THE MANORBURN GOLDFIELD.

Otago Witness, Volume 01, Issue 2123, 1 November 1894, Page 20

THE MANORBURN GOLDFIELD.

By a Ddnstan Miner.

On Saturday last I visited the scene of the late gold find in the vioinity of the Manorburn creek. The site of operations is a well-formed spur of quartz-drift deposit overlooking the confluence of the Manorburn and Manuherikia streams. Strictly speaking, the wash ii not a quartz drift such as is touud at Tinkers and St. Bathaas, the Manorbarn deposit being for the inoßb part composed of erratic boulder drift with occasional pebbles of quartz through it. The surfact of the country for many miles round is covered to a depth of several feet with erratic boulders, and the several spurs overlooking the Manuherikia river between Galloway station and Alexandra ate covered with the same kind of conglomerate. Iv several places those spurs are formed of a drift similar in appearance to the composition of the conglomerate found on the surface, and it almost f oea without saying that those extensive deposits of drift are to be acconnted for by the disintegration of the boulders by some active agency that had a purely local exiatence in ages past. The deposit; of drift in the locality of the present digging operations has been prospected to a depth of 70ft, but up to the present this deep sinking has failed to bring to light any very appreciable amount of the preoious metal, although in most instances a little gold was obtained. The first claim I visited was that at present owned by Messrs Pacey and Napier, and was originally in possession of the prospectors of the field— who, by the way, were totally ignorant of the value of their discovery until some time after they had sold the property to the present owners. Upon arriving at the claim, I was fortunate in meeting there an old acquaintance in the person of Mr Thompson, of Alexandra, who very kindly answered any little inquiries I made regarding the prospects of the field in general, and one or two claims in particular. The extent of ground already paddocked at the Prospectors' claim is nob a great deal, the area, I should, think being somewhere about 36ft by 20ft. The last paddock, 6ft by 20ft, gave 24 loads of wtsh that yielded the handsome return of 31ozl7dwtof gold. Through the great scarcity of water on the field the wash has to be carted a considerable distance to the only available water supply. Pacey and patty have just began an incline drive with a view to further testing the valne of their property. The drift, which is very hard, is rather difllcult to drive through, but timber is not required, and this is something of a consideration. The antiferous portion of the drift rests upon a decomposed schist bottom and varies in depth from 3in to 2fb. The prospects are excallenfc, and even as much as ioz of gold has been obtained from a dishful of wash. I was shown a prospect from the face workings, and fully 9gr of gold was washed from the dish of wash m my presence. Jackson Bros, are getting abont lditt to the dish at a distance of Borne 200 yds from Pacey'e claim, and upon the opposite side of the spur. The claims that have been taken up between Jackson Brothers' and Pacey's olaims are not yetbelng systematically prospected, but no doubt In time the owntM will puah on prospeoting operations. Williams and party have sunk to a depth of 60ft, and at present are meeting with very encouraging indications of wash. Thompson and party have struck highly payable wash in their shaft at a depth of 62ft. This shaft is fully 300 ft distant from the present workings in the Prospectors* claim, trod, g oe & to show that the owners of the latter may expecb payable ground between their pegs. Most of the claim-owners are sanguine of success, and I have no hesitation in aaying that this field will for many a year continue to yield payable returns to those who may be energetic enough to surmount a few preliminary obstacle* in the way of prospecting. The field is by no means isolated from the business centres of Alexandra or Clyde. A good road leads from Alexandra to the field, a distance of about four miles. An extensive field is open here for the prospector. Miles of country of most favourable geologioal features extends in every direction from the locality of the present workings. Gold is known to exist in almost every creek, spur, and terrace on every side. Former workings have been confined to working a wash that existed on a false bottom. Recent prospeoting revealed the existence of a richer wash resting upon the main bottom. The Manorburn goldfield promises to be both permanent, extensive, and payable.