THE MACETOWN REEFS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2310, 9 June 1898, Page 18

THE MACETOWN REEFS.

THE WEST HALT A AND NEW ZEALAND GOLD EXPLORERS (LIMITED).

(By Oan Wakatifu Coheespondent.)

As ia well known, thie is the new title of the old Tippsrary mine in Scaulan'o Gully, which ranks as one of the most successful public mining companies ever started. It became dividend paying without a single call being made on the- shareholders, and within a few months alter work was started the £1 share rose to £27, at whioh figure large parcels of scrip changed hands.

This rise in the price of ' scrip was oving chiefly to manipulations in the share market, and as a natural consequence the debacle c»me in the shape of a reaction. However, the mine continued, to produce regular dividends for a long time, ?vea!(owkig op at the same timo large *ams ,*or timber and working expenses, until ciio difficulties and eou=equeab cost of working cab stripped' productiveness, when the mine vssu sLut down. After lying idle for gome time, ihe property passed into the hnpdt of a Louilori syndicate, which decided to drive a

IV.

NKW LOW LSVEL ADIT.

The advisability of this work, which consumed in a rjnud sum £3000, the length of tbe adit befog 1930£b, hab been much canvassed, and though it offers undoubted facilities in tho working 'of ths oiioe, It is still an open question whether or not they are &v equivalent agnittst the irxpendifcure of ao large a sum, to cay not Ling ,of the loss of time, for ifc took two years and a-fe&if to cousttucb the adifc. So mneh outl&j ol time and mocey for about G6fi; of siseertasuect backs, which is ail the &&H commends between its level and that of tbe old workings or the mine, should certainly have received mote co&sideratiou than ifc apparently did before the shareholders were committed to the outlay. Oiis of the {.dvanlage* claimed for the ndiS was that, as its coarse would cut across at almost i.*ighb angles the strike of the Macetown reefs, ib form as* excellent tuospeeting drive. Nor was the notion tc be gainsaid, except cm fche score of oosfe. As it happened, 06veral patches of stone carrying gold were mcc yttiih t tvkfaout, however, ai>y of them developing iufco permanent lodes or leader*. Supplementary to what fc»g baen aaid on the proa ami cons of the low ieros *dib, io muefc be stated tU&t, though neatly 2000 ft long, tbe possible u'cafulcess o£ tbe adit does opt end ah its face. Ak«A<£ o£ Jfc is a mountain of virgin country of » riromislng mature and an asuending grade, &o that Jf a lode be struck by extending (be adit- fta üßefuinoss might be demonstrated beyond a doubt, but until such it posrible event happens the eligibility ot otherwise of the adit os versuu a shaft cannot be definitely shown. Tho size of the adifc is sft wide by 6|fb high in the clear, allowing room fo|* a single lino of tails* with psssise »k>,es tsz is^oiaa &c» ov.'i"

coming trucks. Ifc acts, as a matter of course, as a drainage drive, and makes, as stated, t> large extent of country available for prospecting purposes.

THB LOBB

in this company's mine is a good example of a block lode as the terra is understood in Otago. The blocks so far as worked were al! cf a goid width, averaging about 6fb in thickaess, and were composed of good solid stone of the blue mottled appeararee whinh is characteristic of most gold-bearing lodes in Otago. The old Tipperary Company obtained the best of their stone above the level of their main working adifc to within about 100 ft below it, bsjond which depth the value of the stone decreased, and when the increased cost of working the mine reduced the dividends to insignificance tbe mine was shut down.

Upon the property passing into the hands of the present compauy it was placed under the management of Mr W. J. Stanford, who in this case as well as in that of the Gleurock mine has succeeded, by dint of energy and skilful management, in revealing the real value of the property. A great amount of systematic prospecting was done, resulting in the discovery of several bodies of stone, some of which carried excellent gold, but none of them were found to be of permanent value. The most important of tfcess bodies of stone was that lately struck iv the wt-st. drive from fche present low level adifc. This stone being of some appreciable extent carries well-defined walls, the - underlie being conformable to that of the Macetown lodes, bub tbe strike is nearly east and west, while the strike 'of the Glenrock and Sunrise lodes is north-wesfc and south-east. These conditions would lead to the conclusion that perhaps at semfl greater depth a solid and exfeengive bloob ot' valuable stone maj be found to exisS.

THE SHAFT now being sunk from the present low level adit is following the stone, which dips vertically so far as the shaft is down — that is to say, a depbh of 90ft— and for the whole distance follows a solid body of atone of a very promising description, averaging in width from 3't to Bft A!J the quartz cast by the shat't'lias been crushed,, and yielded very satisfactory returns. At present einkiug hhs been suspended, as the work if continued would be carried on at a disadvantage with the present means of raising the material — that is to say, by a hand windlass.

, Preparations are now iv progress for" the erection or a Hornsby-Ackroyd oil- engine for bavtliag purposes. This requires rather extensive excavations, which will have to be seenred by timber, entailing altogether some time for its completion. Ifc may be pointed out that the oil engine is to be placed near the mouth of the shaft, tear the end of ths present working level, and in order to do this a suitable chamber: has to be excavated in the rock.

Ifc has altso become necessaiy to establish connection with the old main working level of tb.9 mine for the purposes of ventilation. This connection when effected will not only efficiently and permanently ventilate the mine, but it will also permit of a sbceam of water being brought to bear under a 450 it hbad upon a Feltou wheel while the water supply, which is an intermittent one, lasts for working the hauling gfar at the shaft, the oil engine being required only when the water fails.

These innovations together, which are works of considerable magnitude, will take several mouths to complete, and the manager has wisely chosen the winter months for their consummation, so as to be prepared to supply the mill with quartz when the crushing season open* next spring.

THE BATTERY in connection with this mine is one of 10 heads, but is of excellent calibre. It is as compact and well put up a plant as could be found anywhere, and consequently works with great easa, being capable of doing the maximum amount of work in as small a time as could be expected from any crushing plant of similar siza and power. The battery when running last year was under the charge of Mr Wilson Boyd, who \6 proved himself an efficient and careful manager, and, being a clever mechanic. A perfectly at home; among machinery.

A notics of the Westralia and New Zealand Gold Explore; s' mine would not be complete without a reference^ however to the difficulty encountered in tapping the old workings of the mine, which stood full of water. As nearly as could be ascertained, the new low level adit, as already ' stated, ' would be som& 60it below the lowest workings of the old Tipperary, but as there were no absolutely reliable plans of the old mine, neither the correct level nor the exact whereabouts of these workings could be located. The only reliable indication to follow was the percolation of tho water. To grasp ths situation properly it must be borne iv mind that the water in a quantity o£ several thousand toas a3 least stood overhead, and had to be tapped fram below by an uprise. Many weary anrl anxious days were spent to hole through without any resu.b, until early one SuDday niormog, shortlj aftet the last shift had leffc off on "the previous Saturday, Ihe water broke in &n$ the trouble wag ended.

The old Tipperary mine was the most successful of the many Macetown ventures of the past, paying handsome and regular dividends for many years, and present indications justify the hope that it will do so again at r.o very distant date.

fn this mine the aam3 observation applies as that which h&6 been "made in ro raauy other mines ih ths- Wakatip^u goldfield — thai; is to gay, both lode aud country improve ia solidity and regularity as greater deptha are attained, and as an item confirmatory of this observation ifc may be added that the i&Sus of water does oot increase in any correspouding ratio as tht lodes are fo'lowed in depth.