THE INVINCIBLE QUARTZ-MINUNKNOWN LAKE WAKATIPU. (From our Special Correspondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 1586, 15 April 1882, Page 22

THE INVINCIBLE QUARTZ-MIN-UNKNOWN LAKE WAKATIPU. (From our Special Correspondent.)

The head of Lake Wakatipu, and the country lying to the west of it as far as Skipper's I Creek, has been known to contain gold-bearing I quartz reefs for a considerable length of time, but owing to the exodus of miners from this district to fresh fields and pastures new, and the elevation of the country referred to making it difficult of access, has hitherto militated against successful prospecting. A year or two ago Mr W. Davis, one of the gold-diggers of the early days of the Shotover, took the reef he is now engaged upon in hand. Some energetic prospocting soon revealed a well-defined lode, showing gold pretty freely. A trial crushing of the stone yielding 26dwt to the ton led to further exploration, which ■resulted so satisfactorily as to determine Mr, 1 Davis and his party to set to work in a systematic manner. A very large amount of work was ' accomplished in a comparatively ' short time ; and, the prospects obtained proving encouraging, the works were laid' out on a most substantial and thorough-going plan, in the . execution of which in ' their entirety the party, however, found that larger means than they could command were required, and sooner than take recourse to half measures or makeshifts, and thereby _ risking a failure which would involve their' ( ruin and react disastrously upon the. mining industry, resolved to call in the aid of foreign capital This led to the formation of the present public company, in' which the promoters retain the largest interest, and' which counts amongst its shareholders many of the workmen engaged upon the mine, as well as a number of local residents, who are thoroughly acquainted with the nature and history of the claim and the promoters— a fact that speaks volumes for the genuineness of the undertaking. The progress of the Company is closely watched by many miners who will devote their energies to prospecting other reefs which are known'to exist in the neighbourhood should the Invincible Company prove successful, arid it may well be said that to some extent at least a considerable portion of the Wakatipu district watches with much and well-grounded hope the success of the Invincible Company.' j

THE MINE WORKS

are situated at an elevation of about 1500 feet above the Rees River, on the sunny side of the hill, and consist of two levels, the lower one of which is in to a distance of 250 feet. About 100 feet above this level the second adit is driven on the lode for upwards of 200 feet. At 100 feet above this adit a shaft has been sunk to serve ultimately as a pass, or means of communication and ventilation between the different levels. . Both levels and the shaft follow the lead, so that none but payable material has been excavated in their formation, and are all safely timbered. From the extent of these excavations it will be seen that

THE BEEF

has been proved to a considerable depth as well as distance into the hill. Its average width has been ascertained to be from G to 8 feet, throughout which gold is distributed. It occurs between well-defined walls, running at a very slight angle from the vertical, and is composed both of mottled quartz (so highly prized at Macetown) and of pure quartz, richly speckled with pyrites and mundic. It is the latter description of quartz which is the most promising, showing coarse gold pretty freely, the gold in the mottled quartz being of a finer grain. The reef is occasionally intersected by horses of mullock, but to a far less extent than is the case at Macetown, with which the Invincible is considered to be situated on the same bolt. Mr James Davis, the mine manager, showed me a number of large boulders of quartz strewn over the surface of the claim, in which gold was plainly visible. These boulders, of course, indicate the courso of the reef, which cau be traced for a considerable distance up the hill". In addition to the mine works there have been constructed

DEM ROADS

of an aggregate length o£ four miles, all of which arc situate on the dry and solid sideling of the hill, secure against floods and slips, and are laid out with no mean engineering skill, comparing favourably with tho best survey roads of the district. That portion leading from the Bees Hjver to the machine site — about one mile and three-quarters in length— ib a splendid piece of work, us may be judged from tli^ fad ' tli.il. tfm cam-^haft ami stamperboxes, weighing each about 2Mewt, weio brought up the whole distance by dray. Another dray-road leads from the mine to 1 the bush, abounding in an unlimited supply of the best description of mining imber, which by it

can be delivered at a minimum of cost at the mine-mouth.

I We next come to the crushing machinery, which has been supplied by Messrs Thomson and Co., of Castlemaine, Victoria, and is of the latest and most improved pattern. The machinery is now in course of erection, and, it is estimated, will be completed in about six weeks. It will consist of two batteries of five heads, each head weighing 7cwt. The motive power will be derived from a copious and never-failing supply of water furnished by a stream close at hand, and'will be applied to an overshot wheel 24 feet in diameter by a width of 4 feet. The foundations and the framework of the batteries are all of the strongest and most solid description—in fact,' everything about, the mine and works is of the most substantial and thorough-going nature; the very workmen, and managers too, are model 3of physical efficiency, with nothing of the new : f angled article styling itself "miner" about them. They are gold-diggers of the good old stamp, content to eat their meals off tin plates and drink their tea from pannikins. An evening spent in their company recalls the glorious days of early gold-digging life in Victoria and Otago before the introduction of "Thank you !' and "How are you?" and paper collars— direst corruptors of manly independence and honesty. The' general prospects of the Invincible are of a description rarely met with in mining. Everything appears to combine to ensure its success. The mine is favourably situated on the sunny side of the hill, and protected by Mount Earnslaw from cold winds, and cx r perience of past winters leads the manager to suppose that crushing operations may be carried on all winter, at least there will be n6 interruption in the working of the mine. An unlimited supply of timber is close at hanclj and the Company commands a spendid stream of water. There will also be but little or no expense in conveying the quartz from the mine to the mill. All this, combined with thoroughgoing and efficient management, will make very poor quartz pay handsome dividends. There are now upwards of 500 tons of quartz at grass of the same description as that tested by the Company, and which went 25dwt to the ton. In conclusion, I have to thank Mr James Davis, the mine manager, for the courteous and unreserved manner in which I was allowed to inspect the mine and works, and in which I was supplied with information about the mine.