THE COLLINGWOOD DISTRICT.

Colonist, Volume XXVII, Issue 3856, 1 March 1884, Page 3

THE COLLINGWOOD DISTRICT.

Hearing of the interest attaching to this district, Mr G. B. Stuart was induced; to make a hurried'examination of the locality, an 3 from what we learn he is greatly jjleased with his visit. This gentleman proceeded to Collingwood on Wednesday, . and : arrived there on Thursday.,morning,, when "he.- at once made his way to the' Richmond Hill Silver. Mine.' Taking his course from the residence of the late manager, he proceeded along the tramway which leads to the mine. Near the end of the tramway a bridge about 120 feet in length and some 45 feet above the water spans the river, and about fifty feet beyond the bridge the main shaft is readier 1. Alongside of this Mr Stuart found a water wheel some 22 feet in diameter and 22 inches in width in the buckets, and which was formerly used for pumping out the shaft, which is at present full of water, the shaft being about eight feet by four feet, but from appearances the timber, in shaft and brace is very much decayed, whilst the water wheel is entirely useless for future operations; Mr Stuart examined the ore on a flat adjacent to the brace,, some of which he found to be rich bearing ore in silver, but he collected three samples, which were removed by one employed for the purpose, and which slone Mr Stuart intends to test with the view of ascertaining its intrinsic value, but at the same time he states he has not the slijgbtest doubt that this is a true silver loda formation, and he does not hesitate to say that by judicious management this will prove a good paying silver mine and a great success, though at the same time he ; wishes to state that the main lode has really not j ret been struck, it being at a greater depth, and about 12 feet west of the lode that has been worked. Mr Stuart draws this inference from the fact of the granite backs taking a dip of one in fifty west, and so adjacent to the lode worked being from 12ft to 13ft. Mr Stuart also stale°s that lodes in! other countries which he has visited.- such as Peru and Mexico—lodes found in hard substances like those, existing in the present casa —make ores a few feet lower, but there is no doubt 'that ; ata greater depth it will get into a softer formation, •where.the lodes w.ill expand and become richer. This statement ha gives as his

opinion founded on varied experiences rang* irig over 30 years. After leaving this mine Mr Stuart proceeded~to the Johnston's United Gold Mine, wbich he inspected in company with the manager. The first thing to attract his attention was the fact of the gold-bearing qualities of the surface, which' corresponds very much with the Red Hill, Forest Creek, the Golden Gully; reef j" Frier's? Creek, the Red Hill; Eaglehawk, Sandhurst; and various other surface hills; such as Tarrangbwer, and Sandy Creek, Tarnagulla, Victoria; and this being the only similar formation: which he has found in his perambles in New Zealand, which have been _ varied during the last eleven months, giveshim great confidence in th« mine..., At the same time he states .that so far they have not: struck: the, true lode of quartz, having only1 worked a gigantic spur funning at,an angle of 30 degrees. This spur was formerly worked by the Perseverance Company, but has now fallen into other hands, and by the more judicious management of the present Company he has every reason to believe will prove a remunerative speculation, having in sight about four years' work for a 10-head battery, which he bas every reason to believe will prove profitable to the shareholders. Mr Stuart impresses attention to the fact that the Company has never yet struck the main lode, or a true and well defined reef in this mine, which lode he believes to be vertical at a greater depth in some portion of the mine, but which has not hitherto been discovered; but the rich appearance of the surface, the goldbearing nature of this extensive spur, the soft nature of the stratum, and the appearance of • the leaders of quarts running vertical from tbis spur, leave but very little doubt, geologically, that the true and main lode of gold bearing quartz is but a very short distance in deptb from the above mentioned spur. By judiciaus management this mine, he states, ought to be a success. Mr Stuart also visited the hematite deposits at the Para Para, with which he was very much pleased. Seeing that it is so adjacent to the rich coal measures abundant in the vicinity of Collingwood. He thinks that capitalists should not lose sight of this—one of the best speculations in the southern hemisphere. He expresses this opinion from the fact that neither in Scotland nor England can such iroM, limestone, and coal be found so close to each other, a fact which means profit to the investor. * .