LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Otago Witness, Issue 1488, 22 May 1880, Page 11

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

About 3cwt. of Btone from the Conroys Reef , near Alexandra, was crushed at Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co. 's small crushingbattery, at their works on Tuesday last. The yield was equal to over 3£ ounces to the ton. The richness of this reef is well known in the district;, and the prospectors have about 100 tons of similar stone taken out. We understand that it is the intention of the prospectors to put it into a company and erect machinery for working the mine.

The Queenstown correspondent of the Cromwell Argus writes :— " In reefing and mining matters generally there is little to report. The ' Invincible' Company, as the new mine at the Head of the Lake is now christened, has finished its roadmaking. A shaf . is being sunk at present, following down the reef as a test. The stone, it is said, improves upon appearance. The Company is also getting supplies of mine timber. No trial crushing of the stone can be made except sent to some distant battery. Your own is the nearest quarter, and as yet no dray-road exists up the Eees Vftlley.The Mount Oram (Nugget and Cornish) Company's crushing of 960z from 180 tons of stone is satisfactory. The machine being close to the reef, no expense for cartage i« incurred. Apart from timbering, the mine can be very cheaply worked, and half an ounce is more payable, therefore, than an ounce would be in many other reefs. There is an immense body of stone, and the Company are so well satisfied with the results obtained under the new management that they will enlarge and improve their crushing power. In alluvial, the Chinese are still obtaining excellent returns at Moke and Moonlight Creeks. A cake of gold weighing 3670z. lOdwt., the result of 93 tons of stone from the Gladstone Company's claim, came down fromMacetown to Arrowtown on the night of the 13th, giving nearly four ounces to the ton. i'his is the best return yet obtained from any previous crushing of any extent at Maceto wn, and goes a long way to confirm the supposition entertained after the last disappointing crushing, that a large proportion of the gold had been lost; and considering the extremely primitive character of the gold-saving apparatus on the field and the careless manipulation, such ai crushing with too little water, &c, the same may apply to more than one previous crushing. A party of Chinese at Round Hill (says the Western Star) had their tail race robbed on Sunday last. They had been working for two months, and from prospects washed at various times they estimated that there was at least £50 worth of gold in the race. They have no suspioion of any one in particular, but offer a reward for the discovery of the thief. The practice of robbing tailrßceß at Round Hill is becoming uncomfortably common. A suitable punishment awajts theg guilty person when caught, <

Mr J. F. Watson received a telegram from Reefton on Saturday informing him that the yield from the Keep-it-Dark Company's mine was 217< z of amalgam from 192 tons of quarlz. The Homeward Bound Company at Macetown have completed their additional battery, which is working splendidly and giving entire satisfaction.

During the meeting of the Waitaki County Council on the 13th, Mr W. Sutherland called attention to the faot of 240 ounces of gold having been taken from Livingstone to Naeeby for sale within the last two months and a-balf. He stated (says the Oamaru Mail) this was tbe result of the Oamaru bankers declining to purchase, and said they should be ashamed of themselves for adopting such & course, He also mentioned that during his recent visit to the Old Country he had sold several ounces of gold in London at L 4 2s 9d an ounce. Our Livingstone correspondent has on several occasions drawn attention to the matter, and has pointed out the loss tbat results to the Waitaki County Council. It i* highly desirable that some arrangement should be. made to overcome the difficulty and secure to the county revenue that properly belongs to it.

From Arrowtown we learn that at a meeting of the directors of the Gladstone Quartz mimng Company, Macetovn, it; was agreed that a dividend of Is 6d per 12 000 th Bhare be declared. Reports from the mice continue good, but it is likely that operations will be suspended for a time to allow a m>>re systematic way of working the mine to be introduced. The Western Star, speaking of reefing matters at Longwood, says:— "A vary valuable discovery was made in the Eal moral claim on Thursday— second only in importance to that in Primz'a claim, if tbe reports which' have reached us are correct, and we have no reason to doubt the truth thereof, as we have received our information from a trustworthy source. A reef two feet wide was Blruck on the day named, which on being tested rivalled in richness the prospects from Printz's claim, It is not the same reef as Printz's, but runs parallel to that one, at »n obtuse angle, and judging from the direction of these two reefs, it is probable they will junction in the Duffer or Australasian ground.'' Our Hindon correspondent writes under date the loth inst. :— There is nothing new to report with regard to mining in this district, except that the Hindon Quartz mining Company are running through a test orushingafrom the different reefs, and with very good prospects. The New Caledonia Company avail themselves of all the water they can catch, but they don't expect the battery will have oonstant work until the water race is finished. About 80 men are employed at both batteries. The Jusfc.inTime Company are prospeoting with unabated vigour. The Zealandia olaim will be opened for work in the oourse of a month. Nothing extraordinary has come from the alluvial this week, though the gullies are aooured perseveringly by many. The St. Bathans' correspondent of the Mount Ida Chronicle writes :— Rumour baa it that Messrs Learmond and party, of Vinegar Hill, are going to have a return equally as good ( as their first washing, thus in a measure proving the adage true '' God helps those who help themselves," for four more capable and persevering miners it would be a hard matter to find. A start has been made by Mr John Thurlow, contractor for the formation of some five miles of Messrs Thomas and party's new race from Dunstan Creek to Vinegar Flat, where the party hold a claim said to be of exceptional richness.

Since Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and Co. have removed their small prospecting battery from Wetherstone? to their works, Dunedin, it has been kept going crushing samples of quartz from Longwood ; and about 3cwt of quartz from Oonroy's reef, near Alexandra, were crushed on Tuesday last, giving the very satisfactory result of about 3f;z to tbe ton. The reefs in that district (remarks the Tuapeka Time 3) have been known for a long time to be very rich, as the old Conroy reef that was partly worked about nine years ago turned out some good crushings : some of them being about 3oz to the ton. The line of reef that the present prospectors (Messrs Bennefc and party) are working -will cut tkroogli the old reef at about an augle of 45 degrees Their tunnel will out the old reef very much below the former workings, which will carry off the water that gave the old company so much trouble, as Messrs Bennet and party have followed the line of reef with their tunnel. They have a quantity of stone ready to be crushed. 'As they have been working for a long time single-handed, and their funds are getting low, we believe it is their intention to form a company to erect machinery to work the mine. They have secured the water right held by the old company, and can put their machinery close to the mouth of the tunnel TheDunstan Times cemments thus on the recent small crushing from tbe Conroy's Gully reef at Messrs Kincaid, M'Queen, and_ Co.'s battery : — The information contained in the telegram giving the re3ult of the trial orushing of quartz from Conroy's Gully is the most satisfactory we have perused for a long time, satisfactory because it is an assurance that the resources of the district are only as yet partially developed, and also because the time and energy expended in prospecting the Conroy's leef by the spirited proprietary is likely to bear good fruit; over three and a half ounces of gold to the ton for three tons is a splended prospect, and should embue the district with fresh life, and should be the means of starting independent as well as assisted parties out on the ranges in search of a continuance of the golden lode. The spur along which the lode courses has many rich alluvial gullies falling from it on either side, and the probabilities are that the reef will be traoed the whole length of the spur. With suoh a prospect, however, a trial is warranted.