MINING MATTERS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1502, 28 August 1880, Page 10

MINING MATTERS IN NEW SOUTH WALES.

The Barrington goldfield, of which so much was expected, has not progressed according to anticipation. This is owing to the lukewarm interest extended to it by the Government, and the consequent shyness of capitalists to invest. The Mountain Maid quartz-claim, which first gave a reputation to the district, continues, however, to yield handsomely, the last return being lOl6oz from 238 tonfl. The last Gazette contains an official announcement offering £500 reward for the discovery of a goldfield, being distant not less than 10 miles from the nearest workings ; 300 persons to be on the field within three months of the discovery ; the reward to be paid at the expiration of 12 months if the ground proves capable of supporting 500 men. The increased pnoes in London of copper and tin have stimulated mining for those metals, and the shares in the Great Cobar Copper Company, which last year wore to be had for 7s, now fetoh 795. A NEW GOLDSIBLD. What promises to be an extensive and valuable goWfield has been discovered at Tetnora, about 270 miles south of Sydney, in tho Gundftgai, or south midland distriot o£ the Colony. The field is situated about 40 wiles from the tow« of Cootamundrn,

on the Great Southern ™ lwfl y **??' from whence communication is by Cobbs coaches, now running daily. The first diecovery dates back about eight months, singe which the country has been largely prospected, with the satisfactory discover? ; of the existence of gold in payable quantoes in (numerous places throughout a belt of country of uncertain and unknown width Jo find payable gold on the Crown lands below the disputed improvement purchase of the station* From both sides of their Soft long drives have been, put in, and frmri trial prospectings in these the run of Sft dirt ; would appear to be about 60 feet wide, with a depth of from one to two feet. The gold here ib coarse and razeed Some distance, above them W right's party have a claim known as « The French* men's " Three drives run from their shaft for distances varying from 25 feet to 50 feet and in all of these coarse gold £m been met with. None of their stuff has been washed, but a nugget of l£oz, and about the Bame weight of smaller nuceets, have been picked out of it. bmall DUEEets have been met with in driving nearly every day, and as the dirt saved runs from 6 to 15 inches in thickness, the claim— whioh is 100 yards square (the usual size for Bix men)-is no doubt a very valuable one. The ground is good "holding" for driving, and the air, unlike that of many other claims in the vicinity, is good also-thus obviating, bo far, the necessity for fbßml ventila. tion. Farther above, and on the bank of the « improvement" tank Murray ana party have a claim, which they hotffid at a depth of 80 feet recently. The prospects in this claim are good. A Jg way higher up, Tynam'a prosmctine party have- the red flag flyFF D gover P payable gold Above them, Something to the south or Temora proper, a Jartv, calling themselves « The Unknown" gavebottomldat a depth of 73 feet. Off the bottom itself-and the shaft is bub a small one-they picked out one nugget of 2oz, another of 18dwt, and many smaller nuggets, making a total of nearly 4oz, and forming £ all a splendid sampleof gold. The pay-dirt here appearatorun abouttwo feet in thickness. The men forming this party have been »;pon the diggings from its opening, and have been uninterruptedly at work sinking without Buooe« numbers of shafts, but never obtainLXL X even a decent prospect. Their perseverance and pluck has at last been rewarded with a claim whiohvjaromisea to be one of tne best on the field. Still highei : up. and withUi sight of Temora West, ließ the Golden Gate claim, of Moran and party. This claim was originally sunk to a depth of about 80ft, and was then supposed to be upon the bottom, but after some consideration it was decided to sink it deeper, and at a depth of 127 feet the true bottom was reached. Over thfe there lies no losb than 21 feet of woahdirt, In Which gold can be. obtained. At present a drive is being put in here seven feefc high by eight feet wide, supported by double frames of timber, and, aa may be imagined, large quantities of dirt are being raised from it. Numerous prospects have been obtained from it running from idwt to £dwt to the dish, and one nugget of nearly 9dwt has been 'picked out. The run upon which this claim fa supposed to lie commences under the hill above the township. One claim in this locality is 47 feet deep, with four feet of wash, from which prospects have been obtained of 4dwt to the dish. Next to the Golden Gate, Parker, the prospector, -has Mb claim, but has not yet got upon gold. Duncan's party, nearer the hill, are 65ft deep, with good prospeots. Murphy s party are 70ft deep.with nine feet of wash containing excellent prospects of coarse gold. Clancy's party are 78 feet deep, and have also obtained good prospects. All these claims, it will be noticed, are much shallower than the Golden Gate, and have evidently miused the deeper run, which is supposed to trend in a direction south of Temora, proper. This view is confirmed by the fact of Flannery and party, in No. 3 south of the prospector, and next to Moran, having bottomed at a depth of 72 feet with a dipping rook. A drive over the dip has been put in to a distance of 20 feet, and a monkey-shaft sunk from this point to a depth of 10 feet, where a dipping bottom was again reachad with a good overlying wash. From the bottom of the ' monkey-shaft a splendid specimen of coarse gold has been obtained— three nuggets weighing nearly Idwt each, and about another Idwt of smaller gold. Pollock and Parkeß, both Wagga men, have each an interest in this claim,

At present there are not less than 10,000 on the field, and the increase is about 300 a day. There are three townships— Eaßt and West Temora, laid out roughly by the population, and Temora proper, which is the Government township, which was surveyed about seven, weeks ago, and nearly all taken up in business allotments by speculators, who have Bold atvariouß sums from L 5 an allotment to 32s per foot, whioh is now the prevailing price for frontages to the main road, Bark Huts and galvanieed-iron shanties are going up everywhere, and some more solid erections of wood for hotels and stores. There are 400 claims marked out, 40 of which are on gold. Water for domestic purposes has to be brought from the Tregalong Greek, three miles over the range, and sells fer twopence a buoketful. The first newspaper started to-day. It is called the Temora Herald and Minors' Advocate, and promises well. Two other journals are announced. About six miles away lies the Temora Sta. tion, from which beef is supplied to the township at 8s per owt., and all other necesBaries of life being conveyed by railway to within 40 miles, prices do not exceed 20 per cent, on the rates for which the Hame 1 articles are to be obtained in Sydney. From "this it will be seen that the diggers of today have a much smoother and leBB expensive task before them than those hardy pioneers who opened up Ballarat, Fryer's Creek, and Bendigo ; and in your Colony, Gabriel's Gully 'and the West Coast, Last week 45 bullocks were consumed by the population upon it, and this will give a fair idea of the numbers already on the ground. The unfavourable aspect of the field has now to be told. There is no water, and, bo far,

no organised means taken to provide for catching tho coming rainfall. Government are being urged to construct dams, and one mining party has a large body of men cutting out a rough reoervoir, which, if completed in time, will meet perhaps immediate requirements for puddling and washing. There has been nothing to induce the Government heretofore to make the provision now demanded, and the House being unfortunately in recess, it is much feared that the heavy rains may come down before any adequate works can be set in motion. That the field will ultimately bo a good one can scarcely be doubted; buk if the population is to be retained, and profitable occupation found for the large body of miners who will no doubt b8 on the wing as soon as the information a3 to the prospects of the field reaches them, water must be sav^ d 1 o work the stuff, and there must be plenty of it. The waahdirt is of far above the average thickness, and being clayey, and free from grit, gravel, or stone, it will take a great deal of water to separate it. Working men And miners Bhould remember this before they increase the already large population assembling on the ground, for until the rainfall there will be nothing for them to do but spend their money.