THE TAIRUA GOLDFIELD.

Thames Advertiser, Volume IX, Issue 2412, 6 September 1876, Page 3

THE TAIRUA GOLDFIELD.

! (Faon OUtt OWN COBUE3PONDEHT.) ; ■- Hkwil£e, Sbptomber 4. ! Tazeua CoiiPANY.r-.Tho Tairua Pros|peo^rßvC^mpaßy'|,,.lj^^,^^ 'successful! start at, 1 a.'pi. [Everything-is working firist-rate>, .'Messrs.; j iQ-raham, Chairman of Bire.cfcora, e accom«]r 'panied by Messrs Frazer and Copeland, •came up yesterday to see the' battery and 'mine. Mr Sommervell gave it an jengineer's trial 'ofi to making a - permanent-start.—There, .was. Ivery little,vibration perceptible. Shortly jaftor ihe ! start i timed hbr,- add ithat the stampers, which, have 9|-incU ; 'drop; wero making 80 r strolres 'per mifiu't'o, Jwith the engine working'at r 65 revolutions jp.er minute. The indicator on tho boiler ;showed : 'a steSbi pressqre'o'f42lb^ito-the Isquaro : inchi, and' although' ! the -furnace ' idoor's' were" wide' opeir, 'steam still kept"' irising. : This speaks well for.its steamingCapabilities.". for wo ( .hours, I 1 accompanied the,visitp.fS ; to'' iNevesville. Tkeyjyero •with their midnight trip. , I.will now give iyou a detailed account of the company's ■property. The building, which covers |the battery' and' engine - (including -the-■4-atamß. battery), -is. fee.t. ,by f ,42 feet, ; supported/by columns' in 'the centre/ and* lighted by two ; skylights and.nine side so that the appearance ! of the linside'is' light- and; roomy, 'j- ;Ther?;is ,a> partition betwixt tho battery and engine. ■The new battery consists '0f.i12-heafls:of each : weighing : 6cwfyplaced -inn [three bote's of four stampers each. "Then ibojces aro lightly constructed (the tdp'par fc :f ibeing made " cif w66d)', ; ' and- excellently adapted fonnounhm country, where the mode of . transit is aro built on tlie strong©^ 1 ; principle. - There arevtwp,,longitudinal' logs, 2 square,by, 32. feet', : ',lpjigrj on which lies . six Across .' logs., ,of ; f tho same : dimensions. The bed log which lies upon them is 32 feet long by 3 feet square, on whichis.erected piles. !(for.thc boxes to bed on) 3 feet high, and itho whole length of the boxM. 1 A -The's ! engine is horizontal, with a 13-in6h" cylinder and'2-feet 4-inch stroke, and was made by Messrs Fraser and Tinne, of : Auckland. . The battery is driven irom. a pulley (5 feet 9 inches. ;in diameter) from, the crank-shaft, and an intermediate shaft' with a 4 feet pulley.! Tho. boiler is' multi- j tubular, with a fire box, and was.made on ; , tho site by Mr. Seager. of Qrahamstown,; it is 20 feet long by 5 feet 6 inches in diameter, and has 62 3-inch,tubes 14 foet long. A supper-heater has been attached to it. Tho copper tables are 6 fett 6 inches long, and the blanket streaks 16; feet long. Thero aro four.berdans, 3 feet 6 inches in diameter, but only ono is yet" in position. Tke quarlz. floor is 12 feet by 32 feet. The directors intend taking immediate steps towards getting 10 moro head of stampers erected, the cost for which will not, bo much, as overything is in readiness to receive it in the present building. The four-stamp battery is to be raised to the new'battery level; and coupled to the cam-shaft, and:will boused; for crushing soft stuff; This, when com- ! pleted, will give the company a 2G:stamp: battery, with plenty of power to drivo. them. The modo of conveyance of quartz. from tho mine to the battery is by means', of' a revolving', wire'tramway, half-a-^.ilej in length', "constructed Messrs and Tinne. The wire used is sown-' eights of an inch, and is "supported by 10 standards, placed at certain along the line, varying from 20 to 70 feel high. There ploce.at tho.top of each standard' about l 3 'feet.long, with a pulley l l6 inches; info diameter at each end for supporting the rope. At each end the rope ; 'pas3os;'round;a horizontal drum/- .5 feet' id. diameter,-; fixed in a 'moveable j franiei ■ ' .Which iS I worked ;by a' screw. tightening or 'slackening" Xpe. 'wEen' required. Thf stuff ii^ wire in with,'.the iHerriot and Wright's patent, clips, which retains a firm grip of tlio wire," and "is " released at each end by means, of a .wheel with a groove,in it placed a little .abbye'the .clip." '''OA 1 the*; framework at each end is placed a strong piece of angle.iron' of ii horse-shoe wive is re"yolving ;t|e wheel on the.;buckets comes"in, with this iron, and instantly reliavesjthe dip. The run around .the, iron "to, the,Opposite,,side, where they are filled from the and then run to' the end, 'where the clip again grasps the, .wire, and away it goes to the battery, where it' ig--releiased''bn' J the same principle as above.; There are 32 buckets used on the tramwaythese, are. placed at certain distances along the line, and are'cbntinually" Kept iravellirig/ add makes 2| -houri The motive power required to work it is less than ono horse, and is done by moans of two'bevelwheels connected by-a belt to tho waterwheel. The topper at the head of the tramway is capable .of-holding 50 tons, with a shoot leading into it 245 feet long. There are.two lines of ground tramways leading into it; one runs along the face, of tho hill at the big face workings, tho other is 105 feet lower down tho hill, and is now within 130 feat of the Golden Arrow boundary.- Besides having what appears to be a valuable mine, this comprises about the whole of the company's property. There has been, very little engineering, talent displayed about tho battery, the designing and erccfou having been under the supervision of Messrs Somervell Brothers, to. whom credit is duo for the manner in which they have conducted the affair! 1 ■ _ The stuff at present-going through is from tho big face,, and tho plates are already showing amalgam; but this company's crushing cannot bo judged froui the show on tho plates, as tho stamperboxes ,iu variably contain nearly all. tho amalgam. I saw a fine show of gold this morning in the stuff taken frotn the aluiffc lode, but as there is a large body ofstono from about the facp of the hil} ■ stacked in front of tho drive leading to tko shaft stuff, tlioy will iiot bo able to crush any of it for a fortnight. Tho manager intends, cleaning up ■ regularly at the end ,of cach month.