THE OWEN REEFS.

Colonist, Volume XXVIII, Issue 4174, 25 June 1885, Page 3

THE OWEN REEFS.

A raw days agd'a; from the reef discovered on the Bulmer Creek Company's lease, was brought to Town, and considerable pains have been taken by Mr Bulmer, Mr M'Dowell, and others in the work of reducing the quartz and obtaining the gold therefrom. The parcel consisted of 901bs weight, and was evidently unpicked. A small berdan was used after the stone had been pounded, and the ordinary appliances of table, quicksilver, &c, but ou a small scale were used. The quicksilver was retorted, and yesterday evening, the result was obtained, and this gives a yield at the rate of one ounce and a half to the ton. This was looked upon and with justice as highly satisfactory, and it is considered that although one and a half ounces would be highly remunerative, a proper system of working on a large scale would"give~a"greate"r~yield tban~a~ci!ushing, &c, by manual labor on a small scale However, some of the " tailings" were sent to Wellington last evening for a complete test, and when the result is known it will be possible to form, a more complete idea of the real richness of the stone, and if it transpires, as some believe,, that not much more than half of the gold could have been secured, it will at once be apparent that the stone treated is amongst the richest in the country. The reef is described as being five feet solid, and we are told that already <■ there is a very large quantity .of backs to work upon. The County Council, aided by the Government,, is about to construct a rcai from the main Buller road up the Owen Valley, a distance; of about twelve miles, to the reefs, and : the' (directors of the, Company intend that crushing machinery shall be sent up as soon as the road is available. The establishment of quartz reefing upon a considerable scale in this locality, which is about 70 miles from Nelson, would be of the greatest importance, and we" may add that the reefs are only about 12 miles' distant from the projected line of railway from Nelson to the West Coast. We wish the shareholders in this Company, and who by the way have shown very . considerable enterprise, and patience in the prospecting of their claim, every success! , t . • ; f