an average of 3dwt. to the load. Should a number of the other shafts being sunk give a similar return, fair wages can be obtained by a number of men who have been out of remunerative employment for some time, which will in itself relieve considerably an overstocked labour market, and thus prove a great advantage to the district. The amount of business done in the share market has not been on an extensive scale, nor has there been any very marked change in price. The stocks having most demand were Garden Gully United, North Old Chum, and Lazarus No. 1, for each of which better prices were given. Other stocks are without much alteration. — Sandhurst Gor. Australasian, March 21.