OKARITA.

West Coast Times, Issue 591, 16 August 1867, Page 3

OKARITA.

Our Okarita contemporary, under date of the 3rd instant, gives the following items of mining news ; — " Some of the extended claims on. the Three-mile Beach are turning out very well. Doble and party, on Monday last, sold seven ounces of fine gold from their acre of abandoned ground. The lake lately discovered in close vicinity to the Five-mile Beach, is at last attracting some attention, and a scheme is on foot to mate it of some practicable benefit. A party of eiglit miners, headed by Timothy Hallahen, lodged an application at tlie Warden's "office, on Tuesday last, for tlie right to cut a ■water-race from the lake to the Five-mile Beach. The length of the race will be about seven miles, and is calculated to supply four heads of water, and will give an impetus to sluicing operations that lias never before been offered on this beach. Tho projectors of the scheme have lately come overland from the Haasfc. It is said to be their intention, should the speculation prove a payable one, to apply for a lease of a considerable area of abandoned ground. Mining matters on the Five-mile are decidedly assuming a more cheerful tendency, and a continuance of dry weather will have the effect of still more accelerating the working of the claims in the deep ground. Nearly all the gold got on the beach, at present is in deep ground, and water is very troublesome. Sulli van's claim has still the credit of being the best on the Five-mile. Its yield is as munificent as ever, and tliere is sis montli's work yet to be done in ift Maloney, who long ago confessed, ' It's a mighty fine thing to have a claim on the Five-mile,' says his claim is yielding whips of the yellow metal. The Sandfly Beach — as the rush between the Waiknkupu and CMllespie's has been improperly called — has been rechristened, and will henceforth be known as • Monlighfc' Beach. None of tho outside claims have yet succeeded in striking the lead. Macdonald and party, who have sunk a large paddock, at a depth of ton feet came upon a foot of splendid-looking washdirt — black sand; but unfortunately were not able to raise more than a color in it. Nothing daunted however, they intend sinking eight feet deeper, which will be considerably below high-wate£ mark, and we hope their perseverance will command success. Several new parties have set in on Gillespie's Beach. Kirwan and party have taken up some new ground to the north of Byrne's store. Mr Byrne brought a parcel of eight ounces of coarse gold into town on Tuesday. It was got up Cook's River, and is the product of four men's work for about ten days. Great disappointment has been caused down south by the stoppage of the tracks, as numbers of men purposed going inland as soon as they were at all practicable. Degreave's and party, at Abbott Head, hove washed about sixty loads of dirt ; but as, by last advices, the gold had not been cleaned, wo cannot state what the yield was.