MINING SUMMARY.

West Coast Times, Issue 630, 1 October 1867, Page 6

MINING SUMMARY.

Respecting the Westland diggings proper we have nothing to record in the way of new gold discoveries during the month, the great bulk of the miners having been . too profitably engaged upon the ground already opened to care about seeking for % new. At the same time the boundaries of many of the old working have undergone considerable extension,'*and small intermediate patches have been hit upon, whilst the summer campaign may be said to have fairly opened by the departure of not a few prospecting parties, who generally speaking have turned their faces inland in the direction of that broad — we may almost say — untraversed strip | of country out of which springs the net j _ work of spurs that buttress the mighty 'mountain chains behind. The condition of mining in this district may be very well expressed as progressively developing, and 'notwithstanding that times are scarcely so bright now as eighteen months ago, when the cream of the diggings was being secured we may say; with truth that although its charms' are \o a certain extent faded. Westland yet possesses greater attractions to the miner than any other district of the colony. We really think it is at lastblestwith a permanent population,so little excitement having been caused by very glowing reports that eann? to hand during the month from a newly-discovered" gold country in the vicinity of the* Mohikinui— a river situated some twentyfive miles north of the Buller^. and from the Thames goldfield 'in the North Island. These reports were received with an indifference truly startling, but withal satisfactory, as it indicates that the diggers are too well employed at home to think of rushing to far distant localities after that which very likely would prove a delusive sha-; dow, but which, viewed from afar off, appears invested by a substance that we have very good reason to believe was created by selfish schemers, bent only upon causing a rush, regardless of those disastrous consequences certain to ensue if the goldfield proved unproductive. The Auckland papers we have lately received state that a rush to the Thames district is imminent, in consequence of the extraordinary developement of quartzleefing there. Reefs have been opened out that are estimated to yield from lOOozs to 200ozs to the ton ; but no alluvial gold has yet been discovered, whilst the quality of that contained in the reefs is betwoen forty and fifty per cent, under that of Westland gold. In other" words, the Thames metal is only 14 .carats fine againsMhe 23 carats of Westland gold. Henc^the ground need to be filled with metal to make up for such a woeful deficiency. The reliability of these statements is, however, doubtful, as we have heard from private sources that they are fertile in exaggeration, and that the large yields above alluded to properly belong to one or two reefs in the old Coromandel diggings, which lay a few miles only from the Thames, and were opened many ye.ars ago. As this summary will embrace the entire West Coast goldfields, we will first touch upon, those of the Buller district, where at the commencement of the month gold was discovered on a terrace near tho Mohikinui river. The announcement of the find was industriously propagated by the local papers, which stated that the terrace was very rich, as the prospectors had struck" a bed of ' washdirt forty feet from the surface, that yielded from half a pennyweight to 3dwts., the dish. A few hundred miners rushed the place, ran the line of the supposed lead for about half-a-mile along the terrace, and in the course of a week several shafts were sunk, and struck the same bed of dirt, which, however, was found to be only one foot thick instead of three, and not nearly so rich as "reported, as the best prospects failed to reach ldwt. to the dish. The ground, moreover, proved very patchy, and the lead to be no lead at all, as duffers alternated with golden holes in the proportion of six to one, and whilst attempts to trace the gold into adjoining terraces and flats signally failed. This cast a damper upon the rush," and the slight excitement at first caused has since entirely subsided. A reaction has not yet set in, for the appearance of the surrounding country being indicative of gold, many of the new arrivals resolved themselves into prospecting parties, with a determination to give it a thorough trial. Hence the rush from Mohikinui has not yet commenced. Of the Buller diggings proper Addison's Flat, or Waite's Pakihi — as it is indifferently called — is decidedly the best, and although long in developing it has at last proved its right to be termed a remunerative field. It is regarded as the main stay of Westport, and although we fear its' worth will scarcely reach the expectations that caused that extensive town to spring up with mushroom rapidity upon the banks of the BuUer ; we believe it will turn out a great deal of gold, and maintain a permanent, if not, a very large population. Those who most favor the place, declare that it will support a population of 3000, which rash assertion we can contradict on the very surest authority, as no more than 1500, or at the very outside 2000 diggers hold claims at Addison's, and of this numL r a considerable majority are not ongoid. Thattroublesome antagonist water fcasbeen much weakened a | tne yj^ by

the late dry weather and in consequence a great deal of work was performed in the way of testing claims that were unworkable before through excess of the element. In nearly every instance payable gold was obtained, but not in such quantities as would warrant the propagation of the extravagant rumors which reached town a day or two ago. A few claims will pay good wages, from Ll2 to Lls per week having been obtained, but the majority belong to the small wages class, and are not expected to pay more than from L 5 to L 7 weekly with, however, the promise of a long spell of? work for as we have remarked in former sumrnarys, the bed of wash dirt runs from six feet to twelve feet thick. Quartz reefing, as a profitable industry, is already established in the Buller district, which, we believe, abounds in good reefs that will yet be discovered, as the country is cleared of timber, The Waimangaroa reefs are exceedingly rich, the stone in the prospector's claim being from two and a half to three feet thick, and is estimated to be worth from Boz. to lOoz. to the ton. Several parties are tunnelling into the high terrace for the reef, and each have cut gold bearing leaders that will pay for crushing. The tunnels are in from 130 to 160 feet, but the mam reef is believed to lie from forty j to sixty feet further in, anl to reach it ' many weeks of arduous labor will be involved, as the driving is through solid slate reefs very difficult to work. A crushing plant is being erected at the Waimangaroa, and will, it is expected, be ready for work by the end of the present month. The Pakihi and Fox's Kiver diggings ' are. too surely assuming the appearance "of exhaustion, "the older workings being mostly deserted, whilst those in hand retain a sadly reduced population, compared with the army of diggers that a few months back thronged both places. Of the two, Pakihi is decidedly the best, as it contains a great deal of ground, that will pay splendidly if submitted to a proper system of work. Acres upon acres of cement impregnated with gold lie thei'e awaiting the advent of crusbingniachinery, that we hear will be shortly supplied by a company, which has applied for and obtained a lease of twenty acres of ground for mining purposes. We can report very favorably upon the • doings of the Grey district, mines during; the month, one or two new and rich gullies having been opened, whilst the older workings maintained a good average yield. Early in the month heavy gold was lit upon in the vicinity of Moon- > Jight gully, causing a rush that developed a most profitable lUfcle diggings. Heavy nuggets of from lOoz. to 40oz. were unearthed there, together with much gold of a finer sample. Late advices from the place inform us that several hundred diggers are located there/and that others are daily arriving as the gold is not confined to thg. original patch 'opened, one or two small feeding gullies and terraces having been subsequently prospected and found payable. Moonlight is * already a thriving place, and will, we believe, be the most important of the Grey district mining centres. New ground was also opened near Nelson gully, and attracted many miners from Arnold's and other adjacent workings. The " G-rey Argus" says that " the few miners that are left at Arnold's are doing M'cll, and some large returns have lately been made in Italian "Gully. A small rush is spoken of to the Wivimea Creek, but our informant cannot supply us with any particulars of it, Several prospecting parties have been out in the direction of Lake Brunner, and report that in most of the creeks and tributaries gold can be got in small quantities, but that the difficulty in conveying provisions, and their high price, forbids the settling down of a mining community there. When this this part of the country becomes really opened up there is little doubt that the Lake Brunnor -District will he an important mining centre. At present food is so dear and has to bo ' humped ' for such a long distanco that there is no i inducement held ont to miners. ProbaI bly any man of- ordinary industry could make three or four pounds a -week j almost anywhere in the district, but when it costs him nearly all his earnings for a bare subsistence it is hardly likely that men will care to prospect the country. The diggings on tho Nelson side of. the boundary are improving wonderfully and appear likely ere long to recover their old population. At Slatey Creek, and the minor diggings, the miners are all profitably engaged, and in almost every case the terraces throughout the* whole district have been proved to be auriferous. So well, indeed, are the miners and business people doing that it is difficult to get information from them, and they are disposed to under-rate rather lhan exaggerate matters, because they do not want a rush. It is satisfactory, to be able to say that the population is increasing daily, it being estimated that nearly fifty men per diem have passed the twelve Mile during the past week " The main leads up the onco rich and thickly populated New River diggings are well nigh worked out, and. the number of miners remaining in the district is estimated at something under 700, of whom very few are earning more than small wages, whilst only too many are barely making tucker. Several prospecting parties are, however, out, and it is hoped they will give a good account of themselves before the summer has far advanced. At the date of our last summary the country was pretty well soddened with water from the rains of the preceding month, and the diggers were put to some inconvenience therefrom, as many of the lower-lying flats and gullies were unworkable, whilst prospecting was quite put a stop to. Now, the cry is all the other way ; for, inconsequence of Septera- i ber having been no less dry than August was wet, their is aii' absolute scarcity of water. On this point similar reports are forwarded to town from every part of the district, sluicers being at a standstill, and, even the tub and cradle mon are compelled to stack dirt and content themselves with one day's washing in a week, to keep the cupboard supplied. And yet the rainfall of Westland is amply sufficient to supply the miners providing common precautions were taken to conserve the water which now is permitted to run to waste. The construction of a few reservoirs is alone needed to ensure a plentiful supply during the driest season, aiid we certainly think the subject sufficiently important to demand government interference. In other gold-mining countries special legislation has been applied to the water question and with the happiest re-

suits, as shown by an increased yield of the metal and the prosperous and healthy condition of the miners general!}'. Perhaps the subject will receive that consideration its importance is entitled to, when Westland, being an independent county, will have the entire control and disbursement of its own revenues. The miners of the large and essentially sluicing district, the Waunea, have been much hindered during the month by the above cause. Our correspondent, in his late ■ letter, states that " the majority of the miners were unwillingly idle, owing to the absence of water, not only from the main ' creeks, but also from the largest races. At : the old workings, between Stafford Town : and Goldsborongh, at Italian, Maori, Calk« ban's, German, Eed Jack's, and i Greek's Gullies, washdirt is stacked in immense heaps, until all available space is occupied. Even at Quinn's Terrace, Scandinavian Hill, Fin's Rush, and Lamplough a downpour of rain is much needed, so that miners might wash up. Notwithstanding this drawback, mining has been followed to great advantage during the mouth in the Waimea district. A few days subsequent to the publication of our last summary, a large flat, situated at the , foot of Red Jack's Gully, was opened and I found payable, from six to eight grains to the dish being obtained out of the proI specting shaft. The place was, of course, rushed, snd several shafts were bottomed during the following week with even better - results. Since then the greater portion of the flat has been taken up, and has turned ont far better than even the diggers expected it would; the sinking being shallow, from five feet to twenty feet, and the wash dirt thick and very payable, two pennyweight the dish having been frequently obtained from some of the better claims. The area of the flat is estimated at one thousand acres, and the gold it contains is coarse in sample, and somewhat intermixed with quartz. The flat will shortly be commanded by several water races, which were commenced last week. Piper's Plat diggings have yielded well during the month,especially that sec- ► tion of them known as Quinn's Terrace rush, which is regarded as the best that ever took place in the district. It is held by over one thousand men, who have ' traced the gold out of the original terrace to adjoining terraces and gullies, many of the claims being very rich. It is by no means an uncommon occurrence to find nuggets weighing from 3 dwks. to half an ounce. The rate of wages rule high ■ at Piper's diggings L 5 per man weekly being considered a poor return ; as well it might when there are scores of claims there that pay four times that amount. The Lamplough workings and Finn's Bus*h, on the Fourth Scandinavian Terrace, have contributed a fair proportion of gold to the market during the month. At the former place the payable ground is rather circumscribed, as it is held by about four hundi'ed miners only, every attempt to extend the diggings beyond the patch that was developed during the month that followed its discovery having failed. The few men at work there may, however, be deemed truly fortunate, as poor claims are exceptional, the majority being very rich, and in a few instance will give substantial piles. We have notlring especially! important to chronicle concerning Lamplough, for the community having settled dWn_to steady hum drum work, the transactimis of one month singulary resemble thole of the one prececding it. Sufficient that Mat is a rich little diggings, and we regret jfchafc similar patches 'are not more plontifulton the coast. Fina's rush is another pa?oh of rare excellence, but scant extent. It is situated on tho Fourth Scandinavian Terrace, and when opened was supposed to be a continuation of the Scandinavian Load. Ifc was not, however, proved so, and on this point opinions are yet divided ; our? being that it is the section of another lead, running between the Scandinavian and the beach. Yesterday, we received intelligence from Blake's Terrace, a remunerative little workings, which we have often mentioned in former summaries, as being^one of the 'beach diggings of the Waimea>.districfc. It has been a long time in hand and yet is not halt' worked out, and those claims in hand are expected to keep shareholders employed for a further period of six or eight months. Heavy parcels of gold are sent down weekty from Blake's, from 20oz to 40oz being not uncommon returns for a day's sluicing there. The Waimea district bids fair to be soon intersected by a net work of water races, sluicing being justly considered a 9 the main-stay of" the mining interest there. Another large head race was completed at the beginning of the month, and on the 12fch ult. was christened the " Last Chance," with . befitting ceremony. It is several miles long, and eonnnands a great extent of auriferous country. The total population of the "Waimea district is estimated at 5600, and the weekly yield of gold at about 210003. We have but little to report concerning the Xanieri district, as the opening of uew ground there is noL comprised in the month's events. The district, however, has not yet reached the state of depression that would cause this to be regarded as a calamity, as with very few excepLions the diggers are in the receipt of fair returns which discover no sign of decrease. Two small rushes took place during the month, one near the Blue Spur lead, in a gully called Frenchman's, the other being caused by the refinding of the Cockney lead, which, after being traced through some six or eight claims, became scattered and poor when it ran against a high sand bar that stretched across its course. A great many shafts were sunk, of which the large majority were duffers, but enough struck gold to convince the most sceptical that " Cockney's" is not as at first supposed a branch of the Hau Hau lead, but a distinct run of gold, having a direction parallel to the Hau ltau, and likely to terminate at Tucker flat, where tho latter lead ran out. The depth of sinking on Cockney's lead is from fifty to sixty feet, and the last shafts bottomed on gold gave prospects of 2grs to idwfc the dish. Very encouraging prospects were obtained at Frenchman's, where the gold was first struck in the centre of the gully, but afterwards traced into the terrace. It was there iunnejled for and struck by several parties, and about ten days ago the lead was hit upon by a party of enterprising- diggers, who sank a shaft some distance ahead of the best claim on gold, and were row arded by prospects of from ?fdwt to ldwt the dish, out of a heavy stoup of dirt. The old workings at Three Mile Creek continue to pay well, and as much may be t>aid respecting the Hau Hau lead, which certainly maintains a

return that may well be termed astonishing, considering that the lead was opened nearly two years and a half ago. As in (he case of the Waimea so is the sluicing interest much fostered in the Jl airier) district, albeit water just now is at a high premium there as elsewhere. Several fine head-races command some of the principal workings, and during the month another was finished, from which water can be conveyed to every part of the Hau Hau and Three Mile Creek workings. ll is called the Independent, and was eighteen months in constructing. We are happy to say that after many months of uuremunerative and costly labor the Victorian Cooperative Company, at Kanieri Town, are at last in the receipt of returns, which although small, are sufficient to cover the working expenses of the claim, and share- j holders are • thus spared from further calls, and are justified in anticipating a dividend at no distant date. The company's arrangements are very perfect, their plant &c, being most extensive, valuable, and substantially erected. Two large engines work the pump and drive the "winding gear, the dirt lifted in trucks up an inclined plane from the bottom of the cutting, to the brace, and then emptied into a large and ingeniously contrived receptacle that feeds the sluiceboxes. This feeder has an open bottom of iron bars, which only permits the smaller stones and rubble to pass through, and as it is fixed at a steep gradient, the larger stones run off, and are raked into a truck placed beneath the feeder's mouth, and thus by a simple and easy process the laborious work of forking is superseded. When loaded, the truck is run along a tramway that extends twothirds across the Kanieri river, and there emptied ; and the stream being so obstructed on one side by the accumulation of stones, is forced over to the other, where the tailings from the sluice-boxes are deposited, and its' power being increased because confined in sufficient to keep the tailings clear, and so the labor of at least two men is saved. A large tank of several thousand gallons capacity has been built upon a level with the race, and supplies the sluice-boxes with a constant and steady flow of water. It is fed jby the pump. We must certainly congratulate Mr Watts, the Company's manager, upon the excellence of his arrangements, and hope that the undertaking will pvove both remunerative and lasting. The discovery of gold in an untried creek thai runs into the Totara river above the Forks excited high hopes that another profitable diggui«s was about to be added to the number of those that make up the Totara goldfield. Two or three hundred miners rushed the place, which, we are sorry to say, turned out very poor, as the best claim only gave small wages. After indulging in a mqnth's holliday or idleness (the terms are synonymous in this case), the Jones' Flat diggers were at last compelled to resume bailing, by the judicious action of Mr Warden Avlmciytvho refused to grant further protection. Tho work, however, proceeds but slowly, there being no unity of purpose amongst the miners, and to reduce so large a volume of water as that contained in Jones' Flat without it will be an utter impossibility. We arc glad to hear that a public meeting was called last week with the view of Overcoming the difficulty, and anothj£ committee formed to collect subscrip|ions" towards the construction of a tail race "to carry off the surface water, We take the following short resume of mining news in the Totara district from tho >"\Ross Guardian" of the 28th ult. -.— " Jn Jones' Flat most of the best claimsfar'e full of water, and the men are scratching over old ground. The Scandinavian Company have stopped their engine ' for various alterations, raising the isoppet heads being the principal. The M<sfaing Star Company continue working,^ and unless the wejither^become very wei it is "not thought they'willTi!w;e.to stop.' This claim is now turning out splendidly. The Prince of Wales engine will soon be at work again, under the ownership of the Band of Hope Company. The engine for the Eoss Extended, one of twenty-five horse-power is now on the road, and will be got to work with as little delay as possible. From the richness of the adjoining ground this claim should bo equal to any 'in the district. ( >no of the richest of the whim claims— the Danes— is stopped for alterations in tli- poppet-heads. During the last fortnight it yielded eighty-three ounee-. Some parcels of beach gold have been offered for sale, and we believe it was got south of Eoss, but there are many places Avhere auriferous sand is to be found along the beach. Tho contract for the aqueduct over Jones' Creek is a standstill, owing to a " disagreement between the contractor and the company, and many rich claims are idlo in consequence for want of water. At Donoghue's, the principal claims are stopped for want of pumping power. Some of these claims are proved to be surprisingly rich, but owing to the deficiency of surface water have no pumping power. Tho claimholders were deliberating whether to bring up a tail-race from the beach, or bring more water on to their wheel. A share in the Energetic lias been sold for L 125. The Alexandra Company have cut a good road to tho beach, and have some of their machinery on the ground. This company will be worked to greater advantage than most claims. Their engine and pumps are of greater power, timber will be supplied at much less cost than in Eoss, and from the elevation of the poppet-heads, the tailings can be carried' away to the sea beach, leaving the claim clear of all but the large stones." Under tho head of inland diggings par excellence, we include the Taipo workings, and tliosej situated on tho right and left hand branches of tho Kanieri river. Encouraging reports are to hand from the three places, the Taipo beinj£ worked to much advantage by a small community of diggers, who are getting a splondid sample of coarse gold, that from the appearance of a portion submitted to us. we are inclined to think has not travelled far from its matrix, as each pieeo was more or less impregnated with quarts, and only partially water-worn. Tho sample consisted of several little nuggets, weighing from two or three grains to one pennyweight each. We believe that payable quartz-reefs must exist in the country about the Taipo and upper Greenstone, and that tho lino of quartz gold will in time be traced in that direction from tho reefs in Moonlight Gully. The course is aboul the same that quartz-reefs on this coast would be likely to lake, judging from the lay of

the great mountain chain in the back country. The diggings in the Kanieri branches are paying good average wages, and are worked by about two hundred men, who have struck gold in both the creek bed, and the terraces on either side of it. We believe that these diggings are merely the fringe of a large and payable inland goldfield. The few diggers remaining in the Okarita district have no reason to grumble at their luck, as we hear from a gentleman lately returned from there, that from Ll to L 2 per day is about the rate of wages going. The quantity of gold exported from Hokitika during the month amounted to 18,820 ounces, and the Greymouth returns may be estimated at 12,000. This gives a total of 30,820 ounces, which compared with the August exportations shews a decrease of 1,925 ounces. But for the great scarcity of water to which we alluded to above, we are convinced there would have been a large balance in favor of September.