NEW WHAU.

Thames Star, Volume XXX, Issue 8382, 27 June 1899, Page 4

NEW WHAU.

Since operations were resumed at the Sons of Freedom level a few days ago, work has been confined to cleaning out and repairing the level and the rise. However, it ib anticipated that this work will be completed in a day or two, and a start will then be made to drive on the Sons of Freedom reef. v IRON CAP (Tararu). Operations are proceeding as usual in the Contractor's drive. Thereof here is 2ft wide and still carries the usual favorable minerals. OABDIGAN. A haul of 401b of good picked stone has been obtained in the leading stope upon No. 2 reef at No. 6 level. The reef averages about 14 inches in thickness, and continues to look very promising. At present, only a small staff of miners is employed, but as soon as the leading .stope has been carried along the full length of the block and the drive, timbered it is probable that more miners will be put on, and vigorous stoping operations commenced. NONPAREIL. Operations at the Blanche low level upon the Wade reef have been temporarily suspended, and instead a start has been made to open up an intermediate level upon the same ore body at a depth of 30ft down the winze recently sunk below the floor of the upper level. This work was commenced at the latter end of last week, so that a great deal has not yet been done, but its object is to get on to payable ore at once, in order to assist the company's financial position. jSiv/JuAxr&Jji*

The erection of this company's new ten stamper battery will probably be completed this week, but it will be some time yet, however, before the serial tram, which is to connect, the mine with the battery, will be available for the conveyance of ore. The contractors for, the erection of the serial tram are making capital progress with the same, and have got the principal part of their material on the ground, Work in the mine is being carried on as usual, and a chamber is now being cut out at the bottom of the shaft at the point where the main crosscut recently connected with the same. THAMES HAUBAKL

At the Deep Sinker section of this company's property the northerly prospecting crosscut at the 450 ft level has now reached a point where it was anticipated the Vanguard reef would have been-met with, but so far there is ho sign of any ore body being near at hand, This being the case, the management has decided to shortly discontinue operations at that point, and to await the developments that will eventually result from the work that is to be carried on upon the Vanguard reef at the No. 8 level in the Queen of Beauty section. At the latter point, operations will be conducted upon the reef in question on its course towards the Deep Sinker, so that any discovery that may be made will affect the prospects of both sections. The face of the ciosacut in the Deep Sinker section is now within about 50ft of the Queen of Beauty boundary, but in the latter section there is a distance of 800 ft to drive on the reef to reach the Deep Sinker boundary. Six months' protection is now being applied for from the Warden for the Deep Sinker section, but the hearing of the application will not be taken until July 18, ;so that in the meantime operations will probably continue as they are at present being carried out. FIND OF MOLYBDENITE. It is stated that an interesting dis« cover j, and one that may prove of some importance to the Thames district, was made during the last week by Mr F. B. Allen, Director of the Thames School of Mines. It appears that among the samples of ore which are constantly being taken to him for determination was one received about a month ago from Mr Wm. Martin, manager of .?the Iron Cap mine at Tararu, which that gentleman .had found lying loose in the Ohio Creek. In this sample Mr Allen recognised the existence of molybdenite, a mineral substance which is somewhat rare' and valuable, and being anxious to aacer» tain whether or not it was likely to be found in quantity, he proceeded to Tararu and searched the locality where Mr Martin first found the fragments of ore. After a little search Mr Allen located and unearthed an iron seam carrying the mineral in question in the solid country. The seam is \ about Ift in thickness, and the molybdenite occurs in nests and pockets alongside of it, while little strings of molybdenite, a quarter of an inch wide, are to be, seen traversing the country in the immediate neighborhood of the main seam. An analysis of the samples of the ore broken from the seam by Mr Allen himself proves it to be without doubt a sulphide of the rare metal I molybdenum, which as a metal is about as valuable as gold. There are evidences of it being fairly widely spread in the locality that Mr Allen inspected, and there is a possibility of other seams being found in the immediate locality of the present find. Its discovery is a very interesting one for the Thames, as Molybdenite is not a common substance. A doubtful occurrence of it in small specks through gneiss at xhisky Sounds, in south-west Otago, ia the only one hitherto recorded in New Zealand.

Molybdenite in appearance is a; black mineral resembling plumbago, but might be. mistaken for galena. It is soft and. greasy to the touch, aud makes the finger black, whilst on paper it leaves a greenish mark. Itis chiefly used in the determination of phosphates, manures, guano, eto. Samples j of the mineral muat have been lying iv the creek for years, and it seems strange that no one has previously identified the same. The scene of the

discovery is upon the Iron Cap Gold Mining Company's property, and it ia understood that steps are to be taken for determining its value, seeing that it has been found in solid and untried) country.