THE INANAGAHUI REEFS.

West Coast Times, Issue 3221, 21 January 1876, Page 2

THE INANAGAHUI REEFS.

We take the following items of news from the Reef con papers :—: —

A bush fire, doing damage to holdings on the Buller road, occurred on Monday. On Saturday a miner named Wilhelm Johann Otgen was killed from a large fall of quartz in the Alexandra mine, Boatmpn's. At the inquest the jury added a rider, " that in r,heir opinion the time had arrived for the appointment of a Government Inspector of Mines."

Rumor was busy in Reefton on Saturday and Sunday and yesterday concerning the discovery, by Charles Adams, one of the prospectors of the Rainy Creek line, of a new gold-bearing reef. The locality is as yet known only to a favored few, but the situation of the discovery is said to be south of Reefton, on the right hand side (ascending) of the Inagahua, and is therefore situated in a belt of country, not previously opened to quartzmihing." The Fiery Cross battery is now operating upon the Hopeful stone, and work goes very smoothly. Fresh tenders have been invited and accepted for breaking down" atone, and the faces in the mine are

looking well with' the average width of! quartz. The Welcome Company are still driving, and as the tunnel goes in the ground becomes more solid. The manager of the Alexandra Company is filling th^e upper paddocks with stone, and very soon' will be ready for a turn at the battery. The operatiohs of the Fiery Cross Company have been thrown back a good deal by difficulties of one sort or other, but a start has at length been made. Tbe contractors for the El Dorado mine have commenced work in the lower mine, and! the manager is taking out some stone from- the upper working. The Walhalla Company have a man trenching for the leader on the eastern boundary. The Just-in-Time Company are still driving on the eastern leader, the stone being good if a sufficient quantity could be obtained. It is likely that the Boatman's Creek Company will go in for another crushing before long, which will prove better than that already tested.

A meeting of shareholders in Potters aew discovery was held on Saturday. , AH were present, and it was decided to register the company under the name of " The, Inkersnan Quartz-mining Company, Limited. Rfr George was appointed legal, manager ; Messrs Potter, Ross, Wells, Thomas, and O'Connell wsre elected auditors. At a meeting of directors, held afterwards, arrangements were made for putting hands on to work the mine, and they have since commenced work. That trials never come .single was strangely exemplified in the case of ttie fatal accident to John Bullen. On the day of the catastrophe at th,e Energetic mine by which deceased lost his life, o,ne of his children was lying in a dying state, and has since died ; and on the same day another of his children was so badly burnt that for several hours after the little sufferer's life was despaired of, but Happily it has since recovered. The wife of the unfortunate man, as may be well imrgined, is fairly heart-broken at the calamities which have overtaken her, and her case is one which really merits commiseration. The monster steam boiler, for the Rainy Creek Company, weighing close upon seven tons, aud drawn by a splendid team of 13 horses, arrived in Reefton from Greymouth on Saturday last, and after a short detention proceeded on to Black's Point.