THE OTAGO GOLDFIELDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2205, 4 June 1896, Page 19

THE OTAGO GOLDFIELDS.

THBIR PAST HISTORY, THEIR PRBSENI POSITION, AND THBIR FUTURE PROSPECTS. (By Ovr Special Commissioner) NO. VIII. CAEUICK RANGES. It is many years ago now since tho quartz reefs in the C&rrick Ranges were discovered, and if they have not been more widely heard of it is entirely because the requisite capital 'has not bean forthcoming to thoroughly prospect the ranges and take measures for proving the value of the ore. Ot quartz reefu In tht Carriok Ranges there were the Caledonian (known to carry some splendid stone), the EHzibetb, the Star of the East, tho Royal Oak, SToang Australia,- aud they Nor woigan clftinii. The quarts: on the Carriok' it*nges has a peculiarity ot becoming oxidised on exposure to the weather— that is to. say, it assumes a red, nißtedlooking appsarauce,— and in such a condition it may be treated just exactly as the ordinary waehdirt i*. The reefs generally speaking on the range, present in many respects character* ietics altogether different from the reefs at ■ Bendigo and elsewhere. They are of a peculiar clayey ferruginous nature, and are known as . mullock reefs, and bo soft, that they, can be mostly worked by pick without the labour and attendant expense demanded ia working ordinary stone.. ' - The quartz .shows ia th« reef principally iv the form of oosrae sand and small, angular and sliehtly rxrandod pieces, seldom exceeding the size of an Drdinary teacup. The reefs run from lft to over Bft in thickness and strike in all directions across the country, but ara not of great extent, and differ considerably in direction and angle Cf underlie, the latter ranging from vortical to Something like 20 or 22dcg. Many of the reefs alao show much irregularity in their courts, expanding and contracting and striking and dipping in a mott unexpected and arbitrary fashion; - Taking these peculiarities into consideration as weTl as the'favt that the country sll around is muoh dufcarbed both iv strike and dip, steep and fiat dips succeeding and changing rapidly within eaay_ distance—-con-sidering these visible evidences and others that could be mentioned it seems almost certain that not only the soft and rather loose gravelly nature of the reefs, as well as the exceptionally flat dips that distinguish many of them/ are not primary or -original, but are due to *ome great pressure or upheaval or confliot trf natural forces in a past that has do written records. These characteristics, though they may -in some measure* interfere with, the unimpeded or straight-out working of the reefs, ara not many sense an -indication, that the reefs _ may give out suddenly or at a limited depth. , Therein no ground or title for any auoh apprehension, for "they are in every respect true -lodes, crojsingthe country both in strike and dip, and showing the hanging wall much more frequently thsn the foot wall. These and many other unmistakable proofs that might be cited ' lead in combination to the conclusion that the lodes are all of a true character, though differing, as I have shown, in many important features from -the generally accepted theories in such matters. « As mny be imagined, the gold in both the quartz and mallock is very fine, and is found moat largely in shootß dipping in • strike, but it has also been fouu'd pretty generally 'distributed throughout tho whole extent of the' reef, as far as they have been opened up. Owing to Hs softness the quartz mullock can be , - crushed irith comparatively little trouble, but: the saving of the fine gold demands a good deal ■of attention, and much 'more -advanced methods - ;fthan have been adopted up to the present by miners on these ranges. Thestroabment of the Quartz mullock requires a much more liberal employment of water than is. ordinarily used. 'Jt takes £500 worth of water to treat the soft oxidised .surface stone in an acre of ground. ' Water, of course, is not available in the Aoantities demanded by such * large oousumption, and though it were, the hopelessly crudo methods employed in the treatment of the quartz mullock does not permit of such an outlay. regards the expense of working (bj reef, the* soft nature of bothithd mullock mkl the country renders it small iv .oue importiiufc . tespeot — that is to say, of exploiting the reef. • On the other hand, the 'expense of providing , timber fonthe support of the workings must be heavy, not alone because of the high price of timber in a treeless region, but also became of the low depth of the reef a and the nature of tho Country, generally. A syadicate has recaatly taken up 100 acras 0l ground on the east Bide of the Royal Oak teef, endfetakio^the geqaistte steps to float itj

into a company. There can be very little doubt that in time when the value or tbese retfs becomes more widely kacmc, capital will be attracted to tbnm, and a new and rich field of investment will be opened up in the district. At present five parties of miners are getting' quartz and treating it an effectively as the means' at their disposal will permit. I need baxdly «ejr that the cyanide process U cot used here, nor any of " the other aids -which modem invention has provided for goM-Favicg la this department of mioing. And yet lam assured that the stono in the deep ground runs from 15dwt to 2oz to tho ton, an averago very clearly that could be very largely inorwwed by the introduction of more modern methods of treating the stone and more perfect gold-saving appliances. The mioer&l resources of the Cromwell district are extensive as they are diversified, and there can be very little doubt that a great future aw»ita it. About six miles from Bannockburn, in the vicinity of the Hawksburn river, a seam of plumbago Wffe wide has been discovered ; antimony is found on the Carriek Ranges { a 24ft sewn of jubastoß has been struck ttp the Kawaraa river, and all over the higher country where alhxvi&l mining is carried on thewara large stores of cinaab&f, aa well *8 mica and felspar. There are about 20 men scattered, over tho laoge working alluvial ground. Being at a high elevation thejr are not abls to work for more tbau eightmonths in the year. When work is no longer possible on the ranges they come down to the beaches, the river in the severe winter months being usually at a low level. BENDIGO. The Bendigo reef has been worked by two parties of tributsrs during the past two roars, and they have made very good wages. During that time they have undertaken no new work, bnt have contented themselves 'with going back on the old ground, and taking oat blooks of stone that had beau left behind years ago. Tho terms of tribute are 15 per cent, on the gross yield, The mine is equipped with one of the best plants in Gtago. Before relinquishing work in the mine the company sank n shaft about 400f£'or more, but not succeeding in otriking tha reef they were in quest of, and being also oppressed by previous heavy and fruitless expanditure they decided to suspend operations. The company is cow undergoing a course of reconstruction, and there is a likelihood of work being resumed on an extensive scale in the mine in a little tame. NEVIS AND NOKOMAI. On the Nevis, about. 18 miles from Cromwell, there wo four . .hydraulic sluicing claims at work, and about six other parties ground sluicing. Most of these- claims are said lo give good returns, and between them they employ a large number of men. Tho Sew "Hoy Hyfcaulic Sluicing Company on the Nokomai has made a very suoseasful -start and promises to become one of the beat paying mining enterprises with which Mr Sew Hoy, its spirited promoter, h&e yet been identified. The claim is splendidly equipped, having "one of the best and most, up-to-date plants to be found 4 in the colony. Stool-plating for 5000 ft of 18& in pipes has been, recently ordered from Home, and is expected to reach the colony about June. These pipes axe intended for « syphon , to cross one of the large creeks in the line of water raoo. The water has been carried a distance of 21 milea, and labour has been employed during the last 12 months in taking it to the claim. Au electric lighting plant has been erected by Mr Po&tlethwaite, of the New Zealand Engineering Company, The company ate at present working one elevator, but when the -water supply is further increased they intend to run two elevators day and night. They now work three shifts and employ 15 men, but this number is shortly to bemcrwMetl to 40 or 50 men, and tho development of the property pushed on with vigour. The expenses up to d*ta amount to over £10,000. The mine has been working since April last, and for four mouth* and nine days of actual sluicing during that period the returas were 9890z 9dwfc 4gr of gold. 'quartz reef point. There aro .two sluicing claims here that have paid their owners exceedingly well for many years. One of these, however, is now about worked out ; another — known as the Excelsior party— has been in Existence during the past 30 years. They have the control of nearly all the water rights, and have consequently a free hand in working their ground, and a correspondingly big pull over the other clum owners in the district. Beyond these brief particulars, there is nothing of interest to ehrouicle in (ho mining affairs of Quartz Reef Point. • LOWBURN. The condition of mining at -Lowburn cannot be called either progressive or prosperous. There are a numher of small parties sluicing at towburn creek and at the Five-mtto. Some of these are making .-wages, and others are doing little 'beyoud ekeing out an existence. The ground, which is a foot hill of the Mouufc Pisa Range, is shallow, running' from about 2ft, to 10ft, and is easily worked. This place affords another illustration of the .truth, which is j becoming more painfully evident every day, | that thi time has passed when men engaged in alluvial mining can do mov« fch*n make what may be deemed a fair living unless they can command a good water supply, which this class of miners seldom can. With the latter . advantage not only a good living bnt a competency is still assured. On the top of the hill, on the Mount Fisa Range, there are two or three parties of men working shallow ground at Moonlight and Deep creeks, and averaging from £2 10s to £3 a wsfk. MOUNT CRIFFEL. Od tho higher altituduH of SToant Cr.'ffal , nnuiug is possible only duriug four or five months in the year. In iho winter season work i» suspended, and a temporary abandonment of the claims takes pUce. Bat the ground is ri'.'h, or rather, it should ba said, the gruund "has been rich, for the cUims up" there are now , pretty well worked out ; and though for years the miners after a season's work were able to live a life of independent and comfortable ease during i the remainder o! the year, they are no longer, i I fea^ 6bta to command such generous terms.

As a cowequeuca there are now ouly a few parties working on Criffei, and eron they Sud a difficulty in securing a iu?cess»ry supply cf water, nil tha water bsicg controlled by a single pferty. The latter, who are in a position to dictate their own terms, oharga big prices for the uaa of their water. Some time ago they .yrere receiving half the gold obtained in exchange for the requisite water to work a claim. This is an instance, a unique one in its way, of the universal tendency of monopoly. It is as rotchangiag and quite as extreme in its methods of exaction and in the scope of its deaires on the top of Mount Criffel as it is anywhere in the heart of commerce or the modern hives of iodmtry. At Mid Run and along the elopes of Mount Oriffel some 10 or 12 patties of miners are at work sluicing an auriferous deposit 0.-nstetbg principally of coarse, hi>avy craTel. The water u«ed in sluicing along the Mid Run is got from the crest* in the neighbourhood, but principally feem the Luggate creek. Under fair conditions the men' make about £3 a weak. There is shin a good deal of new ground waiting to be worked here, and it is likely to be opened opt when the claims at preset bolog worked are finally abandoned.

An extensive area of quartz-drift formation oeaora on the soufch-oa^t side of the Ltiggate creek on this range, extending norfch and south to a di3t«nc3 of between four and five miles, with a breadth of about half a mile. This is knemn as the Fat Boy lins of quartz drift. The ground ia deep, and from the eastward dips towards the west, tho beds in that tide are xather abruptly out off by a liae of fault running nearly north and south. The quartz drifts hero differ From any other formation I have seen else where, except, perhaps, that on the top of Mount Burster, where a claim is worked by Ind*r Bros., of Naseby, but the gold seem? to be more ground np than that found in the latter piece Tae occurrence of this old quarts drift deposit is admitted to bo very rare, &ad is thought to oome from the direction of Mount Pisa, and it is altogether unlike the more familiar and newer brcooia conglomerate and qnartz drift:! that coma more generally under observation. There ia ono company — the Eldorado Sluicing Company— composed entirely of Danedin people, that has been working up here during the last air or ; seven years. The whole of that time they have ' Bpent in protpec^ng, generally by driving and sinking, but hate never eaccseded in getting on payable gold. As may be supposed, they have - spent a considerable sum of money during that period. Work is only possible up here during title summer months, a* the ground is at an altitude of about 5000 ft above sea level. The Eldorado party have been assisted in their prospecting operations by Gov-eruoienfc to the extent of £100. This grant was made ou the Bfcreagth of an opinion in official quarters that a lead of .good gold should be found in the deep ground. A few years ago a number of licensed holdings were taken np, but nothing practical was done, &• the ground waa found to be too deep.. One party procured boring rods and put' a bore down 120 ft, but could not bottom the ground. This and the ttc»rcif>y of water sA such a high elevation are, at the present et all events, two insuperable difficulties in the successful working of this ground. At Happy Valley, not far .from Criffel creek, a party of miners are working some ground, and making £9 per man a week, and one or two other parties in the vicinity are making from £4 to £5 a w«ek. There ia praofcically an unlimited Area of auriferous ground along this Hue of country, bat the conditions are, in almost every instance, similar to those I have already outlinsd. Industriously, but yet feebly — almost hopelessly — the miners are endeavouring to make the most of their circumstance* and overcome the disadvantages and diffioulttea under which they labour. Bat the task is one beyond ihalr powers and their resources, and the result is, at a rule, disbe&it9atng. .(To be continued.)