WAITAHUNA. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT )

Otago Witness, Issue 1501, 21 August 1880, Page 22

WAITAHUNA. (FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT )

August 14th. Scarcely any snow has fallen hero this winter, nor has there been much wet weather. Frosts early in July and also tho first week of this month were severe, and entered the ground and are yet unthawed. Yegc tation is dormant, not even weeds yet starting. The hardest frost occurred on the morning of the 7th inst., when the temperature was 15 Fahr. With such an open season, the plough has been kept going, and fields are ready for sowing. Stock of all kinds arc in better condition than usual at this time of the year.

The fair winter begins to affect mining work in Waitahuna Gully. The water supply is so reduced as to affect sluicing work considerably. The cement mills arc all three in operation, though not going full time, except the Extended Company. Messrs Mark have put in a tunnel in a fresh direction, and have reasonable prospects of meeting with payable strata. There is no fresh prospecting in the cement formation. Beyond the sluicing claims, which may be considered established works or interests, there is little doing here now; still, a degree of prospecting work in wrought country goes on. The neighbourhood of the Heights is well strewed with quartz, and gold has been got at some elevation, and it is thought by some that reefs, if not alluvial ground, may exist there. A strong party of Chinese appear to have found some payable ground at the Upper Waitahuna River. There is no doubt but that much payable ground, if not localities worth the name of a centre, exist in various parts of Otago. The country between Wanaka and Hawea, with its Mount Gold and Quartz Creek, will no doubt be at least examined in conjunction with the Long Valley, Hawea. Te Anau Downs, with its White Stone River, is plain enough on the chart, but whether the white stones are composed of quartz is not stated. Still, that quarter has lately been mentioned among the late discoveries of indication, if nothing more. 16 is easy to go to a rush to mine or to trade, but it requires something more than pick, shovel, and swag to prospect new back country. The late discovery at Waipori is at least encouraging as showing what sources may yet remain unknown, even in these older fields, whose neighbourhoods have been well trodden. Miners at Waitahuna Gully speak of t'lis neighbourhood as being done for the digger, but that if water could be got everywhere much ground would pay to sluice. Water being unavailable, such ground must remain for future consideration. They mention, also, drifts in the neighbouring gullies, which may possibly receive attention at some future time. Seeing that these drifts have been tried more or less, the only object in alluding to them is their bearing in reference to similar formations elsewhere. These beds are of varied extent, and more or less gold has been got alongside of them, as, for instance, in the watercourse and crevices. The sides of these worked or creviced gallics are in places bound by heads of drifts, sometimes heavy, having boulders of almond mctamorphic quartz, and slabs and flakes of schistose rock, intermixed with smaller stones and grits. They do not appear to have yielded sufficient to pay or to follow up with the ordinary mode of removing all supcrincumb3nt upper strata and box-sluicing tho rock bottom. The work of removing the heavy upper stuff of six or eight feet is too much labour for the return to be had. It is yet a matter for consideration and testing whether such'doposits could be worked to advantage by using hose of canvas, green hide, or even iron piping to scour the boulders and flakes of any gold and finer drifts before removal to one side, ultimately sluicing the residue. Frequently in such heavy drifts on golden lines a considerable amount of fine gold exists in upper strata, and again heavy particles are found in such drifts. All things considered, the labour of removing the stones would appear so formidable that it is doubtful whether these drifts will be worked, or even tried, for years yet — still some parts may be worth trying. Such formations occur in tho country, more or less, between Waitahuna and the Table Mound, and beyond, as well as along the course of, the Waitahuna River.

A ourious discovery was recently made in a meadow near Blenheim road, Dover. Whilst digging ia it a circular shell of plaster of pans, a good dral injured by exposure to damp, was found, and on being opened proved to coniaia 80 £5 Bank ot En^laad. notes. They proved to be notes stolerj in 1872. * '