THE REEFTON MINES.

West Coast Times, Issue 2908, 30 July 1878, Page 2

THE REEFTON MINES.

[by our special bepobteh.]

Quartz mining, like horse racing, is subject to so many sudden changes of circumstances that cannot possibly be foreseen by the most experienced speculator, or the most practical miner, that to venture upon expressing an opinion as to the permanency of any particular mine or line of reefs on this Coast is an extremely hazardous task. As on instance of this uncertainty, we have only to call to mind the Goluen Fleece Extended Company's ground, which was so full of promise on ray last visit to the Inangahua district, A year ago when tbe reef in this claim was so well defined, the manager and workmen so hopeful, the battery in constant employment, and dividends were being distributed with unremitting regularity, who was there would have predicted that, after so short a lapse of time, shares would be a-begging in the market as they are now, with little prospect of speedy recovery. It 13 uot to be wondered that many of our shrewdest speculators find themselves minus several thousands of pounds to-day as the result of investing in what gave every promise of being at that time a permanent security. The wheel of fortune ia quartz-reefiog reverses so suddenly and throws out its repeated blanks in such constant succession that the most promising times are frequently and rafiidly followed by a term of perfeet^sfcagriation. So has lit been of late. JMte who bave bestowed the greatest care In perusing the mining reports and studying 'balance-sheets, who have beconqje walking records and authorities on the distribution ot' dividends and payments of calls throughout the Ece f ton district,have of late been the greatest victims by the depression. The Inangahua district has undergone a serious and -severe trial, one that has pressed hard on the working men of the district, most of whom have had to pay from their weekly earnings, prolonged calls, and even pinched 'the affluent, a few of whom dipped in the scrip market beyond a convenient dep'h. It has, however, but followed in the course of events experienced by the richest quartz-mining communities. Sandhurst, Ballarat, Pleasant Creek, Clunes, and Inglewond, had each a similar tale to tell some twenty years ago. The Thames shareb rakers sang the same song, ia more melancholy notes, thnt which is now chanted in the stock exchanges of this Ooast. Yet the Inangahua has far from reached that stage of doleful dumps experienced by its predecessors. A ramble amongst the reefs will check the greatest antipathy to quartz ventures, and will satisfy the most sceptical on the point, that Inangahua presents an immense field for the profitable investment of capital, and remunerative employment for labor. In this communication I will coufine my comments to one or two of .the mines in -which Hokitika shareholders «r,e most largely interested. THE CALEDONIAN COMPANY, ia, as many of your readers are aware, a company managed by Hokitika Directors. The mine has been proved to contiiu some of the richest stone ever crushed in the inangahua district, ! but it 'has -never been got in large quantities. For years the company has struggled in hopes of finding a thicker lode. Dividends 'have usually been followed by calls of a similar or larger amount. An average of eight .ounces to ■ihe ton has been produced, to be followed by months of dead work. The manager, Mr Wearne, is.one of the most persevering men in the district, and it was pleasing to meet him in jubilant ecstacy with his present , prospects. In ' the 'last forty feet of xiaiug.he bad met with .exceedingly rich stone, which induced my travelling companion, Mr James Holmes, tO'vifeit.tbe mine. Yeara of acquaintance iwith rich and poor lodea, an unlimited knowledge\of what constitutes calls andcceates.dividends has so fully qualified Mr Hojmesia-form-ing a correct opinion of :the idistinction between pile claims and duffers, that I will furnish his views of this^olaiin and of fie Juat-in-Time, for the '.edification .of those who may feel interested. -The -rise in the Caledonian is now within 25 -feet of the upper level. The air is afc. times bad, but not such as to prevent the progress of work. The .reef measuresilft llin in the face, and shows-signs of improvement as the work proceeds. A great deal of tbe stone is literally studded with gold. Out of. the face Tvhere the .men are employed at work, Mr Holmes knocked out a large .piece of quartz, weighing about eighteen .pounds. This piece of stone, which may be seen at Mr Hdlmes's shop in Revell-street, will give shareholders in tbe company, and

others who choose to Tiew it, some idea of the nature of the late discovery in this mine. It is no picked specimen, and was taken promiscuously from the body of the lode. Should the same quality of stone hold out for any distance, an excellent crushing may be confidently anticipated at no distant date. Very little stone is yet to grass, but from present appearances, fifty or sixty tons should be brought out during the month of September. Therearesixmen employed in the mine, bat if the present prospects continue, doubtless more labor will be employed. The future expectations are unquestionably more encouraging than they have been for years past, and though its past history weu d classify it amongst the " stringers" of the district, there is fair reason to believe the current year will bring the shareholders good interest for their lonf.- -invested capital. THE FIKRT CEOSB CLAIM is one in which many to the south of Reefton are interested. This may be shown by the fact that the deputation who were despatched from here to prevent the crushing plant being disposed of to a public company, were enabled by proxies from here and Greymouth to represent considerably more than half the full company. On Tuesday last I visited the claim in company with two of the Directors, Messrs Bruun and Thomas. Descending the shaft by cage, worked with water power and excellent appliances and gear, we reached the upper level, a distance of two hundred feet. From there wo proceeded, candle in hand, to wend our way to the winze leading to the interme- ! diate level. Ata further distance of 40ft we J landed in the intermediate level where all \ hands are at present engaged. Here we found that the lode has been followed between tbe two winzes for about 60 feet. In the north face the reef is between two and three feet thick. It maintains an average thickness of about three feet until reaching the present workings in the south end, where it hus widened out to five feet or rather better. In the south face gold is showing Ireely. There ia a large bod^ of stone ready to be taken out, and the manager confidently expects that there will be another five hundred tons got to graßS shortly after the present crushing. There are between three and four hundred tons now in the paddocks, and more ready for taking out at once. During the course of the crushing this quantity will be increased to over five hundred tons, and should it go, as anticipated, between an ounce and an ouuee and a half, the company will be clear of debt. The indebtedness up to date reaches close on £2000, but with the present prospect there is no need to fear further calls. Indeed, I amstrougly conviuced that this claim, from appearances in the mine, from the estimated quan'ity of stone visible, which is set down at 1000 to 1200 tons, from several new stopes opened out showing a thickness of reef of about two feet, and looking at tbe quality of the stone generally, that this claim will be again ranked amongst the dividtud paying, in the course of three or ' four months. The heavy and unprofitable ( work is all done for some time, and the attention of the manager will be directed to breaking down quartz for probably the greater part of this year without intermission. Some of the shareholders are sanguine enough to expect a small dividend from the present crushing, but I can scarcely think their hopes will be realised with the existing liabilities. More than half this company's .ground is unprospected, and lately the manager has broken ; down some antimony stone showing good j gold. -v Of late, with frequent calls and i few crußhings, the company has not felt ■ itself in a position to do much work in the untried portions of the lease. But in the course of a few months, .the directors will probably fee enabled to extend their operations in this way. To conclude, the miue looks exceedingly well, and shareholders need haye no fear of the ultimate success -of this company. [A few remarks on the Just-in-Time claim and the Battery will appear in our next issue.]