Notes from Wakatipu. (From Our Own Coorespondent.)

Otago Witness, Issue 2410, 10 May 1900, Page 21

N otes from Wakatipu. (From Our Own Coorespondent.)

Arrowtown, May 5. — The Glenrock Company, Macetown, wash-up lor April shows that the

lode is holding out well. During the month 150 tons of quarts were crushed, yielding 103o?. lldwt 15gr, thus giving nearly 14dwt to the ton. In addition 16 tons of concentrates were treated in the cyanide vats from which 131oa lldwt llgr were obtained; giving the very high average of Boz 4gr per ton of concentrates. Allowing 30 tons of quartz to j>roduce one ton of concentrates, this yield would mean upwards of sdwt per ton of quartz. This exposition of affairs throws a lurid light -upon the loss, or rather waste, of gold Lhata-iia«ife(.-rritve-De"Sii~g(s^ ing on m the early days of Macetov/n reefing, when managers favoured such places for the erection of ci risking lnachmeiy where there was no chance of stacking telltale tailings. All the discharge from the batteries was assisted down the creeks with the most ready dispatch. Mr W. Patton, mine manager of the Glenrock Company, reports that the general prospects of the mine are encouraging , that the reef in the stopes varies very much in size, running from lft to 3ft in width, and that it is of payable quality. 'Jhe country m the incline face is still haid, and the progress slow; no stone having been met with.

The Shotover "Quartz Mining Company have appointed Mr James Davis, late manager of the Morning Star mine. Preservation Inlet, during the period of its greatest success, as their manager, Mr Davis taking charge a week ot two ago. It is hoped that the same success will attend Mr Davis m his new charge as was the case at the West Coast.

Alluvial mining at the Shotover looks exceedingly healthy. What w.th hydrauheking, Smith pumps, in the river bed, sluicing the terraces, and proposed dredging operations, the old Shotover is suffering qvute a revival. The greatest activity is manifesting itself in the upper reaches of the river ot the Branches, where nearly every likely and available spot has been marked off and applied for. It goes without naying that all the water in the neighbourhood that can bs applied to either motive power or sluici'.ig purposes has also been secured. There is a veiy laige extent of riveibed and terraces about the Branches thai has been tested r.nd partly worked with more or*less success, by what are now antiquated methods. The application of the new systems and improved plant, hott ever, has given the place a new and very much enhanced value. For years the ground was looked upon a3 the linger-and-die locality, where half a dozen or so of fossickers might knock out a ciust by dint of hard labour. All this is alterod now. The sluicer with his pipes and nozzles, and the elevator with the Smith pump, ha,ve found a new Dorado here ; the dredger and the syndicator following m then- footsteps with now art 3 and whiles, and tricks that are dark, will complete the new order of things. Where the lone fossicker dieamed and talked of pennyweights and grsms the new iniquity will proclaim poundweights and ounces m glowing piospectuses. The mo3t notable instances of individual success, so far as exploitations have gone, are Messrs Dwen a-nd paity, near' Muddy Creek, who almost from the very moment they got into working order, struck oil in goodly quantity, and are now doing exceedingly well. Several other parties who work on a smaller scale are proportionately successful. Messrs Cotton and party are about ready to make a start with gold-getting work m their claim at the mouth of the Left Hand Branch. The ground is one of the fancyspots in the locality, and great results are anticipated. At Skipper's Point, and at the terraces in the neighbourhood, the large sluicing claims are all expecting good washings-up for the season now closing.

At Maori Point, or rather near the mouth of Deep Creek, Messrs Collins and Son have succeeded in bottoming their ground at a depth of 12ft, the returns reminding one of the palmiest days of the river. The party work the Smith pump with a pressure of 400 ft, and have a considerable extent of ground to work. Messrs Collins and Son, also have a claim at Muddy Terrace, near the Branches, which they are now about taking in hand.