Papers Past | Parliamentary Papers | Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives | 1896 Session I | THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT ON ROADS,...

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1896. NEW ZEALAND.

THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT ON ROADS, WATER-RACES, MINING MACHINERY, AND OTHER WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH MINING.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

CONTENTS.

Page. Goldfields, Koads, Water-races, Mining Machinery, and other Works in connection with Mining, Report on, by H. A. Gordon, Inspecting Engineer .. 1-277 Subsidised Roads and Tracks .. .. .. 1 Roads constructed by Direct Grants .. .. 2 Prospecting for Gold .. .. .. .. 2 Schools of Mines .. .. .. .. 2-18 Thames School of Mines .. .. .. 3-11 Reefton School of Mines .. ..• .. 11-13 . Otago School of Mines .. .. .. 13-17 Nelson School of Mines .. .. .. 17-18 Expenditure on Schools .. .. .. 18 Water-races .. .. .. .. .. 18-26 Waimea Water-race .. .. .. .. 18-19 Kumara Water-race .. .. .. .. 19-20 Summary showing Results of Working the Kumara Water-race for Thirteen years, from Ist April, 1883, to 31st March, 1896 .. .. .. 21 Waimea-Kumara Water-races .. .. .. 23-24 Mount Ida Water-race.. .. .. .. 24-25 Blackstone Hill Water-race .. .. .. 25-26 Summary of Water-races—Statement of Profits and Losses on the Working of the Water-races for the last Eighteen Years .. .. .. 26 Gold- and Silver-mining .. .. .. .. 26-156 Quartz-workings .. .. .. .. 27-117 North Island .. .. .. .. 27-93, Puhipuhi .. .. .. .. .. 28-29 Coromandel District .. .. .. 29-44 Coromandel County .. .. .. 30-31 Cabbage Bay District .. • .. .. 30-31 Cabbage Bay Special .. .. .. 30 New Waihi .. .. .. .. 30 Doris .. .. .. .. .. 30 Moehau Star .. .. .. .. 30 Avondale and Warrior .. .. .. 30 Rhodes .. .. .. .. 30 Hauraki Star .. .. .. .. 30 Port Charles District .. .. .. 31 Kennedy Bay District .. .. .. 31 Tokatea District .. .. .. .. 31-33 Triumph (Hauraki) Mine .. .. 31 Queen of the North Mine .. .. 31 Tokatea of Hauraki Mine .. .. 31-32 Royal Oak Mine.. .. .. .. 32 Pride of Tokatea Mine .. .. .. 32 Harbour View Mine .. .. .. 32 East Hauraki Mine .. .. .. 32 Buffalo Mine .. .. .. .. 32 Good Enough Mine .. .. .. 32 New Tokatea Mine .. .. .. 32 New Hauraki Properties Mine .. .. 32 Success Mine .. .. .. .. 33

Page Quartz-workings (North Island) — continued. Kapanga District .. .. .. .. 33-34 Kapanga Mine .. .. .. .. 33 Scotty's Mine .. .. .. .. 34 Britannia Mine .. .. .. 34 Blagrove's Freehold Mine .. .. 34 Kauri Block .. .. .. .. 34-35 Hauraki Mine .. .. .. .. 34-35 Bunker's Hill Mine .. .. .. 35 Welcome Find Mine .. .. .. 35 New Golconda Mine .. .. .. 35 Wynyardton Mine .. .. .. 35 Zealandia Mine .. .. .. 35 Kathleen Mine .. .. .. 35 Preece's Point District .. .. .. 35-36 Preece's Point Mine .. .. .. 35-36 Pukemaukuku District .. .. .. 36 Tiki District .. .. .. .. 36 Pukewhau Mine .. .. .. 36 Matawai Mine .. .. .. .. 36 Manaia District .. .. .. .. 36 Big Ben Mine .. .. .. .. 36 Golden Hill Mine .. .. .. 36 Opitonui District .. .. .. .. 36 Maiden Mine .. .. .. .. 36 Owera District .. .. .. .. 36 Matarangi District .. .. .. 36 Otunguru District.. .. .. .. 36 Mahakirau District .. .. .. 36 Kuaotunu District .. .. .. 37-38 Try Fluke Mine.. .. .. .. 37 Kapai-Vermont Mine .. .. .. 37 Aorere Mine .. .. .. .. 37 Waitaia Mine .. .. .. .. 37 Jupiter Mine .. .. .. .. 37-38 Irene Mine .. .. .. .. 38 Maori Dream Mine .. .. .. 38 Great Mercury Mine .. .. .. 38 Otama Mine .. .. .. .. 38 Inviota Mine .. .. .. .. 38 Maoriland Mine .. .. .. 38 Golden Anchor Mine .. .. .. 38 Kuaotunu Mine.. .. .. .. 38 Opito District .. .. .. .. 38 Hahei District .. .. .. .. 38 Boat Harbour District .. .. .. 38-41 Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited).. 38-39 Scotty's Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited) .. .. .. .. 39 New Hauraki Gold Properties Company (Limited) .. .. .. .. 39 Success Gold-mines Company (Limited) .. 39 Kathleen Gold-mine Company (Limited) .. 39-40

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Page. Quartz-workings (North Island) — continued. Boat Harbour District— continued. Tokatea of Hauraki Company (Limited) .. 40 Royal Oak of Hauraki Company (Limited) 40 Development Summary for Seven Mines .. 40 Summary of Average Number of Persons employed in the Seven Companies .. 40-41 Kuaotunu District .. .. .. 41-43 Kuaotunu Company .. .. .. 41 Carnage Claim .. .. .. .. 41 Gladys Claim .. .. .. .. 41 Irene Company .. .. .. .. 42 Prospector Company .. .. .. 42 Golden Anchor Claim .. .. .. 42 Jupiter Company .. .. .. 42 Try Fluke Company .. .. .. 42-43 Kapai-Vermont Company .. .. 43 Statement showing the Result of Mining Operations in the Coromandel District for the Year ending 31st March, 1896 .. 44 Thames District .. .. .. .. 44-66 Description of Pumping Plant for Deep Levels 45-47 Comparative Return of Working of Mines in Thames District for last Financial Year against previous one .. .. .. 47 Tapu .. .. .. .. .. 48 Sheridan's Claim .. .. .. 48 Waiomo .. .. .. .. 48-50 and 54-55 Monowai Company .. .. 48-SO and 54 Mines on Thames proper .. .. .. 50-54 Moanatairi Mine .. .. 50-52, 58 Fame and Fortune Mine .. .. .. 52-53 .Victoria Company .. .. .. 53 May Queen Company .. .. .. 53, 58 Mata .. .. ' .. .. .. 54 Kelly's Claim .. .. .. .. 54 Campbell's Claim .. .. .. 54 Tapu Creek .. .. .. .. 54 Sheridan Mine .. .. .. .. 54 Golden Point Mine .. .. .. 54 Comet Mine .. .. .. .. 54 Tapu Fluke Mine .. .. .. 54 Royal Mine .. .. .. .. 54 Waiomo District .. .. .. 48-50, 54-55 Monowai Mine .. .. .. 48-50, 54 Broken Hills Mine .. .. .. 54 Comstock Mine .. .. .. .. 54 Rangatira Mine .. .. .. 55 Puru District .. .. .. .. 55 Puru Consols Mine .. .. .. 55 Waimea Mine .. .. .. .. 55 Stony Creek District .. .. .. 55 Tararu Creek District .. .. .. 55-56 Tararu Creek Mine .. .. .. 55 Kaiser Mine .. .. .. .. 55 Day Dawn Mine .. .. .. 56 Scandinavian Mine .. .. .. 56 Shell-back Creek .. .. .. 56 Clunes Mine .. .. .. ~ 56 Kuranui District .. .. .. .. 56 Kuranui Mine (Hansen's) .. .. 56 Comers Mine .. .. .. .. 56 Hazelbank Mine .. .. .. 56 Moanatairi District .. .. .. 56-58 Moanatairi Mine ~ .. .. 56-57 Moanatairi North Mine .. .. .. 57 Moanatairi Extended Mine .. .. 57 Orlando Mine .. .. .. * .. 57 Freedom Mine .. .. .. .. 57 New Whau Mine .. .. .. 57 New Alburnia Mine .. .. .. 57 Alburnia East Mine .. .. .. 57 Londonderry Mine .. .. .. 58 Darwin Mine .. .. .. .. 58 Calliope (Cruickshank's claim) .. .. 58 Grahamstown District .. .. .. 58 Victoria Mine .. .. .. .. 58 Cardigan .. .. .. ~ 58 Waiotahi District.. .. • • .. 58 Waiotahi Mine .. .. .. .. 58 Cambria Mine .. .. .. .. 58 Fame and Fortune Mine .. 50-52, 58 West Coast Mine .. .. .. 58 Golden Hill Extended Mine .. 58 Waiokaraka District .. .. .. 58-59 May Queen Mine .. .. .. 53, 58 Queen of Beauty Mine .. .. .. 58-59 Karaka District .. .. .. .. 59 Adelaide Mine .. .. .. .. 59 Claremont Mine .. .. .. 59 Onehunga Claim .. .. .. 59 Victory Claim .. .. .. .. 59 Little Willie Claim .. .. .. 59

Page. Quartz-workings (North Island) — continued. Karaka District — continued. Cumberland Extended Claim .. .. 59 Karaka Claim .. .. .. .. 59 May Queen Extended Mine .. .. 59 Una Hill and Te Papa District .. .. 59-60 Occidental Mine .. .. .. 59 Fortuna Mine .. .. .. .. 59-60 North Star Mine .. .. .. 60 Rori Claim .. .. .. .. 60 Just in Time Claim .. .. .. 60 Homeward Bound Claim.. .. .. 60 Hape Creek District .. .. .. 60 Near Home Claim.. .. .. .. 60 Summerhill (Fogarty's) Claim .. .. 60 Brown's Claim .. .. .. .. 60 Weymouth Claim .. .. .. 60 Souvenir Claim .. .. .. .. 60 Hermit's Quarry Claim .. .. .. 60 Otunui District .. .. .. .. 60 Matatoke District.. .. .. .. 60 Puriri District .. .. .. .. 60 Hit or Miss Mine .. .. .. 60 Central Mine .. .. .. .. 60 Puriri Mine .. .. .. .. 60 Tairua District .. .. .. .. 60 Tairua River District .. .. .. 60 Ohui District .. .. .. .. 60 The Wires District .. .. .. 60-61 Kirikiri District .. .. .. 61-62, 63 Fleming's New Find Mine .. .. 61-62 Tairua District .. .. .. .. 62-63 Statement of Gold Returns, Hauraki District, for Year ended 31st March, 1896 .. .. 64-65 Drainage-(Thames) .. .. .. 65-66 Ohinemuri District .. .. .. 67-77 Crown Company .. .. .. 67 Woodstock Company .. .. .. 67-69 Waitekauri District .. .. .. 69-70 Waitekauri Company .. .. .. 69-70 Waihi District .. .. .. 70-72, 75-77 Waihi Company .. .. 70-72, 76 Maratoto District .. .. .. .. 72 New Maratoto Mine .. .. .. 72 Maratoto United Mine .. .. .. 72 Karangahake District .. .. .. 72-73 Ivanhoe Mine .. .. .. .. 72 Woodstock North Mine .. .. .. 72 Sterling Mine .. .. .. .. 72 Stanley Mine .. .. .. .. 72 Imperial Mine .. .. .. .. 72 Wealth of Nations Mine .. .. .. 72 WaverleyMine .. .. .. ~ 7 Talisman Extended Mine .. .. 7 St. Patrick Mine .. .. .. 7 Karangahake Mine .. .. .. 72 Talisman Mine .. .. .. .. 73 Earl of Glasgow Mine .. .. .. 73 Crown Mine .. .. .. .. 73 Woodstock Mine .. .. .. 73 Owharoa District .. .. .. .. 73 Maddens Folly Mine .. .. .. 73 Heitman's Freehold Mine .. .. 73 Teutonic Mine .. .. .. .. 73 Waitekauri District .. .. .. 73-74 Jubilee Mine .. .. .. .. 73-74 Waitekauri No. 4 Mine .. .. .. 74 Waitekauri No. 2 Mine .. .. .. 74 Waitekauri Old Mine .. .. .. 74 Young New Zealand Mine .. .. 74 Whakamoehau (Waitekauri North) District .. 74 Golden Cross Mine .. .. .. 74 Waitekauri Extended Mine .. .. 74 Waitekauri Cross Mine .. .. .. 74 Grace Darling Mine .. .. .. 74 Komata District .. .. .. .. 75 Komata Reefs Mine .. .. .. 75 Te Ao Marama Mine .. .. .. 75 Byron Bay Mine .. .. .. 75 Waihi District .. .. .. .. 75-77 Union-Waihi Mine .. .. .. 75 Waihi Mine .. .. .. .. 76 Silverton Mine .. .. .. .. 76 Favona and Brilliant Mine .. .. 76 Waihi Extended Mine .. .. .. 76 Waihi Monument Mine .. .. .. 77 Waihi Consols Mine .. .. ~ 77 Waihi South Mine .. .. .. 77 Queen of Waihi Mine .. .. .. 77 Grand Junction Mine .. .. .. 77 Wharekiraupunga (Parekawai) District .. 77 Statement of Returns from Mines in Ohinemuri District for Year ending 31st March, 1896 .. 77

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Page. Quartz-workings (North Island) — continued. Tβ Aroha District .. .. .. .. 78-79 All Nations Mine .. .. .. 78 Tui Creek District .. .. .. 79 Waiorongomai District .. .. .. 79 Loyalty Palace Mine .. .. .. 79 Cadman'a Mine.. .. .. .. 79 Te Puke District .. .. .. .. 79 Kamai Valley Distriot .. .. .. 79 Katikati District .. .. .. .. 79 Statement showing Results of Mining Operations in the Piako County for the Year ended 31st March, 1896 .. .. .. 79 Comparative Statement of Return for Hauraki District for the Years ended 31st March, 1896 and 1895 .. .. .. .. 80 Summary of Quartz - mines in the North Island : Extracts from Paper by Henry M. M. Cadell, B.Sc, &o. .. .. .. 81-90 General Remarks by G. Wilson, Inspector of Mines, Hauraki District.. .. .. 90-91 Accidents and Fatalities, Hauraki District .. 91 Return of Stone, &c, crushed, Auckland District (including Coromandel, Ohinemuri, and Te Aroha) .. .. .. .. 91-92 Statement showing Quartz-crushing Machines and Appliancies in Hauraki Mining District for Year 1895-96 .. .. .. 92-93 Middle Island .. .. .. .. 94-112 Reefton District .. .. .. .. 94-95 Larry's Creek District .. .. .. 95 Boatman's District .. .. .. 95-96 Cadman Mine .. .. .. .. 95 Fiery Cross and Seddon .. .. .. 95-96 Murray Creek District .. .. .. 96 Golden Fleece and Royal .. .. 96 Low-Level Tunnel .. .. .. 96 Energy.. .. .. .. .. 96 Grushington District .. .. .. 96-98 Wealth of Nations .. .. .. 96-98 Keep it Dark .. .. .. .. 98 Hercules .. .. .. .. 98 Devil's Creek District .. .. .. 98-102 Globe Mine .. .. .. .. 98-102 Progress Claim .. .. .. 101-102 Progressive Claim .. .. .. 102 Rose Claim .. .. .. .. 102 Ballance, Larnach, and Carroll Claims .. 102 Merrijigs District .. .. .. 102-103 Golden Lead Company .. .. .. 103 Big River District.. .. .. .. 103 Lyell District .. .. .. .. 103 Grey Valley District .. .. 103-104 Prospecting Areas .. .. .. 104 Jackson's, Cbristchurch Road .. .. 104 Blue Duck, Murchison .. .. .. 104 Maruia.. .. .. .. .. 104 West Coast and Marlborough Battery Returns .. .. .. 104-105 Otago District .. .. .. 105-112 Bald Hill Range .. .. .. 106 White's Reef .. .. .. .. 106 Crossan and Gray's Reef.. .. .. 106 Macetown District .. .. .. 107 Glenrock Consolidated Company .. .. 107 Shotover District .. .. .. 107 Gallant Tipperary Company .. .. 107 Skipper's District .. .. .. 107-108 Phcenix Mine .. .. .. 107-108 Leviathan Claim .. .. .. 108 South-west Otago District .. .. ..108-110 Wilson River Goldfleld: Extracts from Report of A. McKay, Esq., F.G.S., Mining Geologist .. .. .. .. 108 Golden Site Mine .. .. 109,111 Sealer's Creek, Longley's Claim .. .. 109 Preservation Inlet Goldfield .. .. 109-110 Crayfish Island (Steep-to Island) .. 109 Cuttle Cove .. .. .. 109-110, 111 Cavern Head and Coal Island .. .. 110 Quartz - mines, Otago District: Report by J. Gow, Esq., Inspector of Mines ..110-111 R. T. Syme's Quartz-mine, Bald Hill .. 110 Exhibition Quartz-mine, Bald Hill .. 110 Excelsior Reef, Bald Hill .. .. 110 Barewood Reef .. .. .. .. 110 Ryley and Co., Barewood .. .. 110 Scotch Gully, Barewood .. .. .. 110 P. A. Lyder's Claim, Barewood .. ..110-111 Accidents in Quartz-mines, Otago .. .. 11l Preservation Inlet .. .. .. 11l Golden Site Mine, Wilson's River .. 11l Morning Star Mine .. .. ..109,111

Page. Quartz-workings (Middle Island) — continued. Preservation Inlet— continued. Cuttle Cove Reefs .. .. .. 11l Statement of Quartz-mines and Battery-owners in Southern Districts .. .. .. 112 Statement of Affairs of Mining Companies, as published in accordance with the Mining Companies Act, 1891 and 1894 .. . .113-117 Alluvial Mining, Middle Island .. .. ..118-156 Nelson District .. .. .. ..118-119 Collingwood .. .. .. ..118-119 Marlborough District .. .. .. 119 Mahakipawa .. .. .. .. 119 Westport District .. .. .. .. 119 Bradshaw's Terrace .. .. .. 119 Addison's Flat .. .. .. .. 120 Carmody's Claim .. .. .. ■. 120 Charleston .. .. .. .. .. 120 Cement Workings .. .. .. .. 120 Comparative Statement of Cement crushed during Years ending 31st March, 1896, and 31st March, 1895 .. .. .. .. 120 Grey Valley .. .. .. . ..121-123 Randall Creek Water-race .. .. .. 121-122 Kumara .. .. .. .. ..123-130 List of Claims, Number of Men working, and Quantity of Water used .. .. 124 Callaghan's .. .. .. .. 125 Waimea and Stafford .. .. .. 125 Arahura .. .. .. .. ..125-130 Estimate of Cost of Humphrey's Gully Waterrace Extension .. .. .. .. 130 Rimu .. .. .. .. .. 130 Ross .. .. .. .. ..131-132 Ross Elevators .. .. .. .. 131 Prince of Wales Elevators .. .. .. 131-132 Otago District .. .. .. ..132-156 Maerewhenua .. .. .. .. .132 Tuapeka .. .. .. .. ..132-142 Valley of the Clutha .. .. .. 138-142 Island Block Company .. .. .. 139-140 United Hercules Company .. .. 140-141 Hercules No. 2 Company .. .. 141 Dumbarton Rock Claim .. .. .. 141 Roxburgh Amalgamated Company .. 141 Bald Hill Flat .. .. .. .. 142-143 Last Chance Company .. .. .. 142-143 Carroll and Lynch .. .. .. 143 Ewing's Claim .. .. .. .. 143 Matakanui .. .. .. ..143-146 Sims and Morgan .. .. .. 144 Ewing and M'Conochie .. ~ .. 144 Mountain Race Company .. .. 145 Undaunted Company .. .. .. 145 Matakanui Company .. .. .. 14 5 Sugar-pot .. .. .. ..145-146 St. Bathan's District .. .. ..146-147 Cambrian's .. .. .. .. 146 Mr. Ewing's Claim .. .. ..146-147 M. and E. Company .. .. .. 147 Eagle and Gray's Claim .. .. .. 147 Scandinavian Company .. .. .. 147 Naseby District .. '.. .. .. 147-148 Wet Gully .. .. .. .. 147 Hogburn or Main Gully .. .. .. 147 Mullholland's Gully .. .. .. 148 Home Gully .. .. .. .. 148 Robinson's Gully .. .. .. .. 148 Spec Gully .. .. .. .. 148 Idaburn .. .. .. .. .. 148 Wedderburn .. .. .. .. 148 Blackstone Hill .. .. .. .. 148 Cardrona District .. .. .. ..148-149 Frankey's Claim in Twohey's Gully .. 149 Matakanui Sluicing District .. .. ..149-151 Sims and Morgan Claim .. .. .. 149 Ewing's Claim .. .. .. .. 149 Greenbank and Blue Duck Claim .. .. 149 Undaunted Claim .. .. .. .. 149 Matakanui Claim .. .. .. .. 149 Sugar-pot Claim .. .. .. .. 149 Ewing's Claim, Vinegar Hill .. .. 149 Eady and Kirkpatriok's Claim .. .. 150 Island Block Gold-mining Company .. 150 Island Block Extended Sluicing Company .. 150 Amalgamated Sluicing Company .. .. 150 Bald Hill Flat .. .. .. .. 150 Round Hill Mine .. .. .. .. 150 Longwood Mine, Riverton .. .. .. 150 TeWhara Beach .. .. .. .. 150 Wilson's River and Preservation Inlet Goldfields 151 Alluvial Workings.. .. .. .. 151 Sealer's Creek .. .. .. .. 151

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Page. Alluvial Mining (Middle Island) — continued. Wilson's River and Preservation Inlet— continued. Coal Island .. .. .. .. 151 Crayfish Island .. .. .. .. 151 Cuttle Cove .. .. .. ' .. 151 The Neck and Te Whara Beach .. .. 151 Gulches Head .. .. .. .. 151 Dredging .. .. .. .. ..151-156 Sew Hoy Company .. .. .. .. 152 Sandhills Dredging Company .. .. 152 Golden Gate Company .. .. 153, 155 Golden Run Company .. .. .. 153 Pringles and Company .. .. 153, 155 Bennett and Company .. .. .. 153 Miller's Creek Dredge .. .. .. 153 Brazil and Party's Dredge .. .. .. 153 Golden Treasure Dredge .. .. .. 153 Pringle and Party's Dredge .. .. .. 153 Manuherikia Dredge .. .. .. .. 154 Hyde and Woods' Dredge .. .. .. 154 Lowburn .. .. .. .. .. 154 McLelland and Sutherland's Dredge .. .. 155 Victoria Dredge, Alexandra .. .. ..155-156 Crookson's party, Lowburn .. .. .. 156 Electric Dredge, Kawarau .. .. .. 156 Natural Gas, Inglewood .. .. .. ..156-158 Coal-mines .. .. .. .. ..158-168 North Island .. .. .. .. .. 158-159 Kawakawa Mine .. .. .. ..158-159 Hikurangi Mines .. .. .. .. 159 Waikato Mines .. .. .. .. 159 Waikato .. .. .. .. .. 159 Taupiri Extended Mine .. .. .. 159 Taupiri Reserve .. .. .. .. 159 Middle Island .. .. .. ..159-168 Collingwood .. .. .. ..159-160 Collingwood Mine .. .. .. 159 Mokihinui Mine .. .. .. .. 159-160 Cardiff Mine .. .. .. .. 160 Westport Colliery .. .. .. 160 Greymouth-Point Elizabeth Company .. 160 Blackball Colliery .. .. .. 160 Grey Valley .. .. .. .. 160-161 Brunner Mine .. .. .. ..160-161 Other Mines .. .. .. .. 161 Explosion at Brunner Mine .. .. .. 161-163 Coal-dust Explosions .. .. .. .. 164 Air of Coal-mines .. .. .. ..164-165 Use of Safety Explosives in German Mines .. 165-168 Gold-milling in California, Paper on, by E. V. Preston .. .. .. .. ..169-187 Gold-milling in the Black Hills, South Dakota, and at Grass Valley, California, by T. A. Rickard, Denver, Colorado .. .. .. .. 187-195 Training of Mining Engineers, Address by Professor Henry Louis .. ' .. .. .. .. 195-199 Action of Cyanide: Paper read before the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy, by James Mactear .. .. .. .. ..199-203 The Siemens-Halske Process on the Rand .. . .203-204 Treatment of Silver-ores .. .. ..205-206 Patent Rights granted .. .. .. ..206-244 Watson's Gold Amalgamator .. .. .. 206 Midas Gold-saving Amalgamator .. .. 206-208 An Improved Amalgamating - pan for treating Finely - divided Metalliferous Material, by Alfred Andrew Lockwood and Arthur Edward Langley .. .. .. .. 208-209 Improvements in Gold-saving Appliances, to be known as the " Sentinel Gold-Amalgamator," by Thomas Henry Davidson .. .. .. 210 Improvements in or relating to Stamp-batteries, by Newton John Suckling .. .. .. 210-213 1 lectrical Stampers for Ore-crushing, by C. Guneris Evensen .. .. .. 213

Ptg*. Patent Rights granted— continued. Improvements in Certain Descriptions of Pulverising- and Amalgamating-pans, herein entitled " Improved Central-discharge Ore-grinding Pan," by Alfred Andrew Lockwood and Arthur Edward Langley .. .. .. .. .. 214-215 Improved Means of Concentrating Ores or Other Substances, by W. J. Hammond and John Gordon .. .. .. .. ..215-219 Improvements in the Art of Centrifugal Separation of Ores and the like, by 0. B. Peck . .219-227 Improvements in the Process of, and Apparatus for, extracting Gold and Silver from Ores and the like, by the Cassel Gold-extracting Company (Limited) .. .. .. .. 227-228 Improvements in Process and Apparatus for Extracting Gold from Ores and other Auriferous Substances, by Berfcrand Chase Hinman ..228-229 An Improved Tumbler for Dredging-machines, by David Williams .. .. .. ..229-230 Improvements in Gold-dredging Machinery, by A. J. Park .. .. .. .. .. 230 Improvements in and relating to the Extraction of Metals and to Apparatus therefor, by Dr. Carl Hoepfner .. .. .. .. 230-234 Improvements in Separating Gold and Silver from other Materials, by Nathaniel Shepard Keith 234-236 Improvements in Apparatus for the Electrolytical Separation of Precious Metals from their Ores, or other Materials containing them, by Louis Pelatan and Fabrizio Clerici .. .. ..236-238 Improvements in the Extraction of Gold and other Precious Metals from Minerals and Ores containing them, by Werner Siemens . .238-239 Process of extracting Precious Metals from Ores, by Osoar Frolich .. .. .. .. 239 An Improved Process for Extracting the Precious Metals from Refractory Ores, by Christopher O'Brien .. .. .. .. ..239-240 An Improved Process for effecting the Amalgamation of Gold and the like Metals in Ores, by Emil Lawrence Opperman, Ewald Fischer, Carl Tunstill John Opperman .. .. .. 240 An Improved Method of and Appliances for raising Water from Mines or elsewhere by Means of Compressed Air, by George Lansell .. 240-242 Hydraulic Injector-funnel, by E. R. Graves .. 242 An Improved Nozzle for Distributing Water and other Fluids under Pressure, by Holmes Samuel Chipman .. .. .. .. .. 243 Improvements in Methods of and Apparatus for Placer-mining, by Edward Delavan Bronson 243-244 Mr. Heiden's Method of Extracting Gold and Silver by Electro-chemical Action .. .. 244-246 Mine-managers' Examination Papers .. 246-256 List of Mining Managers, Battery Superintendents, and Engine-drivers who have obtained Certificates under the Mining and Coal-mines Acts of 1886, 1891, and 1894 .. .. .. 257-259 Summary of Works constructed .. .. 260-262 Concluding Remarks .. .. .. 262-263 List of Works on Goldfields undertaken wholly by the Mines Department, or by Subsidies to County Councils, Local Bodies, and Prospecting Associations, in progress on the 31st March, 1896 264-267 List of Works on Goldfields constructed wholly by the Mines Department, or by Subsidies to County Councils, Local Bodies, and Prospecting Associations, and completed prior to the 31st March, 1896 .. .. .. .. 267-276 Return showing the Value of the Sales of Water, and Expenditure on and Collateral Advantages derived from the Working of the Water-races constructed and maintained by Government during the Year ending the 31st March, 1896 .. .. 277

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1896. NEW ZEALAND.

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

Mr. H. A. Goedon, F.G.S., Inspecting Engineer, to the Hon. A. J. Cadman, Minister of Mines. Sic, — Mines Department, Wellington, 17th June, 1896. I have the honour to submit my annual report, for the year ending the 31st March last, on the progress of the mining industry, and on different works in connection with the same having a tendency to promote a further development of the mineral wealth of the colony. The subjects are classified under the following heads : " Subsidised Eoads and Tracks," "Eoads constructed by Direct Grants," "Prospecting Works," "Schools of Mines," " Waterraces," " Gold-mining," " Quartz Workings," " Alluvial Mining, including Hydraulic Sluicing and Dredging," " Coal-mining, including Explosion in Brunner Coal-mine and the effect of Coal-dust Explosions," "The Cyanide Process of Treatment in connection with Gold-saving," "Milling Gold-ores," " Patents applied for in connection with Gold-mining," " Natural Gas," " Examination Papers recently used in Mine-managers' and Battery Superintendents' Examinations," and " Statistical Tables showing the Class and Value of Works constructed."

SUBSIDISED EOADS AND TEACKS. The following statement will show the expenditure on subsidy principle authorised for the construction of roads and tracks in the different counties for the year ending the 31st March last, and the liabilities on outstanding authorities on that date :—

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THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: EEPOET ON KOADS, WATER-EACES, MINING MACHINERY, AND OTHER WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH MINING.

Name of Local Body. Expenditure for the Year ending 31st March, 1896. Liabilities on Authorities on 31st March, 1896. Bay of Islands County Coromandel County ... Te Aroha Town Board Thames County Thames Borough Ohinemuri County ... Tauranga County Waimea County Marlborough County... Buller County Grey County Westland County Lake County Tuapeka County Vincent County Southland County ... Contingencies £ s. 898 0 92 0 50 0 225 0 22 5 d. 0 0 0 0 0 £ a. 345 0 260 0 d. 0 0 200 0 0 20 0 25 0 10 0 65 3 100 0 0 0 0 6 0 532 12 150 0 100 0 75 0 2 12 50 0 9 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,200 0 600 0 16 2 0 0 8 85 "2 0 Totals £1,592 10 6 3,540 16 11

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EOADS CONSTEUCTED BY DIEECT GEANTS. The following statement will show the expenditure and liabilities on authorities issued on roads from direct grants to the several local bodies during the year ending the 31st March, 1896 :—

PEOSPECTING FOB GOLD. The following statement will show the expenditure and liabilities on authorities issued in subsidies to Prospecting Associations and parties of miners recommended by the local bodies in the different counties for the year ending the 31st March last: —

: SCHOOLS OF MINES. It is now eleven years since Schools of Mines were established in different places in the colony. -For - several years -after±heir-establishm.ent-_very little result was attained. It is true that the miners, availing themselves of this means of instruction, obtained an insight as to the beneficial effect that would be produced by acquiring a technical education in all the different branches pertaining to mining, combined with a practical experience in the actual working of mines, but many of the old miners scouted the idea of it being possible to acquire any useful knowledge in a school. It was only after it became compulsory for mine-managers to hold certificates that the miners were awakened to the fact that it was necessary for them to attend the evening classes at these schools, in order to be able to pass such an examination as would entitle them to get a mine-manager's certificate.

• Name of Local Body. expenditure for tin Year ending 31st March, 1896. 10 Liabilities on Authorities on 31st March, 1896, \ Coromandel County Te Aroha Town Board Thames County ... Thames Borough ... Ohinemuri County Piako County Collmgwood County Marlborough County Buller County Inangahua County Grey County Westland County ... Lake County Southland County Tuapeka County ... Fiord County Vincent County ... Stewart Island £ s. d. 2,451 0 0 15 0 0 1,278 4 8 £ s. d. 1,050 0 0 972 8 0 2,084 17 3 175 6 0 600 0 0 2,718 12 7 1,342 18 0 1,807 0 8 3,809 10 0 400 0 0 300 0 0 150 0 0 1,830 7 4 50 0 0 1,727 19 5 50 0 0 2,216 13 4 972 12 9 20 0 0 625 0 0 642 7 8 1,005 7 11 1,025 0 0 1,451 11 7 1,830 0 0 150 0 0 500 0 0 1,500 0 0 69 12 0 Totals ... £19,985 4 G 14,836 4 8

Name of County. Expenditure for Year ending 31st March, 1896. Liabilities on Authorities on 31st March, 1896. Bay of Islands County Whangarei County ... Manukau County ... Coromandel County Ohinemuri County ... Thames County Tauranga County ... Manawatu County ... Waimea County Marlborough County Collingwood County Grey County Buller County Inangahua County ... Westland County Selwyn County Tuapeka County Lake County Southland County ... Vincent County Mackenzie County ... Taieri County Bruce County £ s. a. 206 4 6 98 2 8 116 0 59 14 3 247 13 2 25 17 6 625 16 4 £ a. d. 91 8 10 86 5 0 60 0 0 452 13 0 185 8 9 181 12 4 51 0 0 50 0 0 18 4 0 19 10 0 100 0 0 53 10 9 282 1 10 331 8 4 555 17 9 21 0 0 20 0 0 150 0 0 176 0 6 64 10 0 20 0 0 42 18 2 79 13 9 u'"o o 7714 6 73 2 8 282 1 10 14 1 3 Totals 1,726 4 8 3,093 3 0

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As time went on it was found necessary, owing to the adoption of solutions of potassiumcyanide for the treatment of gold- and silver-ores, to employ men as managers who were experienced in metallurgy and chemistry, and, in order to prevent unqualified men from having charge of mills where solutions of potassium-cyanide were used, it was found necessary to issue battery-superintendent's certificates. In order to inaugurate this system, every man who could prove that he had been for six months in charge of mills where potassium-cyanide was used for the extraction of gold and silver was entitled to get a battery-superintendent's certificate if application for same was made to the Board of Examiners before a certain date, after which every one desiring such certificate had to pass an examination to show his proficiency. A large number of students are now attending the Thames and Otago Mining Schools ; but it would be well for the parents of young students, as also the older students, to bear in mind that, in order to acquire a technical education in all the branches of mining, it is necessary to have a good knowledge of mathematics previous to going in for a course of instruction at the Schools of Mines. In the United States of America the students entering the Mining School at Michigan are divided into three classes —(1.) Graduate students: Enter by presentation of their diplomas. (2.) Eegular students: Enter through examination at the Mining School. (3.) Special students : Enter by presentation of evidence that they are prepared to prosecute successfully the studies they elect. Graduate Students. —Graduates of any high-grade scientific or technical school, college, or university, on presentation of their diplomas, will be admitted to take special graduate instruction, but they must satisfy the faculty that their previous course has been of a grade entitling them to the privileges they seek. Graduates who desire to enter upon regular undergraduate work of the Mining School for the purpose of obtaining at the Mining School the degree of Bachelor of Science, or that of a mining engineer, will be received for admission on production of their diplomas. Such studies as they have broken at other institutions will then be allowed them in lieu of the same studies in the undergraduate course at the Mining School, provided that such graduate presents from the institution from which he received his diploma a certificate that he has taken these studies and giving the rank he obtained in each study. Credit is, however, only allowed for such parts as, in the opinion of the faculty, are the real equivalents of the work in the Mining School. Begular Students. —All students—not graduates—who desire to enter the regular undergraduate work of the Mining School by examination are examined in the following subjects : — Arithmetic and Metric System : Either Wentworth's High School, Ray's Higher, Olney's Practical, Eobinson's Practical, or an equivalent. Algebra: Through quadratic equations. Either Wentworth's School Algebra, Van Velzer and Slicher's School Algebra, or an equivalent. Geometry: Plane, solid, and spherical. Either Van Velzer and Schutz's Suggestive Geometry, Chauvenet's, revised by Byerly, Wentworth's New Geometry, or an equivalent. Book-keeping: Elements of single and double entry. Either Bryant and Stratton's, Mayhew's, or an equivalent. Elements of Astronomy: Either Newcombe's Popular or School, Young's High School, or an equivalent. Special Students. —Persons of suitable age will be admitted without examination as special students to take up such studies as they may be found qualified to pursue. Before being entitled to the degree of a mining engineer the students must have passed a successful examination on the following subjects: Higher algebra, plane trigonometry, spherical trigonometry, analytic geometry, physics, general chemistry, topographical drawing, surveying, field practice in surveying, crystallography, mechanical drawing, elementary geology, elementary principles of mining, differential and integral calculus, analytic mechanics, properties of materials, shop practice, mine-surveying and mining, mechanics of materials, mechanical engineering, graphic statics, hydraulic mining, engineering, engineering design and construction, mine management and accounts. It will be seen from the foregoing that the student requires to have a general knowledge of the elementary principles of a number of subjects before he seeks admission into a School of Mines. THAMES SCHOOL. The attendance at this school is yearly increasing, and the progress made by the students will compare favourably with any similar institution. It was only during last year that an opportunity was afforded me of making a comparison between students from this school and those from the School of Mines attached to the University of Otago, when a competition took place for scholarships at the University. One of the conditions under which a scholarship is granted requires the candidate to get 75 per cent, of marks in each subject. The scholarships are confined to one from the Thames, one from the Eeefton School, and one from the School of Mines attached to the University of Otago. Three students came up for examination —two from the Thames School and one from the University School, but only one —Mr. Baker, from the Thames School —was entitled to a scholarship. Mr. Brugh, from the University School, was far behind Mr. Baker in several subjects, especially in chemistry. The results of this examination showed conclusively that the technical education given at the Thames School relating to branches of mining was fully equal to that given at the Otago School, and confirmed my opinions regarding it in my previous annual reports. Mr. James Park, who has been Director of the Thames School for several years—and to whom the progress made at that institution is greatly due—has resigned his appointment, and accepted a position as consulting engineer to a wealthy English syndicate who have opened a branch in this colony for the development of mining; and, although it is to be regretted that his services are lost the school, the colony will derive a greater benefit in his assisting to get foreign capital to be in-

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vested in legitimate mining enterprises for the development of our mining wealth. Mr. F. 33. Allen, assistant teacher, has also resigned, but is carrying on the school until such time as a successor to Mr. Park is appointed. The following is Mr. Park's reports on the progress made at the Thames School for the past year:— I have the honour to report that during the past year the school has been most prosperous and successful. At present the number of students is the largest since the foundation of the institution. For the three terms of the year the average attendance was 565, as against 39 for the preceding year, which is equal to an increase of 45 per cent. A pleasing feature in the attendance was the large increase of students in the mining and surveying classes. In the mining class the attendance increased from seven in the first to twenty-five in the third; and in the surveying class from eleven to twenty-six. The greater number of the students in these classes consists of the best of our practical miners, who are anxious to acquire a knowledge of the technical branches of their occupation, with the view of qualifying themselves as mine-managers. Up to the present, twenty-five of my mining students have secured first-class mine-manager's certificates from the Government by examination, and all of these have succeeded in obtaining employment as managers of mines either in New Zealand or Australia. The demand for our passed and certificated students as mine-managers, assayers, chemists, and metallurgists is as great as ever, and during the past year no less than sixteen of my late students have obtained lucrative appointments at salaries ranging from £120 to £350 a year. The school has acquired a reputation for accuracy and reliability, and in the public department the increase of work has been a severe tax on both myself and staff. During the year the number of assays and analyses for the public amounted to 1,340, as compared with 530 for 1894, showing the large increase of 810. In the performance of the actual assays I have to gratefully acknowledge the able and willing assistance of my late laboratory assistants, Mr. Max yon Bernewitz, now assayer to the Waihi-Silverton Cyanide Works, and Mr. Godfred Doveton, now assayer and chemist to the British Silver-mining Company at Puhipuhi. The experimental plant has been engaged continuously in the treatment of ore and tailings from all parts of New Zealand. During the year ending the 31st March, forty-five separate parcels of ore were treated, of an aggregate weight of 80,4571b., as against forty-seven parcels for 1894, weighing 80,8001b. Of the forty-five parcels, eight were subjected to cyanide treatment and thirty-seven to pan-amalgamation by the Washoe process. The comparative results obtained by the two processes were as follows : Cyanide process: Average actual extraction of bullion, 817 per cent.; pan-amalgamation, 845 per cent. The above results show a slightly higher extraction by the pan process, but it should be explained that the extraction by cyanide from a parcel of ore from the Eoyal Mine, Tapu, was only 31 per cent. The ore contained a large proportion of coarse gold, and was not suited for cyanide treatment, and it was only at the special request of the owners that the trial was made. Omitting the extraction obtained from that parcel, the average actual extraction from the remaining parcels amounted to 878 per cent., or 32 per cent, higher than by pan-amalgamation. The public assays and battery-returns involved the preparation and writing on my part of over five hundred separate reports ; while the correspondence relating to assays, Government and other examinations, involved the writing of over seven hundred letters. The number of students attending the different classes in each term is shown in the following tabulated statement: —

Table of Attendances for Year ending 31st March, 1896.

1895. 1896. Name of Subject. First Term. Second Term. Third Term. First Term. Registered Students. General and mining geology Mineralogy and blowpipe Land-and mine-surveying Mathematics Mining and applied mechanics ... Metallurgy of gold and silver ... Practical chemistry ... Theoretical chemistry... Practical assaying Mechanical drawing ... 8 10 11 11 7 9 11 16 19 9 9 13 19 9 14 22 31 30 42 11 9 10 26 13 25 34 34 42 7 34 34 42 7 30 30 42 9 Total Saturday science class 164 25 181 39 200 38 194 23 Total attendance at all classes 189 220 238 217 Individual registered students 50 55 54 64 Total individual students 75 94 92 87

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The annual examinations were conducted in December. As in former years, the papers were set by a Board of Government Examiners, consisting of Mr. H. A. Gordon, F.G.S., Mr. William Skey, Mr. A. McKay, P.G.S., and Mr. C. H. Pierardr The Government School of Mines scholarship was secured by Mr. W. H. Baker, with the high average of 884 per cent, in fourteen different subjects. This is the second scholarship granted by the Government. The first was secured by Mr. J. M. McLaren, another of my students. The President's medal for 1895 was gained by Mr. W. H. Baker with the highest aggregate for the year. The results of the examinations are shown in the following table : —

Results of Annual Examinations, 1895.

The particulars relating to the different parcels of ore treated during the past year are shown on the following tabulated statements : —

Subject of Examination. First Class. Second Class. Third Class. Failed. Total. General geology fining geology Dheoretical chemistry (senior) theoretical chemistry (junior) Practical chemistry (senior) Practical assaying (junior) Practical assaying (senior) Vlining and applied mechanics r'umping iV hiding Ventilation llxplosives jand- and mine-surveying Mineralogy Mechanical drawing Metallurgy of gold and silver 2 1 2 3 5 4 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 2 4 5 3 1 i 1 2 3 2 4 3 12 7 2 1 2 3 3 8 1 2 5 1 2 1 l i "i 2 "l Totals 27 10 16 56

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Tabulated Statement showing Parcels of Ore treated at School Experimental Plant during 1895-96.

Name of Mine and District Description of Ore. Weight of — Ore. Assa Gold. Assay-value of Ore per Ton. ly-va] ilue of Ore Silver. i per Ton. Value. J8-9 So Bullion saved. Value per Ounce. Pe] Gold. Percentage saved. sa Silver. aved. Value. By P, TION. "Eoyal," Tapu Fisher Brothers, Punga Flat F. Home, Coromandel ... Mines Department, Wakamarina ... F. 'Cornes, Waitekauri Mines Department, " Empire City " Ferruginous quartz Friable rusty quartz ... Bluish-grey quartz Free-milling quartz Grey-coloured quartz ... Lb. 1,100 4,840 2,000 9,700 2,240 900 1,300 1,000 2,240 3,690 2,000 1,500 Oz. dwt. gr. 2 9 3 3 15 15 0 16 20 0 4 10 4 13 6 0 3 10* 0 2 12 0 4 6 0 4 0 0 12 14 0 5 1 0 3 0 Oz. dwt. gr. 1 7 17 5 0 20 0 7 20 0 0 15 4 18 8 0 3 6 0 2 6 0 3 23 0 2 6 1 13 0 0 5 1 0 18 £ s. 10 0 15 12 3 9 0 18 19 1 0 14 0 10 0 17 0 16 2 14 1 0 0 12 d. 0 6 0 0 0 1 3 4 2 0 6 2 Dry If II it it it Oz. dwt. gr. 1 9 12 11 12 0 1 0 12 0 19 0 5 2 0 0 1 21 0 2 0 0 2 15 0 5 2 3 3 0 0 7 7 0 2 0 £ s. d. 2 17 0 2 13 6 2 16 0 2 6 6 2 15 3 2 11 3 82-1 94-7 940 74-0 760 950 92-5 94-0 80-0 900 70-0 82-0 630 35-6 850 73-3 550 460 480 450 74-0 84-5 83-0 810 82-0 920 910 740 740 920 920 93-3 800 89-0 710 82-0 It It tl If It Whyman and Party, Puru " Wealth of Nations," Karangahake W. H. Burch, Puriri Mines Department „ ... ... Busty-coloured quartz Friable free-milling quartz Hard rusty-brown quartz Grey crystalline quartz, with arsenical pyrites it if 2 11 3 12 0 1 14 0 2 11 0 If " Majestic," Tapu H. Brett, Auckland " Hit or Miss," Puriri ... Eusty-coloured quartz Friable, contains iron and manganese 125 220 2,160 0 7 13 0 1 21 5 16 0 1 2 16 0 2 0 6 6 1 1 11 0 7 24 0 3 6 0 II 0 0 17 Not 8 0 0 2 9 0 treated. 2 8 0 940 86-7 22-0 54 : 0 92-0 86-7* " Central," Puriri Hague Smith Eeef, Thames Hard rusty-brown quartz, with manganese Bluish-grey crystalline 2,085 2,600 1 14 4 0 7. 4 0 18 9 0 3 20 6 18 ■ 1 9 8 0 it 2 3 0 0 11 0 2 11 6 2 12 0 910 84-3 96-0 88-0 930 84-4 it Mines Department, Preservation Inlet Bell Eock Eeef, Karaka Creek Eothschild Mine, Whangamata ... " Gillon's Lead," Karaka Creek ... J. Gordon Mines Department, Karori 4,032 15 5 0 5 1 5 1 6 2 9 12 3 11 2 960 750 960 Yellow-brown quartz ... Eusty-coloured quartz 460 780 170 435 6,100 2 12 0 0 10 23 1 17 19 8 13 22 0 5 16 14 6 5 5 12 12 5 12 4 12 0 2 6 10 10 2 14 7 13 36 0 1 3 0 0 4 0 0 It ft 0 15 0 1 11 0 0 4 0 3 11 0 0 18 0 2 14 4 0 13 2 2 14 6 1 16 0 2 17 9 94-5 87-4 94-3 91-7 830 95-7 510 730 77-0 81-5 94-5 81-5 93-4 91-0 82-6 Kurunui Mine, Coromandel " Nil Desperandum," Tairua Decomposed diabase sandstone, with streaks of quartz Eusty friable quartz ... Brown, friable, andmullocky ... 450 4,480 0 4 18 0 2 12 0 12 2 0 16 1 0 0 10 0 3 it It 0 2 18 0 6 0 14 2 2 17 3 83-3 850 800 700 82-5 83-7 It It * Headings gave 65 per cent. more.

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Tabulated Statement showing Parcels of Ore treated at School Experimental Plant during 1895-96— continued.

Name of Mine and District. Description of Ore. Weight of — Ore. Assaj Gold. Assay-value of Ore per Ton. ,y-val ,lue of Ore Silver. per: Ton. Value. .§■3 Bullion saved. Value per Ounce. Pe Gold. Percentage saved. ercentage saved. Silver. Value. By 'an-ama; LGAMATIONcontinued. M. Fleming, Kirikiri Lyell Gold-mine, Eeefton E. H. Abbott, Whangamata it it Jackson's Head, Marlborough " Golden Hill," Manaia " Aurora," Kuaotunu Argall and Party, Tairua Major Lusk " Forest King," Coromandel " Eureka," Coromandel... Puriri Gold-mine, Puriri Moderately hard, with much FeS 2 Splintery and bluish-grey Yellowish-brown and friable Whitish-grey quartz ... Grey-blue and mullocky Yellowish-brown and mullocky ... Lb. I 1,650 1,900 300 750 1,650 2,500 950 2,050 1,500 950 1,120 2,300 I Oz. dwt. gr. ! 1 12 18 0 5 1 1 15 7 2 10 10 0 15 1 0 4 12 0 9 5 20 7 1 4 15 0 0 10 2 0 17 12 0 15 3 Oz. dwt. gr. 10 4 0 8 19 11 3 1 20 10 19 10 4 0 3 1 1 12 12 66 16 23 25 4 3 0 10 a 0 7 4 0 7 13 £ s. d. 6 13 0 110 8 3 6 12 2 2 3 2 2 0 18 3 2 0 0 87 1 a 21 4 3 2 12 3 10 7 3 11 Dry it a Oz. dwt. gr. 1 11 0 0 11 0 1 10 0 5 15 0 0 14 10 0 5 15 0 11 0 56 19 0 18 6 0 0 4 15 0 10 5 1 1 21 £ b. d. 2 12 6 19 0 0 12 1 0 12 0 2 8 10 1 16 5 17 0 14 6 0 14 8 2 11 9 2 17 2 2 15 5 83-4 91-0 830 900 800 49-6 85-5 89-3 95-7 697 82-6 97-4 73-5 95-3 780 650 17-5 92-3 87-4 62-7 86-5 39-3 82-4 88-5 83-1 90-5 830 86-0 77-7 50-2 85-5 87-7 94-9 69-2 82-6 97-3 Brown chalcedonic quartz Mullocky a a By C ANIDB PeOi :ESS. "Boyal,"Tapu Wm. Eddowes, New South Wales T. Bellair, Waihi Mines Department, Wakamarina ... Ferruginous quartz ; gold too coarse for cyanide Tailings Tailings, free from pyrites Grey-coloured quartz with scheelite 1,100 2,030 445 1,000 2 10 10 0 7 13 0 7 13 0 3 10| 0 17 15 0 7 13 1 15 7 0 3 6 10 3 1 10 1 12 0 14 0 8 6 1 Dry It 2 8 0 0 18 0 0 10 0 0 1 21 0 12 0 18 0 11 3 6 8 8 0 6 30-0 83-4 83-3 980 34-0 53-6 71-6 87-0 310 83-3 82-5 980 " Nil Desperandum," Tairua B. H. Abbott, Whangamata Brown, friable, and mullocky Yellowish-brown and friable 1,240 550 1,120 745 0 2 12 1 15 7 2 10 10 0 9 5 0 16 11 3 1 20 10 19 1 12 12 0 10 8 3 12 2 2 0 3 6 2 0 n a 0 2 18 1 18 16 6 13 8 0 11 20 2 10 0 14 0 14 1 1 3 6 6 5 933 91-5 920 960 530 48-4 47-0 820 91-8 85-5 860 950 » it • . • - • • Aurora Gold-mine, Kuaotunu Yellowish-brown and mullocky ... a a

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Syllabus of Insteuction. The syllabus of instruction which followed during the past year was as follows: — General and Mining Geology. —(Lecturer, the Director.) Physical Geology. —The earth as a planet, its form and motions; geological climate; the atmosphere; ocean; solid crust; the interior of the earth. Dynamical Geology. —Metamorphism ; agencies modifying the crust of the carth —atmospheric, aqueous, chemical; weathering ; sedimentation; classification of deposits—mechanical, aqueous, organic, and chemical; denudation and erosion. Structural Geology. —Stratification ; jointage ; contortion ; faults ; conformity; unconformity ; dip and strike ; cleavage; metamorphic rocks; intrusive sheets, bosses, dykes, fissures; formation of quartz veins, lodes, and metallic deposits; dynamics of lodes ; recovery of lost lodes. Geological Surveying. —The practice of running natural sections; noting dip, strike, and inclination of strata and lodes; mapping geological formations ; collection of mineral and rock specimens. Stratigraphical Geology. —Classification of plants and animals; fossils; blending of species; geological record; the study of characteristic life, and distribution of formations from archeean to recent times, with special reference to the geology of New Zealand. Mining Geology. —The modes of occurrence of lodes and mineral deposits ; the classification of mineral deposits, faults, cross-courses, slides, heaves, throws, &c.; laws relating to recovery of lost lodes ; calculation of drivage to recover lost lodes, &c. Mineralogy and Blow-pipe Determination. —(Lecturer and Instructor, the Director.) Systematic Mineralogy. —(1.) Physical properties of minerals, their hardness, specific gravity, &c. (2.) Optical properties—refraction, reflection, polarisation, lustre, phosphorescence. (3.) Chemical properties. (4.) The application of the blow-pipe, colour-tests, &c. (5.) Isomorphism, pseudomorphism, and allotropy. (6.) Distribution and paragenesis of minerals. (7.) Classification of minerals —chemical, economic. Descriptive Mineralogy. —(l.) Non-metallic division—carbon group, &c. (2.) Metallic division— a description of the principal ores of the common metals, and their New Zealand localities and modes of occurrence. Crystallography. —(l.) The six systems, their axes, typical forms, modified forms, &c. (2.) Holohedral and hemihedral forms. (3.) Beading of faces. Mathematics. —(Lecturer and Instructor, Mr. F. B. Allen, M.A., B.Sc.) Arithmetic (including the simple rules). —Weights and measures (those bearing on mining and assaying), greatest common measure, least common multiple, vulgar fractions, decimal fractions, proportion, problems. Algebra (Hall and Knight's Algebra).—The meaning and use of the various signs and symbols, the simple rules, greatest common measure, least common multiple, fractions, factors, symmetry, problems containing one unknown, simultaneous equations, quadratic equations, simultaneous eauations with more than one unknown, problems involving quadratics and the use of several unknowns, practice in the use of formulas and their transposition. Euclid.— The first four books (Todhunter), including the definitions and axioms. Land- and Mine-surveying. —(Lecturer and Instructor, The Director.) Adjustments of theodolite, dial, level; chain and steel tapes; traversing with theodolite and dial; connecting survey with standard meridian; ranging lines; division of land; computation of areas by latitudes and departures; reduction of slope measurements ; off-sets; chaining, computation of co-ordinates ; balancing survey ; plotting survey and off-sets ; obstacles to alignment. Mine-surveying. —Different methods of connecting underground with surface meridian; magnetic variation; to reduce magnetic meridian to true meridian; conducting underground traverse with theodolite and dial; correcting magnetic survey by method of back- and fore-sights ; holing. Mathematics. —Equations ; logarithms ; plane trigonometry ; solution of triangles; calculation of last or connecting line; of distance from working-face to nearest point on boundary of lease. Levelling. —Eecording levels; practice with level and staff; grading roads, tramways, and water-races; plotting and striking grades; calculation of contents of earthworks by prismoidal formula; grading with Abney or reflecting level. Mining, Applied Mechanics, and Hydraulics. —(Lecturer, the Director.) Mining. —Shafts; selection of site, size ; modes of excavation in dry and wet rock, wet sand, and swamp ; timbering of shafts; ladders ; chambers —size, excavation, timbering; levels and drives—size, excavation, timbering; securing sets on inclines; modes of stoping, height and timbering of stopes; main passes —size, timbering, division ; mullock passes—size, timbering, distance apart. Pumping and Pit-work. —Pumps and engines used in metal-mining, force-pumps, plungerpump, draw-lift, fixing pump-pieces, bearers, friction-rollers, V-bobs, balance-bobs, main rods, flat rods, clacks, buckets, bucket-rod, catches, staples, and glands; thickness of pipes ; capacity of pumps. Ventilation. —Atmospheric pressure, vapour density; ventilation of drives and underground workings by natural and artificial means; furnaces, water-blasts, fans; division of air-courses; noxious gases met with in metal- and coal-mines, their composition and detection.

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Explosives. —Their use in quarries and mines, relative strengths, action, gases evolved, composition; charging bore-holes ; firing explosives; quantity to be used. Hauling and Winding. —Safety-cages; man-engiues ; strength of ropes ; strength of timbers. Water-power.— Turbines, Pelton-wheels, calculation of horse-power and flow of water from boxes and nozzles. Text-book used : Gordon's " Mining and Engineering," 10s. ; Government Printer. Practical Assaying. —(Lecturers and Instructors, the Director and Assistant.) Dry Assaying. —(l.) The furnaces and appliances used in fire-assaying, with sketches. (2.) The fluxes, their properties and uses. (3.) The reducers and their reducing powers. (4.) Fuels and other reagents, as salt, iron, sheet and granulated lead, glass powder, &c. (5.) Preparation of pure silver for parting gold and silver. (6.) Preparation of nitric acid solutions for parting. (7.) Preliminary assays of ores and bullion, their use and application. (8.) Volatility of gold- and silver—the influence of different temperatures in different parts of muffle ; also of time in muffle. (9.) The operations in fire-assaying— a; powdering the ore; b, sampling the dry pulp; c, preparing the charge ; d, fusing the charge, and extracting the lead-button; c, cupelling the lead-button ;/, weighing the bullion ; g, parting and calculating the value of the bullion. (10.) Probable sources of error in tire-assaying. (11-) Keeping note-books and proper record of results. (12.) The assay of litharge and red-lead. (13.) The assay of gold- and silver-ores— a, in clean quartz ; b, in pyritous quartz; c, in concentrates and tailings; d, in roasted ores; c, by amalgamation assay; /, by scorification assay. (14.) The retorting and melting of bullion. (15.) The refining of base bullion. (16.) The assay of bullion— a, weighing the assay; b, cupelling for base; c, adding pure silver for parting ; d, rolling the " cornet " ; c, parting the " cornet " ; /', calculating the value. (17.) The calculation of results obtained in batteries from treatment of gold- and silver-ores. (18.) The assay of galena and cerussite ; the valuation of lead, gold, and silver. (19.) The valuation of lead bullion. (20.) The assay of tin-ore (cassiterite). Text-book : Park's " Laboratory Instructions in Assaying and Practical Chemistry," 7s. 6d. Wet Assaying. —(2l.) Operations— a, solution; b, crystallization; c, precipitation; d, filtration; c, decantation ; /, washing ; g, evaporation ; h, distillation ; i, ignition ; j, sublimation ; k, fusion ; I, use of blowpipe; m, the use of spirit- and gas-lamps; n, the preparation of re-a,gents and tests of purity, &c.; o, the preparation of fluxes; p, test papers; q, the balance, weights, operations of weighing; r, preservation of platinum crucibles. (22.) The assay of iron-ores— a, gravimetric; b, volumetric. (23.) The assay of copper-ores— a, as oxide ; b, as metal by electrolysis ; c, volumetric ;d, colorimetric. (24.) The assay of antimonite. (25.) The assay of bismuth glance. (26.) The assay of cinnabar. (27.) The assay of galena. (28.) The assay of zinc-ores. (29.) The assay of manganese-ores. (30.) The assay of nickel-ores. (31.) The assay of cobalt-ores. (32.) The assay of chromite of iron. (33.) The assay of arsenic-ores. (34.) The assay of silver-ores— a, volumetric ; b, gravimetric. (35.) The valuation of specimens. Text-book : Park's " Assaying and Practical Chemistry," 7s. 6d. Practical Chemistry. —(Lecturer and Instructor, Mr. F. B. Allen, M.A., B.Sc.) Junior Class. —(l.) Operations (these are the same as for wet assaying). (2.) The separation of the metals into groups. (3.) Qualitative tests for the different metals. (4.) The separation of silver, lead, mercury. (5.) The separation of copper, bismuth, arsenic, and antimony. (6.) The separation of iron and alumina, iron and zinc, iron and manganese, iron and chromium. (7.) The separation of calcium and magnesium. (8.) The separation of barium, strontium, and calcium. (9.) The separation of potassium and sodium. (10.) Qualitative tests for the acid-radicals (inorganic)—a, H 2 S, HCI, HBr, HI ;b, H.N.O 3 , HCI0 3 ; c, HBO,, H 2 CO 8 , H,CrO 4 , HF, H 3 PO 4) H 4 Si0 4 , H 2 SO 4 , H 3 As0 4 . (Lecturer and Instructor, the Director.) Senior Class.— (l.) The estimation of chlorine. (2.) The estimation of sulphuric acid and sulphur. (3.) The estimation of phosphoric acid. (4.) The analysis of limestone and calcareous freestone. (5.) The analysis of coals, coke, charcoal, and shales. (6.) The analysis of barytes. (7.) The analysis of fluor-spar. (8.) The analysis of scheelite and wolfram. (9.) The analysis of rocks (including estimation of K 2 O and NA 2 O). (10.) The analysis of fire-clays. (H) The analysis of soils. (12.) The analysis of complex sulphide ores. (13.) The analysis of milk. (14.) The analysis of waters. (15.) The analysis of bone-dust and bone-ash, with estimation of nitrogen. (16.) The analysis of guanos and apatite. (17.) The analysis of superphosphates. (18.) The estimation of alcohol — a, by weight; b, by volume. (19.) Volumetric analysis : The estimation of— alkaline hydrates; alkaline carbonates; acids, HCI, H 2 SO 4 , HN0 3 , lIC. 2 H S O 2 , H 2 C 4 H 4 0,,; haloid salts, HCN, KCN, I, As 2 O 3 , SO 2 . (Na 2 S 2 O 3 + 5H 2 0.) Text-book: Park's " Laboratory Instructions in Assaying and Practical Chemistry," 7s. 6d. Theoretical Chemistry. —(Lecturer, Mr. F. B. Allen, M.A., B.Sc.) Principles of Chemistry and Chemical Philosophy. —Atoms, molecules, vapour density, quantivalence, chemical formulae. The Elements. —(l.) Their history, occurrence, preparation, properties, uses. (2.) Compounds of the elements, their history, preparation, properties, uses, &c. Metallurgy of Gold and Silver. —(Lecturer, The Director.) (1.) Ore-crushing and -pulverising machinery— a, rock-breakers; b, stamps; c, mills, rolls, &c. (2.) Metallurgy of gold— a, amalgamation on copper-plates, in pans, &c.; b, chlorination processes and operations; c, leaching processes (Cassels's, &c). (3.) Metallurgy of silver— a, smelting and amalgamating ores ; b, smelting—reduction with lead and fluxes ; c, amalgamation in pans with mercury—use of chemicals; d, leaching with solvents—sea-water or brine, ammonia, sodium hyposulphite, alkaline cyanides ; c, oxidizing and chloridizing roasting. 2—C. 3.

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Text-books: Eissler's " Metallurgy of Gold and Silver"; Gordon's "Mining and Engineer ing." Physics. —(Lecturer,- the Director.) Fundamental ideas of matter and energy; conditions of matter; gravitation; mechanical powers ; sound ; light; heat; magnetism ; electricity ; chemistry ; physiology and health. Practical Astronomy. —(Lecturer and Instructor, the Director.) The ecliptic; equinoxes; meridians; longitude; latitude ; altitude ; declination ; right ascension ; azimuth; use of Nautical Almanac; polar distance; zenith distance; hour-angle; sidereal time ; mean time ; solar time ; parallax ; refraction ; retardation; acceleration ; convergency of meridian; determination of meridian by star and sun observations, by single altitudes and greatest elongation of circumpolar stars; use of star-charts ; calculation of hour-angle, azimuth, and altitude of celestial bodies for any time and place ; determination of latitude by meridian altitudes ; determination of time by star transits and sun observations. Mechanical Drawing. —(lnstructor, Mr. F. B. Allen, M.A., B.Sc.) Use of scales ; printing and lettering; outline drawing ; shading ; colouring ; drawing to scale from copies and objects, portions of machinery and woodwork, showing plans, elevation, and sections. Special classes are held for the instruction of candidates for the Government mine-managers', battery-superintendents', and engine-drivers' certificates. First term : First Monday in February to 30th April; second term : 9th May to 20th August; third term : 9th September to 20th December. Eegistration of membership : 10s. per annum ; class fees : ss. per term for each subject taken up. Scale of Charges for Public Assays and Analyses. £ s. d. Bullion assays ... ... ... .. ... ...050 Assays of quartz, tailings, or concentrates ...- ... ... 05 0 Examination and determination of rocks and minerals .. ... 0 5 0 Assay of lead- and tin-ores, each ... ... ... ... 050 „ iron-and manganese-ores ... ... ... ... 0 10 0 „ copper- and antimony-ores ... ... ... ... 0 10 0 „ zinc-, mercury-, and bismuth-ores ... ... ... 0 10 0 „ gold- and silver-ores, with parting assay ... ... ... 050 Analysis of limestone and calcareous freestone j P , 010 0 „ coals and fuels, each ... ... ... ... 0 10 0 t j -i (complete ... ... ... ... 200 rocks and soils I part | al 1 Q Q „ fireclays and slags ... ... ... ...100 „ manures .. ... ... ... ... ...200 (complete ... ... ... ... ... 3 0 0 waters I partial 2 0 0 „■ nickel-, cobalt-, and chrome-ores ... ... ... 0 10 0 „ - concentrates ... ... ... ... ... 1 10 0 „ complex-sulphide ores, &c. ... ... ... ... 110 0 Experimental Plant. Reports of working-tests of parcels of gold- and silver-ores, concentrates, and tailings, from one to three tons :— (1.) By Cassel cyanide process: Wet- or dry-crushing— a, by percolation; b, by agitation. (2.) By amalgamated copper-plates. (3.) By amalgamation in pans: Wet- or dry-crushing— a, by raw amalgamation in charges; b, by Washoe process with chemicals. (Hot pan-amalgamation, after chloridizmg roasting.) (4.) Chlorination : Small barrel tests. Cost of treatment: £5 per ton of ore ;£3 per ton of tailings. The registered senior students of the school are permitted to work in the experimental plant on the recommendation of the Director. All the experimental plant appliances are in good working-order. It was found that one leaching-vat was insufficient to cope with the quantity of ore to be treated by the cyanide process, and recently the Council ordered a new vat, which will be 7ft. in diameter and 3ft. 6in. deep. A second extractor will also be erected in connection with the new vat. Distribution op Pbizes and Certificates. The annual distribution of prizes and certificates took place on the 4th February of this year. There was a large attendance of the public and of students. Among those present were Mr. J. McGowan, M.H.E., President of the School, Mr. H. A. Gordon, F.G.S., and Professor Black, who distributed the certificates. At the conclusion of the ceremony, Professor Black, Mr. Gordon, and the Director addressed the meeting. Governing Body. At the annual meeting the following officers and Council were elected for the current year: President, Mr. J. McGowan, M.H.E.; Vice-President, Mr. J. A. Dunlop; members of Council, Messrs. G. S. Clark, J. H. Smith, W. Baker, P. C. Hansen, J. Coutts, E. F. Adams, and L. Melhose ; Treasurer, Mr. J. H. Smith; Secretary, Mr. A. Bruce.

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In severing my connection with the School of Mines, I now take this opportunity of thanking the Council for the hearty support and assistance they have at all times afforded me in the discharge of my duties; and also the mine-managers on the goldfields for the courtesy they always showed to myself and students during our excursions through the mines. It also affords me much pleasure in acknowledging the valuable and willing help received from my assistant, Mr. F. B. Allen, M.A., B.Sc, and my laboratory assistants, Mr. Max yon Bernewitz, Mr. G. Doveton, and Mr. George Nix. REEFTON SCHOOL. The attendance at the Eeefton School is falling off, but this in a great measure is due to the depression that has prevailed in this mining district for some years past, and, although mining matters look brighter here now than they have done for many years, it will yet take some time before the future prosperity of the district will be assured. Mr. E. Aitken, the Director of this school, owing to not being able to get a sufficient regular attendance, has been devoting his services to giving instructions at different local schools on the West Coast; but this alternate system of instruction, giving one month here and another month there, does very little permanent good. If a school is to be of any practical use the instruction must be continuous. The following is Mr. Aitken's report on the progress made at the different schools he has visited on the West Coast during the past year:— I have the honour to furnish my report on the work and progress of the Eeefton School of Mines and its branches during the past year ending 31st March, 1896. In my last report I predicted an improvement in the Schools of Mines on the Coast during the coming year, but this, I regret to say, has not taken place; in fact, if anything, they have gone back. Although mining matters on the Coast have greatly improved during the last six months, this district has not yet had time to recover itself from the depressing effects of the last two or three years ; but I may safely say that, as soon as work is commenced to open up the mines here, a first-class School of Mines will be formed in this district. At the Eeefton School the attendance has not been very good, and is very irregular in many of the classes. The assaying and metallurgy classes have been regularly attended, but the chemistry classes have fallen off. The special classes for mine-managers and engine-drivers were well attended during the whole year. During my visits to Brunnerton and Denniston the attendance was very good, and many of the students can show splendid work. The greater part of my time last year was spent in Eeefton, attending to the classes, assaying and testing for the public, and experimenting and advising on the various methods of treatment. The following table will give an idea of the attendance at the different classes during the past year: — Class and School. Attendance. Reefton—Assaying and metallurgy ... .... ... ... ... 12 „ ' Practical chemistry ... ... ... ... ... 6 „ Theoretical chemistry ... ... ... ... ... 6 „ Land- and mine-surveying ... ... ... ... ... 9 „ Mining and mathematics ... ... ... ... ... 10 „ Special classes for mine-managers and engine-drivers ... ... 7 Boatman's—Mining, mathematics, and surveying ... .;. ... 10 Brunnerton—Mining, mathematics, and surveying ... ... ... 15 Denniston —Mining, mathematics, and surveying ... ... ... 12 The total number of individuals attending the classes at Eeefton and Boatman's would be about 25; and at Denniston and Brunnerton about 27. The geology, mineralogy, and drawing classes had to be discontinued, owing to the small attendance ; and in the other classes, owing to the irregularity in attendance, I found it necessary to allow each student to work separately, instead of going through a regular course of instruction. It may be as well to mention here that the assaying and chemistry classes were kept back very much through an insufficient supply of chemicals and apparatus, which the committee were unable to obtain owing to the want of funds. The work done at the classes has been very much the same as that of previous years. Practical Assaying and Metallurgy. —The students were instructed in the wet and dry methods of assaying, use and composition of fluxes, fuels, re-agents, &c, smelting, valuing, and refining of gold and silver bullion, amalgamation, retorting, &c; also in the various methods of extracting gold and silver from their ores, such as battery-work, amalgamation, concentration, cyaniding, and chlorination. The instruction given in this class is of great importance to those engaged in the treatment of ores, and especially to those who wish to qualify themselves as battery-managers. Many of our students from this class have received appointments as assayers, &c, and I expect in a short time to have twice the number attending. Practical and Theoretical Chemistry. —These two subjects were taken together, but it was impossible to do much practical work owing to the want of chemicals, &c. It is necessary for those who wish to qualify as assayers and metallurgists to have a good knowledge of chemistry, so that those who attended this class were students for assaying and metallurgy. Instruction was given in the preparation of re-agents and salts, testing for acids and metals, separation and detection of metals and mineral substances, besides assays and analyses, by gravimetric and volumetric methods. In this class a few analyses of ores, &c, were made; and also some tests and experiments on ores and metals by cyanide. " Bloxam " was the text-book used in both theoretical and practical chemistry, also " Chemistry and Assaying," by Park. Land- and Mine-surveying. —The instruction given in this class has been nearly all theoretical, the school being unable to obtain a new theodolite, and it is impossible to work with the old one. The work done has been in the tabulation of traverses, calculation of areas, height, and distances, plotting, levelling, and laying out roads and races. This class has not been well attended during the past year, which I think is owing to the absence of any field-work.

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Mining and Mathematics. —ln this class the usual instruction has been given— i.e., in mining geology, logarithms, trigonometry, strength of materials, timbering, pumping and pit-work, hauling and winding, ventilation, explosives, water-power, &c. Special classes being held for minemanagers and engine-drivers, in January, 1895, I sent for examination seven candidates, four under the Mining Act and three under the Coal-mines Act. Out of these, five passed first-class and two failed. From these classes, during the last five years, thirty-three students have passed successfully, as follows : Fifteen under the Mining Act, eight under the Coal-mines Act, and ten for enginedrivers. From this class I had five students ready to come up for examination as engine-drivers, which examination was supposed to take place in Eeefton in January last, but, as the Board had decided to only hold these examinations at Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Dunedin, those wishing to qualify from this district were unable to do so unless they went to one of the four abovenamed places. Boatman's Class. —This class was formed during last year with ten members, all of whom attend regularly, and are instructed in surveying, mining, and mathematics. Should the place improve, a very good school will be formed in this district, there being a number of young men anxious for instruction. I have been visiting this school once a week, and very fair progress has been made by some of the students. Brunnerton Class. —This class has always been well attended, and many of the students have made rapid progress in their work. Instruction has been given in surveying, mining, and mathematics, and preparations were being made for classes in assaying and chemistry. I regret to state that this class will now be to some extent broken up, seven of our students being killed by that terrible explosion which occurred lately in the Brunner Coal-mine, two of whom were to be candidates at the forthcoming examination for mine-manager. It is to be hoped that we will again be able to form a class in this district. Denniston School. —These classes were not so well attended as those in the Brunner, although there is generally a fair class whenever I visit the district. The great fault with this school is that the classes are not carried on during my absence, and it is therefore necessary to keep going over back work. There are, however, some of the students who keep working themselves up all the time, and these of course are much in advance of the others. The school is fairly well supplied with chemicals and apparatus. Eeefton School. —There has been nothing done in the way of adding improvements to the school during the past year; in fact, the funds of the committee were not sufficient to keep up the supply of chemicals and apparatus. At the present time our stock of chemicals and apparatus is very poor, and it is partly on this account that some of the classes are so badly attended. The students' fees and test fees on which the school has been depending have been very small, as most of the assaying and testing is done free of charge to encourage prospecting. Many of the students and members of the committee who used to work in the interests of the school have now left the district, and it is very hard to get others to fill their places. I have every reason to believe that there are a great many who would like to support the school, but in the past have been unable to do so. Should the district improve, and it has every prospect of doing so, I think the school will be freely supported, and that will enable us to carry on the classes and testing to a far greater advantage. The Laboratory. —During the past year about two hundred and twenty-nine fire-assays, berdan tests, &c, have been made, besides experiments, determinations of minerals, &c, which show a small decrease on that of the previous year. A great deal more work would have been done in the laboratory had the chemicals and apparatus been there. Among the tests made are : Fire-assays, 138 ; berdan tests, 68; smelting and bullion assays, 5 ; analyses, 2; cyanide tests, 6 ; antimony, 3 ; tests for tin and platinum, 7. A few of the results may prove of some interest: —

During the past few months there has been a considerable amount of prospecting done, and the crushing appliances at the school are being continuously used. These appliances are very poor, being simply a pestle and mortar, and berdan, and therefore the pulverising of these samples is very slow, and entails a lot of work. In some cases the samples are very large, and I think if two light stampers were erected, with tables, &c, there would be plenty work for them to do. A few of the samples tested lately from new finds contain payable gold, others only traces, and many of them contain no gold ; but there is no doubt that the amount o prospecting now being done will eventually open up some new and payable reefs.

Name of Company or Party. Character of Parcel. Gold per Ton. Keep-it-Dark Golden Site, Wilson's Eiver Golden Site, Wilson's Eiver Hercules Company Wealth of Nations Big Eiver Big Eiver Venus Company ... Ajax (present) Cumberland Brown's Terrace, Charleston Venture Company, Addison's Owen District Tailings, fire-assay Tailings, fire-assay Concentrates, lire-assay ... Berdan blanketings, fire-assay Tailings, fire-assay Berdan blanketings, fire-assay Blanketings, fire-assay ... Tailings, fire-assay Tailings, fire-assay Tailings, fire-assay ement (average of ten fire-assays on different samples) CJement (average of three examples), fire-assays Gena* Oz. dwt. gr. 0 4 11 0 4 10 1 19 4 5 0 15 0 2 16 6 8 2 0 19 14 0 6 1 0 4 13 0 6 6 0 1 16 0 1 10 0 4 14 *Also : silver 54oz. 8dwt. 11; jr. ; lead, 53 ier cent.

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In my last report I mentioned the failure of the cyanide plant at Boatman's, and also proposed a method by which these tailings could be successfully treated. Since then I have made a few experiments to show that a considerable loss of gold takes place in roasting and smelting the zincand gold-slimes obtained in the process. I obtained permission from the owners of the plant to sweep the chimney of the furnace where the slimes had been smelted, from which about 201b. weight of sweepings were taken. These were composed for the most part of brick, and contained only a very small percentage of zinc ; in fact, it was simply a fine coating of zinc-oxide on the brick. I divided the sample into two parts, as follows : Fine sand—weight 131b., passed through 900 holes per inch. Coarse sand —weight 71b., remained on sieve. Fine sample—average fire assay, 8416 grains gold per pound. Coarse sample —average fire-assay, 3263 grains gold per pound. As only a very small proportion of the zinc-oxide would deposit itself upon the walls of the chimney, I think that these results will prove that a large amount of gold is lost in the process of roasting and smelting the zinc- and gold-slimes obtained in the cyanide process. By carefully panning down a little of the sweepings, a prospect of very fine metallic gold was obtained. In this cyanide plant only a little over a thousand pounds' worth of gold was recovered, and about 8001b. weight of zinc was used. From tests made on the tailings of this field by the cyanide process, I find that it is only in a few cases where this process will successfully work, and that the best mode of treatment for most of the ores in this district will be fine crushing and a complete system of concentration. Most of the ores here contain a small percentage of antimony, and in some cases, where the percentage of this metal is large, special treatment will be necessary. The pyrites in the reefs are, as a rule, rich in gold, and the proportion of concentrates is increasing as the workings get deeper. It will be necessary to treat these concentrates by chlorination, as the cyanide process will only extract from 60 per cent, to 70 per cent, of the gold. Up to the present the concentrates saved at the batteries have been simply treated in berdans, by which process from 10 per cent, to 20 per cent, of the gold is saved, and the remainder allowed to run away. Annual Examinations.- —Two of the students of this school were prepared to compete at the last scholarship examination, but both were unable to be present on the dates of the examinations. I have already stated that most of the working members- of our committee have left, but I believe, if a good committee is again formed, the interest taken in the school would soon revive. It is quite possible that, as soon as the English companies who have acquired many of the mining properties on this field start to work, a very large number of men will be employed, and then I expect to see,the attendance and work of this School of Mines at least doubled. In conclusion, I must thank all those who have assisted the school in ihe past, and trust that we may gradually improve in the future. OTAGO SCHOOL OP JUNES. The attendance at this school is increasing largely, and good work is being done. Arrangements are now completed and a contract entered into with Messrs. Price Brothers, of the Thames, for a model experimental plant, consisting of three heads of heavy stamps, which can either be used for wet- or dry-crushing, and provided with all the most modern appliances for the reduction and treatment of the different classes of ore there is to deal with. Such plant will have a rock-breaker, ore-feeder, all modern amalgamating appliances, and also a cyanide-solution plant, so that in future the students will to a far greater extent than heretofore be able to grasp the practical details in connection with milling and the treatment of ores, which will cause them to take a much greater interest in their studies. The following is a report of Professor George H. F. Ulrich, the Director of the School, on the progress made during the past year, the list of the donations to the Mining Museum being omitted: — I have the honour to submit the following report on the work and the results of the School of Mines during the past session (1895), together with remarks on the practical teaching facilities and the future progress of the school: — The number of students during the session of 1894 was twenty-one, of whom thirteen only returned for the past session, the eight who left being three occasional students who had entered for special subjects only, and five who were classed as regular students for the whole course. Of these latter, .two—Donald J. Matheson, 8.A., and Harry C. Boydell, B.Sc.—had finished their studies, and have since been granted the diplomas and certificates gained by them, as mentioned further on. Of the other three, one was prevented by illness from continuing his studies, but is likely to return when convalescent. The remaining two had gone in for other occupations. The school received, however, an access of fourteen new students, bringing up the attendance number during the past session to twenty-seven—the largest, so far, since the foundation of the school. Of the fourteen new students, four entered for special subjects only —viz., one for general geology and assaying, one for assaying, and one for general and special metallurgy. Of the other ten, nine entered as regular students for the mining division. The majority, so far as I could learn, intend staying four years, so as to enable them to gain, in addition to the diploma of associateship in mining, the certificate of metallurgical chemist and assayer. The tenth new student entered for the purpose of gaining the diploma of associate in geology and the B.Sc. degree in the New Zealand University, he being the holder of one of the three scholarships in mining established by the Hon. the Minister of Mines (Mr. Cadman), tenable for three years at the Otago University. The twenty-three regular students attended the various lecture courses with great regularity, and their present status is as follows : — The ten new students passed through the first year's course, but one did not sit for the annual examination in mining geology, two did not sit for the examination in mathematics, and one failed in the examination in this subject. These four will therefore have to come up for the respective examinations next year. Three students passed through the second year's course of the mining division. One of them, however, did not attend the examinations in mineralogy and mining, on account of illness, whilst

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another failed to pass in mathematics, and also missed two subjects of the prescribed course, in order to gain more time for preparing for the matriculation examination, and has resolved upon extending his course of study over three or four years more, if necessary, for passing in all the subjects of the mining and metallurgical divisions. Seven students passed through the third year's course, but two of them failed in the examination in theoretical physics. Another, W. A. McLeod, B.Sc, who, during the previous year, had attended only two of the mining classes, had meantime been successful in gaining the B.Sc. degree, and partly made up for the deficiency in the mining classes during the past session. He, as well as the other six students, have to attend another year in order to complete the mining course and, according to their intentions, qualify for the certificate of metallurgical chemist and assayer, whilst the two who failed in physics have, in addition, to retrieve these failures. Two of these students are also studying for the B.Sc. degree. Three students—Ernest Edwards, John Watt, and John Orkney—have completed their studies and successfully passed examinations in the prescribed subjects for the associateships in the mining and metallurgical divisions. John Orkney failed last year in mineralogy, but sat for examination again this year and succeeded in passing. These three students are at present entitled to claim the diploma of associateship in metallurgy, but require to devote some more time to practical miningwork to qualify them for the diploma in mining. Eegarding past students, I have to state the following : Thomas Esdaile, of seven years' standing, who failed last year in the annual examinations in mathematics and theoretical mechanics, and did not sit for the examination in mining, came up for the examinations again this year and was successful in passing in all the three subjects mentioned. This places him now in the position of being entitled to claim the three diplomas of associateship in mining, metallurgy, and geology, and also the certificates of mine- and land-surveyor and of metallurgical chemist and assayer, as, owing to his protracted studies and exemplary perseverance, he passed in all the subjects prescribed for the five divisions, and has also been engaged in practical mining-work for a longer time than the twelve months required. His praiseworthy ambition urges him, however, still further, in so far as he is now sitting for the examination for the first section of the B.Sc. degree. Donald J. Matheson, 8.A., and Harry C. Boydell, B.Sc, applied for, and were granted, during the past session the diplomas to which they were entitled, as mentioned in my last year's report. D. J. Matheson, since leaving the school, having been engaged the prescribed time of six months in practical surveying-work, for which he sent in certificates, was granted in addition the certificate mine- and land-surveyor. H. C. Boydell has been successful since he left the school in gaining the B.Sc. degree, for which he was preparing during the last two years of his mining course. Applications have been received at the commencement of the past session for an evening class in assaying, Mr. P. Fitzgerald, the lecturer in metallurgy and assaying, at once arranged for such a class, and it was attended by three of the occasional students. The numerical attendance of all the classes and the results of the annual examinations are shown in the following table : —

Attendance. Entered for Examination. Results of Examination. Subjects. 1st Class. 2nd Class. 3rd Class. Failures. reneral (University) — Mathematics ... Theoretical mechanics ... Theoretical physics Practical physics Theoretical chemistry ... Practical chemistry Advanced practical chemistry 14 1 4 5 9 11 1 13 2 4 5 9 11 "i 4 6 1 4 3 4 4 2 1 1 3 3 3 2 "2 Special (School of Mines) — Mining, second course ... Mining geology General geology Mineralogy Petrography ... General metallurgy Special metallurgy Theory of assaying Practical assaying, first course ... Practical assaying, second course Blowpipe analysis Applied mechanics Surveying, first course ... Surveying, second course Model drawing Practical plane geometry I drawi j Solid geometry ...) b ( Mechanical drawing 9 11 10 3 5 9 10 9 9 4 4 9 3 8 8 8 5 7 9 10 10 3 5 9 10 9 9 4 4 9 3 8 8 8 ' 5 7 1 3 6 2 3 3 6 2 3 2 1 3 6 5 2 3 4 2 4 2 3 7 5 2 3 2 1 5 4 5 1 2 '2 4 2 2 3 2 2 2 3 4 i Totals ... 56 71 39

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Regarding individual cases of distinction embodied in the foregoing results, it is highly gratifying to record that one of the third year's students (Sheddan T. Brugh), who had already distinguished himself in the first and second year's examinations in mining subjects, has this year been successful in passing first class in seven, and good second class in one of the eight examinations he attended. He is now preparing for examination for one of the three scholarships offered annually by the Hon. the Minister of Mines for competition by students attending Schools of Mines within the colony, his object being, if successful in obtaining the scholarship, of combining the study of the special mining subjects he still requires to pass in, with the study of other subjects qualifying him as a candidate for the B.Sc. degree and for the associateship in the geological division of our schools—the same as in the case of the scholarship student previously mentioned. The authorities of the St. John's Ambulance Association established during the past session two ambulance evening classes, and, having on my representation considerately fixed the day and hour of the second class so as not to clash with certain university evening classes prescribed for the mining course, seventeen mining students were enabled to attend one or other of these classes (fourteen the second class), and, with two exceptions, succeeded in passing the examinations, and gained certificates of " First aid." So far as known, all the students who looked out for them in time have this year been successful in finding places in New Zealand for practical mining-work during the vacation—ten in Otago and West Coast coal-mines, four or five in Otago gold-mines, and some are reported to have found employment in gold-mines of the Thames district, North Island. The attendance number of students for next year's session will probably exceed that of the past session. Counting the three students who, as before mentioned, have completed their studies, and the four occasional ones who entered for special subjects only, and are doubtful for return, the school will lose seven students, leaving twenty to be relied upon with tolerable certainty to continue their studies; but, judging from numerous notifications received during the year, there will likely be an accession of nine or ten, if not more, new students. Under present conditions, only twelve students could be accommodated in four of the classes. The lecturer in general geology, Mr. J. R. Don, infused.much interest and enthusiasm for the science amongst the ten students of his class by making four field excursions with them during the session—the best kind of practical instruction in geology, and which, no doubt, greatly contributed to the excellent results of the recent examination in the subject, comprising six first-class and four second-class passes. The first excursion during one day was to Highcliff and Hooper's Inlet, Otago Peninsula, for the study of the there prevailing volcanic rocks. The second, also during one day, was to the Wai-Rongoa mineral springs, and thence round through the Green Island country, for inspection of the old quartz workings and the Walton Park Coalmine. The third excursion, requiring two days, extended as far as Oamaru, for the study of the country around Palmerston, thence onwards of the Moeraki boulder and Hampden beds, and of those of Oamaru and the Devil's Bridge. The fourth, of one day, was to the Blue Spur, near Lawrence, for inspection of the celebrated auriferous drift deposit, and the enormous fault by which it is affected, as also of the extensive elevating and sluicing operations of the Blue Spur Consolidated Company. Mr. Don very liberally paid the greater portion of the travelling-expenses connected with these excursions, and he expresses his special thanks to Mr. Howard Jackson, the general manager of the Consolidated Company, and to Mr. Loudon, the manager of the Walton Park Coal-mine, for information and assistance kindly given to him and the students during the inspection of their mines. He also thanks Mr. Thomson, the owner of the Wai-Eongoa mineral springs, for his kind permission to inspect his property. Regarding the careers of some of our past students, about which I received information during the year, I may mention that Edward Paterson, to whose success in the Transvaal I referred in my last year's report, has since bettered his position as manager of cyanide works, and now earns a salary of £1,000 a year, with free residence. Walter Pulton has been successful in obtaining the appointment of manager of a mine near Johannesburg at a salary of £500 a year, with free residence and perquisites valued at £200 additional. Frank B. Stephens, the pioneer of our students in the Transvaal, held well-paying responsible positions there from the time he entered the country, but being always in delicate health, he followed medical advice for a change of climate and went to Australia, where, soon after his arrival, he obtained a good position in Northern Queensland. The climate there proving, however, more harmful to him than that of the Transvaal, he had to resign the post, and after paying Dunedin a short visit, and not finding any favourable prospects in New Zealand, he returned to the Transvaal, and obtained there without any waiting a good position again. Other four of our past students—John Chisholm, H. C. Boydell, D. J. Matheson, and P. Morgan—are engaged in the Thames Gold-mining District — J. Chisholm, I was told, as assistant manager of a battery and cyanide works, and the others as practical miners, their intention being to devote three years to practical mining-work, for qualifying themselves for the metal mine managers' examination of the New Zealand Mines Department. There is every reason to hope that the practical teaching facilities of the school will be increased in a most important direction by the provision of a small model testing-plant for larger samples of auriferous quartz, concentrates and tailings, enabling the students to learn practical battery-work, amalgamation, and the cyanide gold-extraction process on a scale sufficiently large for qualifying them to engage afterwards as assistants in, or as managers of, more extensive establishments of the same kind. Numerous applications were received at our laboratory during the year for testing auriferous material on a larger scale than by simple fire-assay, but had to be refused for want of such a testing-plant, and miners, not only within this province, but even on the southern part of the west coast of this Island, have been, and are still, obliged to send samples for testing over the great distance to the Thames School of Mines. Thus the expected provision of the plant, by the liberality of the Hon. the Minister of Mines (Mr. Cadman), besides greatly benefiting the metallurgical classes of the school, will meet an evident great need regarding gold-mining enterprise ; and, as our lecturer in metallurgy (Mr. Fitzgerald) thoroughly understands the practice of

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the above indicated processes, miners can confidently rely on the accuracy of the results of tests of any samples intrusted to him. The council being acquainted with the history of the movement (initiated by Mr. J. A. Chapman, one of the priucipal- mining men in town) that led to the promise by the Hon. Mr. Cadman of a parliamentary money vote covering the cost of the testing-plant, I need here only relate some special incidents connected therewith, and how the case stands at the present time. When in the early part of the year the Hon. Mr. Cadman passed Dunedin on his travels through the Otago goldfields, accompanied by Mr. H. Gordon (Inspecting Engineer of the Mines Department), both gentlemen, at the invitation of Mr. James Allen, inspected our metallurgical laboratory, and expressed themselves satisfied with the space and convenience provided for a small testing-plant when the building was erected. Later on we received notice from Mr. Allen that the Mines Department required plans and estimates of cost of the necessary machinery and apparatus, including expense of erection, but with the proviso that the sum must not exceed £300. Mr. Fitzgerald thereupon at once prepared the plans, and, assisted by Mr. Cutten (the lecturer in applied mechanics), I furnished the estimate of cost. Mr. Allen next informed us that Mr. H. Gordon, who, as the Inspecting Engineer of the Mines Department, had the matter in hand, was much interested in it, and proposed that we should obtain a plant that would really serve as a model for the students. Although generally approving of the nature and relative positions of the different parts of the plan proposed by us—namely, five-horse power gas-engine, three-stamper battery with amalgamated copper-plates and blanket-strakes, berdan basin, cyanide apparatus capable of treating up to a ton in weight of material, and a small roasting furnace —still Mr. Gordon wished a small rock-breaker to be added to the battery, and requested some further information regarding the proposed position of the battery. This was supplied without delay, and now, quite recently, Mr. Gordon, in a letter to Mr. Allen, made the further request for a plan and cross-section of the part of the building proposed for the plant, together with accurate levels of the ground between the building and Leith Street, where a rock embankment offers a fine foundation and good height for the battery with easy access from the street —a position which we were originally very anxious to choose, but I found that the cost of preparing the ground and of the necessary housing-in of the battery would bring the total cost of the plant considerably above the stipulated limit of £300. Mr. A. Begg, our lecturer in surveying, having kindly promised -to furnish the required plans and levels at once, we may now hope to receive soon authority from the Mines Department to commence preparations and order the plant, so as to have it in working-order in the early part of next year. The work done for the public since the close of session 1894 by Mr. P. Fitzgerald in assays and analyses, and by myself in determinations of minerals and rocks, was as follows: — Charged for at Fixed Bates. (Work done by Mr. P. Fitzgerald.) November 28th, 1894. —Assay of quartz for gold; for Mr. Collier, Dunedin. February 14th, 1895.—Assay of quartz for gold; for Mr. Thomas Kinvig, Dunedin. February 14th.—Assay of quartz for gold; for Mr. Fahey, Dunedin. February 25th.—Assay of quartz for gold ; for Mr. Fahey, Dunedin. March sth.—Assay of quartz for gold; for Mr. Cheyne, Skipper's. May Ist.—Assay of quartz for gold; for Mr. E. Allen, Invercargill. May Ist.—Assay of quartz for gold; for Mr. Durie, Dunedin. May 3rd. —Assays of four samples of quartz for gold; for Mr. E. Allen, Invercargill. May 18th.—Assay of two samples of tailings for gold; for Mr. E. Allen, Invercargill. May 18th.—Distillation of samples of oil shale for determining quantity of oil contained in it for Mr. E. Lee, Dunedin. May 18th.—Analysis of pyrites ; for Mr. Calvinier, Wyndham. May 22nd.—Assay of quartz for gold; for Mr. Johns, Christchurch. June 3rd.—Analysis of sample of building-stone ; for Mr. Wales, Dunedin. June 30th.—Assay of sample of quartz sand for gold; for Mr. Watts, Mornington. July 13th.—Three samples of quartz assayed for gold; for Mr. E. Allen, Invercargill. August 20th. —Assay of quartz for gold; for Mr. Begg, Westland. September 21st.—Assay of sample of quartz for gold, and assay of sample of tailings for gold; for Mr. Wilkinson, Dunedin. September 23rd.—Assay of quartz for gold ; for Bluff Harbour Board. September 24th.—Assay of quartz for gold; for Mr. Whitburn, Dunedin. September 30th.—Five assays of five samples of quartz from the Leviathan Mine, Skipper's, for gold; for Mr. L. 0. Beal, jun. October sth.—Two assays of two samples of quartz from the Leviathan Mine, Skipper's, for gold; for Mr. L. 0. Beal, jun. October 10th.—Assay of highly-pyritous quartz for gold; for Mr. Thomas Fergus, Dunedin. October 10th.—Analysis and assay for gold of a sample of a dense mixture of arsenical and iron pyrites from Preservation Inlet; for Mr. Bradshaw. October 16th.—Three assays for gold of three samples—one of concentrates, one of tailings, and one of pyrites; for Mr. E. Allen, Invercargill. October 24th.—Two assays for gold of two samples of quartz from the Leviathan Mine, Skipper's; for Mr. L. O. Beal, jun. November 6th.—Twenty-eight assays of gold bullion ; for the Colonial Bank r Dunedin. Determinations of Mineral and Bock Specimens. (Made by myself, and not charged for.) November 13th, 1894.—Yellowish-grey ore (forwarded by editor of Witness) proved to be secondary iron-pyrites.

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November 27th.—Small fragments of colourless transparent mineral from Orepuki, proved to be rock-crystal (quartz); forwarded by editor of Witness. November 28th.—Specimens of rock from Eoxburgh (forwarded by editor of Witness), proved to be highly-ferruginous indurated arenaceous clay. " November 29th.—A white rock from the Eock and Pillar Eange (sent by Mrs. Hocken), proved to be soft good limestone. December 24th.—Dark-brown to black crystals from Winton (forwarded by editor of Witness), proved to be pseudomorphs of brown iron-ore after pyrite. January 3rd, 1895.—Sample of rock from the Mackenzie Country (forwarded by editor of Witness), proved to be indurated clay, mixed with comminuted slaty matter. January sth.—Two samples forwarded by editor of Witness : No. 1 proved to be crushed arsenical pyrites, mixed with some iron-pyrites; No. 2, brown iron-ore in pseudomorphous crystals after pyrite. February 14th.—Answer to inquiry by Mr. Day, Balclutha, regarding best mode of prospecting Cuttle Cove quartz-reefs, West Coast. February 15th.—Answers to inquiries by Mr. Ch. A. White about nature of Moeraki boulders, and by Mr. J. A. Millar (Arrow) about auriferous mica-schist. February 21st.--A specimen of an intrusive rock found in Leith Valley (forwarded by Mr. N. Booth), proved to be a very coarse-grained variety of hornblende andesite, with large crystals of hornblende and magnetite. March 20th.—Samples of ore from Lower Hawea country (forwarded by editor of Witness), proved to be galena. March 27th.—Two samples forwarded by editor of Witness : One, from Sunnyside, supposed to be tin-ore, turned out to be hornblende-schist; the other, from Thornbury, regarded as silver-ore, proved to be secondary iron-pyrites. April 29th.—Specimen of rock (sent by editor of Witness), proved to be elvanite—a mixture of felspar and quartz ; in parts finely impregnated with iron-pyrites. May 31st. —Two samples forwarded by editor of Witness : No. 1, from Port Molyneux, proved to be an easily-fusible felstone or eurite, not of any value for pottery-work—contrary to expectation; No. 2, from Waipahi, proved to be well-crystallized marcasite. July 17th.—Sample of brown, gossan-like stuff from Bracken's Gully, Arrow (forwarded by Mr. J. A. Miller). This was supposed to contain gold and silver, but proved on assay to contain neither of these metals. July 20th.—Determination of the nature of the rock forming a large dyke in the Tyrconnel Mine, near Westport (sent by Mr. N. D. Cochrane, Inspector of Mines). This required the preparation of two thin sections, and the examination of these under the mircoscope proved the rock to be a rather decomposed diabase. August 7th. —Two samples from Gore (forwarded by editor of Witness) : No. 1 turned out to be a soft, sandy rock, so densely filled with comminuted shells that it could be called an arenaceous limestone; No. 2 was a very unctuous clay, and proved to contain an abundance of carbonaceous particles and a very small trace of oily matter. During September, I furnished the editor of Witness with a description of the nature and mode of working of the so-called berdan mill. In conclusion, I have to mention that Mr. J. E. Don, the lecturer in geology, has rendered an important service to the class in petrography by having the machine for grinding thin rock sections provided with apparatus permitting the slicing of rock-specimens with the use of emery, the grinding down of the thin slices produced being far more expeditious and in other respects more satisfactory than the method before available of knocking off chips from the specimens and rendering these thin enough by grinding. NELSON SCHOOL OF MINES. This is a school where the pupils are taught mineralogy, assaying, and elementary chemistry. The following is Mr. W. F. Worley's report on the progress made during the past year :— I have the honour to report as follows upon work done in connection with the Nelson School of Mines from 31st March, 1895, to 31st March, 1896 :— The boys' class for the study of mineralogy and blowpipe analysis has been carried on as usual. There were fourteen boys in the class, and the average attendance was nine. The class met forty times during the year. The ores of iron, lead, and copper were studied in the early part of the year, the rest of the time being given to blowpipe work. The boys were shown how to test for iron, nickel, cobalt, lead, bismuth, tin, silver, zinc, chrome, manganese, antimony, and arsenic. Most of the boys in the class are now able to identify any of these metals by means of the blowpipe. An assay class was started, but only one person joined. He, however, proved to be a very earnest, painstaking student, and is now engaged at one of the goldfields near Johannesburg. The instruction given embraced the following subjects : Testing for gold by fine grinding and panning; pan-amalgamation assay (and in this connection the battery process for gold-recovery was explained, including practice in the amalgamating of copper plates and the retorting of bullion); the fire-assay for gold and silver in all its detail; the assay and valuation of bullion; and the cyanide process for gold-extraction. A Saturday afternoon class for the study of elementary chemistry was held during the winter, and continued in session till near Christmas. There were in this class eleven members, all of whom were teachers in the Government schools. Instruction was given in the production and properties of oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, chlorine, iodine, bromine, sulphur, and phosphorus. The manufacture and uses of sulphuric, nitric, and hydrochloric acids was explained by means of experiments. Most of the members used the class as an aid to passing the science section of their examination for teachers' certificates ; but several of them repeated before their scholars the experiments shown in the class. All the teachers who attended the chemistry class passed the science section of their examination —one with special mention. 3—C. 3.

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During the year forty tests and assays were made for the public, only a few of which need special mention. Some stream-tin, said to come from one of the tributaries of the Buller River, gave good results ; but some supposed tin-ore from Collingwood proved worthless. An analysis of coal from the Ennerglyn Mine gave the following results : — fixed carbon ... ... ... ... ... ... 48 percent. Hydrocarbons ... ... ... , ... ... 41 „ Water ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 8 Ash 3 Total _ ... 100 Several stones were tested for gold, but most of them gave negative results. In some cases these worthless stones were carried fifty or sixty miles by prospectors, who, had they possessed the necessary knowledge, might have tested them upon the spot where found. Some dark-coloured crystals, found in the Takaka district, gave strong reactions for chromium, and were probably chrome garnets. A little self-imposed prospecting in the neighbourhood of the Ennerglyn Coalmine led to useful results, which will probably prove of commercial value to the company. Several interesting experiments were made with chemical manures, but the results of these belong more especially to agricultural science.

EXPENDITURE ON SCHOOLS OP MINES. The following table shows the expenditure by the Government on Schools of Mines since their inauguration, exclusive of subsidies paid to the University of Otago towards the School of Mines in connection with that institution :—

The above statement shows the amount expended on the different Schools of Mines throughout the colony; but, in addition to this, the sum of £5,250 has to be added, as that ha 3 been paid to the School of Mines attached to the University of Otago, £500 being paid last year, which makes the total expenditure up to the 31st March last to be £20,574 3s. Id. This expenditure has extended over a period of eleven years.

WATER-RACES. Waimea Watek-Race. The ground that the original water-race commanded is getting pretty well washed away, at any rate as far as the fall for tailings will permit. There is still a considerable area of auriferous gravel extending further back into the range, but the distance from the valley is gradually increasing every year, and the creek-bed is steadily getting raised by the large quantity of tailings poured into the creek from the different claims, consequently both these elements, unavoidable in carrying on hydraulic-sluicing operations with success, retard the working of the back ground to advantage. There is, however, a large area of auriferous ground at the head of the Waimea Valley, as also in the middle branch, and preparations are now being made to allow this ground to be opened up. The fluming across the Kawhaka Flat is now so decayed that an entire collapse may take place any day. The boxing is in such a condition that it is almost impossible to make any repairs. To avoid replacing this flume a deviation of the race was surveyed last year, and the construction of the work is now nearing completion. The length of the fluming that this deviation will dispense with is 70 chains, having an average height of trestles of about 30ft. To replace this flume, which is at the best of a perishable nature, and expensive to maintain, an open conduit has been constructed for a distance of 211 chains, at about 43ft. lower level than the present race. This means that, instead of having a head of 81ft. at the intake end of the siphon, there will be about 38ft., which is quite sufficient to carry all the water the race is capable of conveying. The whole of the ditching is completed, and there only remains to construct about 7 chains of low fluming, and a downtake pipe from the race at the higher level, about 11 chains in length, before the water can pass through the deviation. The cost of this deviation when completed will be about £2,300, and the expenditure on the work up to the end of March amounted to £1,284 Is. 3d.

Financial Years. Subsidies towards the Erection of Schools of Mines, and Maintenance. Chemicals and Apparatus, also Mineralogical Specimens supplied to Schools of Mines. Scholarships. Salaries of Teachers, and Travellingexpenses, &c. Total Sums paid by the Department towards the Schools of Mines. 1885-86 1886-87 1887-88 1888-89 1889-90 1890-91 1891-92 1892-93 1893-94 1894-95 1895-96 £ s. d. 257 16 6 253 15 9 42 10 0 142 2 0 217 6 6 181 14 0 312 3 4 197 0 5 390 0 0 820 ' 0 0 £ s. d. 36 19 9 409 1 4 253 14 1 6 12 9 181 14 10 54 8 0 £ £ a. d. 1,223 9 10 2,716 9 3 1,714 9 6 1,139 4 1 716 3 10 620 9 9 689 5 9 670 1 0 858 19 4 773 17 8 849 3 0 £ s. d. 1,260 9 7 3,383 7 1 2,221 19 4 1,188 6 10 1,040 0 8 892 4 3 870 19 9 982 4 4 1,055 19 9 1,209 8 6 1,219 3 0 45 10 10 50 Totals ... 2,814 8 6 988 1 7 50 11,971 13 0 15,324 3 1

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The branch-race from the lower end of the siphon at Fox's to Callaghan's is completed; but since its completion several breaks have occurred, which will cost about £30 to make the necessary repairs. The manager of the water-race estimates that he can dispose of about fifteen sluice-heads of water; but, even if the present breaks in this branch-race are repaired, owing to the decayed state of the timber, the flumes on the upper portion of the Waimea Eace would break down if the full quantity of water the ditching is capable of conveying was turned into the present flume. Therefore the deviation on the Waimea Eace will have to be completed before sufficient water can be conveyed to supply Callaghan's. A survey has been made of a second branch from the Callaghan's branch-race in order to supply water to work the ground in the middle branch of Waimea Creek. This survey has been carried to join the present race below the Big Dam in the right-hand branch. The object in extending this survey further than where the water is likely to be used in the middle branch is, that there are several lengths of very high fluming at Fox's and Greek's, and, had these flumes to be reconstructed, it would not only be cheaper to extend the race on this side of the range, but the work would be far more permanent. On the line where these high flumes are constructed—that is, between the end of the pipe-line to about 15 chains below the Big Dam —there is scarcely any water sold in the portion of the race which would be cut off by the extension on the opposite side of the range. The length to be constructed at the present time is about one mile, and by carrying this branch about one and a half miles further, the present high flumes could be done away with. At the same time there is no immediate necessity to get the additional mile and a half constructed, as the present flume is likely to last for about three years more. A main tail-race is now under construction through the range between the middle and righthand branches of Waimea Creek. This is now constructed for a distance of 1,070 ft., the total distance being 2,076 ft. This tail-race will have boxes 3ft. in width laid on a gradient of 1 in 48, or 3in. to every 12ft. As soon as this main tail-race is completed, water will be required to work the ground. It is therefore necessary that the second branch from Callaghan's race should be undertaken as early as possible. The estimated cost of this branch race is £600. The following statement will show the receipts and cost of maintenance of the Waimea Eace for the year ending the 31st March last, together with the approximate quantity of gold obtained by those using water for working claims from that supply : —

It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the value of the sales of water for the year amounted to £795 13s. 6d., as against £988 os. 7d. for the previous year, while the cost of maintenance amounted to £770 3s. Bd., as against £1,061 9s. 4d. for the former year : thus showing a decrease in the cost of maintenance of £291 ss. Bd., and also a decrease in the value of the sales of water of £192 7s. Id. from the previous year. The average number of men employed in claims worked with water from this supply last year was 69, and the approximate quantity of gold obtained by them was 1,9250z., representing a value of £7,507 10s. Deducting the value of the sales of water from the value of the gold obtained, it leaves the average earnings of the men to be £97 ss. sd. per man per annum, or £1 18s. lid. per man a week. This cannot be taken as their actual earnings, as the cost of pipes, tools, and timber required in working the claims has to be also taken into consideration. The value of free water given to open up claims and for working poor ground during the year was £115 9s. 7d. This free water, however, is necessary, as the ground is becoming more expensive to work every year, owing to the reasons hereinbefore stated. The total cost of this water-race and branches up to the end of March last was £134,499 os. sd. KUMAEA WaTEE-EACE. This has been the best-paying water-race that the Government constructed. In former years it gave about 15 per cent, interest on the capital expended; but the best portion—that is, where the rich runs of gold-bearing gravels were known to exist—is rapidly getting worked out. It is, however, a field that will yet last for many years, as there is a large area of ground which will give remunerative employment to a large population ; but no doubt the claims are not so rich as formerly, and owing to the great distance that they are back from the Teremakau Eiver, together with the small dump there is for tailings, the same quantity of material cannot be operated on as formerly unless by using a large supply of water, which increases the cost of working.

Month. Sales of Water. Cash received Outstanding for Sales of Expenditure. "Velon 6 water - Month. Number of Men employed. Approxi0 ™ a A e itv Value of Gold quantity nh+nir,,,;] of Gold obtained, obtained. 1895. £ a. d. 47 17 1 78 4 2 73 3 9 60 12 11 70 12 1 65 8 4 73 15 5 83 16 5 62 13 9 £ a. d. 71 11 9 81 2 6 59 5 9 69 7 6 64 18 9 66 8 3 79 16 6 76 19 6 46 12 0 £ a. d. 77 14- 4 46 18 4 57 11 4 55 0 10 65 10 10 55 13 10 56 10 10 61 0 10 68 16 5 £ a. d. 10 5 3 7 15 3 7 15 3 7 15 3 7 15 3 7 15 3 7 15 3 7 15 3 7 15 3 Oz. 115 190 180 150 170 160 180 200 150 £ a. d. 448 10 0 741 0 0 702 0 0 585 0 0 663 0 0 624 0 0 702 0 0 780 0 0 585 0 0 April May June July August September October November December.. 69 70 68 OS 61 61 61 71 76 1896. 44 17 1 62 9 2 72 3 4 68 0 0 60 2 6 61 8 9 109 6 5 54 6 5 61 13 3 9 10 3 8 10 3 12 10 3 73 75 76 100 150 180 390 0 0 585 0 0 702 0 0 January February March Totals and average 795 13 6 805 13 9 770 3 8 69 Average 1,925 7,507 10 0

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When sluicing operations were first commenced on this field, the sluice-boxes in some of the claims had a gradient of as great as 1 in 10, and at the present time the lowest gradient is 1 in 36. In addition to this the miners have a much greater length of sluice-boxes to keep in maintenance, and in all cases the dump for tailings is far less than in the early days of the field. In order to show the extra cost of carrying on sluicing operations at the present time, sluice-boxes that had a gradient in the early days of 1 in 12, and using six sluice-heads of water, now require eighteen sluice-heads of water, in boxes with a gradient of 1 in 36, to carry away an equal quantity of material. This means that sluice-boxes with a fall of 4in. to every 12ft. require three times the quantity of water to sluice away the same quantity of gravel as six sluice-heads would do in sluiceboxes with a fall of lft. to every 12ft. The whole of the Kumara Water-race is in good repair, with the exception of the steel pipes, which were constructed about six years ago. These pipes are greatly decayed by oxidation, and in such a condition that any repairs to them are useless. These steel pipes are used for siphons, one of which conveys the water from the head of Pascoe and party's claim to the tank in Dunedin Flat, and another line supplies Pascoe and party, Lee and party, and the Tichborne claims. These siphons will have to be renewed at once, as they are continually bursting, causing a great loss of time to the men using water from these siphons, and also a loss of revenue on the sales of water. The estimated cost of renewing these siphons is £1,200. In renewing them it is intended to take the water from the Kapitea Hill race to supply the claims now supplied from the tank. The other one will have to be laid down on the present line. The Kapitea Hill Eace has been extended sufficiently far to supply water for the No. 4 channel, but it will have to be extended for about 6 chains further to supply water for the No. 5 channel, which is now in course of construction. In connection with the latter channel, about 30 chains of pipes will be required to take the water from the Kapitea Hill Eace to supply the different claims that will be worked into this channel. The siphon constructed some years ago to supply water to claims in Nardoo Flat is still in good condition, and as this siphon is not now required, nor likely to be required in future, it can be lifted and used for conveying water to the claims working into No. 5 channel. In regard to the demand for water from the Kumara Eace, as soon as the No. 5 channel is constructed a larger supply is likely to be required, as it must be borne in mind that a large quantity of flushing-water, for which no money is received, is required for each of the four channels, but the demand will depend greatly on the number of new claims opened out. At the same time, a number of the present claims will be worked out before the No. 5 channel is completed and ready to carry away tailings from the claims. The new siphons to replace the present one, the extension of the Kapitea Hill Eace, shifting the Nardoo siphon and relaying it to supply water to the claims working into No. 5 channel, and constructing a supply-race to deliver flushing-water into the head of No. 4 channel, will cost about £1,650. These works will have to be undertaken at once, and provision made to meet this expenditure. The following statement will show the revenue derived from sales of water, and also the cost of maintenance, for the year ending the 31st March, 1896 :—

It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the value of the sales of water for the past year amounted to £4,106 11s. 3d. as against £4,646 19s. 9d. for the former year, and that the cost of maintenance was £1,943 Bs. 7d. as against £1,976 17s. 7d. for, the previous year. This shows a decrease in the revenue last year of £540 Bs. 6d., and a decrease in the cost of maintenance of £33 9s. In addition to the sales of water, the value of free water supplied to the claims which did not prove payable to work during the past year amounted to £1,129 19s. 4d. The average number of men employed in claims worked with water from this supply was 101, and the approximate quantity of gold obtained by them was 6,0450z., representing a value of £23,575 10s. Deducting the value of the sales of water from the value of the approximate quantity of gold obtained, it leaves £19,468 18s. 9d. as the earnings of the miners, which is equal to an average of £192 15s. 2d. a man per annum, or £3 17s. per man per week. The total cost of this work, with branch races and iron and steel pipes, up to the end of March last amounts to £41,463 165., and deducting the cost of maintenance from the value of the sales of water for the year, it leaves a profit on the workings of £2,163 2s. Bd., which is equal to 5£ per cent, on total cost of the works.

Month. Sales of Water. Cash received for Sales of Water. Expenditure. Outstanding Moneys at the End of each Month. Number of Men employed. Approximate Quantity of Gold obtained. Value of Gold obtained. 1895. £ a. d. 277 5 10 379 15 0 349 12 1 322 15 10 345 1 8 354 1 8 351 16 8 336 5 5 331 0 0 £ s. d. 241 10 0 397 0 0 328 0 0 339 5 0 338 0 0 325 0 0 395 5 0 187 0 0 483 16 6 £ a. d. 155 3 5 147 5 6 176 11 10 176 12 3 153 17 9 148 15 0 156 16 5 154 16 8 167 14 6 £ a. d. 136 0 6 138 1 8 133 11 10 139 9 1 130 5 5 146 1 6 138 2 9 247 6 5 115 8 10 Oz. 415 510 520 480 500 530 520 500 500 £ a. d. 1,618 10 0 1,989 0 0 2,028 0 0 1,872 0 0 1,950 0 0 2,067 0 0 2,028 0 0 1,950 0 0 1,950 0 0 April May June July August .. September October .. November December 101 100 100 93 96 102 106 106 102 1896. 315 15 5 336 3 4 406 18 4 272 0 0 431 6 0 335 15 0 186 10 11 184 16 11 134 7 5 139 17 1 142 12 8 140 12 6 100 100 102 470 500 600 January February March 1,833 0 0 1,950 0 0 2,340 0 0 Totals and average .. 4,106 11 3 4,073 17 6 1,943 8 7 101 {average) 6,045 23,575 10 0

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SUMMARY showing the Result of working the Kumara Water-race for Thirteen Years, from 1st April, 1883, to 31st March, 1896.

i—Q. '6,

Rate per Sluicehead per Week. September. October. November. January. February. March. Total Value f Total Value Total Value lotal tor of Water sold ' *reefor Free lor Construction Assistance. 1 Deviations. ™ f "°- s Channel. I I Average Number of Sluice-heads supplied Daily. Water supplied. Tear. April. May. June. July. August. December. Total Value Water supplied. Expenditure. £ s. d. 3 0 0 £ s. d. 371 16 5 46 2 6 £ s. d. 465 2 1 44 5 0 £ s. d. 700 2 6 183 11 8 £ s. d. 583 9 7 108 19 2 £ 4. d. 702 7 6 108 0 0 £ s. d. j 626 16 3 88 7 6 £ a. d. £ s. d. 808 10 5 777 3 9 244 7 6 172 18 9 £ s. d. 774 17 11 63 12 6 £ s. d. 698 2 6 103 9 2 £ s. d. 1,064 0 0 86 5 0 £ s. d. 774 6 0 139 3 4 £ s. d. 8,346 14 11 £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Water sold Free 1883-84 1883-84 1,386"2 1 £ s. d. 417 18 11 509 7 1 883 14 2 692 8 9 810 7 6 712 3 9 j 1,052 17 11 950 2 6 838 10 5 801 11 8 1,150 5 0 913 9 4 9,732 17 0 46-35 Water sold Free 1884-85 1884-85 3 0 0 2,153 5 5 580 4 4 92 5 0 937 19 4 56 19 7 067 3 11 78 18 9 906 16 10 55 13 9 882 6 10 149 0 10 997 1 5 I 18 11 3 I 919 12 3 1,126 11 10 145 13 4 69 3 9 819 17 3 39 15 0 289 4 2 26 12 6 756 9 2 45 3 9 821 0 10 2 16 8 9,704 8 2 780 14 2 Water sold Free 1885-86 1885-86 2 10 0 672 9 4 994 18 11 746 2 8 962 10 7 1,031 7 8 1,015 12 8 I 1,065 5 7 1,195 15 7 859 12 3 315 16 8 801 12 11 823 17 6 10,485 2 4 49-92 1,656 0 1 665 16 0 24 13 9 796 6 9 9 2 0 893 5 3 745 19 7 773 19 10 23 15 0 943 13 5 i 31 3 4 953 15 6 I 22 1 3 997 7 8 18 11 10 697 13 5 18 7 2 680 4 0 49 1 4 708 15 8 15 0 935 19 7 13 2 6 9,788 16 8 221 3 2 I Water sold Water sold Free 1886-87 1886-87 1886-87 2 10 0 2 0 0 690 9 9 805 8 9 893 5 3 745 19 7 797 14 10 974 16 9 I _ 975 16 9 1,015 19 6 716 0 7 735 5 4 710 0 8 949 2 1 10,009 19 10 57-20 1,454 19 5 758 0 4 19 10 8 776 0 11 488 3 9 818 7 11 242 0 11 40 13 9 599 5 0 120 9 7 643"7 11 83 15 10 682"8 9 74 5 0 686" 7 5 45 9 2 562 0 10 32 15 0 345 12 7 46 8 9 673"o 0 49 16 8 747 '<j 2 36 3 4 6,470 14 4 1,64718 11 758 0 4 795 11 7 730 4 8 350 1 8 719 14 7 727 3 9 I Water sold Free 1887-88 1887-88 2 0 0 706 13 9 731 16 7 594 15 10 392 1 4 722 16 8 783 12 6 8,018 13 3 5619 1,398 IS 10 535 5 10 26 11 8 679 7 8 40 19 2 167 10 10 656 4 7 15 13 9 23 10 0 684 16 1 47 7 11 694 5 0 4 11 8 591 12 1 I 34 16 8 710 0 0 42 10 0 535 10 10 27 10 0 519 15 5 28 6 8 670 17 6 19 11 8 734 4 5 15 17 3 7,169 10 3 347 "6 5 Water sold Free 1888-89 1888-89 2 0 0 561 17 e 720 6 10 183 4 7 679 14 7 732 4 0 698 16 8 626 8 9 752 10 0 553 0 10 548 2 1 690 9 2 750 1 8 7,516 16 8 53-68 982 12 0 490 6 8 107 17 3 338 7 7 90 18 0 532 1 1 626 19 10 87 1 4 75 1 10 667 8 8 32 10 0 542 8 4 16 9 5 J 702 12 6 38 1 4 664 1 7 13 0 0 395 12 3 34 9 2 465 2 1 58 6 8 623 18 4 90 10 10 667 8 4 74 13 4 6,710 6 10 492 "o 0 227 0 0 598 3 11 429 5 7 619 2 6 702 1 8 Water sold Free Free, No. 3 Channel 1889-90 1889-90 1889-90 2 0 0 699 18 3 558 17 9 740 13 10 667 1 7 ,430 1 5 523 9 7 714 9 2 742 1 8 7,435 6 10 i 53-10 1,024 1 9 401 13 4 45 15 0 495 16 4 55 3 4 256 16 8 377 16 3 43 0 0 92 15 0 353 4 2 105 15 0 122 19 1 237 7 11 93 1 8 j 335 1 3 ■ 318 10 10 41 10 0 330 11 8 293 8 4 103 18 4 275 8 0 159 18 9 105 13 4 97 13 4 219 15 10 48 17 6 6 0 0 248 19 7 54 8 4 221 18 1 186 16 8 71 5 0 102 11 5 3,550 4 8 396* 2 6 465 0 0 1,492 *2 10 447 8 4 550 19 8 299 16 8 470 11 3 581 18 3 665 10 10 090 12 6 672 14 8 363 5 5 274 13 4 5,903 10 0 Water sold Free Free, No. 3 Channel 1890-91 1890-91 1890-91 2 0 0 525 6 0 360 13 1 42-16 1,424 13 3 300 12 6 118 5 0 272 11 11 355 11 11 119 14 2 247 3 6 368 3 2 70 7 11 246 17 10 423 9 0 71 17 6 115 2 11 622 17 11 82 9 7 32 2 2 666 7 1 110 16 8 720 16 1 93 13 9 701 5 10 106 0 10 578 1 8 57 5 5 540 17 11 113 6 8 691 17 11 133 2 6 689 11 8 130 5 10 6,665 12 8 409 5 5 793"o 5 I 913 18 4 686 9 5 722 9 7 685 8 11 610 9 5 737 9 8 777 3 9 814 9 10 807 6 8 635 7 1 660 4 7 825 0 5 819 17 6 8,781 16 10 62-72 1,766 4 3 Water sold Free 1891-92 1891-92 2 0 0 6,645 11 0 616 5 10 143 11 5 655 4 11 191 16 8 542 9 1 44 3 6 179 11 11 426 16 1 82 16 11 769 15 5 151 14 7 784 13 8 118 10 1 642 4 2 233 1 8 469 10 0 213 11 3 291 3 9 137 0 10 543 7 6 64 11 8 724 8 8 28 9 2 996 "i 5 413 '3 4 Water sold Free 1892-93 1892-93 2 0 0 759 17 3 847 1 7 586 12 7 179 11 11 509 13 0 921 10 0 903 3 9 875 5 10 683 1 3 428 4 7 j 607 19 2 752 17 10 8,054 18 9 57-53 1,584 10 11 495 17 1 44 18 9 505 12 11 80 2 6 493 5 10 72 4 2 495 13 6 61 2 1 602 2 8 43 5 10 635 1 3 38 2 6 571 1 8 44 0 10 458 7 1 66 2 6 382 2 1 157 6 8 390 19 2 94 4 2 I 450 7 6 77 10 10 308 10 0 64 2 6 5,789 0 9 444'l5 8 398 7 8 Water sold Free 1893-94 1893-94 2 0 0 540 15 10 585 15 5 565 10 0 556 15 7 645 8 6 673 3 9 615 2 6 524 9 7 539 8 9 485 3 4 527 18 4 372 12 6 6,632 4 1 47-35 1,782 11 0 451 16 5 101 5 2 480 13 7 119 5 7 541 11 11 99 4 6 542 9 6 110 7 1 575 10 5 92 9 10 486 9 2 147 16 2 539 8 4 112 11 0 402 11 11 164 18 5 451 5 5 82 0 4 303 0 10 112 3 10 415 5 5 132 15 10 392 1 8 70 6 10 5,582 i 7 1,306 0 3 | 39 4 4 6,927 9 2 49-48 1,917 8 6 553 1 7 599 19 2 640 16 5 652 16 7 668 0 3 634 5 4 651 19 4 567 10 4 533 5 9 415 4 8 548 1 3 462 8 6 Water sold Free 1894-95 1894-95 2 0 0 477 1 8 76 11 8 437 17 4 98 12 8 501 3 4 103 1 3 482 1 3 92 17 11 513 7 11 83 5 0 413 0 5 122 17 6 213 19 2 96 4 2 375 7 6 105 6 8 428 8 9 81 11 8 298 2 5 74 14 2 198 7 1 72 17 6 308 2 11 86 12 6 4,646 19 9 1,05412 8 40 0 0 5,74i'l2 5 41-01 1,976*17 7 Water sold .. j Free .. Free, No. 4 Channel \ 1895-96 1895-96 1895-96 553 13 4 536 10 0 604 i 7 574 19 2 596 12 11 535 17 11 310 3 4 480 14 2 510 0 5 372 16 7 271 4 7 394 15 5 2 0 0 277 5 10 95 3 4 379 15 0 96 1 8 349 12 1 139 19 2 322 15 10 81 16 3 345 1 8 76 19 7 5 12 6 354 1 8 77 10 10 39 14 2 351 16 8 110 9 7 62 7 6 336 5 5 114 12 1 56 9 2 331 0 0 67 3 4 65 4 7 315 15 5 92 8 4 32 10 0 336 3 4 90 18 11 30 1 3 406 18 4 86 16 3 34 15 10 4,106 11 3 1,12919 4 1,943 8 7 332 15 0 5,569' 5 7 39-78 372 9 2 475 16 8 489 11 3 404 12 1 427 13 9 471 6 8 524 13 9 507 6 8 403 7 11 440 13 9 463 3 6 528 10 5 85,182 15 10 10,512 5 0 2,375 15 9 2,738 16 2 100,809 12 9 21,065 11 6

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Waimea-Kumaea Wateb-bace. The Waimea and Kumara Water-races have been considered as separate races; though this is not the case. The object of showing each separately is to give an idea of the value of each in proportion to the capital expended on the different works in connection with each branch. They may be termed separate water-races, but the supply of water to the Kumara branch is dependent to a great extent on the Waimea branch. If these races were held by different individuals there would be a far greater scarcity of water at Kumara than now occurs, and at the same time there would be more water in the Waimea Eace than could be disposed of. However, when the deviation of the Waimea Water-race is completed, and the branch constructed to Goldsborough, the whole of the water in that supply will be utilised at Callaghan's and the middle branch, and id will only be when there is surplus water in the Kawhaka Creek that there will be a full supply in the Kawhaka Eace feeding the Loop-line Dam, which stores the water for the Kumara field. The whole of these water-races are under one management, and worked as one concern. The following statement will show the revenue and expenditure on the whole of these works for the year ending the 31st March last : —

It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the value of the sales of water for the year amounted to £4,902 4s. 9d., while the expenditure for maintenance for the same period was £2,713 12s. 3d. For the previous year the value of the sales of water was £5,635 os. 4d., and the expenditure £3,038 6s. lid. This shows that there was a decrease in the revenue last year to the extent of £732 15s. 7d., while the cost of maintenance has also decreased to the extent of £324 14s. Bd. The total value of free water given to the miners to open up new ground, and also for working claims which did not prove payable, amounted for the past year to £1,245 18s. lid. The number of men employed in claims worked with water from these supplies was 170. Deducting the value of the sales of water from the approximate value of the gold obtained from claims worked with water from these supplies, which amounted to 7,9700z., representing a value of £31,083, it leaves £26,180 15s. 3d. as the average earnings of the miners, which is equal to about £154 per man per annum. The total cost of the whole of the works up to the end of March amounts to £175,962 16s. sd. The following statement will show the receipts and expenditure for the last eleven years, ending the 31st March last, of the Waimea and also the Kumara Water-races :—

This table shows that there has been a net profit derived from the working of the Waimea Eace during the last ten years of £3,616 2s. Bd., and £49,868 6s. 9d. from the Kumara Eace for the 5—C. 3.

Month. Sales of Water. Cash received for Sales of Water. Outstanding Number A^° > / 1 " Expenditure. Menem- <*™*£ each Month, ployed. ob \Sn 6a . Value of Gold obtained. 1895. Ipril tfay fune 'uly lugust September )ctober November December £ a. d. 325 2 11 457 19 2 422 15 10 383 8 9 415 13 9 419 10 0 425 12 3 420 1 8 393 13 9 £ s. d. 313 1 9 478 2 6 387 5 9 408 12 6 402 18 9 391 8 3 475 1 6 263 19 6 530 8 6 £ a. d. 232 17 9 194 3 10 234 3 2 231 13 1 219 8 7 204 8 10 213 7 3 215 17 6 236 10 11 £ a. d. 146 5 9 : 145 16 11 141 7 1 147 4 4 138 0 8 153 16 9 i 145 18 0 255 1 8 123 4 1 149 7 4 151 2 11 153 2 9 170 176 168 161 160 163 167 180 178 173 175 178 Oz, 530 700 700 630 670 690 700 700 650 £ a. d. 2,067 0 0 2,730 0 0 2,730 0 0 2,457 0 0 2,613 0 0 2,691 0 0 2,730 0 0 2,730 0 0 2,535 0 0 1896. 360 12 6 398 12 6 479 1 8 340. 0 0 491 8 6 397 3 9 295 17 4 239 3 4 196 0 8 570 650 780 2,223 0 0 2,535 0 0 3,042 0 0 anuary .. rebruary.. if arch Totals and average .. 4,902 4 9 4,879 11 3 2,713 12 3 170 (average) 7,970 31,083 0 0

Waimea Eace Kumara Eace. Year. Sales of Water. Expenditure on Maintenance. Net Profit. Sales of Water. Expenditure on Maintenance. Net Profit. 1886 L887 .888 .889 .890 .891 .892 .893 .894 :895 .896 £ s. d. 1,790 16 0 1,675 19 4 1,612 11 3 1,416 6 8 1,240 9 7 1,388 17 5 1,121 16 2 1,015 12 3 828 15 8 988 0 7 795 13 6 £ s. d. 1,181 18 1 1,116 10 0 1,027 17 11 860 2 5 795 7 7 933 3 3 784 13 10 858 0 4 919 9 4 1,061 9 4 770 3 8 £ s. d. + 658 17 11 +559 9 4 + 584 13 4 +556 4 3 + 445 2 0 + 455 14 2 +337 2 4 + 157 11 11 - 90 13 8 - 73 8 9 + 25 9 10 £ s. d. 9.788 16 8 6,470 14 4 7,169 10 3 6,716 6 10 3,550 4 8 6,665 12 8 6.645 11 0 5.789 0 9 5,582 4 7 4.646 19 9 4,106 11 3 £ s. d. 1,459 19 5 1,398 18 10 982 12 0 1,024 1 9 1,424 13 3 1,766 4 3 1,584 10 11 1,782 11 0 1,919 8 5 1,976 17 7 1,943 8 7 £ s. d. 8,328 17 3 5,071 15 6 6,186 18 3 5,692 5 1 2,125 11 5 4,899 8 5 5,061 0 1 4,006 9 9 3,662 16 2 2,670 2 2 2,163 2 8 Totals 13,874 18 5 10,258 15 9 3,616 2 8 67,131 12 9 17,263 6 0 49,868 6 9

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same period; but in connection with the working of the latter race there was a considerable loss on maintaining the sludge-channel, which is now maintained by the miners on consideration of the Government granting money for the reconstruction of a portion of the channel at a higher level, so as to enable them to have sufficient dump for tailings.

Number of Days Water was lost, for Year ending 31st March, 1896, through Holidays and Scarcity of Water, Kumara Water-race.

Mount Ida Watek-eace. Last winter being the most severe that has been ever experienced since the goldfields were first opened was the cause of a great deal of material coming in from the sides of the race—no water being in the race for twelve weeks in midwinter. As soon as the thaw commenced the race was cleaned out from beginning to end. On the Ist September water was admitted into the race, and since that date up to Christmas there was a plentiful supply, but since Christmas up to the present time the supply has gradually dwindled down, there being very little rain in the district during that period. At the time of my visit there was only a little over two-thirds of the ordinary supply in the race. Taking into consideration the shallow ground on this goldfield, which is far from being rich, the irregular supply of water interferes considerably with the earnings of the miners. During my visit several of the miners waited upon me with a view of representing the necessity of constructing a dam at Eweburn. No doubt this dam would hold a considerable supply of water, and could easily be filled when the snow was melting, and during times of flood, but it would cost a considerable sum to construct. The survey of this site was made many years ago by Mr. Brown, the county engineer, and plans were sent in for embankments 50ft. and 70ft. high respectively. Upon examining the site for this dam it will be found that a considerable expenditure of money will be necessary to get good foundations, especially on the eastern side of the Eweburn Creek, and. in order to make a 70ft. embankment it will have to be carried a considerable length on that side to get to ground having a sufficient elevation. On the western side there is almost vertical rock, and it is on this side where a by-wash would have to be constructed. The cost of this reservoir was estimated by Mr. Brown as about £12,000, but it seems very questionable—taking into consideration the difficulty of obtaining a good foundation, and material for forming the embankment —whether the amount mentioned is not too low. The whole of the material required would have to be carted on with drays; but from an examination of the ground it seems doubtful whether sufficient clay with which to construct the puddle wall in the centre of the embankment could be obtained in the immediate vicinity. No doubt if this dam was constructed it would largely increase the supply; but there is very little possibility of any of the capital expended in its construction ever being returned. With regard to the supply in the main race, the work done at the various creeks when the race was taken over by Government has materially increased the supply in comparison to what it originally was ; and it has been found that the manner in which the weirs were constructed across the creek-beds has answered admirably ; and the gates which were placed at all these creek-cross-ings have prevented a great deal of shingle that was in these creek-beds from being earrie'd along the race. There are four maintenance-men employed on the race, which is seventy miles in length, and two additional men, who turn water on and off for the miners, and also do a certain amount of maintenance on the lower part of the race. The following statement will show the revenue derived from sales of water, the expenditure on

Month. Holidays. No Water for Channels. No Water for Private Races. 1895. April May June July August ... September October ... November December 2 8 4 6 9 "i "7 January ,., February March ... 1896. "8 6 "2 6 Totals 18 •10

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maintenance, and the approximate quantity of gold obtained by the miners using water from this supply for the year ending the 31st March last: —

It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the value of the sales of water last year amounted to £1,189 Is., as against £1,287 9s. Bd. for the previous year, which is a decrease last year of £98 Bs. Bd., while the expenditure on maintenance was £1,363 45., as against £1,052 3s. 7d. for the previous year. This shows an increase in the expenditure last year of £311 os. 5d., which was owing to the severe winter, which necessitated a large number of repairs on the breaking up of the frost. The loss on the working last year was £174 3s. The approximate quantity of gold obtained from claims worked with water from this supply was 2,305f0z., representing a value of £8,876 3s. 6d., and the number of men employed in these claims averages about sixty-one. Deducting the value of the gold obtained from the value of the sales of water, it leaves £7,687 2s. 6d. as the earning of the miners, which is equal to about £126 a man per annum, or about £2 3s. sd. a man per week. The total cost of construction of this water-race up to the end of March last was £69,644 4s. 9d. Blackstone Hill Race. The main or upper race from the east branch of .the Manuherikia or Johnson's Creek was cleaned out and repaired the year before last, but no repairs were effected to any of the other races coming into Blackstone Hill. The one from West Idaburn is now getting into such a condition that it carries very little water, and miners being supplied from this race met me at Blackstone Hill and complained about this. On making inquiries of the manager as to the cost of putting the race in proper repair, he estimated it from £15 to £20, and he has been instructed to have the work done. When this is completed the whole of the Blackstone Hill races will be in fair working order. The following statement will show the revenue derived from sales of water, the cost of maintenance, the number of men employed in working claims by the aid of this water-race, and the approximate quantity of gold obtained from such claims, for the year ending the 31st March last: —

It will be seen from the foregoing statement that the sales of water for the last year amounted to £136 11s. 7d. as against £136 os. sd. for the previous year, while the cost of maintenance was £29 Bs., thus leaving a net profit on the working of this water-race last year of £107 3s. 7d. The average number of miners employed in claims worked by the aid of this water-race was 74, and the approximate quantity of gold obtained by them was 2160z., representing a value of £831 12s. Deducting the value of the sales of water from the value of the gold obtained it leaves £695 os. sd.

Date. Sales of Water. Cash received. Maintenance. Number of Men employed. 5 3l52 « o ar> a < Value. 1895. £ s. d. 136 13 0 98 3 1 64 9 10 0 10 0 15 0 104 12 0 136 0 4 167 9 4 131 8 4 £ s. d. 137 13 0 98 15 1 65 9 10 0 10 0 13 11 0 115 2 0 149 19 3 167 18 4 132 9 4 £ s. d. 84 10 8 87 16 8 74 14 8 53 18 2 141 0 2 159 12 8 253 14 8 93 13 2 105 10 8 Oz. 172 260 93 3 150 168 222 260 £ s. d. 662 4 0 1,001 0 0 358 1 0 9 12 6 11 11 0 577 10 0 646 16 0 854 14 0 1,001 0 0 April May June July August .. September October.. November December 1896. 73 70 63 3 3 68 72 72 79 January February March .. 131 14 2 92 16 4 123 19 7 130 7 4 93 13 4 124 9 7 131 17 8 92 4 2 84 10 8 82 79 71 393 320 262 1,513 1 0 1,232 0 0 1,008 14 0 Totals 1,189 1 0 1,363 4 0 61-25 2.305J 8,876 3 6 1,229 18 1

Month. Sales of Water. Cash received. Maintenance. Number of Men employed. Approximate Quantity of Gold obtained. Value. 1895. £ s. d. 9 15 10 5 3 4 11 15 10 8 13 4 8 13 4 12 15 10 12 7 6 13 6 1 17 9 4 £ s. d. 9 7 6 5 10 10 8 13 4 9 15 10 7 7 4 15 19 2 4 10 0 17 13 4 17 15 7 £ s. d. 0 11 6 0 19 6 1 11 6 0 11 6 Oz. £ s. d. April May .. June .. July .. August September October November December 1896. 7 8 8 10 8 0 0 11 6 0 11 6 0 13 0 9 9 9 9 January February March 11 3 8 12 15 10 12 11 8 13 3 8 5 12 6 15 15 0 11 9 6 0 11 6" 19 0 10 10 10 Totals 136 11 7 131 4 1 29 8 0 7-41 216 831 12 0

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as the earnings of the miners, which is equal to about £99 ss. 9d. per man per annum. The total cost of this water-race was £1,036 165.; the net profit on the workings last year gave about 10 per cent, interest on the capital invested.

Summary of Water-races. The following statement will show the profits and losses of working the different water-races constructed and maintained by the Government for the last eighteen years, and also the collateral advantages derived by the utilisation of the water from these races: —

GOLD- AND SILVEE-MINING. During the past year there has been a considerable boom in mining, and properties are being bought up and arrangements made to float companies on the London market for the purpose of working and developing them. In many cases little or no work has been done on these claims: their greatest recommendation being that perchance they are situated near some locality where gold has been obtained in payable quantities. Foreign capitalists cannot be too careful at the present time when investing their money in New Zealand mining ventures ; for, although there are many good properties to be had, there are also a large number on which little or no work has been done to prove whether they will be of any value or not. There has been a considerable increase in the yield of gold last year from all the mining districts, the largest increase being in the Auckland District, as will be seen from the following statement :—

Taking the different goldfield districts in the North Island, there was an increased yield of 31,1160z. gold from Coromandel County, 1,0740z. from Thames County, 6520z. from Thames Borough, and 26,4150z. from Ohinemuri County ; while there was a decrease from Piako County of 2530z., and b'oz. gold from Whangarei.

Name of Water-race. Value of Sales of Water including Value of Gold obtained in Sludge-channel. Expenditure. Profit or Loss on Working. I" 3 ¥ b > 0 1° -a Sill Value of Goia obtained. Duty received on Gold obtained. Total Profit or Loss, with Value of Gold Duty added. Total Cost of Construction. Waimea-Kumara Water-race and Sludge-channel. Seventeen years ended 31st March, 1895 Year ended 31st March, 1896 £ s. a. £ a. d. £ s. d. a o 0«. £ s. d. £ s. £ s. a. £ s. d. 138,455 6 5 4,902 4 9 83,583 16 3 2,713 12 3 54,871 10 2 2,188 12 6 338 170 251,092 7,970 944,623 0 3 31,083 0 0 20,728 0 75,599 10 2 2,188 12 6 Totals 143,357 11 2 86,297 8 57,060 2 8 328. ,259,062 975,706 0 3 20,728 0 77,788 2 8 197,927 14 Nelson Creek. Thirteen years four months ended 31st July, 1892 17,577 0 7 15,415 7 1 2,161 13 52, 32,943 126,049 17 0 3,269 li 5,431 9 6 90,722 10 8 Argyle. Thirteen years ended 31st March, 1895 5,530 16 10 5,455 7 7 75 9 8 17 8,040 30,738 12 0 804 879 9 3 15,151 15 3 Mount Ida. Seventeen years ended 31st March, 1895 Year ended 31st March, 1896 170,823 10 0 8,876 3 6 22,671 8 6 1,189 1 0 25,842 7 3 1,363 4 0 *3,170 18 9 •174 3 0 103 61 44,860 2,305J 3,176 2i 5 3 31 •174 3 0 •■ Totals 23,860 9 6 27,205 11 3 *3,345 1 9 90: 47.165J 179,699 13 6 3,176 2 ♦168 19 9| 68,607 8 9 Blackstone Hill. Two years ended 31st March, 1895 .. Year ended 31st March, 1896 239 18 1 136 11 7 6 18 6 29 8 0 232 19 7l 102 3 71 7 7 473 216 1,846 16 6! 831 12 01 232 19 7 102 3 7 Totals 376 9 36 6 6 335 3 2 689 2,678 8 6 335 3 2 1,036 16 0 Grand totals 1,314,872 11 3 190,702 7 9 134,410 0 11 56,287 6 10 494 1 '347,8994 27,977 18 84,265 4 10 373,446 5 3 * Loss on wi irkini

Name of District. Year ended 31st March, 1896. Year 31st Mai ended rch, 1895. Increase for 1896. .uckland larlborough (elson Vest Coast .. itago Oz. 117,027 3,173 3,813 89,721 88,954 £ 450,829 12,681 14,007 358,870 359,694 Oz. 58,029 1,911 1,633 85,015 76,393 £ 228,059 7,626 6,059 339,731 308,070 Oz. 58,998 1,262 2,180 4,706 12,561 Totals 1,196,081 222,981 889,545 79,707 302,688

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In the South there was an increased yield of gold in the following counties, as follows: Marlborough, 1,2620z. ; Waimea, 187oz.; Collingwood, 1,9930z.; Inangahua, 11,7150z.; Grey, 6430z.; Taieri, 2450z.; Tuapeka, 3,8570z.; Vincent, 5,7080z.; Maniototo, 1270z.; Waikouaiti, 2040z.; Waihemo, 5590z.; Waitaki, 14oz. ; Bruce, 5140z.; Wallace, 2,0140z.; Southland, 1,0770z.; and Clutha, 20oz. While last year there was a decrease in the yield of gold from the following counties : Buller, 5,5750z.; Westland, 2,0770z.; Lake, 1,5250z.; and Fiord, 2540z. The largest increased yield for the past year being in Coromandel County, while the greatest decrease was in the Buller County. It is gratifying to find that the gold-mining industry is attracting the attention of men looking for investments, and that the increased returns show that investment of capital in mining ventures in the colony is justifiable, and that, with proper development, and improved appliances for the reduction and treatment of ores, many mining properties which formerly could not be worked successfully can be now worked at a handsome profit. The cyanide process of treatment, notwithstanding the large royalty charged by the Cassel Company for using it, has been the means of causing a revolution in quartz-mining, while hydraulic elevating and dredging has ushered in a new era in working alluvial deposits. The gold in the North Island is confined, as far as yet discovered, to quartz lodes, while the gold in the South Island is found in both quartz lodes and alluvial deposits, and in many places on the West Coast and in Otago there are large areas covered with great depths of auriferous drift, which will take some generations to work out, even if a plentiful supply of water were available. QUARTZ-MINING. In making my report on quartz-mining in the colony during the past year, it may be mentioned that a large boom in the mining industry has taken place, and there is a great demand for mining properties ; indeed, being such that people are pegging-off claims with the view of disposing of them to foreign capitalists, without doing any actual work, simply getting a grant of a special claim. The present boom is the largest that ever has taken place in the colony. It commenced in the North Island district, owing to large returns of gold being obtained from the Hauraki Mine at Coromandel, and the Waihi Mine at Waihi, in the Ohinemuri district. Special claims and licensed holdings have been pegged-off in all directions. Mining engineers have sprung into existence like mushrooms, and some of them have been busily engaged in reporting on properties, showing their values in such glowing terms that people residing at a distance have great difficulty in deciding what is legitimate mining enterprise and what is not. The boom extended to the West Coast, and claims are now being taken up on ground which twelve months ago was looked on as utterly valueless, and high prices are asked for the properties. Nevertheless, although we want foreign capital to develop the quartz-raining industry, it is essential that nothing but legitimate mining enterprises be offered to capitalists in order that they may receive a fair interest on their outlay. If worthless properties are placed on the London market and taken up it will tend to bring. about a depression in mining, and it will take a long time to re-establish confidence. All those who are interested in the welfare of the colony should set their face against offering valueless properties to foreign capitalists. The Hauraki Peninsula is a large field for quartz-mining; it extends from Cape Colville to near Puriri, and the same belt of country continues still further southward. The formation of the rocks is highly indicative of gold- and silver-bearing lodes, and new discoveries have recently been made in the Tairua and Whangamata districts which go to show that valuable auriferous lodes exist, and those places which are only now held for the timber they afford will soon be opened up when capital is forthcoming to develop the mineral resources. Already several persons have netted considerable sums in taking up outside claims, and they no sooner dispose of one than they are on the outlook for another, and contesting as to who will be the first to get pegs in. Ground has been pegged by parties after others have been on similar errands, and shares sold in anticipation of claims being granted, and when their applications came to be investigated they had no standing. Seeing that claims are taken up in this manner, and no work done to prove whether there is a likelihood of payable auriferous lodes existing or not, it cannot be wondered at if failures take place in investing capital m such ventures. On the other hand, there are many legitimate enterprises offering; and even some of those claims which are taken up simply for the purpose of floating companies to work them may turn out to be profitable investments; but there are many chances against this taking place. When one can see such large lodes as in the Waitekauri Company's, the Waihi Company's, and the Waihi-Silverton Company's mines, which a few years ago were looked on as being of little or no value, and other large lodes in the neighbourhood which are known to contain a little gold but have never been properly prospected, it holds out a great inducement to expend a reasonable amount of money to carry on prospecting operations to test those lodes at a greater depth. There are also large lodes in the Karangahake and Waiorongomai fields known to contain rich auriferous and argentiferous ore, but of a highly refractory nature, on account of having other base metals in the ore which cannot at the present time be separated unless at a great cost. Some of those lodes contain gold-, silver-, copper-, zinc-, lead-, antimony-, and quicksilver-ore. To separate these base metals by some simple and effective method has up to the present not been discovered. Very refractory ore is found at the Waiomo, in the Monowai Claim, also at Tararu, in the Norfolk and other claims ; and a few years ago a large concentrating plant was erected by the Sylvia Company to concentrate ores of this character and treat the concentrates by the cyanide process, which proved a failure. On my last visit to this district and the place where the Sylvia plant was erected there was a large accumulation of these concentrates stacked on the ground after having been operated upon by the cyanide treatment, and Mr. Park, Director of the Thames School of Mines, who accompanied me, stated that he had recovered bullion from this heap of waste material having an average value of £5 per ton. 6—C. 3.

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Experiments are at the present time being conducted by Mr. French on the Monowai ore, and also by Mr. Park on ores containing copper-sulphides, and these experiments, so far as they have been made, go to show that they will find a process to deal with them satisfactorily. Ore from the Champion Mine at Tui Creek has been sent to Swansea and Freyburg, to ascertain whether it could be profitably treated; but the process adopted at those works is not suitable for this class of ore. It is therefore not to be wondered at that lodes containing ore of this character are not taken up and worked; but the time is not far distant when a process to deal with it in a satisfactory manner will be found out. The rapid and extensive development of the mines at Karangahake, Waihi, Waitekauri, and Coromandel, and the large returns obtained from these mines, have been the means of attracting foreign capitalists. A great number of English companies, with large capital, have been formed to work different fields in both the North and South Islands, and a certain amount of this capital is set aside for opening up and developing the mines. These companies, instead of making small calls from time to time, have a certain amount of paid-up working capital available at once for carrying on large operations, and for the erection of plants with all the latest modern appliances for the treatment of ore. And even in the case of the local companies which have been formed, the money received from the sale of shares has in most instances been paid to the credit of these newly-formed companies for the development of the mines, instead of going into the pockets of the promoters as in days gone by. The mining industry is assuming a far more healthy appearance, and gradually acquiring a more solid and commercial basis ; and when the present mines that have recently been taken up by wealthy companies are properly developed there is every reason to believe that in future this industry will assume very large proportions. This is an industry which many of our leading men hold up to ridicule as being a species of gambling; nevertheless, at least about one-ninth of the European population in the colony is supported by it, and it therefore forms a great factor in the colony's progress. ■ During the year ending the 31st December last, dividends to the extent of £68,000 have been paid by quartz-mining companies in the Auckland District. It may be worthy of mention that a company termed "The. Kauri Mining Corporation " has been formed in London, with a subscribed capital of £500,000, to take over the freehold properties of the Kauri Timber Company, comprising nearly 3,700 acres, situated in Coromandel, Whangapoua, Kuaotunu, and Tairua. Bich lodes have been found in these properties, and it is the intention of this corporation to expend, it is said, about £100,000 in developing these lodes and carrying on prospecting operations, which means the employment of a very large number of men. This year, therefore, opens under very favourable auspices of a great revival of quartz-mining. Puhipuhi. Very little work has been done on this field for some years previous to the past one. The original prospectors found some rich silver-ore, but owing to the crude appliances erected, and lack of sufficient metallurgical knowledge to treat the ore in an intelligent manner, the venture at that time proved a failure. During last year vigorous operations have again been commenced, and special claims and licensed holdings have been applied for, comprising an area of about 1,300 acres. A company called the British Gold- and Silver-mining Company (No Liability) has been formed, and has taken up four special claims, and for some time past has had between thirty and forty men at work opening out the mine, laying tramways, and overhauling the crushing battery, &c. Mr. A. Gordon French, who is at present experimenting with the Monowai ore at Waiomo visited the Puhipuhi field last winter, and after passing several months in testing the ore he is, satisfied that it can be made to pay for working, especially in the Prospectors' and the Waipu Claims, where the ore is said to give an average assay-value of 250z. silver and sdwt. of gold to the ton. At the same time Mr. French states that much richer ore could be sorted out, but, as stone containing from 15oz. to 18oz. of silver to the ton will pay for working, he considers it would be no advantage to pick the ore. In regard to the former workings in these mines, Mr. French states " that, in his opinion, when they were first opened up they were skilfully worked, and justice was done to the ore at the battery as far as was then possible, but owing to the necessity of putting the ore through the kiln to prepare it for the battery, at least one-third of its silver and gold passed into the air in fumes. The difficulty is now overcome by the introduction of an invention which arrests the volatile silver and gold, and at the same time puts the ore into the best condition for the extraction of the rest of the bullion." It is to be hoped that Mr. French has thoroughly satisfied himself that the process he proposes to adopt for the treatment of the Puhipuhi ore will come up to his expectations. The difficulty in inventing any new process is, that the working shall be economical, yet capable of extracting a high percentage of the metals in the ore. It is comparatively easy to extract large percentages in laboratory experiments, but when treating the ore on a large scale it may be found that the cost of treatment precludes it from being carried on with commercial success. There are large lodes traversing the Puhipuhi field, and the same line and class of country runs on from Puhipuhi towards Cape Brett. Both gold and silver have been obtained by frequent assays of samples from lodes at the latter place. The field is one well worthy of being prospected, and it is one where there is a fair probability of payable auriferous and argentiferous lodes being discovered. With the exception of the claim now held by the British Gold and Silver Company, and formerly worked by the Prospectors' Company, there is very little legitimate prospecting done. Some years ago, samples of ore from this field were sent to the Colonial Laboratory for assay, which showed that it contained as much as l,ooooz. of silver to the ton, and when such rich samples can be obtained it gives an impression that other

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lodes will be found in the locality containing ore equally as rich. It has, however, always to be borne in mind that samples forwarded for assay are generally misleading as to the average character of the ore in a lode : the most likely piece is broken out for assay. Very few of those interested in mines would send a sample of pure white quartz to be assayed to ascertain its value. There is always some indication in the ore in quartz lodes to show that they contain mineral. On my recent visit to this district there were large bush-fires in Puhipuhi Forest, and it was feared at that time that the crushing-battery would be destroyed ; but, fortunately, such was not the case. The company's workmen had considerable trouble in combating with the fire and protecting the company's property. The damage done by fire to the kauri timber in this forest is very great. Mr. Alderson, one of the directors of the British Company, states that he saw a green kauri-tree 15ft. in diameter reduced to ashes. This fire has prevented the company from completing a trial crushing of the ore at their mill, owing to the burnt debris coming into the flume which conveys the water to work the mill. COEOMANDEL DISTEICT. In consequence of the rich finds of auriferous quartz in the Hauraki Mine, there has been a revival of mining in this district, and mining properties have been greatly in demand, and all the ground in the vicinity of the Hauraki Company's claim has been pegged out and taken up in special claims and licensed holdings. Some of these may prove remunerative for working if sufficient money is expended in carrying on prospecting operations, but very few of the men who took up the ground have means to do this. It is simply a question of taking up the ground, drawing out a prospectus, or getting reports to show the probabilities of rich auriferous lodes passing through the ground, in order to float a company on the London market to work it. There is no doubt there are several valuable mining properties in this district, and others will prove to be so when properly developed ; but it must always be borne in mind that it is not reasonable to expect that all the properties about which prospectuses are sent Home with the view of floating companies to work them will prove safe investments for capital, as many will turn out to be wild speculations with very little, if any, justification of people placing them on the market. The ground was probably only taken up for the purpose of making money by disposing of it to some one else who might be fool enough to credit all the glowing representations that are set forth in reports respecting it. It must be remembered that at the present time there is a boom in mining in New Zealand, and wherever there is a boom in any industry a reaction sooner or later sets in, and properties become depreciated in value. There is a clear demonstration of this in regard to mining properties in South Africa at the present, where it is said that the values have decreased to the extent of about £120,000,000. New Zealand offers a large field for the investment of capital in mining enterprises, but before investing money in these ventures foreign as well as local capitalists have to use every precaution to ascertain from reliable men of sufficient mining experience that such properties are likely to return fair interest on the capital proposed to be invested for the purpose of developing them. There is a very large extent of country in the Coromandel district where auriferous lodes are known to exist, and no doubt many lodes will yet be discovered that will give good returns for working. Indeed, there is scarcely any portion of the Coromandel County that could be said to be non-auriferous. The formation, which is chiefly propylite, is highly indicative of the existence of auriferous lodes. From the ocean-beach at Preece's Point, Qnion Beach, Tiki, Tokatea, Waikoromiko, Castle Eock, and the whole of the county between this and Mercury Bay, lodes exist containing gold, and the time is not far .distant when extensive mines will be opened, and plants, with all modern appliances, will be erected to treat the ore in a far more intelligent manner than heretofore. The loss in the treatment of auriferous ore in the past has been appalling indeed. Until recent years no one took any trouble to ascertain the assay-value of the ore. The treatment was carried on in the most primitive manner, and notwithstanding this the mill-men were under the impression that they were recovering a large percentage of the gold; whereas, in all probability, if an average was taken of the whole of the ore treated since the field was first opened it would be found that not more than 50 per cent, of the assay-value has been recovered. There is a large extent of country, comprising nearly 37,000 acres, or about 57 square miles, of freehold land belonging to the Kauri Syndicate Company which has now been acquired by an influential London syndicate, for the purpose of developing the auriferous lodes that are known to exist, and for carrying on prospecting operations. This belt of country extends from the goldworkings in the vicinity of Castle Eock and the range dividing Coromandel proper from Whangapoa, and extends to Kuaotunu. It is only of recent years that the Kauri Syndicate Company would allow any one to work any portion of this land for gold-mining, and when they did agree to allow miners to carry on prospecting operations it was under the most stringest regulations, hedged round with conditions, that only a few have ever taken up ground to work within this area. A few years ago Mr. Lanigan found fairly rich auriferous stone upon the Kauri Syndicate's property in the vicinity of Opitonui, where he erected a crushing battery of ten heads of stamps, and carried on mining for some time with success ; but it is well known that only a small percentage of the gold in the quartz was recovered, and that nothing but very rich ore would pay for working by the principle adopted in carrying on operations. There are large lodes in portions of this freehold property containing gold, but unless these contain rich deposits they will not prove payable for working in a small way. When the whole of this property is prospected many valuable discoveries will probably have been made, and there is very little doubt but the present proprietors will be repaid many-fold for the capital they have invested in the enterprise. Where there are large lodes containing low-grade ore, the only way to make them payable for working is to carry

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on mining operations on a large scale, and have a large plant for treating the ore. The most fatal thing at the present time is that, instead of having one large plant on the field with a good metallurgist to superintend the operations, every company has a small plant of their own, each having a staff of men, and the quantity of ore the plants are capable of treating is too small to make the enterprise highly remunerative. Mining in the future will have to be carried on more intelligently than in the past. Science has demonstrated in recent years that the methods formerly used in treating auriferous ore ought to be entirely abandoned, and many of the plants at present in use should be pulled down and replaced by more modern ones ; but, although many of the present shareholders in small mining companies are fully aware of this, they have not the means at their disposal to make any large expenditure in this direction. Neither are they disposed to devote a certain percentage of the profits of working their mine as a fund to develop their properties ; every penny is required to be paid away in dividends, and in some instances in declaring dividends, future profits are anticipated to make good the amount of the dividend declared. Such a state of things is ruinous to the mining industry, and has a tendency to leave on the minds of those with capital to invest the impression that mining enterprises are only gambling transactions, instead of being legitimate commercial ventures, if properly conducted on right principles. There is a large portion of the Coromandel district, between Tokatea and Cape Colville, where little or no prospecting has yet been done. The recent revival in mining has caused men to go more into the back country, with the view of finding new lodes. This has resulted in gold being discovered in the vicinity of Port Charles; and, as the whole of the intervening country is of a similar formation, it is only reasonable to anticipate that fresh discoveries will soon be made elsewhere. Again, between Kuaotunu, Mercury Bay, and Tairua, and the whole of the country from the east coast to the shores of the Hauraki Gulf at Waikawau, is an auriferous belt where gold has been found from time to time, and prospecting operations are being carried on in the vicinity of Mahakirau and Manaia. The gold varies considerably in character in this district. At Coromandel proper, it in many instances can be termed of a coarse nature, while about Kuaotunu it is so fine and so minutely disseminated throughout the stone that by nothing but the greatest care in the treatment of the ore can a large percentage of its assay-value be obtained. The use of cyanide of potassium has greatly facilitated the recovery of gold from its ores, especially when it occurs in a minute state of division, but there is yet room for further improvements to be made in treatment of ores by the cyanide process. As Mr. Wilson, the Inspector of Mines for the North Island, has reported fully on all the mining properties in the Coromandel district, it is not necessary for me to recapitulate remarks relative to the mines reported on by him. I will add general remarks to those made by him; and, in order to have the whole information connected with the mining industry complete, Mr. Wilson's reports on the different gold-mining districts are embodied in my report. Mr. Wilson's report on the Coromandel district is as follows : — COKOMANDBL COUNTY. Cabbage Bay District. This section of the Hauraki Mining District has attracted much attention during the past twelve months. It is situated about seven miles north of Tokatea, and lies within the auriferous belt of country through which the main Tokatea Eeef runs in a northerly direction. Vizard and party discovered gold on the Huruhuru Block several years ago, and obtained fair returns; but, the place being difficult of. access, was abandoned. However, the well-known gold-bearing character of the lodes have caused the following areas to be taken up as mining claims; several private freeholds have also been acquired, the whole amounting to some 4,000 acres. Cabbage Bay Special contains 100 acres, including the land formerly known as Vizard's and McKenzie's. A cross-cut has been driven 75ft., and McKenzie's reef, which is about 2ft. 6in. thick, has been driven on 20ft., and stoped ; the average assay of the quartz obtained being about 2oz. per ton. A wooden tramway has been constructed to carry the ore to the battery, but the stamps are inadequate to treat the stone even when roasted. In the Wairori Stream sluicing is being carried on at a place where Eawlinson and party obtained splendid specimens some fifteen years ago. The Nciv Waihi, comprising an area of 22 acres, lies to the eastward of Cabbage Bay Special, near the crown of the range. It is owned by Jamieson and party, who have prospected a 3ft. reef carrying gold, which has been driven on 57ft. Several other auriferous reefs have been found, but have not yet been prospected. The Doris, 84 acres in extent, lies to the northward of the New Waihi. In this claim six short tunnels have been driven on gold-bearing reefs averaging lft. 6in. in thickness, which run in the direction of north and south. The Moehau Star. —McKenzie's reef has been traced from the Cabbage Bay Special through this claim, which has an area of 100 acres. On the Avondale and Warrior, which lie to the eastward of the Doris and contain 58 acres, a fair amount of work has been done by Harper, on behalf of an Auckland syndicate, with the result that some promising reefs have been prospected. Bhodes, the area of which is 100 acres, has been acquired by a southern syndicate. In this claim there is a quartz-blow, round which loose gold is obtained, but the amount of work done is trifling. Hauraki Star adjoins the last-named property, and consists of 48 acres. A notable feature here is the presence of the well-known " Dutchman Gully " leaders, carrying gold-bearing stone and traversing slate country. A good deal of work was done here formerly, and two men are now employed in prospecting the ground.

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Various claims have been applied for on the basin of the Nagogo, but no systematic work has been accomplished. Gold has been found in the bed of this creek. Whiritoa Block, a freehold of 142 acres, has been acquired by a Gisborne syndicate. A tunnel 50ft. in length has been driven, but the reef has not yet been intersected. An area of 417 acres, known as " Moehau No. 3 Block," has been purchased by the Caledonian Syndicate of Auckland, and, in conjunction with the Waikanae New Find, is under offer to the Anglo-Continental Syndicate. The Waikanae Block, containing 2,560 acres, is a museum reserve, but subject to mining regulations, in which all the available area has been applied for. Three tons of ore taken from the Fortuna Special Claim, which was discovered by Messrs. Clements and party in October, 1895, were treated at the Moanataiari Battery, Thames, and yielded 30oz. lOdwt. of gold, valued at £88 9s. The reef is 15in. thick ; its course east and west, underlying to the southward. In this reef 20ft. of driving has been done, and some stoping. A winze has also been sunk. A low-level now being driven is in 40ft. The leader has been cut and found to be auriferous. It is intended to connect this with the winze in the upper level. At Matamataharakeke the only systematic work being done is by the Gisborne Gold-mining Company, who are driving on a large reef of promising quartz. Poet Charles District. Gold was discovered on Kensington's property, and a claim called the Jay Gould was taken up ; but litigation has prevented any satisfactory work being done. At Stony Bay, the Kuaotunu Syndicate are driving a cross-cut for a gold-bearing reef outcropping on the surface, which they calculate will be intersected in about 160 ft., half that distance being already accomplished. A considerable amount of prospecting is being done throughout the district. The Ascot, Takapuna, and Vanderbilt Mines are doing surface-work; and in the Charleston a 12ft. reef carrying gold has been cut. Kennedy Bay District. The first land occupied in this district was the Bay View Licensed Holding, commonly known as the Prospector's Claim. Three men are employed opening up a reef from lft. 6in. to 2ft. in thickness, which shows gold freely. Besides this reef there is another about 15ft. wide, which is said to prospect well. To the eastward of this claim lies the Kennedy Bay Licensed Holding, and the Ferns Glen Special Claim, but very little work has yet been done on either. The King of the Eanges lies to the westward of the Bay View, and is traversed by several lodes, on which, however, no labour has been expended. On the northern side of the Bay View lie the Evening Star, Anglo-Saxon, and Madge Special Claims, on all of which sufficient prospecting has been done to show that reefs exist that warrant the expenditure of capital for their further development. In the Ellen Eose, which adjoins the Bay View to the eastward, fair results have followed the little prospecting that has been done in demonstrating the existence of sundry reefs. The district, on the whole, is worthy of fair trial; but access to the claims is rendered so difficult by the absence of roads that capitalists have not yet been induced to invest there. Other claims in the district are the Lorna Doone, Morning Star, Just for Luck, Eangipuhi, Maroro, and Duke of Argyle. Tokatea District. Triumph (Hauraki) Mine. — Owners, Triumph (Hauraki) Gold-mining Company, Limited (English Company). —Work was commenced in this mine, the area of which is 60 acres, at the beginning of November last. The reef known as the "Three Brothers" was driven on in the No. 2 level, and broken down for a distance of 50ft.; while the main tunnel was also extended in the same level a distance of 100 ft. for a cross-cut to the Waverley Eeef, which when reached will give over 100 ft. of backs. The Evenden level, 70ft. below No. 2 level, has been cleaned out, and a tramway laid to the face. It has been further extended 40ft., with the object of cutting the Three Brothers and Waverley Eeefs. In order to develop this mine systematically, a main low-level cross-cut has been commenced at a point that gives 90ft. more backs than the Evenden level, which has now been driven 175 ft. The country-rock is hard and of a very tight description. To cut the known main lodes will require 700 ft. of driving in all. The number of men employed averaged fourteen. A ten-stamp battery, with steam-power sufficient to drive twenty head, has been sent from England, and is about to be erected at a machine-site which has been acquired on the Champion Licensed Holding, about 27 chains distant from the mine. An aerial tramway for the transmission of ore to the battery will also be erected. Queen of the North Mine. —Area, 30 acres; owner, Carlo Blasch.—On this mine, which adjoins the Tokatea, very little work has been done during the year, but an additional area has been acquired, with a view to obtaining capital for driving a low-level to cut the reef and leaders at greater depths. Tokatea of Hauraki Mine. —Owners, Tokatea of Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited). — This mine, 87 acres 1 rood 26 perches in area, comprises the land formerly known as the Tokatea Mine. The chief work done has been on the No. 7 level, which has been cleared, and a winze sunk to a depth of 50ft. Provision is now being made for erecting pumping and winding machinery in a large chamber that has been formed for the purpose. Pipes have been laid from the entrance of the level to the chamber, to provide power for driving the underground machinery by means of compressed air. The compressor will be driven by a steam-engine worked near the entrance to the tunnel. The coal for the engine has to be conveyed over the Tokatea Eange, and 361 tons are now being delivered. Other works have been carried out on reefs, and a parcel of ore, 5 tons in weight,

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taken from the reef yielded 340z. sdwt. of gold. Forty men are constantly employed. The battery, of fifteen stamps, has been renovated, and will be used in crushing quartz for the Royal Oak Mine as well as for this. When the machinery is ready for sinking, and work can be resumed on the reef below No. 7 level, the prospects of success are very encouraging, in view of the returns already obtained. Boyal Oak Mine. —Owners, Eoyal Oak of Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited). —Adjoining the Tokatea Mine to the southward, and containing 39 acres 1 rood 9 perches. This mine has since its acquirement by the above company been reopened. In the Nos. 3, 5, 6, and 7 levels and the intermediate level over No. 3 a great amount of work has been done on reefs and in cross-cuts. In No. 7 level the work carried on by the Tokatea Company is intended to be applied to the development of the reef in this mine. The shaft to be sunk will benefit both mines, and enable the owners to work the reef below water-level. Since this level was cleared up and repaired a winze was sunk to a depth of 82ft., and a drive put in 50ft. on the reef, from which 5 tons of quartz and 721b. of picked stone were crushed, for a return of 41oz. 17dwt. of gold. A drive, 32ft., was also put in on the main portion of the Tokatea Beef. Over half a mile of tramway has been laid, in order to deport timber from the bush, and a good stock of this requisite has been deposited at the various levels. As the mine is now well opened up, sufficient quartz can be taken out to keep the mill working steadily. The work carried on by the two companies will determine the value of the reefs at a very great depth,, and the rich returns already obtained give every reason for expecting an equally satisfactory yield in the near future. Pride of Tokatea Mine. —Owners, Pride of Tokatea Gold-mining Company. —This mine, covering 37 acres, is situated in the Tokatea Eange, near the saddle, a locality whence rich quartz was obtained in the early days of Tokatea. Two levels have been opened, and four lodes, varying from 2in. to 4ft., worked on. A crushing of specimens from the small leader, weighing l&Jlb., yielded 16oz. lOdwt. of gold, valued at £45. Most of the work done by the four men employed has been performed during the last few months, as the levels have had to be reopened. The mine is on the point of being taken over by an English company, and more extensive works will be undertaken in the near future. Harbour View Mine. —Owners, Harbour View Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This mine, having an area of 24 acres 2 roods 8 perches, is situated near the Tokatea Saddle. A considerable amount of work has been done in cleaning out the old low-level, which penetrated the country in the foot-wall of the big reef. A number of reefs and leaders exist here, which have been worked by tributers for the past twenty years, with varying success. The average number of men employed during the year was five. The property has been sold to an English company. East Hauraki Mine. —Owners, East Hauraki Gold-mining Company, Limited (English Company). —This mine was formerly known as the "West Tokatea." It contains 29 acres 3 roods 42 perches. Operations were commenced about the 9th January of this year, by opening the Cornstock level, laying tramways, and building a bridge across the road for tip. In this level a winze has been sunk and timbered 57ft. on a leader known as Dunn's leader, which gives fair prospect of gold. A low-level is being driven 100 ft. below the Comstock level to intersect four well-known reefs, starting from a point on the North Licensed Holding, through which it will have to be driven 120 ft. to the East Hauraki boundary. Of this, 80ft. are already driven. The country-rock is solid sandstone, highly mineralised, easily worked, and requiring no timbering. Ten men are now constantly employed. A stamp battery will probably be sent from England, but at present no machinery is being used on the mine, "which can be worked entirely by adit-levels. Prospecting works were also carried on in the Golden Spark, Sea View, Stirling Castle, North, Euby, Londonderry, and other mines, from which 20 tons of quartz were crushed, for a yield of 138oz. of gold. Biiffalo Mine. —Owners, Buffalo Gold-mining Company.—ln this freehold, the extent of which is 10 acres 1 rood, the old levels have been cleaned out and repaired. The leaders vary in size from 2in. up to 18in. A rich run of gold above the present level was worked in the early days. A few tons of quartz have been obtained by the four men working on the property, but no crushing has yet taken place. The Good Enough Mine, owned by Ross and party, is situated on the Courthouse Creek, adjoining the Buffalo. Two men worked on it for six months; of specimens were crushed for 30oz. lOdwt. of gold. New Tokatea Mine. —Owners, New Tokatea Gold-mining Company.—This mine, 30 acres in area, is situated to the southward of the Tokatea Saddle. A considerable amount of work has been done, and two levels opened up. No. 2 level has been cleaned out and driven on for a distance of 35ft. on No. 1 reef. At No. 3 level, 235 ft. have been driven on the No. 2 reef; and a rise on No. 1 reef of 57ft. connects the levels. On the same reef, 22 fathoms have been stoped out, while there are 6 fathoms of stoping and 34ft. of rises on No. 2 reef. There are known to be six distinct reefs in the mine, but work has been confined to Nos. 1 and 2, on which there are 200 ft. of backs. Seventeen tons of quartz were crushed by the ordinary battery process, for a yield of 19oz. lOdwt. The mine will be worked by adit-levels for some time, no machinery being required except for battery purposes. New Hauraki Properties Mine. —Owners, New Hauraki Properties Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This mine is situated on the southern continuation of the Tokatea Range, and adjoins the Success. The land is named the Taumatawahine Block, and is freehold property. The work carried on in prospecting the mine has been as follows : Deep-level cross-cut, 425 ft.; deep level, east and west, 167 ft.; Nicholl's deep-level cross-cut, 143 ft.; prospecting No. 1, 48ft.; prospecting No. 2, 17ft.; Queen cross-cut, 70ft.: total, 870 ft. The mine is favourably situated, and will be thoroughly explored by the present owners. Its area is 14 acres 2 roods 28 perches, and thirtyfive men are employed on the average.

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A rush set in to Karaka Block, and a large number of claims were marked out; but in consequence of litigation some delay occurred in granting the licenses, and up to the present very little work has been done here. Success Aline. —Owners, Success Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This mine is situated in the Karaka Block, and includes the land lately known as the "Try Again," from which exceedingly rich quartz has from time to time been obtained. A large amount of work has been done by the present owners. James's Eeef is well opened up, and a deep-level cross-cut has been driven. Captain Hodge gives the following summary of works accomplished : James's -Beef —620 ft. drives ; 183 ft. rises; 21ft. winzes ; 93ft. 6in. cross-cuts. Success No. 2 Eeef—42ft. drives; 7ft. cross-cuts. Bennett's Level —295 ft. drives; 150 ft. cross-cuts. Big Eeef Cross-cut—24ft. rises; 70ft. winzes; 328 ft. cross-cuts. A;10-stamp mill is to be erected in the vicinity of the mine when the necessary excavation is completed; and, as the County Council has formed a road from the flat to the battery-site, machinery can now be conveyed there. The quartz will be transported to the mill by means of a wire tramway. A considerable quantity of ore is in readiness for crushing, and, as the reefs have hitherto yielded very rich stone, good returns may be expected. An average of thirty men are employed in this mine, the area of which is 26 acres 2 roods 2 perches. Kapanga District. Kapanga Mine. —Owners, Kapanga Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This mine comprises an area of 99 acres 3 roods 27 perches, and is situated within one of the richest and most productive portions of the Coromandel district. Work has been vigorously carried on during the year. The shaft has been further sunk to a depth of 906 ft., and a level opened at 900 ft. Boring with the diamond drill was carried on below the 800 ft., but, on reaching a depth of 198 ft. below that level, it was found that when soft rock was pierced the hole filled, and boring had to be discontinued. It has now been determined to continue sinking the shaft to a depth of I,oooft. At the 800 ft. level a cross-cut was put in and several reefs cut, ventilation being obtained whilst driving by means of a water-blast from a pipe at the shaft. A large amount of work has been done in opening blocks in Scotty's and Kapanga Eeefs, and stoping has also been carried on. The future prospects of this mine are very encouraging. The exploration of fresh country in the vicinity, where large yields of gold have been met with in the past, and the penetration by the shaft in sinking of an entirely new floor of country containing the best indications of gold, is calculated to yield the most satisfactory results. The following report by Captain Argall will show the amount of work done during the period:— "The most important work done during the year was in connection with the diamond-drill as a means of testing the country below the bottom of the shaft. At the latter end of the previous year an engine was erected, and the shaft tubed to the 800 ft. level, when boring was commenced and continued for 198 ft. below the shaft. For the first 38ft. we passed through the same classes of rock as in sinking the shaft—viz., hard andesite; below this point we came upon the decomposed andesite, which is the recognised gold-bearing strata, often carrying heavy deposits of the precious metal. This class of rock has continued to the bottom of the bore-hole, and is highly mineralised. About 170 ft. below the 800 ft. shaft we intersected a reef about 7ft. wide, carrying gold, which by the character of the country around must prove a very productive reef. This view is supported by the fact that while sinking from the 600 ft. to the 800 ft. a complete network of stringers was cut through, and these in all probability will strike the reef above referred to, in which case the shoots of gold should be. very rich. We experienced no difficulty with the drill while boring through the hard andesite, but as soon as the decomposed andesite was met the hole commenced to fill in. We then tubed the hole for 113 ft., and started to bore with a 3in. drill; but after a short distance had been bored the filling-in process again troubled us, and, although various efforts were made to overcome the difficulty, we did not succeed, and were compelled at last to give over boring. The results obtained, however, were such as to induce the company to carry the shaft down to a further depth of 200 ft., which will make, when complete, a total depth of I,oooft. Following the decision of the company, we at once commenced sinking, and have accomplished 106 ft., the indications being such as to lead us to expect good results to follow. At the 800 ft. level a cross-cut west has been driven, with the intention of intersecting the supposed junction of Scotty's and the Kapanga Eeefs. The countryrock for the entire length of this drive is blue andesite, mixed with jasper, and carrying a little pyrites. While driving, and when 50ft. from the shaft, we intersected the reef cut in 700 ft., which is sft. wide, composed of quartz calcite and pug, and carrying well-defined walls, bearing 25° west of north, underlying to the south-west at an angle of 65° from the horizon. At 200 ft. from the shaft another reef was cut, about 10ft. wide, its composition being quartz and pug mixed with country-rock carrying good walls and bearing north-east 15°, dipping west about 45° from the horizon. A third reef was met, running north and south, dipping to the east 10° from vertical, and 9ft. wide, composed of solid quartz highly mineralised. About 15ft. west of this reef a strong lode was met, 2ft. wide, dipping west about 20° from vertical, and bearing 20° east of north, having a masterly appearance, with well-defined walls of quartz and pug, carrying a little gold. Besides these reefs, several small branches were met. The lode mentioned is in all probability the Kapanga Eeef, with its underlie changed, and in order to determine this point a rise is being put up to the 600 ft. cross-cut, which will not only settle the question but will be the medium of obtaining good ventilation, and at the same time afford additional exit for the miners.

" During the year a considerable amount of dead work has been done in opening up blocks on Scotty's and Kapanga Eeefs. A fair amount of stoping has also been accomplished. We have commenced to rise above the 500 ft. level on Kapanga, which is a fine body of stone, about 20ft. thick, and the country-rock is everything that can be desired as a gold-bearing rock. It is our intention to carry this rise to the 420 ft., where rich ore was found. It was from this level we began

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a winze and obtained fair-grade ore, but the influx of water overpowered us. From present indications we are led to expect good ore about this neighbourhood. A rise was also put up above the 300 ft. level on Scotty's foot-wall, where rich-gold was found, one specimen weighing 1001b. This work has opened up a large block for stoping, and everything in this region looks promising. Above the 420 ft. on Scotty's we have risen 120 ft. through very kindly country. The reef is 20ft. wide, carrying a little gold. Besides the ordinary working in the mine, we have done a considerable amount of surface prospecting —viz., we have driven about 200 ft. on a branch varying from lft. to 2Jft. wide, and occasionally rich ore was obtained. Also, in the back of this drive, stoping has been done. We are hoping to intersect the Kapanga Eeef. As it was thought better to work this block from the old Corby shaft, it has been repaired from the surface to the bottom, and 60ft. of cage road have been put in, and a ladder-way from top to bottom. " A 13in. horizontal engine has been erected, with a 6-ton Cornish boiler and poppet-legs, with winding-gear complete. " During the year the main engine-shaft has been sunk 106 ft.; drives on reefs and branches, I,lloft. ; winzes sunk, 125 ft.; risings, 1,154 ft.; cross-cuts, 286 ft. Stopes : Under this head 609 tons of quartz have since been treated. " The total amount of retorted gold was 1,5330z. 13dwt. Number employed on mine at end of year, 31st March, 1896, 99; number of working engines, 7, ranging from 12- to 250-horse power ; number of stampers, 10, and 2 berdans; pitwork, 1,000 from 10in. to 15in. in diameter." Scotty's Mine. —Owners, Scotty's (Hauraki) Gold-mining Company (Limited). —The area of this mine is 38 acres and 17 perches, and. fifty men were employed during the year. It has been vigorously worked throughout that period. A new shaft, with steam winding and- pumping machinery, has been sunk, two levels opened, and a number of drives cleaned and further driven to the upper levels. The following are the measurements of the work done—viz.: Sinking, 325 ft.; cross-cuts, 638 ft.; driving on reefs, 454 ft.; stoping, 110 ft.; levels cleaned, 1,069 ft. This property adjoins the Kapanga to the northward, the locality being one of the richest in Coromandel district. The work at present in progress will thoroughly open up and prospect the known reefs, and will probably lead to discoveries in new ground. A considerable increase in the yield of gold from the mine may be anticipated, the company having purchased Mayo's battery of fifteen stamps, which is being put in order, and will be used at an early date. Britannia Mine. —Owners, Britannia Gold-mining Company.—This mine has an area of 40 acres, and gives employment to an average of six men. The chief work done has been the sinking of a main shaft, which is now down 160 ft. It is intended to open at 200 ft. and cross-cut for reefs. A small winding plant is at present used in sinking, but a large and suitable winding and pumping plant will be erected when required. It is only eight months since the present company was formed, but the ground, when formerly worked, yielded considerable quantities of payable ore. Several reefs and leaders have been worked on the ground, the most important of which are the Flying Cloud and Junction Eeefs, each from lft. to 2ft. thick. The old levels have been cleaned out, and 80ft. of driving done in them. Prospecting works have been carried on in the Conquering Hero and North Kapanga, as well as in other areas throughout the district, but no discovery of a valuable nature is recorded. All the available land in the district is now occupied. Blagrove's Freehold Mine. —Owners, Blagrove's Freehold Gold-mining Company (Limited). — This mine, which comprises 130 acres, is situated in a direct line and nearly midway between the Kapanga and Hauraki Mines. It is being opened by an engine-shaft, and, judging from the appearance of the reefs and veins found at shallow depths in this large area of ground, there are good reasons for assuming that, as work progresses, the reefs will become more productive. Captain Argall, the manager, gives the following account of work done during the year: "On the surface there has been erected one horizontal engine of 30-horse power, with all necessary gear for pumping and winding, with one 6-ton Cornish boiler. Poppet-heads, with the necessary appliances for winding and lowering pitwork, have also been erected. The two cages have all the modern appliances re safety-catches and detaching-hooks for the safety of the men. All the buildings required are completed, and a good deal of work has been done in excavating, &c. The engineshaft has been sunk 110 ft., making a total depth of 200 ft. " An adit-level has been driven from almost the level of the swamp for 110 ft., communicating with the shaft 60ft. below the surface, where there is also a chamber cut, which saves lifting the water that distance. At the 200 ft. a chamber has been cut and a cross-cut driven 32ft. east, which will be continued in order to intersect some known reef leaders. "Previous to the taking-over of this property by the new company a great deal of prospectingwork was done, with the result that several reefs were discovered, notably one which is thought to be a continuation of Scotty's Eeef, from the fact that it has the same bearing and the same characteristics. The various reefs and leaders are, for the most part, fairly well defined where disclosed near the surface, having, at times, good walls. They range in width from a few inches to 2ft., and are all auriferous. " The men employed in the mine number thirty-one." Kauki Block. Hauraki Mine.— Owners, Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited).—This mine has again been most successfully worked. Its area is 47 acres 2 roods 21 perches, and 170 men were employed, on the average, throughout the year. The shaft has been completed, the depth sunk being 220 ft., and steps are being taken to continue sinking for another level at 300 ft. A large amount of work was done at the 160 ft. and 220 ft levels in opening up lodes Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, the New Year reef, and cross-veins. A tunnel 600 ft. in length was driven through the hill, forming a direct road from the brace to a chute at the crushing-mill. The value of the property may be

HAURAKI G.M.Co.

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estimated from the fact that the year's output amounted to 2,751 tons lcwt. of quartz and specimens, which, when crushed, yielded 31,6840z. lOdwt. of gold, valued at £97,218. Bunker's Hill Mine. —Owners, Bunker's Hill Gold-mining Company.—This small mine—only 3 acres and 12 perches —adjoins the Hauraki on the northern side, and is on the same line of reefs. A shaft has been sunk 240 ft., a level opened at a depth of 140 ft. from the surface, and 270 ft. driven in cross-cuts. No. 1 leader, 4in., and three others 2in. wide were intersected in the cross-cut. No. 1 was driven on for 110 ft., and 25 fathoms were stoped out over the level. The other leaders have not been worked on. Fifteen tons of quartz were crushed for 84oz. of gold, valued at £256 4s. Sixteen men have been constantly employed. A steam-engine and winding-gear is used for hauling and baling water. The Hauraki shaft being deeper, a pump is not required, as the shaft is being sunk to open up the mine at a lower level. Welcome Find Mine. —Owners, Welcome Find Gold-mining Company.—This mine adjoins Bunker's Hill to the northward. Its area is 9 acres 3 roods. A shaft has been sunk 110 ft. and a level opened at that depth. About 400 ft. have been driven in cross-cuts, and four reefs cut, from lin. to 6in. in thickness. On these reefs and leaders 130 ft. of driving has been done. A surfacelevel has also been driven 110 ft., but no quartz has yet been crushed. Fourteen men were employed. A 40-horse power winding- and pumping-engine is used, the cages being fitted with safety appliances, and detaching-hooks to prevent overwinding are also used. New Golconda Mine. —Owners, New Golconda Gold-mining Company. —This mine lies on the northern side of the Welcome Find. A shaft has been sunk to a depth of 93ft., a cross-cut has been put in for 49ft., and 70ft. driven towards the north-east, mostly on surface formation. A drive was put in 15ft. to the southward on a small leader which showed a little gold. Another drive was put in 18ft. on a north and south reef from 2ft. to 3ft. thick, but no gold is seen. They are preparing to sink an extra 50ft. The machinery in use on the mine consists of one steamboiler and Tangye pump. The average number of men employed is eight. Wynyardton Mine. —Owners, Wynyardton Gold-mining Company.—This mine of 9f acres employed an average of six men during the year. A shaft has been sunk 88ft., and it is intended to continue sinking until a sufficient depth is reached for a No. 1 level. For this work a 12-horse power boiler and steam-winch have been erected. The staff at present consists of nine men. Zealandia Mine. —Owners, Zealandia Gold-mining Company. —This company's ground includes the Zealandia Hauraki Extended and Southern Cross, these properties being now amalgamated, making a total area of 20 acres and 7 perches, upon which twelve men have been employed. In the Zealandia portion, No. 1 reef, which is from lft. to 9ft. wide, has been driven on 89ft., and No. 2 reef, which has an average thickness of lft., has been driven on 76ft. Both show a little gold. Cross-cuts, 89ft., 80ft., 98ft., and 42ft., have also been put in. In the Hauraki Extended portion a main tunnel has been driven 214 ft., and a branch drive of 56ft. In the Southern Cross portion a main tunnel was driven about 400 ft., and several reefs from 3in. to 2ft. thick were cut, some of which showed a little gold. A main shaft, 11-J-ft. long by 4Jft. wide clear of timber, is being sunk on the northern side of the Zealandia portion. It comprises two 3ft. winding-shafts and sft. ladder and pump-shaft. The depth reached at present is 18ft., and the shaft is timbered throughout with 9in. by 3in. timber. Driving in the surface-level was carried on, and a reef cut in Hauraki No. 2, where a shaft has been sunk to a depth of 80ft. A steam winding-engine and Tangye pump are being used. Four men were employed through the year. Kathleen Mine. —Owners, Kathleen Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This mine, in the vicinity of the Hauraki Mine, is situated on the flat land near Coromandel Township, formerly known as Lynch's Freehold. A shaft, to be known as Hartridge's Shaft, has been commenced, and permanent poppet-heads erected. It is now sunk and securely timbered to a depth of 100 ft. The sinking was done in surface deposit consisting of clay and gravel, evidently submarine strata in former times. The andesite rock is now reached, and the shaft will be continued and a level opened to give backs for prospecting at suitable depths. Captain Hodge, the manager, writes: " Ten reefs traverse the property near the site of the shaft." There will therefore be great scope for prospecting if these reefs are met with in kindly country. From the favourable situation of the mine there is every reason to anticipate satisfactory results. The machinery at present in use consists of a small Tangye winding-engine. The manager informs me that pumping- and windingengines, pitwork, patent cages, and a thorough machine equipment, costing £7,000, has been ordered, and is being supplied to the company. Thirty-five men are employed. Prbece's Point Disteict. Preece's Point Mine. —Owners, Preece's Point Proprietary (Hauraki) Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This property is freehold, and comprises 200 acres located on a headland within Coromandel Harbour, situated about a mile to the southward of the township. The workings are in a line with known auriferous country, and very rich quartz was formerly obtained from reefs above sea-level; and from previous knowledge of the ground and the character of the reefs I concur with the general opinion that this mine will have a successful future when the shaft is sunk and the reefs opened up below water-level. Captain Argall, the manager, gives details of the work done during the year. They are as follows: — "The works done on this mine up to the 31st March of this year are as under: The engineshaft, the dimensions of which are lift, by 7ft. inside the timber, has been sunk to a depth of 100 ft. and securely timbered throughout. At a depth of 64ft. from the surface a cross-cut was driven to connect with the old level put in from the beach. This cross-cut is 100 ft. in length, and it is intended that this and the old level with which it connects shall be utilised as an adit-level. On the surface a commodious smithy has been erected and furnished with all necessary appliances 7—C. 3.

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The erection of an office, with rooms attached for the use of the mine-manager, is being proceeded with, and will be completed in the course of a few days. Preparations are being made for the erection of the machinery, which is expected" in the course of the next few weeks. It consists of a horizontal pumping-engine, having a 20in. cylinder with a 4ft. stroke, and of a semiportable winding-engine, capable of developing 20-horse power, fitted with drums and all other appliances for winding. These engines are to be placed on substantial concrete foundations, now in process of construction. " As regards future operations, it is intended to sink the shaft to a depth of 160 ft., and then to open out and cross-cut the numerous reefs known to exist on the property. The shaft, as far as it has gone, has penetrated country of a highly-decomposed nature, densely impregnated with pyritiferous matter. As yet very little water has been met with, but an influx may be expected on the cutting of any leader. Thirty-two men are employed." PUKEMAUKUKU DISTRICT. The Empress, Katie, and Victory Licensed Holdings and the All Nations and Kuranui Special Claims, which were taken up in this district, have been occasionally worked upon. Eleven tons of quartz taken from these mines were crushed, for a yield of 19oz. 15dwt. of gold. Tiki Disteict. Pukewhau Mine. —Owners, Pukewhau Gold-mining Company.—Contains 17 acres, and employs five men. This mine, formerly known as the Edith, has been taken up under its present title. Since the company commenced operations 160 ft. have been driven on a reef which is from 2ft. to 4ft. thick. Seven tons of ore were crushed for 7oz. 4dwt. of gold. All the available land in this district has been occupied. Mclntosh's freehold of 546 acres has been purchased, and is now held by the Coromandel Proprietary Gold-mining Company. Matawai Mine. —Area, 20 acres and 10 perches ; owners, Matawai Gold-mining Company.— This mine, situated near Castle Eock, and formerly known as Vaughan's Mine, was held by Messrs. McLeod and Thomson prior to its being taken over by the company. 280 ft. of driving were done in cross-cuts, and three reefs, varying from lft. to 3ft., were worked on ; but no quartz has been crushed as yet. Mr. McLeod, the manager, writes :"Itis in contemplation to erect plant on the Matawai, where the company holds a machine-site, and to proceed with work at the earliest possible date." Manaia District. Big Ben Mine. —Area 50 acres; owners, Big Ben Gold-mining Company.—A considerable amount of prospecting has been done on this mine. Four surface-drives, amounting in all to 30ft., were put in, and four leaders varying from 2in. to 6in. were discovered. They were evidently valueless, as the company is being wound up. Golden Hill Mine. —Owners, Golden Hill Gold-mining Company.—This company cleaned up and repaired the winze, and erected a Tangye pump to keep the water under. A great deal of driving was done on the reef, and 11 tons were crushed at the Thames, for loz. lldwt. of gold. Work was suspended, but it is the intention of the company to resume work and to sink the shaft so as to prospect the reef at a greater depth. A large number of claims are now held in this district, and Cowper and Party have done considerable prospecting on ground situated higher up the creek than the Golden Hill. Prospecting operations are also being carried on in the mountainous country between Manaia and Mahakirau, and from other reefs quartz giving favourable assays has been obtained. It is probable that the land in this district will be largely occupied in the near future. Opitonui Disteict. Maiden Mine.— This mine is situated on land belonging to the Kauri Timber Company. The tramway has been completed to the battery, and 282 tons of quartz from surface-workings has been conveyed to the mill and crushed, for a yield, of 81oz. lldwt. Six men were employed in this district. Owera Disteict. No work has been done here during the year. Matarangi District. Land in this district has been again taken up, but, with the exception of a low-level put in on the Matarangi Special Claim of 100 acres, very little work has been done. No returns of quartz crushed have been received during the year. Otunguru District. No work has been done on this land, which is the property of the Kauri Timber Company. Mahakirau District. A considerable amount of prospecting has been carried on here during the year. Two parcels of quartz from this district were crushed, for a return of 240z. 13dwt. of gold. It appears that several areas are under offer to British buyers, and, if capital is raised in this way, it may be expected that more extensive operations will be conducted in the future. Twenty men are employed in the district.

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Kuaotunu District. Try Muke Mine. —Owners, Try Fluke Gold-mining Company (Limited). —The area occupied by this company now consists of 100 acres, comprising the land formerly known as the Try Fluke, Mariposa, Eed Mercury, Just in Time, and an additional area recently taken up. The chief works carried on during the year have been as follows :— No. 3 level: In the drive north on the main reef the lode at present is in tight rock, and from 12in. to 18in. in thickness, but there are hopes of improvement in the country, when this lode will probably open out and become better in quality. Above this drive they are rising and stoping. The rise is up 35ft., the lode averaging about 3ft., with fair prospects. In driving north on Kuaotunu Eeef, the lode is found to be from lft. to 2ft. thick, the country improving. Below No. 3 level the winze has been continued to 100 ft. on No. 1 reef, which varies from 3ft. to 12ft. in thickness, and has given fair prospects throughout the whole distance. At 70ft. an intermediate level has been opened out from the south end of the winze, and been driven 200 ft. on the reef, which is 3Jft. to 10ft. in thickness. Nearly the whole of this 70ft. block is stoped out up to No. 3 level. In the Mariposa section, the work at present is confined to sinking a large winze on the main reef, which is from 3ft. to oft. thick, well defined, and in good country. In the drive south from the No. 2 level on the main reef the average thickness of the lode is 18in. In Venus section, driving has been done on the western branch of the Eed Mercury lode for 100 ft., the reef varying in size from 6in. to 12in. On the eastern branch driving is in active operation on the barren part of the lode, and it is probable that the rich run of gold met with in the other workings will be soon picked up. There are only a few more feet to drive before reaching the end of this barren part. For the future working of the mine the Try Fluke Company, in conjunction with the KapaiVermont Gold-mining Company, are putting in a new low-level to intersect No. 1 reef, with the intention of cutting the lode on the boundary-line, when each company will then work in their own ground from this main tunnel. The drive is now more than 640 ft. in length, and the reef is close at hand. The great flow of water and the presence of a few stringers of quartz indicate that the lode should soon be reached. This new level will give the company 140 ft. of backs for the whole length of the Try Fluke section of the mine ; and, when the drive is extended in the Mariposa sections, 260 ft. of backs will be obtainable on both No. 1 and No. 2 level. The winze is down 100 ft., leaving still 40ft. to connect with the new level. The lode is 6in. thick, with fair prospects, and its present appearance justifies the expectation of a run of payable ground at this new low level. Sufficient ore is available to supply the crushing-mill for many years. Kapai-Vermont Mine. —Owners, Kapai-Vermont Gold-mining Company (No Liability).—This mine, 37 acres in area, has been very successfully worked during the year. In the present level 192 ft. of driving has been done on the reef, which maintains an average thickness of sft. The distance from the flat sheet to the southern end is now 429 ft., and there is a large block over this drive still intact, it being 200 ft. from here to the surface. A winze has been sunk in this level to a depth of 84ft., at a distance of 100 ft. from the Try Fluke boundary, on to a reef 4ft. in thickness, all the quartz from which has been treated. Five hundred and seven fathoms of reef were stoped, and 3,412 tons of quartz crushed, which yielded 6,2090z. of gold, of the value of £14,740 16s. 2d. In conjunction with the Try Fluke Company a new level has been driven in 645 ft., cutting a reef 3ft. thick, showing gold in every sample of quartz taken. The depth between the levels is 108 ft., and, as the distance to the boundary is 1,300 ft., a very extensive block of ground is available. It is also intended to continue the upper level to the boundary of the Jupiter, which will entail the extension of that drive for a further distance of 450 ft. There is a large quantity of oxide of manganese generally distributed throughout the ore in this reef. Another good adit-level can be obtained before reaching the present mill-site level. For drying the ore there are five kilns, with a capacity for holding 500 tons. The crushing process is totally dry, by an Otis mill capable of doing 18cwt. per hour through a 30-mesh. The crushed ore is then elevated 30ft., and runs automatically into eight circular vats, each capable of holding 30 tons. The cyanide solution is then pumped on and permitted to remain for a short time, when it is allowed to percolate of its own accord, and subsequently conveyed into zinc boxes. Mr. Walker, the battery-manager, is now obtaining from 90 to 98 per cent, of assay-value, although not more than 35 per cent, could formerly be obtained by the amalgamation process with wet-crushing. The gold in the lode is divided into extremely fine particles, which renders it particularly adapted for cyanide treatment with dry-crushing. It is the intention of the company to increase the crushing plant without delay by obtaining another mill similar to the one at present in use. Forty-three men are employed. Aorere Mine. —Owners, Aorere Gold-mining Company. —The chief work done in this mine, which now comprises 100 acres and employes four men, was in that portion, about 10 acres, of which the mine consisted prior to its acquisition by the above company. A party of tributers took out 35 tons of quartz, which, when crushed, yielded 470z. sdwt. of gold, valued at £129 Bs. 9d. Waitaia Mine. —Area, 85 acres 2 roods; owners, Waitaia Gold-mining Company.—During the early part of the year this mine was worked by tributers, who crushed 17 tons of ore for 19oz. of gold. The company then decided to increase the area held and continue prospecting at the low-level. Several hundred feet of driving were done while tracing a reef running to the northward, but their chief success was that which attended driving on a reef which, when first cut through, appeared of no importance. However, in driving in this reef both ways, it turned out to be very rich in some parts, and specimen-stone was obtained from it. A crushing of 291b. of quartz from the level above yielded 490z. of gold. There is a large block to be worked out in this reef, and good returns may be expected. Twelve wages-men and four tributers were employed. The company have acquired a machine-site, and intend to erect a battery in the locality for dry-crushing, and a plant to treat the ore by the cyanide process. Jupiter Mine. —Owners, Jupiter Gold-mining Company.—ln this mine, which has an area of about 300 acres to the southward of the Kaipai-Vermont Mine, a considerable amount of surface

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prospecting has been done, six men being constantly employed. Several surface-drives have been put in, one of which is 350 ft. in length ; another, put in to cut a lode showing on the surfaceworking, has been driven 76ft., and will reach the reef, in another 25ft. The country through which this lode runs is of a very favourable description. Near the north end of the mine there is a drive 100 ft.; a second, near the Try Fluke boundary, is in over 100 ft., and in this two lodes have been cvt —No. 1 2ft. and No. 2 about 18in. in thickness. There is not much loose gold on the surface. In order to try to pick up the Fluke Eeef in this company's ground, a contract is to be let for extending a drive situated on the southern boundary of the Kapai-Vermont a distance of 200 ft. The country in this drive is highly mineralised, has a kindly appearance, and is favourable for goldbearing reefs. Irene Mine. -Owners, Irene Syndicate.—ln this mine, the area of which is 57-J acres, the level has been extended 120 ft., a rise put up 68ft., and 50 fathoms stoped out, the lode being about 3ft. in width ; 215 tons were crushed for a yield of 184oz. 4dwt., and 260 tons of tailings were treated by the cyanide process for 2140z. 2dwt., the total value being £961 2s. The future work in the direction of opening up the mine is to sink a winze to connect with a low level. Nine men are employed. Maori Dream Mine. —Owners, Maori Dream Gold-mining Company.—This mine, which comprises 100 acres, has, since its occupation by the company, been continuously prospected by five men; 100 ft. of driving was done in cross-cuts, and 47ft. done on the reef, which is about 3ft. in thickness. Great Mercury Mine. —Area, 28 acres and 12 perches ; owners, Great Mercury Gold-mining Company.-—This mine has been steadily worked during the year. Operations were chiefly confined to stoping on the Try Fluke Eeef on the western slope and the small reef on the eastern side ; 4,490 tons of quartz yielded, by amalgamation, 1,6450z. Bdwt., and 3,296 tons of tailings, treated by the cyanide process, produced 1,7800z. 3dwt., the total value being £8,578 9s. 7s. 870 ft. of drives on reefs and 563 ft. of cross-cuts through hard rock were done, and 1,233 fathoms of reef stoped out. Thirty-five men were employed. Otama Mine. —Area, 11 acres 1 rood 18 perches; owners, Otama Gold-mining Company.— This mine has again been worked by tributers; 10 tons and 451b. of quartz yielded. 128oz. sdwt. Six men were employed latterly. Invicta Mine. —Area, 48 acres; owners, Invicta Gold-mining Company. —This mine, which includes the land formerly known as the Try Again, was taken over by the company about September last. The former owners had several rich crushings prior to handing over to the present owners. The reefs worked on were of small size, running through kindly country, the quartz being of a highly-oxidized character; 484 tons were crushed for 810oz. sdwt. of gold. Ten men were employed. Maoriland Mine. —Owners, Maoriland Gold-mining Company (No Liability).—The prospecting levels have been opened in this mine, which contains 100 acres ; 350 ft. of cross-cutting have been done, and an equal distance driven in reefs. On the property there are three reefs from 3ft. to sft. in thickness. Four men have been employed during the year. The mine is now floated in London, with a working capital of £20,000. Golden Anchor Mine. —Owners, Golden Anchor Gold-mining Company (No Liability).—The 70 acres which form the area of this mine are located on the Waitara Eange. There are a number of reefs on the ground, ranging from 6in. to 15ft. in thickness, on which surface-drives have been put in. It is intended to put in two low levels, whereby the various reefs may be thoroughly tested. Four men find constant work in the mine. Kuaotunu Mine. —Area, 100 acres ; owners, Kuaotunu Gold-mining Company.—This mine is situated behind the township and towards the Lucky Hit. Two prospecting cross-cuts have been driven—one 200 ft. and the other 216 ft. In this drive a reef 10ft. thick was cut. Five men were employed. A low-level tunnel is now being driven to cut the reef at a greater depth. Prospecting works have also been carried on in the Mount Aurum, Great United, Oriental, Berenice, Monarch of All, Empire, Midas, Mountain Flower, Gladys, Balfour, Carnage, and Prospect Claims, but no quartz has been crushed as yet. Sixty-four men were employed on these and other claims throughout the district. Opito District. In this district, which lies to the eastward of Kuaotunu, several large reefs are known to exist. Most of the land has been taken ud, and several parties are prospecting in the vicinity of Mr. Stewart's farm. Hahei District. This district lies to the southward of Mercury Bay. Several special claims have been taken up, but, so far, no discovery of importance has been made. Boat Harbour. In this district Myles and party have taken up a special claim, including the land where gold was formerly obtained. A large reef of promising appearance runs through the property. But little prospecting work has been done on any of the other special claims taken up in the district. In addition to Mr. Wilson's report on this district, Captain Hodge, manager of seven different mines on this field, has kindly furnished me with the following particulars with regard to these mines :— The Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited). Summary of gold-returns for the twelve months ending 14th December, 1895 : Total gold won for the year, 33,1060z. Bdwt. ; total quartz crushed, 1,611 tons ; total picked stone specimens, 14,8501b., or 6 tons 13cwt. lqr. 261b; total ore treated, 1,617 tons 13cwt. lqr. 261b.; average price of gold per oz., £3 Is. 4d.; average yield of gold per ton of quartz, 20oz. 9dwt. 7gr.: total value of gold, £101,544 18s. 2d.

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Tributer's gold returned ending 2nd August, 1895: Total quartz crushed, 47| tons; total picked stone crushed, 764f1b.; total gold produced, 2,6300z. 19dwt. 12gr. : total value, £8,087 19s. Bd. Eeturns from 14th December, 1895, to 4th April, 1896 : —

Summary of work done in the Hauraki Mine for the twelve months ending 14th December, 1895 : Shafts sunk, 73ft. ; cross-cuts driven, 1,461 ft. 6in.; driven on lodes, &c, 1,820 ft. 6in.; winzes, 345 ft. ; rises, 199 ft. 6in. ; stoping, 2,305 ft. 6in.; levels, &c, cleared, 200 ft. : total, 6,405 ft. Summary of Measurements : —

Scotty's Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited). The under-mentioned improvements have been carried out during the past twelve months, viz.: Sinking Hodge's shaft, 325 ft. ; brace-level to shaft, 32ft.; cross-cut west from brace-level, 70ft.; drive north from brace-level cross-cut, 29ft. ; drive south from brace-level cross-cut, 30ft.; drive south, 300 ft. level, 10ft.; drive north, 300 ft. level, 50ft.; two chambers, 300 ft. level, 12ft. by 10ft; one chamber, Corby level, 12ft. by 10ft. ; Corby level cross-cut, 162 ft.; Corby cleared north, 70ft.; Golden Point level chamber, 12ft. by 10ft.; Golden Point level cross-cut, 160 ft. ; north drive, Golden Point cross-cut, 145 ft. ; West Golden Point level, 75ft.; stoping on Scotty's, 55ft. long, 12ft. high; driving north, Golden Point level, 66ft.; driving cross-cut east of Snowden winze, 69ft.; driving south from cross-cut in Snowden winze, 43ft.; driving north from cross-cut in Snowden winze, 30ft. ; driving north on Flying Cloud lode, battery section, 121 ft.; clearing Golden Point adit-levels, 835 ft.; west level in Golden Point, 164 ft. The New Hauraki Gold Properties (Limited). Total measurements of various developments in the above property, commencing 25th July to 13th April, 1896 : Deep-level cross-cut —total distance driven, 422 ft. Deep level, east and west— total distance driven, 158 ft. ; cross-cut, south, 9ft. Nichols's deep-level cross-cut—total distance driven, 143 ft. Prospecting Nos. 1 and 2 cross-cuts—total distance driven, 65ft. Queen cross-cut —total distance driven, 70ft. South Tokatea levels —repaired, sunk winze 4ft., opened up for over 300 ft. The Success Gold-mines (Limited). Total measurements of various developments in the above property, commencing Ist August, 1895, to 13th April, 1896 : James's level cross-cut retimbered and enlarged, 270 ft. James's Eeef —total distance driven, 620 ft. ; risen, 183 ft.; sunk, 21ft. Cross-cuts, including Mac Donald's, 93ft. 6in. Success No. 2 Eecf —total distance driven north, 44ft. ; cross-cutting west 7ft. ; over 100 ft. of level south cleaned out, &c. Bennett's level —total distance driven, including cross-cuts, 445 ft. ; Big Eeef cross-cut —total distance driven, 328 ft. ; risen, 24ft,; intersected three reefs, several stringers. Big Eeef (opposite James's level cross-cut) —sunk, 70ft. Kathleen Gold-mine (Limited). At this mine, since work was started early in March, a permanent engine-shaft has been sunk 100 ft. deep by temporary pumping and winding plant, while permanent plant ordered is being built, and erection over seven thousand pounds' worth. Permanent poppet-heads have been erected, and about 100 ft. of trestiing erected at the top brace for tips away from the shaft. Smiths' and engineers' shops and manager's office have been erected on the mine.

Month ending Quartz. Picked Stone. Retorted Gold. Melted Gold. Value. lth January... ith February... th March :th April Tons. 278 316 340 380 Lb. 729i 813* 860i 793 Oz. dwt. 1,707 17 2,080 5 2,427 8 2,143 11 Oz. dwt. 1,694 2 2,059 7 2,398 13 2,119 16 £ s. d. 5,103 9 6 6,312 7 2 7,336 10 10 6,486 5 2 Totals... 1,314 3,196 8,359 1 8,271 18 25,238 12 8

Shafts, lift, by 7ft. Drives. 7ft. by 6ft. Winzes. 7ft. by 5ft. Rises. 7ft. by 5ft. Stopes. 6ft. high. New Year's Eeef... No. 1 Eeef No. 2 Eeef No. 3 Eeef No 4 Eeef No. 6 Eeef Cross-reefs In country-rock ... Tunnel and stamps Levels cleared and repairing Veins, various Ft. in. Ft. in. 160 0 13 0 792 6 438 6 93 6 46 0 ■ 156 0 861 6 600 0 200 0 121 0 Ft. in. 9 6 185 0 87 6 4" 0 Ft. in. 73 0 63 0 14 0 49 6 Ft. in. 81 0 1,739 6 451 0 34 0 73 0 59" 0 Totals 73 0 3,482 0 345 0 199 6 2,305 6

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Ten reefs traverse near the site of the shaft known as Hartridge's. The bed-rock was reached at 100 ft. from the surface ; various classes of clay, blue and yellow, and gravel-beds were sunk through. Decomposed wood and various mussel-shells were encountered in a muddy formation. A few days ago, on the shelf of rock, stones of quartz carrying strong blotches of gold were discovered, which, from its appearance and little signs of being water-worn, could not have travelled far—hence the probability of a reef close at hand carrying free gold. Tokatea of Hauraki (Limited). The following is the amount of work done in the above mine from August, 1895, to the 31st March, 1896: Cross-cutting in country-rock, 618 ft. ; driving on reefs, 475 ft. ; stoping, 78ft.; sinking winze, 50ft. ; cutting chamber for engine to sink below No. 7 level, 30ft. by 27ft. by 14ft. Ore treated at mill: 5 tons and 801b. picked stone, for 340z. sdwt. 12gr. retorted gold. Royal Oak of Hauraki (Limited). The following work in this mine has been carried out since work was initiated by this company, viz.: — In No. 3 Eoyal Oak level: No. 1 lode —driving, 151 ft.; sinking, 25ft.; rising, 77ft.; stoping, 60ft. ; retimbering levels, 80ft. In intermediate level, above No. 3 Eoyal Oak : Driving on No. 1 lode, 186 ft.; cutting through big reef, 28ft. In No. 3 Eoyal Oak level, on No. 2 reef: No. 2 reef—driving, 52ft.; sinking, 30ft.; stoping, 30ft. Eetimbering level, 15ft.; tramways relaid, 150 ft. No. 5 level: Clearing, reopening, and timbering No. 5 level for 1,100 ft.; driving cross-cut from No. 5 level towards No. 1 reef below Eoyal Oak No. 3 level, 71ft.; tramways laid in No. 5 level, 120 ft. No. 6 level : Clearing of debris, repairing and timbering No. 6 level, 1,500 ft.; driving southeast on No. 1 reef, 20ft. ; stopmg north-west on No. 1 reef, 30ft.; tramways laid, 800 ft. No. 7 level: Driven north-west from bottom of winze, sunk 50ft. below the No. 7 level, 82ft. ; driven No. 7 level north-west on left hand on main part of Tokatea Eeef, 36ft; timbering No. 7 level, 100 ft. Three reefs have been worked, No. 1 and No. 2 Eoyal Oak and Main Tokatea. Tramways laid, 300 ft. Over half a mile of tramroad has been cut and new steel rails laid to the bush for timber. The number of persons employed has averaged forty. Five tons of quartz raised below No. 7 level with the picked stone (721b.) selected in breaking same, gave 41oz. 17dwt. of retorted gold. We have accumulated a good stock of mining timber at the various levels, and the mines generally are getting into working-order.

Development Summary for Seven Mines.

Summary of Average Number of Persons employed in the Seven Companies. Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited), 170 ; Scotty's Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited), 50; New Hauraki Gold Properties (Limited), 35; Success Gold-mines (Limited), 30; Tokatea of Hauraki (Limited), 40 ; Eoyal Oak of Hauraki (Limited), 40 ; Kathleen, 35 : total, 400 persons. The Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited): Capital, £40,000, in 320,000 shares of 2s. 6d. each; working capital, £16,250. Scotty's Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited): Capital, £100,000, in 400,000 shares of ss. each ; working capital, £35,000. The Eoyal Oak of Hauraki (Limited): Capital, £100,000, in 400,000 shares of ss. each; working capital, £25,000. The Tokatea of Hauraki (Limited): Capital, £150,000, in 600,000 shares of ss. each ; working capital, £25,000. New Hauraki Gold Properties (Limited) : Capital, £100,000, in 400,000 shares of ss. each; working capital, £45,000. Kathleen Gold-mine (Limited): Capital, £75,000, in 600,000 shares of 2s. 6d. each; working capital, £25,000.

Name of Mine. HgM ca a «3 8 § 6 o d <U to | g-3 fc, O eg fl P3 m CD cq w .a s J 'S. o & to i—I 01 $ s ID S J 3 Chambers Cut. * . S'3 C3 r-, fc, Ft. Ft. Ft. Ft. 345 Ft. 199 Ft. Ft. Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited) Scotty's Hauraki Gold-mining Company (Limited) 173 325 1,461 638 1,820 454 2,305 110 200 1,069 f 12ft. by 10ft.) 112ft. by 10ft.} (12ft. by 10ft. 12ft. by 10ft. (12ft. by 10ft.J (30ft. by 27ft.) 1 by 14ft. [ Tokatea of Hauraki (Limited) ... 618 475 50 78 New Hauraki Gold Properties (Limited) Success Gold-mines (Limited) ... Eoyal Oak of Hauraki (Limited) Kathleen Gold-mines (Limited) 635 232 4 578 71 959 555 91 55 207 77 120 2,795 1,370 100 Totals 598 4,001 4,495 545 483; 2,613 4,064 1,370

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Success Gold-mines (Limited): Capital, £50,000, in 400,000 shares of 2s. 6d. each ; working capital, £20,000. Seven mines with a capital of £615,000, 3,120,000 shares, and a working capital of £191,250. Information has come to hand that the Kapanga Company has struck a lode about 9in. wide at a depth of 930 ft. in the shaft, from which specimen-stone is said to be obtained that will yield 2oz. gold per ton. This company has been working above the 420 ft. level, where all the gold from the mine has been obtained. Prom that level to the present depth scarcely any gold has been seen in the lodes. This means that the gold in the lodes found in the upper portion of the ground cut out, and, after going through about 500 ft. of barren ground, another rich auriferous make of stone was discovered. This will undoubtedly give an impetus to prospecting to greater depths than heretofore. It may also be stated that good stone has been found about 60ft. below the low-level adit in the Tokatea ground, about 2,000 ft. in from the mouth of the adit. Kuaotunu. This is a district where a great many mines are likely to be developed. Some rich auriferous lodes have already been worked, and no doubt there are many lodes in this locality which have yet to be discovered; indeed, there is a belt of country running from Coromandel through what is known as the Whangapohu, Opitonui, Owera Blocks, now the property of the Kauri Mining Corporation, and joins on to the Kuaotunu field, and is likely to extend through the Waitaia Block to Mercury Bay. There is an immense lode running through the country at Kuaotunu which crops out at the track going to the Try Fluke Block. This lode does not yet appear to have ever been tested below the surface ; indeed, at the present time nothing but rich ore will pay, owing to the high price of fuel, which increases the cost of milling, and as a consequence of this, low-grade ore cannot be profitably worked. In order to work this field successfully, the whole of the mines might easily combine for the purpose of getting a central reduction plant erected where the whole of the ore could be treated. The claims on this field are so situated that this can be done very economically, but up to the present time everybody appears to want a small battery of their own, employing each a staff of men. This increases the cost very greatly; and, having only small plant, unless fairly rich a sufficient quantity of ore cannot be put through to make it payable. Some years ago a scheme was suggested to erect a central plant, to be driven by electricity generated by water-power at the Waikawau, above Camp Town. This scheme would no doubt involve the outlay of a large capital, but if carried out, that capital would result in a liberal percentage being obtained, except in exceptionally dry weather. Water-power could be obtained from this supply to drive at least two hundred or three hundred head of stamps; and if a mill of these dimensions was constructed on the most modern principles, with all appliances for treating the ore and employing a competent metallurgist, companies would get a much larger percentage of gold than they now obtain and their ore treated at a much less cost. It is simply ruinous to have a number of quartz-crushing batteries—three of ten stamps and one of fifteen stamps—erected close alongside one another, with three or four different staff's of men employed where one battery staff would be sufficient. A good deal of prospecting has been done on this field during the year, which has resulted in claims being opened up to such an extent that they are likely to give some return for working. At the same time there is no doubt that upon this field, as well as other goldfields upon the Hauraki Peninsula, claims have been put on the market for flotation in which very little prospecting has been done to warrant the price asked for them. The Maori Dream Claim is said to have been floated with a capital of £100,000, having a working capital of £25,000. At the time of my visit four men were employed in this mine driving a cross-cut which will give about 300 ft. of backs, with a lode varying in size from 4ft. to 30ft. in width. Adjoining this is the Maoriland Claim, where five men were employed in driving along the lode, which is 7ft. in width. This drive was extended for 100 ft., and it was stated that the assayvalue of the ore was equal to £3 per ton; while two more men were driving cross-cuts to open up the other lodes in the same ground. The Golden Lake Company had also four men driving on a lode 7ft. wide, and were in for a distance of about 55ft., and also 16ft. on a specimen leader, where.the ore was said to average 40oz. to the ton. Kuaotunu Company. —This company is said to have a capital of £100,000, with £50,000 working capital for the erection of machinery and development. During the time of my visit four men were employed in forming a cross-cut to cut two lodes; one was in the eastern side, and the others in the western side. There are said to be three lodes on the ground, being Bft., 12ft., and 4ft. respectively, giving an average assay of about £5 10s. per ton. It must not, however, be taken for granted , that lodes of these dimensions will, as a rule, average this value, for, although the information supplied to me was given under the belief that the estimate was a correct one, it is well known that companies getting assays of ore with a view of floating properties scarcely ever carry on sampling as it ought to be done in order to ascertain the average value of the whole lode. The company adjoining the Kuaotunu has four men employed driving a cross-cut, which was in 106 ft., and cut a lode 4ft. in width, where the assay-value was stated to be £3 10s. per ton ; they also started to cut another lode 21ft. wide, having an assay-value estimated at £4 per ton. Carnage Claim. —Two cross-cuts were being constructed in this claim at the time of my visit. In one of them small leaders or veins of quartz were cut, in a good class of country, but are not of a payable character. In the other cross-cut, which was in for a distance of 60ft., a lode was cut of about 9ft. in width, and supposed to have an assay-value of about £2 per ton. Gladys Claim. —This is adjacent to the Carnage Claim. Five men were employed in driving cross-cuts, and two men were driving along the line of lode, which varied in width from 18in. to 6ft.

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Irene Company. —A considerable amount of prospecting has been done in this company's ground. Twelve men were employed driving a lode 4ft. in width, and stoping was being proceeded with on two levels. The low level has been construo-ted for 312 ft., where it cuts the lode, while the upper one cuts it at 12ft. Up to the time of my visit about 800 tons of ore had been taken out and stacked ready for crushing. Prospector Company. —This is a local company, where five men are employed driving along a lode about 2ft. in width, while other two men were driving a cross-cut and trenching the surface. Golden Anchor Claim. —Prospecting operations have been carried on here with five men working on a lode, which is from 6ft. to Bft. in width, and opened out about 250 ft. below the surface. According to the information supplied to me, the lowest assays from this lode gave £2 9s. per ton, while some of them gave as high as £17 per ton. The Jupiter Company. —This company, at the time of my visit, was only carrying on prospecting operations, with a view of cutting the Kapai-Vermont and Try Fluke lodes, and had constructed about 300 ft. of prospecting drives. Its property covers a considerable area formerly held by the Nonpariel, Antelope, Golden City, and Eoebuck Claims. These are now all owned by the Jupiter Company, which intends carrying on large operations as soon as the lode is cut. Try Fluke Company. —This company has been acquiring several adjoining claims until it now holds an area of about 106 acres. According to the balance-sheet of this company for the year ending the 31st December last, it has not carried on operations with success. The most of the payable stone from No. 3 level has been taken out of the Try Fluke ground, but the workings have been on this level in the Mariposa and Eed Mercury sections. In the Mariposa section the lode is from 3ft. to 4ft. in thickness, which is all being taken out. In the Eed Mercury section, on the first level, there is still about 70ft. of backs. The lode is driven on for a distance of about 200 ft., but only about 60ft. in length of the lode is taken out in the stopes. The lode is about 6ft. in thickness, but only from about lft. to 18in. of it is taken out on the foot-wall side. A winze has been sunk to a depth of 80ft. from the third level in the Try Fluke section, and stoping is being carried on from this winze. This means that the mine is at present being worked disadvantageously, and that only good ore would pay to mine by this method. The company have combined with the adjoining company. The Kapai-Vermont are constructing a level which will give about 150 ft. of backs whsn the lode is cut. This level was, at the time of my visit, constructed for a distance of over 200 ft., but it requires to be driven for a distance of about 400 ft. before it is expected that the lode will be struck. Formerly the Mariposa and Eed Mercury were separate companies, but the Try Fluke has now purchased these companies' interests, and holds the whole of the ground previously occupied by them. Work is being proceeded with on the first level in the Eed Mercury section, where there is about 70ft. of backs; and in the Mariposa section driving and stoping is being carried out on the lowest level, where the lode is from 3ft. to 4ft. in thickness. This company has also combined with the Kapai-Vermont to construct a lower level, which, when completed, will have 140 ft. of backs. With regard to the crushing plant, they still continue wet-crushing, the pulverised ore on leaving the tables being led in and collected in pits, and afterwards subjected, to the cyanide treatment. There is, however, very little doubt in my mind that a considerable amount of gold is lost in this battery, the gold being of such a finely-divided character that it is not possible to prevent some of it being carried away in the muddy water. Some years ago, before this company commenced to use cyanide, 20 gallons of the water from the concentrating-boxes was evaporated, and the residue forwarded to the Colonial Laboratory for assay, which showed that it contained about \ok. of gold per ton. The same character of water is still allowed to run down the creek, and it would very probably be found, if a careful examination was made at the present time, that a similar loss in comparison to the returns of the ore treated is still being experienced. The following is taken from the company's balance-sheet for the year ending 31st December last:— Receipts. £ s. d. Expenditure. Cash in bank, 31st December, 1894 364 2 9 £ s. d. £ s. a. From 5,543 tons at crushing-battery, 1,4020z. Mine wages .. .. .. 3,113 7 2 17dwt. .. .. .. .. 3,292 0 8 Supplies for mine .. .. 381 3 1 6,435 tons tailings by cyanide process, General expenses—mine .. .. 27 9 0 1,7130z. 15dwt. .. .. .. 4,086 14 2 Sales of surplus machinery, &c. .. .. 301 510 Battery— 3,52119 3 Wages .. .. .. 721 10 0 Supplies .. .. 325 0 9 Fuel .. .. .. 358 16 2 1,405 6 11 Cyanide plant— Wages .. .. .. 594 19 1 Cyanide .. .. 1,369 18 2 Royalty .. .. .. 282 18 4 Supplies .. .. .. 140 12 8 2,388 8 3 General expenses— Insurance .. .. 19 6 10 Income-tax .. .. 62 10 8 Fees on new claim .. 57 6 0 General rents .. .. 23 11 0 Freights.. .. .. 40 12 0 Printing and stationery .. 13 7 0 Cartage .. .. .. 9 18 10 Salaries and directors' fees, &c. .. .. .. 270 0 9 496 13 2 Sundry creditors, 31st December, 1894 .. 11 10 4 Cash in bank, 31st December, 1895 .. 221 5 6 £8,044 3 5 £8,044 3 5

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It will be seen from the above that if the cash in bank is taken at the beginning of the year— namely, £364 2s. 9d., and the sales of machinery, £301 ss. 10d., making a total of £665 Bs. 7d., and deduct cash in bank at the end of the year—namely, £221 ss. 6d., and £11 10s. 4d., making £232 15s. 10d., it leaves a loss on the year's transactions of £432 12s. 9d. Taking the cost of mining as £3,521 19s. 3d., it shows that the average cost was about 12-70s. per ton, that of crushing 5.075. per ton, and for cyanide process B'79s. per ton, and mineral expenses l'62s. per ton, making the average cost of mining, crushing, and cyaniding of a little over £1 Bs. per ton. During the year ending the 31st March last 5,378 tons of quartz were crushed, which yielded by battery amalgamation 1,4460z. 14dwt. gold, and 5,274 tons of tailings were treated, which yielded by the cyanide process 1,5390z. lOdwt. of gold, while forty-six men were employed in connection with the mine and plant. Kapai-Vermont Company. —This company's ground adjoins that of the Try Fluke, and is on the same line of reef. The principal operations last year were carried on from the first level. After constructing a cross-cut for 275 ft., they have driven 200 ft. north and 310 ft. south on the lode, which varies considerably, but will average 4ft. in thickness. Two intermediate levels are constructed, and stoping is being carried on from these. Crushing operations were commenced in January last year, and up to the time of my visit 2,898 tons of quartz had been crushed, which yielded 5,7620z. of gold, having a value of about £2 Bs. per oz.; indeed, it may be said that comparatively little work has yet been done in this mine. The company's crushing plant consists of an Otis crusher, which the mill-manager stated had a capacity of 22 tons of ore per day of twenty-four hours, using a thirty-mesh screen. In connection with this crusher there is a rock-breaker, Challenge ore-feeder, cyanide plant, and drying-kilns; the latter are smaller in construction than those used by the Waihi Company. The Otis crusher works very satisfactorily, the ore being of a very friable character, and the manager stated that the wear-and-tear was comparatively small, and there is one point in its favour in that comparatively little dust escapes from it into the building. This crusher is driven at a speed of about twenty-four revolutions per minute, it having 400 steel balls, with an aggregate weight of about 13cwt. The wear-and-tear on these balls is set down at lflb. per ton of ore crushed. In connection with this, the cyanide plant consists of eight leaching-vats, two stamps, and one reservoir zinc boxes. The vats are 16ft. 6in. in diameter by 3ft. 9in. deep above the filterbeds. These are filled to a depth of 26in. with crushed ore, or equal to about 22 tons of ore per vat. This is leached with an 0.8 per cent, solution, and each vat takes about eleven days in leaching, cleaning out, and getting it ready for another charge.' Unlike many of the companies, which are at present using crude cyanide, this company has principally been using pure cyanide of potassium. The plant is driven by a steani-engine having a 10in. cylinder and 16in. stroke, making 100 revolutions per minute, the steam, which is supplied from a multitubular boiler, entering the cylinder at a pressure of 451b. to the square inch, cut off at £ stroke, which makes this engine working to about 25-horse power. During the year ending 31st March last 3,412 tons have been crushed, which yielded 6,2090z. of gold, while the number of men employed in the mine and in connection with the work for the same period was forty-three. With regard to the economical working of the mines on the Kuaotunu field,, they could be worked far more advantageously if the same company held the Great Mercury, Try Fluke, and Kapai-Vermont. A larger number of men could be employed than at present; arid, as these mines adjoin one another, instead of having three separate plants for the reduction and treatment of the ore, employing three staffs of men as at the present time, one plant would be quite sufficient. Quartz-mining on this field, as on many of the fields in the colony, is yet in its infancy, and only comparatively rich ore can be made to pay for working by the present method;but the time is not far distant when lower-grade ore will be worked at a greater profit than the ore which is now being treated at these companies' small plants.

B—C. 3.

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Statement showing the Result of Mining Operations in the Coromandel District for the Year ending 31st March, 1896.

Thames District. The gold returns from this district for the last year show a slight improvement on the previous year, but owing to the depressed state in which this field has been for some years past it will yet take some time before any great increase in the yield of gold may be expected. Had it not been for the largely increased yield of gold from the May Queen Mine last year, there would have been a falling-off instead of an increase. Many of the companies being short of the necessary

Avers of 1 emp] geNo. den loyed. For Owners. For Tributers. Tailings. Locality and Name of Mine or Company. Goia Goia Quartz obtained obtainea crushed, by Amalga- by mation. Cyanide. Goia Quartz obtainea crushea. Am J ga . mation. §i is to o Estimated Value of Gold or Bullion. Area of Land held. ■r. ® a O •a H tn fe <» IIS A. B. P. Tons. Oz. dwt. Oz. Tons. Oz. dwt. Tons. Oz. dwt. s, s. a. Coromandel County. Queen of the North Tokatea Royal Oak Harbour View New Tokatea Good Enough Try Again Sea View Stirling Castle Sundries 30 0 0 75 2 2 39 1 9 24 2 8 30 0 0 13 3 5 2 40 40 6 6 2 3 3 6 106 1 17 5 10 33 19 41 8 16 15 19 10 30 10 105 1 42 0 33 0 63 10 1,135' 9 4 30 0 0 2 2 24 3 10 8 1,135 9 4 246 0 8 214 39 391 3 Cabbage Bay District— Fortuna 30 0 0 30 10 88 9 0 Waikoromiko District — Lillis Sundries 30 0 0 2 8 4 98 6 30 0 0 10 98 6 285 1 5 Kapanga District — Kapanga Sundries 99 3 27 99 131 609 1,533 0 4,445 14 0 99 3 27 230 609 1,533 0 Pukemankuku District — Sundries 30 0 0 U 11 19 15 57 5 6 Kauri Block District— Bunker's Hill Hauraki North Hauraki Sundries 3 0 12 90 3 0 47 2 21 16 6 170 82 15 75 2,751 83 0 99 16 31,684 10 2,841 31,867 6 97,748 2 5 141 1 33 274 Tiki DistrictSundries 10 7 5 Manaia District — Sundries 25, 11 1 11 - 239 7 11 Whangapoua District— Sundries 82 11 Kuaotunu District— Try Fluke Groat Mercury Kapai-Vermont Irene Invicta Otama Venus Aorere Waitaia Sundries 100 0 0 28 0 12 37 0 0 57 2 0 48 0 0 11 1 18 46 35 43 9 10 6 3 2 12 64 5,378 4,490 3,412 215 484 1,446 14' 1,645 8! 184 4 1 810 5 6^209 10-45 128 5 5,274 3,2961 ! '260 1,539 10 |l,780 3 214 2 "96 153 1 10 0 0 85 2 0 '4 4 49 0 80 11 35 17 30 47 5 19 0 24 0 "59 377 1 30 230 8 Mahakirau District — Sundries 14,134 4,369 3 6,209 92-45 218 10 8,830 3,533 15 34,831 0 8 24 13 66 16 11 Totals.. 955 1 18 1,017 17,652 38,425 2' 6,209 92-45 218 10 8,830| 3,533 15 138,897 7 2

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capital to develop the mines, were carrying on operations in such a manner as to get sufficient money to pay the actual working-expenses, and to do this little or no prospecting-work was carried on. Some of the principal companies have recently been reformed, and English capital procured to open the mines up in a systematic and intelligent manner. Capital is not only required for this, but also for the erection of plants of a more modern type to insure a proper treatment of the ore after being raised from the mines. The only thing that can be said in respect to the present plants used for the reduction and treatment of auriferous ores in this district is that, the appliances and plants being of an obsolete type, the mine-managers and those in charge of such plants had to use every endeavour to do the best they could under the circumstances. Until very recently no one employed any assayer at their mills to ascertain whether they were recovering a fair percentage of the precious metals in the ore or not. Indeed, they had very little idea what they were losing, but, being under the happy belief that they were obtaining a fair percentage of the gold in the ore, they were perfectly satisfied that their mode of treating the ore was all that could be desired. Some three years ago Mr. Park, the then Director of the School of Mines at the Thames, got some of the companies' managers to take samples at short and regular intervals from the splash through the gratings of the crushing-battery, and place the samples in a tub, which was afterwards taken to the School of Mines and assays made, after thoroughly mixing the whole of the pulp in a tub, when it was found that the nighest returns from any of the mills where the samples were taken did not average 53 per cent, of the assay quantity of gold there was in the ore, and in one instance only about 23 per cent, of the assay-value of the gold was obtained. This shows clearly that some improvements are required in the method of dealing with the ore. It may, however, be stated that mining men have very conservative ideas as to the best manner of treating ores to make them give up the metals they contain, and it is in many instances only from sheer necessity that any departure is made from the method they have been accustomed to use. It is only after any new appliance has been working elsewhere for a considerable time that they begin to adopt it. This is amply illustrated in the case of the introduction of the cyanide process of treatment. It took several years to get it established, and even at the present time many believe that equally as much gold can be extracted by amalgamation in the ordinary manner. The greatest drawback on this field recently is that some of the mines have been worked down to the lowest drainage level, leaving rich stone underfoot which cannot be taken out until the new drainage machinery is erected. During the last year a company has been formed in London, with a capital of £300,000, to provide a large pumping plant and sink a shaft to a depth of 2,000 ft., the pumps being of sufficient capacity to lift 2,000 gallons of water per minute, and the engines being powerful enough to do the work. This company took several years to get formed. First one tried to get money in London to undertake the drainage and to test the deep levels and the Thames, and then another, all of which failed until Mr. Christopher Harris undertook to go Home and get a company formed. Previous to leaving the colony he got the promise of a subsidy from the Government to the extent of £25,000 towards the cost of a pumping plant such as has been already described. The Queen of Beauty shaft was selected as the site for a drainage-shaft, and that shaft is now being enlarged to 17ft. 6in. by Bft. 6in. in the clear, and it is now down to this size for a depth of about 120 ft. The total depth of the old shaft was 740 ft., and it was near this level where the last workings of the Queen of Beauty Company were carried on. A level had been put in and the lode cut at a depth of something like 720 ft., where some good specimen-stone was obtained, but the company having only two 12in. pumps, these had to be worked at such a speed that a breakage took place, allowing the water to rise, and before the breakage could be repaired the water rose to such a height that pumping operations with the plant they had was out of the question, so that all mining operations in this shaft at the deep levels have been suspended for about twelve years. The present company, which is called the Thames-Hauraki, has entered into contracts for a large pumping plant, together with crushing plant and all modern appliances for working the mine in a systematic and intelligent manner, and there is very little doubt, when once this plant is erected and the 740 ft. level reached, but that they will find that they have acquired a valuable property. It is the intention of the Thames-Hauraki Company to erect in the first instance one pair of pumping-engines with sufficient boiler-power to work the shaft down to a depth of 1,000 ft., having the intermediate gearing and everything strong enough to go down to a depth of 2,000 ft.; but in doing this it will be necessary to have the pumps so placed that they will in a measure balance one another, and have the connections made so that no undue strain comes on the shafting; that is, the bearings will have to be so arranged that the other pair of engines can be coupled when required. It is held by some on the Thames that the one pair of engines will be sufficient to raise all the water that will be met with; but this is a fallacy when all the circumstances are taken into consideration. The present Big Pump, when working at the 600 ft. level, had a great deal more water to lift than it had at the 500 ft. level; and at the time this pump was working at the deepest level the Queen of Beauty pumps were lifting water from the 740 ft. level, so that, when the present pumping plant is taking the water from the I,oooft. level and a connection made with other mines on the field, it will be found that there will be far more water to contend with than many anticipate. However, provision is made for this by ordering boilers of sufficient steam-generating capacity, designed to use slack coal in order to economise as much as possible the expense of pumping, which will be borne by the different mine-owners on the field. The following is a description of the plant the Thames-Hauraki Company propose to erect in the first instance :— Plant. —The plant consists of ten Lancashire boilers, one pair of horizontal compound condensing engines, deep-well pumps and gearing, travelling-crane, air-compressing plant including aircooler and -receiver for working rock-boring machine, one pair of winding-engines; electric-lighting plant, consisting of vertical high-speed engine with suitable means of driving dynamo, and motor ; with all necessary counter-shafting and pulleys for driving a crushing-battery consisting of 40 heads of stamps.

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Boilers. —The boilers are each 30ft. long, 7ft. in diameter, made of Siemens-Martin steel-plates ■fin. thick. Each boiler is to have two flues, 2ft. 9in. internal diameter, except the last two rings of plates at the back, the last plate to be 2ft. 3in. in diameter, the second plate from end to taper from 2ft. 3in. to 2ft. 9in. The plates for the flues to be of steel, |in. thick, welded longitudinally and flanged outwards at the ends. The end-plates of the boiler to be of steel, of same description as the shell, and to be in one plate J~|in. in thickness, and well stayed. The boilers are to carry a daily working-pressure of 1201b. to the square inch, and are to be fitted with Howl's patent hot-blast forced-draught furnace in each flue, having a grate Bft. long, and a secondary bridge 13ft. from the front plate, and to be fitted complete with all cocks, pipes, ha. Pumping-engines. —Consist of a pair of horizontal compound condensing engines, the cylinder of the high-pressure engine being 31in. internal diameter, and the low-pressure cylinder 59in. diameter, the stroke of the piston being sft. Steam-chests are to be fitted at each end of both highland low-pressure cylinders, and fitted with variable expansion-valves worked direct from crankshaft, variable by hand, the range of cut-off being from nothing to five-eighths stroke. The piston-rods are to be of forged steel and not less than sin. in diameter, and are to project through both ends of cylinders ; to be secured to front and hind cross-heads by steel cotters, having a solid collar forged on for attachment to piston, and to be screwed. The crank-shaft is to be of the best hammered steel turned and grooved where necessary; the bearings are to be 13-|in. in diameter and 20in. long. The shaft is to be swelled in the centre to 16in. diameter to receive fly-wheel and spur-pinion for driving pump gearing. The second motion shaft is to be fitted at the end of engine-bed for driving the mine pumps. It is to be of the best hammered steel, with bearings 20in. in diameter and 30in. long, three in number. The centre of the shaft is to be swelled to 22in. diameter to receive the spurwheel, which is to have seventy-six teeth, Bin. pitch, 21in. wide, and shrouded to pitch-line. The spur-pinion is to have nineteen teeth of same pitch and width, also shrouded to pitch-line. So that the speed of the pistons of the engines when the pumps are making eight strokes will be 320 ft. per minute. There are to be two cranks on the second motion shaft of the best hammered steel, 3ft. from centre to centre. The cranks are to be forged on the shaft and afterwards keyed with two keys not less than 3}in. wide and 2in. deep. The crank-pin"is also to be of hammered steel, with a bearing of 17in. in diameter and 22in. long. A shaft with two bearings, each 20in. in diameter and 30in. long, is to be fitted to the outer crank. This shaft is to be removed when the additional pumping-engine is added. .- Mine Pumps. —The pumps, rising-main, tanks, and spear-rods are to be suitable for raising 2,ooogals. of water per minute from a depth of 2,000 ft.; but at the present time one pair of pumping-engines are to be erected, and these will lift this quantity of water from a depth of I,oooft. It is proposed to raise the water from a depth of I,oooft. in three lifts, each of about 327 ft. vertical height, with two sets of pumps each, consisting of two plunger-pumps and one draw-lift, the plungers and buckets to be 25in. in diameter. The pumping-cranks to be so fixed that the pumps can be worked at either a 3ft., 4ft. 6in., or 6ft. stroke, as may be deemed necessary. The risingmain for the bucket-pump to be 26in. in diameter. "There is to be only one rising-main of 26in. internal diameter for the two plunger lifts, and, according to the specifications sent out from England, the mains are proposed to be constructed of steel lap-welded in lengths of 14ft. All necessary branches, bends, and connections to be of the same material. The joints in the mains are to have flanges riveted on to the pipes, and they are to be bolted together with steel bolts. The pipes are to be manufactured by Thomas Piggott and Co., of Birmingham, 'to be coated with Dr. Angus Smith's preparation, and to withstand a, hydraulic test pressure of 2501b. to the square inch without showing any signs of leakage. Stamp Mill to be driven by Electricity. —lt is proposed to drive a 40-head stamp-battery by electricity. The dynamo is to develop 55,000 volts at a speed of 700 revolutions per minute. The electro-motive force of the dynamo to be from 300 to 500 volts, according to the distance through which the power has to be transmitted to the stamp-mill. The motor to be similar in all respects to the dynamo, with the exception that there is to be no loose pulley and striking gear; and it is to give 68 brake horse-power at the motor shaft, with 55,000 volts at the terminals, at a speed of 650 revolutions per minute. All cables to be of suitable strength for carrying the current at not more than 1,000 amperes per square inch density. The dynamos are to be driven by the pumpingengines when these are working below their power. Electric Light Installation. —A steam-engine is provided capable of developing 10 brake horsepower when working at 1001b. per square inch. The dynamo is compound wound, of sufficient capacity for two 2,000-candle power arc lamps and seventy-five 16-candle power incandescent lamps, to run at about 1,250 to 1,350 revolutions per minute, having all necessary fittings and cable. Winding-engines. —The winding-engines are very small, and could hardly be termed adequate for winding a large quantity of material from even the depth of I,oooft. They have double cylinders, giving about 16-horse power, capable of winding a load of 30ewt., it is stated, at the rate of 333 ft. per minute. The winding-drums are sft. in diameter, having flanges 6ft. 3in. in diameter, the rope face of the drums being from 14in. to 15in. each, and they are to be worked by clutch in opposite directions. Each of them is fitted with complete brake of extra power, lined with wood. The steam for these engines is to be taken from the set of boilers already referred to. ■ . Air-compressor and Bock-drills. —The air-compressor is of the coupled compound type, the aircylinders being also compound. The air is compressed to a certain extent in one cylinder, thence passed through a cooler and reduced there to its original temperature, when it is further compressed in the other air-compressing cylinder to its final pressure; thence stored in the receiver. Engines. —The steam-engines for working the compressor are compound condensing, having cylinders of 16in: and 31in. in diameter respectively, the stroke of the piston being 3ft. The highpressure cylinder is to have an expansion-valve, with Meyer's or other suitable gear for working by hand, the range of cut-off being from nothing to five-eighths stroke; the working-pressure to be 1201b. per square inch, steam being taken from the range of boilers already referred to. The aircompressing cylinders are to be 19Jin. and 31in. in diameter, the stroke being 3ft., and are to be driven by back-rods from the engine cylinders.

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Intermediate Cooler. —The air compressed by the large cylinder to be delivered to an intermediate cooler, which is to be made of steel of sufficient strength to stand a working-pressure of 601b. to the square inch, and to have an air space of- 75 cubic feet, and a cooling surface of not less than 140 square feet. The water passes through the tubes, which are of brass, the air being contained in the body of the cooler, which stands in a vertical position, having a head at top and bottom. The water is admitted at the bottom, and circulates upwards through one-half the tubes into the top head and down the remaining tubes to the outlet-pipe. The smaller air-cylinder compresses the air from 901b. to 1001b. per square inch, and delivers it into a receiver which has a capacity of 300 cubic feet. The receiver is made of steel plates, and will be tested to a pressure of 1701b. to the square inch. With reference to using steel pipes in the rising-mains from the pumps, the acid character of the water at the Thames is such that it will soon corrode the steel and render it useless for resisting the pressure. The water in the Big Pump shaft is highly charged with sulphurous acid, and, steel being so susceptible to corrosion, this water will have a tendency to cut into the plate, causing a series of small holes to occur which will render the pipes valueless for the purpose they were intended ; but Mr. Haggard, the attorney for the company, now informs me that it is the intention to substitute cast-iron pipes instead of steel. After all the strenuous but unsuccessful efforts made from time to time to get a company formed to erect a more powerful modern pumping plant than the one now used, and to test the deep levels at the Thames, now when the thing is an accomplished fact, some of the men interested in the field are inclined to urge other companies to erect a pumping plant of their own. Such a proposition is suicidal to the economical working of the mines on the field. One large plant can be worked much more cheaply than a number of small ones. There is no getting away from the fact that the holders of the different claims on the field previous to the formation of the Thames-Hauraki Company could not work any ground below the 500 ft. level. Indeed, the ground was valueless to them even if it contained exceedingly rich lodes. Now, when there is an opportunity of being able to get the deep levels tested, the object of every mineholder should be to join hands with each other and endeavour by a combination to work the ground in the most economical manner ; and, instead of each company having a reduction-mill of an obsolete type, -central plants of the most modern type should be erected, and the different mines connected with them by tramways. The Thames in the past has been a field from which a very large quantity of gold has been obtained, and there is very little doubt that when the deep levels are tested, it will be found that some very rich lodes will be discovered. The finding of rich stone in the Kapanga Mine at Coromandel will have the effect of giving men more confidence in testing the lodes at a greater depth. The surface lodes will in many instances cut entirely out, but there is every probability of other lodes being found that have never come to the surface. Such is the case with the one now discovered in the Kapanga shaft at a depth of 930 ft. from the surface. The present prospects of the field indicate that there is a great future in store for the Thames district. The following table will show the comparative results of working the mines in the Thames district last year as against the previous one : —

1895-90. 1894-95. Gold Increase or Decrease. Locality. a 3 CO 3: rif ■SHO fccr) Pt .23S Q S3 co 3 fc. o CQ c a 3 I •d CD 3 U M o O 3 [ | Yield of Gold. o 9 C a a EH Gold from Tailings, ■ co i co u 0] CD iSi lit u A cn B u « a ■a CD A CO 3 M o M O a Yield of Gold. T3 CD S CD CO J '3 tH Gold from Tailings. Plus or Minus. 1895-1)6. Tons. 15 284 606 1,302 I Tons. Oz. dwt. Tons. Oz. dwt. Tons cwt.I Tons cwt. Oz. dwt. 18 15 85 1 48 10 3 12 359 1 85 17 2,276 4 5,560 4 907 8 4,586 15 4,390 2 1,095 12 995 7 Tons cwt. Oz. awt. Oz. dwt. -18 15 + 173 13 + 2,401 7 -3 7 + 889 2 -85 17 -1,022 9 -1,350 16 -665 7 -1,068 8 + 4,022 19 - 30 12 -371 5 Mata Tapu Waiomo Puru Tararu Shellback .. Kuranui Moanataiari Grahamstown Waiotahi Waiokaraka Karaka Una Hill and Te Papa Hape Creek .. Puriri Otanui Matatoke .. Tairua Ohui Kirikiri Whangamata The Wires .. 6 28 12 12 j 76 ! I .. 1 38 168 37 78 78 49 38 .. 2,598 8,879 573 3,907 9,777 490 1,345 409 1,108 258 14 2,449 17 0 5 637 0 1,135 2 4,036 16 884 0 3,230 8 8,413 1 1,023 19 624 2 1,655 463 1,641 8,700 1,025 637 7 118 13 172 12 1,276 10 287 19 3 15 23 24 3 65 151 41 107 64 40 35 83 5 6 15 10 0 446 0 126 0 4,885 0 9,479 9 613 1 5,157 10 3,080 0 625 0 769 0 450 0 10,588 0 350 0 300 0 100 0 26 4 10,455 0 1,918 9 "65 41 1 17 10 2 162 4 187 11 11 11 14 6 2 478 10 8 10 200 0 250 0 213 10 133 7 30 0 -25 19 -121 16 -30 0 0 20 4 4 6 1 24 1 "' 56 19 47 4 1 11 17 0 18 6 3 2 "e o 2 0 30 0 45 15 + 26 19 + 1 9 + 1 11 + 17 0 +18 6 .. •• i Totals .. 689 29,970 23,033 6 13,549 2,534 2 598 25,971 0 11,938 0 20,865 0 1 + 2,757 15 '1,517 10,555 0 1,944 13

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It will be seen from the foregoing table that 29,970 tons of quartz and 1,517 tons of mullock were crushed last year for a return of 23,0330z. 6dwt. gold, as against 25,971 tons of quartz and 11,938 tons of mullock for the previous year, which yielded 20,8650z. gold ; also 13,549 tons of tailings was treated last year for a yield of 2,5340z. 2dwt. gold, as against 10,555 tons for the previous year, which yielded 1,9440z. 13dwt. gold, the increased yield last year being 2,8570z. 15dwt. gold, which is principally due to the returns from the May Queen Company's mine in the Waiokaraka Block. Tapu. There are several additional mines being opened out in this locality, and great expectations are anticipated from some of them. The lodes are generally small, but some very rich specimen stone has been obtained from some of the lodes in this district. In the early days of the field there was a considerable mining population here, but of late years the number has been very limited. Several new discoveries have been made of auriferous ore higher up the valley of the Tapu Creek in recent years, and fair ore has been obtained. Very little prospecting has, however, been done in the back country, where the formation looks as promising as where the lodes have been worked near the coast. The whole of the working so far has been confined to the higher levels. A shaft was sunk on a lode of about from 3ft. to 4ft. in thickness to a depth of some 30ft. alongside the Tapu Creek, directly above the first gorge, but the inflow of water became too much to contend with, and consequently the shaft was abandoned about twelve years ago. Eecently the ground, which is now a freehold, has again been taken up by a local company called the Golden Gate, and a new shaft is being constructed, and was down to a depth of about 190 ft. at the time of my last visit; and the company, which has a working capital of about £5,000, intends to continue the sinking until the depth of 220 ft. is reached, when a cross-cut will be made to cut the lode at that depth to prove its paying capabilities for working. At the time of my visit the water was lifted out of the shaft in buckets, but there is a pump on the ground ready to fix in position. One of Tangye's small winding-engines is erected for winding. Poppet-heads are erected, and cages will be used in the shaft as soon as the depth of 220 ft. is reached. Sheridan's Company has made a commencement to extend the" low-level adit from the bend of the road going up the valley, in order to use it for working the Sheridan lode. This will give them a much better way of getting the quartz to their crushing-battery, which is erected lower down the valley. The yield of gold last year from this locality, although not large, showed an increase over the previous year of 1730z. 13dwt.; but when it is taken into consideration that this increase is more than double the quantity of gold obtained from all the claims in the vicinity of Tapu for the year ending the 31st March, 1895, it shows that there is a considerable improvement in mining in this locality. Waiomo. There are several large lodes in this locality containing a sufficient quantity of gold and silver to make them highly remunerative for working if a process was found to separate the gold and silver from the base metals the ore contains—namley, sulphides of zinc, galena, and copper. The latter has a very deterrent action in cyanide solutions, and, up to the present time, no satisfactory process has been used to treat this ore in an economical manner. Monowai Company. —This company has a valuable property if a proper mode of treatment were adopted. A crushing-battery and cyanide plant is erected, but the quantity of base metals in the ore has hitherto prevented the mine being worked with success. The first annual report of the directors, of which the following is an extract, gives a clear statement of the difficulties there were to contend with: "In presenting their first annual report, the directors deem it necessary to give the shareholders a short account of the operations of the company since its formation. Shortly after it was formed the directors had erected, by Messrs. Price Brothers, of the Thames, a ten-stamper battery and complete cyanide plant. This was decided upon as the result of a series of experiments made by the Cassel Gold-extraction Company on samples of ore supplied by your then manager, Mr. Peter Hansen. As you are no doubt aware, the result of the treatment of some 479 tons of ore by this process showed that the bulk of the ore from the large Monowai lode was of such a complex character that the results attained by the experiments were not borne out. It was considered useless, therefore, to persevere further in this direction. The battery was shut down and all the battery-hands discharged, and the expenditure reduced as far as possible. In the interests of economy, the directors were also compelled to dispense with the services of their manager, Mr. Hansen. Mr. Hodge, the foreman under Mr. Hansen, has since acted as mine-manager at a reduced salary. At this juncture Mr. Andrew Gordon French, a well-known metallurgist of Glasgow, approached your Board, and, after a visit to the mine, and experiments made by him upon 1-J- tons of the Monowai ore, he assured the directors that he could treat it with the best results as to extraction, and at a satisfactory cost. Your directors, after several interviews with Mr. French, and after giving the whole matter their most careful consideration, authorised him to make the necessary alterations and additions to adapt the plant to his treatment. The plant, as altered, started operations on the 11th instant. Mr. French was instructed to put through 100 tons of ore before cleaning up, as it was considered advisable that the result of the new treatment should be based on a substantial test. As already stated, this test is now in progress, and the directors believe that its conclusion will show that Mr. French has justified the confidence placed in him. There is no doubt that, granted the treatment is successful, you have a very valuable property. The Monowai reef, which is an enormous lode, extends almost the whole length of the property, and has been proved to contain, wherever cut into, large bodies of valuable ore."

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The balance-sheet for the year ending the 31st October last shows the results of working :— Beceipts. £ s. d. i Expenditure. £ s. d. From 479 tons bullion, 2,2490z. .. .. 754 12 9 i Mine requisites .. .. .. 182 0 4 Loss on working .. .. .. 1,957 6 8 Mine wages .. .. .. .. 1,203 18 0 1 Battery wages .. - .. .. .. 309 5 7 Battery firewood .. .. .. 79 17 3 Cyanide .. .. .. .. 322 14 10 Miscellaneous, including royalty, &c, to Cassel Company .. .. .. 424 16 0 Depreciation .. .. .. .. 189 7 5 £2,711 19 5 £2,711 19 5 The chairman, in moving the adoption of the report and balance-sheet, stated that, as far as the Crown and Gem sections of the mine were concerned, it had been discovered, as soon as the cyanide plant was at work, that the ore, while in every way suited to the cyanide treatment, was not of the value that had. been expected. Work, therefore, was discontinued in those sections. The directors had always looked on the Monowai reef as the one to bring profit and dividends, if satisfactory treatment could be discovered. The item of £2,180 represented the amount of work done upon it. He regretted he was unable that day to give a definite statement of the result of Mr. French's experiment. The meeting had been postponed until the last day almost, in the hope that the result might come to hand. He might say, however, they had received assurance from Mr. French that the different parts of the plant were working satisfactorily. At the wish of the directors he had written to Mr. French, asking him, if he possibly could, to speak with some definiteness as to the working of the plant. Mr. French, under date 26th November, in his reply, said : " Everything went well till we came to the filtering of the solution through the ore, and we found that too slow. This can easily be mended by crushing coarser. I tried to get coarser screens for the battery, but Morrin's people had nothing less than twenty-five meshes to the inch. The kind I used at Customs Street experiment was fifteeen meshes to the running inch, and it brought the ore to a very good working grade. Eegarding the chlorine-making, I find, for the size of the charges we have to work, the jars are too slow, and ultimately we must get a leaden generator. I have ascertained now that, with these few details put right, the battle is won. The process acts perfectly in every respect, and will do all I said of it. Ido not look upon the slowness of the percolation of the solution as anything more than a temporary delay, as, even if I could not crush coarser, and so get rapid filtering, I have mechanical devices to fall back upon to overcome the trouble. For this kind of work the rolls crush without making fine dust, and are always adopted where leaching is done. Ultimately they will have to be put in here. A set does not cost much, and they require much less power than stamps to do the same work." Passing on, the chairman said he had, within the last few days, visited the mine, and had seen Mr. French, in order to obtain the best information he could for the shareholders. Mr. French had then told him personally that not only was the furnace working satisfactorily, but that the fume-condenser, which was one of the novelties attached to the plant, was doing its work well also, and saving the gold. The assay-value of Monowai ore in the vats, after having been passed through the kiln at the time of the treatment by the Cassel Company's process, had been £3 10s. 7d., and the company's then manager had said, "I do not know what to make of it "; referring to the fact that there was great discrepancy between the value of the ore he had put in the kiln and its value when in the vats. Mr. French's experiment had pretty clearly shown that a great deal of the gold and silver had been going off in a volatile state, which was now being saved in the fume-condenser. He (the chairman) might add that not only was the furnace and fume-condenser working well, but the chemical—the chlorine—part was also satisfactory. The directors, however, were waiting to see the 100 tons put through, and get the actual result of it, before they gave a definite opinion upon the process. Apart from the satisfactory nature of the treatment, Mr. French was confident that the cost would not be excessive, and that he would be able to treat the ore at a remunerative cost. Once the process was a settled thing, the directors were confident that the Monowai was a most valuable property. Already they had been approached, and there would be no difficulty in securing ample capital to develop the property. Any one who had. visited it would have seen that it offered every facility for cheap and economical working. He also states that the terms on which Mr. French undertakes to make a success in treating the ore is that he is to receive 1,000 paid-up shares in the company when he has proved the mine to be a dividend-paying one. The principle on which Mr. French is experimenting on this ore is as follows : The ore is first dried and crushed, then roasted in a reverberatory furnace with a little salt to chloridize the metals. The salt is intimately mixed with the ore previous to being put into the furnace. The roasted ore is then subjected to chlorination, and, after leaching, the gold in solution is precipitated with sulphate of iron, while the solution goes into a tank containing scrap-iron where the copper is deposited. The silver in the ore, after leaching out the gold solution, is then leached out with hyposulphite of sodium on the same principle as the Eussell process. Mr. French, in conversation with me in reference to this process, states that he can extract the gold and silver at a cost, including mining and treatment, of £1 ss. per ton. This cost appears to me to be small for this method of treatment; also, there is little doubt but what there will be gold and silver carried away in the fumes, while the roasted zinc, being very volatile, its fumes, together with those of sulphur, will carry away a certain portion of the precious metals. To prevent the loss of the gold and silver, the fumes pass through water, where they are condensed. The chlorination plant with which Mr. French was experimenting at the time of my visit was one of the cyanide vats, in which he had made divisions for the purpose of chlorinating the ore. His experiments were only carried on on a small scale, and it appeared to me doubtful whether he could treat the ore in this manner so as to make it a commercial success. If the process lately applied to be patented by Mr. James Park, of the Thames School of Mines, is capable of taking out the

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whole of the copper in the ore, it will be a much cheaper method than Mr. French's. Mr. Park adopts the same method of roasting and chloridizing the ore, and then leaches it with water to extract the whole of the copper, which is soluble; whence subjects it to a cyanide solution to extract the gold and silver. There is less labour in Mr. Park's method than in Mr. French's process, and the question is, when tried on a large scale, as to whether the whole of the copper will be in a soluble form when leached with water; at all events, the experiments made by Mr. Park on tailings from the Sylvia Claim at Tararu Creek which had been treated by Dr. Scheidel with cyanide solutions and found to still contain bullion to the value of over £5 a ton. Some of the tailings have been treated by Mr. Park, and a high percentage of the bullion recovered by his process. «. Mr. French, however, deserves credit for the perseverance with which he has carried on his experiments and the partial success attending them. He is on the right way to extract the precious metals, although in a more expensive manner than they will yet be treated. The plant he is working with is a very primitive one, but it is his intention to keep on experimenting until such time as he is assured of success. Mines on Thames Proper. Moanataiari Mine.- —This is one of the latest mines on the Thames goldfields. It comprises four properties —namely, the Moanataiari, Nonpareil, Point Eussell, and Eeuben Parr, comprising an area of about 95 acres. It is worked from an adit-level, which extends from the foreshore back into the range in a straight line for 3,077ft., having a double line of rails for trucks. The haulage is by horses, the dimensions of the tunnel being 6ft. 6in. high by 7ft. wide in the clear. The mouth of this adit is about 30ft. above high-water mark, and it commands an outlet to the whole of the property, extending back for a considerable distance, including the Alburnia Company's mine. Country-rock here, as well as in the whole of the Thames goldfield, consists of solid andesite lavas and decomposed andesites, which are known by the distinctive name of propylites. These rest on a great accumulation of coarse, andesites or conglomerates and tuffs, which in their turn lie on a highly-denuded surface of slaty-shale of the lower Palaeozoic Age, which form the floor or basement of the Hauraki goldfields. The propylites can be seen in recently-constructed drives to pass by a series of almost imperceptible graduations into the hard andesite lavas. The andesites are generally of an augitic character, but hypersthene-augite-andesite is a common rock in the gold-bearing areas. The propylites are soft, or moderately so, in character, and have a grey or yellowish-grey colour, and are termed by the miners in this locality sandstones, or a rock where auriferous lodes are likely to exist. The andesites occur in bars, varying from 20ft. to 300ft. in width, and are termed by the miners " hard country," or "blue bars." The gold-bearing reefs principally exist in the propylites, and generally follow the greatest linear extension of the enclosing rock, but occasionally pass through hard bars of andesite. In the latter case the lodes in most cases dwindle down very small, in some instances to a mere parting or thread; but, on reaching the propylites, widen out again to their normal size. The experience of all the mining operations at the Thames during the last twenty-five years has shown conclusively that the auriferous character of the lodes is largely affected by the rock they traverse. One of the principal geological features of the Thames district is a large fault or dislocation, known as the " Moanataiari Fault." It traverses the Thames goldfield at nearly right angles to the main trend of the auriferous lodes. It has a vertical down-throw of over 400ft., and it has so displaced and dislocated the lodes that the portions on the seaward side and those on the footwall side are worked as independent reef systems and have received different names. This fault is the north-east boundary of the Thames drainage area, and divides the Moanataiari property into two unequal portions; the smaller, on the hanging-wall or seaward side, comprising an area of 40 acres, and the larger, on the foot-wall or inland side, an area of 55 acres. In no part of the Moanataiari Mine has the sundered ends of the lodes been picked up on the foot-wall side by a continuation of the workings from the seaward side. There are nine distinct lodes on the seaward side of the fault, which, taken in the order of their occurrence from north to south, are as follows :— No. 2 lode: This lode averages lft. 6in. in width, and underlies slightly to the south, excepting one block 170ft. long by 80ft. in height. It has been worked out from the 150ft. level to the surface, but no work has been done below this level. No. 1 lode averages 2ft. in width, and it has been worked out from the adit-level to the surface, and stoped out for 80ft. below that level. There is, however, a block of ground now standing between the adit-level and 80ft. level, 260ft. long by 80ft. high. This lode has again been cut at 150ft. below the adit-level, and, on the completion of some auxiliary work now in hand, which will improve the ventilation of this part of the mine, stoping will be commenced from there to the 80ft. level. No. 3, the All Nations lode : This lode is 15in. in width, and has been worked out for a depth of 80ft. below the main adit-level, and but little stoping has been done between that and the 150ft. level. No. 9 lode : This lode is 4ft. wide, with two large sections ready for stoping; the one, above the adit-level, 200ft. long by 200ft. high; the other, above the 150ft. level, 160ft. long by 110ft. high. This lode may be said to be practically intact from the 150ft. level down to the 210ft. level, which is the deepest point at which it has yet been seen. It was in this lode that the Big Bonanza of 1887 was found. No. 4 lode: This lode is 8in. in width, and has been worked out from the main adit-level to the surface, but is intact from the adit-level downwards, with the exception of a stope which is in progress above the 150ft. level.

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No. 5 lode : This lode is lft. in width. A little stoping has been done upon it above the main adit-level, but not below this. The 150 ft. level is the deepest point where it has been seen. Caledonia lode No. 1 : This lode is 4ft. in width, and has been worked out from the 200 ft. level to the surface. It has also been driven upon at the 300 ft. level, but no stoping has been done at this depth. The No. 2 Caledonia lode is 6ft. in width. It has been worked out from the 210 ft. level to the surface, but is intact below this depth. Waiotahi lode : This lode is about 12ft. in width, and opens out in places to 30ft. It has been cut at the 300 ft. level, and again at a point 40ft. below the 210 ft. level from the Cambria shaft, but no stoping has yet been done there. There were 403 tons of quartz taken from the prospecting level and winzes only, which yielded 1930z. of gold. In the early days, when this lode was cut at the 300 ft. level, stoping operations could not be carried on in consequence of defective ventilation, and no stoping was done at the shallow end, as the rise of the lode carried it into the Cambria property at that particular point. The principal auriferous lodes in the foot-wall or inland section of the mine are the Dauntless, Eeuben Parr, Golden Age, and Waiotahi. The Dauntless lode is 3ft. in width. It crops out in the bed of the Moanataiari Creek 390 ft. above the main adit-level. It was worked for a short distance into the hill above the creek in the early days of the field, and proved payable ; but no work has been done upon it below the level of the creek. It traverses the Eeuben Parr section of the mine for a length of I,oooft. The Reuben Parr lode is 3ft. in width, and has been stoped out from a point 140 ft. above the main adit-level to the surface for a length of 150 ft., but, with the exception of this, it is intact. An extension of the main adit-level on this lode would open up a block of ground above this level 950 ft. long by 400 ft. high. There are also numerous small leaders lying between the Dauntless and Reuben Parr lodes, including the old Dublin leader, lft. 6in. in thickness, which all drop into the larger lodes in depth. The Golden Age lode averages 12ft. in width and, with the exception of a stope 250 ft. long, from a point 450 ft. above the main adit-level to the surface, is intact. There is also a block 1,660 ft. in length and 450 ft. in height above this level still unworked. The Waiotahi lode averages 12ft. in width. No work has been done upon this lode from the Moanataiari Fault to the north-east boundary, a length of 1,700 ft., all of which is available except a portion 400 ft. long, which passes through another property—the West Coast Mine. The general trend of all the principal lodes is north-east and south-west, and their dip is northwest, at angles seldom more than 50°, but more generally 45°. The dip of the smaller lodes and droppers is always steeper than that of the main lode. One of the distinguishing features of the ores is the occurrence of picked or specimen stone, which is selected by the workmen from the general ore when breaking it down. This specimen ore is often very rich, varying from a few pennyweights to 6oz. of gold to a pound of stone. In some places in this mine ore of this character has been found, forming bonanzas of phenomenal richness. It is usually found that where specimen stone is plentiful the general ore is high-grade, and, when absent, vice versa. In the vicinity of rich stone the quartz often contains quantities of crystallized stibnite, while the stone itself is generally encrusted with dark-ruby silver (pyrargyrite). The ore from No. 9, Reuben Parr, Caledonia No. 2, Golden Age No. 2, and Waiotahi lodes is generally highly mineralised, containing from 2 per cent, to 5 per cent, of iron-pyrites, but copper-pyrites is not found in the ore. As the waters in the mine are very acid, due to the presence of ferrous-sulphate and sulphurous acid, much of the iron-pryrites is black and decomposed. In many places stalactites of ferrous-sulphate depend from the roof of the old drives, and the walls are often covered with an effloresence of the same salt. In some of the other drives in the adjoining mines large quantities of sulphate of magnesia can be seen hanging in long threads, reaching from the roof of the drives to the floor. Taking the returns from the books of the company from February, 1889, up to the end of October, 1895, when no bonanzas of exceptional richness were found during that period, there were 51,124 tons of quartz crushed, which yielded 28,5890z. of gold, representing a value of £78,699 15s. or an average yield of £1 10s. 9d. per ton. This yield, however, does not represent anything like the value of the ore. By referring to my annual report, 1893-94, it will be seen that Mr. James Park, Director of the School of Mines, Thames, made a large number of experiments at different batteries in order to ascertain the percentage of gold saved by the process of treatment then in use. His experiments at the Moanataiari battery were of a most exhaustive character, extending over a period of six weeks and involving the treatment of 630 tons of quartz. Two separate series of tests were made. No mercury being used at the mortars, the assay samples were taken at the gratings at regular intervals of fifteen minutes during the whole time of crushing. The tubs containing the samples were forwarded to the School of Mines, where the contents were thoroughly mixed, sampled, and then assayed. The tonnage was obtained from the cubic contents of the trucks, the number of trucks, and the actual weight of a cubic foot of dry ore, due allowance being made to avoid an overestimate of the quantity. The best results of the experiments showed that the extraction was less than 52 per cent. of the original assay-values. Assuming, therefore, that the value of the gold recovered was £78,609 155., and that the proper treatment of the ore had been effected, which ought to have saved at least 80 per cent, of gold, the loss during the period mentioned was £22,013, or an average loss of Bs. 6d. per ton. The same system of treatment then carried on is in use at the present time, and until such time as a more modern mill is erected and a different method of treatment adopted rich bunches of ore will need to be found before large profits from the undertaking can be expected. The present mill is of obsolete design, having been erected twenty years ago, and running continuously since that date. It consists of forty head of light stamps, varying from 6601b. to 7351b. each, the drop being about Bin., and making seventy blows per minute; the average duty being about 1-J- tons per stamp for every twenty-four hours. 9—C. 3.

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The ore is taken directly from the mines and emptied into hoppers, and hand-fed into the stamp-hoppers, no ore-feeders or rook-breakers being used. It is well known amongst all mill-men that the capacity of a stamp-mill depends in a great measure on regularity and depth of the ore below the stamps. If large stones are fed into the mortar, the stamps will not only do a less amount of work, but it also tends to break the gratings, considerably increasing the cost of treatment. If the ore went through a rock-breaker and crushed to a maximum size of 2in. in diameter, or even less, with feeder so arranged that there was no more than 2in. in depth of ore in the mortars at one time, the capacity of the mill would be greatly increased. The stamps also require to be much heavier, have a less drop, and be driven at a higher speed. Pulverised ore at the present time, after passing through the gratings, which consist of a 20-mesh screen, passes over an ordinary copper-plate and blanket-tables, the tailings afterwards being treated in pans and also in berdans. It was after subjecting the ore to all these processes of treatment that Mr. Park found that only 52 per cent, of the gold was recovered. Mr. George Clark, the present mine- and batterymanager, estimates that the total cost of crushing and treating the ore is about 4s. per ton. This estimate includes wear-and-tear and all charges in connection with working the stamp-mill. This company has recently been reconstructed, and placed on the London market for the purpose of finding capital to develop the mine and erect a mill of the most modern design for the reduction and treatment of the ore, arrangements having been completed with the Anglo-Continental Gold Syndicate (Limited) for this purpose. Previous to the reconstruction of the company, Mr. George S. Clark, manager of the mine, submitted a scheme for its development, entailing an outlay of about £24,000, the proposed scheme being as follows : — 1. To sink the Just in Time shaft another 200 ft. (making a total depth of 500 ft.), in order to work the Caledonian lodes Nos. 1 and 2on both sides of the fault at the 500 ft. level; also to work the Waiotahi lode at the same level by means of a cross-cut 700 ft. long. This piece of work will open up a block 200 ft. long by 200 ft. high on each side of the No. 1 and No. 2 Caledonian lodes, on the sea side of the fault, and a block over 2,000 ft. long by (approximately) 900 ft. high on each of these two lodes inland of the fault. It will also open up the Waiotahi lode at a depth of 230 ft. lower than it has been worked in this or any of the adjoining properties. 2. To extend the main tunnel to work the Golden Age and Eeuben Parr lodes. This will open up a block 1,440 ft. long by 400 ft. to 500 ft. in height on both of these lodes. 3. To drive on the Waiotahi lode, at the lOOfc. level, to the boundary, to open up a block 500 ft. long by 100 ft. high. 4. To drive on the Eeuben Parr lode at the 100 ft. level, a distance of 800 ft. to the north-east boundary, to open up a block 100 ft. long by 300 ft. high. 5. To drive on the Golden Age lode at the Point Kussell level (300 ft. above the main tunnel) to the north-east boundary, which will open up a block 300 ft. long by 150 ft. high. The completion of these works will, it is estimated, open up at least 750,000 tons of ore above the 300 ft. level, that is assuming the lodes maintain the average size of the portions already worked. The quantity of ore, as above stated, will be opened up by extensions now in progress ; but, by continuing these extensions and working the whole mine to the depth drained by the Big Pump—■ namely, 500 ft. under the main adit-level —it is estimated that the quantity of ore obtained can be quadrupled. With regard to the proposed future treatment of ore, the class of plant to be erected will not be decided until exhaustive and conclusive experiments have been made in order to ascertain the relative values and cost of wet and dry crushing. It has, however, been suggested that five or ten head of stamps 'of the present battery be converted into a dry crushing-mill, and a small cyanide plant erected, in order to test the relative values of wet and dry crushing, and to see which of these processes of treatment will prove the most effectual and economical to use. The whole of these development works will take a considerable time to carry out, but, judging from my intimate knowledge of the working and the large lodes there are in sight, this company possesses a very valuable mining property. During the year ending the 31st March last 6,274-| tons of quartz were crushed, which yielded 2,8350z. of gold. Of these, 3,266 tons were obtained by the company on wages, and yielded 2,2040z. of gold, and 3,008-| tons on tribute, yielding 6310z. of gold. Fame and Fortune Mine.- —This mine adjoins the Moanataiari on the inland side of the great fault. For some years this mine was worked successfully by Mr. Kersey Cooper, but latterly it has not been worked at anything like a profit. There are two very large lodes traversing the ground ■—namely, the Golden Age and the Waiotahi. The latter lode was cut through in the lower level, its average yield being 7dwt. of gold per ton, but the manager informs me that this lode could not be worked at a profit with the system adopted for the transport and treatment of the ore. He stated that nothing less than loz. of gold would pay, as the quartz had to be carted a considerable distance to the crushing-battery, yet this lode is fully 12ft. thick, having a value of about £1 per ton. The most economical way of working this mine would be by extending the Moanataiari main adit-level for, say, another 800 ft. or 1,000 ft., as this would open up lodes, not only in the Fame and Fortune Mine, but also in the Orlando and other mines further back in the range. The Golden Age lode has been laid bare for a great length on the foot-wall side, but none of the lode itself has been worked, all operations being confined to droppers or stringers from the foot-wall into the country-rock, and some of these gave very good returns for working. Small quartz-mining properties will not now give sufficient remuneration for the large expenditure required to develop them. Ground will have to be held in large areas, and a considerable capital found to properly develop them, and to erect a more suitable class of machinery for the reduction and treatment of the ore than has ever yet been done on the Thames goldfield. There is no doubt that the Fame and Fortune Mine could be more economically worked in conjunction with the Moanataiari Mine, and the day is probably not far distant when steps will be taken to accomplish this operation.

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During last year there were 6,274 tons of quartz crushed and 1,088 tons of mullock, which yielded 2,8350z. 16dwt. of gold, while there were 131 wages-men and thirty-seven tributors employed in the mine. Victoria Company. —This company now holds a" portion of ground formerly occupied by the Tookey, Golden Crown, Deep-level Cross, and Prince Imperial Companies. They were formerly working from a shaft in the Tookey ground, but recently they have gone into the Prince Imperial shaft, and cut a very rich leader of auriferous stone on the hill-side 80ft. in from the shaft. This leader is from 6in. to Bin. in thickness, containing in places remarkably rich stone ; indeed, the whole of the ore is very rich. The company first found this leader on the surface, and afterwards went down and put in a cross-cut from the shaft 100 ft. below the surface, and are now engaged in driving on the leader and stoping it out; and there is a chance that this leader may widen out as it goes down, or junction with the lode formerly worked by the Prince Imperial. Whether this supposition will prove correct time alone will show. At all events, the stone they are getting at the present time leads them to believe that a rich shoot of ore will eventually be obtained. They have arranged with Mr. Bull for the use of his battery, and are carting the ore there for treatment. May Queen Company. —This is one of the leading companies in the Thames district. It has acquired several properties, and now holds a considerable area of ground. The workings have been carried down to near the 480 ft. level, or the lowest level that can be drained by the big pump without constructing a drainage tunnel to connect with the levels at the bottom of the Big Pump shaft, and this would only admit of drainage at a depth of 150 ft. below the present level. A drive was constructed from the Saxon workings, which now form a portion of the May Queen Company's property, for a distance of 2,502 ft. to connect with the May Queen shaft. This permitted the lode having about 100 ft. of backs in the May Queen ground, to be taken out to this level. The stopes on this lode have now been carried up for a distance of about 60ft., still leaving about 40ft. to stope out for a length of about 700 ft. on the lode. When this lode is taken out the workings cannot be carried on to a greater depth until drainage is effected. This company, having a large area of ground on which very little workings have been carried on to any great depth, can find employment in developing that portion of its property in the direction of the St. Hippo ground. In regard to the prospects of the company's mine at deeper levels, there is every prospect of a large amount of gold being got to a further'depth of about 200 ft. This is not merely from the present indication of the lode below the drainage-level, but from the dip or strike of the auriferous channel of country-rock which goes in a southerly direction from the Kuranui Hill to the Queen of Beauty shaft, as can be seen by referring to Mr. Park's geological map embodied in my report for the year 1893-94.. The Saxon Company, at the time of disposing of its property to the May Queen Company, left rich auriferous stone under-foot in the lowest drainage-level, and this run of stone dips southward through the Trenton ground, which now forms a portion of the May Queen Company's property; and the same auriferous belt follows into the Queen of Beauty ground, now the property of the Thames-Hauraki Company. There are good reasons to expect large returns from the May Queen Company's ground when drainage is effected at the lower levels. The following is an extract from the directors' report for the year ending 19th February last, read at the annual meeting of the company : — " Your directors have the honour to submit their annual report and balance-sheet. The summary from the latter is as follows :— Receipts. £ s. d. Disbursements. £ s. d. Calls received .. .. .. .. 23 11 0 Overdraft from last year .. .. 1,293 6 3 Gold won from 6,672 loads quartz, 7,1580z. Wages paid at the mine .. .. 9,446 3 6 lldwt. (including tribute percentages), General charges (including mining requisoldfor .. .. ..■ :. 20,300 311 sites) .. .. .. .. 4,764 4 8 Haulage .. .. .. .. 164 16 3 Battery charges (inolucling wages) .. 1,757 11 4 Refund on cablegram .. .. .. 6 9 2 Cash balance in bank .. .. .. 3,249 16 7 Rebate from licence .. .. .. 16 2 0 £20,511 2 4 £20,511 2 4 " Shareholders are aware that at the beginning of the present financial year the low-level tunnel was finished, and a block of 102 ft. backs on the reef made ready for operating on. Driving and stoping on the reefs in all the sections of the mine have since been carried on on an extensive scale, and with gratifying results. Then there was an overdraft; now there is a substantial cash balance. The bottom of the level having yielded the richest return of gold gives full warrant to expect better returns when a lower depth is attained. The mine-manager's report furnishes all the details. Referring to the sale of your company's property in the London market, your directors regret to say that yesterday they received a cable message stating that the mine was not sold, and, as the period for which the mine was under offer expired on the 22nd of this month, they conclude that the negotiations have fallen through. Your directors have not yet had time since the receipt of the above information to give that serious consideration to the now altered position of the company's property which it deserves, but shareholders may feel sure that they will exercise every care and attention in sketching out a future policy in connection with the mine." This shows that the average yield of gold per ton was about 14-3dwt., as each load of quartz is equal to tons, and that the average cost of mining and crushing was £1 11s. per ton. During the year ending the 31st March last, 9,777 tons of quartz have been crushed, which yielded 8,4130z. gold, while there has been seventy-eight men employed in the mine and in connection with the works. The annual report of Mr. George Wilson, Inspector of Mines, sets forth the progress of developing the different mines, so that it is not necessary for me to make somewhat similar remarks concerning them ; suffice to say that owing to the large number of mining properties that have

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been taken up during the last year, it would have been impossible for roe with the time at my disposal to visit them all, nor was the same necessary, as there is little or no work done on many of them. But, in order that the Mines Eeport may give complete information in itself, Mr. Wilson's report is embodied with my remarks herewith. The following is Mr. Wilson's report on the Thames district for the year ending the 31st March last:— Mata. Kelly's Claim. —Sluicing operations have been carried on here by Mr. Kelly, and a race formed to bring in the water from the Gentle Annie Creek, but nothing further has been done in the matter of pumping up water to wash the surface at a higher level than formerly. Campbell's Claim. —The owner, who works by himself, has not done much during the year on account of sickness. Several other parties occasionally sluice the gravel in the lower portions of the creek, and parcels of gold amounting to 150z., purporting to have been found in this district, have been sold to the banks. Attention has also been again directed to the quartz reefs, and several areas have been taken up. Tapu Creek. Sheridan Mine. —Owners, Sheridan Gold-mining Company.—This mine, which was formerly worked by D. Sheridan and Party, is now held by the above company, who have taken adjacent areas, making a total of 50 acres and 4 poles. The work done consisted in taking out blocks of the reef which had been left by the former owners, amounting to 254 tons, which, when taken to their battery and crushed, yielded 2310z. of gold. An average of eight men were employed. The company are now driving the old Tapu low-level tunnel, which will open up the reefs at a greater depth. Golden Point Mine. —Owners, Golden Point Gold-mining Company. —This mine, 200 acres in area, is on the opposite side of the creek to the Sheridan, on the land known as Hawke's Freehold. A shaft has been sunk, and a level will be opened to cross-cut for the reef worked in former years. The machinery employed consists of one pair of Tangye winding-engines, geared forward, with 18-horse power colonial-pattern boiler, and a pump to lift 5,000 gallons per hour. The average number of men employed was ten. Comet Mine. —Owners, McMahon and Party. —Is situated near the Golden Point Mine. Its area is 30 acres, and three men are employed. A cross-cut has been driven 216 ft., and another 100 ft. have still to be driven to cut the old Comet reef, from which rich quartz was obtained twenty-seven years ago. Since then the ground has remained untried. Three men were employed. Tapu Fluke Mine. —Owners, Tapu Fluke Gold-mining Company (Limited). —Very little work has been done by this company during the year. Boyal Mine. —Owners, Royal Gold-mining Company.—This mine adjoins the Tapu Fluke. A cross-cut has been driven for lOOffc., and the reef cut. A parcel of 15 tons of quartz was crushed for a yield of 15oz. 14dwt. It is intended to amalgamate both the Fluke and this mine with the Mahara mine, and work has been done conjointly by the owners. Several other parties have been prospecting in this district, and large areas have been applied for as special claims- or licensed holdings. Waiomo. Monowai Mine. —Owners, Monowai Amalgamated Gold-mining Company. This Company's land comprises a total area of 37 acres 4 roods. The chief works during the year were carried on near the surface of the reef in the Monowai section. The quantity of quartz first taken to the mill was 511 tons, which was treated by the cyanide process, for a yield of 2,4340z. 9dwt. The mill remained idle for a time, as it was found that the cyanide process was too costly, the ore containing too much copper. Subsequently, further parcels of quartz, amounting in all to 95 tons, were taken to the mill, and, after dry crushing, the ore was subjected to a chlorodizing process. The after treatment, however, differed considerably. One of the cyanide vats was separated into close compartments; these were then filled with roasted ore, and subjected to the action of chlorine gas, introduced at the bottom. The gas was first allowed to permeate the mass, a close covering was afterwards placed over the compartment, and, when sufficient time had elapsed, the gold was leached from the ore and precipitated by the solution passing through a charcoal filter. A second leaching process was then adopted to remove the sulphur by the hyposulphite of calcium method. The gold recovered amounted to 15oz. Bdwt., but there is known to be a considerable quantity of gold and silver in precipitate not yet treated. Mr. French, under whose direction this treatment was conducted, has a process whereby the copper in the solution is precipitated in the ordinary way on scrap-iron. Operations have been stopped for the present, but it is intended to proceed further with other experiments. A reverberatory furnace was erected to roast the ore after dry crushing. The fumes from this furnace were conveyed through a flue built of concrete, and were then passed through a small kiln, so arranged that the heat dried the raw ore, preparing it for dry crushing. They were afterwards forced through a condensing chamber by the aid of an exhaust-fan. Broken Hills Mine. — Owners, Broken Hills Gold-mining Company.—This mine, comprising an area of 28 acres, is situated on the line of reef to the northward of the Monowai. A considerable amount of work has been done on the reef, which is about Bft. through. About 80 tons of quartz are stacked, but, the ore being refractory, no method has been yet adopted for treating it. Comstock Mine. —Area, 96 acres; owners, Comstock Gold-mining Company.—Two reefs have been cut in this mine, but the refractory nature of the ore has decided this company, in common with the Broken Hills Gold-mining Company, to await the result of the Monowai treatment before attempting to erect machinery. Several other areas have been taken up, but very little work has been done on them.

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Bangatira Mine. —Area, 49 acres; owners, Eangatira Gold-mining Company.—This mine is situated on the seaside, to the southward of Waiomo Stream. A drive has been put in from the roadside for a distance of 150 ft., with a view of .cutting the large reefs which outcrop further inland. Twelve men were employed throughout the Waiomo district during the year. Puru. Puru Consols Mine. —Area, 360 acres; owners, Puru Consols Gold-mining Company.—This mine is situated on the upper portion of the Puru watershed. Several auriferous reefs of large size have been discovered, and it is intended to drive two low-level tunnels to cut these at lower levels. Waimea Mine. —Area, 100 acres ; owners,Waimea Gold-mining Company.—ln this mine, situated on the Upper Puru, a large amount of prospecting has been done. In a cross-cut driven 120 ft., No. 1 reef, 41ft. in thickness, was intersected, and No. 2 reef, 9ft. thick, was cut in two places. Assays from these reefs vary from £1 to £2 10s. per ton, and from the Maori Reef, lft. 6in. in thickness, 301b. of picked stone were obtained. All the quartz found hitherto is what is called free-milling ore, and, as the Puru Stream will furnish water-power for crushing those large reefs, can be profitably worked. Other extensive areas have been taken up in this district, in which an average of twelve men have found employment. Stony Creek. In this district, which lies between Puru and Tararu Creeks, a number of claims have been taken up, and, as reefs containing gold are known to exist, payable quartz may be discovered. The creek will furnish water-power to drive a small mill sufficient to test the value of the reefs. Tararu Creek. Tararu Creek Mine. —Owners, Tararu Creek Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This mine now includes the ground held by the Norfolk and City of Dunedin Companies, and also the Tararu Special Claim. The mines were taken over by this company on the Ist September, 1895. Prior to that date, the Norfolk Company carried on operations in the Norfolk section, but no quartz was treated. In the City of Dunedin section a party of tributers were employed, who carried on driving and stoping in the tributers' reef; 206 tons lOcwt. were crushed by them for a return of 1520z. 7dwt., valued at £487 6s. Six men were employed in this tribute. The following is an account of the work done since the above company took over the property : — The low-level on the California Eeef in the Norfolk section has been extended 266 ft. The width of the reef varies from lft. to Bft. Three rises have been put up from this level. The first of these connects with No. 3 level, and is 180 ft. in height; the second is up 101 ft., and connects with the intermediate above; the third is up 25ft. The intermediate level has been opened out to an extent of 175 ft., the thickness of the reef varying from lft. to Bft. About 90 fathoms of stoping have been done over this level. The reef in the stopes varies from lft. to 15ft. The Missouri main cross-cut has been extended 280 ft. In the Norfolk South section 125 ft. of driving have been done in cross-cuts. In the Dunedin section the present low-level on the Day Dawn Eeef has been carried along 238 ft., the width of the reef averaging 3ft. A rise of 77ft. has been put up from this level and connected with the one above. A second rise has been started, and is now up a height of 19ft. Between the two levels the reef averages 3ft. The tributers' level, on the same reef, has been extended 117 ft. The lode varies in width from 2ft. to 6ft. Over this level 46 fathoms of stoping have been done, in which the reef averages about 3ft. Under the tributers' level an intermediate has been driven 160 ft., over which 35 fathoms of stoping have been done, the reef varying from lft. to 3ft. wide. From the tributers' level a cross-cut has been driven 29ft. to cut a lode parallel to the Day Dawn. Since intersecting this lode 62ft. have been driven on its course, the reef having an average width of 2ft. The City of Dunedin low-level has been cleaned out and repaired for a distance of 542 ft., and has been further extended 85ft. on the line of the City of Dunedin Eeef, which measures 6ft. in width. A cross-cut has been driven from this level 134 ft., where the California Eeef was intersected. Since this was effected 39ft. have been driven. The average thickness of this reef is the same as the California. In the Opal section on the City of Dunedin Eeef 10 fathoms of stoping have been done. The Battery or Sunbeam low-level has been cleaned out and repaired for a distance of 1,450 ft. Future operations will be principally in the direction of extending the battery-level to connect with the City of Dunediu low-level. When this work is completed the whole of the crushing material from the upper sections will be brought through this way. At the battery a cyanide plant, calculated to treat 160 tons of ore per week, is in course of erection. The total amount of ore crushed is 1,004 tons, for a return of 3660z. 2dwt., valued at £1,178 16s. 6d. The average number of men employed since the Ist September is forty-four, and on the 31st March last fifty-eight men were in the company's pay. Previous to their taking over the property, fourteen men were employed, from the Ist April, 1895, to the 31st August of the same year. Kaiser Mine. —Owners, Kaiser Gold-mining Company (No Liability). —This mine, which embraces an area of 49 acres 3 roods 25 perches, is a portion of the land formerly held by the Sylvia Company. The present owners have occupied the land since. They have put in a cross-cut 410 ft., and driven a further distance of 100 ft. on a line of a slide. A highly mineralized 18in. reef was cut, and 40ft. driven on either side of the cross-cut. Eight men are employed.

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Day Dawn Mine. —Area, 20 acres 2 roods 32 perches; owners, Bennett and Party.—This mine is situated in Tinker's Gully. A considerable amount of work was done on the reef, which is from 2ft. to 3ft. in thickness. A crushing of IS tons 601b. of quartz yielded 390z. 18dwt. of gold. Four men were employed. Scandinavian Mine. —Area, 42 acres 3 roods 6 perches ; owners, Scandinavian Gold-mining Company. This mine was worked by Whitely and party up to the end of September, 1896. There were 71 tons of quartz crushed for 670z. 13dwt. of gold, valued at £142 55., when the above company took over the mine. An addition was made to the battery, which now consists of eight stamps and four berdans. A small water-race about half a mile long was made in order to supply water for the tables and steam-engines. Crushing will be resumed shortly. Eight men were employed. Large areas have been taken up on the range to the northward of the creek, in one of which, named the Argosy, much work has been done and a gold-bearing reef discovered. In Upper Tararu the whole of the ground, including the claims formerly known as the Vulcan and Scottish Chief is all occupied. Shell-back Greek. —The whole of the ground in this district has again been taken up, but no works for the development of the mines have been yet undertaken, with the exception of that done in the Magazine, owned by the Magazine Gold-mining Company, which comprises 47 acres of land. A cross-cut has been put in from the Tararu Eoad for a distance of 200 ft., with a view to prospect the ground, which is that portion lying to the northward of the Kuranui Block. Since the Thames Goldfield was opened this district has never received the attention its situation warranted. Glunes Mine. —Owners, Clunes Gold-mining Company.—The ground included in this mine is that formerly known as the Nordenfeldt. On it a large amount has been done in driving new prospecting levels, to prove the value of Dixon's Reef, on the lower portion of the ground. Kuranui. Kuranui Mine (Hansen's). —Owners, Kuranui Gold-mining Company.—This mine, which is known as Hansen's, Kuranui, comprises an area of 15 acres, and is now held by the above company. The chief work done during the earlier portion of the year was done by tributers, who worked about the surface and upper portions of the mine. They crushed 111 tons of quartz for 360z. lOdwt. of gold, valued at £95 ss. 10d., and 409 tons of mullock for a yield of 78oz. Bdwt., valued at £203 15s. 7d. After the change of owners the old Shotover shaft was cleaned out and repaired to a depth of 150 ft. from the surface, or 70ft. below the adit, at which depth a cross-cut was driven 16ft. and 180 ft. on a reef. The future working of the mine will consist in cross-cutting for the Oddfellows' reef, and in sinking a shaft for ventilation. A twenty-stamp battery, with ten berdans, driven by water power owned by the company, is situated at the mouth of the 80ft. adit level. As soon as the shaft is driven it is intended also to open up the reefs 50ft. below the adit towards the main slide. Six men were employed, part of the time on wages and part on tribute. Comer's Mine. —Area, 13 acres 1 rood 37 perches ; owner, Robert Comer. —This mine has again been worked, chiefly on the assisted-tribute system. Eleven tributers were employed driving and stoping on the leaders in the Long Drive and All Nations sections. 530 tons were crushed, for a yield of 6410z. 7dwt. of gold, valued at £1,683 10s. 6d. Hazelbank Mine. —Owners, Hazelbank Gold-mining Company. —This mine has again been steadily worked. The reef known as the cross reef has been driven on for 200 ft., and 142 ft. were driven on small leaders; 132 fathoms were stoped out in the cross reef, and on the small leaders a leading stope was taken out to test the reef and secure ventilation. The company crushed 448 tons, for a yield of 2600z. sdwt., valued as £763 7s. 2d. ; and a small party of tributers crushed 1,510 tons of surface stuff for 118oz. 17dwt., valued at £312 11s. Thirteen men were employed. The works now in progress are confined to No. 1 level —viz., driving on the Young American and Kelly's leaders, and stoping on Darby's leader above this level. A little gold is seen in the quartz won from the Young American and Kelly's, and, judging from the prospects met with in the stopes on Darby's, there is a fair chance of a payable block of ground being opened up in this direction. This mine, along with Comer's, Kuranui, has been sold to an English company, and no doubt during next year extensive works will be undertaken to sink the shaft and thoroughly prospect the famous Caledonian Reef at a greater depth, underneath the deposit whence came the rich yield of former days. Moanataiari. Moanataiari Mine. —Owners, Moanataiari Gold-mining Company.—This mine, which comprises an area of 94 acres 2 roods 34 perches, was taken over by an English company on the Ist November, 1895, and is now worked on their account. In the Moanataiari section the following workings have been carried on at the Moanataiari tunnel, known as the adit level: A drive has been put in to the southward and eastward, in the direction of No. 2 shaft, for 130 ft., leaving 140 ft. more to be driven to complete the distance, which is 480 ft. At the 150 ft. shaft level, 150 ft. on No. 1 reef, and 260 ft. on No. 2, have been driven. On the latter, a block, 40ft. in height, has been stoped up to the old workings in the Golden Calf section. A winze has also been sunk 50ft. below the level. The old Golden Calf shaft has been cleaned out and repaired from the surface to the 150 ft. level, giving additional ventilation to this section of the mine, and also to No. 2 shaft and workings. Driving on No. 4 leader in the foot-wall of No. 9 reef, for 160 ft., enabled a block of ground to be stoped to a height of 45ft. This drive will also open up a large block on No. 9 reef, which is here intact up to the adit level. A drive has been continued from the footwall of the leader to No. 2 shaft, a distance of 190 ft. Point Russell section : No work has been done on the level 100 ft. over the adit during this year, but, in the level 100 ft. higher, the south crosscut has been continued 150 ft., and an equal

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distance further will be driven to cut the Waicocahi big reef, opposite the Devil's Elbow, ac a depth of 160 ft. below the bed of the Waiotahi Creek. A drive on Jones's Beef at this level has also been advanced 150 ft., when the Eeuben Parr Beef was intersected and driven on 140 ft. On this lode, which is from 3ft. to 6ft. thick, and the quartz of a promising nature, stoping has been commenced, and there are 350 ft. of backs for a length of 800 ft., constituting a large block of ground which should yield well. The Point Bussell level has been reopened and timbered, while a drive on the Golden Age Beef, 240 ft. long, has also been reopened and continued 260 ft. on the reef, which is from 3ft. to 7ft. in thickness, and is now being stoped. A winze from the old Golden Age level has been sunk 40ft. towards making a connection with this level, thus securing good ventilation. Stoping in the footwall leader to the westward has been carried on for 110 ft. up to the Dawn of Hope level. By stripping and timbering the old Just in Time shaft, the No. 2or new shaft, which will be the main shaft for the purpose of working the mine, has been completed to a depth of 154 ft. Its dimensions are 12ft. by sft. 6in. in the clear, divided into three compartments, and sinking will be continued to a depth of 500 ft. below the surface. The new machinery for the shaft will consist of a 30-horse power pair of horizontal coupled winding-engines, on cast-iron bed-plates, with linked motion and reversmg-gear. The boiler will be multitubular, 14ft. by sft. 6in., with a pressure of 1001b. per square inch. The battery consisting of forty stamps, twenty-one berdans, and three pans, driven by water-power, for which four Pelton wheels are used. The quantity of quartz crushed during the year was, for the company, 3,266 tons, for a yield of 2,2040z. 15dwt., of gold, valued at £5,580 2s. 10d.; and for tributers, 3,008-J tons, for 6310z. ldwt., for £1,684 7s. Sixty-five wages-men and thirty-seven tributers were employed. The reefs at the levels already opened should produce a large amount of payable quartz, and, when the new shaft is sunk to the depth mentioned, an extended area of ground—hitherto unexplored at deep levels —which is traversed by reefs lying to the seaward of the Main Slide, in what has been hitherto the most productive portion of the Thames Goldfields, will be opened up. The progress of this mine has latterly been retarded through want of means, the local company being unprepared to perform the dead work required for its development. However, now that the mine is owned by a powerful company, and that funds are available —£25,000 being provided for the work —other works than those already enumerated will doubtless be undertaken, so as to open up the mine still further by extending the adit-tunnel, which will probably lead to the discovery of new and rich lodes. The future prospects of this mine are of a most encouraging nature. Moanataiari North Mine.— Area, 12 acres 2 roods; owners, Moanataiari North Gold-mining Company.—This mine, formerly known as the Alfred, adjoining the Moanataiari Mine to the eastward, has not met with any degree of success, although a considerable amount of work was done in opening up leaders. A small crushing of 5 tons yielded loz. lOdwt. Five wages-men were employed. Moanataiari Extended Mine. —Area, 27 acres; owners, Moanataiari Extended Gold-mining Company. —This mine, lately taken up, has been worked by five men. Driving has been done on a reef at the low-level, and also on the surface leaders. A crushing of 12 tons of quartz yielded loz. 19dwt. of gold. Orlando Mine. —Area, 15 acres; owners, Orlando Gold-mining Company. —A large amount of work has been done in this mine. 196 ft. were driven in the reef, a rise put up to connect with No. 2 level, and a block of ground stoped on No. 2. 210 tons of quartz were crushed for 83oz. of gold, valued at £217 7s. 9d.; whilst a party of tributers, in the early part of the year, obtained 30oz. 6dwt. from 77 - 5 tons of quartz. Five wages-men were employed.. Freedom Mine. —Area, 6 acres 1 rood 10 perches; owners, Freedom Gold-mining Company.— The mine was worked by its former owners until September last, when it was taken over by this company. Driving and stoping were continued on the reefs, and 22 tons of quartz yielded, when crushed, 150z., worth £41 19s. 9d. Five wages-men were employed. New Whau Mine. —Area, 52 acres and 25 perches; owners, New Whan Gold-mining Company.— A great deal of dead work has been done here. Three old tunnels—viz., the Sons of Freedom, Middle Star, and Alfred low-levels, have been cleared out and repaired, the total length amounting to 4,000 ft. Driving has been carried on on the Sons of Freedom and other reefs. A party of tributers working in the early obtained and crushed 31 tons, which produced 490z. 17dwt. The average number of men employed was six. New Alburnia Mine. —Area, 52 acres 2 roods; owners, New Alburnia Gold-mining Company.— This mine has been steadily worked during the year. The shaft has been sunk to a depth of 345 ft. at the Clunes level, 200 ft. below the surface. On the Sons of Freedom Beef 400 ft. were driven and 100 fathoms stoped out. At the Whau level, 100 ft. below the Clunes level, 540 ft. were driven on Dixon's Beef, and 200 fathoms stoped out. Sinking the shaft will be continued to 70ft. beneath the Whau level, when large blocks will be opened on the Sons of Freedom, Dixie's, and Christie's Beefs. When the shaft reaches the depth of 600 ft. from the surface, a level will be driven to open other blocks above the Sons of Freedom low-level. The company crushed 939 tons, which yielded 3840z. 13dwt. of gold, and for tributers, 1,367 tons produced 2990z. Sixteen men were employed. The future prospects of the mine are very hopeful. The works in hand are calculated to develop reefs in ground heretofore untried, underlying the rich runs of gold formerly worked in the Alburnia, Success, and Dixie's Mines. The cheapness of the mode of conveying the quartz by the wire tramways, and the use of water-power for crushing, will admit of low-grade quartz being profitably handled. Alburnia East Mine. —Area, 71 acres 2 roods 18 perches ; owners, Alburnia East Gold-mining Company.—This large area has been recently taken up, and some prospecting work is being done on it.

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Londonderry Mine. — Area, 44 acres and 4 porches; owners, City of London Gold-mining Company.—This mine, which was formerly owned by Fisher Brothers, has been handed over to the present company. The leader worked was of a rich character; nine tons of quartz yielded 200oz. of gold. Five men were employed. Darwin Mine. —Area, 6 acres 1 rood 9 perches; owners, Harmer and Taylor.—Work is being carried on by the owners in a small vein. One ton 1,8211b. of quartz and specimens yielded 960z. 15dwt. of gold. Three men were employed. Calliope (Cruickshank's Claim). —Three men's ground has been worked by the owners, and 321 tons of quartz yielded 370z. 7dwt. of gold. There are other large areas of land taken up in this district to the eastward, and also towards the Tararu and Karaka Creeks, but, so far, very little work has been accomplished. Grahamstown. Victoria Mine. —Area, 41 acres 3 roods 10 perches ; owners, Victoria Gold-mining Company' —This mine, for the first seven months of the year, did not yield payable returns, but in the month of November a new reef was discovered in the Prince Imperial section, from which rich returns have come to hand. On discovering the reef, the winding machinery was removed from the old Tookey's shaft and replaced at the Prince Imperial shaft. The reef, which is on the hanging-wall of the Mariner's Beef, was opened at a surface-level, and a winze sunk to No. 1 level of the shaft; a cross-cut was driven to cut the reef, stoping was carried on over the surface-level, and in the block below 326 tons of quartz were crushed for 5990z. 4dwt. of gold, valued at £1,686 16s. 7d., while tributers crushed 46 tons for 2790z. sdwt., valued at £698. Twelve wages-men and six tributers were employed. The discovery of the reef mentioned places the company in a more satisfactory position, and there is every prospect of a continuation of good yields. Cardigan Mine. —Area, 62 acres ; owners, Cardigan Gold-mining Company.—The land held by this company is under the town, and, for the purpose of prospecting it, the right to use the Saxon shaft was obtained from the May Queen Company. A drive, in a southerly direction, has been put in from that shaft at a depth of 317 ft. from the surface, and is now in 502 ft. Two reefs were cut, and a parcel of 15 tons of quartz yielded soz. lldwt. of gold, worth £15 2s. 3d. Three men were employed. Waiotahi. Waiotahi Mine. —Area, 22 acres 3 roods 20 perches ; owners, Waiotahi Gold-mining Company. —This mine continues to be worked steadily, producing payable quartz and paying dividends. The chief workings are driving and stoping on reefs and leaders between No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 levels in the Waiotahi shaft, and in a continuation of No. 5, known as the Main Eeef, between No. 1 and No. 2 levels in the Mary Anne shaft. The total quantity of quartz crushed for the company was 2,194 tons, which yielded 2,3210z. 14dwt., value £6,281 4s. 10d.; and for tributers, who are working old blocks near the surface, 830 tons for 2040z. Bdwt., valued at £557 6s. Id. Twenty-seven wages-men and two tributers were employed. £1,500 were paid in dividends during the year. Cambria Mine. —Owners, Cambria Gold-mining Company.—The whole of the work done was between No. 3 and No. 4 levels. 330 ft. of drives were put in on reefs and leaders from 2in. to 18in. in thickness, and 200 fathoms were stoped out. 550 tons of quartz yielded 4790z. 4dwt. of gold, valued at £1,301 9s. 3d. In the mine and battery fifteen wages-men are employed. Fame and Fortune Mine. —Area, 71 acres 3 roods 19 perches; owners, Fame and Fortune Gold-mining Company.—Prospecting works were carried on, both in the Fame and Fearnought sections. There' are large reefs that have been driven on, but a payable run of gold has not yet been discovered. A parcel of 23 tons of quartz, crushed for the company, yielded 20oz. 19dwt., and the tributers crushed 18 tons for 250z. 12dwt. of gold. Fourteen wages-men and two tributers were employed. West Coast Mine. —Area, 6 acres 1 rood 1 perch; owner, John Northey.—The mine is worked by the owner, chiefly in the upper portion of the ground. 40 tons of quartz were crushed for 340z. 6d.wt. of gold, value £91 3s. Two men were employed. Golden Hill Extended Mine. —Area, 13 acres 1 rood 16 perches ; owners, McCurdy and Party. —This mine includes the claim formerly known as the Little Maggie. The owners have worked the ground continuously, and have crushed 1,042 tons of quartz for 990z. 19dwt. of gold. Four men were employed. Sundry other parties occasionally work in small claims, and have crushed 164 tons for 940z, 15dwt. of gold. All the available land in this district is now occupied. Waiokaraka. May Queen Mine. —Owners, May Queen Gold-mining Company.—The land occupied includes the claims formerly known as the St. Hippo and Lone Hand. The chief work carried on during the year was the working out of the whole of the blocks opened up and drained by the deep cross-cut from the Saxon shaft, and in working blocks at different levels on the Saxon section. The company crushed 9,612 tons, for a yield of 7,4320z., valued at £20,967 45.; and the tributers crushed 165 tons, for a yield of 981oz. ldwt., valued at £2,567 Bs. 7d. The extent of driving done in reefs was 1,340 ft., winzes were sunk 229 ft., and 2,300 fathoms of reef were stoped out. Seventy wages-men and eight tributers were employed. The reefs in the May Queen section being now worked to present water-level, steps must be taken to drain the water before anything further can be done. In the Saxon section, blocks on Clarken's leader at No. 4 level, and on Hayes's leader at No. 6, will be opened and worked by the company. Queen of Beauty Mine. —Owners, Thames-Hauraki Goldfields Company (Limited). —The Queen of Beauty, Deep Sinker, and Deep Levels Consolidated, comprising a total area of 247 acres, are

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held by the Thames - Hauraki Goldfields Company (Limited). This company was formed in London with a working capital of £50,000. A commencement has been made to enlarge the Queen of Beauty shaft, which is to be securely timbered with setts —the timber being 12in. by 16in. heart of kauri—to be placed 3ft. 6in. apart. New and improved pumping and winding machinery is to be erected at the shaft, which will have a depth, when completed, of 2,000 ft. Independent of whatever may be the results accruing from the deep-levels, the ground lying to the southward of the old workings of the Queen of Beauty and Bright Smile has hitherto lain unexplored for a depth of 500 ft. from the surface; and it is most probable that runs of gold will be found above the 500 ft. level, on the extension southward of the floor, where the richest quartz was found in the old mines, as it is known that several lines of reef run through the ground adjacent to the Karaka Creek. Further exploration on this floor in the Deep Sinker ground will no doubt lead to discoveries of a valuable nature, as the run of all the reefs worked on in Una Hill is through this block. These are, as yet, wholly unexplored to the seaward of the main slide. This is to be accounted for by the fact of the land being covered with a surface deposit of such thickness that it prevented miners from prospecting in the solid rock, and that only by a cross-cut driven from below sea-level can those reefs be tested. Another impediment, experienced in the past, was that the mining rights did not extend to occupation of the surface of the land. With regard to future explorations in the Deep Levels Consolidated, there are no data from past operations sufficiently clear to give a correct estimate of the chances of future discoveries ; but there is reason to hope that the reefs worked in Hape Creek district will be found to traverse this section. The advantages to be derived from sinking the Queen of Beauty shaft will not be immediately felt in this district. Exploration works, which can only follow shaft-sinking, cannot be undertaken at once. It may therefore be assumed that this work will not be sufficiently advanced to augment the yield of gold for the ensuing year. However, the works to be carried out by this company will mark an epoch in the history of mining, especially with regard to operations which will be conducted at greater depths than any hitherto attempted on the Thames goldfields; and it is to be confidently hoped that their enterprise will meet with adequate remuneration. Of so much importance are the results of these works to the mining industry of the colony, that the New Zealand Government have granted assistance in the form of a subsidy of £25,000 sterling. Karaka. Adelaide Mine. —Area, 21 acres 3 roods 2 perches; owners, Adelaide Gold-mining Company (No Liability).—A large amount of work has been done on this mine during the past twelve months. The main shaft has been sunk from the surface to the adit-level 293 ft. The size of the shaft is 10ft. by 3Jft. in the clear. It is divided into three compartments. The adit has been cleaned out and repaired for a distance of 975 ft. Excavations for the poppet-legs and engine-site are now completed. The engine to be used is a two 9in. cylinder portable engine. The work projected for the future will consist of sinking 120 ft. below adit-level, to open up on the Adelaide, and cross-reefs. The former varies from ISin. to 3ft., while the latter is from 3ft. to 6ft. in width. The future prospects of the mine are very encouraging. The Adelaide Eeef gave rich yields of ore from the surface to the adit-level, the reef showing gold going down in the floor of the old working. When worked in former times, the cross-reef was also payable. Tributers have worked the surface-block on the Adelaide line of reef, and have stoped sixty-three fathoms of ground. There were 180 tons .of quartz crushed, for a return of 183oz. 14dwt. of gold, value £569 9s. 6d. Eight wages-men and five tributers were employed. Glaremont Mine. — Area, 3 roods 13 perches; owner, George Briant.—This small mine has again been worked by its owner for profitable returns. The leaders worked were intersected by flinties. There were 3471b. of quartz crushed, and yielded 2650z. 19dwt. of gold, valued at £798. Two men were employed. Onehunga Claim has been worked by different parties, who worked leaders on the hangingwall of the Big Eeef. There were 19 tons 13cwt. crushed for 430z. lldwt. of gold, value £120. Four men were employed. Victory Claim, worked by Muskett and party (four men); 31 tons crushed for 570z. 6dwt. of gold. Little Willie Claim, worked by Cowbury and party (two men); 3521b. crushed for 2220z. lldwt. of gold. ' Cumberland. Extended Claim, worked by Agnew and party (two men); 92 tons crushed for 730z. ldwt. of gold. Karaka Claim, worked by Smith and party (six men); 238 tons crushed for 1450z. lldwt. of gold. Sundry other claims, worked by Smith and party (six men); 28 tons crushed for 1340z. 6dwt. of gold. May Queen Extended Mine. —Area, 43 acres 3 roods; owners, May Queen Extended Gold* mining Company.—This mine, situated between the Onehunga and Karaka Claims, was taken up in October last. Three men were employed in preliminary work, the ground being under offer to an English company. All the available land towards Punga Flat and Otunui is again occupied. Una Hill and Te Papa. Occidental Mine. —Area, 21 acres and 9 perches ; owners, Occidental Gold-mining Company. This mine has been worked by the company, who have driven a cross-cut to cut the Hague Smith Keef. There were 72 tons crushed for 390z. 18dwt., value £108 9s. 7d. A party of tributers worked on one of the small leaders at the adit-level, and crushed 20 tons, for a return of 200oz. lldwt., valued at £551 10s. 3d. Six men and two tributers were employed. Fortuna Mine. —Area, 61 acres; owner, Henry Kabe.—This mine was for a time under offer to an English syndicate. They had hopes that the whole of the rock and leaders within a belt of 10—0. 3.

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the hill would pay for treatment if water-power was available close to the ground. A systematic method of testing the mass was adopted : 700 tons were taken from many different places, but the result was not sufficient to warrant going on with the work, and they did not complete the purchase. There were 30 tons of other ore crushed for 40oz. 9dwt. of gold, and a party of tributers crushed 89 tons for 320z. 17dwt. Twelve men were employed. North Star Mine. —Owners, North Star Goldmining Company.—This mine was worked by tributers, who crushed 29 tons of quartz for 1930z. 2dwt. of gold, value £493 10s. lid. It employed eight men. The Bori Claim crushed 18 tons for 290z. 2dwt. One man was employed. The Just in Time Claim crushed 46 tons for 14oz. Bdwt. One man was employed. The Homeward Bound Claim crushed 3 tons for 19oz. 12dwt. Sundry other claims crushed 1001b. for soz. 9dwt. Hape Creek. Near Home Claim. —Owners, Dunlop and Party.—This claim is a portion of the ground formerly held as the Consols. The owners worked on leaders on the surface-levels, and crushed 40 tons for 470z. 15dwt.; whilst a party of tributers obtained 20oz. 13dwt. from 20 tons of quartz. Three owners and two tributers were employed. Summerhill (Fogarty's Claim), 101b. for 9oz. 15dwt.—one man. Brown's Claim, no returns —one man. Weymouth Claim, no returns —two men. Souvenir Claim, 49 tons, for 21oz. 6dwt.—one man. Hermit's Quarry Claim, 23 tons for 720z. Bdwt.—three men. Sundry other claims, 30 tons for 9oz. 14dwt.—seven men. Otunui. No returns have been received from this district, although latterly several large areas have been taken up. An average of two men were employed in prospecting-throughout the year. Matatoke. A special claim has been taken up by Teddy and party, and a contract let to drive a prospecting tunnel. Puriri. Hit or Miss Mine. —Area, 30 acres ; owners, Hit or Miss Gold-mining Company.—Prospecting works have been carried on by the company, and a parcel of 1 ton of ore was crushed for Boz. of gold. Two men were employed. Central Mine. —Area, 30 acres. —A little prospecting has been carried on, and 1 ton of quartz yielded 2oz. 3dwt. of gold. A small parcel of 1 ton, taken from the Puriri Mine, yielded loz. ldwt.; and another parcel of 1 ton from another part of the district yielded 7oz. 7dwt. of gold. Prospecting has also been done in the Fair Alice and other claims, but no returns are to hand. Ten men have been employed in this district throughout the year. Puriri Mine. — Area, 100 acres ; owners, Puriri Gold-mining Company.—A low-level tunnel was driven 200 ft. through hard rock. Tairua. McLiver and party, who held the Bonnie Scotland for several years past, entered into an arrangement with an English syndicate, granting them permission to test the mass of gold-bearing material which lies at the surface. A large parcel was treated, but the results were not divulged. At all events, the returns would appear to have been unsatisfactory as the arrangement lapsed. Several licensed holdings and special claims have been taken up, but very little work has been done in any of them. Three men on an average were employed in the district. Tairua River. No work has been done at the third branch, where gold was discovered two years ago, as it was impossible to obtain a title to the land. A new discovery was made, however, in the Broken Hill Claim at the opposite side of the river, where a large mass of quartz crops out on the hill; and, from a drive put in a few feet, 1 ton of quartz was taken out and crushed at the School of Mines, Thames, for a yield of 560z. 19dwt. of gold. A rush set in, and extensive areas were taken up, but no further trials have taken place. As there is plenty of water available for driving-power there is every reason to believe that the discovery will prove valuable. Three men were employed in the district. Ohui. A crushing of 9 tons from the Maori Dream Mine yielded 260z. of gold, and 6 tons 2cwt. of stone from My Daisy yielded Boz. 6dwt. ; while the Nil Desperandum's 9 tons lOcwt. returned 12oz. 18dwt. An average of twenty men were employed in this district. As there are several large outcrops of quartz in the district, especially in the Last Chance, where several drives have been put in, and the quartz is found to be auriferous, there is little doubt that payable mines will be discovered. The drawback at present is the want of machinery, and, as the landing is an open roadstead, it is frequently a difficult matter to land either goods or material. Wharekawa Harbour, a few miles south of Ohui, will probably be the port for the district, as steamers and scows can enter it, except during easterly gales. The Wires. In the month of September last a party of prospectors discovered several reefs in a locality hitherto untried, on the high watershed between Whangamata and Hikutaia, near the telegraphwire track, about seven miles from Whangamata landing-place. The prospectors and their

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employers first took up a special claim called the Golden Mount, which lies adjacent to the old Whangamata Track, where, some years ago, the Natives had sunk a shaft, but had failed to discover the reef, which has since been found within a hundred yards of the track. The surface of the country is covered with dense forest, and is very broken and precipitous, thus rendering the work of prospecting difficult and tedious. Operations on this claim have brought to light an enormous body of white kindly-looking quartz, giving assays of gold throughout, with a small admixture of silver. The ore is free milling and without refractory minerals, the country-rock being kindly yellow and white propylite. This reef, known as No. 1, is about 30ft. wide, but in the same ground there are at least five other large reefs similar in appearance. The assay-values vary from 18s. to £13 per ton. The property is now being developed by a strong Auckland syndicate connected with the Mines Trust Company of London. Shortly after the reefs in the Golden Mount were discovered a line of reef running parallel to them was found about half a mile to the westward. This lode has an entirely different appearance, the quartz it contains being almost identical with that of the Golden Cross Eeef, Waitekauri. This discovery caused the taking up of the Pukewhau and Phoenix Special Claims, and on these a good deal of prospecting work has been done during the past four months. The lode known as the Phcenix Eeef has been traced through the Phoenix and Pukewhau Claims for more than three-quarters of a mile ; it has been cut into in five places, and proved to be from 15ft. to 30ft. in width with well-defined walls. 1,5001b. of ore were conveyed to the Thames School of Mines, and there treated by dry-crushing and pan-amalgamation, with the following result: Assay-value —Gold, 4oz. 15dwt. per ton; silver, 290z. 19dwt. 3gr. per ton: value, £21 4s. 3d. Extraction of gold, 95-7 per cent.; extraction of silver, 86-5 per cent.: value, 94-9 per cent.; bulliou-value, 14s. Bd. per ounce. This was a free-milling ore, and the bullion very easily saved. These discoveries have led to the taking up of nearly fifty claims within the last six months, on many of which there are large outcrops of quartz, the value of which has not yet been proved. The absence of any roads, or even fairly-passable tracks, forms a great hindrance to mining operations. The larger portion of this area is covered with valuable forest, and there is a generallydistributed supply of water which will be available for crushing-power. The Golden Falls Special Claim, which lies to the south-west of the Golden Mount, was taken up shortly after the discovery of that claim. A considerable amount of work has been done, and a number of reefs prospected. No. 1 reef, which is about sft. in thickness, was discovered by trenching. It is a well-defined body of quartz, running through country consisting of favourable propylite. No. 2 reef, from 20ft. to 30ft. thick, runs N.N.E. in the same channel of country, about three chains from, and parallel to, No. 1 reef. No. 3 reef, from Bft. to 15ft. thick, runs in the same direction as the two former through a good class of country, and gives, when assayed, results varying from £2 16s. 4d. to £3 12s. per ton. There are other outcrops which have not yet been prospected. The property is under offer to Messrs. Purchas and Kneebone, of Auckland, acting as agents for an English company, and it is probable that a sale will be effected. Messrs. Abbott and Withers, who had been for a long time prospecting in the Wharekawa district, discovered gold in a reef 7ft. thick, situated about three miles from the Golden Mount. The Luck at Last Special Claim was, in consequence, taken up, and several other reefs were subsequently found there. The reef first mentioned was worked on at the surface, and a parcel of ore was conveyed to the Thames School of Mines for treatment, the return being 15oz, 16dwt. from 2,7201b. of quartz. Another gold-bearing reef showing quartz of a kindly nature was also opened at the surface. The Spotted Cat Claim, to the northward of the Luck at Last, was likewise taken up, and there a large reef of bluish quartz 28ft. in thickness was discovered. This, however, has not yet been tested. The Inca and Mikado Claims have been marked out to the southward of the Luck at Last, in both of which several reefs of gold-bearing quartz have been discovered. Other claims are being taken up in the surrounding country. Kirikiri. Fleming's New Find Mine, comprising three special claims, the Horse Shoe, Filly, and Chester, having a total area of 214 acres, is situated at the head of the Kirikiri Creek, on the Dividing Eange. These blocks have been prospected during the six months ending the 31st March, 1896, resulting in the discovery of seven reefs, varying from lft. to sft. in thickness, from all of which payable gold has been obtained. The principal reef was found on the boundaries of the Horse Shoe and Filly, its average thickness being about 2ft. From this rich specimens have been obtained, some samples yielding as much as 2oz. of gold per pound of stone. Three levels have been driven on this reef. No. 1, 70ft.; No. 2, 85ft.; and No. 3, 50ft. About 80 tons of quartz from these levels have been stacked, and may be expected to yield about l£oz. per ton. The Kirikiri Creek, with a fall of 206 ft., will give sufficient water-power to drive fifty head of stamps, so that no difficulty will be experienced in treating the quartz when a mill is erected in the locality. The mine is for sale in the London market, and there is every prospect of its being taken over, as an English syndicate has paid a deposit on the purchase-money. Several other claims have been taken up in this district; but, so far, very little work has been done on them. In addition to Mr. Wilson's remarks, it may be of interest to state that the May Queen, Moanatairai, and New Alburnia Companies are said to be floated into new companies with large working capitals. The New Alburnia is said to be floated with a capital of £180,000, of which £70,000 is given to the vendors in cash and shares—namely, 60,000 shares representing £1 each, and £10,000 in cash. A working capital of £40,000 is to be provided. With regard to the Moanatairai and May Queen, the terms on which these companies were floated has not yet transpired. There are still several companies holding small claims on the Thames field, but the day is not far distant when small holdings will be a thing of the past. Every one of the mines requires a larger capital to develop them than can be found locally, and in many instances the ground is not large

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enough to warrant extensive operations being carried on, neither will foreign capitalists entertain proposals to take up such properties. It is only by getting a number of the small claim-holders to combine and to agree as to the price in cash or shares that each is to receive out of a new company which may be formed to take these combined claims up. During the last year there has been a number of claims taken up in the vicinity of Tairua and Whangamata, and some very large yields by assays have been obtained from samples. It is well known, however, that those interested in mining claims do not, as a general rule, take average samples of the lodes to get assayed, but rather send likely looking ore to be tested. To judge the value of a mine by assays in many instances is very misleading, especially if in taking samples only from a portion of the lode. There are, however, very large lodes at Tairua and Whangamata, and some of the assays made from the surface stone show high yields of gold. This is a portion of the Hauraki Peninsula where very little work has yet been done. Indeed, it may be said that it is only within the last eighteen months that any attention has been given to prospecting; and, from the discoveries recently made, there is every reason to believe that very valuable mining properties will be discovered. The lodes are in general large, but do not contain so rich auriferous stone as that found in the lodes at the Thames and Coromandel. Tairua. There are bodies of loose quartz lying here and there on the Tairua Eanges, and there are several large lodes. Eecently a new discovery was made by H. Gordon and E. Farrell, who were prospecting in the locality. A description of this new find is taken from the Auckland Weekly Neios, of the 14th March, of which the following is an extract: — " The scene of the discovery is situated on very hilly and broken country, in what is known as No. 2 Block of the Tairua Survey District, and is about three miles due west of Laycock's upper landing on the Tairua Eiver, six miles north of Neavesville, and about two miles north-west of Fleming's find of gold at Kirikiri, and lies directly at the back of the Tairua Valley on the left-hand bank of river, facing up stream. " The hill on which the discovery was made rises very abruptly, and in appearance is somewhat wedge-shaped, being almost denuded of timber, and covered from top to bottom on all sides with boulders of quartz of various sizes. As yet very little work has been done beyond the putting in of two short cross-cuts a distance of about 20ft. each, some 500 ft. apart, and at about the same level, the height of these workings being about 450 ft. above the level of the river, and some 200 ft. below the ridge of the hill. "In No. 1 cross-cut a formation of quartz some 10ft. in thickness has been penetrated, apparently running a north-east and south-west course, but whether or not this is a true fissure-lode it is scarcely possible to decide as yet, for on neither side can be discerned what are termed walls. To look at this quartz from the outer side of the cross-cut it would appear to have an underlie to the north, or with the hill, but from the inner side it looks to be dipping into the hill. Another thing that is also doubtful as yet is whether or not the whole width of the quartz has been penetrated. Sandstone is now showing in the face of the cross-cut; but the opinion of the prospectors, and also of visitors, is that there is still more quartz ahead, and that the sandstone now perceptible is merely a band between. This, however, will shortly be proved without much difficulty by the extension of the cross-cut. " With regard to the class and value of the quartz penetrated, nothing can be said but what must be all in its favour. It is really a splendid sample of quartz of a light-brown colour, full of blue curly sulphide veins and silica, and showing gold of a fine character very freely. This sample of quartz extended through its whole width in carrying the cross-cut through it, but whether it is merely a patch or not remains to be proved. The probabilities are, however, that this class of quartz continues on both sides, for there is nothing visible to cause any suspicion that it is just a " blow " and nothing more. As to the value of the quartz broken, this has been proved by both assay and practical treatment at the Thames School of Mines to be all that could be desired, and in proof of this it may be mentioned that about 18cwt. of the quartz taken at random from the whole width penetrated, was treated at the above-mentioned institution by the hot-pan-amalgamation process for an actual return of bullion valued at £69 3s. 4d. The bulk assay of the parcel treated was £87 per ton, so that a saving of 87 per cent, of its value was accomplished. " It will thus be seen that the discovery is really a most important one, and should it be eventually proved that this grade of quartz continues both in length and depth, then the future prosperity of the property in question will be assured. It must be borne in mind, however, that nothing very definite can yet be said about the extent of this class of quartz, but the proprietors are about to open up at once another cross-cut some 30ft. lower down the hill, in order to ascertain whether the quartz continues downward or not. Should they be successful in cutting the same class of quartz at that depth, then there will be little doubt but that it is a continuous run. I should mention that the country encasing the quartz is a really splendid class of sandstone, and from it excellent assay results are also obtainable. "In No. 2 cross-cut, which is about 500 ft. eastward of No. 1, a thickness of about 10ft. of a mixture of quartz and sandstone has been penetrated, which has given assay results from £8 to £10 per ton; but whether this is a continuation of the quartz met with in No. 1 cross-cut it is not possible to say at the present juncture. The quartz bears a very similar appearance, and the class of country is the same, but, as will be seen by the assay-values mentioned, it is not so rich in bullion. In the opinion of several who have inspected the property, this quartz is a continuation of that found in No. 1 cross-cut, but there are others again who aver it to be a different thing altogether, running on the outer or hillward side, and that by extending the cross-cut further into the hiil the continuation of the No. 1 cross-cut quartz will be discovered. In fact, there is an impression prevalent that there are no defined reefs or bodies of quartz existing in the hill, but that the hill itself is one huge mass of quartz, which will have to be worked as a whole, for on the opposite side of the hill to that which we visited (time did not permit us to visit that side) I am informed

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that wherever one cuts into the surface, quartz can be found, from which good dish prospects can nearly always be obtained. The correctness of the theory as to the hill being one mass of quartz could easily be proved by driving a cross-cut straight through it, for at the level where the present cross-cuts are in course of progress there would be only a distance of from 400 ft. to 500 ft. to drive to gain the opposite side of the hill. " There can be no doubt, however, no matter whether it is eventually proved that defined reefs do exist, or whether the hill itself is one huge formation of quartz, that, so far as present prospects go, the find is really a most important one, and one, if it turns out only half as well as is now anticipated by the present owners, that will be the making of the Tairua district. The property is very easy of access from the East Coast, as the flat country extends right up almost to the foot of the hills, so that with an expenditure of a comparatively small sum of money a road for the conveyance of mining requisites and machinery could easily be formed. A most suitable position has already been selected as a machine-site, at a point on the bank of the Tairua Eiver, directly at the northeast end of the hill where the discovery of the quartz has been made, and where, by taking the water from the Tairua River some three or four miles, and bringing it along a suitable-sized race for that distance, sufficient water-power would be available for driving at least two hundred head of stampers, if that number were ever required. Then, again, the property is well situated as regards the getting of timber, as there is a great abundance of that material in the immediate vicinity. "The discovery has already led to the pegging out of several additional special claims on the south-western trend of the supposed quartz bodies. Mr. Manfred McMahon has secured 100 acres adjoining the Broken Hills in the direction named, from which he reports that he has obtained excellent dish prospects; whilst Mr. A. Campbell has acquired two special claims still further on. The latter has sent men out prospecting on his own ground, and on Thursday last they discovered a 10ft. reef, from which they obtained a most promising sample of quartz, in which a little fine gold was perceptible. Other prospectors are also on the warpath in the same district, so that we shall no doubt hear of still further discoveries shortly." During my recent visit to the Tairua district, in travelling over the country between Mr. Laycock's Hotel, at the upper landing, my impression then was that some good auriferous lodes would be discovered; but the state of the tracks in this locality is such that it requires men with plenty of energy and determination to carry tools and provisions to prospect this part of the country. The whole of it is very rough and broken, with nothing but gum-diggers' tracks here and there. There is a horse-track between Mr. Laycock's and Neavesville, but it is not in a condition for any one to take pack-horses over. The ranges in many parts are very steep, and the track in places is worn into a water-channel, where a horse cannot walk, and in one particular place there is a vertical wall of rock, about 4ft. 6in. in height, over which a horse would have to pass. If a good track were constructed here it would be the means of'enabling men to get in provisions, and far more prospecting would be done. At Neavesville there are large leaders of quartz, but, beyond the work done by Mr. McLiver in this part of the country, very little prospecting has been done. The formation of the country is such as to lead one to anticipate that numerous lodes will yet be found in these ranges, especially between Waitekauri and Tairua. Kirikiri. A new discovery of auriferous stone is said to have been made by Messrs. Fleming Brothers on the Kirikiri Ranges, between the Hope Creek and Puriri. It has generally been taken that these ranges were practically barren of auriferous lodes; but, notwithstanding this impression, specimens of auriferous stone have from time to time been found in the bed of the Kirikiri Creek. The correspondent of the Auckland Weekly Neios, of Bth February last, states " that some three months ago the Messrs. Fleming Brothers decided to solve, if possible, the mystery, and with this object in view, engaged a couple of prospectors to thoroughly scour the back country in search of the treasures which, though hidden, they were certain existed. The prospectors, having a free hand, set systematically to work, and, after a considerable amount of fossicking, discovered —so Mr. Fleming informed me—several quartz reefs, varying in size from 4ft. to Bft. in thickness, the locality being on the western side of the main watershed, or about three hours' walk from the main Kirikiri Road. With regard to a practical test of the stone, Mr. Fleming also states that when the ore-body was unearthed, a sample containing about 14cwt. of quartz, was sent to the Thames School of Mines, where it was treated, and, according to assay-value, was proved to be worth £6 per ton, 83 per cent, of this being saved in the course of treatment. Then, in addition to several strong lodes discovered, two specimen leaders striking into the reefs have also been traced. Some of the stone broken from here, it is estimated, is worth 2oz. to the pound. The run of gold has now been traced for fully 200 ft., and there is not the slightest doubt, judging by the sample stone on view in Paeroa, the prospects obtained are very rich, the gold being very free ; but of course the question now is whether this gold will go down into solid rock. Of course, it must be understood that, beyond seeing the parcel of specimens, I have not visited the new find, which, as already stated, is in the Thames district, but no doubt more information will be obtained shortly regarding the discovery and its worth. Probably other reefs will be also unearthed, as the prospectors are still engaged fossicking, with a view to picking up and locating any reefs in the locality ; and it is to be hoped that still further success will attend the operations being conducted by the Fleming Brothers, as the latter undoubtedly merit the highest possible praise for their pluck and perseverance in tackling and expending money in a district supposed to be non-gold-bearing." A few days after this appeared it was stated that some very mixed stone was brought to the Thames from the head of the Kirikiri, on the western watershed, of exceptional richness, worth fully 2oz. gold to the one pound of stone, and was of a bronze colour, showing its close proximity to the surface. Those who first, discovered this rich lode were Messrs. A. Campbell and G. Kilgour.

o.—B

The following statement shows the areas of ground held in mining claims in which the principal operations are carried on in the Thames district, with the number of owners, wages-men, and tributers, also the quantity of quartz crushed and tailings treated, with the yield of gold therefrom, for the year ending the 31st March, 1896: —

Average Number of Men employed. For Owners. For Tributers. Tail lings. Area of Land held. Q O B P, Estimatea Value of Goia or Bullion. locality and Name of Mine or Company, j "g 3 Gold obtained. Quartz __ crushed. Amalga- Cyanlde . mation. w™~"-a"-a 2 CO P 3 Gold obtained by Amalgamation. NH3 <3 £0 3 CD Gold obtained by Amalgamation. A. B. P. T. cwt. lb. Oz. awt. Oz. Tons. Oz. awt. Tons. Oz. Tons. £ s. d. Thames County. Mata— Mata 10 0 0 15 0 0 45 0 0 Tapu— Sheridan's Royal Sundries 50 0 4 8 5 15 254 0 0 13 0 0 17 0 0 231 0 15 14 12 0 50 0 4 713 8 6 iiS : 284 0 0 258 14 Waiomo — Monowai 37 3 39 121 606 0 10 2,449-17 233 13 0 Puru — Sundries 12 10 0 0 B 0 13 9 Tararu — Norfolk City of Dunedin) Day Dawn Scandinavian .. Sundries 159 1 19 20 2 32 42 3 6 (45 4 8 15| "i 1004 0 0 206 10 0 15 0 60 71 0 0 6 0 20 366 2 152 7 39 18 67 15 11 5 1,655 294-8 222 3 17 72! 1302 10 80 637 1\ 1,655 294-8 2,703 6 0 Kuranui — Hansen's Comer's Hazelbank Sundries 15 0 0 13 1 37 16 1 24 6 13 8 11 448"o 0 260' 5 110 530 1,510 36 10 719 15 118 17 409 463 118-13 44 3 21 27 11 448 0 0 260 5 2,150 875 2 463 118-13 3,373 2 6 Moanataiari — Moanataiari „ North ,, Extended Orlando Freedom New Whau New Alburnia .. Alburnia East .. Londonderry .. Darwin Calliope Sundries 94 2 34 12 2 0 27' 0 0 15 0 0 6 1 10 52 0 25 52 2 0 71 2 18 44 0 4 6 19 3 0 0 65 6 5 5 5 6 16 4 5 3 3 8 37 3266 0 0 5 0 0 12 0 0 210 0 0 22 0 0 11 0 0 939 0 0 2 0 0 9 0 0 1 1 42 54 0 0 2,204 15 1 10 1 19 83 0 15 0 1 1 384 13 0 12 200 0 96 15 37 7 3,008 I 'iii 31 1,231 631 1 30 6 49 17 299 0 1,088 l^lj 172-12 385 0 20 131 87 4531 1 42 3,026 l: 4,348 1,010 1,64L} 172-12 1,088 11,210 2 4 Grahamstown — Victoria Cardigan Sundries 41 3 10 62 0 0 IS 6 489 0 0 15 0 0 599 4 5 11 69 279 5 8 1,276-10 16 103 3 101 81 504 0 0 604 15 09 279 5] 8,700 1,27610 5,018 1 4 Waiotahi— Waiotahi Cambria Fame and Fortune West Coast Golden Hill Extended Sundries 22 3 20 15 2 17 71 3 19 6 11 13 1 16 27 15 14 2 4 2 "2 2194 0 0 550 0 0 23 0 0 40 0 0 102 10 0 2,321 14 479 4 20 19 34 6 99 19 830 "l8 204 8 25 12 12 150 0 0 44 6 1,025 287-19 129 3 33 74 4 3059 10 3,000 848 230 1,025 287191 10,665 5 8 Waiokaraka— May Queen 176 1 13 8 9612 0 0 7,432 165 981 1 23,534 12 7 70

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Drainage (Thames.) The Big Pump still continues to drain the water from the mines to the seaward of the main slide, the number of men usually employed being eight. In the report of the manager (Mr. W. H. Phillips) for the year 1895, he shows that the consumption of coal, obtained chiefly from the

Average Number of Men employed. For Owners. For Tributers. Tail lings. locality and Name of Mine or Company. Area of Land held. go a 1 Estimated Value of Gold or Bullion. Gold obtained. si Gold obtained by Amalgamation. Gold obtained by Amalgamation. Quartz crushed. S: Cyanide. A. B. P. T. cwt. Vα} Oz. dwt. t Oz. Tons. Oz. dwt. Tons. Oz. Tone. £ s. d. Karaka— Adelaide Claremont Onehunga Victory Little Willie .. Cumberland Extended Karaka Sundries 21 3 2 0 3 38 3 2 32 28 0 0 8 2 4 4 2 2 5 0 3 11 19 0 13 31 0 0 0 3 16 0 0 92 265 19 43 11 57 6 220 11 73 1 180 183 14 84 3 20 6 16 238 0 0 28 6 81 145 11 34 6 65 41-1 139 1 12 44 8 316 13 101 840 5 180 183 14 G5 411 3,267 19 0 Una Hill and Tβ Papa— Occidental Rose Portuna Just in Time North Star Homeward Bound Sundries 21 0 9 9 0 36 61 0 0 19 2 34 30 0 0 6 2 12 1 1 2 4 2 72 0 0 18 0 0 858 0 0 46 0 0 39 18 29 2 40 9 14 8! 20 29 200 11 32 17 "8 19' 12 53 17 201 193 8 3 0 0 97 13 71 1,661 3 3 140 3 39 28 10 1094 13 71 197 G 250 426 16 Hape Creek— Summer Hill .. Near Home Hermit's Quarry Souvenir Sundries 10 0 6 0 0 3 0 0 2 0 0 1 S 3 1 7 "*2 0 0 10 40 3 57 23 0 0 49 0 0 30 0 0 9 15 47 15 72 8 21 6 9 14 20 20 13 12 0 15 142 3 67 160 18 20 20 13 538 0 0 Otanui — Otanui Kirikiri— Fleming's 214 0 0 0 16 0 1 11 4 14 Puriri— Hit or Miss Central Puriri Sundries 30 0 0 30 0 0 100 0 0 2 2 2 i 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 8 2 1 0 0 3 1 7 160 0 0 10 4 0 0 11 11 30 9 1 Tairua — Broken Hill Sundries 100 0 0 3 3 1 0 0 56 19> 149 10 0 100 0 0 1 0 0 56 19 149 10 0 Ohui— Maori Dream .. My Daisy Nil Desperandum 15 0 0 11 3 0 30 0 0 }. (90 0 6 0 2 (9 0 10 26 0 8 6 12 18 123 18 3 56 3 0 20 24 0 12 47 4 Whangamata— Rothschild Abbott's Claim.. 1 100 0 0 (•i 1 4 15 16 • 40 14 11 100 0 0 17 0 The Wires — Major Lusk's .. 0 15 0 J £63,913 1 6 Totals 2,084 0 8 602 87 21947 5 35 116,553 0 2,449-17 8,030: i4,006 15 13,549 i 2,191-3 1,497

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Ngunguru and Hikurangi Mines, amounted to 2,419 tons, and the balance-sheet of the Drainage Board shows the total expenses for the year to be £4,078 4s. 6d. The contributors to the expense of keeping the pump going are shown on the subjoined table: —

The following is an extract from the annual report of the Engineer on the working of the Big Pump for the year ending the 31st December last: " Pumping operations have been carried on continuously during the past twelve months, the usual stoppages excepted. Pumping was resumed on the Ist January, after the annual clean out of the water-race. . The new steel capstan rope came to hand in February last, and was placed in position without delay. New pulleys were procured and the capstan-drum in the engine-house enlarged to a diameter of 4ft. 6in. to suit the new rope. The May Queen Company tapped a large flow of water on the 13th February, which necessitated an increase in our pumping speed for about a week, in order to keep the water down. Pumping was discontinued on the 16th May to prepare for the annual boiler inspection, which took place on the 21st, when the two winding-engine boilers were condemned, and in consequence the windingengine had to be connected with the large boilers. The pumps were started again on the 23rd May, when everything was found to be working smoothly. During the stoppage new stays were fixed to the poppet legs to strengthen them. The repairs to the two winding-engine boilers were completed in July last. They were then placed in position, bricked in, and reconnected with the winding-engine in August. In this month the stuffing-box and guard-iron for the air-pump being completely worn out had to be replaced with new ones. A leakage about the machinery now occurred, which caused a large waste of steam. After a lot of trouble and worry over the matter, it was discovered in the bottom of the air-pump (a most unlikely place). A false bottom of indiarubber and steel plate was put in, which resulted in the engine carrying a vacum of larger than ever before experienced. In October it was found necessary to strengthen the main rod at the 400 ft. level with iron plates and bolts. The Mining Inspector having drawn attention to the Big Pump being the only shaft on the Thames in which safety cages were not used, it was deemed advisable to obtain them. The order has been given to Messrs. A. and G. Price, who will supply them at an early date. The country water-supply was shut off on Christmas morning for the annual clean out of the water-race. As soon as pumping was stopped a commencement was made to overhaul the machinery. In attempting to drain the drop-clack some of the teeth of the pinionwheel on the intermediate shaft, next the winding-drum of the steam capstan, gave way, and the whole of the steel rope fell down the shaft. Fortunately, no damage was done to the rope, which is again in its place as good as ever. Messrs. A. and G. Price have supplied a new pinion-wheel, and placed it in position. The piston and other portions of the machinery have been thoroughly overhauled, including the drop-clack, which was eventually drawn, repaired, and replaced. As there is sometimes a difficulty in obtaining suitable leather for the pumps, Messrs. J. H. Smith and Co. ordered some butts from England on our account. These arrived last month, and are of superior quality. You will see by the invoice that a considerable saving is effected by ordering in this way. Pumping will be resumed to-morrow morning. The consumption of coal for the past year was 2,419 tons. The cost of pumping was as follows :— Expenditure. £ s. d. Assets. £ s. d. Wire rope .. .. .. .. 149 19 3 Cash balance .. .. .. .. 192 14 3 Coal .. .. .. .. .. 1,574 11 8 Queen of Beauty Claim .. .. 360 0 0 Wages .. .. .. .. 1,212 2 4 St. Hippo Gold-mining Company .. 147 5 3 Foundry-work and ironmongery.. .. 536 13 1 Thames County Council .. .. 40 0 0 Cartage .. .. .. .. 211 1 3 Thames Borough Council .. .. 20 0 0 Water-supply, timber, and gas .. .. 161 15 1 Due for coal supplied to companies .. 26 12 6 Board fees and travelling expenses .. 202 13 0 Deposit in Post-Office Savings-bank .. 75 0 0 Salaries, insurance, advertising, &c. .. 135 7 7 Coal on hand, 93 tons 16cwt. ... .. 60 19 5 Miscellaneous.. .. .. .. 44 0 6 Deposit returned (Rickit) .. .. 15 0 0 Balance .. .. .. 192 14 3 £4,400 18 0 £922 11 5

Receipts. Arrears. Assessment. Less rebate. Amount received. May Queen Gold-mining Company (Limited) Waiotahi „ „ Moanataiari „ „ Hazelbank „ „ Victoria „ „ Cambria „ „ Kuranui No. 2 Mine Kuranui No. 3 Mine Queen of Beauty Mine ... St. Hippo Mine Thames Borough Council Thames County Council £ s. d. £ s. d. 1,620 0 0 645 0 0 354 8 0 349 13 0 349 13 0 302 8 0 70 18 0 52 0 0 £ s. 202 0 80 12 44 6 43 14 43 13 37 16 8 17 6 10 d. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 £ a. d. 1,417 10 0 564 8 0 310 2 0 305 19 0 306 0 0 264 12 0 62 1 0 45 10 0 240 "o 0 43 6 3 130' 0 0 240 0 0 Totals ... 283 6 3 3,744 0 0 467 18 0 3,646 2 0

THAMES GOLDFIELD. ( Portion of ) Plan. & Section showing relative Positions & Depths of Shafts.

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Ohinemuei Disteict. This is the most promising gold-mining district in the North Island. Prior to about three years ago a great portion of this district could be termed terra incognita so far as prospecting is concerned, and very few had ever been over the country between Waitekauri and Tairua. The recent boom in mining has caused every place to be sought out wherever there is any indication of a quartz lode. No consequence whether any gold appears in the stone or not. The claim is pegged out, and application made for it in the Warden's Court, and when once it is granted a large price is asked for it from any company or syndicate who may find money to prospect the ground. Such is the method of dealing with claims at the present time. If a company can be floated to take up the property, so much the better for the original holders; but those who invest their money in ventures of this description have a great many chances against them of ever getting their money returned. The district is, however, rich in auriferous and argentiferous lodes, and no doubt many good claims will now be opened up. Eoads and tracks are however greatly required to open up this district. Nothing can be done in working the ground until machinery is on the spot; but a great deal of prospecting will have to be done before machinery is required. Grown Company. —At the time of my visit to this company's mine, in the end of January last, all the operations were confined to the No. 4 and No. 6 levels. The lowest adit-level was constructed for a distance of 1,330 ft., but, having met a fault, a prospecting drive was being carried through barren country with the view of picking up the lode on the south side of the fault. The adit-level is driven following the course of the lode; but in carrying on this level three different faults were met with, one of which displaced the lode about 45ft. The No. 4 adit-level has been driven for a distance of 1,200 ft., and the same number of faults met with as in the No. 6 level; but the ore on this level is said to be considerably lower in grade than that in No. 6 level. Information has recently come to hand stating that the lode has been recovered beyond the fault in the No. 4 level, and that the lode maintains its characteristics, and is about 3ft. in width. Stoping has been carried on in places between No. 4 and No. 6 levels, but, so far as yet known, the richest ore is underfoot in No. 6 level. In one place in this level some understoping was being carried on ; but working the mine on this system can at the best only be termed a makeshift. The lode where this work was being done was about Bft. wide, containing some very rich ore. Near the mouth of this adit-level an inclined shaft is being sunk following the inclination of the lode, which was down on the incline for a distance of 83ft. at the time of my visit. When this is down where it is intended to open out there is every appearance of some very good ore being obtained. Information has recently come to hand stating that this company has been successful in picking up the lode at the southern side of the fault on the No. 4 level. With respect to this, the following appeared in the New Zealand Herald : " Operations at No. 4 level have been successful in recovering the shoot of ore which was heaved by a break some time ago. This consummation will, no doubt, be hailed with delight by the shareholders, there being now also a certainty of having in hand in a couple of weeks' time the same lode at No. 6 level, where the influence of the same crosscourse was similarly felt. Where picked up at No. 4 level the ore-body does not show any alteration, its characteristics being maintained. The lode is about 3ft. wide, and produces payable ore. Driving on its course north and south is now to be commenced, while the cross-cut going west at No. 6 level will be pushed ahead with expedition to get the lode in hand as quickly as possible. The workings below No. 6 level continue to produce a highgrade character of ore, gold being freely seen in some of the stone broken out. This pleasing state of affairs certainly augurs well for future developments, and proves that the block under foot will not only be extensive but rich, so that the company can look ahead for years of prosperity. Crushing for this company has been completed for a yield of 1,2260z. bullion, valued at £2,126. The quantity of ore crushed and treated during the month was 530 tons. It was stated on Tuesday that the negotiations which have been in progress for some time, on the part of the syndicate owning the Earl of Glasgow property, for the acquisition of the New Zealand Crown Mines Company's property, had been completed, the terms mentioned being £3 a share for the Crown shares, this, however, being left to an arbitrator to decide. The report of the Crowa directors, presented at a meeting held in Glasgow on the Ist April, states that the negotiations had been in progress for some time with a view to amalgamation ; that the Crown Mines Board had been invited to send a deputation to Paris to meet the Earl of Glasgow syndicate ; but, as ultimately arranged, several meetings for the discussion of the proposed terms took place in London. The report referred to also states that ' after providing for depreciation and redemption of capital to the extent of £2,709 2s. 5d., and writing off one-third of the reconstruction-expenses, there remained a balance at credit of profit and loss account of £4,600 Bs. 3d. From this sum the directors recommended the payment of a dividend of Is. per share on the shares 17s. paid up, and of Is. 2-Jd. per share on the shares fully paid, free of income-tax, which absorbed £4,390 165., leaving a balance of £209 12s. 3d. to be carried forward to next year. This division was equal to nearly 6 per cent, on the paid-up capital. During the year 5,034 tons of ore were treated, from which 5,7320z. of gold and 6,7140z. of silver were recovered, to the value of £23,828 3s. Id., after deducting gold duty. The average yield was £4 14s. Bd. per ton. An additional head of twenty stamps, and the necessary cyanide plant and buildings, were in course of erection. With the new plant in operation about 900 tons of ore could be put through per month." On the whole, this company has a valuable property, and if it does not return a good percentage on the capital invested it will be owing to other causes than the quantity and quality of the ore in the mine. Woodstock Company. —In reference to the Woodstock Company, the manager, Mr. J. McCombie, has given the following particulars :— " Since last annual report a considerable amount of work has been carried out in the mine, and the following is a summary of developments during the year ending the 31st March, 1896 : — " No. 1 level (Maria lode) : This level has been cleaned up, retimbered where required, and a permanent tramline laid down for a distance of 468 ft. Of this distance, 288 ft. is on the line of 11—C. 3.

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the lode, which varies from 3ft. to 16ft. in thickness, and carries a fair percentage of the precious metals throughout. From this level up to the surface the backs available amount to about 300 ft. on the average, and there is still a distance of 200f-t. to drive before the southern boundary is reached. " No. 2 level: During the year just past this level has been extended along the line of the Maria lode for a distance of 132 ft., making a total length of 587 ft. south of the base of operations. Lately the lode here has been considerably disturbed, and the ore is low grade in consequence, but we expect to meet with the channel of country in which the Hauraki, or No. 1 level, shoot of rich ore exists very shortly. Between the Nos. 1 and 2 levels the block on the Maria lode is 268 ft. in depth, vertical measurement, and it is intact from point to point. " Intermediate level: The block above referred to is to be split in two halves by an intermediate cross-cut, which is being driven from the western side of the spur, and which will intersect several known gold- and silver-bearing lodes during its progress. " No. 2 level cross-cut: This cross-cut has been extended about 180 ft. west of Shepherd's lode, and it will take another 100 ft. of driving to bring it up to the Woodstock lode, upon which it will afford about 130 ft. of backs beneath the old workings. Here four distinct gold- and silverbearing lodes have already been passed through, and driving north and south upon them will be commenced whenever opportunity offers, "No. 3 level: On the course of the Maria lode going southwards this level has been advanced during the year 127 ft., making its total length 540 ft., and ore of good quality has been obtained therefrom for the whole of that distance. Over the back of this level about 400 fathoms of stoping have been done, and the lode varies from 3ft. to 6ft. in width throughout the whole block, which is opened up for a length of 420 ft. South of the stopes the level has been driven a distance of 127 ft., and the height of the block of ore, intact to the No. 2 level, is 136 ft., or thereabouts. During the past year 2,768 tons of ore, broken out from the Maria lode in this section of the mine, and treated by the cyanide process, gave a return of 20,2920z. of bullion, which realised £10,191. The average assay-value of this ore before treatment was £5 4s. 3d. per ton, and the value per ton recovered by cyanide and plates was £3 12s. sd. per ton, or about 70 per cent, on the assay-value. Of course there is still a considerable amount of bullion in the slags and other residues, which will, when treated, bring the recovery up to a much higher figure. A series of experiments carried out on a small scale proved that leaching with a weak alkali solution before introducing the cyanide had the effect of reducing the consumption of the latter, with a corresponding increase in the bullion extraction. Because the percolating-vat accommodation was not equal to the mill requirements leaching could not be tested on a large scale, but ample provision is being made for its adoption in the large plant now in course of erection, and it will get a fair trial within the ensuing six months. " No. 4 level: This level has been driven 75ft.; the last 45ft. of that distance being on the Maria lode, which varies from 3ft. to 6ft. in thickness, and the whole of the ore broken out therefrom is worth over £5 per ton. It is located about 75ft. below the No. 3 level, and the block of ore between those two workings is still untouched. Taking a horizontal line from the present face of this level to the southern boundary of the property, there is a reach of fully I,oooft. on the line of the Maria lode, which is undoubtedly improving in size and value as work is continued downwards upon it. " No. 5 level: The starting-point of this cross-cut is about 30ft. above the bed of the Waitawheta Eiver, and it may be said to be the lowest obtainable level —bar sinking. Since it was commenced, a distance of 78ft. has been driven, and another 30ft. of driving should bring it up to the Maria lode, upon w"hich it will afford 85ft. of backs, up to the floor of the No. 4 level, and the distance to drive in order to reach the southern boundary is about I,looft. " Shepherd's lode : During the year the No. 2 level cross-cut has been extended 25ft., at which point Shepherd's lode was intersected. South of the cross-cut it has been driven upon for 120 ft., and it ranged from 6in. to 2ft. in thickness, carrying a fair percentage of bullion throughout the whole of that distance. Since completing this work, connection has been effected with the No. 2 level by rising and sinking a vertical height of 135 ft. Here the lode varied from lft. to 2ft. in thickness, and the ore broken out ranged from £2 to £36, and averaged £11 per ton assay-value. Already a block about 60ft. in length has been opened up for stoping operations, and a large tonnage of rich ore will be available when the new mill is ready for its reduction. " Ivanhoe section : Within the past twelve months the No. 3 level has been driven a distance of 215 ft,, making the total length of this level 400 ft, and another 30ft. of driving should bring it up to the Ivanhoe lode, upon which it will afford 160 ft. of backs. From the surface-workings on this lode about eighteen thousand pounds' worth of bullion was recovered by battery-amalgamation, which did not redeem 50 per cent, of the assay-value, and it is only reasonable to assume that present developments will be attended by satisfactory results. " New mill: In the month of February last a contract was let to A. and G. Price, Thames, for the erection of a forty-head dry-crushing battery, together with a suitable cyanide plant, and comprising all latest known improvements in both the milling and cyaniding departments. Towards the end of last month ore-reduction was suspended in the old battery, which has now been removed in order to make room for the new structure, with which good headway is being made. The excavations and general groundwork for the foundations of the new plant are now fast approaching completion, and it is expected that the whole concern will be in complete working order by the end of July next, being the time specified in the contract. This mill will comprise two stone-breakers, eight automatic ore-feeders, and forty head of dry-crushing stampers, capable of reducing, fine enough to pass through a forty-mesh screen, 40 tons of ore per day. The whole concern is so arranged that the ore under treatment will pass by gravitation from the kiln tramline, situate at the top of the mill, right down to the foot of the elevator, which will pick it up in its then finely-divided state, and transmit it to the dust-bins, from which it will again be conveyed automatically to the

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percolating-vats for cyanide treatment. These vats are composed of wood staves 3in. thick, hooped with iron, circular in form, 22ft. in diameter, and 4ft. in depth. There are twelve of them, and each one will accommodate 30 tons of ore, as well as the "requisite quantity of solution. After the ore has been subjected to the cyanide process, the tailings will be sluiced over large electroplated coppermounted tables, then over a series of blanket-strakes, and thence into a buddle concentrator. The blanketings and concentrates will be treated in six berdans, which are to be placed in position at the extreme lowest end of the plant for that purpose, and here a single stamper for the treatment of slags and other residues will also be erected. " The excavation of the kiln-sites and the re-erection of the battery is proceeding satisfactorily, the framework of the latter being placed in position, so that, if circumstances prove favourable, the new mill should be ready for crushing about the beginning of August. With regard to the mill just pulled down, it was running exactly twelve months, and the complete returns obtained during that period may be of interest. They are as follow : — Month. Ton, of Ore. £ ™ue. March ... ... ... ... 304 2,010 5 938 14 4 April 240 1,640 18 769 7 7 May ... ... ... ... 224 1,555 12 737 16 7 June ... ... ... ... 248 1,660 15 919 3 0 July ... ... ... ... 240 1,832 7 988 7 0 August ... ... ... ... 224 1,764 12 882 18 6 September ... ... ... 240 1,613 0 789 6 4 October ... ... ... ... 232 1,529 7 754 10 5 November ... ... ... 240 1,769 12 863 16 7 December ... ... ... 232 1,681 6 803 11 11 January (1896) 152 1,06117 536 18 2 February (1896) ... ... ... 224 2,106 10 996 2 5 March (1896) ... ... ... 272 2,076 11 1,149 110 Totals ... 3,072 22,302 12 £11,129 14 8 " The following is the average number of men employed during the year ending March, 1896 : In the inine, forty-five ; contractors, ten ; and at the mill, eleven : making a total of sixty-six men." Talisman Company. —This company has recently been reconstructed by English capital. The mine has been fairly opened out, and there is a considerable quantity of ore in sight, which will keep a small mill going for some time, but there is no doubt but that this mine could be far more economically worked if it belonged to the same company that owns the Woodstock. Each of these companies have similar crushing-batteries erected alongside each other, requiring two staffs of men to work the mills when one is quite sufficient. If arrangements could not have been done to amalgamate the whole of the interests in one concern, it would have been an easy matter to have erected a crushing plant conjointly, each company to have the use of a certain number of stamps and vats. A large number of claims have been marked out on the Karangahake field, but the majority of them are taken up by people who have not the means to work them; they are held more with the view of disposing of them to foreign syndicates and companies, who are prepared to find capital to develop them and place them on the Home market. And the boom in mining on the Northern goldfields at the present time is such that those that pegged out the ground think themselves entitled to get thousands of pounds in cash for undeveloped claims, besides a large number of shares in any company that may be formed. Waitbkauei. Waitekauri Company. —This company is carrying on extensive mining operations. They have opened up the lode in the low adit-level for a distance of nearly 1,000 ft., carrying a large lode in for the whole of the distance ; but for the last 300 ft. the ore has been of low grade. There is, however, about 600 ft. of this lode, which will average from 12ft. to 20ft. in width, which contains ore worth from £4 to £5 a ton. Any one visiting this mine cannot but be impressed as to its value; but at the present time there is only the Golden Cross battery used for crushing, which, being small, is only suitable as a testing plant, and not for so large a quantity of ore as there is to deal with. At the time of my visit a shaft was being sunk at the terminating point of a long aditlevel which is being constructed. This shaft will be used to work the Golden Cross lode at deep levels ; while the adit-level when completed will be about 7,000 ft. in length, and form a tail-race and highway to get the quartz to the large crushing plant that is being erected on the site of the old Waitekauri battery. This adit-level is constructed with a flume or box for conveying the water below the tramway, where horses will be used to haul the trucks, and at the lower end of this adit-level a tramway is being constructed on a uniform grade to the batterysite, which will be a distance of nearly three miles. The object in constructing this low-level adit is to serve three distinct purposes, namely : to carry the water from a Pelton wheel, which will be erected at the shaft on a level with the adit, to work pumps below that depth; also as a highway to get the quartz conveyed to the crushing-battery ; and, lastly, to cross-cut the country at right-angles to the line of lodes with the view of discovering further auriferous lodes. Provision was also being made to erect a steam-engine and pumping gear at the shaft, so that the sinking could be carried down to the depth of the adit, and also to allow the adit to be driven for a certain distance from the upper end if there was not too much water to contend with. Since this mine has been opened up claims have been pegged out in all directions, plans prepared to show the localities of those claims, and every one shown to have lodes running through them with either Golden Cross lode or the line of that lode generally indicated by a thick red line.

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There is every probability of good lodes being discovered in this vicinity ; but at the present time companies are being floated when it is a mere matter of chance that payable lodes will ever be found in the claims. Waihi. Waihi Company. —This may still be termed the premier gold-mining company in this locality. The Martha shaft was, at the time of my visit, down to a depth of 304 ft., and the operations were being carried on from the No. 2 and No. 3 levels. A new shaft, 14ft. by 7ft. 2in. in the clear, is also being constructed about 600 ft. west of the Martha shaft. This shaft is constructed with framed sets of timber 12in. square placed about 4ft. from centre to centre. It is intended to erect an inverted beam pumping-engine close to this shaft, having cylinders 45in. and 90in. diameter respectively, with Bft. stroke, to work pumps, the plungers being 19in. in diameter, and the draw-lift 20in. in diameter. Poppet-heads are also erected at this shaft 50ft. in height, and it is intended to use one of Tangye's engines for winding. To supply steam for these engines there are four multitubular boilers, each 16ft. long by 7ft. in diameter, which will be worked at 1001b. pressure to the square inch. The lode still continues to contain highly payable ore, not that it can be termed very rich, but the large dimensions of the two lodes that are being taken out, which are extremely easily worked, admits of the ore being taken out cheaply, and, having a large crushing plant consisting of ninety heads of stamps with a sufficient number of leaching vats to treat the pulverised ore, it is the quantity of ore operated on that yields the large profit. The lodes in this company's claim is the largest that is worked in the colony, and, in going down, they do not seem to diminish in size, while they increase in richness. Considering the size of these lodes, they are likely to run for a long distance. At the same time, it is not reasonable to suppose that they will carry a uniform quantity of gold. It will be found, as in all the lodes opened up in this colony, to run in shots and ledges. The property is, however, a very valuable one, and likely to prove an excellent mining venture for many years. Since my last visit to this company's works, one of Hornsby-Ackroyd's oil-engines of 25-horse power has been erected; but this class of engine is far -too expensive to work. It is only when petroleum can be purchased at a few cents per gallon that oil-engines can be used economically. The best that can be said respecting it is that it is an expensive toy, and only fit for a wealthy company to use. The company have commenced to cut out the foundations for a mill of a hundred stamps near the junction of the Waitekauri Creek and the Ohinemuri Biver; they are also constructing a waterrace from the Ohinemuri Eiver, Bft. wide in the bottom, 4ft. deep, and 12ft. wide at the top, on a grade of lin 2,000. This is estimated to convey sixty sluice-heads of water, and the fall from the end of the race to the place where a turbine-wheel will be placed to drive the stamps is about 54ft.; this will give about 270-horse power. It is, however, questionable if sixty heads of water can be relied on for many months of the year. Waihi-Silver ton Company. —Since the formation, or reconstruction, of this company, large mining operations have been carried on. Some very rich ore was obtained near the surface on this mine in the early days. A level was driven on the lode about 50ft. below the surface, where a winze was sunk, and portions of the lode below that level containing very good ore were stoped out. The stamp-battery, which they acquired from the Waihi Company, and which formerly belonged to the Martha Company, was so obsolete and defective that the company were unable to make -the lode pay for working. The present company have, however, sunk a shaft 14ft. by 6ft. in the clear to a depth of 108 ft., and cut the lode at this level, distant 196 ft. from the shaft, the lode varying from 6ft. to 15ft. At the end of the cross-cut the lode branches off in two directions; one of the branches has been driven on for a distance of 60ft., having a width of about 14ft. The main lode has been driven on at 180 ft., having an average width of about 10ft. The manager, Mr. Adams, states that, for a considerable distance, the average assay-value of this lode is from £5 to £6 per ton; but at the eastern end the assay-value gets considerably less, being from £2 Bs. to £2 10s. per ton. No stoping has been done on this lode; the main level has only been carried in for the distance stated. At the time of my visit there were about 800 tons of ore lying in a paddock, ready to send to the mill as soon as the latter was ready to commence crushing. The crushing-battery is situated on the Ohinemuri Eiver, near the site formerly occupied by the old Martha battery. It consists of forty head of stamps of the most modern construction, 9001b. each, with two rock-breakers, one of Blake-Marsden and the other of Gates's type, together with a Challenge ore-feeder attached to each five-stamp battery. The foundations, framing, and workmanship in connection with the stamps are all that can be desired, arrangements being made to carry away any dust from either the stamp-battery or the rock-breakers, as it is the intention of the company to carry on dry-crushing. Mr. Adams has made a new departure in the construction of cyanide-solution vats, these vats being made of steel plates 16ft. in diameter by 4ft. deep at sides, with concave bottom and a discharging-pipe in the centre. There are also two solution-tanks 16ft. in diameter and 4ft. deep, with a mixing-tank made out of an old settler. The dry ore is lifted by elevators into covered bins, and from the bins the ore will be taken in trucks and emptied into the vats, the latter, however, being the most defective operation in the whole arrangement, as large clouds of-dust float about the building in emptying the powdered ore from the trucks into the vats; and this dust is very injurious to the health of the workmen. Arrangements will yet have to be made in all these dry-crushing mills to have hoppers placed between two rows of vats, so that the ore can be conveyed by pipes from the stamps into the bins, and from the bins into each solution-vat. The defect mentioned applies not only to the WaihiSilverton, but to Waihi Company's works, the Waitekauri and other companies using the cyanide process.

WAIHI-SILVERTON EXTENDED G.M.Co BATTERY ON SITE OF OLD MARTHA BATTERY

WOODSTOCK G.M.Co. Ltd. GROUND PLAN OF BATTERY.

WOODSTOCK G.M.Co. Ltd. SECTION OF BATTERY.

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The battery is to be driven by a low-pressure turbine-wheel, the head of water being only lift. A dam has been built in the Ohinemuri Biver, in order to raise the water to this height, from which it is conveyed in wrought-iron pipes. Since my lasWisit to this mine, the battery has been completed and crushing commenced, and, judging from its construction and the manner in which it is worked, it will prove one of the most efficient plants yet worked on the field. There exists a doubt in my mind, however, whether the solution vats are not by far too small, and that it would be more economical had they been made considerably larger, instead of smaller, than the Waihi Company's vats. This question will, however, soon solve itself, as it is only by experiments that the best methods can be ascertained. The following is a description of the plant, taken from the Auckland Weekly News : — " The mill stands on the old Silverton battery-site, and is about a couple of miles distant from the mine, communication with which has been effected by means of a tramway, and over this line the ore is conveyed to the battery in 1-ton trucks drawn by a locomotive. Upon delivery at the mill the ore is tipped on to a " grizzly," the fine particles falling through into the main hopper, while the rough passes into the hopper erected over two stone-breakers, into which the ore is fed automatically. When the stone has been reduced to sufficient fineness, it is passed into the hopper underneath, and from here is drawn automatically a regular supply of ore, the self-feeders being fixed behind the stamps, and continually meet the demand made upon them. The stampers are provided with 30-mesh screens, and the crushed ore after passing through the screens falls into a large receptacle, whence it is elevated and delivered into another hopper erected in connection with the treatment plant. "Before passing from the stampers entirely, however, it will be gathered from the remarks made by Mr. George Wilson, Mining Inspector, and others, at the opening ceremony, that an arrangement was introduced by Mr. Adams to minimise the dust evil. This arrangement is unquestionably a very simple one, and should prove most effective in accomplishing the desired end. It merely consists of large hoods being placed over the stamp-boxes, a continuous pipe being connected with a suction-fan, which draws off the dust as it escapes from the stampers, and precipitates it into a receiver, where it is collected. Then, when a sufficient amount has accumulated, no doubt it will be treated with the other ore. The idea, as already stated, emanated from Mr. Adams, and, if it proves as successful as anticipated, the men working in the battery will undoubtedly owe a lot to the originator in reducing to a minimum the danger caused by the floating of dust in the atmosphere, and which they must necessarily inhale. " When the ore has been elevated and delivered into the hopper connected with the treatment plant, it is conveyed by means of trucks along the tops of the tanks, or vats, and emptied therein. These vats, it may be mentioned, are twelve in number, and are composed of iron, the size of each being 16ft. in diameter by 4ft. deep. The bottoms of the vats are concave, with a sluice-pipe in the centre, while a wooden grating also covers the bo.ttom, a canvas filter being laid over all. These tanks are the first of their kind used in the colony, though they are extensively used in America. " In conversation with Mr. McConnell, assayer, as to the chemical effects of the cyanide on the iron, he informed me that there can be no appreciable loss or decomposition of the cyanide ; but, in order to obviate any reaction that may take place, the inside of these tanks has been coated with a mixture of tar and kauri-gum, on which cyanide has no effect. Mr. McConnell also stated that the principal objection to iron tanks was apparently that a certain amount of decomposition must take place in the cyanide used for treatment; but he said, when it is considered that in plants where wooden tanks are used the cyanide is conveyed from these vats through iron pipes, the effect is practically the same. Hence this objection must be swept away. Another great and most important advantage that will be gained by the use of iron tanks is that when once made tight they are impervious for all time, and are not affected by any change of weather, consequently the leakage which takes place in wooden tanks is avoided, and this undoubtedly is a great consideration. However, the Silverton Company has taken the initiative with regard to the introduction of iron tanks to the colony, and the result of the move will no doubt be watched with the greatest interest by those interested in cyanide plants. " Returning to the mode of treatment, the ore is then charged into the tanks to a depth of about 2Jft., after which the cyanide solution is run in by means of a pipe which enters the tank below the filter. The solution is allowed to rise up from the bottom slowly through the ore until it appears a few inches above the top, when it is then stopped. This method of running on the solution is adopted so as to saturate the ore evenly, and prevent channels being formed through it, as would be the case if the solution were run on to the top of the ore. After the ore has been saturated with the solution for an hour or so, the solution is allowed to percolate through the ore, and, dissolving the gold in its course through the ore, it is carried from the bottom of the tank and passed through the precipitating-boxes. The ore is then washed for the purpose of freeing from it the gold solution. It may be also mentioned here that, in view of coarse gold existing in the ore, the latter, after being treated by the cyanide, is passed over four amalgamating-tables, 24ft. by 12ft. s so as to insure the redemption of any gold not soluble in cyanide. One-half of these tables is covered by muntz-metal and the other half by copper; though, practically speaking, there is no difference in the saving capabilities of either metals, but the reason the Silverton Company adopted muntz for one-half of the tables is that if there are any minerals in the ore it will not blacken like copper—or, in a nutshell, it is more easily kept clean." There are a number of claims taken up about Waihi, and there is a considerable amount of work being done in some of them, the principal operations being confined to prospecting. The Grand Junction, which adjoins the Waihi Company, is still sinking a shaft. As soon as solid country is met with, it is intended to drive cross-cuts with the view of cutting the Martha lode. The Favona, which is further to the southward, has cut a large lode, supposed to be the Silverton lode, but, as far as can be ascertained, the ore is of low grade.

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The whole of the ground in the vicinity is pegged out in claims, and names given to them to indicate that they must be near the Martha lode in the Waihi Company's ground, such as the Waihi Extended, the "Waihi North, and Waihi South", &c. There may be a number of rich lodes in this flat, but the great depth of rhyolitic sand lying on the top of the solid formation is such that prospecting is an expensive undertaking. It requires pumping plants to cope with the water found in pumice material, and there is no indication on the surface to enable one to ascertain with any degree of certainty where the lodes run. The following is Mr. Wilson's (the Inspector of Mines) report on the Ohinemuri district: — Maratoto. New Maratoto Mine. —Area, 5 acres 2 roods 20 perches; owners, Nicholls and party.—This mine has still continued to yield a fair return from quartz taken from the prospector's reef, 37 tons yielding 1220z. of bullion, valued at £62. A large additional area of land has been taken up by Messrs. Walker and McLeary, who have purchased this mine. The whole property is to be sold to an English syndicate, who can dispose of it in London. Maratoto United Mine. —Area, 182 acres 1 rood 20 perches; owners, J. E. Banks and party. This mine is situated on the head-waters of Peel's Creek. As there are several large bodies of ore in the ground, it was determined to open up the reefs thoroughly and ascertain their value before taking steps to provide crushing machinery. Three different levels have been put in, and connection made with each by opening winzes on the reef. The results of tests made showed that the quartz, though of low grade, may be profitably dealt with. As water-power is available for crushing, machinery to work the mines will shortly be erected. Karangahake. Ivanhoe Mine. —Area, 70 acres; owners, Ivanhoe Gold-mining Company. —This mine is situated on the spur lying between Ohinemuri and Waitawheta. Three levels have been driven from the southern side of the spur, cutting three reefs, 10ft., 4ft., and 2ft. in thickness. Future operations will consist of driving a cross-cut to intersect the Crown reef; rive men were employed. Woodstock North Mine. —Owners, Woodstock North Gold-mining Company (Limited). —Prom the level of the Ohinemuri Eiver a drive has been put in on a reef, but none of the quartz has been of sufficient value to be saved. Sterling Mine. —Area, 30 acres; owners, Sterling Gold-mining Company.—A commencement was made on the 26th August last to drive a cross-cut to intersect a reef outcropping on the surface. This drive was continued for a distance of 60ft., and a reef was intersected. This reef, which is from 4ft. to sft. wide, carrying gold in the rubble, was driven on for 40ft. About 450 ft. to the southward of this drive a cross-cut was started, and extended for 150 ft., but nothing of any importance was cut in this level. A drive was put in 50ft. lower down the spur for a distance of 80ft. Two reefs were cut in this level, one 2ft. and the other 6in. thick. About 200 ft. to the southward of the prospecting drive a low-level was started and driven on 170 ft., and a formation was passed through, 10ft. in width, composed of quartz-leaders and sandstone. At 210 ft. a small reef, 15in. thick, was cut and driven on for 60ft.; 290 ft. further a new reef over 7ft. thick was cut, underlying to the westward, and giving good prospects of gold by the dish test. The average number of men employed on the holding was five. Stanley Mine. —Area, 61 acres 3 roods 37 perches; owners, Stanley Gold-mining Company.— Operations were-commenced about the end of May, 1895. A drive on the No. 1 reef was put in for a distance of 60ft. on its course ; a winze was also sunk to a depth of 20ft. on the reef, which is lft. in thickness, carrying a little gold. About 150 ft. further down the same spur a low-level cross-cut was started, and driven 400 ft. in a westerly direction. Two small reefs were cut, one 2ft. the other lft., but no gold was found in either. At the level of the tramway belonging to the Crown Company a lower level has been started, and driven 200 ft. on No. 2 reef, which has an average thickness of 2ft. 6in. It carries good walls, and is well defined; but, so far) no gold has been found in any portion of it. On the Eed Gauntlet section two reefs have been worked on, one sft. thick. This has been driven on only 10ft., but on the small reef, which averages lft. through, 200 ft. have been driven. Traces of gold are found in this, but nothing payable. The average number of men employed was five. Imperial Mine. —Area, 60 acres; owners, Imperial Gold-mining Company.—-A considerable amount of work has been done on this property —400 ft. of low-levels and 200 ft. on reefs have been driven. These are lft. 6in., 2ft., and 4ft. thick, but no quartz was crushed during the year. Five men were employed. Wealth of Nations Mine. —Area, 30 acres ; owners, Wealth of Nations Gold-mining Company.— A drive has been put in 250 ft., and a reef 3ft. thick has been intersected. Waverley Mine. —Area, 63 acres 3 roods ; owners, Waverley Gold-mining Company.—The principal work has been driving a low-level 200 ft., and 570 ft. on reefs; but no quartz was crushed. Five men were employed. Talisman Extended Mine. —Area, 79 acres ; owners, Talisman Extended Gold-mining Company. —Prospecting cross-cuts were driven 201 ft., and several reefs, varying from lft. to Bft. have teen discovered. No quartz has been crushed as yet. Four men were employed. St. Patrick Mine.— Area, 35 acres; owners, St. Patrick Gold-mining Company.—A cross-cut was driven 208 ft., but, so far, no reef has been cut. Karangahake Mine. —Area, 30 acres ; owners, Karangahake Gold-mining Company.—Three prospecting-drives have been put in, and several reefs cut varying from lft. to 10ft. Seventy feet of driving has been done on reefs, but no quartz has been treated. Six men were employed. The South British, Excelsior, Ruby, Shotover, Crown Nimrod, and Victor, as well as sundry other claims, have been prospected, but with meagre success.

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Talisman Mine. —Area, 60 acres; owners, Talisman Gold-mining Company.—The chief work during the year was driving 550 ft. on the No. 4 level, which is 540 ft. below No. 2 and 900 ft. above the level of the Waitawheta Stream. A wire tramway has been constructed to convey quartz from the hopper at the low-level to the mill, but, from some occult cause, this mill has not been completed. The water-race has been finished, and the 10-stamp mill can soon be ready if it is wanted. Nine men were employed. Earl of Glasgow Mine. —Area, 87 acres and 11 perches; owner, J. F. Bell.—A small crushing of 19 tons, yielding 240z., was treated for Fleming and party early in the year, but, as the mine was shortly afterwards disposed of to an English syndicate, no further work was done at the battery. Two cross-cuts were then started to intersect the reef at a deep level, and 700 ft. were driven. Water was brought in to drive two rock-drills now in use at the mines, and the same power is utilised in driving cross-cuts. Twelve men were employed. Crown Mine. —Area, 98 acres and 31 perches; owners, New Zealand Crown Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This company has carried on the work with great energy during the year. The adit-level on the south side has been extended, and large blocks of reef stoped out on No. 4, as well as both under and over No. 6. Preparations are now being made to sink further below the adit. The winding and pumping machinery will be driven by means of compressed air. Water will be brought in at the high-level race to drive the machinery for the air-compressors. The battery is being increased by the addition of twenty new stamps to those at present in use. The returns for the year have been most satisfactory—s,266 tons treated yielded 15,2430z. of bullion, valued at £26,310 11s. 6d. An average of 140 men were constantly employed during the year. Woodstock Mine. —Area, 72 acres 1 rood 18 perches ; owners, Woodstock Gold-mining Company (English company).—Work has been vigorously prosecuted on this mine during the year at the different levels on the Maria Reef, Shepherd's lode, Woodstock, and other reefs. A new level has been commenced about 30ft. above the bed of the Waitawheta Stream ; 78ft. have been driven, but another 30ft. must be done before the Maria Eeef is intersected. The blocks of quartz available on this reef, which is from 3ft. to 15ft. in thickness, are : On No. 1 level, 300 ft. ; on No. 2, 268 ft. ; on No. 3, 136 ft.; on No. 4, 75ft.; and on No. 5, 85ft.; making a total of 864 ft. of vertical height from No. sto the surface, the length on the line of reef being 600 ft. to I,looft. As only a moiety of this has been stoped already, it will be seen that large quantities of quartz are available, and, as the average value last year was at the rate of £5 4s. 3d., of which 70 per cent, was recovered, it will be readily understood that the yield of bullion should be considerable. It will also be apparent from the above measurements that a very large amount of ore will be obtained from the other lodes already mentioned. The total quantity of quartz treated was 2,768 tons, for 20,9820z., valued at £10,191 sterling. Sixty-one men were employed on the average through the year. The ten-stamp mill is to be replaced by one of forty stamps, with complete cyanide plant, which will be ready by the end of July. It will be driven by water conveyed through iron pipes. This method has an advantage over an open wooden race, which is exposed to injury by stones and other debris falling from the steep hill-side. In the Ivanhoe section of the mine, on the northern side of Waitawheta, a drive is being put in to intersect the Ivanhoe lode, the surface blocks of which paid handsomely when worked many years ago. Large areas have been taken up on every side of this district, as well as up the Waitawheta and Mangakiri Streams. Several new discoveries have been reported, though, up to the present, none have come under my notice. Oivharoa. Prospecting-works are being carried on in the Maritana, J. G. Ward, Fern Spur, and other mines, but so far no discoveries have been made. The rhyolitic formation overlaying the rock in this as well as in the Waihi district renders the work of exploration both difficult and expensive. The Smile of Fortune and other mines are owned by the Ohinemuri Syndicate, who occupy a total area of 825 acres both licensed and freehold. Very little work has been done on the old portion of the mines, the works being chiefly confined to driving a low-level from the Mangakara Creek. The drive has been chiefly through the overlaying rhyolite, but at a distance of 750 ft. from the entrance of the tunnel the solid rock was reached. Continuation of the tunnel through the rock, in which reefs are found, may lead to the discovery of gold, in view of the fact that such a quantity of gold-bearing quartz boulders, as well as loose gold, are found on the surface. It is also intended to sink a main pump shaft somewhere near Elliot's house, which will drain a large area hitherto inaccessible to prospectors. Maddens Folly Mine. —This mine, formerly owned by James Madden and party, has lately been purchased by Seaver Brothers, who are carrying on work in the mine. The quartz crushed by Madden and party was 50 tons, for a return of loz. 7dwt. of gold. Seven men are now employed. A considerable amount of work was done in the Inglewood, which adjoins the Smile of Fortune, but no quartz was crushed. Heitman's Freehold Mine.— Owners, Heitman's Freehold Gold-mining Company.—ln this mine a shaft has been sunk 255 ft. to the northward of the Waihi Eoad, between the Waitekauri turn-off and the stream. The shaft is in the rhyolite formation, but the rock has not yet been reached. A small winding-engine was used for baling, the steam pump proving unsuitable. Ten men were employed. Teutonic Mine. —Area, 90 acres 2 roods 20 perches ; owners, Teutonic Gold-mining Company.—Upwards of. 350 ft. have been driven in cross-cuts, but, from the character of the rock, no reefs have been yet discovered. Waitekauri. Jubilee Mine. —Area, 292 acres 2 roods 25 perches; owners, New Zealand Jubilee Goldmining Company.—The following statement shows the amount of work done towards opening up

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the mine during the year: Turnbull's level—soft. driving, 100 ft. trenching, 50ft. tramway ; Horn level—l37ft. driving, 36ft. sinking, 75ft. rising; Bushman's reef—24ft. driving; Low level—696ft. 9in. driving, 796 ft. 9in. tramway ; Christie's reef—l22ft. driving, 56ft. sinking, 43ft. rising, 200 ft. tramway; Moonstone level—79ft. 3in. driving, 353 ft. 3in. tramway; Prospecting, south end —117 ft. driving, 95ft. trenching; Swamp drive —74ft. driving, 20ft. sinking; Saw-pit reef—lßoft. 6in. driving, 80ft. trenching, 210 ft. tramway; Jubilee Extended—soft. driving, several hundred feet trenching; Alexandra Gully—932 tons of material removed : total —1,530 ft. 6in. driving, 275 ft. trenching, 112 ft. sinking, 118 ft. rising, 1,610 ft. tramway. The low level, as will be seen, is now driven 696 ft. 9in. A new reef, known as Christie's reef, was discovered near the Waitekauri blow, and driven on 122 ft. There were 932 tons of surface, and 7 tons of quartz were crushed for a yield of 1220z. 13dwt. of gold. Thirty-one men were employed. The plant consists of one 10-head battery, 9501b. stamps, worked by steam-power; one Cornish boiler, 18ft. by 4ft. 6in., and pair of engines 18in. cylinder and 18in. stroke; two McKay pans, one settler, one agitator, and five 3ft. 6in. berdans. Kilns are now being constructed, and the cyanide plant, with assay plant and furnace, is approaching completion. Waitekauri No. 4 Mine. —Area, 103 acres; owners, Waitekauri Gold-mining Company.— This mine, situated to the southward of the old Waitekauri Mine, includes the Waitekauri No. 4, No. 5, No. 6, and Globe Licensed Holdings, and has been worked by the company, but is now protected. 460 ft. have been driven in cross-cuts, and two reefs of 9ft. each and another of 10ft. in thickness have been cut. 70ft. have been driven on reefs, and a rise put up 91ft. to secure ventilation. Six men were employed. Mr. B. Quinn, the manager, says, "The mine is under offer to an English company with a capital of £50,000, to be expended as follows: £10,000 on opening up the mine with low-level tunnels, cross-cutting through the hill at Welcome tramway level, and driving on reefs with winzes, &c.; £10,000 on a twenty-stamp mill, with cyanide and pan plant; £5,000 on tramways and waterraces ; £5,000 on tools, houses, &c. ; and £20,000 to be held in reserve." Waitekauri No. 2 Mine. —Area, 45 acres 1 rood 31 perches ; owners, Waitekauri No. 2 Gold-mining Company.—Prospecting was carried on throughout the year. Across-cut about 300 ft. was driven, and several reefs discovered, on which a total length of 100 ft. of driving was done. Six men were employed. Waitekauri, Old Mine. —Owners, Waitekauri Gold-mining Company.—This mine was occasionally worked by two men, who crushed 1 ton of quartz for 4oz. 16dwt. of gold. Young New Zealand Mine. —Area, 14 acres 3 roods 12 perches; owners, Young New Zealand Gold-mining Company. —Work has been carried on in driving a low-level, on which five men were employed. Prospecting-work has also been carried on in the. Success, Sophia, British Empire, lota, Waituna, Ellen, New-Zealander, and Golden Spur. Whakamoehau (Waitekauri North). Golden Cross Mine. —Owners, Waitekauri Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This mine has been very successfully worked during the year. The continuation of the drive on the reef in the northern portion of the land has proved that it maintains its highly-valuable character. A large amount of quartz can be obtained from over this level. The quantity of stone crushed during the year was 2,004 tons, for a return of 5670z. 13dwt. of gold, obtained by amalgamation, and 10,5560z. by the cyanide process, the estimated value of the gold being £9,860. Number of men employed, 275. Extensive works for the future development of the mine are projected. A large shaft is being sunk to a depth of 420 ft. A tunnel 94-5 chains in length is being driven from a point at Donnelly's junction towards the bottom of the shaft. When this is sunk to the required depth, and the tunnel driven, it is evident that a large extent of ground will be drained. The water from this tunnel runs into a flume, into which the creek water has also been diverted. This race is continued to a point near the old Waitekauri battery, and the water will be available for driving the necessary machinery. This battery has been removed, and a new one of 40 stamps is in course of construction. A tramway, 200 chains in length, has been constructed from the tunnel to a point near the battery, where kilns for drying the quartz will be excavated. It is intended to run the water from the tail-race of the present Golden Cross 10-stamp mill through a drive to the new shaft, and to conduct it down the shaft through pipes. The pressure at the bottom of the shaft will be sufficient to furnish power for winding and other purposes. Present appearances point to this mine as one of the best in the district. Waitekauri Extended Mine. —Owners, Waitekauri Extended Gold-mining Company.—This mine is situated to the northward on the line of the Golden Cross Eeef. Three prospecting-drives have been put in, and eight different reefs and leaders have been intersected. Twenty men have been employed. A 20-stamp mill is to be erected for this mine in the vicinity. Waitekauri Gross Mine. —Area, 100 acres; owner, Samuel Hetherington. This mine is situated near the Waitekauri Extended. The existence of several large reefs has been proved, and 250 ft. in cross-cut driving have been done. In the 2-2— 4, Central, Huanui, and Alpha, prospecting work has been carried on, and some reefs have been discovered. A great number of other claims have been taken up, but the work performed was unimportant. Grace Darling Mine. —Area, 90 acres; owners, Grace Darling Gold-mining Company.— This property includes the Progress, Prioress, Pyramid, Vendor, and Portsea. Although the land has been largely prospected, both on the surface and in tunnels, no returns of quartz crushed have been supplied. Six men were employed.

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Komata. Komata Reefs Mine. —Owners, Komata Eeefs Gold-mining Company.—This property comprises about 179 acres, the surface of which is very broken, and heavily timbered, requiring to be cleared before mining operations could be commenced. To give access to the property a road or horse-track two miles and a half long had to be made. Kauri for building purposes was obtained on the ground, and houses were erected for the accommodation of the men and the stores. A powdermagazine, smithy, &c, were also built on sites prepared by excavating the sides of the spur. Machine and special sites comprise 10-J- acres of land, situated about a mile and a quarter from the mine in a straight line, or a mile and three quarters by the horse-track. This is to be used for buildings, kilns, tailings-plant, and battery, and residence-sites. For the purpose of obtaining waterpower four water-rights have been secured, these being all branches of the main Komata Creek. It was found necessary to purchase a number of kauri-trees. All the bush has been cut down, but has yet to be burned off and the big logs cleared away before machinery can be erected. The mine-work comprises a drive 314 ft. northwards on the Komata Eeef, at which point a cross-cut going eastwards was put in 70ft. to cut Argall's lode. A body of ore, 12ft. thick, was struck 250 ft. north from the main cross-cut: 3ft. on the hanging-wall and 4ft. on the foot-wall is good payable stone, but sft. of the centre is a mixture of low-grade stuff. At a point 80ft. from the mouth of this level a branch leader went off from the Komata Eeef to the north-east, and was driven on 36ft., when, becoming small and poor, it was discontinued. A rise was made 28ft. to the surface, and another 110 ft. further along on the Komata Eeef was put up 46ft. for air. Both of these rises holed through in the gully. From this point the level gains back very rapidly. The main cross-cut has been driven a distance of 335 ft., of which 282 ft. were done by contract at an average cost of £1 10s. per foot. At a point 96ft. from the mouth Argall's lode was cut, showing a body of ore 16ft. wide, with a large volume of water coming from the roof, whence good prospects of gold were obtained. Other small veins of unproductive quartz were struck in the cross-cut; but about 15ft. from the present face a leader, 2ft. thick, of very promising appearance was met with. This cross-cut will be continued to intersect Lavington's lode, which should be cut in 40ft. of driving, and the Black Eeef in another 50ft. Both these lodes are large, and payable stone was obtained from the surface. Driving has been prosecuted 37ft. northwards on Argall's lode, the body of ore contracting a little, but still carrying ore of very fair grade, and showing signs of widening out again. A large body of water is still coming from the roof of this drive on the lode. A surface-level has been put in 68ft. on the Black Eeef, a body of stone 7ft. thick, but the prospects show low-grade ore. A storm-water channel has been constructed in the creek-bed, near the present workings, under the trestling-work of the truck-road, as the gully will soon become filled up with mullock. It is intended to construct a main low level 100 ft. lower down than the present workings, which will be of advantage in draining the lodes upwards and in breaking out the ore from the present working-levels. Surface prospecting has been done on all the lodes. Argall's lode has been traced for nearly the full length of the property. Komata Eeef, Lavington's lode, and the Black Eeef have been traced a considerable distance, showing that these bodies of ore line strongly through the country; while the prospects obtained from them prove the average quality of the ore to be payable. From the present working-levels there are over 200 ft. of backs on Argall's lode, 350 ft. on Lavington's, and 400 ft. on the Black Eeef. The outcrop of the Komata Eeef is now found to be more in the gully, but a very large amount of ore is still available. This level alone will take some years to work out, as also will the low level that is intended to drain the present workings. The mine can be worked by tunnels for another 300 ft. or more before sinking is undertaken or any machinery required. Tramways are laid down outside the mouth of the drives for a distance of 350 ft. A contract for clearing the bush and excavating a bench formation for nearly two miles around the hillside is nearly completed, at a cost to the company of £1,077. The ditch will be cut out of the solid, the ground being suitable for carrying water. Where streams are crossed, the water is conveyed in a flume built on trestle-work, the average height being 20ft. Five pairs of sawyers are employed in sawing the necessary timber. Three of the dams are nearly completed, and there will be fully five sluice-heads of water available during the summer, the race being sufficiently high to give 180 ft. fall at the battery, which will furnish about 90-horse power; but much more power than this will be available during seven months in the year, while in the very driest season at least 50-horss power can be depended upon. A twenty-stamp battery, with the latest gold-saving appliances, is to be erected, and an aerial tramway constructed for the transport of ore from the mine to the battery. The average number of men employed is thirty-two. Tα Ao Mamma Mine. —Area, 97 acres 3 roods 36 perches; owners, Waitekauri Gold-mining Company.—This mine includes the land on which gold was first discovered in Komata district. For a portion of the year work consisted in continuing the winze sunk below the adit-level. Operations were, however, very limited pending the decision as to the most profitable mode of working the reefs. It was proposed to drive a tunnel from the Waitekauri watershed at a depth sufficient to cut the reefs 200 ft. below the present workings ; but, whatever the method determined upon, the work has not yet been commenced. A small parcel of quartz from this mine yielded 220z. 13dwt. Byron Bay Mine. —Owners, Byron Bay Gold-mining Company.—A considerable amount of prospecting has been done, and several reefs discovered. Six men were employed. Several other claims have been taken up in this district, but very little work has been done. The total average number of men employed throughout the whole of this district is fifty. Waihi. Union-Waihi Mine. — Owners, Union-Waihi Gold-mining Company (Limited). — The land occupied by this company consists of the Amaranth, Eosemont, Golden Eun, and Union Special Claims, of a total area of 346 acres, formerly held by the Waihi Gold-mining Company. Since the present owners assumed possession works of an extensive character have been undertaken. The main working-shaft has been sunk 153 ft., and a cross-cut from the shaft at the No. 1 level has been driven 125 ft. Another cross-cut has been put in for a distance of 306 ft. where the Amaranth Eeef was cut and driven on for 301 ft. Two winzes have been sunk on this reef, one to a depth of 118 ft., and the other, on the Winner section, 42ft. On the Amaranth Special Claim a prospecting shaft of 101 ft. has been put down, and another of 16ft. on the Golden Eun Special Claim. No stoping has been done, and no quartz crushed as yet. The average number of men employed since October was twenty-one. 12—C. 3.

a—3.

Waihi Mine. —Owners, Waihi Gold-mining Company (Limited). —This company has again had a very successful year. And the returns, which are as follows, have been highly satisfactory: 33,580 tons of quartz yielded 87,932-soz. of bullion, valued at £117,165 18s. 2d. ; and 4,617 tons of tailings produced 3,9650z., valued at £5,225 10s. lid. : making a total value of £122,391 9s. Id. The works carried on were of an extensive nature, as the following detailed account will show. Sinking of the two main shafts has been continued. No. 1 shaft, 44ft.; No. 2 shaft, 330 ft.: total, 374 ft. No. 2 level: Welcome lode has been driven 245 ft.; Martha, 113 ft.; cross-cutting to lodes, 424 ft.: total, 782 ft. No. 1 level: Welcome lode has been driven 550 ft.; winzes sunk, 140 ft.; Martha lode has been driven, 696 ft. ; cross-cutting lode, 110 ft. ; winzes sunk on lode, 140 ft.: total, 1,636 ft. Adit-level: Welcome lode has been driven 610 ft. ; winzes sunk on lode, 350 ft.; filling in passes, 600 ft. ; Martha lode has been driven 200 ft. ; winzes sunk on lode, 180 ft. ; cross-cutting lode, 60ft.: total, 2,000 ft. Prospecting cross-cuts foot-wall of Martha lode, 330 ft. Prospecting crosscuts hanging-wall Martha lode, 40ft. Adit from No. Ito No. 2 shaft, 620 ft.; surface prospecting drives, 385 ft. ; tunnel for hoppers and adit to No. 2 shaft, 620 ft.; ventilation drives, 80ft. : total, 1,705 ft. Grand total, 6,497 ft. The reef has been stoped for 2,437 cubic fathoms. The average number of men employed at the mine during the year was 160 ; but, with those engaged at other works, the employes of the company would amount to 690. During the year the mill has been increased from sixty to ninety head of stampers ; but, since the 6th April, 1895, the use of the Otis mill has been discontinued, as it was found to be a machine unsuitable for the hard nature of the Martha quartz. The cyanide plant, which previously consisted of thirteen round wooden vats, with a diameter of 22ft. 6in., has been increased by the addition of eleven new ones of the same size. A new mixing-tank has been erected, and the precipitators have been added to. The plant has been further increased by the addition of a Gate's stonebreaker (size No. 3), a Mumford and Moody separator—the use of which, however, has been temporarily discontinued; a Tangye 20-horse-power engine, and a 25-horse-power oil-engine by Hornsby and Sons. A set of Krom rolls with revolving screens has been added, and also a large vacuum-pump, to replace the three small ones used in connection with the cyanide plant. Two new calcining-kilns, of a capacity of 250 tons, have been constructed, making a total of thirteen kilns in use, with an average capacity of 150 tons each. The firewood for the kilns and engines is conveyed from the bush by a tram-road. The consumption for the year amounted to 10,484J tons, the cost of which, for the kilns, is at the rate of Is. 9'4d., and 5-|d. for the boilers, per ton of quartz. The annual average value of bullion from the ore treated in"the mill has been £1 6s. B'2d. per ounce, and the value extracted £3 9s. Id. per ton. The annual average duty of the stamps has been 1-256 tons per day. The position for the new 100-stamp mill has been fixed near Owharoa, and extensive preparations have been made for its erection. This will necessitate the construction of upwards of twelve miles of water-races, the largest of which, starting from about a mile below the Waihi-Silverton Company's battery, and running to Owharoa—about six miles —will be 12ft. wide at the top and 4-J-ft. deep. The greater part of the work in connection with the water-races has been finished. Work is also proceeding on about one-third of the total distance of the tramline, which will be about six miles in length, and on which a locomotive will be employed to run the quartz from the mine to the mill. These works will entail the construction of three strong bridges on the line, besides a fourth crossing the river at the battery, on all of which considerable progress has been made. The drivingpower for the mill will be obtained from the races by means of Pelton wheels and turbines. Silverton Mine. —Area, 164 acres 1 rood 5 perches; owners, Waihi-Silverton Gold-mining Company.—During the year the shaft was enlarged to a depth of 100 ft., and a cross-cut being put in 197 ft. the Silverton Eeef, 14ft. in thickness, was intersected. This was driven on 155 ft. to the eastward and 181 ft. to the westward of the cross-cut. The latter was extended past the reef for a distance of 7ft., where a fresh body of stone, 15ft. thick, to be known as No. 3 Eeef, was cut through. This was driven on to the eastward till it joined the Silverton Reef, forming a mass of quartz 30ft. wide. This westward drive, which has been put in 145 ft., shows that in this direction the reefs separate still further. Two rises, to connect with the old smithy-level, were put up on this reef. A winze has also been sunk 49ft. below the lowest level hitherto worked in the mine, in the bottom of which a fine body of solid stone was met with. No. 2 Eeef, which outcrops in the north-western corner of the property, was opened in a surface-level; a shaft was sunk 80ft., and the reef again cut. Although driven into for 12ft. there is no sign of the other wall. The quality of the quartz improves as it goes downwards. The shaft is supplied with a Tangye double-cylinder winding-engine of 40-horse power. The pumping-engine is a high-pressure horizontal 40-horse-power engine. Substantial poppet-heads, 60ft. in height, have been erected. The cages are fitted with safety appliances, and detaching-hooks are used to prevent overwinding. Three kilns, with a capacity of 150 tons each, have been excavated in the vicinity of the shaft. A locomotive is used to convey the quartz from the kilns to the battery, along one mile and a half of tramway. The battery, which is built on the site of the old mill, consists of two stonebreakers—the one a Blake, the other a Gates—forty stamps, and twelve percolating-vats, 16ft. in diameter, made of steel plates, the bottoms being concave to admit of the tailings being sluiced through an orifice in the centre. Suitable buildings for assaying and melting plants have also been erected. Sixty men are employed. The assays taken daily from the quartz show that those reefs will return a very good profit from working ; and, judging from their width and extent, a large quantity of material available for several years is in sight. Favona and Brilliant Mine. —Area, 200 acres; owners, Favona and Brilliant Gold-mining Company.—A shaft has been sunk to a depth of 70ft., and a drive put in to cut the large reef cropping out on the surface near the Silverton boundary. This reef is of great size near the top o£ the ground, and in the drive it was pierced for 20ft. and the other wall not then reached. Waihi Extended Mine. —Area, 100 acres; owners, Waihi Extended Gold-mining Company.— A considerable amount of driving has been done on this company's property in the rising ground lying to the northward of the Grand Junction and Favona. The cross-cut, which is driven 300 ft., cut through a number of small veins of quartz, and one reef about lft. in thickness, but they were of no value.

G.—B

Waihi Monument Mine. —Area, 191 acres 2 roods; owners, Waihi Monument Gold-mining Company. —This mine is situated about four miles from the Waihi Mine in an easterly direction. A large mass of quartz outcrops on the surface, and a drive has been put in for a distance of 70ft. with the intention of cutting the quartz at a depth of 40ft. below the outcrop. A large number of special claims and licensed holdings have been taken up in this district. Exclusive of those employed by the Union Waihi and Silverton Mines about 100 men have been employed in prospecting and shaft work throughout the district. Waihi Consols Mine. —Area, 198 acres 1 rood; owners, Waihi Consols Gold-mining Company. —A shaft has been put down to a depth of 100 ft., but the rock has not yet been reached. A small winding-engine and Tangye pump are used. Waihi South Mine.. —Area, 113 acres and 16 perches; owners, Waihi South Gold-mining Company. —A shaft was sunk to a depth of 150 ft. in the rhyolite formation without reaching the rock. Queen of Waihi Mine. —Area, 197 acres 1 rood 35 perches; owners, Queen of Waihi Goldmining Company.—This mine is situated to the eastward of the Silverton Mine. A shaft has been sunk in the rhyolite to a depth of 150 ft. The machinery in use consists of a small Tangye winding-engine and a steam pump, which latter will shortly be replaced by a pumpingengine and 9in. lift. Grand Junction Mine. —9o acres; owners, Waihi Grand Junction Gold-mining Company.— The land held by this company consists of two blocks lying the one to the eastward, the other to the westward, of the Waihi Mine. The eastern shaft has been sunk to a depth of 250 ft., and is now through the rhyolite formation. In the western shaft the rhyolite has been pierced, and the shaft continued to a depth of 120 ft. in the rock. Cross-cutting is now going on with a view to cut the Martha Eeef. On both a Tangye winding-engine and steam pump are used. WhareJciraupunga (PareJcawai). Large areas of ground have been taken up here, but no work of any importance has been carried on. Mr. Wilson having reported fully on all the different claims in the Ohinemuri district, it would only be superfluous writing for me to make somewhat similar remarks; besides, it was impossible for me, with the time at my disposal, to visit every claim in the district. One thing is certain that the Ohinemuri goldfield will in the future be an extensive one, and, judging from the formation, and the occurrence of large lodes carrying gold and silver, some very important discoveries will be made in the near future. Companies with large working capital have been formed, which will be expended in prospecting and developing the mines they have taken up. Whether there is sufficient gold to pay back this capital with interest is another question which cannot with certainty be solved; but the colony will have the benefit of the expenditure of large sums of foreign capital in opening up the mineral reserves. The following statement will show the returns from the mines in the Ohinemuri District for the year ending the 31st March, 1896 : —

'or Owners. For Tributers. Tailini \a treated. Number of Men employed. Locality and Name of Mine or Company. Area held. O § O co ss si S3 co J= 3 as, a a 3 co 3 fci A£ AfH id Q •a a fcl s c cc! 3 a Gold obtained. id a CO 3 fc. Gold gamation. Quantity. Bullion obtained. Value. Amalga- civR-nida mation. <-y aniae . 2 B Ohinemuri County. Marototo — Marototo A. B. p. Tons. Oz. Oz. T'ns. Oz. Tons. Oz. £ a. d. 5 2 20 37 122 62 0 0 22 Karangahake— Crown Woodstock Earl of Glasgow Sundries 98 0 31 72 1 18 87 0 11 100 66 14 102 5,266 2,768 19 2 66-10 91910 24- 4 2- 2 15,177 18,174-7 21-672 414-13 1,012- 6 33,351-7 21-672 Owharoa— Owharoa Madden's Folly Sundries 257 2 20 282 8,055 414-13 37,602 12 10 42 1 22 14 3 25 16 7 50 4 200 50 10- 6 11- 7 280 34-6 57 1 7 73 250 2113 280 34-6 151 13 0 Waitekauri— Waitekauri Coy. 2,004 567-13 1 100 0 0 275 2 4-16 651 10,556-14 (Cyanide.) Jubilee Sundries 292 2 25 31 120 1,076 1 122-13 5- 1 Komata — Komata 392 2 25 426 3,081 695- 7 4-16 651 10,556-14 10,157 8 9 i 50 •• •• 22-13 52 6 0 Waihi— Waihi 230 3 0 690 33,580 87,932-5 4,617 3,965 (Cyanide.) 9,365-3 (Cyanide.) Cassell's 4 6,435 Sundries 171 1-11 Totals for Ohinemuri Coy. ' 230 3 0 865 33,580 1-10 87,932-5 11,052 13,330-3 126,329 3 5 943 3 32 1,718 6 45,003 1,852-16 121,283-12 281 61-15 11,724-672 ( 414-13* ) I 23,886-17t J 174,355 4 0 * Amali ;am. + C: ■anide.

C—3

Te Aroha. This is a field where there are large auriferous, argentiferous, and cupriferous lodes; but the difficulty so far has been the extraction of the precious metals. The ores in many instances are rich in gold, but, being associated with sulphides of copper, zinc, and galena, the cost of extracting a fair percentage of the gold has been too great to allow these lodes to be worked at a profit. There is no doubt the time will come when this will be a busy field. A process will be found out to treat the ores successfully and economically. Eich shoots of gold-bearing quartz have been found near the outcrops of the lodes, especially on the New Find Mine, which is on the main lode traversing the range, and can be continuously traced along the surface for upwards of three miles. The principal mining operations on this field have proved failures, but this is due more to the system of working than anything else. The only Custom mill on the field when first opened was that erected by Messrs. Firth and Clark, but this was not capable of extracting more than 40 per cent, of the gold. The ore taken from the outcrop of the lode in the New Find Mine yielded by the ordinary battery process about 2oz. gold to the ton; the tailings, by treating them in berdans, yielded a somewhat similar amount; and the tailings after berdan treatment still contained sufficient gold to warrant working them over a second time. It will be seen from this that probably the extraction of gold in the first instance was much less than 40 per cent. The mines on this field have never been properly prospected. Comparatively little work has been done in any of them for many years. A few men have been carrying on mining operations, and it was only during the past year that attention has again been given to the auriferous lodes in this district. During my visit to this field, in the end of January last, mining operations were confined to three claims—namely, the Loyalty, Palace, and Newsham. The principal claim worked in the early days of the field was purchased by Mr. H. Adams from the Australian syndicate, who in turn purchased from the original holders ; and during the past year Mr. Adams sold out his interest to Messrs. Middleton and Fleming for £4,000, the privilege of prospecting which the Exploration Company paid for, and if after twelve months' work they thought the property of sufficient value they arranged to take it over and pay an additional £8,000. This company or syndicate has been carrying on prospecting operations for many months and was at the time of my visit employing thirty men. In my former reports on this field it is mentioned that a soft strata of country was met with at the end of the lowest adit constructed by the New Find Company, and since the Exploration Company have commenced operations they have sunk a winze on the hanging or western wall of the lode from this low adit-level to a depth of 67ft., but the rock on both walls of the lode continued of the same hard character as that found on the adit-level, consequently this winze was abandoned, and their operations were confined to other parts of the claims. Two adit-levels have been constructed into the ground held formerly by the Premier Company, both of which are abo?e the level of the tramway, in order to cut the junction of a second lode with the main one, which they expected to do in about 500 ft., and at the time of my visit these adits were constructed for a distance of 140 ft. and 180 ft. respectively. When the lode is cut they intend to sink a winze at this point as it will be under the place where Mr. Newsham found a good shoot of gold-bearing stone. The Loyalty is driving on the lode, which is from 2ft. to sft. in thickness, giving an average assay-value of loz. of gold per ton; but there is so much copper in the lode affecting the extraction of the gold that only a small percentage of it is saved. The crushed ore was merely run over copper plates and berdans. Similar samples of ore have been operated on by the cyanide treatment, but only a very poor result was obtained. There is not a great deal of mineral in the ore, but where the lode is small it is generally highly mineralised. In the Newsham Mine the country is greatly broken up and crushed, with the ore in small leaders, which are sometimes very rich. At the time of my visit a drive was being constructed through the broken ground into the solid country to cut a leader going between what was formerly known as the Goldsworthy and Vermont lode. The Cadman Claim is 100 acres in extent; it takes in the ground formerly held as the Werahiko, Silver King, and Waitaki, but with the exception of the work done when these three claims were originally taken up nothing has been done. At the present time the ground is protected, and is under offer to an English syndicate. The All Nations Claim is 100 acres in extent, and takes in the ground at the head of Stony Creek, where it is supposed that the New Find lode will go through—at least, a lode has been traced on the surface for a considerable distance, from which some fair samples of auriferous quartz have been obtained. Very little work has been done on the ground. It, like many more mining claims at the present time, is held with the view of getting foreign capitalists to take it up; indeed, all ground is taken up where there is the slightest prospect of a lode going through it, and large sums are asked from syndicates or companies who can find capital to develop it. Auriferous lodes have also been discovered at Te Puke, Kaimai Valley, and Katikati, but having not visited these fields, any remarks respecting them can be obtained from the report of Mr. Wilson, Inspector of Mines, which is embodied herewith. The object of this is to have the whole of the information respecting the different districts in one report. The following is Mr. Wilson's report on the Te Aroha, Te Puke, Kaimai Valley, and Katikati fields:— Te Aroha. Several large areas of land have been taken up in the vicinity of the township. All Nations Mine. —Area, 100 acres; owners, All Nations Syndicate.—This claim lies to the eastward of the Domain. Prospecting was done, and a cross-cut driven for 150 ft.

a—3.

Tui Creek. The owners of the Champion Mine have acquired the ground of the Thames Lead and Silver Company, and are in treaty with an English company, who have paid a deposit, and have the option of purchasing. Two men were employed in prospecting work throughout the year. Areas of land have been taken up towards Waiorongomai, and also in the direction of Karangahake. Wairongomai. Loyalty Palace Mine. —-Area, 28 acres 1 rood 25 perches; owners, Loyalty United Syndicate.— This mine comprises the ground formerly known as the Loyalty and Palace Claims. In the Loyalty section a considerable amount of work was done. The main level was extended 100 ft. on the line of reef. A block of ground has been stoped out between this tunnel and the surface. There were 111 tons of quarts crushed for 1270z. ldwt. of gold. Four men were employed during the year. The New Zealand Exploration Company have acquired about 200 acres of land at Waiorongomai. A cross-cut was driven 110 ft. through the outcrop known as the Buck Reef. Sinking was also carried on in the New Find low-level. The shaft is 67ft. in depth, and at no great distance from the main reef. The tunnel in continuation of the county tramway in the Premier section was extended 200 ft., and the drive over the level 230 ft. The Vulcan level has also been driven 120 ft., and in all of these large bodies of quartz exist. Men have also been employed in exploring old workings in the New Find, Canadian, and Colonial sections. The result of these works has been the disclosure of large quantities of payable ore, and the company intend to put the battery in order, and commence crushing at an early date. Cadman's Mine. —Owner, James Mills. —The old levels in the Werahiko section of this mine have been cleaned out, and the Big Reef, on the Seddon section, has been prospected on the surface. This mine is under offer to the New Zealand Exploration Company, and its situation renders it probable that it will eventually become their property, and be worked by them in conjunction with their other mines. Te Puke. On Fleming's Freehold, work has been carried on during the latter half of the year in prospecting five large reefs, which average 15ft. in thickness, and traverse che property in a north-easterly direction. Four surface-levels have been driven on the reefs for an aggregate distance of 450 ft. As far as proved, the average value of the quartz obtained is £1 10s. per ton. Two men were employed. Kaimai Valley. In this district, which is about seventeen miles from Tauranga, the Tauranga Syndicate has put in a drive 50ft. on a 9ft. leader, the ore from which assays £2 ss. per ton. Katikati. Tilsley, who is employed by the Katikati Syndicate, has discovered a reef 2ft. in thickness giving good prospects, but no work of any consequence has yet been done on it. Eeports of the discovery of reefs and gold in the Tauranga County are occasionally heard, and, now that the gold-mining industry has received so great an impetus, systematic prospecting will, no doubt, be largely done in the future.

Numb< Me: Bmplo Dr of n For Owne: •a. Tail lings. n >yed. Locality and Name of Mine or Company. Area of Land held. a « CO U a A "fl $ O g U a Gold ol itainea. H3 £ A 01 a o ta a 3 Gold obtained. Estimated Valui of Gold or Bullion. Amalgamation. Cyanide. Amalgamation. Piako County. Waiorongomai District— Waiorongomai Loyalty .. .. .. • Alexandra Acres. 30 Tons. Oz. dwt. 127 1 26 2 Oz. dwt. Tons. 54 Oz. dwt. 14 18 £ a. d. 36 Totals for Piako County.. 30 36 54 14 18 470.10 7 120 153 3

C—3

Comparative Statement of Return for Hauraki District for the Years ended 31st March, 1896 and 1895, respectively. 1896.

£ B. a. £ s. d. Value for 1896 .. .. .. ..378,106 14 10 Increase, Coromandel .. .. .. 75,901 7 2 1895 .. .. .. .. 261,746 0 0 , Thames .. .. .. 4,573 2 6 „ Ohinemuri .. .. .. 26,656 4 0 Increase for 1896 .. .. ..£116,360 14 10 Decrease, Piako .. .. .. 769 18 10

Average Number of Men employed. For Owners. For Tributers. Tailings. Name of County. Area. 2 fc! oo 3 CD fc. tD* 3 SCO J2 Gold obtained. o Quartz ij > crushea. 2 g rr y 3<S Goia obtainea. Gold obtained. Estimated Value of Gold and Bullion Quartz crushed. crushed. Amalgamation. Amalgama- Cyani(Je Quantity treated. Amalgamation. Cyanide. Cyanide. Coromandel Thames Ohinemuri Piako A. B. P. 954 2 18 1,947 2 20 943 3 32 30 0 0 1,037 590 1,718 36 8 87 6 Tons. cwt. lb. 17,942 4 82 21,946 7 33 45,003 0 0 120 0 0 Tons. 1,497 Oz. dwt. 38,425 2 16,586 6 1,852 16 153 3 Oz. awt. 6,209 0 2,449 17 121,283 12 Tons. 92 8,030 281 Tous. 45 Oz. awt. 218 10 4,006 15 61 15 Oz. dwt. Tons. cwt. lb. 8,830 0 0 13,549 10 0 11,724 5 102 54 0 0 Oz. dwt. Oz. dwt. 3,533 15 2,191 18 414 13 23,886 17 14 18 £ s. d. 138,897 7 2 63,913 2 6 174,355 4 0 941 1 2 •• • Totals .. 101 85,011 12 3 129,942 9 8,403 I 45 4,287 0 2,621 4 27,420 12 378,106 14 10 *3,876 0 30 3,381 1,497 57,017 7 34,157 15 102 195. Average Number of Men employed. For Owners. For Tributers. Tailings. Name of County. Area. MO »'3 cc fct 3 ■- o . Goia obtained. o . Estimated Value of Goia Gold ol itainea. Gold ol itained. Quartz crusbed. =1 in a Amalgamation. Cyanide. Quartz crushed. o o3 30 treated. Amalgamation. Cyaniae. Amalgamation. Cyanide. _ I Oz. dwt.: £ a. d. 2,300 6 62,996 0 0 10 0 j 59,340 0- 0 17,665 2 I 137,699 0 0 1,711 0 0 Coromandel Thames .. Ohinemuri Piako A. B. P. 574 3 7 1,076 3 29 620 1 34 56 0 36 208 390 538 14 57 208 5 2 Tons cwt. lb. 8,316 3 54 13,036 15 27 30,630 17 0 840 0 0 Tons. 11J938 Oz. dwtJ 12,911 4 13,389 12 16,413 6 552 11 Oz. awt. 1,073 0 62 2 76,359 19 Tons cwt. lb. 619 6 46 12,934 13 46 590 0 30 31 0 0 Tons. Oz. dwt. 6,347 18 7,413 6 158 9 19 15 Oz. dwt. Tons cwt. 6,518 0 10,555 0 19,837 0 250 0 Oz. awt. 1,934 13 31 5 55 8 • • -• Totals 2,328 1 26 1,150 272 14,175 0 10 152,823 15 81 11,938 43,266 13 77,495 1 13,939 8 37,160 0 2,021 6 19,975 8 261,746 0 * The areas shown ao not include the whole of the land occupied, but only that from which returns are derived.

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Summaey op Quartz-mines in the North Island. During the last year there were 129,068 tons of quartz crushed and tailings treated, which yielded 221,2880z. 12dwt. bullion, representing a value of £378,106 14s. 10d., as against 116,094 tons of quartz crushed and tailings treated for the previous year, which yielded 113,4320z. 3dwt. bullion, representing a value of £261,746, thus showing the value of the increased production last year to be £116,360 14s. 10d. Notwithstanding the seeming prosperity prevailing in the mining industry at the present time, the value placed on the undeveloped properties that are in the market is far too high, and it is only by mere chance that many of them will return any interest on the investment. It is simply ruinous, from a colonial point of view, to place mining ventures on either the foreign or local market until they are sufficiently developed to warrant the flotation of a company to work them ; but the foreign investors are greatly to blame for this in sending out men to pick up properties at almost any price; this can only be simply for the purpose of carrying on a traffic in shares, which procedure, in the course of a few years, is likely to bring about such a state of depression as we have not yet witnessed in this colony. It has been pointed out in many of my previous reports that men coming newly into this colony, notwithstanding the high credentials they may have as mining experts, are handicapped in such a manner that their previous experience goes for very little, the formation in the North Island where the auriferous lodes occur being entirely different from any other place in the world, with the exception of Transylvania; and also the lodes in New Zealand run in a more irregular manner than in any of the Australian or American fields. Men coming here have to unlearn a great many things which they had previously been taught, and to learn things of which they had but little or no knowledge. It is true that men trained to mining will soon acquire this knowledge ; but it has to be borne in mind that their employers, in most cases, pay very dearly for their education. During the past year Henry M. Cadell, B.Sc, F.R.S.E., F.G.S., Vice-President of the Mining Institute of Scotland, visited New Zealand on his way back from Western Australia. Arriving at Auckland he found considerable excitement in the local share-market, and was anxious to ascertain, before returning to the Old Country, if there was any solid foundation for the rise in mining properties in the colony; also, whether the mines which have been for several years languishing for want of capital were likely to prove remunerative if money were forthcoming to develop them. He was so pleased with the result of his investigations that he wrote a paper, which was read before the Mining Institute of Scotland, at the general meeting at Kilmarnock on the 7th December last, with the object of drawing the attention of the mining public at Home to what he describes as one of the most interesting auriferous regions in Australasia. It is pleasing to note that mining engineers in New Zealand, and those from other countries, coincide in their opinions regarding the mineral wealth of the colony, and thus justifies the investment of Home capital. The following is an extract from Mr. Cadell's paper : — Geographical Features. "The Hauraki gold-mining district in the North Island forms a long strip of high and mountainous country, bounded on the east by the sea and on the west by the valley of the Waihou or Thames Eiver, and its seaward prolongation the Firth of Thames and Hauraki Gulf. The width of the auriferous area varies from ten to twenty miles, and gold has been found at intervals over its whole extent, from Te Puke in the south to the neighbourhood of Cape Colville, a distance of over one hundred miles; while the Great Barrier Island, which is geologically part of the Hauraki ridge, has lately been found to be auriferous also. The Hauraki Peninsula rises steeply from the sea to the crest of the Colville Range, which forms the main watershed for the streams on each side. The highest summit at the northern extremity is Moehau, west of Port Charles (2,800 ft.); and the highest point of the range is the Te Aroha Mountain, which rises steeply behind the Te Aroha Township to a height of 3,126 ft. above sea-level. The upper parts of the range are clad with a dense growth of the magnificent kauri-pine, some of whose stems are over 12ft. in diameter at the base, also the climbing rata vine, gorgeous tree-ferns, acacias, palms, and other semi-tropical plants. The lower slopes are thickly covered with brackens and ti-tree bushes, which grow up rapidly to a height of 6ft. to 10ft., and swathe the country for miles in a bosky russet-green mantle, just as our hills are clothed in their brown robe of heather. The rainfall in the district is plentiful, and the side gorges are the seat of perennial streams that dash swiftly down through the damp forest glades, and provide abundant water-power for mining or other machinery along their courses. Geology. "The evidences of very recent volcanic action are but too prominent in this part of New Zealand, and it is only a little over nine years since the great eruption of Mount Tarawera warned the inhabitants of the island that the hidden fires are not yet extinct. Hot springs issue from the base of the Te Aroha Mountain, and are used for baths at the pretty little sanatorium there. Farther south, the geysers, hot springs and mud-volcanoes at Eotorua and Taupo afford a constant attraction to sightseers from all parts of the world. The destruction in 1886 of the magnificent and world-renowned White and Pink Terraces at the base of Tarawera has, it is true, deprived visitors of one of the most beautiful evidences of recent thermal action, but the terrible effects of the outburst show far more impressively the nearness and power of the subterranean fires that lie smothered beneath the surface. " These traces of recent thermal energy are, however, fortunately for mining enterprise, for the most part beyond the limits of the Hauraki Goldfields, and the hot springs of Te Aroha are the only evidences of subterranean heat in the immediate vicinity of the auriferous area. The rocks of the peninsula are nearly all volcanic, with the exception of a few interstratified beds and local patches of slate that crop up from below, and show the nature of the platform or land-surface on which the volcanic materials were laid down.

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"Mr. James Park, F.G.S., Director of the Thames Mining School, read, on the 2nd July, 1894, before the Auckland Institute, an important paper on the geology of the Thames Goldfield, and this work supplies much valuable information about the rocks of the district. During the whole of the Secondary epoch the Hauraki area appears to have been occupied by a deep, still sea, devoid of islands and undisturbed by volcanic eruptions. But at the close of the Cretaceous period the land in this area began to emerge gradually from the sea, and an island of large size appeared to the north-east of the present site of Coromandel. The ever-active agencies of denudation began to wear away the dry land, and the spoil was carried to the sea by numerous streams and rivers. After a period of rest, the land began to sink, and the peaty deposits which had accumulated on the low-lying marshy shores of the island were soon submerged, and in their turn became covered with coarse gravels, sands, and clays, carried seawards by the streams which descended to the coast-line. The land still continued to sink, and as the sea encroached, true marine-deposits were formed above the fluviatile materials, -and, as shelly limestones, closed the sequence of the coal-measures, and marked the complete submergence of the dry land. After this, however, there came a time when the quietude of the ancient Secondary ocean was rudely disturbed. Great fissure-rents opened in the ocean-floor and vast submarine eruptions poured out floods of lava on the newly-formed strata. These accumulated until many of the volcanoes reared their heads above the water. This vast outburst took place in Upper Eocene times, as is proved by a bed of ash known as the Parnell grit, containing characteristic fossils, and associated with this series of lava-flows. After a comparatively brief cessation of volcanic activity, during which forest sprang up and flourished for a time on the land, a new series of eruptions began. " The forests were overwhelmed and covered by hundreds of feet of ashes and lava, first of a semi-basic and then of a trachytic character. During the subsequent time of diminished volcanic activity the embedded trees were in many cases converted into wood-opal by the petrifying action of thermal springs. Great earthquakes were no doubt prevalent in the district, while the cracking of the rocks as they cooled and contracted gave rise to numerous deep-seated parallel fissures running in a general north-and-south direction. Heated vapours, sulphuretted hydrogen, steam, and acid gases rose through these channels, and appeared as solfataras and fumaroles, such as are still abundant in the Eotorua and Tarawera districts. These chemical reagents permeated the rock and gradually decomposed it more or less completely, until its original character was completely altered. The metallic constituents and silica were carried in solution along the fissures, and these seem to have acted like voltaic cells, in which a strong electro-chemical action was set up. The basic solutions were decomposed and their metallic constituents deposited, the base materials and part of the silver as sulphides, and the gold, together with most of the silver, as metallic alloy. " Since the last of these eruptions ceased, the greater part of the Hauraki district has remained undisturbed by volcanic action, and the agencies of denudation have during the remainder of the Tertiary epoch been busy wearing down its surface and eroding its stream-channels. The decomposition of the volcanic rocks has made them very soft and friable, so that they offer comparatively little resistance to the action of the rain and running waters. When visiting the Yellowstone National Park in America, which in many ways resembles this part of New Zealand, the writer was much struck with this softening action of heated springs and fumaroles on hard volcanic rocks. The magnificent canon of the Yellowstone Eiver has been eroded out of hard rhyolite or quartz porphyry at a comparatively rapid rate, the rock having become completely rotted away by heated waters and vapours percolating through it from below. Little puffs of steam were visible issuing from cracks in the canon walls, and the hard rhyolite within their vicinity was so soft that it could at places be crumbled away by the fingers, so that the river had little difficulty in scooping out its channel. "Volcanic activity, although apparently extinct in the Hauraki district proper, was only dormant for a time in the central parts of the island. In newer Pliocene times it burst forth with vast energy, and huge floods of acid lavas were vomited forth over hundreds of square miles of country, while dense clouds of light pumice, ashes, and dust were belched into the air to fall back in thick beds over half the island. Excellent examples of the younger volcanic cones are conspicuous all over the Auckland District, and further south the great volcanoes of Euapehu, Tongariro, and others are still in a state of modified activity. The solid products of these eruptions reached as far north as Paeroa and Waihi, while the ash-beds are found hundreds of feet thick in the Upper Thames Valley and the Upper Waikato. The old valleys were filled up in many cases, a circumstance of importance from a mining point of view, as the outcrops of the reefs were also covered, and a correct knowledge of this fact is essential to successful prospecting wherever the newer rhyolites occur. The well-known Martha Hill at Waihi, through which the celebrated lode of the Waihi Company runs, was surrounded but not quite covered by thick masses of rhyolitic breccias and lavas. The outcrop of the lode outside the company's property cannot therefore be traced on the surface of the ground, and must be sought for by mining operations underneath the latest rhyolitic lavas. " The auriferous reefs are found in bands or belts of propylite or decomposed andesite, separated from each other by hard bands of solid andesite-lava, or indurated tuffs passing into coarse breccias. This propylite is locally known as " sandstone," and this is spoken of by the miners as the "kindly rock "of the country, in which reefs may be most confidently expected to occur. The reefs are of the segregated class, having derived their metallic ingredients from the solution of the rock in their immediate vicinity. '' Gold is a very widely-disseminated metal, and occurs in minute quantities in sea-water as well as in various minerals. In many goldfields, such as those in Victoria and Western Australia, the best gold reefs are found in a clay-slate country, and this is explained by supposing that the slate was originally a marine deposit, which enveloped small quantities of gold at the time of its deposition during the Palasozoic epoch. The action of aqueous solution has subsequently resulted in the leaching out of the gold with other minerals, and the redeposition of them along fissures in the rock.

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" In the case of the Hauraki district, the gold occurs under peculiar conditions and in reefs of Tertiary age, so that here the marine theory is quite inapplicable. The propylites are the goldbearing rocks, and wherever the reefs pass from this decomposed rock into the fresh rock (or andesite), or into the tuffs and breccias associated with them, they become poor or sterile in character. The inference seems sound that the source of the gold and silver is to be sought in the pyroxenes of the original andesite, which have elsewhere been found to contain small quantities of the precious metals. It may be mentioned that, when visiting the geyser and hot springs district of Eotorua, the writer was told that small quantities of gold were known to occur in the sinterdeposits produced by the geysers, which helps to substantiate Mr. Park's theory that the reefs were originally due to hydrothermal action. " Here, as in other goldfields, rich shoots of gold are common at the junction of two veins, or where a reef is crossed by a barren cross-vein or "flinty." The theory which has been advanced to explain this seems satisfactory. On this hypothesis, the main lodes were the primary channels or fissures, at one time filled by slowly circulating waters containing gold and silver in solution, while the cross-veins were secondary fissures containing the metallic salts necessary for the electrochemical deposition of the noble metals. " The gold of the Hauraki district is usually coarse in character, and occurs principally in the form of irregular grains, threads, or scales. Occasionally it is met with in the crystallized form, where it occurs as cubes or octahedrons arranged in short wiry strings. It is alloyed with silver to the extent of 30 to 40 per cent., and thus fetches only from £2 Bs. to £2 16s. per ounce as a general rule. In the Thames Goldfield, the present average fineness is about 680. " The minerals associated with the gold are principally iron pyrites, after which come copper pyrites, zinc-blende, stibnite, and ruby silver, as well as galena, manganese oxides, calcite, pearlspar, and occasionally metallic arsenic, specimens of the last-named minerals having been found in the Kapanga Mine at Coromandel. Before turning from the gold-bearing rocks, it is of importance to note that after much scientific investigation it has been clearly ascertained that the auriferous propylites of the Hauraki district are the same as the volcanic rocKs of the famous Comstock lode and Washoe districts of North America, and are also similar to the " country-rocks " of the ancient mines of Hungary and Transylvania. "After the district had passed through the changes described, and most of the fissures had become completely mineralised and filled up by quartz-reefs, a new set of geological phenomena arose. The infilling of the fissures was not quite complete, it may be mentioned, as it is common in the mines of the Thames district to find extensive empty cavities, where the fissures are still open and gaping for hundreds of feet at a time perhaps, or again to strike waterchannels or acidulated springs following the course of the rents. Most of the reefs, however, were completely mineralised when the district was again dislocated by earthquake-cracks, such as are still produced during the earthtremors at other parts of the island. " Two large faults were originated in the Thames Goldfield, and their courses are very clearly marked by the alteration they have made on the surface of the country, as well as by their important influence on the distribution of the reefs in that district. " The best known of these is the Moanataiari fault, which crosses the trend of the reefs at right angles, and runs along the face of the mountains from Hape Creek to the shore, a short distance west of Grahamstown. The effect of this displacement is to produce a great terrace or step on the mountain slope, as its downthrow side is towards the sea. It hades to the south-west at a uniform angle of 45°, and it has been calculated that it must have a vertical downthrow of about 400 ft. The fault forms an abrupt barrier to the mining operations on its seaward side, and to regain the truncated reefs on the upthrow side extensive cross-cutting is necessary. When it was first crossed it shed so much water that operations had to be abandoned for a time, and when again the north-eastern cross-cut from the 640 ft. level of the Big Pump shaft at Thames reached its face, a huge mass of soft plastic clay rolled down the drift with great velocity, causing the workmen to flee for safety. The lateral displacement is so great that reefs which have been followed from the seaward side have never as yet been recovered on the foot-wall or landward side. The recent age of the fault is shown by its effect on the surface of the ground, where its course can be distinctly traced. Where it crosses one of the mountain-gulleys it has the effect of suddenly contracting the glen above and lifting the former bed of the stream up opposite the wider mouth of the part below. A broad part is thus thrown against a narrow portion, and a marked and sudden contraction on the upthrow side is clearly visible. Where the fault has been cut in the mines it has, moreover, been found to contain masses of rotten wood, fern-roots, and decayed vegetable matter in the soft " pug" and clays lying under its hanging-wall. These circumstances point to the newer Pliocene, or even later age, of this important displacement. " A second fault of apparently the same age joins the Moanataiari fault near the Collarbone Creek. It hades to the south-west at angles of from 45° to 65°, and is locally known as the Collarbone fault, while a third fault is supposed to run along the beach at Thames and cut off the reefs on the seaward side, but this is not yet satisfactorily proved, as none of the workings have crossed into the reefs on its downthrow side. " The geology of the Hauraki district has as yet been only partially investigated, and very little reliance can be placed on the generalised geological maps that have been hitherto published. Mr. Park, who is the Director of the Government Mining School at Thames, has recently published a good geological map of that locality, but as yet very little encouragement has been given by the New Zealand Government for geological research in this district, and a systematic geological survey of the whole peninsula is badly wanted. " Mining History. " The discovery of gold in New South Wales in 1851 gave an impetus to prospecting in other colonies, including New Zealand. In October, 1852, Mr. Charles Eing found auriferous quartz and 13—0. 3.

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some fine gold from the Kapanga Stream at Coromandel, a district which afterwards became the seat of extensive gold-mining operations. About three thousand miners were attracted to the field, satisfactory arrangements having been made with the Natives for permission to search on their lands. The discovery of alluvial gold in 1857 at Collingwood, and shortly afterwards at the Buller Eiver and Tuapeka, in the South Island, proved, however, so attractive that the Coromandel or Hauraki field was for several years practically abandoned. In 1861 a reaction took place, prospecting was resumed, and on the 28th June, 1862, Coromandel was proclaimed a goldfield by the Government, but the insecurity of the country during the time of hostilities that followed prevented for several years any progress in the mining operations. "Early in 1864 Colonel Chesney reported the discovery of alluvial gold at Te Aroha, in the Thames Valley, but the disturbed state of the country postponed further developments for a time in that district. " After many negotiations with the Natives, which were concluded on the 27th July, 1867, the Moanataiari and Waiotahi lands, adjoining what is now the mining town of Grahamstown or Thames, were proclaimed a goldfield. On the 10th August, 1867, a very valuable gold-bearing leader was discovered in the Kuranui Stream, and several claims were immediately pegged out there and at the mouth of the adjoining Moanataiari Creek. This was the beginning of the Thames Goldfield, whose subsequent history has been marked by many splendid discoveries. Between August, 1867, and the 30th June, 1869, duty was paid at Auckland on no less than 129,2110z. of gold, the value of which was placed at £264,425; and during the first decade till 1877, this goldfield had returned bullion to the value of £4,110,635; but this is exclusive of the gold locally absorbed, the total output having been valued at four and a quarter millions sterling. " The gold in the Hauraki district is more or less patchy, as a rule, and the subsequent annual production of the Thames Goldfield has fluctuated considerably. The highest point was reached in 1871, when the value of gold entered for export amounted to £1,188,708. This was due principally to the prodigiously rich shoot discovered in the Golden Crown Company's property, and followed into the old Caledonian Company's Mine, which enabled the latter to pay in dividends £553,440 within twelve months. Over 10 tons of gold are said to have been taken from this mine in as many months. Of late years the production has greatly diminished, and for the year ending 31st March, 1895, only 22,8100z. were returned from the Thames Goldfield—the lowest production since the field was first opened. " Up till 1892, the Thames was the premier Goldfield in the Hauraki district, and the mines at Coromandel lagged far behind. Encouraged by the prosperity at Thames, prospectors gradually extended the range of their operations into the Ohinemuri district to the south, and were successful in discovering valuable reefs in the valleys of the Ohinemuri Eiver and its tributary, the Waitekauri. The principal Goidfields in the Ohinemuri County are those of Waihi, Waitekauri, Komata, Owharoa, and Karangahake. Of the Ohinemuri mines, the Waihi is the most famous, and, indeed, it has hitherto held the premier position as a gold-producer among all the Hauraki Mines, the only other mine at all approaching it in actual output of bullion being the Hauraki mine at Coromandel, which has for some time been happy in the possession of an exceptionally rich little reef. Of late years, mining at Te Aroha has been in a languishing condition, for reasons that will be considered again. Within the last eight or ten years, however, the area of auriferous ground has been found to extend farther south into the Tauranga district on the east coast. Quite recently good reefs have been discovered at Te Puke, about twenty-five miles from Tauranga, and this district, which has now been proclaimed a goldfield, is being systematically developed. "The most promising, perhaps, of the newer goidfields of the Hauraki district is that of Kuaotunu, on the promontory north of Mercury Bay, on the opposite side of the ridge to Coromandel. Some valuable reefs are being worked, and are yielding dividends to the companies that own them. " As the country forms a long mountainous ridge, which is only opened up to a very limited extent by roads and bridle-tracks, much of it, of course, is still quite unexplored geologically. The greater part of it is covered by ancient forests and a dense undergrowth of bush and fern, which completely conceals the ground, and renders the search for minerals both difficult and tedious. " After wandering in the barren, sandy deserts of Western Australia, where every knoll of rock is visible in its bald nakedness for miles around, rising like a lonely island in the miserable landscape, and every tree and tuft of grass seems to share in the general sadness of that thirsy land, how great a delight to find oneself transported to this charming island! There are no wild animals, snakes, or scorpions in New Zealand, and life here has everything in its favour. The paths to some of the mines visited ran for miles through forest-clad mountains, now winding up a steep ascent, now descending a precipitous slope only to be traversed on horseback or on foot. The horses threaded their way with wonderful dexterity among the spreading roots and hoary stems of ancient trees, shaggy with verdant mosses and festooned with the wonderful rata vine. The path had been cleared by the woodman through a damp and almost impenetrable undergrowth of the graceful treeferns, palms, and flowering shrubs that enveloped hill and dale in their bosky mantle. Such is the wealth and luxuriance of the vegetation, that the whole ground, as soon as it is cleared, if left alone for a short time, quickly becomes again overgrown with bush and fern. " To come across mines in such places was somewhat of a surprise, as the difficulty of penetrating such a dense undergrowth is considerable, and the obstacles in the way of finding new reefs amidst the damp mossy ground are obviously very great. The great kauri pines have during the centuries of their existence on these mountains dropped large quantities of their valuable gum on the ground around them. This has accumulated in lumps resembling amber, and the search for it has for many years been an industry of considerable importance in this part of New Zealand. While prodding the forest glades in search of the valued gum, quartz-reefs have been discovered, and it is an old saying in Scotland that if you show a mine to a miner he will very soon show you a road to it. Making correct surveys of the claims, again, is a matter of much labour, but the surveyors

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are accustomed to deal with these conditions, and the surveys are carried out with great skill and accuracy. The Indian system is adopted, whereby all measurements are made trigonometrically where possible, and the lines through the forest are cleared between the various pegs or observationstations. All the mines, of course, are not in the heart of the mountains; the great majority are in the slopes round their flanks as yet, but as time goes on there is no doubt that the reefs will prove numerous and rich on the-high as well as the lower ground. The surface of the greater part of the Hauraki Peninsula has as yet been, comparatively speaking, barely scratched, and there remains a splendid field for the prospector and the enterprising mining engineer to open up. Enough prospecting has been done to show the wide limits between which gold may be expected to occur, and it can be confidently anticipated that before many years are past, with the help of British skill and capital, this will prove one of the most valuable goldfields in our colonies. " Previous Local Gold-mining. " Although there are, as we have seen, abundance of good reefs in the goldfields of Thames and Coromandel, mining in these districts was up till 1890 in a more or less languishing condition. Two reasons may be chiefly assigned for this unsatisfactory state of matters. The first of these is financial in character. " The majority of the New Zealand mines were in the hands of local people of little means and small intelligence. As soon as a mine was started on the usual "no liability" system (under which shareholders cannot be sued for calls on shares not fully paid up), it was worked with the oldfashioned plant, common in the locality, and if a good reef were struck all went well for a time; so well that every halfpenny was paid in dividends to the hungry shareholders, and the price of the shares run up to a high premium. The gold being patchy all over the field, rich shoots cannot be expected to last perpetually, and in such circumstances the folly of disposing of the whole proceeds of an exceptionally rich lead, and leaving nothing over to develop lower levels or poorer parts of the mine, is at once apparent. Not only was this foolish policy prevalent, however, some companies even paid the dividends in advance, hoping to find the gold to meet their expenditure afterwards. When further dead-work became necessary, a call had to be made, and the shares fell quickly in price. In many cases the shareholders either could not or would not pay this, and the companies having no means of enforcing payment under the colonial system of company finance, operations had to be suspended and the mines closed or sold to the highest bidder at a nominal price. Many of the smaller mines and some of the larger ones in the Thames and Coromandel, as well as in the valuable Eeefton goldfields of New Zealand, have been wrecked on this rock, and have recently come into the market for no other reason. Gold-mining, if properly conducted and financed on sound principles, should be regarded as an industry like farming or ironmaking, where there is always, no doubt, a certain amount of risk, due to non-preventible outside causes, but not much more risk than is inherent in any other legitimate industrial business. Colonials, however, seem to have very hazy ideas of sound financial principles; and, like too many people who are not colonials, they look on mining as a field for pure gambling and speculation, the main idea being to make money quickly by the rise and fall of the shares rather than by the dividends they yield. The gold-miners in Victoria have begun to find out their mistake, as they have many most promising mines lying idle which cannot be reopened for want of capital. When at Ballarat the writer heard many complaints on this score, to which he replied that if the Victorians persisted in driving out Home investors by shady financial transactions, they had nobody but themselves to thank for their misfortunes. " The second and, perhaps, more important reason for the recent decline in the Hauraki gold industry has been the inability to treat refractory and low-grade ores by the old-fashioned battery and amalgamation process. Previous to the introduction of the cyanide process, the tailings were generally run off to the nearest creek or emptied into the sea, to the great loss of the proprietors, and it is only within the last five years that this source of loss has begun to be reduced. The average yield of the quartz crushed in the goldfields of Thames, Coromandel, Te Aroha, and Ohinemuri since returns were first sent in, was 21dwt. 9gr. per ton, the grand total of the quantity crushed up to March 31st, 1895, being 1,045,207 tons for 1,125,5140z. Taking these returns as a whole, the average yield is not high, and the price of the bullion being less as a rule than £2 per ounce, on account of the large percentage of silver present, it is obvious that unless the percentage of extraction is high and the best system adopted, a mine of average richness can hardly be expected to pay large dividends. This is well exemplified in the Waihi Company's celebrated mine. The Great Martha lode, when under the original Martha Company's treatment for about eight years, only yielded from 4dwt. to 6dwt., or about 20 per cent, of the bullion per ton, and barely paid its working-expenses. When, however, the mine was taken over and worked with drycrushing and cyanidation by the present Waihi Company, the gold extracted rose to 91 per cent, and the silver to 48 per cent., while great economies were at the same time effected in the working of the plant, the result being that by sheer skill and good management, what had been regarded as an almost useless mine, was turned into one of the best properties in New Zealand. This is what s needed all over the Hauraki district, each reef, of course, requiring its own style of treatment; but whatever system be adopted, it should be the best of its kind, so that there will be no difficulty in making a profit out of every ore that produces over 4dwt. to the ton. " The Hauraki gold-mining district lies within the four counties of Coromandel, Thames, Ohinemuri, and Tauranga, but the last-mentioned area may be passed over now, as the Te Puke and Te Aroha Reefs which it contains are not as yet sufficiently developed for further notice. " Coromandel County. " This is the most northerly of the group, and includes the goldfields of Coromandel and Kuaotunu, located opposite one another on each side of the peninsula.

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" Kapanga. —The first gold in this part of New Zealand was, as has been already said, discovered in the Kapanga Stream, a short distance north of the Township of Coromandel, in 1852. The Kapanga Mine was started in 1862, and was successfully worked for several years, during which large dividends were paid. In 1868 a breakdown took place in a small engine erected at the bottom of the shaft, then 170 ft. deep, causing a stoppage in the working of a winze on the leader from which the best gold was being obtained. The Thames Goldfield had just then been opened, and the prospects there being so good the Kapanga Mine was abandoned, and the machinery removed. In 1871 the mine was reopened, and a new shaft was sunk 14ft. by Bft. in section, which has been working ever since, and has now reached a depth of 800 ft. Two reefs are intersected in the shaft—the Kapanga and Scotty's—at depths of about 500 ft. and 550 ft. respectively. These dip or underlie to the south-south-west at an angle of about 30°, and as the underlie of Scotty's is less than that of the Kapanga Eeef above it, it seems very probable that the two will meet when followed down to a lower level. In fact, the impression of the writer, when in the workings, was that they are really parts of the same reef with a thick horse of mullock between them. They apparently occupy the fissures on each wall of a large fault, the hanging-wall of the Kapanga and the foot-wall of Scotty's being very clearly defined and marked by slickensides on the face of the country-rock, showing that there has been much sliding along these planes. A diamond bore-hole was recently put down in the bottom of the shaft, the rock passed through was the propylite of the district; this gradually became more decomposed and "kindly" until at a depth of 193 ft. a new reef was struck, which may turn out of great value to the company. At the 800 ft. level a cross-cut was driven for 700 ft. to the west so as to intersect the Kapanga and Scotty's Reefs, and in driving this, reefs have been cut which may, on subsequent development, turn out to be the continuation of the expected reefs or the representatives of other leaders passed through in sinking the shaft to the low-level. The peculiarity of the mine is the unusually low angle of dip of the fault-fissure in which the reefs occur. Normal faults are not common with a lower hade than 45°, and when this angle sinks to 30° the geological inference seems to be that this is either a thrust-plane or reversed fault, such as are common in most mountainous districts, or else that it may have been originally a normal fault whose original inclination has been reduced by a tilting movement during some of the disturbances to which this volcanic region has been much subject. This is a point which cannot be further investigated until a detailed geological survey of the district is carried out. " The development of this mine has not been accomplished without much capital expenditure, and as yet the returns have not been very encouraging. Much gold has been taken out of the upper parts of the Kapanga Beef, which is generally small, hard, and highly mineralised. When the writer went through the stopes he was fortunate in seeing some excellent stone detached in which coarse gold was freely visible. Scotty's lode is quite different in character, and the quartz in it is found disseminated among soft puggy material produced by the grinding of the sides during the sliding movement that originated it. Fine gold is obtained from the reef by puddling up this pug and washing it. Although the returns from the mine have hitherto heen disappointing, the writer quite agrees with the opinion expressed in the Mines Eeport for 1894 that if the junction of the two lodes can be reached, a highly auriferous block of ground will, in all probability, reward the years of outlay and development during which the shareholders have had to wait. " The present company is, it may be mentioned, the third that has held the ground, and has expended about £70,000 in developing it, in return for which, up to the end of March last, the value of the gold obtained was only £46,000, showing so far a loss of £23,400. " The Kapanga Company, however, had up till recently an adjoining property on the auriferous belt, which was lately sold to the Blagrove Freehold Gold-mining Company (Limited). The operations here are at present confined to sinking, with a view to catching the reefs by cross-cuts. The Blagrove property extends to 130 acres of freehold land, and occupies part of the auriferous belt between the Kapanga and the Hauraki Mines. " Scotty's Hauraki, a property adjoining the Kapanga on the north-east, has an area of about 29 acres, and operations are in progress to reach the most valuable part of the Kapanga Eeef, which runs through the ground, but as yet no quartz is reported to have been crushed by this company. " Tokatea. —This section of the goldfield is situated on the steep spurs of the range, about a mile north of Kapanga, and includes the Tokatea, Eoyal Oak, Triumph, Harbour View, Bismarck, and other mines, several of which are now in the hands of Home capitalists. The original Tokatea Company started operations in May, 1870, with a capital of £100,000, in 20,000 shares of £5 each, and up to the end of 1885 had returned over £150,000 in dividends. The mine is worked by a series of levels, the lowest of which is 3,000 ft. in length, and opens up the reef from the outcrop on the top of the main range to a depth of 800 ft. The mines in the Tokatea section, worked partly by wages-men and partly by tributers, yielded for the year ending the 31st March, 1895, altogether 46£ tons of quartz, which when crushed produced 7510z. of gold—an increase of 1940z. over the previous year. " The ordinary method of treatment, by stampers and berdan pans, is used here, and as yet nothing has been done to conserve the tailings ; when, however, the new companies start operations with improved systems there seems every prospect of success in this quarter. " Kauri Block. —This section, situated at the south extremity of the Tokatea and Kapanga auriferous belt, has lately been the centre of attraction in the Coromandel goldfield. It comprises the corner at the wharf, on the west side of the Whangarahi Stream, about two miles south of Kapanga, and includes the celebrated Hauraki Mine, which at the time of the writer's visit was producing over £8,000 worth of gold per month. The lode is about lft. in thickness, and runs in a northerly and southerly direction, having an underlie to the eastward of about 60°. There are several other veins running parallel with this lode, all of which contain gold-bearing stone.

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" The ore is conveyed from the mine through a tunnel about 600 ft. long to the battery, which is situated on the seaward slope of the hill near the wharf. The battery consists of fifteen heads of stamps with three bsrdan pans, and when the writer visited it had nothing about it particularly worthy of mention. Gold-reefs running 15oz. per ton are not common, and can hardly be expected to last beyond a very limited time, but we can only hope that this rich shoot will last long enough to repay to the Kapanga Company, which is an interested party, such a substantial dividend as will compensate to some extent for the want of success in their older mine. " Tiki. —Hitherto the chief gold-producing mines of the Coromandel district have been along the Tokatea-Kapanga-Hauraki belt, which runs from the harbour in a north-north-easterly direction to the crest of the dividing range. There is, however, abundance of evidence of several other rich belts of country running roughly parallel to this within a few miles radius. One of these undoubtedly crosses the ridge and runs into the Tiki ground a short distance north of the Castle Eock. This peak rises grey and bold above the forests like an ancient fortress, and forms a conspicuous landmark some 1,500 ft. in height on the crest of the dividing ridge. The strip of ground known as the Tiki property, extending south-westward down the slope from the base of the Castle Eock to the Waiau Eiver, has been found to contain numerous good reefs running in a general north-north-easterly or northerly and southerly direction. Some of these were formerly mined, but for want of working capital and good management they have lately been abandoned, in spite of the excellent prospects they held out. This freehold property, having an area of about 550 acres, is not subject to the mining and labour conditions pertaining to the Crown lands adjoining. It possesses abundance of water-power in the streams that drain the gulleys, and has an excellent battery-site about I,oooft. below the level of the old workings, to which the ore could be conveyed by gravitation-inclines with great ease. All the Crown lands along the north-western boundary have been lately pegged off, and at the time of the writer's visit to the prospectors of these claims good gold was showing in some of the reefs. These reefs run directly into the Tiki property, and are traversed at places by cross-reefs, which should at their points of intersection give excellent returns. " There is, in addition to the reef-gold, every probability of good alluvial gold being obtained near sea-level on the banks of the Waiau and other larger streams fed by the waters in the mountaingulleys. Some alluvial work has been done on the lower part of the Tiki property, and among the gold a nugget of 790z. was found some years ago. " Kuaotunu. —The Kuaotunu goldfield has as yet been comparatively little prospected, but it is at present yielding satisfactory results to the companies that can treat the ore on a good system. There are several reefs, the best of which —the Try Fluke —runs in a north-north-easterly direction past the eastern side of the Kuaotunu Township. The principal mines are the Try Fluke, Eed Mercury, Great Mercury, Waitaia, and the Kapai-Vermont. Last year the total amount of quartz crushed and treated in the Kuaotunu field was 8,082 tons, which produced 6,5910z., including 2,3000z. obtained by the cyanide process from 6,518 tons-of tailings (from the Try Fluke and Great Mercury Mines). " The best reef runs through the property of the Try Fluke and the Kapai-Vermont Companies, and these mines deserve special mention on account of the merits of their system of treatment of the ore, and of the success with which their operations have been attended. The Try Fluke Company has sixteen heads of stamps, three berdan pans, and a cyanide plant at work. Last year 6,420 tons of quartz were crushed, and 1,9150z. were obtained by amalgamation, with 2,0840z. by cyanidation of the tailings, the value of which was in all £9,330. The cost of increasing plant, mining, treating, office, &c, was £8,409, leaving a profit of £921, which, from all accounts, is likely to be considerably increased this year. "The Kapai-Vermont Company treat their ore by dry crushing in an Otis mill, and direct cyanidation as at Waihi; and this system appears to be working with most satisfactory results, about 90 per cent, of the assay-value of the ore being extracted. Before crushing, the quartz is dried in two kilns, 16ft. in diameter at the top and 27ft. deep, each capable of holding from 70 to 80 tons of ore. Like the quartz in the Try Fluke Claim, this ore holds the gold in a very finelydivided state. The reef has a dip of about 65°, and carries gold to a greater or less extent throughout its whole length. During the past year 588 tons were treated, producing 1,0730z. of gold, and since then prospects are reported to have greatly improved. " The total production of the Coromandel goldfields for the year ending the 31st March, 1895, was the largest on record, being 22,6320z. Of this, however, the Hauraki Mine produced for owners and tributers about two-thirds, or 14,9610z. " Thames County. " The Thames district adjoins the Coromandel goldfield on the south, and for many years was by far the most important gold-producing part of the Hauraki Peninsula. Up till the end of 1894-95 the gold reported to Government for the previous seventeen years was in all 729,5090z., the value of which was about £1,500,000. Adding this to the estimated value given above of the gold produced previous to 1877 —four millions and a quarter—we may take the total value of the production up to the present time at nearly £6,000,000. " The great majority of the mines are situated within three miles of Grahamstown, and the mountains at the back of the town have in the immediate vicinity been well prospected. Mr. Park has recently published an excellent geological map and sections, showing the reefs from which most of the gold has been obtained. The diminishing output of this goldfield is due to the want of capital for deep sinking and developing, as well as for the erection of plant for treatment of the tailings and better extraction of the gold. None of the local batteries in this district are provided with-cyanide plant, and there can be no doubt that in the past enormous quantities of gold have been run off with the tailings into the sea. There is in the deeper workings, some of which are

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carried on at a level of 500 ft. below the sea, a considerable influx of water, and this can only be overcome by expensive pumping machinery. The Big Pump shaft is the mainstay of the deeper mines. The shaft was originally sunk by the Imperial Crown Company, whose capital was exhausted before it had prospected the lower levels. It is sunk to a depth of 650 ft. below sealevel, and at the mouth is 12ft. by Bft. in dimension. The pumping-engine, erected in 1870, is single-acting, of 250-horse power, with an 82in. cylinder and Bft. stroke, and is capable of raising 84,000 gallons per hour. At 640 ft. depth, a level drive runs northwards and southwards from the shaft, and drains the workings of several mines in the vicinity. The pump is now the property of the Thames Drainage Board, and the funds necessary for its operation are provided by a joint system of contributions from the Thames County Council, Thames Borough, and the nine mining companies which benefit by it. The annual cost amounts to about £4,000, nearly half of which is at present defrayed by the May Queen Company, whose workings necessitate the water being kept down to the 500 ft. level. " That there is still abundance of payable ore in the numerous reefs of the Thames district cannot be doubted. It will, however, be necessary, if the field is to have a prosperous future, to lay out more capital, and work on a larger and more economical scale than formerly, so as to obtain good returns from the large masses of low-grade ore that are plentiful in the district. The Moanataiari tunnel, which runs in from the shore for a distance of 3,125 ft. under the mountains, might with advantage be extended, so as to enable all the reefs above and around it to be worked cheaply, level free. If this were done the expense of pumping would be saved to some mines, as there can be no doubt that much valuable ore can be got by this means without sinking below sea-level. " The mining school at Grahamstown-on-Thames, of which Mr. Park is the head, is a most useful institution. Practical and theoretical instruction in different branches of surveying and mining is given to students from the whole of the Auckland District. About thirty-five students were registered last year, and the course of instruction is of great advantage to young men who wish to qualify for mine-managers. Those who have gone through the course, and have been diligent students, have generally been successful in getting good situations in this and other colonies, where theoretical, as well as practical, mining knowledge is in much demand. While speaking of the Thames goldfield, mention should be made of Messrs. Price Brothers' foundry and engineeringworks at Grahamstown. Mining machinery of all sorts, including batteries, pumps, and engines, are made, and all the work turned out is of first-class quality, as can be attested by the managers of the mines in the district. It need scarcely be said that the existence ia their midst of such an establishment is of great advantage to the Hauraki goldfields. The want of such a works in Western Australia, where the nearest machinery-works are about two thousand miles from the gold centres, must, while it exists, be a serious drawback to that colony, and it often pays best to bring plant out from Home; and, in comparing the two places, this important advantage for Hauraki, and, indeed, for the whole of the New Zealand goldfields, must not be overlooked. " Ohinemuri County. "This is at present by far the most important of the Hauraki goldfields, its production last year being 110,000oz. —more than twice that of all the others put together. The Ohinemuri mines have this further attraction, from an engineering and scientific point of view, that they exemplify the immense advantage to be derived from the adoption of the most modern system of gold-extraction. The difference between profit and loss depends, in many cases, not so much on the mine as on the mining engineer and metallurgist, and the great feature, to the writer's mind, of this district is the success which has crowned the mines that are conducted on the newest scientific principles. The principal goldfields in this county are those of Waihi, Waitekauri, and Karangahake, while other mines have to some extent been opened up in the secondary goldfields of Owharoa, Komata, and Maratoto. This does not, however, include all the auriferous ground, but only a small part of it, as the amount of country explored is comparatively small, and there is every reason to expect that new goldfields will be opened up in the wide tract of rough forest-country, between Waitekauri and the East Coast, which, owing to its inaccessible character, has as yet been scarcely penetrated by the white man. " Waihi. —This district differs in topographical characters from the surrounding reefing localities. The reefs occur on rounded knolls or small hills rising from a swampy undulating plain near the head of the Ohinemuri River. The plain is an old broad valley or strath, surrounded by mountains or low ranges of volcanic rock, and the inequalities of its bed have to a greater or less degree been covered up with the deposits of breccia ash, and rhyolitic rocks ejected, as already mentioned, during the latest series of volcanic eruptions in the Pliocene period. " The chief lode is the Martha, now belonging to the Waihi Company, which runs through the top of the Martha hill and disappears at each end under the rhyolitic lavas of the plain through which the hill forms a protruding knoll. The reef, which is a very large one, was unsuccessfully worked for about eight years before the present company acquired it. When the Waihi Company began operations they obtained at first about 65 per cent, of the gold and 35 per cent, of the silver by dry crushing and pan-amalgamation —about thrice as much as was extracted by their predecessors. After subsequent trials of the Cassel process it was found that the extraction could be brought up to 90 per cent, of the gold and about 50 per cent, of the silver, and since then all the bullion has been obtained by this method. The cyanide plant and battery-power has been increased lately, and at the time of the writer's visit the battery consisted of ninety heads of stamps, the cyanidation being carried out in twenty-four vats of 24ft. diameter, with the necessary precipitation-boxes, &c. " The tailings which had accumulated before the introduction of the new process were sold for £5,000 to the Cassel Company, who began their recovery operations in February, 1894, and have since treated about 20,000 tons, from which they have obtained bullion to the value of £25,000. The success of this company led to the adoption of the cyanide process by the Waihi Company.

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" After a series of careful experiments in wet and dry crushing the Waihi Company found that the best results were obtainable by crushing the ore dry with stampers and treating it directly by the Cassel process, without amalgamation. The method of treatment found to be so successful is as follows : The ore, in which the gold occurs in a "very finely-divided state, is tipped into circular kilns 20ft. in diameter at the mouth and 37ft. deep, excavated in the soft rhyolitic rock of the rising ground behind the battery. It is mixed with firewood and dried by burning, and every third day is drawn off below, half a charge or about 50 tons at a time, so as not to allow the kilns to cool down. The dry ore is then run into the battery-house, crushed by rock-breakers, and dropped into Challenge ore-feeders which work automatically and obviate much manual labour. The stamps have a weight of 9001b. and crush 1J tons in twenty-four hours, the average number of drops per minute being about ninety-two. The mortar-box, which is deep and has a large discharge, is fitted with long forty-mesh screens, through which the dust is splashed like the pulp in an ordinary wet battery. It falls into a long narrow trough running along the whole length of each line of mortar-boxes, and is drawn to one end by means of an Archimedean screw and discharged into a bin. From this the pulverised ore is lifted by a bucket-belt elevator and passed through a separator, which returns the coarser portion to the stamps for further pulverising, the fine dust being conveyed to a long hopper running the entire length of the cyanide-house. The hopper, which is 110 ft. long, has twenty doors for discharging the sand into trucks. These are run over any part of the twenty-four cyanide vats by travelling-rails, which can be moved laterally by hand-gearing. The sand is tipped in a small shower into each vat. so as to fill it up uniformly without packing—that is, without allowing the finer dust to accumulate in layers, which might interfere with the adequate circulation of the solvent through it. The vats are circular, 22-jjfft. to 24ft. in diameter and 4ft. in depth, of which sin. is occupied by the filter-bottom, a wooden grating covered with strong Hessian cloth which acts as a filter. Bach vat holds about 30 tons of ore, and four days are occupied in filling, treating, and sluicing it out. When the vats are filled to a depth of 2ft. a solution of cyanide of o'4 per cent, is introduced under the filter-cloth and forced up through the sand till it covars it to a depth of 2in. The solution remaining under the filter-cloth is then drawn off and filtration begins, the 2in. on the surface taking about twenty-four hours to percolate through. After the whole of the strong solution has been drawn off, a weak stock solution is run on to the top of the ore to a depth of 6|in. The cock connecting with the vacuum-cylinder is then opened, and in about thirty hours the second solution has passed through. Finally, about lOin. of water is run on to the top, and after this has been drawn through, the operation is completed, the sludge-door is opened, and the sand sluiced out by two 2in. hose-pipes under a head of 150 ft. of water. The precipitation-boxes are 16ft. long, 2ft. deep, and 17in. wide, and are divided into twelve compartments, of which the first and last are sand-filters to clean the solution going in and to prevent any gold-slimes being washed out. In dry crushing, such as this, there is a good deal of dust produced, but by having dust-chambers and keeping the battery-boxes and conveyors well covered in, this inconvenience has been minimised. The presence of so much light, dry dust in the air is no doubt prejudicial to the health of the men exposed to it, and the men who wheel the ore from the bin to the vats must work with a cloth over their noses when opening the doors and filling the trucks. By the use of automatic Archimedean conveyors, elevators, and other labour-saving appliances, however, very few operatives are required. When sixty heads of stamps were working the whole labour required in the battery - and cyanide-house was only that of two men and a boy per shift. " As the company possesses valuable water-rights, steam-power is not required for the greater part of the year. The power is supplied by six 6ft. Pelton wheels, which are ample for the present requirements, but spare steam-power is provided in case of a diminution of the water-supply in dry weather. The company are, however, contemplating the addition to their plant of a new battery of 100 heads. This it is proposed to erect at a lower level on the Ohinemuri River, the ore being brought down from the mine by a tramway. The immense body of ore in the Martha lode gives promise of a great future for this company. The main shaft was down to a depth of 239 ft. at the date of last report, and the stopes were 20ft. to 30ft. wide and 700 ft. in length, while large quantities of quartz were still being obtained from the great opencast on the top of the hill. " Last year's work at Waihi resulted in the crushing of 24,210 tons of quartz, which produced 61,1320z. of bullion, valued at £84,925 6s. lid. Since then the production has continued to increase steadily, and for the month ending 21st September, 1895, 3,000 tons had been crushed, producing bullion to the value af £10,733. " The weight of quartz crushed and value of bullion won by the Waihi Company during the last five years is as follows : — Quartz Crushed. Value of Bullion. Tons. £ 1890 ... ... ... ... ... ... 20,930 1891 ... ... ... ... ... ... 23,934 1892 . ... ... ... ... ... 18,236 44,883 1893 ... ... ... ... ... 19,805 61,895 1894 ... ... ... ... ... 24,864 82,820 1895 to 16th November ... ... ... 29,830 102,589 Total ... ... ... £337,051 " After the success of this company was assured, numerous others started up alongside of it, but as yet none of them have been successful in finding the Martha Eeef. There are, however, other reefs at Waihi, one of which it may be mentioned was originally worked without much success by this company before the Martha was acquired. Another is at present being mined by the WaihiSilverton Company, but as yet no returns have been reported, and all the works are of a preliminary nature. The Waihi Grand Junction Company are searching for the Martha lode under the covering of rhyolite and ash already mentioned at the eastern end of the Martha Hill, and if the reef be

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found to continue in that direction, as may be reasonably expected, the company have good prospects of ultimate success. Many other claims trading on the name of Waihi, but having really no geological right to do so, have been pegged off in the vicinity within the last few months. " Waitekauri. —-This goldfield has long been known as a good reefing district, but up to this year it has received but little attention from outside. The township is situated in the steep glen of the Waitekauri Stream, and all the surrounding country is mountainous, and thickly covered with bush and valuable kauri forests. The only mines of consequence are the Golden Cross and the Komata, situated in the bush about four miles north-west of the township. Both these mines are now the property of the Waitekauri Company. The ore is treated as at Waihi; but, in addition to this, the excellent system has been adopted of passing the tailings from the cyanide-vats over amalgamated plates, so as to catch any particles of coarse gold too large to be dissolved by the cyanide. The reefs are thick and of good quality, although very wet, but at the time of the writer's visit to part of the property the prospects were excellent. " The property of the Komata Eeefs Company, situated in the immediate vicinity of the Waitekauri Company's ground, contains several large and good reefs, which, at the time of the writer's visit, were being energetically opened out by Captain W. H. Argall, the manager. " Karangahake. —The mines in this section are situated on the sides of the steep gorge of the Waitawheta Biver, at its junction with the Ohinemuri. The district is now being developed by Home capitalists, and the three principal mines belonging to the Crown, Woodstock, and Talisman Companies, respectively, are giving very satisfactory returns. Last year the total amount of quartz crushed was 5,113 tons, and from this 15,4480z. of gold was obtained, chiefly by cyanidation, a result which must be very pleasing to the shareholders. Of these mines the Crown has the largest property, and was the means of first introducing the cyanide process to the district. Drycrushing with stamps and cyanidation are used, as at Waihi, and the steepness of the ground and abundance of water provide ample power and good sites for batteries." General Eemaeks by Me. Wilson, Inspectoe op Mines, on the Haueaki District. The following statement shows the number of licensed holdings and special claims in each county, with their area, the number of registered mining companies, the total number of men employed, and the value of the gold produced during the year. Of the 206 companies figuring in the list no less than thirty-one are English,—thirteen at Coromandel, four at the Thames, thirteen at Ohinemuri, and one at Piako, —all of which are in active operation.

The very marked increase in the yield of gold throughout this district is chiefly due to the large returns from the Hauraki, the Great Mercury, and the Kapai-Vermont Mines in Coromandel County; the May Queen Mine in Thames County; and the Waihi, the Waitekauri, the Woodstock, and the Crown Mines in Ohinemuri County; and this increase has established a confidence in the future of the mining industry never before experienced in the northern goldfields of New Zealand. The result of this confidence has been that very large areas of land have been taken up, not only in old-established localities, but also in many hitherto unexplored and almost inaccessible portions of the Hauraki district which extends from Cape Colville to Te Puke. The expenditure of English capital, which is now being freely invested in mining ventures, has given permanence to the nature of mining operations, will promote exploration at deep levels, and will be the means of introducing improved processes in gold-saving, whereby large bodies of quartz of low grade may be profitably dealt with. It is entirely due to money subscribed in England that shaft-sinking has been prosecuted at Hauraki, Crown, Waitekauri, Grand Junction, Waihi-Silver-ton, Kathleen, Prince's Point, Blagroves, Kapanga, Moanatairi, Alburnia, and Queen of Beauty Mines. An unprecedented impetus has also been given to mining investment within the colony, and a favourable feature in connection with the formation of local companies is that in most instances the funds obtained from the sale of promoters' shares were devoted to prospecting the land, instead of going into the pockets of the promoters, as was frequently the case in the past. Many of these companies are doing good work in the direction of opening up and prospecting new ground; others seem to have exhausted their energies when they have induced the public to invest in their shares. There are also large numbers of private holders of ground who at present are not, and possibly never will be, in a position to utilise the land they have taken up. The whole, or almost the whole, of the land occupied by colonial companies and private persons is in some way or other under offer to persons who are endeavouring to induce the foreign capitalist to furnish the necessary funds for the purpose of working them. Besides the many ventures which have a reasonable prospect of success, there are many areas of ground occupied, which, from their position, offer but slender hope that even quartz will be

Name of County. Number of Licensed Holdings. Number of Special Claims. Number of Companies. Total Area of Land occupied in Acres. Number of Men employed. Value of Gold produced. Coromandel Thames Ohinemuri Piako 215 139 136 17 65 102 119 11 84 11 80 1 8,412 12,950 14,000 1,526 1,045 677 1,724 36 £ a. d. 138,897 7 2 63,913 2 6 174,355 4 0 470 10 7 Totals 507 297 206 36,888 3,482 377,636 4 3

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found in them. Due care should therefore be exercised by intending investors to discriminate between genuine investments and such as are unlikely to prove payable. My opinions as to the future of the leading mines are expressed in the report, and from any that have suitable equipment continued rich yields may be expected, but from many new mines, even where the prospects are eminently satisfactory, immediate results cannot be looked for. It is obvious that much time must necessarily elapse before new mines can be opened, and machinery erected for the treatment of their products, in localities easy of access ; and how much greater will be the delay attendant on bringing into a productive state mines situated in broken and mountainous country, approachable only by the roughest tracks having as yet no semblance to a road ? It therefore follows that, although many new localities are destined ultimately to become the centres of payable mines, it would be unwise to assume that an immediate addition to the gold yield will result from this source. The mines at present opened up—wherever the machinery is suflicient for the treatment of large quantities of ore—are certain to maintain, and will probably exceed, their former output, and thus keep up a highly satisfactory yield, while, when sufficient time has elapsed for the formation of roads and other necessary works? the yield of gold will be largely augmented by the returns from the newer mines. Attention to the general rules to be observed in every mine is fairly satisfactory throughout the district, and the matter of ventilation receives reasonable consideration. A matter which has assumed a serious aspect is the danger to the health of the men employed at the dry-crushing mills from inhaling the dust inseparable from that process. Mill-owners are taking steps to minimise this risk by using exhaust-fans to carry off the dust. Accidents and Fatalities in the Haubaki District. Only two accidents terminating fatally occurred in this district during the year—viz. : Alexander McNeil—killed at Clune's Mine, Thames, by a fall of ground on the 31st October, 1895 ; Hugh Murray—died from result of injuries received in falling down a winze at Try Fluke Mine, Kuaotunu, on the 14th November, 1895. Other accidents not resulting seriously were : James Cowell—partially blinded by premature explosion in the Just in Time Claim, Thames, on the 18th April, 1895 ; Harry Triee —injured by fall of ground in surface excavation at Waihi Mine on the 11th April, 1895; Christie Casey—run over by a truck on Karangahake tramway on the 15th August, 1895 ; George Arkle—injured in the leg by fall of earth at Grace Darling Mine, Waitekauri, on the Bth November, 1895.

The following table shows the number of tons of stone and mullock crushed, and the yield of gold, from the northern goldfields since the returns have been supplied to the Mines Department. The Thames returns include the Ohinemuri district up to. 1886-87 : —

Return of Stone, etc., crushed —Auckland District.

14—C. 3.

District. Quartz and Mullock crushed or sold. Yield of Gold. Average Yield of Gold per Ton. Coromandel — 1st April, 1880, to 31st March, 1881 1881, „ 1882 1882, „ 1883 1883, „ 1884 1884, „ 1885 1885, „ 1886 1886, „ 1887 1887, „ 1888 1888, „ 1889 1889, „ 1890 1890, „ 1891 1891, „ 1892 1892, „ 1893 1893, „ 1894 1894, „ 1895 1895, „ 1896 • Tons. 720 3,358 2,907 1,043 456 550 305 1,923 2,149 1,690 5,650 13,029 15,163 12,629 15,451 27,439 Oz. 4,960 7,352 7,577 4,018 3,201 3,382 4,170 6,774 8,090 6,708 9,838 12,191 12,954 9,969 22,632 48,378 Oz. dwt. gr. 6 18 0 2 4 0 2 12 0 3 17 0 7 0 0 6 3 0 13 13 0 3 10 5 3 15 7 3 19 9 1 14 19 0 18 17 0 17 2 0 15 18 1 9 18 1 15 6 Totals 104,462 172,194 1 12 23 TllCLIll/P *? 1st April, 1878, to 31st March, 1879 1879, „ 1880 1880, „ 1881 1881, „ 1882 1882, „ 1883 1883, „ 1884 1884, „ 1885 1885, „ 1886 1886, „ 1887 41,917 33,017 32,405 30,698 25,867 34,228 31,496 35,998 34,827 57,207 59,576 53,154 45,803 43,311 54,878 37,705 61,540 38,142 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 16 12 9 13 12 4 14 1 7 2 19 20 12 2 4 4 22 Carried forward 300,453 451,316

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Return of Stone, etc, crushed—Auckland District— continued.

Note.—Bullion from Ohinemuri equal to 68,44(i0z. 13dwt., valued at £107,000 : this is reduced in the table to the value of gold. Bullion from Te Aroha equal to 2,5150z.; value, £2,500 : this is reduced in the table to the value of gold.

Statement showing the Whole of the Quartz-crushing Machines and Appliances for treating Auriferous and Argentiferous Ores in the Hauraki Mining District for the Year 1895-96.

District. Quartz and Mullock crushed or sold. Yield of Gold. Average Yield of Gold per Ton. Brought forward Thames —continued. 1st April, 1887, to 31st March, 1888 1888, „ 1889 1889, „ 1890 1890, „ 1891* 1891, „ 1892 1892, „ 1893 1893, „ 1894 1894, „ 1895 1895, „ 1896 Tons. 300,453 Oz. 451,316 Oz. dwt. gr. 32,819 47,363 60,753 61,756 86,150 78,547 62,444 48,464 44,342 35,949 35,796 33,817 38,113 45,735 31,336 34,637 22,810 26,332 1 1 11 0 15 3 0 11 14 0 12 8 0 10 15 0 7 23 0 11 2 0 9 10 0 11 21 Totals 823,091 755,841 0 18 8 Ohinemuri — 1st April, 1887, to 31st March, 1888 1888, „ 1889 1889, „ 1890 1890, „ 1891 1891, „ 1892 1892, „ 1893 1893, „ 1894 1894, „ 1895 1895, „ 1896 2,388 3,795 4,773 9,902 13,865 22,771 31,281 51,058 57,008 3,406 3,679 8,564 +12,914 |23,659 §43,405 35,666 110,628 147,499 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 8 19 15 6 14 18 2 3 11 13 9 21 2 2 3 18 8 18 Totals 196,841 389,420 1 19 13 Te Aroha — 1st April, 1883, to 31st March, 1884 1884, „ 1885 1885, „ 1886 1886, „ 1887 1887, „ 1888 1888, „ 1889 1889, „ 1890 1890, „ 1891 1891, „ 1892 1892, „ 1893 1893, „ 1894 1894, „ 1895 1895, „ 1896 4,262 11,042 6,552 4,743 7,166 1,381 4,894 280 2,722 3,169 2,270 1,121 172 4,629 9,506 4,489 3,658 2,918 1,113 ||20,416 557 979 1,178 833 628 168 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 17 13 15 8 16 3 19 7 7 7 11 19 17 5 17 10 3 3 10 18 5 2 8 5 12 Totals ... 49,774 51,072 1 0 12 Grand totals from North Island ... 1,174,168 1,368,527 1 3 7 * This includes 50,856 tons of mullock crushed the la rallion. J Includes bullion, 22,737oz. § Includes bullii ,st two years, on, 41,683oz. I! f The gold obtained includes 42,331oz. Bullion worth only lis. 6d. per ounce.

o O CO ©^ II ' ©£; ■ U 'rH ©a fa CO 3§ A n D oi h n < o H CO fl e fc o to aj o 03 d . ? § h a ®_l a i sffl A W O 03 o o °J CO d oj Jh CO s S fxi ft jj 0(g © >. SCO P«! fa o CD cS "> s§ fa 0) is •2 S 3w> d S3 Ml a d C d OJ S a o O © i o & I S ■w 73 E» a > 'C P fa CD & . O fa ftCD fa * o o ■ga AH > 'fa Q Locality where Machine is situated. Name of Machine. Name of Owners. o fc, ca »g c3.0 & 1 rfl o H © fl s p fc a rH o fa CD 5 3 co H OJ m IH o h CO CO E s o a o H 3 CQ & O M o h oj fl | Coromandel County. Coromandel Kapanga Kapanga Gold-mining Company Hauraki Gold-mining Company Scotty's Gold-mining Company J. Thompson and party 10 2 1 2 1 W. H. a • • Telephone 15 8 2 3 1 u * * Corby 9 8 1 2 1 0 Opifconui Lanigan's 1 10 o 1 2 1 0 Owera Kuaotunu Owera Try Fluke 1 10 16 4 8 1 2 2 2 1 0 Great Meroury .. Try Fluke Goldmining Company Great Mercury Goldmining Company 2 4 1 1 1 1 1 I 1 10

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Statement showing the Whole of the Quartz-crushing Machines, etc., in the Hauraki Mining District for the Year 1895-96 — continued.

Locality where Machine is situated. Name of Machine. Name of Owners. 0 o .7) Si 3 -2 00 «H O fa o £ 3 3 A fa co co r. s" fa a oo 03 fa si *J ©h-i 3 a 3 CO A GQ d a ■B g © <+- o h o fl I p fc CO 3 3 s IM o fa a a 3 3 A 00 g I s CD QQ O N 0J fl a d fc pa a 0 % o r-i a> fl s d fc CO -If o o n ti-H o u OJ fl D fc PH o CD © O o3 a . *- tc 3CB z; : § CO © Q 03 DD fl OJ i U cc P O og Q >i A N O HH CO a» ph o h © fc a s 00 a Vj 03 fa a o o 3 O o o 5. § cd "J A a 3 > 'fa a fa 5 o a, fa 3 03 « Si «*& -H a ,3 C o 0 a 3 ,a.M si la Coromandel C. —cntd. Kuaotunu W. H. Curtis's Kapai-Vermont .. A. H. Richards Kapai-Vermont Goldmining Company Matarangi Syndicate 1 10 1» 2 1 4 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Matarangi 10 Thames County. Sheridan Sheridan Gold-mining Company Tapu Fluke Goldmining Company Monowai Amalgamated Gold-mining Company Scandinavian Goldmining Company New Alburnia Goldmining Company Tararu Mines Goldmining Company Charles Berry George Bryant J. C. Smith J. Renshaw Puriri Gold-mining Company A. Gillan McLiver McLiver Richard Cannon James Brown Kuranui Gold-mining Company Moanataiari Goldmining Company Charles Judd Robert Comer 1 0 Tapu 15 4 3 3 Fluke 6 2 1 1 1 0 W aiomo Monowai 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 10 Tararu Scandinavian 8 4 1 1 New Alburnia 20 7 2 1 3 1 0 Norfolk 3 2 1 1 1 0 40 6 Karaka Otunui Puriri Berry's Claremont Karaka Eureka Puriri 1 1 5 12 6 3 1 2 4 -2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 8 8 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 ' 0 Tairua Gillan's Bonnie Scotland.. Ajax Cannon's Brown's Kuranui 16 20 L2 4 4 6 4 1 4 10 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 0 1 1 1 l" 0 Thames Borough .. '8 4 1 1 1 l" 0 1 0 20 Moanataiari 41 21 2 6 3 1 1 0 a • • Judd's Comer's Bowden's May Queen 2 6 2 8 9 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 20 3 1 2 1 3 1 2 V May Queen Goldmining Company Cambria Gold-mining Company Waiotahi Gold-mining Company Fame and Fortune Gold-mining Company (Limited) James Park H. P. Stark S3 2 Cambria 21 13 1 2 5 1 1 0 a • • Waiotahi 21 5 2 2 1 1 0 Fame and Fortune 21 16 1 1 1 0 w • • a .. School of Mines .. Bank of New South Wales, H. P. Stark Bank of New Zealand Bull's Fairmile A. Smith 2 1 1 1 8 1 2 3 1 1 1 4 1 1 1 0 0 1 0 1 George W. Bull W. Manning 23 14 1 2 1 4 1 1 1 10 Ohinemuri County. Maratoto Paeroa Maratoto C.Rhodes (Bank of New Zealand) W. Nicholl C. Rhodes 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 Karangahake Crown Crown Gold-mining Company Woodstock Goldmining Company Talisman Gold-mining Company Ohinemuri Syndicate Waitekauri Goldmining Company Jubilee Syndicate .. Waitekauri Goldmining Company Grace Darling Goldmining Company Reginald Smith Waihi Gold-mining Company Silverton Gold-mining Company 2 20 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 n * • Woodstook 1 10 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 Talisman 1 10 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 Owharoa Waitekauri Smile of Fortune.. Waitekauri 1 15 30 2 0 8 1 1 4 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 Jubilee Golden Cross 10 10 5 2 2 1 1 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 /, ■ ■ 1 1 1 0 Grace Darling 10 1 2 1 Mangakura Waihi 2 9 90 3 1 1 3 2 0 1 1 3 1 1 0 1 0 Waihi Silverton 2 40 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 0 Piako County. Waiorongomai .. Te Aroha New Zealand Exploration Company 20 1 1 0 City of Auckland .. Young's Bank of New Zealand Stanley Street .. 1 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 6 3 4 2 1 l" 0 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 a ' • * Otis mill,

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MIDDLE ISLAND. Eeepton Disteict. Mining matters are improving in this district, and as soon as the claims that have been taken over by Mr. Ziman's syndicate have been properly developed, there is every reason to believe that there is a good future in store for this field. Many of the claims heretofore have been worked with insufficient capital, and even those from which dividends were paid were worked in such a manner so as to get out all the payable stone in sight in order to find regular dividends for the owners. Very little was ever done in the way of prospecting until the block of stone was nearly taken out, and as the whole of the profits from the mine was expended in payment of dividends, without any reserve fund being set aside for development of works, the result was that calls could not be got to carry on operations and develop the properties in an intelligent manner. A great many makeshifts had to be resorted to, which greatly increased the cost of working, and the plants hitherto erected were not capable of extracting anything like a fair percentage of the gold the ore contained. The different mining properties acquired by Mr. Ziman's syndicate are as follows : At Larry's Creek—Eosebery, special claim of 100 acres ; Caledonian, special claim of 100 acres. At Boatman's— Cadman, special claim of 100 acres; Fiery Cross, special claim of 61 acres; Seddon, special claim of 100 acres ; Blake, special claim of 100 acres. At Murray Creek—Golden Fleece, special claim of 66 acres ; Lillie, special claim of 50 acres ; Eoyal, licensed holding, 21 acres ; Lowlevel Tunnel (including Venus), special claim of 130 acres; Salisbury, special claim of 100 acres; Energy, special claim of 100 acres; Undaunted, licensed holding, 30 acres; Wealth of Nations, special claim of 64 acres ; Gladstone, special claim of 100 acres ; Beaconsfield, special claim of 100 acres; Eoyal Mint, special claim of 21 acres; Juno, special claim of 50 acres; Percival, special claim of 30 acres. At Devil's Creek —Progress, special claim of 90 acres ; Globe, special claim of 100 acres; Progressive, special claim of 32 acres; Larnach, special claim of 100 acres ; Ballance, special claim of 100 acres; Carroll, special claim of 100 acres; Eose, special claim of 100 acres. This makes a total of twenty-five claims, comprising an area of-2,045 acres, in the best portion of the auriferous belt in the Eeefton district, which this syndicate has acquired. At the time these properties were arranged for, the price set upon them was considered by many as high, but they could not have been purchased now for anything like the same money. The boom that has taken place in mining will have the effect of sufficient capital being forthcoming to develop the industry in the different fields in the colony. In many instances at the present time in the Eeefton district, ground that has only pegs in to indicate that it has been taken up in mining claims, for which the holders are asking axtraordinary prices; not that they can show that the actual value of the claims are worth the money, as scarcely any work has ever been done in them to prove whether they would pay for working or not. The prices are set on their prospective value whatever that may be, plans being furnished to show lines of quartz lodes, but whether these in some instances exist or not has not actually been determined. The fact of a wealthy syndicate acquiring many mining properties, and in most instances several of them adjoin one another, will be the means of introducing a different system of working, with more modern machinery and appliances, which will admit of the lodes being worked on a far larger scale than heretofore ; and, instead of every small company having a crushing battery of their own, large mills will be erected with all the latest modern appliances, and the quartz will be conveyed by tramways to plants placed in as central position as possible, where the ore from the mines in the immediate vicinity will be treated in a,n intelligent manner. The saving will be veryconsiderable in respect of concentrating the milling operations as much as possible, as one staff of men will only be employed where at the present time in some instances there are several. There is little doubt but that the operations of this syndicate will be the means of opening a new era in mining in the Eeefton district. Other companies will follow their example when once they see the saving that is effected. As stated in several of my previous annual reports, the mining community in the Australasian Colonies is extremely conservative, and very reluctant to abandon the old systems of working it has been accustomed to. Indeed, it is in most cases sheer necessity that compels them to do so. At the same time, when once a new system is fully established and shown to be successful, others will copy the example and follow suit in making new departures, whether in working the lodes or in the construction of machinery and plant for saving the gold. Eeefton is a very large district, and the only work yet done, with the exception of a few claimsi has been merely scratching the surface. It is a district where there is every likelihood of large auriferous lodes being discovered, and, although they may not be so rich as some of the lodes in the northern goldfields, they run more continuously and give a more uniform average yield. Now that this field is attracting the attention of capitalists and mining men from other countries, new systems of working will be adopted, which is likely to lead to mining operations being conducted on a more economical basis. According to the return supplied by the Warden, the total quantity of quartz crushed since this district was first opened up to the end of March last was 670,749 tons, which yielded 476,0270z. of gold, representing a value of £1,860,968, out of which dividends to the extent of £588,518 were paid. The total yield of alluvial gold is estimated at 127,5420z., representing a value of £471,882 ; making the total gold production of the district to be 603,5690z., representing a value of £2,332,850.

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The following statement will show the comparative returns from the mines in this district for the last fourteen years, ending the 31st March in each year.

Labey's Cebek. Very little work has been done in the claims here for some years. When the Caledonian was first opened some very rich ore was obtained, but owing to the manner in which the early workings were carried on, the claim was in a measure muddled up. The shaft was sunk on rich stone found close to the side of the creek, and the stone taken out, until such time as the mine was flooded out by water from the creek. The Consolidated Goldfields Syndicate, better known here as " Ziman's Syndicate," now holds the ground on each side of this creek, and, when pumping-maohinery of sufficient capacity is erected to drain the water from this mine, and the lode properly developed, there is every reason to believe that both the Caledonian and the Eosebery will be proved to be very valuable mining properties. Boatman's. The whole of the principal ground in this locality,, with the exception of the Welcome Mine, is now held by the Consolidated Goldfields Syndicate, the Welcome Claim being in the middle of their properties. The Welcome Company, when the workings were confined to the Welcome Claim, got very good ore until the ninth level was reached, when the lode got broken up, and what ore there was did not prove payable for taking out. About 26,886 tons of stone were crushed from this mine, which yielded 63,4650z. gold, representing a value of about £247,817, out of which £110,250 was paid in dividends to the shareholders. After the lode broke up, prospecting operations were carried on for some time, but as it became difficult to get in calls, the company disposed of the claim to the present company, which now have the Welcome, Homeward Bound, and Eureka Claims. The operations are now being carried on from the inclined adit in the Eureka ground, where work of a prospecting character has been done for the last three years, but so far, success has not attended the company's efforts in finding a lode containing payable ore. Cadman. —This claim includes the ground formerly held by the Specimen Hill Company, which carried on mining operations for several years, and obtained some very rich ore near the surface. This ground is situate at a considerable elevation, Specimen Hill being about the highest point on the range. The whole face of this hill is covered with boulders of quartz, and some very rich specimen-stone has been picked up on the surface, but no solid compact body of quartz has yet been found in a lode. There is, however, every reason to believe that where so much rich speci-men-stone has been got on and near the surface a rich lode will be found; but, from the loose and broken nature of the rocks near the surface, the indications show that mining operations should be carried on at a deeper level than hitherto worked. In constructing the low-level adit at Boatman's, & much better class of country was found going into the Cadman Claim. Quartz boulders, full of antimony and showing gold, have been found near the surface under a dioritic dyke, and it is in the vicinity of this dyke that a payable lode is likely to be found. In this locality, where quartz contains antimony, it usually also carries gold, and this class of stone indicates that it came from the same lode as that passing through the Welcome ground. The best ore in the Welcome lode contained a good deal of antimony. The same syndicate holds the Blake Claim, which adjoins the Cadman, but very little can be said respecting it until developed, further than that it is on a good line of country, where rich lodes are likely to be met with. Fiery Gross and Seddon. —These claims adjoin each other, the Fiery Cross being on the southern boundary of the Welcome, and the Seddon being on the southern boundary of the Fiery Cross. Some very rich ore was obtained from these claims, and when they are more developed there is every likelihood of a large supply of good ore being got. The ground was formerly held by three companies—viz., the Fiery Cross, Just in Time, and Eeform. The Fiery Cross crushed 9,444 tons of stone, which yielded 8,4100z. gold, representing a value of £33,501, out of which £9,243 was paid in dividends; while the Just in Time crushed 12,459 tons of stone, yielding 15,3840z. gold, representing a value of £59,832, out of which £15,666 was paid in dividends to the shareholders.

Year. Calls made. Dividends declared. Quartz crushed. Yield of Gold. Value of Gold. Yield per Ton. 1882-83 ... 1883-84 ... 1884-85 ... 1885-86 ... 1886-87 ... 1887-88 ... 1888-89 ... 1889-90 ... 1890-91 ... 1891-92 ... 1892-93 ... 1893-94 ... 1894-95 .. 1895-96 ... £ 61,345 49,456 29,333 24,565 21,596 30,432 38,919 27,531 20,404 25,956 18,800 14,350 10,153 8,418 £ 32,600 16,500 34,100 14,500 33,450 17,550 16,688 18,250 27,325 30,743 16,900 18,832 11,012 25,925 Tons. 18,928 23,433 34,349 27,198 23,930 24,403 28,564 32,394 39,643 35,562 37,693 34,518 26,603 29,816 Oz. 19,194 16,547 23,997 14,591 21,143 16,775 18,663 17,780 23,347 23,390 20,171 18,413 13,426| 22,025 £ a. d. 74,856 12 0 64,533 6 0 93,588 6 0 56,904 18 0 83,171 15 5 66,030 11 5 72,720 18 0 69,676 12 1 91,998 8 10 93,885 5 1 80,894 5 1 73,752 14 11 53,509 5 1 87,935 18 4 Oz. dwc. gr. 10 7 0 14 3 0 13 23 0 10 18 0 17 14, 0 13 18 0 13 4 0 10 16 0 10 19 0 13 3 0 10 16 0 10 13 0 10 2 0 14 18

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The whole of the ore from these claims was crushed and treated in the most primitive manner, and it can be safely asserted that not more than 60 per cent, of the gold in the ore was recovered. All the indications point out that the syndicate have valuable mining properties in the locality of Boatman's. Mubeay Cebek. Very little work has been done in any of the mines in the locality of Murray Creek last year with the exception of the Golden Fleece and Boyal, and it was only in the former claim where mining operations were continuously carried on. The only workings on the range north of the Golden Fleece are in the Inglewood and Phoenix Claims, which are now held in one special claim; but on my last visit to these mines all operations were suspended. Golden Fleece and Royal. —These two claims adjoin each other, and are working on the same line of lode. The Golden Fleece is worked from a shaft, which is down to a depth of about 600 ft. These mines are now the property of the Consolidated Goldfields Syndicate, but were formerly held by Mr. Frank Hamilton, and for the last two or three years have been worked by tributers. The lode north of the shaft, which paid very well for working down to the 500 ft. level, was taken out by the Golden Fleece Company before they went into liquidation; but the lode to the southward of the shaft adjoining the boundary of the Eoyal was left incact for a considerable distance, and it has been in this portion of the lode where the tributers have been working, which paid them very well for taking out, the lode being about from 2ft. to 3ft. in thickness, averaging about Bdwt. of gold per ton. Since January last they had a crushing of 200 tons, which yielded 900oz. gold, equal to 9d\vt. of gold to the ton. Some very rich stone was obtained from this ground in the early days of the field. It may be stated that in the Ajax portion of the ground a large expenditure was incurred in erecting crushing machinery. Yet there were no calls made; the shareholders borrowed the money and paid it back out of proceeds from the mine, and also paid £2,504 in dividends to the shareholders. It may be said to be the only claim in the Eeefton district that was worked with success where no calls were made. After working for some time this company amalgamated with the Golden Fleece Company, and, under the title of the Golden Fleece Extended, paid £55,000 in dividends previous to disposing of the claim to Mr. Hamilton. The lode is extremely well defined, with the foot- and hanging-walls very smooth and regular. At the north side of the shaft a dislocation took place which caused a considerable throw in the lode, and it has not been picked up again on the north side of the dislocation or fault. Very good stone was got up to the fault, and there are indications that this lode will be again found to the northward of the fault, and to the westward of the line of lode worked. The Eoyal is a small claim on the southern end of the Golden Fleece, which was worked by tributers during a portion of last year. The shareholders formerly interested in the Golden Fleece and Boyal Mines are divided in their opinion as to whether the lode worked in the Eoyal is the same as that worked in the Golden Fleece, on account of it" being broken up and not so well defined as it is in the Golden Fleece ground. To set this matter at rest, and also for the purposes of 'drainage and ventilation, contracts have been let to drive from each of those mines, the distance being computed by survey as being only 150 ft. It may be stated that in the Golden Fleece Claim there is a considerable percentage of pyrites in the ore. 3 tons 17cwt. of the concentrates were sent to the Clyde Works, near Sydney, which gave a yield of ioz. sdwt. of gold to the ton. When proper milling machinery and appliances are adopted for the reduction and treatment of the ore, it will be found that this is a valuable mining property. . Low-level Tunnel. —This tunnel is now partially the property of the Consolidated Goldfields Syndicate, who purchased it along with the Venus Claim. This tunnel is now constructed from Black's Point, and for a distance of 2,900 ft., the Government paying one-half the cost of construction. It is intended to continue the extension of this tunnel to the Golden Fleece shaft, thereby opening up all the ground in the Venus, Eoyal, and Golden Fleece Claims, and also a highway whereby all the ore from these claims can be sent to a crushing-mill at Black's Point, where a machine-site has been secured. A dray-road is in course of construction, and almost completed, from the main road up the Inangahua Valley to the mouth of the tunnel, where rock-boring and ventilating machinery having the latest improvements are to be erected, it being the intention of the present owners to construct the extension of the tunnel by using compressed air for working rockdrills. The distance yet to construct to the Golden Fleece shaft is about 2,000 ft. Energy. —Although this is one of the syndicate's claims, and is in the locality of Murray's Creek, it is likely in future to be worked from the Crushington side of the range, in conjunction with the Wealth of Nations. Very little, if any, work has been done during the last year in this claim. Before leaving the Murray Creek locality it may be mentioned that there is another claim—the Eoyal Mint—'belonging to the syndicate, which adjoins or is close to the Golden Fleece and Eoyal Claims. There is a strong track of pyrites traversing this claim giving good prospects of gold, which may develop into a lode of payable ore in sinking or driving on it. Crushington. The mines that are being worked in this locality are the Wealth of Nations, Keep it Dark, and the Hercules. A considerable quantity of gold has been obtained from each of those mines. Wealth of Nations. —The ground comprising the Wealth of Nations claim was opened and worked by practically the same company up to the time the mine was purchased a few months ago by the Consolidated Goldfields Syndicate. The workings for many years were carried on above the level of the crushing battery, and the richest stone was obtained from the upper workings. After the upper levels were worked a low adit-level was constructed, which is now known as the Battery level.

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For several years the Wealth of Nations company carried on nothing but prospecting operations, making calls at intervals to enable this to be done, the company with foresight stacking the tailings from a great deal of the ore crushed from the upper workings; and during the time that prospecting operations were being carried on, the manager treated this stack of tailings in berdans, and obtained a considerable quantity of gold. Had it not been that the tailings were worked at a considerable profit, it is questionable whether the company would not have gone into liquidation. It may be of interest to quote some extracts from a report of Mr. E. J. Dunn, who examined this mine on behalf of a London syndicate or company. After dealing with the upper workings, he states :— " Operations are now conducted from the battery level (the lowest tunnel), and this is about 50ft. above the level of the river. The battery level is carried in from the battery for a distance of 800 ft. in a direction about N. 45° 8., and from the end of this a shaft is sunk 500 ft. From the bottom of this a level (200 ft. level) extends 560 ft. in a nearly north-westerly direction, and then another shaft is sunk 300 ft. from the end of this. At 150 ft. down is the 350 ft. level, and at the bottom is the 500 ft. level. From the bottom of this second shaft, a level (500 ft. level) extends in a north-westerly direction for 300 ft. to the block of quartz now being worked. It is unnecessary to point out the awkwardness of working a mine in such a manner. The surface configuration and steep, high hills, with narrow gullies, is such as to prevent a site being selected on the surface from which to sink down so as to cut the lode in a convenient place, and therefore some such method as described has to be resorted to, but it would greatly ameliorate matters if one shaft could be used instead of the two. Wire ropes are used for hauling, and only by some such means could the difficulty of turning so many corners be overcome. Down to the 350 ft. level, or to within 150 ft. of the bottom level, all the stone known to exist in the mine has been removed. The block in the bottom level has been stoped upwards 50ft. from the 500 ft. level; there remains about 100 ft. still to be stoped up to the 350 ft. level. In the adjoining mine, the Keep it Dark, the workings extend to a depth of 300 ft. below the bottom level of the Wealth of Nations, and there the block is looking as strong and likely to continue downwards as it did 500 ft. higher up. "In the bottom of the Wealth of Nations the block of stone is strong, and appears likely to continue downwards for a considerable depth. The size of the block in the bottom level is about 60ft. long by, say, an average of 20ft. wide; a better idea of its bulk is conveyed in the fact that 50ft. vertically of this block stoped out furnished 3,900 tons of stone. Besides the regular block of quartz in the bottom level on tlie north-east side of it, there is another make of stone that appears to run upwards alongside of the main block, and it also looks as though it would continue downwards. So far as exposed, this make of stone is exposed for a length of 24ft. and a thickness of 10ft. Like the stone in the main block, but not to the same extent, the quartz is mullocky. The stone from this block crushed for almost the same yield as the main block. " As the block being worked is stoped up one-third of the distance from the 500 ft. level to the 350 ft. level, and, as in the latter, the block was worked, and as a winze has been sunk right through the stone from one level to the other, it is fair to assume that about twice the stone stoped above the 500 ft. level remains to be stoped—the extra slice of quartz being allowed to balance the slightly smaller size of the block at the 350 ft. level—that is to say, there should be above the present stopes and below the 350 ft. level, say, 6,000 tons of quartz. As the block is going underfoot just as strongly as at any point opened, allow another 100 ft. as probably occupied by the quartz block: the total would be, say, 12,000 tons of quartz that may be expected within 100 ft. of the bottom of the present 500 ft. level and above that level. Taking the yield to be the same as higher up, this would represent, say, £16,000, of which one-half should pay expenses, leaving £8,000 as profit likely to accrue for working the block of quartz now present in the mine to a depth of 100 ft. below the 500 ft. level, and £4,000 for stone above that level. " Although in such a mine as this prospecting operations require to be well kept ahead, nothing whatever is being done. The principle of prospecting to be observed here is to drive along the ' channels ' and to cross-cut at frequent intervals in seach of the blocks of stone. There is another channel besides that now being worked in further to the west, but it has not proved very prolific in quartz so far. In the channel now being worked in a winze down through the quartz should be at once proceeded with, and the blind shaft should be sunk deeper unless a fresh site for a shaft is pitched upon that will not be so far away from the ground to be worked. " There are on the mine thirty heads of stamps driven by overshot water-wheel, and eight berdans. The stamps are light, weighing about 7 cwt. each. The gratings are coarse (225 to square inch). Although the quartz is easily crushed, only about 1-J- tons of stone is crushed per stamp in twenty-four hours. The winding is performed also by a water-wheel worked by waste water from the battery wheel. " Water is brought a distance of about seven miles from the Inangahua River. By remaking about one mile of the water-race at the battery end a further drop of 55ft. could be obtained, or over 100 ft. of head altogether; and this would allow of the use of Pelton wheels instead of overshot water-wheels. " The Wealth of Nations mine is easy of access; has water-power sufficient for crushing and winding. From it 58,832 tons of stone have been won, giving 33,0240z. of gold, worth £128,335 ; dividends, £35,910. This is a good record. The stone that may be fairly assumed to be in the mine within 100 ft. of the lowest level should give a profit of £12,000. On the other side, from the contour of the surface, the mine is awkward to work, as there is no proper site for a main shaft. This mine would suit best to work in conjunction with the Globe and Progress, having one crushing and concentrating plant for the lot." The mine is now worked by the syndicate already referred to in conjunction with the Energy, which has taken up other adjacent claims. The following development works are being proceeded with: On the 500 ft. level, 60ft. south from the main block, a prospecting drive has been driven and cut

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a new make of stone, Bft. wide, proved by battery crushing to be 9dwt. This block is in the same channel of country as the Big Block, and may be a continuation of it when opened up. The winze on the 500 ft. level is sunk on the footwall 85ft. deep, carrying stone all the way down. The underlay is a little more than appears in the stopes. The quality of the stone is equal to any in the mine. A prospecting drive on the 500 ft. level going northerly has cut a foot of stove-carrying gold, which is likely to make into a promising reef very soon from the appearance of the country. The stopes on the main block are not being worked pending alterations to the battery. This block is 60ft. long, 30ft. wide, and over 100 ft. high. On the 350 ft. level a prospecting drive, 65ft., cut a new make of clean stone sft. wide, going in an east and west direction, showing gold freely, and shows signs of making into a larger block. On this level an old uprise is being repaired to open a block of stone 30ft. wide, from which a small crushing was taken a great many years ago, which would not then pay; but with our improved appliances the manager thinks it will now pay, and is preparing to open it up. The battery level is now being opened to within 180 ft. of the old Energetic boundary, and will be continued to connect with the Energetic shaft. To do this it will be necessary to rise 70ft. to make the connection. In repairing this level there was some stoping done over the level on a 3ft. reef many years ago. As the ground recently caved in, a new reef sft. wide was exposed, that had not been seen before, as a partition of mullock divided both reefs. This reef has not been worked on the upper levels, and will probably have several hundred feet of backs. The manager will continue this level to drain the Energetic ground, and will put men on to test the value of this new find that came mso unexpectedly in a place that was considered well prospected. Within the last week a track of stone is showing in the face of this drive, and the manager is of the opinion this track will open out to a big reef that will lead on to the old Energetic block, that gave very good returns on the higher levels. During the last year 3,534 tons of stone were crushed from this mine, which yielded 3,9370z. gold, representing a value of about £15,255. Keep it Dark. —This is a mine which was considered a couple of years ago as being worked out; at least, the lode the company were working on from the surface downward cut out in places, and did not contain sufficient gold to pay for working. Very little good stone was obtained after the 500 ft. level was reached. The lode cut out altogether at a little over 700 ft. from the surface at the mouth of the shaft, and a new lode was discovered, which is now giving good returns for working. The main shaft is sunk to a depth of 503 ft., and a level constructed for a distance of 522 ft., where a monkey or subsidiary shaft is sunk down to a further depth of 375 ft., and from the bottom of this second shaft a drive is put in which cut the new lode at about 190 ft. to the westward, which is now being stoped out between this and the 700 ft. level. During the past year 4,169 tons of quartz from this new lode have been crushed, which yielded 2,3890z. gold, or equal to nearly lljdwt. of gold per ton. These are the deepest workings in the Reefton district, being about 200 ft. below sea-level. The country rock is of quite a different character at the deepest level, or where the new lode was discovered, to what it was between the 500 ft. and 700 ft. level. Between these points the rock was very hard and compact, but at the lowest level it is somewhat similar in character to that found near the surface. With regard to the yield of gold from the stone, although about lljdwt. have been recovered from the battery treatment, it is very questionable if the mode of manipulating the ore extracted a large percentage of the gold. The pulverized ore is merely allowed to run over copper plates and blanket tables, and thence passes down a tail-race which connects with the Inangahua Eiver. Recently, however, the company is stacking the tailings, but it is evident in the early days that several thousand ounces of gold have been washed into the Inangahua River. Hercules. —This is the adjoining mine to the Keep it Dark. It was formerly known as the Nil Desperandum. The shaft is down to a depth of nearly 600 ft., where there is fairly good stone in the lode. The same shoot of gold-bearing stone, if it continues to go down, will pass into the Keep it Dark ground. During the last year 1,667 tons of quartz were crushed from this mine, which yielded 8290z. gold, which is equal to nearly lOdwt. of gold per ton. Devil's Creek. The principal mines in this locality are the Globe and Progress. These claims adjoin each other, and can be now economically worked as one concern. Judging from the appearance of these mines at the time of my visit, they are, without exception, the best mining properties in the Reefton district at the present time. There are considerable bodies of ore in each of the mines sufficient to keep a large crushing-mill steadily employed, and new blocks of stone are being discovered which contain equally as rich ore as any yet worked in these mines. In the beginning of the present year Mr. E. J. Dunn inspected mining properties in the Reefton district, and, in reference to the Globe, the following extracts are taken from his report:— " This mine is on Oriental Creek, and is distant about four miles from Reefton, with a good hard road to it. The brace of the shaft is about I,looft. above Reefton. The property is 87 acres and 35 perches in extent. "In this locality the rocks are grey slates and sandstones, the former talcose; they belong to the Maitai series. The bedding in some of the upper levels appears to be nearly horizontal, but the rocks are much disturbed and broken. As appears to be the case generally in this district, the reefs occur as blocks of quartz that conform to a certain ' channel' of country. " There is one, and the principal, channel, running nearly east and west. On this line the principal gold has been got, and the blocks now being worked are all on this east-and-west course. Besides this, there is a north-and-south channel known as the Union Reef, and on this large blocks of stone occur that are partially worked. The blocks of quartz, both in the east-and-west channel and in the north-and-south channel are of considerable size in some cases. In the No. 6or bottom level the block at the cross-cut from the shaft is 174 ft. long, and it ranges from 10ft. to 18ft. thick.

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In the same level the middle block is 120 ft. long, and averages Bft. wide. Along the course of the east-and-west channel the blocks at the surface are the dam block, which is further west than middle block, and then at an interval of 250 ft. the east block (one is supposed to intervene), a block just above the tram-line, and near the east boundary —the 7ft. block. The blocks running in a nearly north-and-south block cut the east-and-west channel near the 7ft. block. The blocks that have been principally worked upon are the dam block, middle block, and east block. Of these the middle block has yielded the best returns : forty thousand pounds' worth of gold is said to have been obtained from this block between No. 5 level and the surface. These blocks are in reality large lenticular-shaped masses, and they have for walls soft graphitic or talcose slates. Loose small blocks are common outside the blocks. " The quartz from the blocks is usually friable, and pyrites (iron) is common in the stone. This quartz is easy to crush. Antimony in small quantities is present. The gold is often visible ; still it is very generally dispersed through the stone. The value of the gold is £4 per ounce. The average yield for the last twelve months was Bdwt. per ton. "Formerly the mine was worked by means of adit-levels; later a shaft was sunk so as to work the blocks at levels below the creek. The shaft is 830 ft. deep from the brace. From the surface to the adit-level is 135 ft., and this portion of the shaft consists of two winding compartments only. Below the adit the shaft consists of three compartments, and is 9ft. by 4ft. " At No. 1 or adit-level a block of stone 179 ft. long, and averaging 12ft. thick (middle block), was worked to the surface. Eastward of this block 150 ft. was the east block, 200 ft. long and 6ft. wide. This was stoped upwards for five sets high ; but there are said to be many thousands of tons of this stone still left between the stopes and the surface. " No. 2 level is 125 ft. below No. 1 ; the middle block of stone was 182 ft. long, and averaged 12ft. wide. This was stoped out to No. 1 level. The dam block, which is 500 ft. further west, was worked from this level to the surface. It averaged 12ft. wide, and was 180 ft. long. "No. 3 level, 125 ft. below No. 2. The middle block was 142 ft. long and 12ft. wide on an average; it bulged out to 30ft. at the widest part. The east block does not appear to have been worked below No. 1 level. " No. 4 level is 125 ft. below No. 3. The middle block was 142 ft. long, and 12ft. wide on average. Stoped right up. Level not extended far enough east to cut east block. " No. 5 level is 125 feet below No. 4 middle block, is 148 ft. long and 10ft. wide on average. East of this block is a blank of 50ft., and then another block occurs from 6ft. to Bft. wide, and the length of which has not yet been determined. West of middle block, and extending from id to 20ft. west of the cross-cut, is another block 4ft. to 6ft. wide, and supposed to be the dam block; but this is unlikely ; it is more probably a blank intervening between the dam block and the middle block. "No 6 level is the lowest; it is 200 ft. below No. 5 level. The west block of stone is 180 ft. long, and runs into the Progress ground. (The Globe shaft is 130 ft. from the boundary between the Globe and Progress mines). To the east of the above block there is a blank for 12ft., and then another block 120 ft. long, supposed to be the middle block. This block would average Bft. or 9ft. wide. It is worked up for three stopes above No. 6 level. In the west block the reef is stoped up 18ft. high above the level. " In No. 5 level, 66ft. east of the cross-cut, a winze has been sunk connecting No. 5 and No. 6 levels. Forty feet below No. 5 level an intermediate level has been driven 100 ft. eastward, and at the end of this a winze has been driven 12ft., and at the bottom of this a reef Bft. wide is disclosed. The workings are in good order. There is little water to lift. " A great deal of prospecting should be done in this mine, both to cut the blocks of stone along the channel, and also, if cross-cutting, to discover blocks that maybe not quite in the same line as the quartz being worked. Like most of the mines here, dead work and prospecting operations are almost ignored, and until one block is completely exhausted no attempt is made to open up another. There are, probably, blocks of quartz in this mine that have not yet been seen, and some that are well known are not sought for at lower levels. Still, owing to the blocks opened down to No. 6 level not proving so rich as required, there is a good supply of quartz in the mine. " In No. 1 level or adit-level, the east block is said to be unbroken from 35ft. above the level to the surface. Between No. 2 level and No. 1 this same block has not been worked. Nos. 3, 4, 5, and 6 have not been extended far enough east to cut the continuation downwards of this block. " The middle block has been all stoped out over No. 5 level. Below that level it has been stoped from the intermediate level 40ft. below No. 5, and 100 ft. long up to No. 5 level. At No. 6 level the east block has been stoped up from that level for three stopes, part of the length, and near the winze, for one stope only. This block is 120 ft. long and the stopes extend less than half that length. The west block, 180 ft. long, has been stoped up three stopes above No. 6 level for a length of about 70ft. With these exceptions the blocks between Nos. 5 and 6 levels are inta.ct. Eoughly estimating this as containing 250 ft. of quartz in length, both at Nos. 5 and 6 levels, so as to allow for what is stoped, and assuming an average thickness of Bft., this would give 250 ft. long by 200 ft. deep by Bft. thick. This gives close upon 1,500 tons; a very low estimate of the stone between Nos. 5 and 6 levels. " In the bottom of No. 6 the block at the west end and the east block both are going down strong, and no signs of faulting or disturbance of any kind. The stone as from assay samples (which, of course, have to be taken continuously, for nothing less than bulk samples of quartz can be safely relied upon) gave for east end of stopes, No. 6 level, 3dwt. 7gr. per ton ; stopes, east block, No. 6 level, 33gr. per ton ; for middle block east side of crosscut, 2 dwt. Bgr. per ton. Samples taken all over the faces, &c, No. 6 level, gave 7dwt. lgr. and 7dwt. 4gr. per ton. These results have all the inconclusiveness of assays taken here and there over the faces. " Besides the reserves above No. 6 level, there may be fairly estimated an equal quantity going down to the next level below. There is certainly no lack of quartz in this mine, and by prospecting 15—C. 3.

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100

it is probable that further developments would take place. In addition to the blocks mentioned above, there are others further east along the channel that have not been explored, although they are auriferous. "For 1895 the quantity of quartz crushed was 4,600 tons, yielding 1,8550z. lldwt., a little over Bdwt. per ton saved. The tailings would carry off another 2dwt. or 3dwt. " At the Globe battery site there is a heap of tailings thao contains from 25,000 to 30,000 tons ; of these the older portion outside the fence appears to be coarser, and to be different in appearance to the newer tailings which overlie them. Samples taken from the top or newer portion of the heap gave—Fire assay (1), 2dwt.; (2) 2dwt. 12gr.; (3) 3dwt. 22gr. Samples from the older heap gave a return of 6dwt. 12gr. of gold per ton. What the proportions of the older tailings are to the new it is difficult to surmise, but they may amount to one-fourth, so that the general average may amount to between 3dwt. and 4dwt. of gold per ton for the whole heap, and this should pay to recover, as water-power is available for motive purposes. A fair quantity of iron-pyrites is present. "The battery consists of twenty head of stamps, two berdans driven by turbine. At the shaft is a 25-horse power (Hornsby and Sons) winding-engine. From the mine to the battery is an aerial tram, 95 chains long, delivering 50 tons of stone per eight hours, working by gravitation. " In this mine there are extensive bodies of stone called ' blocks,' that occur along" the reef channel. Five of these crop out at the surface. Two or three have been tried in a small way at the surface, and as they did not yield sufficient to pay they have been left standing. Some of the blocks have been worked down to No. 6 level, and the stone so far crushed has averaged Bdwt. and over. The Union Beef, which was worked slightly in early days, and proved auriferous, is in the east end of the company's ground; but, although there are large bodies of auriferous stone, no prospecting work is done on them. Altogether there is more auriferous quartz showing in this mine than any other seen in the district. The stone crushed yielded handsomely, although the defective treatment allows probably 3dwt. of gold per ton to escape in the tailings. The ground has only been opened down 700 ft. below the level of Oriental Creek, and much stone remains above this level to be treated. Coal can be secured from Murray Creek direction to the battery site by an aerial tram by gravitation at a very small charge. Timber for the mine is plentiful close by. Water for battery and motive purposes is supplied in a constant manner by the Inangahua Eiver, the water rights being ample, and by running a race at a higher level. Peltons can be used, or, if preferred, steam can be used for the crushing plant, and economically. The mine shows a good record, and if worked in a different manner to the present method, and a mill of good power were erected and kept continually going, this should become a very valuable property. Of course, if the mine were to be worked in the present style, or with imperfect gold-saving appliances, not much return could be expected ; but, in conjunction with the Progress under one management, and with a proper battery, &c, for both, and by sending'all the stone from both mines to it, I believe that handsome returns could be made. "From this mine 73,428 tons of quartz have been raised, yielding 38,8440z. of gold worth £138,283: dividends, £40,000." It will be seen from the foregoing extracts that Mr. Dunn forms a high opinion of the Globe Mine. From personal inspection of this property, my opinion is that he underrates the quantity of payable stone in sight. The following remarks will show the development works that are being carried out. Globe. —The lowest level, or No. 6, has been extended 111 ft. into the Progress ground from the Globe boundary, leaving about 500 ft. to drive to connect with the Progress Mine. The level has been carried all the way on stone without touching the hanging-wall. The width of reef, therefore, is unknown. The length of this block to present face is 291 ft., with stone in the present face. From this western face to the eastern face, on No. 6 level, is 490 ft., and, with the exception of a few short blanks, or divisions, between the blocks, there is stone all this distance. The eastern face cuts through the stone, as the lode has taken a north-east course from its usual direction of east and west. The winze on this level is sunk 80ft. on stone all the way without meeting the hanging-wall, or width of reef known. On the level over this winze the reef is 20ft. wide, indicating a big reef underfoot for the next level. On the west end, over No. 6 level, the block of stone, now being driven on, is expected by the manager to go past No. 5 level to 500 ft. high, as No. 5 has not been driven within 70ft. of the Progress boundary, whereas most of this block is in the Progress ground. With the strike now showing, nearly all the block will be in the Progress ground at the higher levels. As there are 272 ft. of stoping between No. 5 and No. 6 levels, the former level should be also extended into the Progress ground, and stoping be carried on in both levels to supply quantities when the new battery is erected. The winze in No. 5 level is sunk to a depth of 147 ft. below No. 5 tunnel. Stone has been carried down this distance without a break or meeting the hanging-wall. This stone has now proved to be a separate block not found in any of the workings in No. 6 level, being considerably to the west of any stone in that level. Competent judges of battery work say this stone will average loz. of gold per ton. For a big reef, this is one of the richest and most important discoveries in the whole of the district. The old Union reef, in the Globe ground, runs in a north and south direction. Men were put on trenching south, and traced this reef close up to the Larnach boundary. This reef is from 10ft. to 20ft. wide all through the Globe ground along the surface. Over 1,000 tons of payable ore is now stacked at the crushing-battery, and the large hoppers at the mine are also full. This stone comes from drives, shafts, or winzes, as no stoping is being done at the present time. There has been no period in the working of this mine when so large a quantity of payable stone was in sight. The recent developments show that mining operations can be prosecuted on a scale far larger than the late company ever anticipated.

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During the last year 3,750 tons of stone were crushed from this mine, which yielded 1,5020z. of gold, representing a value of £6,026 15s. Progress Claim. —This claim is on a continuation of the same line of reefs as that worked in the Globe. The lodes occur in large shoots or blocks, but these blocks are of such large dimensions, and according to all appearances and indications they are likely to continue down to great depths. The working, however, in this mine in the past has been carried on in a somewhat wasteful manner ; or, to say the least, on a very bad system, very little attention being paid to proper ventilation and properly securing the ground. The class of crushing-plant used is also one of the old type, having the ordinary quicksilver and blanket-tables for saving the gold, the tailings being allowed to go down the creek, and yet the assays from these tailings show that there is from 6dwt. to lOdwt. per ton. This property was inspected and examined by Mr. B. J. Dunn, on behalf of London capitalists, and the following are extracts from his report to them on the property: — "This property, 90 acres in area, adjoins the Globe Mine on the west boundary of that mine. Geology same as for the Globe, the blocks of quartz being worked are on the same channel of country as those of the Globe. In this mine there are also several blocks, as the dam block, which is right on the boundary between the Globe and Progress Mines. Another block, named Black's Block, and on which little work has been done, and which I could not see, as the exhaust steam is let off in the level; it is in Adam's block, which is the only one now being worked in the mine, and Smith's block, which is about 150 ft. from Adam's block, in the direction of the mouth of the main adit. "In connection with this mine is a coal base about half a mile distant. An aerial tram connects the two, and coal is delivered to the battery at a cost of about 3s. per ton. The coal gives a good heat, but contains a large quantity of sulphur. Forty tons are used per week to keep the battery-engine, &c, going. The seam of coal is 3ft. thick, but much disturbed. "The crushing-plant is situate on Devil's Creek at the mine, and in summer the water sometimes becomes very short in supply; but if a central plant for both mines were erected on the Inangahua Eiver, where the Globe battery is, there would be no lack of water at any season. " Like so many other mines in this district, it is very difficult, and sometimes impossible, to fix on a site suitable for a shaft. At the Progress an adit is driven in from Devil's Creek near the battery to Oriental Creek. Between the two creeks a steep ridge rises several hundred feet above the level of the creeks, and the workings, which commenced on Oriental Creek, on the outcrop of the reef, are now right under the crest of this ridge, and each level brings the workings nearer to Devil's Creek, and it is on this creek that a shaft will have to be sunk eventually. "In the main or battery adit, 1,650 ft., a blind shaft has been sunk 450 ft. to No. 5 level. It is now down to 570 ft., or within 30ft. of where No. 6 level will be driven from it (150 ft. vertically below No. 5 level). The shaft is 9ft. by 4ft., and the winding is accomplished by a steam-engine in a chamber at the top of the shaft, a steam-pipe being brought in from a boiler at the battery. From the shaft cross-cuts are extended at each level towards Adam's block, which alone has been extensively worked. " From the bottom of the shaft at No. 6 level the cross-cut will have to run in 500 ft. to cut the block of stone, the underlay of which is considerable, and away from the shaft towards the battery on Devil's Creek. "In the level from the bottom of the shaft No. 5 level, Adam's block, is of large size and carries very payable gold. The quartz was about 85ft. long and 26ft. wide in the widest part. " Above this level Adam's block has been worked up to the surface, but portions of other blocks considered too poor to pay have been left. Between Adam's block and the Globe boundary no other block has been worked at the No. 5 level. " From No. 5 level Adam's block has been stoped up 65ft., leaving 95ft. yet to stope. The 65ft. of stoping on Adam's block has produced 10,068 tons of quartz, yielding 4,3800z. gold, equal to over BJdwt. per ton. Dividends, £6,900. " At this rate the remainder of the block should produce 6,4000z., worth £25,000; that is, if the stone continues of the same size and average quality as in the lower portion, and there is nothing to indicate any alteration at present. " Below No. 5 level a winze has been continued down on the footwall of the block (Adam's) for 175 ft. on the underlay (150 ft. vertically), and the quartz was carried down the whole way. It was not possible to get down this winze for bad air, but I looked over the mining manager's weekly reports while sinking this winze, and saw that stone was taken down nearly all the way in the winze. Mr. Caples also informed me that he saw the stone down to 80ft. below the No. 5 level. At this level the block goes down as strong as above. Should this block prove as valuable as that above No. 5 and up to No. 4 so far as worked, then it would produce forty thousand pounds' worth of gold. " Owing to the shaft being underground, and through no connection being made with the Globe Mine, the ventilation in the Progress is bad, but this could be remedied if both properties were under one management. "It is most inconvenient to work this mine, as at present, from a level run in 1,650 ft. from the battery than through a shaft, each cross-cut from which is longer from the shaft, and that approaches nearer to the mouth of the tunnel on Devil's Creek. The present course of the quartz being trucked from the block to the battery described a three-quarter circle. A shaft is needed on the Devil's Creek side, and also much prospecting and opening of other blocks of stone; the Adam's, Smith's block has not been touched below the battery level, although it seems very payable stone, and of large size higher up. It could be cut by driving only 150 ft. from the present workings. " The battery is of twenty-five heads, of which fifteen heads only are at work, driven by a steam-engine. There is also a boiler to supply steam to the winding-engine in the chamber.

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Grating, 225 to square inch ; no means adopted to extract the gold from the tailings, which run to waste, although they assay 7dwt. by fire assay in samples taken myself. The battery should be done away with, and all stone should be sent to a "central battery for the two mines, where the extraction of the gold would be better accomplished. There are but a few hundred tons of tailings saved; the rest go down the creek. "This property, though worked in a very primitive fashion which generally prevails in this district, and with crushing and gold-saving appliances that only extract a little more than half the gold, still is paying well, and it has all the appearance of continuing to do so for some time to come. But one block of stone is being extracted, although four are known to be present, and though Adam's block paid well at high levels. The ground still to be stoped up to No. 4 promises to give good results, and below No. 5 the winze shows that Adam's block goes down to No. 6 level, and is continuing down below. The shaft is sunk within 30ft. of No. 6 level, so that as soon as a cross-cut can be put in to the block stoping from No. 6 level can commence. The other blocks should most certainly be opened up. From the trials made it appears likely that the stone in them would pay handsomely if systematically and economically mined, and treated by proper methods to extract a larger percentage of gold than is now the case. "The Globe and Progress are well adapted for working under one management, and this would effect a considerable economy. If so worked, the combined properties should be capable of yielding a good return. If a purchase is made of these two properties, the engineering phase of the situation should receive very careful attention, as the locality is peculiar, and the economical working of the .mines so much depends on the way the shafts, &c, are placed. Altogether, I consider the Progress an exceptionally good gold-mine." The waste that has been carried on in working this mine in the past has really been astounding ; thousands of tons of tailings, which ought to have been saved, allowed to be carried down the creek —tailings, according to tests made, containing 7dwt. to the ton, which would give a handsome return in dividends to the shareholders. The workings in future, now that this mine is the property of the Consolidated Goldfields Syndicate, will be conducted in more economical manner. The following development work has been done : In clearing out the battery level past the chamber, a block of stone was exposed 80ft. long, and an aTerage width of sft. After going through 50ft. of pug and rubble another make of stone came in, about 2ft. wide, of a kindly appearance, which the mine-manager thinks is the Globe "dam block" that gave so many dividends to the Globe Company. This block is about 100 ft. from the Globe boundary, and 230 ft. from the Globe shaft. All this stone will have 180 ft. of backs to No. 1 tunnel of the Progress. The manager intends to drive and open up these blocks without delay. The main shaft is down 450 ft., so there is ample room for large developments in this portion of the mine. The main shaft was put down for another block, which has been worked for years down to No. 5 level, where the slopes are open for blocking, showing a reef 118 ft. long, 25ft. wide, and goes up to No. 4 level. On this block a winze has been carried down 175 ft. on the stone, and the main shaft sunk for the next level, to be called No. 6. There is a large area of ground between the Progress shaft and the Globe shaft of 930 ft. There has been very little prospecting done in any of these mines, although both the claims are on the same fissure-lode, running nearly east and west. Smith's block is a parallel fissure-lode to the above workings. This block has not been worked below the battery level, and was abandoned many years ago for the richer workings in the main shaft. The manager thinks a cross-cut should be driven from the main shaft to tap this block at the bottom level, which, if struck, would give 450 ft. of backs. This block paid well from the upper workings, being over 30ft. wide. The fact is, there were too many blocks—or, it may be said, too much stone—for a company with a small battery to deal with. No. 1 tunnel is being repaired for air-courses, drainage, and to sink on the north-and-south lode which was left in the early days—the whole of the mining operations of late years being confined to the east-and-west lode. The north-and-south lode has never been worked below the No. 1 tunnel level. During the last year 8,640 tons of stone was crushed from the Progress Mine, which yielded 3,9140z. gold, representing a value of £15,830. Progressive Claim. —This claim comprises an area of 30 acres, and adjoins the Progress to the north and west. Quartz containing gold was got on the surface when the claim was first taken up. An adit-level was constructed for some distance, but not carried far enough to cut the line of country where the stone was first found. Some trenching was afterwards done, exposing a mineral track giving prospects of fine gold. Bose Claim. —This claim comprises an area of 100 acres, adjoining the Progress. It was taken up for the purpose of securing the underlie of the Progress lode at deep levels. Some prospecting work has been done recently on this claim, and quartz containing gold discovered near the surface of the ground. Ballance, Larnach, and Carroll Claims. —These are claims comprising an area of 100 acres in each. They are situated in the locality of Devil's Creek, near the Progress and Globe Claims. There is a large mass of quartz boulders on the surface of the Ballance and Larnach Claims, but their situation makes access difficult, unless by working the ground through the Globe and Progress Claims. The Carroll is situated to the east of the Larnach, and south of the Globe. Some quartz containing gold is said to have been found in a small gully, but no prospecting of any extent has yet been done on this claim. Merrijigs. There are four claims that have been worked in this locality last year—namely, the Merrijigs, Sir Francis Drake, the Al, and the Golden Lead. The claim in which the most mining has been carried on is the Sir Francis Drake. This was purchased about sixteen months ago by a local company, and during the last year 1,045 tons of stone was crushed, which yielded 3150z. gold, being equal to a little over 6dwt. of gold per ton.

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The Al claim is worked by tributers. There are rich veins and small auriferous leaders of quartz traversing a sandstone formation. One party of tributers crushed 67 tons of quartz last year, which yielded 4850z. of gold, being equal to a- little over 7oz. 4dwt. per ton, while another party of tributers crushed 16 tons of stone, which yielded 85oz. gold, being equal to over soz. ldwt. per ton. The Merrijigs Company are working on a similar class of country as the Al, but the leaders are larger and do not contain so much gold. During the last year 152 tons of stone was crushed from the company's mine, which yielded 250z. of gold, being only an average of about 3dwt. 6gr. per ton, which is certainly not payable for working. The Golden Lead Company. —This company has been struggling for some years. Although some of the stone gives a fair average return of gold, the lode or leaders are too small to make them remunerative for working. A low-level adit was commenced about three years ago, and some stone cut, but there was not sufficient gold to pay for sending it to the crushing battery. During the last year 42 tons of stone, which yielded 390z. gold, was taken from a leader which was found outcropping on the surface to the north of the old workings. Big Biver. There are considerable areas of ground taken up in claims in this locality, but very little work has been done in any of them, with the exception of the Big Biver Company's holding. The lodes here occur in blocks which are cut out in such a manner that no trace is left to indicate where another one will be picked up; but, wherever a block of stone is found, it is generally of very good quality. The blocks of auriferous quartz are generally of considerable dimensions, some of them being about 15ft. in width, and contain ore yielding nearly 2oz. gold to the ton. During the last year 3,736 tons of stone were crushed, which yielded 4,0260z. gold. There are several claims in this locality on which a little prospecting has been done, but beyond this no legitimate attempt has been made to properly develop them. This is due in a great measure to the want of roads in this portion of the Eeefton district. A horse-track has been constructed to the Big Eiver for several years, and at the present time a dray-road is in construction, which is likely to be completed this year. This will give every jacility for machinery to be brought on to the ground, and no doubt the development of the mines will be more rapidly proceeded with. Lyell Disteict. There is very little new in quartz-mining in this district. The principal operations are carried on in the Alpine Mine. This mine has been worked for the last twenty-one years by the United Alpine Company, the nominal capital of which is £32,000, in £1 shares, £16,000 being declared paid up. The total dividends paid by this company, according to their last statement of affairs, is about £74,267. There is a very large lode in some portions of this mine, but in places the ore was found to be of too low grade to pay for working; but some of it, which was left intact in the early days, is likely now, with improved appliances, to give better returns. It cannot be said that the highest intelligence is displayed in carrying on the present lower workings in this mine, as the method adopted can only be termed a makeshift. The incline shaft from the No. 7 level was badly constructed in the first instance. The lode is, to some extent, broken into blocks on the lowest level; at the same time, these blocks contain payable ore. During the last year, according to the battery returns forwarded by the local Inspector of Mines, there was 1,958 tons of quartz crushed, which yielded 6790z. of gold. The only other mine from which any battery returns have come to hand is the Croesus, which is being worked by tributers, who had 602 tons of quartz crushed, yielding 3480z. gold. The Tyrconnel Mine is said to produce some very rich stone, but the returns have not been ascertained; but probably it means that the gold was obtained by tributers in the Tyrconnel Mine, who got the stone crushed at the Croesus battery. The Lyell Creek Tunnel Company is said to have struck payable stone below the level of the tunnel; but, so far, any actual crushings from this mine have come greatly below expectations. A comparatively short length of the Alpine lode goes through a corner of the claim, but whether this will prove payable for working is a question, as far as information supplied me goes, that remains undetermined. The low-level tunnel constructed by the Lyell Creek Company would be valuable for carrying on operations at the low levels in the Alpine Mine, and would save a great deal of expense now incurred to work the ground; but this is a case parallel with many on the goldfields. Every one places a high value on his own property in comparison to his neighbour, and would rather work his mine disadvantageously than allow his neighbour to have any advantage in regard to either amalgamation or working conjointly. Grey Valley Disteict. The only quartz claims being worked in this district are one at the Blackball and another at Langdon's. Very little work has been done during the last year. There was some dispute amongst the shareholders about paying off the liabilities, and the works were suspended in order to allow the accumulation of calls that had been made, so as to clear off the creditors of the company. The Victory Mine at Langdon's is held by a private company, who purchased the crushingbattery formerly belonging to the Specimen Hill Company at Boatman's, and erected ten heads of the stamps at Langdon's. Some very rich auriferous specimen-stone is obtained in this mine, but the lode is comparatively small. During the last year 125 tons of stone was crushed, which yielded 2510z. gold, being equal to 2oz. gold per ton. Although other claims have been taken up alongside the Victory, nothing of any consequence has been discovered in any of them. There is, however, a likelihood of some good auriferous lodes being discovered in this district, as every creek and gully coming out of the Paparoa Eanges wherever the slate formation exists contains gold mixed amongst pieces of quartz.

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Prospecting- areas. Jackson's, Christchurch Road. —Four prospecting-areas of 640 acres each have been taken upon the Taipo and Kelly's Range. A party of men, under" a competent prospector, has been employed during the summer months to prospect these areas, with a result of the most encouraging character. The section on the Jackson's fall of the range has shown very good results indeed. A reef 3ft. thick has been traced for a distance of 60ft., showing strong all the way, with gold showing fairly through the stone. Another reef running parallel to this one, 20ft. apart, has been partially bared, showing gold, but the thickness is not known. These finds are quite independent of the stone worked by a former company. On the Seven-mile side of the range good results have also rewarded our efforts. Three distinct lines of reefs have been opened and traced. One of these, called the East Reef, is 3ft. thick, and has been traced several chains. The others are smaller, but welldefined, showing fair crushing prospects. Blue Duck, Murchison. —One area of 640 acres has been taken up, of ground covered with conglomerates, cements, and brecciated material, from which the gold in the alluvial drift lower down the valley has been derived. This is indicated by pieces of the cemented material being found in the wash-drift showing gold. A considerable quantity of gold must have come from this material to form the rich auriferous deposits which have been worked in the Blue Duck Creek-bed. Maruia. —Three prospeeting-areas of 640 acres each have been taken up on the same character as those described at Blue Duck Creek, which resembles to a great extent the " vankit " of South Africa, where some millions of pounds sterling has been subscribed for its development. Prospecting has been carried on here for some time without success ; but, where there is such an extent of country covered with these quartz breccias as that in the Maruia, it cannot be expected, unless by mere chance, that the payable portion —if there be any—is found at once. The last accounts received from the prospectors are of a more cheering nature, and show that there are reasonable hopes of being successful in finding payable gold. The following statement shows the battery returns forwarded by the local Inspector of Mines for the West Coast for the year ending the 31st March, 1896. It is, however, a question whether he has been able to get complete returns from all the different machines, seeing that the disaster at the Brunner Mine occupied a great deal of his time at the close of the year : —

Name of Locality and Company. Quartz crushed. Quantity of Amalgam. Quantity of Gold obtained. Nelson District. Jollingwood—Johnson's United Tons. Not given Oz. Oz. 225 Mokihinui District. i. Swanston 263 327 109 Beef ton District. Joatman's — Fiery Cross Fiery Cross, for Kirwan and party ... Fiery Cross, for O'Leary and party ... 25 67 25 87 213 82 26 65 26 117 117 'ainkiller—Sir Charles Eussell 383 258 lurray Creek— Inglewood Golden Fleece tributers Golden Treasure tributers Venus Extended, for Eoyal Company 850 175 172 495 343 361 156 126 Irushington— Keep It Dark Keep It Dark, for Hercules Keep It Dark, for Hercules (tributers) Wealth of Nations 1,197 643 4,169 1,646 21 3,534 6,891 2,552 23 3,937 2,389 822 7 1,247 )evil's Creek — Globe ... Progress Golden Point 9,370 4,465 3,750 8,650 4,903 11,189 1,502 3,914 12,400 5,416

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Statement of Quartz crushed and Yield of Gold— continued.

Otago District. Notwithstanding the large quantity of gold obtained from the Otago goldfields, comparatively little of it has been obtained from quartz-workings. The formation of this part of the country is entirely different from any of the other fields where the quartz-workings are carried on. In Central Otago the formation is one of the oldest in New Zealand, being a highly laminated quartz schist, which in many places contains gold. The country rock is so full of thin veins of quartz that the chance of finding many large lodes is very remote. At Nenthorn there are numbers of lodes running parallel to each other; in general they are comparatively small, but some of them contain sufficient gold to pay for working. These lodes, although small, cut across the strata in the form of true fissure-lodes ; but, as far as they have been tested, the lodes seem to cut out, or, at least, get very small at a comparatively shallow depth below the surface; and wherever large bodies of quartz occur in the lodes in the Nenthorn district it is generally of very low grade, as, for instance, at Deepdell. Otago is not a district where there is a likelihood of very large quartzmining operations being carried on; at the same time, some rich stone occurs in some places, as, for instance, at New Bendigo, above Cromwell, where a large quantity of gold was obtained, and handsome dividends paid, from the Cromwell Mine at that place, which is said to amount to over £400,000. This was obtained from above the 420 ft. level. For many years the working in this mine has been confined to stoping-out blocks of stone which were not considered rich enough to take out in the early days, and, according to the battery returns from this mine last year, there were 532 tons of stone crushed, which yielded 4990z. smelted gold, being a little over 19dwt. to the ton. About I,oooft. of the lode has been worked in places, but there are large bodies of ore still left, which, with a good plant and proper method of treatment, will pay to work. A new shaft has been sunk on the northern end of workings to a depth of 520 ft., but the lode at this depth was very small, and the ore was also of very low grade ; but, judging from the character of the country rock, it is likely that either the lode will make again or else cut out altogether, and, if the latter take place, another lode is likely to be discovered within 300 ft. from the bottom of the shaft. It is likely that a certain depth of barren ground will have to be gone through before another new lode is found; but, when such rich stone was found on the upper levels, another good shot of auriferous ore will be found at a greater depth: at least, this has been proved in many instances in Australia, and in two cases in New Zealand. The Cromwell Mine was purchased several years ago by a syndicate, which sunk the new shaft, and have expended a large amount of capital, but have got little or no remuneration. It is stated that recently the mine has been taken over by an English company, who intend to cajry on prospecting operations vigorously.

Name of Locality and Company. i Quartz crushed. Quantity of Amalgam. Quantity of Gold obtained. Merrijigs— Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake, for Al (No. 1 party) Sir Francis Drake, for Al (No. 2 party) Sir Francis Drake, for Merrijigs Company Sir Francis Drake, for Morris and party Golden Lead Tons. 1,045 67 16 152 371 42 Oz. 950 198 53 505 106 Oz. 315 485 85 25 168 39 Big Eiver—Big Eiver 1,693 1,117 3,736 11,284 4,026 Lyell District. United Alpine United Italy Crcesus tributers (probably Tyrconnel) 1,958 602 2,008 798 679 348 2,560 1,027 Grey District. Blackball—Minerva... Langdon's—Victory 125 634 251 125 251 Totara District. D. Yarworths and party Williams and party 142 Not given 193 70 70 142 140 Totals 31,986 17,794

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At Nenthorn and Macrae's a few men have been employed in the quartz-mines, but some of them have not made wages. During the last year 655 tons of stone was crushed from the Nenthorn mines, which yielded 380oz. of gold, being equal to over llfdwt. per ton, which ought to pay for working if the lodes were of a fair average thickness and a good plant within a convenient distance of the mines to treat the ore. The Bonanza Mine, between Nenthorn and Macrae's, is giving fair returns. During last year 655 tons of stone were crushed, which yielded 4640z. retorted gold, being equal to about 14dwt. per ton. At the Eough Eidge very little quartz-mining has been carried on, but on my last visit some gentlemen interested in the claims here stated that it was the intention of placing the whole of the quartz-mines in this locality on the London market with the view of getting capital to develop them. Bald Hill Bange. —There are numerous lodes and leaders of auriferous quartz already discovered on the range, and it can be truly said that many more yet remain to be brought to light. The whole face of this range from Gorge Creek to the Fraser Eiver contains auriferous quartzose drift full of specimens containing gold. Several rich patches of auriferous stone have been found on the eastern face of this range, as well as on the top —namely, White's, also Crossan and Gray's Beef, and also the reef worked in the early days in Conroy's Gully. Gold has also been found in a quartz lode near the head of Butcher's Gully, and on the top of the range near the head of Campbell's Gully. The character of the rock formation—a highly quartzose schist in alternate thin laminations of quartz and schist—is not, however, highly indicative of rich quartz lodes being found, the quartz being so intermixed through the rock, and gold occuring in the schist itself, leave the impression on my mind that large rich auriferous lodes will only in few cases be found, as the gold is too widely distributed. The quartz lodes found on the eastern side of the Old Man Range are greatly broken up, the lodes being crushed up to that extent by movement that they are the softest part of the rock, having the appearance of sugary decomposed quartz. Very few solid blocks of quartz are met with, and when the lbdes outcrop on the surface the quartz is crushed up so fine that a considerable quantity of the gold they contain can be obtained by sluicing in the ordinary manner. White's Beef. —The only claim on this lode is now held by E. Symes, who purchased it from White's company, but this claim has never been worked other than in a primitive manner. Mr. Symes was formerly manager of White's company, and on the liquidation of that company he purchased the property. A small crushing battery of rive heads of stamps, driven by a turbine waterwheel, is erected at the mine. Eecently additional machinery has been added, and this claim, in which four men are employed, is said to be giving fair returns for working. The mine being at an elevation of nearly 4,000 ft. above sea-level, all crushing operations have to be suspended during the winter months. Crossan and Gray's Beef. —This reef was discovered in a similar manner to White's—namely, by ground-sluicing the alluvial deposit and laying bare the surface of the schist rock. The claim is situated on a spur directly above Bald Hill Flat, at a slightly lower elevation than White's reef. It is about five years since this reef was discovered, and from then up to the present time the stone crushed has yielded about 2,0000z. gold, having an assay value of £4 per ounce. The average yield of gold so far from the stone crushed is said to be 2oz. 13dwt. per ton. The first method adopted to open out the mine was by sluicing the lode away and collecting the free gold in the sluice-box, the clean quartz being allowed to pass down the tail-race and run to waste. No attempt was made to collect or save the quartz, as at that time there was no crushing battery to reduce it. After carrying on operations by this method for some time the proprietors erected a three-stamp crushing-mill, when the returns at first were exceptionally good. Contrary to the general usage to keep the surface of the lode intact in order to prevent the surface-water from getting into the underground workings, the lode was trenched and working for a considerable time on and from the surface. Subsequently a low-level adit was constructed in order to develop the mine in a more systematic manner, but after constructing this adit for some distance into the hill the ground, which is of a loose and swelling nature, broke the timbering in the adit, causing it to be abandoned. After this took place Mr. Gray purchased his partner's interest and again resorted to the old method of working down from the surface, and last year succeeded in obtaining about 200oz. gold. With reference to this claim the correspondent of the Dunstan Times make the following remarks: — " Mr. Gray holds a mining lease of 36 acres, and the reef can be traced the entire length of the claim. The ore in the lower levels is remarkably free of arsenical pyrites, but iron and other pyrites present give a splendid assay of gold. A prospect was tried from the present face-workings, where the lode appeared to be much crushed, and upon panning off the rubble fully 4gr. of free gold was obtained. The gold had a shotty appearance, and was heavily coated with oxide of manganese. Mr. Gray informed me that he was not particularly proud of the system of working carried out at the mine up to the present, and indeed he could not see his way clear to resort to a better system with the present means at his disposal. From a personal observation of the country in the immediate vicinity of the present workings, the formation is, however, favourable to the existence of a large and permanent lode at a much deeper level than has yet been reached by Mr. Gray's rather crude method of prospecting. The very last thing a miner should do in opening a quartz claim is to interfere with or block the surface in any way, as doing this only diverts the sur-face-water into the mine, and weakens the natural firmness of the country on each side; and, besides all this, it necessitates the use of closer and stouter timbering in the lower level. Sooner or later, however, capital will be brought to bear in the furthering of a more systematic method of quartz-mining on the Old Man Bange, when, no doubt, Mr. Gray's property will turn out to be one of the best mines in the district. The payable quartz is there in sufficient quantity to warrant a large outlay of capital in developing it, and the pity it is that an attempt is not made to induce mining investors to test the richness and permanency of the many lodes known to exist on the Old Man Bange."

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Macetown.

There are numerous quartz lodes in this district, and a considerable quantity of gold has been obtained from them, especially within a comparatively shallow depth from the surface. The only quartz-working carried on in this locality last year was in the Tipperary and Premier Mines; but the reports from these are very discouraging. The low-level adit that was commenced about two years ago is completed, the length being 1,970 ft.; the lode was cut, but found not to be payable for working. At the place where it was cut there was a horse of mullock in the centre on the foot-wall side ; the stone gave an assay of about 2dwt. of gold per ton ; 120 tons of the ore from the lode was put through the crushing-battery, and only yielded about 2-|oz. gold. The direction of the lode is north-west and south-east, underlying south-west. After the low-level adit cut the lode it was driven on in both directions, but it cut completely out on the south-east end. At the time of my visit to the district an uprise was being constructed to the old workings. During the last three years all the gold that has been got out of this mine amounts only to 1360z. 18dwt. Glenrock Consolidated Company. —This company purchased the Premier Mine in August last year, and since then have been carrying on development works. An electric hauling plant has been erected, at a cost of £525, but, on sinking the incline-shaft and driving on the lode, it broke up into mere stringers, and practically cut out. The manager intended to follow on the line of the lode, but whether he has picked it up again no definite information has come to hand. The upper level has been extended for about 182 ft., but nothing of any consequence has been cut; indeed, at the time of my visit the manager seemed very doubtful in regard to the chance of finding payable stone. During the last year 602 tons of ore were crushed, which yielded 3980z. gold. With reference co the Sunrise Mine, which is also the property of the Glenrock Consolidated Company, it is the intention to again open up this mine, and convey the ore by an aerial tramway to the crushing-battery ; but before any work is undertaken it is reported that this portion of the property is to be floated in a separate venture. The Glenrock Company has a nominal capital of £225,000, with a working capital of £45,000, which ought to.be sufficient to develop both properties. The Victor Emmanuel Claim, referred to in my last report, did not turn out according to the expectations of the tributers. After they had carried on prospecting operations for a considerable time they failed to discover stone payable for working. Shotover. Gallant Tipperary Company. —This company has been carrying on quartz-mining operations for the last twelve years. The ground was first taken up by the Nugget Company, and worked for several years with very little returns. The present company have expended considerable capital on the mine, of which very little has been returned in dividends. All the stone considered payable has been stoped out above the adit-level, and the present shareholders have become so disheartened with the returns that they suspended operations last year, and have advertised the mine and plant for sale in order to pay off the company's liabilities. The claim comprises 47 acres, and along with the claim there are valuable water rights; but beyond this there is nothing of any great utility in carrying on future mining operations. The crushing-battery is one of the old obsolete type, and it would have paid the company to have it pulled to pieces years ago, as it is not capable of saving a large percentage of gold. The total quantity of stone crushed from this mine since 1885 has been 11,490 tons, which has yielded 4,3920z. lldwt. gold, representing a value of £17,847 los. ; and previous to the present company owning the property, gold to the value of about £30,000 was obtained. The difficulty the present company is in is that a new level would have to be constructed for about 2,000 ft. in length to work the lode at a lower level. The present adit-level is 1,300 ft. in length, and another could be constructed from the machine-site, which would give about 300 ft. of backs on the lode. Skippers. Phcenix Mine. —The average yield from this mine is about 17dwt. to 18dwt. per ton, the maximum crushing being abont 800 tons per month. The stamps are of a light kind, and the company is now crushing at the rate of about 1 ton per day per stamp; but considerable alterations in the machinery are in course of progress, and when these are completed the company anticipate much better results from the battery. Prior to the date of my visit, several samples had been tested, and yielded an average of about 6oz. of gold per ton. Mr. Wilson, of Cassel's Company, tested two samples, but the cyanide process failed to extract any gold from the ore until it had been burned, although ore from the same lode, when tested some years ago by the Ballarat School of Mines, yielded from 4oz. to soz. per ton. The yield from the mine during the last twelve months, from March 1895 to March 1896, was 2,2130z. retorted gold and 2,1050z. smelted gold. This was obtained from a crushing of 2,515 tons of quartz. The depth of the present hauling-shaft is 150 ft. The level goes down in a northerly direction for 60ft., where a winze is sunk on the main lode, from which the quartz and mullock is hauled from Nos. 3 and 4 levels, and the winze is still being continued downwards. On the No. 2 level are three defined lodes, known as the north, middle, and main lode. The north lode has an underlie of about 46 degrees, and the main lode an underlie of about 56 degrees, tending to show that at a great depth the north and main lodes will come together. The middle lode, which was worked on at No. 2 level, has not been found at No. 4 level, but is believed to have joined with the north lode. Sufficient work, however, has not yet been done to prove whether this assumption is correct. The main lode varies from 4ft. to 12ft. in thickness, and on the hanging-wall side there is about 2ft. of soft puggy material. Beyond this, again, there is what is termed a leader-lode, varying from 4ft. to sft. in thickness, and carrying very good stone below No. 4 level. This lode runs in an easterly and westerly direction, having an underlie to the north; but the main and north lodes are 16—C. 3."

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converging as they go in a westerly direction, and it will probably be found that in driving further west these two lodes will come together. The company at the present time is working a very rich shoot of ore on the north lode, which goes from 4ft. to 10ft. in thickness. There are three distinct shoots on this lode, having a depth of 75ft. and 90ft. and 70ft. respectively. The strike of this lode is in a westerly direction. The company is sinking a main incline-shaft upon one grade, carrying it down at an incline of 45 degrees. It is divided into three compartments, each 4ft. wide and 4ft. 2in. high. With reference to the winding apparatus in this shaft, it has not yet been decided whether cages or skips and rails will be used. The shaft is constructed from the No. 2 level down to a depth of 117 ft., and at No. 2 level a commencement has been made to construct it upwards to the surface. There is very little water in the mine. Four Tangye pumps are used for the purpose of draining it—one 3in., two 4in., and one 6in. An air-winch is employed to haul trucks from the incline-winze. A water-race is being coustructed from the right-hand branch of Skipper's Creek for the purpose of working the machinery for pumping and winding. When this is finished it will give the company 400 ft. of pressure. Leviathan Claim. —This claim is situate on the side of the range facing Sawyer's Creek, about two miles and a half from Skipper's Point. The lode is not particularly well defined, but nevertheless it contains a fair percentage of gold. The lode has been cut in different places on or near the surface, but from its appearance and its formation it is doubtful if it will go down to a great depth. There are numerous leaders and veins of quartz carrying gold on both sides of the range facing Sawyer's Creek. The present workings in the Leviathan Claim will soon prove whether the lode will widen out and get more defined as it goes down, or whether the quartz will cut out. A company has been formed to work this property, and on the side of Sawyer's Creek they have erected a small crushing-battery, driven by a Pelton water-wheel. Attached to this battery is a very large berdan of quite an obsolete type. Judging from the method adopted there is reason to believe that a considerable percentage of the gold is lost. The millman, however, stated that the stone was yielding nearly loz. of gold per ton. During last year this company crushed 278 tons, which only yielded 1650z. of gold, which would give an average of nearly 11-9dwt. per ton. Since my visit to this district, it is stated that negotiations are being made to get an English company to take the property over. South-west Otago. Wilson River Goldfield. During the present season Mr. McKay, Mining Geologist, was sent to report on the geology of the Wilson Eiver and Preservation Inlet Goldfields. He describes the gold-bearmg rocks as consisting of cherty quartzites, sandstones, and highly carbonaceous slates, passing into dark-blue slates. These rocks are of Lower Silurian age, and correspond in this respect, as they do in their lithological characters, with the gold-bearing rocks of the Aorere Valley in the Collingwood district of Nelson. As in Nelson, they rest upon granite, and are followed by Cretaceo-tertiary rocks or strata of the coal-bearing series. The granite reaches the coast-line towards the east at the mouth of the Kiwi Stream, and thence continues along the coast to Price's Beach, four miles beyond Big Eiver, beyond or east of which coal-bearing strata constitute the coast-line and the lower hills to the northward, but granite and gneissic rocks form the higher mountain-ranges farther inland. Where in near contact with the granite the Silurian rocks are altered to highly siliceous or less siliceous mica schists, and towards the east are crowded with veins of intrusive granite. West of Preservation Inlet, at Cuttle Cove, and on the southern slopes of Treble Mountain, and, indeed, throughout the western end of the Silurian area, the rocks are highly altered for some distance south of the line of contact with the granite, and to some extent throughout. Three distinct lines of reef-bearing rocks are traceable within the bounds of this Lower Silurian formation: (1.) That of the Golden Site in the middle of the Wilson Eiver Gorge, and thence extending south to the coast-line near the mouth of the Kiwi Stream. (2.) That beginning at Cuttle Cove and extending through Steep-to Island (wrongly 'called by the miners " Crayfish Island") to the Long Beach and Morning Star line of reef. This line extends south across the upper part of Sealers' Creek to the Wilson Eiver, two miles below the Golden Site Claim, and has been cut in the road which from Otago's Eetreat and Puysegur Point has been made to the Wilson Eiver, and surveyed for some distance farther to the eastward. (3.) The line of reef-bearing country begins between Cuttle Cove and South Port, and forms a very considerable display of reefs and leaders of quartz on Cavern Head, and thence extends through Coal Island to Observation Point on the mainland opposite. Beyond Sealers' Creek this line is lost on the disappearance of the Silurian rocks below the coal-bearing rocks of the coast-line. Quartz lodes are rare in the granite formation to the eastward of the Silurian rocks. One lode is, however, being prospected in Isthmus Sound, within four miles of Cuttle Cove. The ore is in this a strange mixture of iron, copper, lead, and zinc, carrying both gold and silver. The copper is nearly pure sulphide, and in some parts of the lode is the more abundant mineral. At other places iron as an arsenide (mispickel) abounds to the almost exclusion of the other minerals, and in like manner lead as galena, and zinc as zinc-blende, abounds to the exclusion of the other metallic minerals. When comparatively pure or dressed to a high percentage the galena yields lOOoz. to 120oz. of silver to the ton, and as much as 7dwt. of gold. The mica schists that towards the head of Long Sound are there largely developed, and extends through the mountains to the Lakes Cadman and the head of Edwardson Sound, contain irregular lodes of quartz and quartz rock, that containing large sheets of black mica have originated probably more in the manner of the granite veins within the Silurian rocks than as true quartz reefs.

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Golden Site Mine. —There is little to note as to progress made in the development of this mine. During January last the water in the lower levels on the north side of the Wilson Eiver was being kept down with a view to further workings under the bed of the river, and at the next higher level an adit-level was being driven along the course of a lode of moderate thickness, but in which little or no gold could be detected. Subsequently, the number of hands was reduced to two and the manager, and finally the mine was closed down and the property placed in charge of a caretaker, pending the raising of further capital wherewith to develop the original or other lodes on the property. This lode as first seen on the south side of the river was proverbially rich in gold, and showed a good body of stone held within well-defined walls. Its dip was to the eastward at moderately high angles, so that at first there was every promise of a continuous and rich lode within the property. Followed to the south the stone suddenly terminated; and, while this work was in progress, a slip of the spur on the south bank of the river rendered the workings unsafe. A drive was next put into the spur, commencing at a point some two chains and a half further down the river. This was driven to the point at which the reef was expected to be cut, but no stone was found. On the north bank of the river from the shaft sunk last year, workings were under the river, but so near the surface that the river broke into the workings and flooded this part of the mine—however, not before the lode had been followed some distance to the north, in which direction it broke up into a number of distinct leaders, which showed evidence of thinning out, and were comparatively poor in gold. It is not certain, nor probable, that the small reef cut in the upper level on the north side of the river is the same as that which on the south side of the river yielded so richly when first found. The country to the east of the lode— i.e., on the foot-wall side—consists of brecciated sandstone with small leaders of quartz in the joints of the brecciated mass, indicating the existence of crush, and numerous small fissures prior to the infiltration of the quartz in the main lode itself. Should the company fail to pick up the northern continuation of the lode as a massive and rich body of stone, the explanation must be that in this direction the reef-forming material has been expended amongst the many small fissures and joints of the rocks in that direction. Morning Star Mine. —The working of this mine is still being prosecuted with vigour. Since last year the battery-power has been doubled, this now being ten head of stamps and four berdans. In the mine, however, stoping is being carried on in the northern part of the mine, in which, owing to the rapid declivity of the hill-slope and the direction of the lode, no great quantity of stone can exist above the second level. It becomes thus of paramount importance that the exploration of the mine should be continued to the south, in which direction there is evidence of a continuous lode and the making of a second and distinct shot of gold. The last stone taken from the second level south yielded 6dwt. to the ton, which was an improvement on what had been met with previously and farther to the north. It is thus apparent that a second shot of gold may be expected in the southern workings, and in this direction the mine should be explored before the exploitation of the whole of the payable stone in the northern stopes. From what can be determined there is every probability of this being in a southerly direction a continuous and easily-followed reef; and the only question seems to be the frequency, extent, and payable character of the different shots of gold in the stone. Sealers' Greek, Longley's Claim. —There are at least two outcrops of quartz within the area of the alluvial workings on this claim. The principal body of quartz strikes N. 10° W.; and, standing at very high angles, can be traced continuously a distance of 2 chains, and with less certainty some distance further in both directions. On the 12th April last a drive was being driven to intersect the main lode at the levels of the Creek opposite where the outcrop appears highest above it. This will effect little good, as it cannot cut the reef more than 12ft. or 15ft. below the surface. The eastern line of reef on this claim is associated with green sandstone and red flinty rock often heavily coated with carbon as graphite. Little gold has been found in this stone where it occurs in situ; but the stripping done to work the alluvial in the lower part of the spur laid bare many pieces of this peculiar quartz which were rich in gold. Sealers' Creek certainly contains reefs that at the surface show good gold, but the lodes have yet to be opened out to show that such patches of rich stone will be continuous far enough to make the working of them remunerative. It is intended to put machinery on this line of reef in Sealers' Creek, so as to give the ground a fair trial. Preservation Inlet Goldfield. Crayfish Island (Steep-to Island). —Crayfish Island is, though in error, the name usually applied to this island. Near the northern end of the island, and on its western shore, a rich patch of alluvial gold was found. The gold for the most part occurred mixed with quartz as specimens, and along a mullocky band many pieces of quartz rich in gold were found. Gold-bearing stone truly in situ was also found. This led to a good deal of prospecting for a rich reef supposed to exist somewhere on this part of the island and towards both ends of the island. Considerable time and sums of money have been spent on what has turned out a vain endeavour. Cuttle Cove. —The large reef seen in a cave on the shore of the first small bay on going from Cuttle Cove to Cavern Head, shows, indeed, a considerable body of quartz, but this falls far short of the 12ft. currently reported. Gold occurs, but admittedly in small quantities. The reef is held within walls of graphitic mica schist. Prospecting must be done here before any opinion can be expressed regarding the value of the lode. Half a mile to the northward, and less than a quarter-mile from the landing in Cuttle Cove, a number of claims have been taken up for quartz-working, on some of which a considerable amount of prospecting has been done. Mr. McKay examined five or six outcrops of quartz, belonging to at least three different lodes. All of these appeared to be much too thin for profitable working, unless

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the stone should prove very rich in gold. The country also appeared to be much disturbed, changes of strike and dip taking place within very short distances. Samples taken from these smaller reefs yield, as gathered by report in the district, 2oz. to 3oz. gold to the ton. The samples brought by Mr. McKay yielded only traces of gold. Cavern Head and Coal Island. —There are many stringers and strong leaders of quartz showing on the face of Cavern Head, and, with some strong bodies of stone, the whole constitutes a stockwork of reefs and leaders of quartz. It is reported that Sir James Hector found here, in 1863, a very rich quartz reef, yielding gold at the rate of 370z. to the ton. Much search has been carried on with the purpose of finding the reef, but all as yet have failed to find even a payable lode. On the south side of the inlet the same line runs through Coal Island, and at the time of his death was being prospected by William Docherty ; but galena, not gold, was the ore sought for. Nothing has been done on this line at Observation Point. The following report on the quartz-workings in Otago is by Mr. Gow, the local Inspector of Mines :— B. T. Symes' Quartz-mine, Bald Hill. —Since my visit twelve months ago no great amount of work has been done. The tunnel then in hand has been driven a total distance of 180 ft. along the line of reef. On that level a few inches of stone was followed, but between the lower tunnel and the intermediate level nothing is known of the reefs. From the intermediate level to the surface, stone, in places, is still to be taken out, and this is the only place where stone is being got at the present time. The low-level tunnel is now being extended westward, in order to put up stopes to the reef overhead. Exhibition Quartz-mine, Bald Hill. —At this claim there is a small battery of three stampers of scwt. each, driven by a 9ft. wooden wheel on the " Pelton " pattern. The claim is being worked on the surface on a small scale by Mr. Symes (the owner) and another. A small shaft was shown me, said to have been sunk on the reef to a depth of 34ft., where the stone was 12in. thick, and turned over from a south to a north dip. At 30ft. down the stone was very much broken. Mr. Symes said it was his intention to sink a shaft to a greater depth to test the value of the stone. On the surface there is a large open cutting by the side of the line of reef, 13ft. of which cutting is classed as casing, and said to carry more gold per ton —I think I had better not mention the quantity stated—than many reefs are getting that are now being-worked at a profit. Excelsior Beef, Bald Hill. —l found only two men in this claim, and they were sinking a small shaft on the hill-side of the old workings. The shaft was down only a few feet. There was no other work in hand on the claim. Barewood Beefs. —Some time ago, active mining operations in this line of reef ceased for a time. A few weeks ago a fresh start was made by Mr. D. Reid's syndicate, by placing a new winding-engine on the ground, and sinking an incline-shaft on the lode to a depth of 110 ft. The timbering of the shaft was soon discovered to be very faulty, and eventually allowed to fill to the surface with water, after which it immediately caved in 'in places, and is now considered unsafe to go into to repair. For the time being it is abandoned. A considerable length of the lodes held — three claims of 30 acres each —by this syndicate runs parallel with the Taieri River, from which it is distant 2,180 ft. With a view of draining the lode at a low level and working the mine economically for many years to come, a survey has been made of the locality, and levels taken from the Taieri to the line of lode. The distance to drive a tunnel, as I have already stated, is 2,180 ft., which, with a good, useful gradient all its length, would give 580 ft. of lode to the surface. This means a large quantity of stone in, say, 90 acres. It is proposed to place the battery plant at the tunnel-mouth, where there is an everlasting motive-power flowing all the year round, requiring only a small outlay to make it serviceable. Byley and Company, Barewood. —This mine was being worked by Hawking and Porter as tributers about two or three years ago. In my report in 1893 I stated that the drainage in the mine was very heavy, and that better pumping appliances would have to be procured if the mine was to be kept open. Mining operations did stop shortly after that visit, and I think the unsatisfactory drainage plant had a good deal to do with it. Quite lately, however, after carefully considering the question of drainage, and a more economical method of working the mine on a larger scale, the company engaged Mr. L. O. Beal, C.E., to make a survey and take levels from the Taieri River to the reef at the shaft, in order to ascertain the distance to drive a tunnel from a convenient spot as a battery-site above the highest flood-mark, and, allowing a reasonable inclination to the reef, what depth of backs could be obtained. A survey was made and levels taken, and the plan and section were shown to me, from which I get the following particulars: Starting from the Taieri River, 50ft. above it, and allowing a grade of 1 in 80. the length of tunnel would be 2,680 ft. to the reef, where the vertical depth from the surface would be 383 ft., and giving 594 ft. of lode or backs from the bottom of the present shaft, which is 176 ft. deep, or a total backs of 770 ft. The average width of lode is said to be sft. The estimated cost of this tunnel is £1 Bs. per foot. It is supposed the tunnel will cut through several reefs known to exist between the river and the reef now opened. Scotch Gully, Barewood. —This is the next claim on the north side of Ryley and Company on the same line of reef, where it is reported some really good stone has lately been discovered. Preparations are now being made to get out a few tons of stone to ascertain its value. P. A. Lyders Claim, Barewood. —On the east side of the Taieri River at the " Deep Stream " Junction. Mr. Lyders found a continuation of the Barewood Reefs about a mile or more back, and put in an adit to two of the lodes nearly a year ago. Finding what he considered payable stone,

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he at once erected a ten-stamp battery on the river, water from which is his motive-power. The stone, so far as tested, is poor, but the cost of crushing is very little. It has been reported quite lately that much better stone is now in sight, and that a survey of the locality has been made with a view of erecting an aerial tram to convey the stone direct from the reef, or adit-mouth, to the battery. This claim is fully four miles from the most northern claim on this line of reef, the outcrop of which is visible in many places in that distance. Accidents. Henry Palmer, while doing some work in Mr. E. M. Finlay's current-wheel dredge at Alexandra, got entangled with the machinery, and received such injuries that he died three days after the accident. No one was to blame. Edward Jones, while working in the Achilles Company's quartz-mine at Skipper's, got his leg broken in the chamber by the descending cage, while attempting to pass from one side of the shaft to the other while the cage was in motion. He alone was to blame. Preservation Inlet. Golden Site Mine, Wilson's River. —(2o/9/95): The gold-bearing stone in this lode was first discovered in the bed of the stream at the head of the alluvial workings in that river, and caused great excitement at the time. The stone was white and the gold coarse, which is not always a good indication of permanency. When found, it was reported to be exceedingly rich when exposed to view. Soon after the discovery I was shown a piece of the stone, in which there was not a speck, but a lump of gold. It is no wonder some men lost their heads during the excitement. Soon after mining started on the south bank of the stream, the lode was completely cut off, and at the time of my visit no stone could be found there. Below the bed of the stream the lode proved to be fairly good only a short distance down. The lode was followed down about 100 ft., where there is not sufficient gold to pay. The stone pinched out on the north side of the stream as far as the sinking went, Above the level of the river, on the north side, a tunnel was being driven at the time of my visit, but no gold was in sight. There was supposed to be a block of payable stone in the bed of the stream left overhead when the stoping was done, but it cannot now be conveniently got out in consequence of the river having broken into and rilled the workings with water, which cannot be pumped out. I presume the lump of stone would not pay the cost of getting it out. Up to date the mine has been a great disappointment to the shareholders and others. Prom the first there was only a very short block of payable stone, which did not extend downward. Just now there is no reef and no stone, consequently the battery is idle, and has been so for some time. The manager intends to do a considerable amount of prospecting by tunnels and cross-cuts in same; in fact, to leave nothing undone, at a reasonable outlay, to test the claim. Ido not like the look of the country. All the reef claims at Wilson's Eiver appear to be abandoned. Morning Star Mine.— (2l/9/95): This claim is situated on the south side of the bay at a place called " Long Beach," which is only a short distance east from the lighthouse. The outcrop of the reef is several hundred feet above sea-level, and only a few hundred yards back from the shore. The hill rises very quickly to an estimated height of I,oooft. The dip of the reef is to the west, and its width is from a few inches to 3ft. and 4ft. It improves in width going north, in which direction the manager thinks it will improve in value. There are two tunnels driven to the reef from the face of the cliff at different levels : No. 1 intersects the reef at 40ft., and No. 2 at 131 ft. from hill-face, and 90ft. vertically from the top tunnel. In both levels stone is being got and sent to the battery. The stone from the top-level tunnel is cast down a shoot on the surface to the No. 2 level, where it is again filled into a truck and trammed a short distance and dumped into a hopper, from which it is run into trucks and lowered by a drum and brake on a double line of tram to the battery. In order to insure a good current of fresh air in the mine, an uprise from the lower to the higher workings is now being driven and is up fully 60ft. In a very short time the balance, 30ft., will be completed. In this way the mine will be ventilated as the work proceeds. It is proposed to start, at an early date, No. 3 tunnel at about the level of the battery, which is roughly estimated at 120 vertical feet below No. 2 tunnel. The estimated length of No. 3 is approximately 400 ft. A second reef on the west side of the one now being worked was passed through when driving No. 2, and is likely to be found in No. 3 tunnel. I found the workings and tunnels carefully timbered, and the mine in good order. The battery has five stampers only, and is being driven by a portable engine. The cost of crushing under the circumstances is too heavy for a poor reef. Cuttle Cove Beefs. —(23/9/95): These reefs—these two or three small reefs on the surface are situated on the north side of the bay only a short distance from the Cuttle Cove Beach, and probably 200 ft. above the sea - level. A small reef is to be seen on the face of a cliff, on the west side of a small gully, in which a little alluvial gold was found, which led to the discovery of the reef. The stone dips to the west, and, in order to test its value at a lower level, a tunnel has lately been driven from the gully some distance, when the work was suddenly stopped before reaching the required distance to cut the reef-line—it is said, for want of funds. I was in the tunnel and examined the rock, which Ido not think " likely-looking." I saw other two small reefs uncovered and apparently running parallel with the one in the cliff, and one or both of these were said to carry gold. I did not see any gold in the stone at the reefs, but was shown two or three pieces carrying gold when at Mr. Bishop's hut. I understand that about two tons of stone from the reefs were put on board the " Hinemoa " steamer to be delivered eventually at the Thames School of Mines, from where its real value will be made known at an early date. Till this test is made known there is no likelihood of any more work being done at the claim.

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The following is a statement from the several quartz-mines and battery-owners in the Southern districts: —

Name. Stone. Amalgam. Retorted Gold. Melted Gold. Value. Tons. 602 Oz. 1,157 Oz. dwt. 401 0 Oz. 398 £ s. d. Henrock Consolidated Gold-mining Company ichilles Goldfields, Limited fc. T. Symes ... bonanza Mine, Phelan Brothers ... !romwell Gold-mining Company, Cromwell I. A. Weeks, Nenthorn ... lichard Sheppard, Hindon P. W. Gray, Bald Hill Flat V. and G. Donaldson, Macrae's ... iallant Tipperary, Arrowtown iolden Site, Preservation Inlet ... lenry Symes, Bald Hill Flat jawrenceBrothers, Bannockburn... 2,205 110 655 532 655 118 46 2,785 500 914 39 402 3,049 172 1,412 "47 1,450 0 83 0 464 0 541 0 380 0 19 0 87 0 400 0 1,379 499 1,600 1054 489 106 812 244 0 33 0 203 0 406 5 5 lorning Star, Preservation Inlet... 767 792 497 0 495 1 (Eefined.) (514 5 6 \ A. Lyders . P. Smith, Barewood Mine* l. Hamilton, Barewood Mine ikipper's Leviathain, Mrs. Silk ... Jushy Creek, Macetown... 418 183 Not stated 1 278 470 540 103 0 51 0 261 13 165 0 180 0 98 1,007 5 5 Totals 11,679 10,281$ 5,562 13 2,869 * This is the return for 1894, which came to hand 12th Se; itembi ir, 1894, too late to send in with others sent.

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Statement of Affairs of Mining Companies, as published in accordance with the Mining Companies Acts, 1891 and 1894.

Name of Company. Date of Kegistration. pa*dup no Cash paid. allotted, per Share. feited present . employed Quantity and Value of Gold produced since Kegistration. Total Expendi- Total ture since Amount of Registration. Dividends paid. Quantity. Value. AUl KLAND DISTRICT. £ 6,750 10,500 5,000 15,000 3,725 8,000 10,250 8,100 9,750 12,000 15,000 12,500 12,405 12,000 14,375 12,000 12,000 9,000 9,750 11,000 13,000 15,000 18,000 10,000 100,000 7,500 7,000 9,000 20,000 7,500 10,000 11,250 15,000 5,425 7,500 6,000 29,831 30,000 20,000 7,000 10,000 9,750 7,000 7,500 £ £ £ a. d. | £ s. a. oz. dwt. gr. £ s. d. £ s. d. 660 13 3 225 2 4 537 16 0 2,959 2 10 1,787 3 2 25 9 0 338 16 0 196 15 5 229 12 9 350 6 5 193 12 9 302 19 5 397 19 3 884 4 9 453 12 10 413 6 1 401 7 2 335 17 7 342 13 6 362 13 9 517 19 4 6,080 18 5 775 12 4 7,106 17 4 323 14 5 1,209 17 2 366 0 8 333 9 1 4,386 5 1 172 5 0 441 17 9 551 9 6 315 4 10 290 18 1 1,607 2 6 892 0 5 34,482 1 2 5,042 2 11 621 4 8 485 9 1 301 5 11 474 7 9 278 3 1 685 6 0 £ s. d. Moanataiari North Glady's Puriri Waitaia Tapu Fluke Golden Spark Teutonic Al Progress Castle Rock Karangahake Kuranui Royal Waitekauri No. 2 Hauraki South Big Ben Mount Waihi Sir Julius Golden Fleece New-Zealander Waitekauri South South British Monowai Amalgamated .. Waihi South Orlando Hauraki North Golden Hill Hauraki Extended Midas Talisman Maritana Heitman Freehold Portsea Waihi Monument Four-in-Hand Sheridan Waverley New Alburnia Grace Darling Queen of W 7 aihi Zealandia King of Waihi Golden Spur Magazine New Golconda 3 Oct., 24 Oct., 27 June, 6 June, 4 Aug., 16 Dec, 26 Sept., 11 Oct., 19 Sept., 24 Oct., 12 Sept., 21 Mar., 11 Sept., 27 June, 10 July, 26 Sept., 21 Nov., 11 Sept., 19 Sept., 4 Sept., 31 July, 24 Oct., 13 June, 2 April, 31 July, 18 May, 12 July, 4 Sept., 5 Nov., 29 Oct., 7 Nov., 14 Mar., 10 Oct., 4 Sept.. 19 Mar., 13 Dec, 29 Aug., 30 Jan., 3 Sept., 12 July, 14 Nov., 16 Oct., 16 Oct., 2 Aug., 1895 1895 1895 1890 1894 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1894 1895 1890 1895 1895 1895 1895 1894 1895 1895 1894 1895 1895 1895 1894 1895 1894 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 208 1,311 1,645 250 312 4,655 843 5,253 1,165 1,554 750 600 2,334 750 1,712 589 1,500 505 417 2J00O 6 1000 45,000 70,000 50,000 60,000 37,250 80,000 68,000 54,000 65,000 60,000 60,000 50,000 82,700 60,000 57,500 60,000 60,000 60,000 65,000 55,000 65,000 60,000 120,000 40,000 100,000 50,000 70,000 60,000 80,000 60,000 80,000 45,000 60,000 54,250 50,000 60,000 59,663 60,000 80,000 70,000 80,000 65,000 70,000 75,000 o ill 0 1 1J 0 2 5 10 0 0 0 7i 0 0 5} 0 0 4| 0 11 0 0 6 0 0 10J 0 0 2J 0 10 0 0 1 0 0 4f 0 2 3 0 6 6 0 10 0 0 5} 0 0 11 0 0 3i? 0 0 3i From 44 12 6 58 12 6 595-1 9 136 15 3 278 6 5 833 6 8 169 15 2 13 ]970 50 93 93 142 140 94 68 54 58 93 88 22 92 317 149 130 61 36 127 91 127 178 164 201 93 36 143 170 125 229 59 89 110 80 93 144 182 142 233 249 191 60 72 58 223 6 5 6 5 3 3 5 3 6 9 4 5 4 4 5 5 8 5 25 10 7 17 6 3 7 6 2 16 3 5 3 2 5 20 6 11 3 4 5 5 10 68919 0 2,Ol6' 1 4 164 2 5 754' 12 9 ) * ' 12,230 814 5 20 2,049' 4 10 50 ]000 750 600 5,146 750 1,712 4,500 1,500 505 1,70217 3 2,390 12 0 4616 9 4^603 300' 16 0 912' 16 4 113'io 10 "50 15,155 10,748' 6 0 70 16 0 27,693'l8 0 73 15 1 7,949' 9 0 5,103 4,853 2,000 750 1,200 1,500 564 1,046 15 j000 2,000 1,200 1,500 564 403 "4 9 298' 4 1

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Statement of Affairs of Mining Companies, as published in accordance with the Mining Companies Acts, 1891 and 1894— continued.

Name of Company. Date of Registration. Subscribed 3ll /™"sh25- *£*£ ±5°™' Arrears of Calls Ca P ital - actSally bo *?&* $t allo " ed Number Number vr„ m K„. of of Share- Number Shares holders at „ °L Me ° forfeited, present. employed Quantity and Value of Gold produced since Registration. Total Expenditure since Total Amount of Dividends paid. Quantity Value. AUCKL. lND DIS1 'RICT— contim '.d. Waihi Extended Golden Lead Stanley Excelsior Waitekauri No. 4 Auckland Prospecting Association Puru Consolidated Ward Proprietary Rising Sun Kapai-Vermont Kaiser Golden Link St. Patrick Bell Rock Moanataiari Extended Flower of Waihi Occidental Victoria Phcenix May Queen Extended Pigmy Zion Scandinavian Owharoa Welcome Find.. Woodstock Waihi-Silverton Extended Golden Point Carnage Harbour View Golden Hill Extended North Britannia Invicta New Tokatea Matawai Jessica Pukewhau Napier Great United Empress Cambria Comstock 12 Aug., 12 July, 12 July, 29 Aug., 12 June, 12 Dec, 12 Nov., 1 Oct., 16 Oct., 9 Oct., 28 Sept., 28 Oct., 28 Sept., 14 Dec, 28 Sept., 28 Oct., 3 April, 2 Sept., 18 Sept., 3 Sept., 21 Nov., 10 Dec, 21 Nov., 20 Nov., 18 April, 30 July, — Feb., 4 Sept., 13 Sept., 27 June, 11 July, 4 Sept., 4 Sept., 11 July, 22 Aug., 12 Sept., 16 Oct., 20 Sept., 7 Nov., 10 Oct., 30 Oct., 4 Jan., 30 Jan., 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1893 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1890 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1894 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1884 1895 £ 149,967 7,000 8,328 7,294 10,000 2,000 17,400 8,000 9,000 21,667 15,000 7,500 8,000 15,000 7,500 12,375 4,027 23,437 9,000 15,000 10,500 9,750 10,500 37,500 17,500 25,000 25,000 100,000 9,000 8,000 8,000 7,000 8,000 7,500 8,000 6,000 9,000 6,000 12,000 6,500 3,187 44,700 15,000 £ 2,375 750 722 682 625 200 1,300 925 500 3,767 1,500 750 1,000 1,500 700 1,050 987 11,766 750 1,000 1,050 1,500 1,600 £ *750 '682 625 149,967 70,000 83,285 48,625 50,000 200 58,000 80,000 60,000 100,000 100,000 60,000 80,000 60,000 60,000 82,500 57,300 117,183 60,000 100,000 70,000 65,000 70,000 75,000 70,000 £ s. d. 0 0 of 0 0 2 0 0 6| 0 0 6 10 0 0 2 0 0 0 6 0 0 4f 0 4 4 1/6 & -/6 £ s. d. 712 1 308 161 237 68 229 58 62 61 24 552 102 130 115 92 116 81 103 260 155 111 133 70 90 233 266 6 2 4 3 4 9 3 4 50 9 4 7 4 6 oz. dwt. gr. I £ s. d £ s. d. 720 10 11 444 18 10 439 8 7 202 0 0 588 12 3 157 9 9 644 19 1 374 1 3 363 8 6 13,626 17 2 419 13 8 37 10 0 162 0 9 156 1 3 417 6 8 £ s. d. 4,500 1,000 700 17,900 3,000 1,050 1,000 1,500 1,875 1,200 75 "o 0 8^457 - 5,16114 4 14,61915 1 2,106 0 0 0 10 1/6&-/6 - .. - •• 750 1,000 1,050 1,750 1,200 938 1,000 0 0 4 0 2 7 0 0 6 0 0 6 0 10 0 0 9f 0 0 9 0 13 10 0 10 0 137 14 2 178 3 0 33^050 12 19 3 3 5 6 7 11 16 95 50 15 5 8 7 5 8 9 8 2 131 ' 0 0 2,176 18 8 1,030 4 4 11,347 14 11 307 15 7 210 0 2 345 11 0 372 12 0 1,180 10 0 2,818 5 7 2,905 8 6 3,274 5 6 12,331 14 6 1,409 11 4 424 13 10 641 18 4 888 17 1 460 3 3 1,022 18 0 1,607 10 8 646 4 4 307 0 8 38 18 9 453 1 3 318 0 5 308 16 6 124 7 0 95,087 11 9 577 15 5 3,238 347 "l 11 137 3 3 ll' 6 0 23 8 9 25,000 5,000 900 60,000 100,000 60,000 80,000 80,000 70,000 80,000 75,000 80,000 60,000 90,000 60,000 80,000 65,000 63,750 44,700 100,000 3,2li' 5 11 4 j 500 117 55 265 204 79 86 244 240 49 150 225 61 89 80 250 247 132' 1 0 268 10 0 - 7 7 5 2 18 5 l|750 633 11 I175 0 60 0 0 2 719 6 57,046' 8 0 158, 409 11 6 80,475' 0 o I ..

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115

Cardigan Lone Hand Talisman Extended May Queen Broken Hill Rob Roy New Whau Wealth of Nations Mariner Clunes Waihi Consols Try Fluke Jupiter Balfour Victor Albumia East Imperial Hauraki No. 2 .. British Empire Inglewood Alpha Adelaide Central Coromandel Freehold Proprietary Golden Lion Ivanhoe Bunker's Hill Alert Buffalo Southern Cross Golden Anchor Nil Desperandum Star of Waihi Aorere Asteroid Wynyardton Invicta North Waitekauri Queen Young New Zealand Maori Dream Huanui Freedom Chelt .. Princess May Oceania Great Kapanga Union- Waihi Waitekauri Waihi New Moanataiari Waiotahi Hazelbank 12 Oct., 22 Mar., 29 July, 4 Mar., 16 Jan., 26 Sept., 30 Mar., 13 Mar., 2 Aug., 29 Nov., 18 Oct., 3 Dec, 12 Oct., 11 Dec, 9 Feb., 17 Sept., 22 Feb., 10 July, 12 Oct., 26 Oct., 30 Mar., 1 Nov., 11 Dec, 11 Nov., 11 Dec, 30 Mar., 21 June, 12 Dec, 2 Aug., 11 July, 14 Aug., 20 Sept., 16 Oct., 22 Aug., 26 Sept., 14 Nov., 4 Sept., 27 Sept., 31 Oct., 21 Aug., 21 Aug., 26 Oct., 17 Sept., 21 Dec, 3 Oct., 26 Oct., 18 Sept., 6 May, 7 Dec, 16 Nov., 1 Aug., 1 Oct., 1895 1889 1895 1889 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1889 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1887 1888 1871 1890 1U,DUU 15,850 17,700 39,500 7,500 9,000 15,000 12,000 9,000 7,500 15,000 15,250 10,000 10,500 8,000 8,250 10,000 12,000 9,000 13,000 5,250 14,174 14,000 18,750 8,250 5,000 15,000 5,525 10,000 6,000 6,000 8,000 6,000 6,000 8,000 9,000 6,500 7,500 9,750 9,000 7,500 12,000 6,250 13,500 7,500 9,600 140,000 136,000 160,000 24,955 18,000 10,500 1,450 443 8,558 417 1,102 875 600 500 4,500 1,250 600 1,320 1,042 500 1,333 1,000 1,200 1,050 673 901 1,050 10,000 600 800 750 381 500 417 275 208 1,000 100,000 31,700 118,000 79,000 50,000 53,500 100,000 60,000 60,000 50,000 150,000 61,000 40,000 70,000 80,000 55,000 100,000 80,000 60,000 65,000 35,000 56,693 70,000 150,000 55,000 50,000 60,000 55,250 80,000 60,000 60,000 80,000 80,000 60,000 80,000 60,000 65,000 50,000 65,000 60,000 50,000 80,000 50,000 90,000 60,000 64,000 140,000 136,000 160,000 49,910 6,000 42,000 10 0 10 0 0 18 0 0 2 0 0 4 0 06 0 02 0 03 •• 0 0 2 •• 0 0 2 0 2 3 0 0 6 4815 0 231 15 4 1815 1 96 17 2 155 67 311 323 200 52 174 208 141 57 323 203 80 50 143 100 272 205 70 65 142 42 76 143 66 146 317 60 65 139 264 174 59 180 48 89 112 70 115 156 195 65 74 46 168 75 335 40 158 12 'a 110 3 3 10 5 5 5 3 43 6 3 4 7 5 6 5 3 21 7 5 2 22 5 4 3 "4 2 5 7 7 2 6 6 7 6 2 6 5 4 20 80 270 53 28 12 2,267' 5 0 12,038 17 0 39 16 0 3 2 0 22,218 0 0 28 0 19 1 0 35 14 12 2' 9 0 82 11 0 4 11 0 20,175' 2 0 54,359 14 0 7,936 16 0 6,227 4 10 j 36,19710 7 106 6 9 8 7 9 55,066 3 7 •• 2 0 4 10 3 9 109 17 2 1 12 6 247 6 9 774 17 6 8,192 17 0 485 5 5 51,604 1 11 540 0 7 376 8 7 1,176 16 9 637 14 7 530 12 1 304 7 1 3,748 1 6 41,356 8 4 237 18 10 503 12 0 1,140 6 6 418 13 11 1,378 4 3 625 14 7 458 9 11 499 2 10 683 11 2 770 8 0 272 13 3 9,687 14 6 86 10 3 785 2 2 1,711 14 5 125 17 5 609 8 3 1,291 8 3 624 15 9 780 5 6 162 0 11 64 8 0 92 10 0 318 14 9 300 1 4 129 15 10 1,391 14 8 607 12 4 524 11 0 659 11 9 247 13 2 332 19 8 669 15 6 673 2 10 453 0 0 16,075 0 0 342,000 0 0 68,343 4 6 124,240 16 5 23,006 12 5 11,256' 0 •• •• 12 2 9 2J100 " i 18 16 0 20,000 100,000 104,667 9,905 15,000 4,491 100,000 36,000 53,333 2,670 £1 & 10/ 10 0 £1 & 16/ 0 10 0 2 10 0 0 3 3 233 18 9 11,216 0 0 354,979 0 0 54,970 4 1 152,878 7 1 21,554 8 4 116, 500' 0 2,'ioo 32,25o' 0 8,150 0

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116

Statement of Affairs of Mining Companies, as published in accordance with the Mining Companies Acts, 1891 and 1894— continued.

Name of Company. Date of Registration. Subscribed Capital. Amount of Capital actually paid up. Value of Scrip given to Shareholders on which no cash paid. Number of Shares allotted. Amount paid up Arrears of Calls, per Share. Number of Shares forfeited. Number of Shareholders at present. Number Quantity and Value of Gold proof Men duced since Registration. Employed. .- — Quantity. Value. Total Expend!- Total ture since Amount ot Registration. Dividends paid. Value. Day Dawn Pride of Tokatea Rangatira Kuaotunu Byron Bay North Star Hit or Miss 6 Sept., 8 Oct., 5 Nov., — June, 21 Oct., 21 Feb., 13 June, 1895 1895 1895 1895 1895 1891 1895 £ £ 12,000 6,000 j .. 7,525 390 6,000 17,500 9,000 1,458 10,000 i 133 85,779 j 13,172 £ 700 60,000 80,000 53,500 60,000 60,000 45,000 40,000 £ s. d. ■• 0 6' 4| £ a. d. 118 127 49 116 125 3 7 4 4 8 Oz. dwt. gr. .. £ s. d. £ s. d. 520 6 6 376 4 0 307 3 8 319 16 10 628 17 10 £ s. d. 1,950 0 i' 6 0 0 Of 3317 9 6 '.'. 104 15 7 123,577 0 0 16,468 10 0 7,490 4 2 8,448 0 5 New Zealand Crown Mines 15 Jan., 1875* 9,893 85,779 Various 422 90 j 5,579 0 Ot ( 8,879 0 0; 3,119 7 0 Great Mercury 23 July, 1894 3,750 1,835 30,000 1/6 & /6 0 10 5 41 46 Totals 2,473,601 430,835 367,918 126, 205 211,738 5 2 1939,857 9 1 978,424 19 8 253,674 9 0 6,276 7 4 87,565 19,479 1,494 •Reconstructed. tGold. Silv ir. n: .LSON DISTRICT (i including West Coast). 675 Golden Treasure Extended Big River Progress Julian.. Lord Edward Mont D'Or Al Welcome United Johnston's United Exchange Quartz Sir Charles Russell United Alpine Quartz .. Cock Sparrow Gold-dredging Matakitaki „ Moonlight Sluicing Globe Keep It Dark Quartz South No. 2 Nelson Creek Wealth of Nations Quartz Golden Lead New Low-level Tunnel .. Hercules Quartz Venture Addison's Gold-sluicing .. Shamrock Lead Minerva Buller Gold-dredging Southern Cross Kumara Long Tunnel .. Royal Parapara Hydraulic-sluicing 4 Dec, 11 April, 26 Nov., 17 June, 13 Nov., 25 July, 12 May, 4 Mar., 27 June, 23 May, 16 Oct., 31 Oct., 28 April, 7 July, 14 May, 8 Aug., 2 Mar., 13 June, 7 July, 21 Aug., 30 Oct., 7 Feb., 22 Nov., 30 April, 11 Sept., 29 Sept., 24 Feb., 14 Nov., 22 Mar., 10 May, 2 June, 18 June, 1888 1891 1886 1893 1883 1882 1891 1893 1881 1890 1890 1874 1895 1892 1894 1882 1874 1887 1892 1889 1890 1895 1889 1895 1894 1892 1890 1894 1889 1882 1888 1892 12,000 12,000 9,600 12,000 12,000 6,000 24,000 18,585 12,000 32,000 1,575 2,000 2,000 18,000 20,000 12,000 26,050 21,125 12,000 6,000 24,000 3,750 3,200 11,880 12,000 1,500 14,000 8,000 13,850 49,4C0 4,920 600 4,500 2,800 10,800 350 5,714 12,409 3,148 5,191 24,933 1,050 1,666 1,187 15,675 6,208 9,900 4,837 21,125 7,432 312 5,804 2^400 12 |000 1,668 16,000 8,925 24,000 0 5 6 24,000 0 0 6 24,000 0 5 9 24,000 24,000 0 12 4J 12,000 0 18 0 24,000 0 0 3* 48,000 0 2 8" 20,000 0 15 11 24,000 0 2 9 24,000 0 4 9 32,000 0 15 7 21,000 0 10 2,000 18/ & 15/ 2,000 0 17 6 36,000 0 8 8J 20,000 0 16 2| 24,000 0 8 3 26,050 10 0 32,500 0 13 0 24,000 0 6 3 16,450 0 0 5 24,000 0 4 11 •• 11 5 10 •• •• 172 4 8 133 2 9 431 15 6 13 5 0 52 10 0 168 15 0 4|741 2,150 1,805 8,209 6,100 600 500 20 71 52 24 50 23 12 136 16 54 40 115 31 42 25 118 76 62 12 106 40 22 79 20 25 166 2 33 49 3 23 4* 9 2 10 18 11 10 4 28 15 4 1,077 12 18 16,882 10 0 26,342 4 10 33 0 0 967 8 21 914 10 0 0 16 0 596 12 17 1,977 12 7 1,345 7 13 1,714 13 11 96 7 5 35,288 14 11 63,024 17 1 5,998 6 8 4,217 7 5 67,852 5 4 105,804 16 11 133 12 2 3,776 19 6 3,736 3 4 3 4 0 2,355 17 8 7,719 6 3 5,017 1 7 6,632 14 0 370 19 10 140,333 15 1 244,833 8 4 23,838 12 7 8,596 16 3 31,511 4 11 90,186 13 7 3,007 3 10 58,776 11 10 3,883 8 5 6,464 8 3 3,162 14 9 7,327 3 4 9,180 17 2 5,707 5 5 7,474 5 5 1,904 14 5 156,260 11 1 270,809 4 11 34,092 19 9 900 0 0 37,800 0 0 21,300 0 0 .21,600 0 0 150 0 0 1,916 0 9 74,266 13 4 525 0 0 450 40,950 0 0 109,916 13 4 8,600 0 0 10,000 100 21 |000 .. 53 15 0 7,568 185 67 10 0 74 11 8 96 5 9 650 1,550 32 4 1 9 10 4 19 4,563 10 0 2,123 5 2 2 17 5 3,271 13 16 456 0 0 18,315 15 8 8,638 9 4 11 6 0 13,080 2 4 21,238 3 5 15,644 2 4 398 14 0 14,546 12 9 1,282 14 11 687 10 10 12,510 13 3 1,625 0 0 3,606' 0 0 706 4,318 5,286 600 1,773 7,433 1,837 22,790 1 |6oo 5,350 1^400 3,200 11,880 16/& 8/ 24,000 0 5 3 12,000 0 10 14,000 0 2 0 16,000 0 9 3J 24,000 0 11 6J 298 200 0 0 283 15 0 4 0 0 614 4 10 11 10 10 ; 120 7,661 7,446 3,440 1,750 25 22 14 14 44 12 1,65416 12 1,31518 5 6,536 13 10 5,103 8 4 3,889 6 10 1,350 0 0 19,200 •• « 901' 18 6 191 1 6 3,60S' 7 10 628 15 0 .. 2,700' 4 0 26,012 4 10 4,450 0 0 231 15 5 270 0 0 19

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Lyell Creek Extended Quartz United Italy Inglewood Extended Quartz Ravenscliff Duffer's Creek 2 Aug., 26 Mar., 25 Aug., 23 June, 1 Sept., 1881 1882 1882 1890 1891 12,000 24,000 24,000 38,290 9,000 13,138 4,150 8,700 16,909 3,928 12,000 12,000 4,000 48,000 24,000 24,000 38,290 24,000 0 5 6 0 3 51 0 7 3 10 0 6/9 & 1/9 61 19 9 63 0 0 834 4,507 97 31 37 5 6 2 42 6 4 2,230 0 0 2,400 0 0 165 3 0 8,655 0 0 9,200 0 0 13,815 18 10 14,898 0 0 31,890 3 0 6,192 1 1 484 38 574 3 20 2,005 7 7 Totals 519,805 242,329 160,711 795,668 2,783 11 2 61,075 1,759 348 L75,988 3 6 692,574 12 11 1866,052 17 5 j 329,181 2 10 » Tributers. OTAGO DISTRICT. Upper Waipori Alluvial Gold-dredg. Jutland Flat (Waipori) Clyde Dredging Phcenix Water-race Sew Hoy Big Beach Edina Gold-dredging Dunedin Teviot Island Block Roxburgh Amalgamated Ourawera Golden Treasure Dredging Golden Gate Roxburgh Gold Steam-dredging .. Ettrick Gold dredging .. Golden Run Dredging Sandhills Otago Gold-dredging Enterprise „ Amalgamated Waipori Deep-lead Barewood Quartz Blue Spur and Gabriel's Gully Consolidated Longwood Sluicing McKenzie Beach-dredging Glenrock Consolidated Tipperary Break-of-Day Surprise Morning Star Triangle Extended Quartz Hesperides Golden Site Round Hill Hide and Find Achilles Goldfields New Eldorado Sluicing Gallant Tipperary Quartz Undaunted 3 Sept., 2 July, 17 May, 12 Oct., 9 Dec, 10 Julv, 1 Sept., 4 Feb., 28 Nov., 2 Mar., 23 May, 19 July, 13 Mar., 20 Aug., 29 Aug., 29 June, 2 Aug., 20 May, 24 Aug., 20 Dec, 18 Sept., 1 Feb., 1889 1890 1895 1867 1889 1893 1881 1895 1888 1889 1895 1893 1895 1891 1890 1891 1889 1895 1891 1889 1895 1888 £ 12,000 15,000 3,850 1,500 87,750 2,500 8,700 875 21,917 29,152 1,600 1,500 2,500 2,500 2,500 4,000 12,500 4,000 2,000 12,050 400 89,066 £ 5,950 4,000 2,210 1,500 8,775 1,900 7,540 865 21,917 12,737 1,579 1,384 2,500 2,000 1,920 4,631 7,142 2,000 2,000 5,824 400 30,000 £ 5,000 3,750 150 72,000 600 35,000 15,000 1^500 24,000 15,000 80 1,000 54,000 5,000 8,700 1,750 56,917 29,152 1,600 3,000 2,500 5,000 4,500 5,000 25,000 4,000 2,000 12,050 40 130,000 £ s. d. £ s. d. 0 8 6 8/ & 15/ 35 0 0 485 0 0 1 10 0 1 10 0 0 10 0 0 17 4 0 10 0 10 0 0 10 0 18/ & 20/ 10 0 20 10 0 10 0 10 0 0 16 0 0 15 6 17 2 6 10 0 166 5 0 0 8 0 80 0 0 10 0 10 0 10 0 76 9 0 10 0 0 117 15 6 10 0 225 825 124 l|085 200 88 19 41 22 169 9 70 12 150 53 14 22 28 48 34 41 70 33 13 115 20 7 10 10 * t 50 6 20 30 9 7 6 6 25 11 7 7 9 9 47 Oz. dwt. gr. 6,073 0 0 3,465 0 0 18,513 12 18 588 9 3 ! 14,511 0 0 8,885 14 14 25 14 12 1,611 5 0 117 1 2 2,598 5 4 2,145 6 9 3,269 12 19 2,664 2 3 177 13 7 1,163 19 1 2,300 16 23 52 1 0 18,712 0 0 £ s. d. 23,225 0 0 13,542 0 0 71,362 6 1 2,262 2 6 55,864 1 3 34,000 0 0 34,303 17 3 101 12 5 6,203 8 6 450 13 0 10,002 15 6 8,258 12 6 12,587 14 11 10,125 12 6 685 5 11 4,481 2 7 8,851 11 9 186 10 3 72,269 8 4 £ s. d. 19,930 0 0 10,395 0 0 457 11 0 55,295 13 4 3,337 0 7 40,953 1 2 1,011 14 11 28,000 0 0 37,535 0 10 1,855 2 5 6,570 1 10 3,309 9 2 8,360 16 7 10,145 15 1 12,734 7 6 11,370 3 5 1,485 17 3 6,148 10 0 8,928 0 2 509 17 4 53,945 13 2 £ s. d. 3,000 0 0 1,875 0 0 5,750' 0 0 16,138 2 6 14,835' 0 0 9,838' 19 7 1,078 10 0 2,500 2,000 2,000 4,000 2,000 3,375 0 0 4,893 15 0 6,150 2,400 60,000 300 0 0 1,995* 0 0 15 Oct., 21 May, 1 July, 10 Mar., 24 Mar., 14 Jan., 26 Jan., 31 July, 11 Oct., 21 Nov., 30 July, 3 Dec, 15 Mar., 17 April, — April, 1 Mar., 1888 1895 1895 1891 1894 1895 1895 1894 1893 1893 1892 1895 1893 1893 1883 1878 3,580 1,000 45,000 35,000 10,000 6,000 24,000 7,030 9,100 30,000 27,590 1,475 7,557 1,925 12,000 12,000 551,117 3,327 308 11,250 13,500 471 155 2,000 255 695 6,009 6,653 83 7,557 341 6,100 12,000 120 500 21,493 7,500 3,000 12,000 3,515 3,800 16,900 20,937 1,200 80,000 1,570 358 1,500 450,007 35,000 20,000 6,000 24,000 7,030 9,100 30,000 5,534 1,475 700,458 1,925 24,000 120 10 0 0 0 8 0 104 18 0 0 8 6 10 0 2,000 0 0 | 0 0 61 70 3 10 0 0 7| 31 18 3 I 4/ & 3/ 150 12 0 0 0 91 23 6 9 1/3 & 2/6 6 12 0 0 14 1 153 17 2 5 0 0 80 0 0 Various 191 19 7 0 2 6 10 0 12 0 0 0 5 1 1,597 4 7 100 0 0 I 1,128 300 27 2,000 57 27 96 10 39 111 178 11 4 35 6 •• 31 5 35 32 1 7 398 0 0 " •• 533 3 0 2 2 3 1 17 7 1,138 8 0 4,310 6 7 123 8 11 1,592 0 0 131 6 0 658 12 7 2,000 0 0 9,700 0 0 479 13 11 153 9 7 5,625 19 3 285 1 9 707 7 8 10,150 19 6 21,051 0 0 77 16 3 29,815 12 9 378 0 0 22,035 13 8 17,671 17 3 650 ! ,' 1,925 44 9 86 3,52919 1 13,54112 1 2 4,39211 12 17,847 15 0 l,5o6' 0 0 1,200 0 0 • Totals 1,706,796 5,395 5 2 4,537 5,612 480 101,213 2 5 199,471 386,585 101,213 2 5 [419,671 14 6 1425,318 2 8 65,779 7 1 Contractors, t The company's property is leased, and it therefore does not directly employ any other person than the manager and an inspector. { The company does not itself carry on mining for gold or silver, but merely supplies water for mining and other purposes. § No answer can be given to this for the reasons last above stated. ii The Company, not being directly engaged in gold-mining, is unable to give any reply to this question other than that the whole of the company's capital was expended in the purchase of the company's property.

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ALLUVIAL MINING. Notwithstanding that the bulk of the gold is obtained from alluvial mines, these are not somuch in demand by foreign investors as are quartz-mines. It is true that alluvial mines are not theoretically of so permanent a character; but in practice many alluvial-mining properties are better ventures in which to invest capital. The greater portion of the gold-yield from Otago, and at least three-fourths of the gold obtained on the West Coast has come out of alluvial workings. Taking the quantity of gold entered for exportation last year —namely, 302,6900z., representing a value of £1,196,081 —the value of the gold obtained from quartz would be about £558,539. This shows that nearly 47 per cent, of the gold obtained last year came out of quartz-mines ; but, if the total yield of the whole of the gold obtained from the colony be taken, the value of which is £51,652,504, of this, gold to the value of about £10,560,433, or 20 per cent., came out of quartzmines, and £41,092,071, or about 80 per cent., from alluvial mines. The question of whether alluvial mines <ian be made payable ventures depends greatly on the supply of water available to carry on operations either by hydraulic sluicing or elevating, and the fall or dump for tailings. If a sufficient supply of water can be brought on to the ground where operations are proposed to be carried on, with the necessary head or pressure to work the ground in a wholesale manner, a very small percentage of gold in the drift can be made to pay workingexpenses. In some instances lgr. of gold to the cubic yard of material, and even less, is sufficient to do this; but even if there is not sufficient fall of the water from a high elevation, hydraulic elevating can be resorted to at very little extra expense, or, say, 1-Jgr. of gold per cubic yard would not only pay the working-expenses, but would leave a margin of prolit—that is, if there were not a considerable quantity of large stones in the alluvial drift. In forming companies to work either alluvial or quartz-mines, it is at the same time necessary to provide ample working-capital. Each venture has to be carefully considered on its merits- as to the likely returns to be had, so as to give a fair interest on the capital of the company and to establish a sinking fund for the redemption of such capital. In some instances the capitalisation of a company is placed too high, thus preventing the probability of property paying a fair amount of interest. This applies with more force to companies formed to work alluvial mines, as the number of men that can be employed depends entirely on the quantity of water available to work the ground, and therefore the gold returns are limited to the quantity of material treated either by hydraulic sluicing or hydraulic elevating. The latter system, however, requires at least about twice the quantity of water necessary for ordinary hydraulic sluicing; or, in other words, only one-half of the material could be operated on by hydraulic elevating that could be treated by sluicing in the ordinary manner. There are extensive deposits of auriferous drifts both on the west and east coasts of the South Island that could be made payable mining ventures by bringing in large supplies of water to work them; and in many instances the water can be brought, in, but the cost of constructing efficient water-races for long distances is beyond the means of private individuals. It is only when there are large areas of auriferous gravels and a considerable depth of wash-drift that the construction of large water-races would be justified ; but there are many places where reservoirs of large capacity, to conserve water for hydraulic-sluicing purposes, could be constructed at a moderate expense. Nelson Distkict. Collingwood. —Considerable attention has recently been given to auriferous alluvial deposits in the Collingwood district, and sluicing operations have been undertaken by the Parapara Sluicing Company, which has expended a large sum in constructing a hydraulic plant to work the ground. This company purchased all the water rights from the Parapara Eiver, and constructed a concrete weir across the river at the upper end of the gorge, raising the water at this point some 10ft. or 15ft. The water is brought through the range into the head of Appo's Gully by a tunnel of about 24 chains; thence for a few chains in an open conduit; and from the end of the conduit the water is brought on to the ground in iron pipes, a distance of about two miles. When this company commenced operations they worked a portion of the ground by hydraulic sluicing in the ordinary manner, but, from all information obtained, the ground did not prove payable at the first place where they commenced their operations. It may be stated that, previous to constructing their hydraulic plant, several months were spent in prospecting the ground ; but evidently from the result of their workings prospecting could not have been carried on in an intelligent manner. Reports came to hand at the time they were prospecting the ground that as much as half a pennyweight of gold to the dish could be got, and great expectations were formed respecting this portion of the ground ; but after bringing on a large supply of water, and erecting a hydraulic-elevating plant, it was found that there was very little gold in the ground. There is very little excuse for any one to make a mistake here in prospecting the ground, for shafts could be sunk at least to water-level, and, as water is very convenient, the whole of the material from each shaft could be cradled and the gold contents accurately ascertained. Some of the mining men from this locality inform me that there is plenty of ground in this company's claim that ought to give good returns for working, but, unfortunately, up to the present time, anticipations have not been realised. However, in many instances, this cannot be attributed to the method of working so much as to the low-grade material operated on. So far as information has been supplied me respecting this company's venture, it has not turned out so successful as was anticipated. At the Quartz Eanges, where there is a lead or run of auriferous drift about two miles in length, having an average width of, it is said, about 300 yards, several large claims have been applied for and granted. Some portions of this ground have been worked, giving good yields of gold. If the quantity of material were here, the quality is said to be very good. One of the

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experts sent to examine the property informed me that the run of ground in the auriferous lead would average 6gr. of gold to the cubic yard, and that the average depth of the ground was about 15ft. ; but that, after deducting the area worked in ffhis run of ground, and the portions cut away by the scooping-out of gullies, it would leave about one mile and a quarter of the lead still to work, and, assuming this to be correct, and the ground to average 6gr. of gold per cubic yard, it would show there is about 15,0000z. of gold in this ground, representing a value of £60,000. It is not safe to rely, however, on calculations of this description: they are, in most instances, misleading, as ground can only be prospected in a very few places in comparison to the area to be worked, and the prospects may be taken where the ground is either of a rich or poor character. It is said that about eight miles of a water-race will be required to bring water on to the Quartz Ranges, but as this has not been actually surveyed the distance may be less or more There is also a large deposit of auriferous gravels in the vicinity of Golden Gully, which is said to be of a highly-payable character ; but, to work this deposit, a large expenditure will be required to bring on water to command the ground. A good deal of working was done in thisvicinity in the early days of the field, and some very rich deposits of auriferous wash-drift was found, but, having been worked in the most primitive manner, it was only ground that was very rich that would give sufficient returns. Maelboeough District. The number of men employed in mining in this district continues about the same as what there was for the previous year, but the gold returns for last year showed an increase of 1,2620z. The principal field where mining operations are carried on is Mahakipawa, but even here mining operations are confined to a few claims, the King Solomon Mine being the principal, in which there is a very rich run of ground apparently going down the flat, through Mr. Cullen's freehold. About 2,6060z. gold has been obtained by the King Solomon Mine Company, representing a value of about £10,000. This run has not been found by any other company holding ground in this freehold, but there is every probability of it going under the present township, and following the foot of the range. At Wakamarina, there are only a few men at work, irrespective of the men employed in Gorge Claim, at Deep Creek. Efforts are still being made to work this gorge, and it is to be hoped that the company who have undertaken the work will get repaid for the large expenditure incurred. The claim, however, is very small, so it would require a very large quantity of gold to recoup the whole of the outlay. It is stated that a good substantial dam has been constructed at the upper end of the Gorge, to prevent floods interfering to any great extent with their operations. No one can tell the quantity of gold that may be in this gorge, which is a deep pot-hole; but, in general, pot-holes in rivers contain very little gold, the richest deposits being found on shallow bars, and on beaches. There are also a few miners at work on the Wairau side of the range, but the ground here is not of a highly remunerative character ; the miners generally have a small plot of land, and employ their spare time in working claims. A track is being constructed from the Wakamarina to Onamalutu, which, when completed, will give access to a portion of the country in which little or no prospecting has been done; indeed, it may be said that comparatively little prospecting has ever been done in the Marlborough District. The alluvial workings on the West Coast have been so fully described in a joint report by Mr. A. McKay and myself, when making an examination of the different mining reserves, that it is only necessary to make casual remarks in reference to them. Westpoet District. There are still a fair number of miners engaged on the ocean-beaches to the north of Westport, but the most of them are old miners who prefer making a mere livelihood to shifting about from place to place. Every now and then when a severe storm occurs, the waves of the sea cut away the low-lying land and concentrate the materials, which always leaves a fresh deposit of gold on the beaches. Prospecting operations have been carried on for about two years with the view of finding black-sand runs of beach-gold going through the swamp, but so far no lead has yet been discovered. An open cutting was carried on for some distance, until the ground got too deep, and then tunnelling was commenced, but the level at which the cut and tunnel can be taken, holds out little prospect of cutting any lead of gold-bearing sand until the tunnel is extended near the foot of the Mount Eochfort Eange. During the last year a number of miners have been working in the bed and also on the banks of the Waimangaroa, some of whom have been doing very well. The gold here is of a heavy character. Some good-sized nuggets have been got. There are also a few men working on the North Terrace, but, so far as can be ascertained, they are only making small wages. Bradshaw's Terrace. There are four claims being worked on this terrace, which are said to give the owners good returns. For some years there has been a difficulty in carrying on mining operations at this place, owing to the fall of Bradshaw's Creek being very flat, and the whole of the tailings from these claims going into the creek had dammed back the water on freehold properties, causing the owners of such properties to take proceedings at law against the miners, and to obtain damages against them. This creek has now been proclaimed a channel into which tailings and mining debris can be deposited. There are about twenty men working on this terrace.

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Addison's Flat. There is an extensive area of auriferous gravels and old sea-beach deposits on this flat. At one time there was a very large population here engaged in mining, but on the shallow ground getting worked out it required more capital and also a different system qf working to make the deep ground yield sufficient gold to give remunerative returns. Water-races had to be constructed, as well as long tunnel tail-races, and machinery erected to haul up and stack the tailings and stones, all of which required a considerable capital to undertake, but, notwithstanding this, owners of the most of the claims on this fiat have been amply remunerated for their outlay. Carmody's claim is one of the oldest on Addison, it having been continuously worked since the field was first opened. The owners have expended large sums from time to time in opening out fresh ground and shifting their machinery They have a very good way of working the claim, and are able to' operate on a large quantity of material. The face they are working is about 50ft. in depth. The gold, being of a minutely-divided character, requires a considerable width of tables to save it. The flat has a uniform fall towards the sea, but before sufficient depth can be got for a tail-race to carry away the fine tailings some of the tunnel tail-races are from 2,000 ft. to 2,500 ft. in length. The principal system of working adopted at Addison Flat is as follows : A paddock is sunk down to the depth of the tail-race, and in this paddock is erected a grating, over which all the stones and coarse gravel pass into a hopper, there being plenty of room under the hopper for a truck to stand. The fine material that passes through the grating goes over a set of wide tables covered with cocoanut matting, and thence passes down the tail-race. The stones are emptied from the hopper into a truck and hauled up an inclined-plane by a water-balance and deposited on the worked-out ground. This is a very economical system of working, and the claims are said to give good returns for working. There are also large deposits of auriferous cemented sand, which has to be crushed before the gold can be liberated. The Venture Company has been working this deposit for several years, and is said to be returning fair interest to the shareholders. During the last year they obtained 5400z. of gold. Charleston. This was once an extremely busy place, but there is very little of the town now left to mark its past dimensions. There are, however, a good many miners scattered here and there in different gullies, some of whom are doing fairly well, while others are only earning a livelihood. The Shetlanders still continue to make a livelihood on the same beach, and on practically the same claims, that have been worked for the last twenty years. One would be inclined to think that the gold would soon be extracted from the ocean, but after every scour of the loose material lying on the beach it leaves a layer of auriferous black sand. Sometimes this may not happen for months ; a storm may come and leave the beach covered with loose sand and fine gravel; while another storm may sweep this all off and leave a thick coating of ironsand with particles of gold distributed through "it, and on such • occasions as these the miners generally make a rich harvest, so to speak, in working their claims. A great deal of the cemented ironsand is being worked on the Back Lead on Charleston, which will be seen from the following statement, giving the gold returns from the different small crushingbatteries on the field :—

The above comparison is hardly a fair one, as it does not include all the returns last year, but it shows that a good deal of gold is obtained by using the most primitive crushing-mills. A few of the miners make a livelihood by sluicing the ground where it is not cemented, while others scarcely do any work at all beyond attending now and again to the tables they place in the bed of the river to collect the gold that is carried down the stream by the muddy water.

For the Year ending 31st March, 1896. For the Year ending 31st March, 1895. Locality and Company. Tons crushed. j Gold. Tons crushed. Gold. Value. Value. Addison's Plat — Venture Company Piper's Flat Company ... Tons. Oz. 540 £ s. d. Tons. 10,008 6,465 Oz. 523 136 £ s. d. Charleston — Dwyer and party Dublin City ... Birch and Son Parsons and party Wilkie and party Dunedin City Higgins' Brothers Turner and Culvert Lander and party . . Walshe and party Thomson and party 1,560 2,000 4,046 1,560 114 60 101 118 129 54 63 1,100 2,400 2,000 2,000 63 113 60 99 2,496 620 1,878 64 3,500 1,680 1,920 138 100 35 Totals 12,282 1,179 4,598 1 6 32,951 1,331 5,190 18 0

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Gkby Valley. There are a number of miners working the alluvial drifts in the Grey Valley, but they are greatly scattered about in the different gullies, depending on a water-supply to work their claims. There are large deposits of auriferous drifts, and on a belt of country which, to all appearance, has had rivers at one period flowing from south to north. The existence of very old drifts, and the manner in which the deposits are laid down, indicate river-action. These gravels belong to either the Upper Miocene or Lower Pliocene period. The greater portion of the gold obtained in the Grey Valley came out of this old gravel formation, which can be traced in a continuous belt from Eeefton to Maori Creek. The present creeks and rivers cutting through this old formation are flowing at almost right angles to the ancient river-course, and have cut away the drift formation. The water flowing down the beds has concentrated the material and left the gold and heavier particles behind in the beds of those streams. Hence the rich deposits of gold-bearing gravels that were found at shallow depth in the different creek-beds and watercourses on the south side of the Grey Valley. The drift on the terraces contains an equal quantity of gold to the superficial area as that obtained in these valleys; but, as the work of nature's concentration has not been carried on, these gravels cannot be expected to yield a hundredth part as much as the concentrated gravels in the valleys. The different workings are all situated in the creek-beds and valleys which contained the richest deposits, as can be seen from the manner in which the workings have been carried on. Any one visiting the different fields in Slab Hut Creek, Antonio's, Adamstown, Blackwater, Mosquito, Noble's, Duffer's, Half-ounce, Orwell Creek, River View, Callaghan's, Nelson Creek, Red Jack's, Kangaroo, No Town, and Maori Gully, cannot but plainly see the cause of all the low shallow ground in these places being rich, owing to the material being highly concentrated by the action of water. In a great many of these local fields there is a scarcity of water, and owing to this, only a limited number of miners can find remunerative employment. It is true that in places the auriferous drifts on the high land are much richer than in others, and pay for working by driving out the different gold-bearing layers, as, for instance, at Napoleon Hill and Orwell Creek. This is one of the places in the Grey Valley deserving of attention. Were there a water-supply brought on to command the terrace in the locality of Orwell Creek, Napoleon Hill, Noble's, and Duffer's, a large quantity of gold would be obtained that otherwise will have to remain in the ground, as it cannot be taken out by the old system of mining. Any one who has even a small quantity of water to work their claims by sluicing is at the present time making very good wages, but only a very limited supply of water can be obtained at the high elevation attained by some of the auriferous deposits in this neighbourhood. Recently a party of miners have had a survey made to bring in a water-supply from Randall Creek to work these terraces, a description of which may not be out of place. Randall Creek Water-race. A local party of twelve miners made application to the Government for a subsidy under the regulations made under the Mining Act to construct a water-race from Randall Creek to supply water to the miners in the vicinity of Orwell Creek, Napoleon Hill, and Noble's. They have also taken up claims on the terraces in this locality with the intention of working them as soon as this water-race is completed. Before, however, this party could comply with the Mining Regulations, a survey had to be made and plans furnished to the Mines Department, in order to insure that in the event of a subsidy being granted the water-race was laid out in a proper manner ; and as the men making the application for a subsidy were all working miners who offered to give their labour towards the construction of the water-race, the Government granted them the services of an engineer to lay out the works on condition that they found the survey labour. The survey of this water-race was undertaken by Mr. Robert Young, civil engineer, of Westport, who has now compeleted all the survey work, and furnished the Government with plans and estimates of the cost of construction, and the following is Mr. Young's report on the subject :— " In accordance with instructions to make a survey of the water-race proposed to be constructed from Randall Creek to Orwell Creek, to report on the quantity of water that can be brought in, and the area of ground that can be commanded, together with the estimated cost of construction, the following will give full particulars on the subject:— " The quantity of water at the comparatively high level of delivery required is necessarily limited. Randall Creek, which is the proposed source of supply, can only be depended on to give a minimum supply of ten sluice-heads. The other proposed source of supply is Haines Creek, which is the principal tributary of the Allen River, and could be depended on to supply a minimum of two sluice-heads. It may happen that the supply may fall short even of this in phenomenally dry weather, but unless this happens twelve sluice-heads of water can be relied on. " At my recent visits there was not less than twenty sluice-heads of water in Randall Creek, and not less than six sluice-heads in Haines Creek. The value of this water-supply is very much increased by the fact that there is an excellent site for a reservoir on sufficiently high land, which has been utilised and set out in connection with this supply-race and main race. " The minimum supply to the reservoir is as stated, twelve sluice-heads, which is equal to thirty-six sluice-heads for eight hours per day, and the reservoir is capable of storing thirty-five heads of water, a three-weeks' supply. In my opinion, the Randall Creek Company will be able tosupply thirty-five sluice-heads of water for sixteen hours per day except in very dry weather. " Another source of supply exists in the Clarke River, which could be brought into the reservoir by a water-race of about thirteen miles in length, which would give a minimum supply of twenty sluice-heads of water. It may be stated that on a former occasion when these streams were visited there was fully the quantity of water in them after six weeks of dry weather, when the water wasmeasured in a flume. The supply-race from the Clarke River has not been surveyed, as it was not within my instructions to do so.

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" The area of ground the water-race commands is very large —it extends over an area of thirty square miles of auriferous terraces, on which no considerable supply of water has ever yet been brought, although the district is essentially suited for hydraulic sluicing. The water from the reservoir can be brought on to Napoleon Hill to command the whole of the ground, unless it be about 70ft. on the highest point of that hill, and some of the high ground at Speck Terrace, and the heads of Duffers and Half-ounce Creeks. To command these places means discarding the reservoir, and the cost of about 60 chains of iron pipes across the gap at the reservoir site, and also pipes at three other places on the line of race where there are three low saddles only a few feet above the present race-level. It would evidently be more economical to use mechanical appliances to lift a small quantity of water, say, 100 ft., or even 150 ft., at the places referred to, using the water at our command as a motive-power. " The plan accompanying this report also shows the various gold-bearing terraces in the district, from the head of Taylor's Creek westward, including the Teviot, and also the north banks of the Ahaura Biver, extending from Bandall Creek to the Ahaura Township. The water from the proposed race can be carried into Blackwater Creek at about the five-mile peg on the line of race, and the Blackwater Creek commands the sluicing-ground on the north bank of the Ahaura Eiver, from about one mile above the junction of the Orwell Creek Eoad to the township. The Blackwater Creek has a very limited supply of water —not more than four sluice-heads in dry weather —and totally inadequate to supply sufficient water to work the claims already taken up." The total length of the race is fourteen miles, and the estimated cost of construction is £22,000. Mr. Young states the whole question of the usefulness of this supply and the area of ground which it commands in a very fair manner, which can be fully borne out by myself and many others. There is a very large extent of rich auriferous gravels, having in places a great depth, which will give ■excellent returns for working with a supply of water. At Callaghan's and Nelson Creek the population is gradually getting less ever since the breakage in the Nelson Creek Water-race occurred; the supply of water has been cut off, and, there being only a very limited supply of water in the district, the number of men employed is correspondingly limited. The elevating company at Nelson Creek has not been so successful as was anticipated, and the manner they are working the ground indicates that rich deposits will have to be found to pay returns on the capital invested. If a lead of gold-bearing drift exists in this flat it will go under the place where they are at present stacking their tailings. This company purchased the Band of Hope Water-race and effected considerable repairs, and in places enlargement, so that when water is available it will now be capable of conveying about twenty sluice-heads. The bed of Nelson Creek is being rapidly raised by the discharge of tailings from mining claims, especially at the lower end of Try Again Terrace, where the late Mr. Dunnan's farm commenced. The creek-bed is now raised fully 10ft. above the level of what it was twenty years ago, and in place of the water following the bed of the creek it flows through what was formerly a splendid orchard, and also grass paddocks. The land here is totally destroyed for cultivation ; the only use for it now is for a tailings-site, and if used for that purpose it would be the means of keeping the water in the old channel, and thus prevent it flowing through the grass-land lower down the valley. There is still a large number of miners, about a hundred and forty, employed in and about No Town ; many of them are making small wages, while some are only earning a livelihood. There is a large extent of a great depth of auriferous gravel in this neighbourhood, but the watersupply available is not sufficient to carry on hydraulic sluicing operations except on a very small scale. A good many are working the ground from adit-levels, driving out the auriferous layer which is found lying on the false bottom, and making wages by working in this manner. At Sunday Creek, one of the tributaries of Eed Jack's, some ground was opened here about two years ago, which is said to have given excellent returns for working. A shareholder in one of the claims here informed me that he was making from £6 to £10 per week, and his was not the only one that was giving good returns. On the opposite side of the Grey Eiver there are a few miners working here and there on the side of the terraces where even a small supply of water can be got to command the ground. At Ford's Creek about thirty Chinese are employed, and the manner in which they are working the ground, and their comfortable way of living, indicates that they are doing very well. At Blackball there are still a number of men carrying on sluicing operations, but the quantity of large stones in the wash-drift here is very great. The ground has to be comparatively rich to pay for working. The Minerva Company is said to have rich ground, and they have an excellent water-supply at a high elevation, but the quantity of immense boulders there is amongst the drift costs so much to remove that so far the workings have not been carried on at a profit. Instead of erecting a high single-pole derrick with long jib, the pole being stayed with wire ropes, and using a Pelton wheel which could be worked by the water at a small expense to lift the stones and stack them clear of the working face, they are blasting the large boulders and removing them in small trucks and barrows. Between Blackball and Moonlight Creeks some claims have been taken up during the last year, and a company has been formed, and are constructing a water-race from the Eoaring Meg Creek, which when completed will not be more than four miles in length. The ground where the water is being brought on to work is reported to be excellent sluicing-ground. Some men from the Kumara field, who are well acquainted with hydraulic sluicing, have purchased shares in the company's race and claim for £250 per share, and since then a number of other claims have been taken up. The water-race is estimated to carry about forty sluice-heads of water, and to cost about £2,500, out of which a subsidy has been granted by the Government to the extent of £800. At Moonlight there are a considerable number of men, all of whom are said to be doing tolerably well. This place is greatly isolated, and there are very few new comers to the field. The same men have been working here for years, and most of them are satisfied with the returns from their claims.

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Sometimes men will be for some weeks without getting very much gold, and afterwards find goodsized nuggets lying in amongst the boulders. The gold is in general coarse, and referred to as " speck " by the miners in this locality: whether the specks were weighing 1 grain or 300z., they have all the one designation. A pack-track was constructed to this diggings in the early days of the field, but the grades in places are very steep. All the provisions and mining plant have to be brought on packhorses from the flat at the Grey Eiver, which is about eight miles distant from the place where the miners are working. Komaea. field still continues to give employment to the largest population on the West Coast engaged in hydraulic-sluicing operations. No doubt the richest known ground has been sluiced away, but there is still a very large area that is likely to give remunerative employment to a large number of miners for many years. The greater portion of the ground in Dunedin Flat has been washed away down to the false bottom, but even in this place there is a high probability that payable auriferous layers of gravel will yet be found below this false bottom, resting on the blue Miocene clays, or what is locally known as the " blue reef." An adit has been driven in from the front of the terrace facing the Teremakau Eiver for a distance of about 1,200 ft., and a layer of ground struck containing a very nice sample of gold, quite different in character to that found on the upper levels; but this ground cannot be worked by ordinary hydraulic sluicing, owing to the want of fall for tailings. The quantity of gold yet found in this washdrift would not pay wages to men to drive out the ground. The quantity of water also at this level in the gravel-drifts is very great; there are between two and three sluice-heads of water flowing out of the small adit that has been driven. This water appears to me to come principally through the gravel drift, forming the false bottom on which the workings have been carried on. The place where this adit is constructed is not a great distance from the first main tail-race taken in to convey the tailings from the different sluicing-claims to the flat alongside the Teremakau Eiver. This main tail-race, or what was known for many years as the Kumara Sludgechannel, was constructed through the blue reef for a certain distance in from the front of the terrace before striking the gravel and, as the mouth of this channel is now blocked up by tailings, preventing the leakage of water from the upper portion of the channel, which is still used for conveying the tailings; the most of the water found in the ground in the small adit-tunnel comes from the leakage of the main tail-race. The formation of the ground in Kumara Flat indicates that either the Teremakau Eiver or some other large volume of water had in former periods flowed between the place where the road is now constructed from Kumara to Dillmanstown and the Kapitea Hill. The evidence of this is very conclusive. The blue reef is found on or near the surface of the ground on the edge of the terrace fronting the Teremakau, and again at the base of Kapitea Hill; but between these points there is a very deep channel, having in its bed all the stones in the drift highly rounded, and, as far as has been tested yet, containing a heavy sample of gold. Before commencing to construct the prospecting adit-drive a shaft was sunk some distance away from the base of the Kapitea Hill, and gold was found at the bottom of this shaft that gave an average of about 2dwt. to the load. The ground at the bottom of the shaft appeared to dip both into the flat and towards the Kapitea Hill, and it was then considered there was far deeper ground further into the flat which could not be worked from this shaft. This led to the construction of the adit from the front of the terrace, which should be extended across the flat to where it will strike the blue reef at the base of the Kapitea Hill. There is not only a likelihood of cutting a lead of gold at the deeper levels on this flat, but there is a possibility of a layer of auriferous gravel being found richer than any of the layers found resting on the false bottom. Between the Kumara Township and the ocean-beach, or from 40 chains to one mile nearer Kumara than the railway-line, there is a probability of an ancient beach-lead being discovered in a line with the Lamplough Diggings. There is little doubt but what a lead of gold existed here at one time. The only question now is, whether it has not been cut away by river-action; and, even if such should be the case, there is a great likelihood of a lead of auriferous drift being found in that ancient river-bed between where the old sea-beach lead existed and the present ocean-beach. The trend of this old sea-beach lead gradually meets the ocean as it goes northwards, and appears to run out at Point Elizabeth. Judging, however, from the configuration of the country, at the time when the land was at a lower level than at present, there has been a bay forming the arc of a circle between the Arahura and Teremakau Eivers—if such rivers existed at that time. Taking the whole of the alluvial goldfields on the West Coast, there is not any of them bears stronger indications of prosperity than Kumara. The principal claims on the Kumara field giving good returns to the owners are Pascoe's, Lee (now held by Messrs. McGrath and Moynihan), and Cullen and party. Most of the other claims are only giving about wages to the men working them. There are still seven claims being worked into No. 2 channel —namely, Fahey's, Morris's, Ireland's, Palmer's, Devescovi's, Baucke's, and Pascoe's —but Devescovi's claim will very soon be worked out. There is still a considerable area in each of the other claims, which will take some years to work out, if the whole of the ground is payable. There are ten claims being worked into No. 3 channel —namely, Sullivan's, Dennett's, Light's, Thomas's, O'Oonnell's, Moynihan's, Eochford's, Harris's, Neville's, and Connaghan's. There is a considerable area in each of these claims yet to work. Sullivan's is the only one that is likely to be worked out during the incoming year. In the No. 4 channel, sluicing operations from three claims are being carried on, and another party is preparing to sluice into it also—namely, Carlsen and party —the others being Cullen and party, which are working two faces, Long Tunnel Company, and Moynihan (late Brown and party). Two other claims are likely to be sluiced into this channel —namely, Ames's and Payne's. With the exception of Moynihan's claim, which may take at least eighteen months to work out, the other claims will take many years before they are exhausted. 18—C. 3.

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In addition to the foregoing claims, the following are worked by private tail-races—namely: Lee (now Moynihan and McGrath), who are working two faces; Shrives's, Turnbull's, Connor's, Evans's, Bowden's, and Dinan's—all of which have a-considerable quantity of ground. There are about ten new claims taken up to be worked from No. 5 channel; but no work can be done in any of these until the channel is completed. The No. 4 channel was completed in July, 1895, the length of it being 2,729 ft., which cost £2,208 15s. to construct. Of this amount, £1,000 was given as a subsidy, and free water to the value of £500. The whole of this water has not yet been supplied. The tunnel is 7ft. high in the clear, having a width of 4ft. 6in., into which boxing is placed 3ft. wide and 3ft. deep in the clear, fitted with wooden blocks Bin. deep, the gradient being about 1 in 29, or a fall of sin. to every 12ft. Contracts have been let in three sections for the construction of the No. 5 channel, which amount to £4,000. The first section from tailings-site is constructed, and boxing placed in position for a distance of 572 ft., of which 44ft. is through pug, and close-timbered. In commencing to construct this section from the original commencing-point 90ft. of open cutting was done and 150 ft. of tunnelling was constructed; but, as the tunnel was driven through pug of a very bad, swelling nature, this length of tunnel was lost, and the line of channel was slightly altered to keep clear of the bad ground. The present channel was commenced at about 7ft. 3in. higher level than was originally intended. A shaft has been sunk on No. 2 section to 134 ft., and the tunnel constructed for 931 ft., all of which is timbered and boxing placed in position. There still remains about 528 ft. to construct between Nos. 1 and 2 contracts. A shaft has also been sunk on No. 3 contract to a depth of 82ft., and the tunnel constructed for a distance of 352 ft., of which 228 ft. of boxing is placed in position. The quantity of water to contend with in this section was too much to allow the contractors to continue working. They have suspended operations until the Nos. 1 and 2 sections are completed, so as to admit of drainage. There is 1,056 ft. of tunnelling yet required to complete connection between Nos. 2 and 3 sections. The total length of channel is 4,290 ft., of which 1,855 ft. is completed, at a cost up to end of March last of £1,642, including the cost of the portion of channel lost, and alteration of the line and levels. The total subsidy authorised towards this work is £3,000. This channel is of the same dimensions as that already given for No. 4 channel, and the gradient on which it is constructed is about 1 in 36, or 3Jin. of fall in every 12ft., for the first 43f chains from the tailingssite upwards, and 4in. to every 12ft. to the head of the channel. When this channel is completed it will enable the value of the ground to be proved, and, should it come up to expectations, there is a large area of ground on the seaward side that is likely to prove equally as remonerative. Prospecting-shafts have been sunk on the seaward side of the HokitikaGreenstone Road, at the back of the Kumara Township, and prospects obtained therefrom which shows that there is ground here which will pay for working if a lower channel were brought in. Indeed, there is only a comparatively small area of ground yet worked on the Kumara field, and, from what is already known of the auriferous nature of the ground in and adjoining the township, it will support a large mining population for a great number of years. There is not a likelihood of as rich claims being found as at the commencement of the field, but, with the supply of water there is on the field, men will be content to work for small wages when constant employment is insured. The following is a list of the claims at Kumara, with the number of men working in each, and the quantity of water used to work the ground: —

Name of Party. a 2 *i 03 t **■ • ssa A '3 EH a 03 'rH c3 -I O o S.2 • d "3 a a) a. Name of Party. a 2 3" a o'S ® " S aa.2 3 03O 21 'd EH a *; 03 i-H U o "3 a >, O 03 CEpS s° a o3 © S OJ m g.3 3 No. 2 Channel. — Water from Kumara Race. Fahey and party Ireland „ Palmer Devescovi „ Pascoe „ Morris Baucke Water from Holmes's Race. Reid and party 10 3 4 0 ;? 8 3 3 4 5 9 7 8 7 5 10 12 10 10 10 11 10 Water from Private Waterraces. Long Tunnel Company 15 to 20 No. 3 Channel. — Water from Kumara Race. D'Sullivan and party Dennett Light rhomas „ ... Moynihan 3'Connell Rochford „ Harris Neville Donnaghan 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 6 4 i 8 5 5 8 6 8 8 7 8 8 8 8 10 10 8 8 8 8 8 10 Private Tail-races. — Water from Kumara Race. Americh and party Lee „ Shrives Turnbull „ .. Connor Evans 3 10 5 5 4 3 8 7 13 12 7 8 8 11 10 10 10 10 Private Tail-races. — Water from Holmes's Race. Payne and party Ames „ Bauden „ Dinan Taifc 3 5 4 4 3 8 9 10 7 8 10 10 12 12 10 No. 4 Channel. — Water from Kumara Race. Cullen and party .. 6 7 12

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Gallag han's. The mining population of this place is limited by the quantity of water available for carrying on sluicing operations. There have been some very-good claims in this place, and also in Italians, which is on the side of the range leading from the Hokitika-Greenstone Eoad to Callaghan's. At the latter place, Adolph and. party have been working for a large number of years, and have gone to considerable expense in constructing a long tail-race, portion of which is constructed through extremely hard rock, containing carbonate of iron; but the quantity of water this party has at their command is totally inadequate to work their claim in a systematic and intelligent manner. The gravel drift in the face of this claim is from 50ft. to 70ft. in depth, which would require a constant supply of about ten sluice-heads of water to work the ground to advantage, and they are principally depending on rain-water. The branch race which the Government has recently constructed to Callaghan's will supply water at very little expense to Adolph and party, should they deem it advantageous to use it; but the men have been accustomed to such a small supply that it is questionable whether they will avail themselves of the opportunity of working their claim to the greatest advantage. It may be stated that it is very difficult to introduce any new system of working amongst the miners who have been carrying on sluicing operations on a certain system for years. They prefer to continue on the same system so long as they can make their claim pay for working, and it is only when the ground becomes too poor to carry on operations in the manner they have been accustomed to that any alteration is made, or if, perchance, some of the shareholders sell out their interest to those who are acquainted with the more modern ways of working, that a different system is adopted. As soon as the deviation of the Waimea Water-race is completed, water will be available to work claims in this locality and at Italians; and the manager of the Government water-races estimates he can dispose of about fifteen sluice-heads of water in this locality. Of course, there is a considerable area of rich auriferous ground in the vicinity of Italians that the Government waterrace will not command, and which will be entirely dependent on the rain-water. There is a large flat between the Callaghan's branch race and the Little Kapitea Creek where sluicing operations have been carried on for some years past, and it is anticipated that a considerable area of this flat will be worked by water from the Government Jbranch race. There is a great depth of gravel drift on this flat, but so far the best of the gold-bearing layers rests on a false bottom. These richer layers of gold-bearing drift are a concentration of glacier material, derived from the Arahura Eanges, and, by the configuration of the country, it seems highly probable that the Arahura Eiver has at some period flowed in this direction, and entered the sea about the place where the Kapitea Creek now joins the ocean. The whole of the gravel drift found on this flat is full of granite wash, well rounded, the granite thus indicating the source from whence the drifts have come, and also the reassortment of the glacier material by a large volume of water passing down in the direction indicated. On the flat, close to the base of Callaghan's Eange, Hyndman and party, who sank a shaft to a depth of 200 ft. and constructed a drainage tail-race for a distance of 3,000 ft., are still at work, and making the ground pay for driving it out and trucking the wash-drift through the drainage tailrace to the Little Kapitea Creek, where they wash the material. Other parties have taken up ground adjoining Hyndman and party on this flat, but have so far failed to find any ground payable for working on the same principle adopted by Hyndman's party. The run of ground worked by Hyndman is the same as Adolph and party are sluicing, but at a considerably lower depth. Taking the depth of Hyndman's shaft and the depth of the ground in Adolph and party's face, there must be a vertical drop.of about 100 ft. McConnon and party sank a shaft further into the flat than Hyndman's party, but the quantity of water to contend with in sinking was more than they could cope with, and consequently the shaft was abandoned; but, so far, no payable ground has been found in the claim which McConnon's party took up. Waimea and Stafford. There has been very little change in the workings in these localities during the last year. The ground is getting worked further back into the range every year. The fall for the sluice-boxes is yearly getting less, and, there being no dump for tailings in the creek-bed, men are only able to make very small wages. Together with Tunnel Terrace, midway between Waimea and Stafford, the whole of the claims will only give a small remuneration for working. During last year a tunnel tail-race was commenced from the right branch of the Waimea Creek to go through the range to the middle branch, to admit of tailings being conveyed from the latter branch to the valley of the right-hand branch, where there is a greater area for a tailings site. The ground in the middle branch is said to be very good if it can be worked on the hydraulic-sluicing principle. As an evidence of this, men are at the present time making wages by driving the ground out and washing the material in paddocks. There are no large claims in this locality with the exception of Batchelor's, which is termed the Wheel of Fortune, and situate near Kelly's Terrace ; neither are there any sluicing operations being carried on in an extensive, or, it may be said, on the most modern principles. Many of the claim-holders still continue to use the antiquated canvas hose, with water flowing over the face, and even those who use iron pipes have them of very small diameter, with small nozzles. There is no doubt in my mind that the ground at Waimea is better than some that is at present being worked at Kumara, but, by the system adopted in working, only a comparatively small quantity of material can be disposed of. Arahura. The only claim of any importance being worked in this locality is that belonging to the Humphrey's Gully Company. This company has, however, too limited a supply of water to work

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the ground to advantage. The present company are making a small profit on the working, but, as the capital of the company is £150,000, it would take some years at the present rate of working to be able to declare a dividend of any consequence to the shareholders. There is a great depth of gravel in this company's claim having a little gold all through it, the face being between 250 ft. to 300 ft. in depth. During the past year the company made an offer to Mr. David Ziman to take over this property on receiving a certain sum in either cash or shares in a new company, and it is stated that Mr. Ziman has still the option of taking the venture up, but, from the information at my disposal, the whole of the arrangements for transfer of the property are not yet concluded. If the company elect to carry on operations for itself, a large expenditure will shortly have to be incurred in replacing about 51 chains of greatly-decayed fluming across Sawmill Flat. A survey has been made at this point with the view of substituting a siphon in lieu of the flume, and to carry the intake end of the siphon further up the open conduit shaft where it joins the flume at present. The length of the proposed siphon is 60 chains, and the difference between the intake and outlet end will be nearly 48ft., and this will require a double length of iron pipes, having a diameter of 32in., in order to convey the quantity of water proposed to be brought in from the Arahura Eiver—namely, 100 sluice-heads—and the estimated cost of this siphon is £2,790. In addition to the cost of this siphon, in a report supplied the company by a mining engineer, he recommended that a new race be constructed for a distance of two miles ; but this would not be sufficient to insure a constant and large supply of water. Nothing short of the water-race being extended to the Arahura Eiver will be of any practical benefit to this company, and to thus extend it would entail about five miles of new race above its present head. The other two miles referred to are between the present tunnels and the terminating-point of the race. The claim may be termed a good property if worked intelligently with a large supply of water; but it would be of very little value to any large company unless this supply is obtained. There is a tunnel at the lower end of the present race which is only capable of conveying about thirty-six sluice-heads; other provision would have to be made to conduct the two miles referred to, and take the additional water through the second tunnel in the range, which is constructed, but cannot be used on account of having no connection with the main supply-race. Since Mr. Ziman has had the option of purchasing this property he has got reports to show that it will require fully £50,000 to complete the necessary works and open up the ground in a systematic manner so that hydraulic-sluicing operations can be carried on economically on a large scale. There is a large area of auriferous gravel in this neighbourhood having a great depth, which will be commanded by a large water-supply, which will take more than one man's lifetime to work out. The returns may not be so large as from some of the quartz claims, but they will assuredly be steady, and, with a large supply of water, will give good interest on the outlay. During the past year the company entered into arrangements for the disposal of their property to Mr. David Ziman on condition that Mr. Ziman found £50,000 in cash and gave the present company 35,000 paid-up shares out of the 150,000, having a value of £1 each. The following is an extract from the directors' report at the annual meeting, which shows the transactions of the company for the year ending the 11th of February last : — " The result of the past year's operations compares unfavourably with those of 1895, the yield of gold being 3590z. lldwt. 6gr., value £1,402 6s. sterling, to which may be added gold still in the boxes estimated at £150, making £1,552 65., against 811oz. 7dwt. lgr., value £3,164 lis. 6d. sterling, for the previous year, for, as far as can be ascertained, the following reasons: — " At the expiry of the then-existing tribute agreement, 25th January, 1895, the directors called for fresh applications to work the ground on tribute, and accepted that of Mr. Stephen Honey, which gave the company .70 per cent, of the gross yield of gold against 66| received from the previous tributers, and 8 per cent, more than the same party then tendered at. The result of their (the new tributers') work has been very disappointing, as shown above, and can only be accounted for (the supply of water being fairly up to the average) by the great difficulty experienced in contending with what is known as the ' pug' reef on the bottom, which, under the immense pressure of the face, swells, crushing the boxes, and breaking the joints in the supply-pipe lines, thus involving a very great waste of time and damage to plant. " A new tribute for the ensuing twelve months has now been let at 62 per cent, of the gross gold won. "In connection with the balance-sheet, you will observe that the sum brought down at last balance to credit of profit and loss has been written off to mining property and water-race accounts; for, although the profit was earned, and a perfectly legitimate one, it was not sufficient to meet the liability to shareholders' advances made to the old Humphrey's Gully Water-race and Gold-mining Company (Limited), and taken over by the existing company, together with interest accrued to date at 10 per cent., viz., £2,341 19s. Id. sterling, the net credit balance at the company's bankers being only £1,178 10s. 10d., which, supplemented by £1,500 as agreed to be paid by the new company when incorporated, will all be required to liquidate this liability. " As you are aware, from the result of the extraordinary meeting of shareholders held in conformity with statutory notices advertised and circulars addressed to shareholders, the directors have (under the authority of the shareholders) agreed to dispose of their property to Mr. Ziman for 35,000 fully-paid-up shares of £1 each in a new company of 150,000 shares of £1 each, to be formed by him; £50,000 of which is to be paid in cash by the new company as working-capital on its incorporation, and 5,000 shares reserved for Mr. Ziman's option to purchase within two years at a minimum of £1 10s. each, thus obtaining the indispensable and long-sought additional capital required to enlarge and extend the main race to the Arahura Eiver and other parts of the company's property, including what is known as Clarke's lease. You will see, from receipts and expenditure,

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that Mr. Ziman has paid £300 for the extension of time from month to month (under the agreement) to perfect his negotiations in London." Since these negotiations were entered into, Mr. .Ziman has taken up four additional claims, of 100 acres each, adjoining the Humphrey's Gully property, and has obtained water-rights to work the whole of this ground from the Arahura Eiver. In referring to this locality in my former reports, and to the claim held by the Humphrey's Gully Company, as being a valuable property if a sufficient supply of water was available, it is gratifying to find that these reports are fully borne out by Mr. Dunn, the Victorian geologist who was employed by an English syndicate to report on the value of the property, from which the following extracts are taken : — " This claim is situate on the Arahura Eiver, and is eleven miles from Hokitika. It is six miles from the mouth of that river, and the fall is moderate to the sea, the river having a good current but no rapids below the claim. "The present area held by the company is 200 acres as special claims, but to this is to be added four special claims of 100 acres each, now held by Mr. Ziman. In addition, it is imperative that another special claim must be taken up to the south of the present workings, running back for at least 15 chains from the southern boundary, so as to prevent others obtaining rights here that would prevent the company from mining any further in the direction of the Big Slip. Together this would give a compact block of 700 acres—sufficient to give work, with the increased water-supply proposed, for a very lengthened period. " The present supply amounts to about thirty heads of water (a head being one cubic foot of water per second), and it is proposed to construct works by which 100 additional heads of water will be brought on to the ground from the Arahura Eiver. All the water now in use is obtained from branch creeks that flow into the Arahura Eiver on the south side; as these are of short lengths the volume of water they afford is liable to great fluctuations, and consequently the operations of sluicing on the claim have been correspondingly intermittent. To provide a continuous and ample supply, the proposed race is to be carried on to the Arahura Eiver itself; and, as this stream carries thousands of heads of water, and is fed by perpetual snow, the conditions of mining would be vastly improved at the claim; for a primary condition in an enterprise involving a of capital is that operations once started should be continuous, otherwise loss of interest occurs. By tapping the river itself this continuous action should be secured. Water rights (first) have been secured by Mr. Ziman for 100 heads in the Arahura Eiver. " In connection with the heavy loss of gold entailed by the present method of working, I think an effort should be made to recover some of this, and this can only be done by means of an additional supply of pure water for tables. Such a supply might be secured by taking out, say, thirty heads of water from the Arahura Eiver, so as to get 30ft. of head above river-level where the tables would be placed. Possibly McDiarmid's race might be utilised for the purposes of saving the fine gold. " The geological conditions here are remarkable. The basal exposed beds at the claim are bluish-grey marine glacial conglomerates of compact nature that stand exposure well, and that are excellent for driving in, as no timber is needed ; such beds rise to a height of about 70ft. above the Arahura Eiver level; over these are 20ft. to 25ft. of finely-laminated yellowish-coloured silt; resting on this is a deposit of gravel consisting principally of brown sandstone material that is much veined with quartz—(these beds are classed as Miocene by McKay)—and that attains to a thickness of from 50ft. to over 200 ft. This brown sandstone series constitutes the pay-dirt at the claim. Besides the brown-sandstone boulders and pebbles, there are granite-, schist-, gneiss-, and hornblendic-rocks, but only to a minor extent. " The face as now exposed at the Big Slip shows a gravel of moderate-sized stones, in which those exceeding a cubic foot in size are not common: in fact, taking into account the loose nature of the gravel and its freedom from any great preponderance of large stones, it would be difficult to find material better suited for hydraulic mining than is here met with. As to the lateral extension of this particular class of gravel, there is some difficulty, as it is again overlain by alternating bands of silt, gravel, glacial drift, &c, up to a height of 900 ft., which is the height of the backbone behind the claim between Arahura and Kanieri Eivers. Its extension may be reckoned upon through the most western special claim, through the 200 acres of Humphrey's, and through the special claim through which German Gully runs. Further eastward the gravels assume a different character; but it does not necessarily follow that they are less productive in gold, for still further west than these claims under notice very payable ground was worked, and is still being worked, in gravel quite different from that in the claim. As to the auriferous character of the hundreds of feet of gravel and silt overlying the brown-sandstone gravel nothing is known, and they may be left out in all calculations, as there is an abundance of proved gravel to maintain extensive mining for a generation. Up Humphrey's Gully, and in the Eight-hand Branch, a great deal of work has been done, and small claims all about show that the auriferous gravel within the ground secured is widespread. Some very large blocks of stone, generally angular in form, and evidently transported glacially, are found in working, but they are not so numerous as to impede the work. " The soft yellow silt deposit resting on the hard glacial floor gives some trouble, as the races cut up through it soon close in ; but perhaps it will be found a better plan to take the tail-race up in a tunnel entirely in the hard floor, and then to wash the gravel in off the top of the silt without taking more of the silt than can be helped. " Throughout the brown-sandstone gravel on this claim, gold is disseminated to such an extent that two out of three dishes washed from any portion of it give fine colours of that metal. This wide dissemination is always considered a favourable feature in sluicing-ground. Besides the gene-rally-disseminated fine gold there are certain belts of gravel and streaks of wash that carry much heavier gold, and that arejn places rich enough to be worth blocking out. The average richness of

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these gravels in gold has been disclosed by the last nine years' work on this claim ; during that period an area of about 15 acres of ground had been sluiced away for a return equal to, in round figures, £30,000 ; the thickness of ground ranging from 50ft. up to 200 ft. The above amount represents the gold saved; but the sample I saw was generally of a coarse nature, and quite unlike the colours generally got by washing prospects over the face. The finer gold, owing to the velocity in the tail-race and the absence of fine gold-saving appliances, is entirely lost, and the tailings give nearly as good a prospect as the original gravel. " The present workings are confined to one face, on which five nozzles can be played, with 200 ft. head of water. A huge slip has taken place, so that by washing away the ore the mass slips down further, and from the face two races carry off the tailings. The velocity in these boxes is six miles per hour, and the very fine gold has no chance of settling. The height of the floor at bottom of the gravel is about 90ft. above the river-level. The tailings from the claim are mostly dumped between the river and the claim. A certain portion of the tailings is swept away by the stream, and in flood-time a large quantity could be thus disposed of. as this river is proclaimed one in which sludge and tailings may be deposited, and retrospective and prospective damages have been paid to the holders of freeholds along the bank of the river lower down. Owing to the intermittent watersupply this claim could not be worked to the best advantage. " With four times the present water-supply, and that continuous, nearly as much ground should be removed in one year as the company has taken nine years to displace, and at much less cost. To accomplish this, it is probable that four faces would have to be opened out at once, so that three faces would be constantly in work, as the 100 heads of water would keep these always going ; the fourth face would be required to utilise the water while cleaning up is being done in any one of the races, for once the water is turned on it should never be wasted until the claim is worked out. Several tail-races can be run down from the faces towards the river, but ample dumping ground must be provided, and the question is as to whether enough has been provided. It would not be difficult to arrange for the option of lands along the river now, but later on the case may be different. "At the present, no attempt is made to save the fine gold. It is a system that should be altered; and by separating the finer material from the coarse, as is done at Addison's Flat and elsewhere, the finer material could be run over broad tables and plush, and no doubt the gold-yield would be greatly increased ; for anywhere on the tailings-heap nearly as good prospects can be washed as from the face—and this requires a remedy. In laying out an extension of the works, this matter is of prime importance. Experiments with tables should be carried on before any particular type be adopted; but the waste of gold now occurring should be prevented. "The whole area is densely timbered with forest-trees and undergrowth; and it would be advisable to clear the surface timber off', and burn it back from the faces, and to keep it clear wherever work is being done, as the trunks and branches greatly impede progress. Much of this timber is good for the sawbench, and could be utilised for boxes, &c, if a sawbench were placed on the ground. "The work scheduled in Mr. Lord's report, if substantially performed, should make this a splendid property ; and the sum required to accomplish this would be well laid out. It is proposed to bring in 100 additional heads of water, and then the whole would be at such an elevation above the river as to command not only the special claims noticed, and at present required, but an immense area outside them ; in fact, the construction of such a water-race as proposed would be a permanent work that would enable mining to be carried on in the terraces between the Arahura and Hokitika Eivers for a century to come. " Leaving out of account altogether the present supply of water, the returns to be expected from the additional 100 heads of water alone would be somewhat as under :— " Instead of the present 375 shifts, of eight hours each, in which the water is used per annum now, there would be 850 shifts in the year, with a constant supply—that is, reckoning fifty weeks at seventeen shifts per week (having an extra face to be kept at work while one tail-race is being cleaned up); and as 375 shifts is to 850, so is £3,333 to £7,654; and as there has been an average of only thirty-five heads at work in the past, and 100 is to be used, this last sum must be multiplied by four (£30,616) as the annual results obtainable for the use of 100 heads of water; and, taking the large bulk trial of Humphrey's Gully as a guide, the gross expense should not exceed £10,000 per annum, and this would leave a net sum of £20,000 to be divided between the Humphrey's Gully Company and Mr. Ziman, in the proportion of seven for the present company and twelve to Mr. Ziman, or £8,333 to Humphrey's Gully Company per annum and £11,666 to Mr. Ziman. " In the above calculation no account is taken of the present supply of water, nor of the fine gold now wasted, but that should materially increase the annual income, if saved. " Of course, this is taking the engineer's estimates as placed before me, but they would have to be checked before work is actually commenced ; and, as these are the estimates on which the negotiations are based, provision should be made that if this estimate falls short the extra amount should be contributed to by all, share alike. " To work such a claim as this to the best advantage, a specialist is required ; and the very best man obtainable should be got, as all the difference between a most lucrative undertaking and a miserable failure might depend on the manner in which the claim is managed. " At Humphrey's Gully there is an immense bulk of auriferous gravel that has been proved profitable to work in numerous localities over the special claims now secured in a small way, and in a larger way at the claim. Next to a supply of auriferous gravel, water is an essential, and this also in abundance exists in the Arahura River, and it can be brought on to the ground. The supply is continuous, and the water is perfectly clear and free from silt. There is sufficient drop from the floor of the pay-gravels to the river (about 90ft.) to give plenty of fall to the tail-races, and also to

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give dumping ground for the huge bulk of tailings that have to be provided for. The Arahura Biver has sufficient volume and velocity to remove a considerable bulk of tailings, especially when in flood. The water-race gives a pressure of 200 ft., bo that the nozzles perform good work. The material to be removed is favourable, as it is loose, and the proportion of very large stones is small. The gold now saved, which is only the coarsest, pays well for working the claim, and by a very moderate outlay this could probably be greatly added to in fine gold that now is neglected. Timber suitable for all mining purposes is on the ground, a good road runs right within claim, and the undertaking is one that should be in full work for a very lengthened period. " To bring in additional water, and put the claim in a condition under which it could be worked to most advantage, requires an outlay of £50,000. " Taking all the surroundings into account, this sum would be well invested, for the property possesses most favourable elements, and, if the works are well and truly constructed, handsome returns should be obtained. I consider this mine well worthy of extension, and recommend the proposed scheme." The scheme proposed by Mr. Lord, which Mr. Dunn refers to, is shown in the following extracts from Mr. Lord's report:— " With regard to the quantity of gold that can be obtained annually from the Humphrey's Gully Claim, this can be estimated from the quantity of water used during the last nine years, and the area of ground worked. The average quantity of water used for that period would not exceed twenty-five sluice-heads for one and a-quarter shifts per day, for 300 days ; and the average value of the gold obtained is £3,333. Therefore, if twenty-five sluice-heads of water was capable of obtaining gold to this value, on the same basis 130 sluice-heads, working continually, would get an additional proportionate quantity. " It is, however, safer to allow for certain deductions in order to provide for breakages to water-race, plant, &c, and instead of calculating on 130 sluice-heads I have taken 120, and based my calculations on being able to carry on sluicing operations for seventeen shifts, of eight hours each, per week, thereby allowing for one shift per week for cleaning up the sluices, blocking, &c, and working for fifty weeks per annum. Therefore, if twenty-five sluice-heads of water working for 375 shifts was the means of obtaining £3,333, 850, shifts, with four and four-fifths times more water, shows that the gross revenue would be £36,263. " This corresponds very closely with the basis on which the Humphrey's Gully Company's Engineer, in his reports annexed to the balance-sheets for the year 1887, calculated that the average returns from the claim were from 2oz. to 2-|oz. of gold per shift. Taking 375 shifts, and a mean return of 2Joz. of gold per shift, it gives an average of 843-foz. of gold per annum, with a supply of twenty-five sluice-heads of water. Therefore, if this quantity of gold was obtained in 375 shifts with the average quantity of water mentioned, the additional number of shifts that can be worked with the proposed supply of water will admit of 9,1770z. of gold being obtained, which, at £4 per ounce, would represent a value of £36,708. " Expenditure in connection with working the claim would be as follows : Twenty-six men at £2 10s. per week for fifty weeks, £3,250; four men at £2 10s. per week for fifty weeks, £600; blocks, sawn timber, and repairs to plant, &c, £3,100 ; electric lighting, £400; rent and taxes, £600; management and office expenses, £1,050 : total, £9,000. This leaves a net profit on the working of over £27,000 per annum. "There is, however, another item to be taken into consideration which will considerably augment the quantity of gold, without increasing the expenditure, which has hitherto been lost, owing to the sluice-boxes not having sufficient capacity to treat the quantity of material sent through them. "The estimate of the net profit has been made on the actual returns of gold obtained from the claim for the last nine years, but the loss of gold in the past has been very considerable, for the reasons given. " After having examined the company's claim, races, and plant, and also the balance-sheets and gold returns, I draw the following conclusions : (a.) That the present water-supply is altogether too small and too intermittent to work the large area in this claim, (b.) That the extent of auriferous country commanded by the race gives the enterprise an almost unlimited life, and assures to the shareholders regular dividends. " Attached hereto are detailed estimates of the works required to be done in widening the present race so that it will carry 130 heads—extending it to the Arahura Eiver, with a capacity of 100 heads; also constructing the branch race to Blake's Tunnel, and widening same; opening out new faces, providing electric lighting and sawmill plant, and also suitable sluices and hydraulic plant, to carry on operations on the most approved and economical system. " In conclusion, the Humphrey's Gully property will become an extremely valuable one as soon as the proposed supply of water is brought in to this field. " Having had considerable experience in laying out and constructing hydraulic works, I feel confident that the estimates given, both as regards the revenue to be derived from the claim and the cost of the proposed works, will be fully borne out when the claim is in full working order, with the proposed supply of water, as there has been a large allowance made for possible contingencies in the estimate for the construction of the proposed works, and considerable deductions made in regard to the estimated revenue. " Nothing has been taken into consideration of the increase of gold through the construction of better saving appliances, or the high probability of a rich lead of gold-bearing wash being found running through some portions of the ground, such as has recently been discovered at the Blue Spur, which is a continuation of the same range, and where as much as 3oz. of gold has been obtained per load of wash-drift."

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" Estimate. —Humphrey's Gully Water-race Extension: Widening of constructed race, and opening out claims, &c. Race to carry 100 Government sluice-heads, or 100 cubic feet per second:—

EIMU. There is very little work being done on the Eimu Flat, and most of the miners are employed on Seddon's Terrace and Back Greek. At the latter all the workings are carried on by hydraulic sluicing, and at Seddon's Terrace the ground is driven out from adits and shaft on a false bottom. Some of these claims are giving good returns for working. A reconnaissance survey was made during the past year, with a view of lifting water from Kaneri Lake, and conveying it on to Seddon's Terrace to work the ground by hydraulic sluicing, but the fall between these points would not admit of water being taken from this source. Indeed, it is a question whether water can be got to command this terrace, unless at a very large outlay. There is a possibility of water being lifted from the Styx Eiver, but a survey would have to be made to determine this. The expense, however, would be considerable, as there are rough and broken gorges to pass through, as well as a great length of siphon to cross the Hokitika Valley. There is no doubt a large area of auriferous drifts in the vicinity of Seddon's Terrace and Back Creek; but, unless the water can be brought in at a sufficient elevation to command the whole of the ground, it would not prove a payable venture. At the lower end of Bimu Flat, from Fisherman's Creek upwards, a line of a prospecting tunnel was surveyed for a distance of two miles and a half; but this tunnel would have been too expensive to construct for all the advantage gained, as the levels showed it to be near, if not on the surface, for a long distance. It has been deemed more advisable to sink prospecting shafts along the line of tunnel to ascertain the character of the ground as to whether it is of a payable nature or not, for working. Six of these shafts have already been undertaken and the whole of them sunk down to as great a depth as the water would permit, the average depth being about 42ft. In one of these shafts, at a depth of 20ft., a layer of wash-drift was met with 4ft. in thickness, which yielded on an average about ldwt. of gold to the load, and in another shaft an auriferous layer 6ft. in thickness was met with at a depth of 26ft.; but this did not contain sufficient gold to be considered payable for working. The existence of auriferous layers of wash-drift at this depth strongly indicates that payable layers may be met with resting on a false bottom, and as the flat is a very extensive one, there is ample room for a large goldfield to be opened out in this locality. There is no telling what depth of drift ground there would be to go through before reaching to the main bottom, and as there is a large quantity of water met when sinking below the level of the Mahinapua Creek this will prevent the ground from being tested unless with the aid of powerful pumping machinery.

Description. Length in Chains. Rate per Chain. Clearing forest along line of race 169 21 £1 5s. £ 14 53 140 60 £ s. d. 211 10 0 £ s. d. Ditching... Tunnelling in gravel and boulders ... Tunnelling in rock Boxing corrugated galvanised iron . . Head works, say ... Possible extras— Timbering or stone-walling in ditch Timbering or stone-walling in tunnels 110 85 212 69 11 20 41 86 1,551 18 0 11,272 11 0 1,568 0 0 2,511 12 0 200 0 0 55 0 200 0 20 25 18,800 11 0 1,100 0 0 5,000 0 0 Contingencies, surveys, and supervision Widening constructed race, to carry 130 heads—Long Tunnel, lining with boards Ditch-widening, from tunnel to syphon ... Ditching in lieu of small flumes, say Double syphon, two 32in. pipes... Ditching between syphon and reservoir ... From Reservoir to Mount Brown— Ditch-widening and stone-pitching Boxing, widening, and repairing Fluming, widening, and repairing Tunnelling, widening, and repairing Syphon at Johnston's Creek Branch race, 130 heads— From Long Tunnel to Blake's— Ditching Widening Blake's tunnel 6,100 0 0 2,500 0 0 57 0 260 0 60 " 0 28 50 8 5 50 10 456 0 0 1,300 0 0 200 0 0 3,000 0 0 285 0 0 277 0 63 50 10 0 27 0 3 0 6 40 50 50 1,662 0 0 2,540 0 0 500 0 0 1,350 0 0 100 0 0 say 150 0 30 0 11,393 0 0 12 30 1,800 0 0 900 0 0 Opening out new faces, pipes, nozzles, &c. Electric light installation ... Survey and contingencies ... 2,700 0 0 2,700 0 0 700 0 0 1,739 0 0 Grand total ... £46,632 11 0

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Eoss. In the early days of the West Coast this was one of the most flourishing places in the colony ; but now that the shallow ground is getting worked out, and all operations suspended for many years past in the deep ground, the place has a very dilapidated appearance from what it formerly had in the zenith of its prosperity, when the Scandinavian, Prince of Wales, Morning Star, Excelsior, and Cassius Companies were in full work, besides all the other private companies which were working Eoss Flat at that time. In 1873 the whole of the workings in the deep ground on the flat came to a standstill, not because the ground was worked out, but owing to a certain number of claims near the terrace being given up, and this caused the drainage rates to be higher on the remaining claims, which still were giving fair returns. In order at that time to drain the flat, a drainage company was formed from amongst those interested in claims on the flat, and a Drainage Board was formed to levy rates to pay the expense of drainage, and to return interest on the outlay, but this Board failed to levy sufficient rates to pay the expense of working this drainage-plant, consequently the plant was mortgaged to find the necessary means, and, finally, the mortgagee foreclosed, and sold the plant by public auction to Mr. Cassius, on behalf of himself and the Morning Star Company. Previous to this sale the different mining companies on the flat agreed to amalgamate and form one large company, but the additional capital could not be raised at that time, the pumping-engine was stopped, and the whole of the claims were flooded out, which brought mining on this flat to a standstill. Several years passed away before anything further was done. It was only after a visit of Mr. Commisky to this district that steps were taken to resuscitate mining on this flat. An English company was formed with a capital of £150,000 to work the whole of the flat; but this company failed to carry on operations in the manner it was first intended, abandoned working the deep levels and erected an elevating-plant to lift tailings from sluice-boxes, to operate on the old workedout ground on the shallow levels. This system of working has been now carried on for many years, and, the ground becoming deeper as it goes into the flat, the company find that profitable operations cannot be carried on much longer. The following is an extract from the directors' and mine-manager's report for the year ending the 27th January last: — " The statement of expenditure shows much about the same in the aggregate as last year, waterrace maintenance being considerably less, but Eoss elevators increased owing to the necessity of replacing the turbine by a Pelton wheel for winding purposes; "the receipts have been £43 7s. 6d. less, the net result being a slight credit to profit and loss account. " This in itself is not satisfactory, but a reference to the mine-manager's report, appended, shows that even this cannot be long maintained under existing conditions, and should force upon shareholders the necessity (so persistently advocated by the directors) of providing the additional capital to re-open the deep levels, where profitable operations may be carried on for years to come. " With a view to effect this, the directors have applied to the Government for a subsidy of £10,000 under the regulations of the Mining Act, and Mr. Grimmond, their co-director and minemanager, while on a visit to Auckland had an interview with the Hon. Mr. Cadman, Minister of Mines, who promised to give it his favourable consideration. Should the company obtain this assistance there should not be much difficulty in procuring the balance (£24,000) of the total amount estimated to be required, viz., £34,000, by Messrs. Waters, C.E., Wylie (late mine-manager) and Grimmond, present mine-manager. " If the company receives the assitance asked from the Government, the directors will at once formulate a scheme for obtaining the whole sum required to put the deep levels in full working order, and thus secure for the shareholders some return for the large expenditure incurred, as it is beyond doubt that the ground will yield it. "Boss Elevators. —This plant has been worked continuously by two shifts of tributers, having treated 71,7540 cubic yards of wash-dirt, yielding 5300z. 19gr. of gold to the value of £2,067 2s. 6d., of which £723 6s. was paid to this company in tribute. The output from the mine is nearly as much as last year, but the gold obtained is less, showing that the ground is getting poorer—the tributers have not earned anything like wages. I fear there will be a still greater decline this year, in fact, the shallow ground is about worked out. The plant, &c, is in fair working order, an extra expenditure having been incurred in providing new reversible Pelton wheels for winding—the turbine used for that purpose being about worn out. " Prince of Wales Elevators. —This plant, head-race and adit are in fair order and repair. A jet-pump has been placed in position and is draining the ground to about 10ft. below the adit level and is doing the work economicaly and effectually. The yield from this portion of the company's property shows a slight increase, but the area of ground to be worked at the present level is very limited. The returns from these elevators are 5020z. lOdwt. 10gr., value £1,957 7s. 6d. Tribute £391 17s. 6d. " Other tributes are reduced to one man working on the Eoss claim and one party paying a small tribute on the gold obtained in their own claim in consideration of being drained by the pumping plant on the Prince of Wales." The balance-sheet shows the following results of working for the year : — Receipts. £ s. d. Expenditure. £ s. d. To percentage of gold received from tri- Water-race working account .. .. 166 9 6 buters .. .. .. .. 1,136 16 6 Boss elevator working account .. .. 268 8 1 Water sales outstanding from previous year 22 0 0 Prince of Wales elevator working account .. 76 18 1 Water sales paid in current year .. .. 39 0 0 Rents and fees .. .. .. 52 12 6 Mine-manager .. .. .. .. 219 5 0 General Management. Salaries, stationery, and £ s. d. 783 13 2 office charges .. 285 8 5 Directors' fees .. .. 101 10 0 Other expenses .. .. 36 9 0 — 373 7 5 Balance profit .. .. .. .. 40 15 11 £1,197 16 6 £1,197 16 6

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It will be seen from this that the end is fast approaching when the present method of carrying on operations will necessarily be suspended. If ever, this company expects to get any return for their capital it must be out of the deep ground; but the money that is mentioned as being adequate to open up the claim and place a drainage-plant on the ground to lift the water is not sufficient, neither is the proposed pumping plant, namely, two pumps of 18in. diameter sufficient to cope with the water. Before the company suspended operations it required four pumps 14in. in diameter to keep down the water, and these were not able to contend with any extra water met with. Assuming, therefore, that these pumps were working at the full capacity, having a travel of 96ft. per minute, the quantity of water these pumps were lifting, allowing 5 per cent, for windage and leakage, would be 125J gallons of water per minute. Taking the proposed pumps on the same basis, the quantity of water they would be capable of lifting would be about 1,004 gallons of water per minute, or 211 gallons less than the present pumps. It is clear from this that that the proposed drainage plant is by far too small to contend with the water in Ross Flat. It necessarily follows that, as the ground is further opened up, the more water there will be to contend with, and it will require at least two pumps twenty-four inches in diameter to be able to contend successfully with the water in this fiat. Taking pumps of this diameter on the same basis of speed and percentage of efficiency as the present pumps, or, at least, the pumps that were used when the lower levels were worked, they would have a lifting capacity of about 1,786 gallons of water per minute, or an extra capacity over those formerly used of 571 gallons of water per minute. This is not too much when floods and heavy rains are taken into consideration, as the ground is now open near the terrace to such an extent that a large quantity of water finds its way to the lower workings in wet weather. At the present time the whole of the flat is full of water, and a pumping plant to be of any service must be capable of dealing with the whole of the drainage of the flat, so that the old workings can be broken into and the lead of gold followed, and before this is done a considerable expenditure will have to be incurred in constructing a new storm-water channel through Jones Mat to Donnelly's Creek. Otago Disteict. Maerewhenua. There is a considerable extent of auriferous ground in this locality, but the quantity of water that can be brought on to the field is very limited, and owing to this, only a comparatively small mining population can find profitable employment. The ground in many places must be fairly rich to even pay very small wages to the men who are working it by the method they adopt; but the miners on this field are not entirely depending on mining, the most of them have a few cattle, and some of them have small cultivations, which enable them to make a livelihood when they can get a little gold to pay for what they cannot raise on their cultivations. Some years ago it was represented to the Government that this field would maintain a large mining population if the Maerewhenua Eiver was declared a channel into which tailings and mining debris could be deposited, but this, like many other representations, has not proved an accomplished fact, there are no more employed than there were years ago, before the river was proclaimed a channel for tailings, nor can there be ever a large population until a much larger supply of water is brought on to command the ground to be worked, and this cannot be done except at such an expense that the undertaking would not be justifiable. It is true that water could be brought from the head waters of the Waitaki Eiver or some of its large tributaries, but the cost of constructing a water-race from this scource is out of the question, when it is taken into consideration that in order to command the whole of the alluvial auriferous ground in this locality the terminating point of the water-race would require to be about 1,200 feet above sea-level. The Mountain Hut Company referred to in my last report, is still working at the construction of a small water-race from a branch of the Maerewhenua Eiver. This company was promised a subsidy towards the cost of an iron siphon to convey the water from the end of their water-race across gorges, on condition that the race, which had been constructed for seven miles, would deliver six sluice-heads of water at its terminating-point. It is fully eighteen months since this water-race was constructed, and there is a considerable amount of work yet to accomplish before the race is capable of conveying this quantity of water. The fact is, the race was never properly surveyed— with the result that in some places there is a great fall, while in others there is no fall at all, and the consequence is that the lower side of the ditch in many places has to be banked up, while the upper portion of the race (which was built up with stones on the lower side) was not sufficiently strong to stand when the water was admitted. Had the miners employed a competent surveyor to lay off the race in the first instance, they might have been now earning wages in working their claim. Tuapeka. The mining population on this field is comparatively small to what it was twenty years ago. It was in this district —in Gabriel's Gully—that gold was first discovered in Otago, about the middle of 1861, the ground being very shallow and gold easily obtained. The richness of the ground attracted mining population from the adjacent colonies. Almost simultaneously with the discovery of gold in Gabriel's Gully, Weatherstone's, Waitahuna, and Munroe's Gully were opened up, each of which was very rich, and maintained a large mining population for many years. The ground along the banks of Weatherstone's and Gabriel's Creeks to the junction of the Tuapeka and Molyneux Eivers, after Europeans considered it too bare to enable them to obtain a sufficient livelihood, has been worked by Chinese, who wrought it both a second and third time, the methods employed in working the ground in the first instance being of a very primitive and inferior character. It was only the large quantity of gold obtained that enabled the miners to carry on their operations

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in a successful manner, the first methods employed being merely sinking paddocks and washing the bottom layer of drift in cradles, small sluice-boxes, and long-toms; and unless the material gave good results the whole of it was thrown away, the claim left, and fresh ground taken up. Some considerable time elapsed before sluicing operations began to be generally adopted. There is a comparatively small number of men carrying on mining operations in the Tuapeka District at the present time, with the exception of those working at the Waipori and the Clutha Valley. For many years alluvial mining was looked upon as an industry which any man could successfully undertake, but as gold became more difficult to obtain it has gradually dawned upon those interested in such work that a man requires scientific attainments in order to become a successful miner, just as much as in carrying on other industries. It is due solely to hydraulic sluicing and elevating being conducted on a large scale that claims in this district are now being brought to a successful issue. The Blue Spur Company, at the head of Gabriel's Gully, may be cited as an instance. For many years this ground, which is of a hard, cemented nature, was held by local companies, who carried on mining operations for a long time without being able to pay expenses. Their properties were, in many instances, mortgaged to their full value, and had it not been for the successful floating of the Blue Spur Company in London, who took over these properties, paying an exorbitant price for them, the mortgagees who advanced the money would, in all probability, have lost it all. The Blue Spur Consolidated Company have for many years been working under great disadvantages. After having expended its working capital, money had to be borrowed in order to carry on operations to a successful issue. It is gratifying to state that the whole of the liabilities of this company are now paid off, and a commencement will be made to return to the shareholders sufficient to recoup them for their outlay, and with interest added. It should also be gratifying to the general public, whose attitude has long been one of sympathy with this company. The original owners of the claims constituting the property of the company represented the value of the ground to be such that something like 100 per cent, would be obtained by providing additional capital and working on a large scale. No doubt, if the matter had been thoroughly sifted at the time these statements were made, the public must have seen that it was almost incredible to expect such a return from a partially-worked-out gold-mine. The property originally consisted of nine claims or companies—namely, The Tailings, Nelson, Otago, Morrison's, Blue Duck, Cement, Tuapeka, and Waipori Companies. Before putting these properties on the market the richest portions of the cement had been driven out in every direction, and, long previous to their being floated on the London market, failed to give satisfactory returns. Indeed, some of these properties virtually ceased to merit the description of paying properties. The following extract from the Otago Witness of 16th April last gives a description of these claims, and the methods employed in working them : — " The ground has been worked since the very early sixties, when prospecting parties from the miners who first rushed Gabriel's Gully made the discovery that the hill dividing Gabriel's from Munro's Gully was auriferous. Soon after, water-races were constructed from the back ranges, and ground-sluicing operations on an extensive scale were conducted by numerous parties of separate miners. " The Consolidated Company now maintain no less than 166 miles of water-races, the supply being principally taken from the Waipori and Beaumont Eivers. The maintenance of these races or contour ditches entails a heavy expense on the company, five men being more or less occupied in attending to them. During last year 44-J heads of water were used in a working period of 7,832 hours. During the previous year the working time was less by 482 hours, which was due to atmospheric differences and to the condition of the races. With such a long line of races the waste from leakage and evaporation is naturally considerable, but if the fortunes of the company continue to advance as they have been doing during the last year or two it is possible that the construction of one commanding conduit may be undertaken. This would admit of all the water being conveyed to the mine at a less altitude and on much better principles. The ultimate effect of such a work would clearly be a large saving in money and water without at the same time risking the valuable prior rights which the company possesses in many of its numerous sources of supply. " Reference to the early history of the Blue Spur, supplemented by authoritative local tradition, informs me that ground-sluicing in the cement now being worked by the Consolidated Company began about the year 1863, and continued for many years with very profitable results. It was, during those years, the custom to break up faces of cement of 100 ft. and upwards in height by heavy charges of blasting-powder, two or three tons being sometimes used. The resulting debris was then sluiced through long lines of sluice-boxes into the two bounding gullies—Gabriel's and Munro's —that is to say, the Blue Spur deposit was furnished with one of the first essentials for successful sluicing—namely, extensive dumping-grounds. In time, as the hill-top shrank and the gullies filled, it was found that the simple expedient of pouring water in the high ground and letting it wash the golden dirt into the gully no longer served its purpose, and other expedients were accordingly tried, with varying success. Crushing machinery was erected, and worked, with one exception, at greatly reduced profit, and ultimately, after many expedients and much stress, the desperate resolve was arrived at of exploiting the British public to the tune of something like £40,000 in cash, together with half the amount in fully paid-up shares in the new company. " The early management of the company has often been condemned in very sweeping terms, principally by people who found it inconvenient for their purpose to consider that no funds were provided in London for the working of the property. What, under such circumstances, could the most capable or highly-qualified man do ? The capital subscribed was not sufficient to pay for the property, or permit of the purchase of plant or the payment of labour. The London directorate, without the requisite resources to meet successfully a situation principally the creation of their own lack of business acumen and foresight, presently found themselves hopelessly begirt with a sea of financial troubles. Then followed bank loans and mortgages at ruinous rates of interest, law-costs

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ever swelling and growing out of the wreckage, and all the other horrors usual under such conditions. The first lift the company got, the first indication of a better and a happier time vouchsafed them, was when sometime at the beginning of 1891 a patch of rich tailings was acquired, which, consistently with the methods of the vendors, had not been included in the original purchase. After that, the clouds gradually rolled away, and the advance of the company has since been steady and encouraging. "There is much dissonance of opinion as to the source of the material forming the cemented conglomerate of the Blue Spur. It does not seem improbable that the deposit came, in the first instance, from the direction of the Tapanui Mountains. It has, again, been asserted that, judging from the vast quantity of purple jasperoid boulders among the conglomerate, that the deposit has belonged to the deep-seated rocks of the crystalline axis running from Lake Wanaka to the Lower Waipori. Whichever theory is correct, it is clear that this Blue Spur conglomerate is an extremely old deposit, and has been the result, probably, of concentration, and furnished not only Gabriel's Gully with its gold, but also Wetherstone's, Waitahuna, and the valley of the Clutha. "Last year the water-supply was equal to a little over forty-four heads for 7,350 hours, this water being distributed over five reservoirs, situated at the heads of gullies about two miles and a half from the mine. These reservoirs will hold about 6,500,000 cubic feet. Since the beginning of operations by the company three causes have intervened with deadly persistency to hinder progress and upset calculations of a hopeful character patiently arrived at. It invariably happens that for some weeks in midwinter the water-supply is cut off by frost and snow, and the cement in the paddocks is frozen so hard as to defy all efforts to break it. Were sluicing possible at such times no gold could be saved in the sluice-boxes, the gold-saving appliances—ripples, paving, perforated plates, and matting—being frozen into a solid mass. In midsummer the water-supply is again more or less affected by evaporation aud drought. Perhaps, worse still, the main drain is so defective in construction as to be liable to periodical collapse. The manager has informed me of one such collapse that occurred a couple of years ago, the drain at the point of rupture being buried under 50ft. of tailings, in the removal of which three months were wasted. This main drain is of only sufficient capacity to carry off about 25 cubic feet of water per second. Under existing circumstances it has been found necessary to arrange the plant in such a way that one-half the water used when the mine is in full work should be always discharged on the surface, and allowed to run down the gully free, while the drain served the balance. " A noteworthy feature in connection with the management is the method everywhere observable, and the expedients successfully resorted to with the view of economising time and labour. Aerial tramways, simply and inexpensively devised, cross the mine at certain points, and promptly and effectively perform work that would otherwise have been carried out under conditions involving much labour and waste of time. It appears to be a favourite principle in the working of the claim to have things so ordered that if one arrangement should break down an alternative is always ready at hand. The work always, consequently, goes on ; the water is never allowed to go to waste, and, if a misadventure is not preventible, means are never wanting to provide a remedy. In the compact little engine-shop the machinery is driven by a small hurdy-gurdy wheel, which is put in motion by a half-inch jet of water. The idea is certainly not a new one, but the method of its adoption is not without originality. The wheel itself was made on the premises, where also the working-plant is repaired and the riveting of iron pipes undertaken. "The mine is opened in two main divisions, with the working-faces about 5 chains apart, but at different levels, owing to the dip in the cement. The lines of sluice-boxes in which the gold is saved, and which convey the debris to the dumps in Gabriel's Gully, cross near their lower ends and discharge No. 1 water by the main drain, No. 2 discharging on the surface. The same stratum of cement —about 105 ft. in thickness—is being worked in either division. On No. 1 side a face of cement 130 ft. to 140 ft. in height has been slightly shaken by subsidence of the underlying layers into old underground workings, and is sufficiently pliable to be undercut and brought down almost entirely by the action of the nozzle-water. The cement, as it is broken out of the face, is smashed by hand into pieces of about 6in.—the large and very hard stones which contain no gold being stacked out of the way —and sluiced down a race 336 ft. long to the elevator, lifted 58ft. by a jet of water, and finally discharged through another line of boxes 350 ft. long. In arranging the plant the greatest care is taken to avoid loss of fall, but the sluice-boxes must in all cases be provided with sufficient fall or inclination to insure their always running clear, a momentary stoppage or obstruction to the flow of sluiced material resulting in a destructive overflow. The first 60ft. of the sluice is furnished with patent angle-iron riffles for gold-saving, laid transversely. From them to the elevator old 401b. railway iron is used, laid longitudinally, nine 24ft. rails covering the bottom of the boxes. From the head of the elevator another 66ft. of patent riffles reach to a drop of Bin., and then paving of hard jasperoid extends to within 12ft. of the tail, where perforated plates carry all the coarser material, the fine dirt and a little fine gold finding its way through the perforations on to cocoanut matting. This matting is taken up and washed every twenty-four hours in a trough conveniently placed for that purpose. " On No. 2 side the cement is very solid, and is, in consequence, most amenable to heavy blasts. Here the working-faces are divided, with the double object of economising power and working the men as far as possible in the day—that is to say, sluicing the broken cement with the nozzle-water is carried on in the upper part whilst the hands are breaking up in the lower. The cement abutting on the upper part of the slickenside, and lying above a grade-line of 1-18 rising above the main elevator, is dislodged, broken up by hand, and ground-sluiced through a line of boxes 432 ft. long, resting on the rock, to the elevator ; while the lower portions, having been blasted down and broken sufficiently, are sluiced into a line of sluice-boxes 96ft. long to an elevator lifting the material 39ft. with a jet of water 2fin. in diameter, under a hydraulic head of 367 ft., into a second line of sluice-boxes on trestle-work, 168 ft. long, which joins the line serving the upper face 84ft. from the

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main elevator. Here a fin. jet lifts the material 63'5ft. under a hydraulic head of 408 ft. into a further line of sluices, erected on high trestle-work, 382 ft. long, running down to the final point of discharge or dump. The dirt from the lower face is therefore elevated 102 - sft. by two lifts, while the upper portion is only lifted once. The gold-saving appliances in these lines of boxes are similar to those on No. 1 side, and the cement is sluiced over them for a distance, on No. 1 side, of 810 ft.; on the upper part of No. 2, 864 ft.; and the lower part 766 ft., before being finally discharged. Eeliance is placed on the considerable length of the several sluices to secure nearly all the gold contained in the cement in the absence of crushing machinery, and repeated trials from the dumped tailings show that a very inconsiderable quantity of gold escapes—not sufficient, in fact, to warrant the cost of other appliances to attempt to save it. " After repeated trials with numerous explosive agents, roburite has been selected as the most suitable, and has been used with marked success. Blasting-powder, besides requiring much larger charge-chambers, was found to bring down the cement in huge, solid masses, which necessitated an unprofitable amount of hard work in breaking up for sluicing. That is, powder was too slow in its action. The nitro-glycerine compounds, on the other hand, were too quick, shattering and pulverizing the cement in the immediate vicinity of the charge by the rapidity of its action, without dislodging a sufficient quantity to make the shot remunerative, the energy of the explosion being over-concentrated. Eoburite is much slower m its action than the latter class of explosives, and is quicker than powder, thus breaking the mass operated on into smaller fragments, at the same time lifting the whole face more effectively. I was informed by the manager that some eight or ten months ago a charge of 1,5001b. of roburite was tried under a face of cement 104 ft. high, and brought down 60,000 cubic yards of cement, at a cost of £110, including all charges for driving tunnel, loading, and tamping the charge, &c. " The mine is lighted for nightwork by three 3,000 c.p. arc lamps, the dynamo, one of Crimptin's, being run with an 18in. Pelton wheel, using rather more than one Government head of water under a hydraulic head of 320 ft. Large blasts are always fired electrically direct from the dynamo. " Gold returns for the past eighteen months show that the average value of the cement is under Is. 3d. per cubic yard. The cost of working amounts to about 40 per cent, of the gross proceeds, under the condition just outlined. The company since its formation has taken upwards of seventythree thousand pounds' worth of gold, and out of the proceeds of the last three months' cleaning-up a sum of £3,000 has been sent Home by the manager. This represents absolutely clear profit; and of the total output of gold last year there was £11,000 of clear profit. During the same year the expenses of management only amounted to 36-J- per cent., the difference representing the annual profit of the company. " There is now no further doubt as to the position and prospects of the company. It has discharged all its liabilities, and under normal conditions can calculate for many years on the receipt of a modest interest for the money invested. Beyond that anticipation it would be unsafe to go, and would be certain to lead to disappointment, of which the company have already had considerably more than their share. It is not, therefore, possible to hope that the future of the mine is likely to yield such compensatory results as would cover the dead years during which the shareholders received no dividends, and the directors, with an appearance of touching magnanimity, elected to forego their fees for supervising a business that produced nothing but trouble. The mine has done and is doing what all people properly informed as to the measure of its productive powers expected. Nobody has either been deceived or disappointed with the results of the working of the mine, except perhaps those gentlemen who have been guiding its affairs in a directorial capacity in London, and the more credulous shareholders whom they schooled into such expectations as are realised only in the pages of a work of fiction. The jubilant and somewhat excessive manifestations we have been lately treated to once again reveal a familiar tendency of the directorial mind. The history of the mine during the last three or four years, and during that period it has been seen at its best, does not warrant any enthusiastic prediction. More soberness of speech and more reserve in dealing with the future would fit in much better with the situation, past and present. Of course, it is gratifying to know that the company are emerging from the wilderness, and it is but natural, perhaps, that Sir Walter Buller, remembering the position he occupied in the early history of the property, should be the first to announce the refreshing fact to the shareholders. The knowledge that the average total output of gold from the mine runs steadily into the vicinity of 4,0000z. annually is something to inspire confidence and dispose one to the comforting but insecure practice of indulging in dead-reckoning or mathematical calculations in forecasting the future of a mine. Under ordinary or general conditions this attitude is obviously untenable, as mine-managers but too well know. It is certainly the case, as the comparative regularity of the returns show, that the conditions supplied by the mine for the purposes of calculation are not of the ordinary or general kind. They permit of one taking some liberties with the future, but while doing so there are certain possibilities that cannot be overlooked. One expensive source of trouble in the future will be the disposal of the tailings. It is, in fact, already becoming a perplexing question, and will as time passes become more difficult to deal with. The enormous lines of water-races owned by the company will also by-and-by demand a large expenditure of money, and in other directions the company will find themselves liable to frequent and not inconsiderable expenditure. It is just as well that those things should be borne in mind ; it may prevent the aftermath of bitterness that comes of living in a fool's paradise. " The absence of the company's books for the purposes of auditing at the time of my visit to the claim prevented me providing myself with such comparative figures as I should desire. I learned, however, that the return for the past year had been 3,7890z. 9dwt. 21gr. of gold, representing a value of £14,873 15s. 4d. The total amount of wages paid for the year, exclusive of management, was £4,175 3s. 10d., and the total cost of explosives used was £624. During the year 221,503 cubic yards of cement were sluiced, from which, as already stated, 3,7890z. 9dwt. 21gr. of gold were obtained, or an average of B'os6gr. per cubic yard."

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A statement of the receipts and expenditure for the year ending 29th February, 1896, was furnished me by Mr. Jackson, the manager, and shows a net profit of 63J per cent, of the actual value of gold obtained, which was 4,3980z. 7dwt., representing a value of £17,263 10s. 6d. This means a net profit on last year's workings, in round numbers, of something like £11,000. It may be interesting to give a statement of the amount of work done during the last twelve months, the number of hours sluicing has been carried on, gold obtained, and its average value per cubic yard.

Statement of Work, &c., for Twelve Months ending 29th February, 1896.

The average number of men employed in this mine is forty-one, and the total wages paid during last year was £4,116, while the cost of the explosives used to break up the cement was £529 19s. 2d. In addition to the Blue Spur Consolidated Company's claim, there are other claims in Gabriel's Gully and also in Munro's Gully. In the former place the Local Industry Company has been working a hydraulic elevator in the bed of the gully, working the tailings. They have worked up the length of their own claim, and are now working a portion of the Blue Spur Consolidated Company's ground which that company considered too poor to work at a profit. The Local Industry Company are very reticent as to their earnings, but from the manner in which they are carrying on operations they must be working at a profit. The ground they are at present working is over 40ft. in depth of tailings, and their returns cannot be very large. This company have rented the Pioneer Company's water-race at an annual rental of £275, but the supply from this race does not admit of sluicing operations being carried on continuously. As far as can be learned, they have only paid a dividend of Is. 3d. per share during the last two years. On the Munro's side of the Blue Spur, the Fidelity Company has a claim that has been working the cemented gravels for the last thirty-five years. It was originally known as Livingstone's claim, and in the early days a large quantity of gold was obtained from it. At the present time the claim consists of an area of about 9 acres. The ground here to the reef is from 60ft. to 70ft. in depth, which is worked on the hydraulic-elevating principle. They only use water about three hours a day, the remainder of the time being occupied in blasting the cement and breaking it up. It is purely a private company, consisting of five working miners; and it is said when they are working on the run of auriferous cement they can make from £8 to £10 a man per week. A little below the Fidelity Company's claim, Kitto and party are working in Munro's Gully, carrying on large hydraulic-sluicing operations, and are said to be doing very well. A description of this party's —which consists of six men—workings, and also of other claims in the neighbourhood, is given in the Otago Witness, of which the following is an extract: — "Their water-race represents a piece of Herculean labour. It is twenty-six miles in length, and it is brought through a country that is in many places exceptionally rough. They also brought in another or supplementary race from the Tuapeka Eiver, a work of two years' continuous labour, costing quite as much as the other. This race represents a sum of about £1,200 —that is, calculating the value of their own labour and the cost of that they employed. They also bought out the old North of Ireland Company for £1,000, and have given other pleasing evidence of success—the result entirely of their own strong, intelligent effort, industry, and steady purpose. The numerical strength of the party is six, all Corm'shmen, and, as miners, the very best types of their class. They have at their disposal a plentiful supply of water for one elevator, and they have also leased water to the owners of another claim lower down the gully. In addition to their lines of races, they have erected a dam for storage purposes 27ft. high, 70ft. wide at the bottom,

Division of Mine. Hours Sluicing. Cement. Gold. Grains per Cubic i Pence per Cubic Yard. Yard. i No. 1 No. 2 No. 2b 4,144-5 1,315-5 2,372-5 Cubic yards. 110,658 43,806 79,004 Oz. 2,258-72 681-03 1,458-60 9-797 7-462 8-861 19-2 14-6 17-367 7,832-5 233,468 4,398-35 iOMPAKISON of Iesults for Yea: ■s 1893-94, 189 =-95, 1895-96. Hours Sluicing. Cement. Gold. Grains per Cubic Pence per Cubic Yard. Yard. No. 1 D. Hvision. 1893-94 1894-95 1895-96 2,179 3,534 4,144-5 Cubic yards. 58,107 94,320 110,658 Oz. 567 1,536 2,258-72 4-6 7-8 9-8 9-12 13- 6 19- 2 No. 2 D division. 7-86 8-15 8-16 15-13 15-97 15-99 1893-94 1894-95 1895-96 4,407 3,816 3,688 103,733 127,182 122,810 I , 1,598 2,252 2,140 i J

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and 12ft. at the top. It is not possible to speak with accuracy of their returns, as the party, following the general custom of the day, resolutely refuse to be drawn on this point. There is reason, however, to believe that they touch a high level, representing at times as much as £20 a man weekly. The ground at present being operated on is not capable of giving such results, but better things are expected as they work their way further up the gully into the ground that formerly belonged to the North of Ireland Company. " Mills and party are also working some very good ground at the foot of Munro's Gully. They have an efficient water-supply, which they hold under lease, and also a very good elevating plant. The ground, which has been only recently taken up, paid very handsome returns after being first opened out, but they are just now not quite so encouraging. " The Golden Eise Claim on Wetherstone's Flat completes the catalogue of mining properties held by small parties of working miners in the Lawrence district. The party consists of three men, who hold an area of about 34 acres, for which they pay an annual rent of 10s. per acre. The ground had been many times tried since the early days, and always abandoned as worthless—a fact due, as subsequent experiences proved, not to the quality of the ground, but to the methods by which it was sought to make it pay. The present occupiers have rented two water-races, their combined length being 14 miles, at a cost of £100 annually. They have also spent £700 on plant and the construction of a dam, in addition to £150 expended by the water-race owners. This expense was rendered necessary in order to enable the party to work their claim by hydraulic sluicing. By this method and the assistance of the best gold-saving appliances they are able to make ground pay big returns which under other conditions was supposed to be useless. The party intend to widen their races and extend their piping, at a cost of about £450, the object being to make provision for working twenty-four hours a day instead of twelve hours as at present. The party have for the past couple of years been averaging about £20 a week each, but the ground they are at present engaged on does not give more than £6 a man weekly. " There is a large area of ground similar to this in the neighbourhood of Lawrence that will not pay with the old style of working, but that will yield big returns if worked by the hydraulic system. There are at present some hundreds of acres of such ground applied for and taken up, which are to be worked by the dredging system, as there is no water available for hydraulic sluicing. It must, however, be said that hydraulic sluicing is certainly the best method for working this class of ground, as it is principally lost gold that has to be saved. The dirt must therefore be thoroughly washed, as the fine gold adheres to the small stones, which are coated more or less with clay. This can be best illustrated by taking a dish of such dirt and washing it off without aiding the operation by the action of the hands : this would represent as nearly as possible the treatment it would receive under the dredging system. If another dish of the same stuff is taken, and washed clean between the hands, an approach will be made to the results arrived at by the method of hydraulic sluicing, and the existing differences between the two systems spoken of will be practically understood. "It is reported that it is the intention of Mr. Mclntosh and others, who have taken up 27 acres of Wetherstone's Flat, to put a dredge on the ground, working up from the creek at the back of the Lawrence Eailway-station. A party of Blue Spur men have also taken up 50 acres of Tuapeka Flat, in which they intend to dredge, and arrangements towards that end are now in progress. All this sudden awakening to the golden opportunities at hand has received further stimulus from Mr. J. Laffey, who has secured 80 acres of ground running from Evans Flat bridge down to the junction of the Tuapeka Creek. Mr. P. Laffey, of Miller's Flat, is taking up another area of 50 acres in the vicinity, both also to be worked by dredging. In the latter instance upwards of one thousand one hundred pounds' worth of shares have already been taken up by local people, which is proof that, by those who may be fairly supposed to know the ground, the undertaking is regarded with favour. As far back as seventeen or eighteen years ago an attempt was made to bring water in from the Beaumont to work these flats ; but the undertaking was found to be too difficult and costly, and it was abandoned after a considerable sum had been spent on the race. It would not now be possible to obtain water from such a source, even if there was a disposition to do so, as the greater part of the land through which it would pass has since been taken up. Under any circumstances, the introduction of water on to those flats for hydraulic-sluicing purposes would be found to be a work of much difficulty. So uniformly long and sloping are the surrounding hills that it would be necessary to go a very long way back in order to obtain the necessary pressure. The only alternative, therefore, is the dredge; but it would not surprise me if, in the course of five or six years, the question of effectually getting rid of the tailings assumed a very troublesome form. Yet it has to be remembered that, in this age of boundless resource and busy scientific invention, difficulties are not permitted to stand long between man and the acquisition of gold, after having once convinced himself of its presence ; and there is evidence so clear and strong as to be absolutely indisputable that in the whole of the large flats around Lawrence gold will be found in such quantities as will pay large and regular dividends to investors. " Among experienced miners there is still a strong belief in the ultimate recovery of the lost lead in the cement claim at Wetherstone's, which has been abandoned for some years. It was workta for upwards of ten years by the late Mr. J. C. Brown and others, as many as thirty men being au times employed in it, and during the period mentioned yielding gold of the value of £30,000. The deposit is the same description of brecciated material which occurs at the Blue Spur, but the method of working it was too slow to be satisfactory. But still, taking the average yield of the ground, it would be fully as rich as the Blue Spur deposit. The gold never ran completely out, but the ground, which was tunnelled on the top, got so deep as it went down the flat as to demand the driving of another tunnel. This the owners were not in a position to do, and hence the suspension,of operations and ultimate abandonment of the claim. A few years ago a local prospecting association sank a shaft, and, after much labour and some expenditure of money, were constrained to give up the task of recovering the same run of ground as the late owners had been working. Other attempts

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were subsequently made, but with the same unsatisfactory results. But the cause of failure in each instance was due to want of funds, and consequent inability on the part of those interested to make anything Jike an exhaustive search for the lost lead." " Valley of the Clutha. This valley contains one of the most extensive auriferous deposits in the colony. It is impossible to journey through this valley without being impressed with the visible proofs on every hand of the richness and extent of the auriferous wash-drift which it contains. A description of this valley appeared recently in the columns of the Otago Witness, and illustrated forcibly its valuable resources, as may be noted from the following extracts: — " The large quantities of gold that have been taken, not only out of the Clutha Eiver, but out of all its principal tributaries, clearly establishes the fact that the whole of the country which this great river drains is gold-bearing. The valley is simply the remains of an immense river that had for thousands of years been at work detaching and washing away the material from slips and denudations of the mountains as they came within the circle of its varying course. The action of the river resolved itself into a gigantic system of ground-sluicing, such as miners use in miniature to-day, and with results comparatively the same. " It may not only be termed a gigantic ground-sluice, but also a tail-race of exceptionally large dimensions, having a number of ground-sluices leading into it from all its tributaries. All the lighter material from the great debris which has been swept into this river is carried unresistingly to the ocean, while the more solid, cohesive, and denser particles remain in the bed of the river, or are deposited along its beaches; hence rich alluvial drifts and large deposits of gold have been found in this valley, and are being worked at the present time ; not only so, but an extensive area will remain to be worked by future generations. " At the present day the river is confined to a comparatively narrow rock-bound channel, which has been ground and grooved and formed by the violent action of large bodies of hard quartz stones and gravel, under the masterful constraint of this great river. " It may be that the startling finds of gold in the early days may never repeat themselves along the valley of the Clutha, but it may be accepted as certain that the vastness of its auriferous wealth is even to-day but imperfectly comprehended —as imperfectly comprehended, indeed, as are our poor conceptions to-day of the advances of scientific mining which time and a more inventive age will proclaim. The large quantities of gold that have been taken out of every river of any magnitude, from the Tuapeka Eiver to the Shotover, Kawarau, Lindis, and Clutha, demonstrates that the whole of that country is auriferous, and that the powerful natural agencies at work for so many centuries prior to the advent of the gold-seekers have left treasures to be unearthed of the magnitude of which we have but infantile and feeble conceptions. " There are areas of vast extent of alluvial drift between Beaumont and Eoxburgh that are well known to contain gold in payable quantities. It is no exaggeration to say that there is not a terrace on the borders of the Clutha Eiver, and scarcely a flat through which it flows, but would pay for working if water was obtainable at a sufficient elevation. The absence of a plentiful watersupply in this locality prevents a great extent of this ground from being worked; but such a supply could only be obtained at a very great cost, as almost every small stream, creek, and indeed all the tributaries, which can with an ordinary amount of capital be utilised are brought in to command the auriferous ground. " No doubt water could be brought from the Clutha itself, but such a scheme would involve the expenditure of so large a capital that it would even become questionable whether such a scheme could ever be made to return interest on the money expended. ' Many people are of opinion that water could be lifted from the river itself for the purposes indicated by means of pumping-machinery ; but, although this could no doubt be effected by the aid of current-wheels placed on pontoons near the centre of the river, yet even this system would be very expensive, and it may probably be found that the principle of working these flats by means of dredges will prove more efficient than other methods. " As already stated, there is a large extent of virgin ground in this valley, the greater part of which has never been worked, and a considerable portion of this area is still Crown land. Near one of these large flats in the valley—namely, from the upper end of the Island Block to Dumbarton Eock—water could be obtained to command the flat by enlarging the dam across the bed of the Teviot Eiver at the mouth of the gorge facing the Dismal Swamp. This place is a natural reservoir, with a very narrow, rock-bound gorge, where a concrete weir has already been constructed to a height of something like about 20ft. But this weir could, with comparatively little expense, be raised to a height of 70ft. If this were done an additional supply of a hundred heads of water could be conserved, and could be utilised to work these flats. " The difficulty, at the present time, of raising this dam or weir is that a number of water-rights for water from the Teviot Eiver have already been granted—rights which are of no value in dry weather; that is to say, a far greater number of water-rights have been granted than can, in ordinary weather, be supplied from the river. It is only in wet weather and flood time that the whole of the water-rights can be fully supplied; and, if any one party was to enlarge the dam to hold an additional quantity of water, parties having inferior water-rights would claim the privilege of a full and continuous supply, according to the number of sluice-heads for which they held grants, and for such time as there was any water in the dam; and it is this difficulty which no doubt prevents any private party or company from entertaining the question of enlarging this reservoir. " There has been very little new ground opened up during the last few years in that part of the Clutha Valley lying between Beaumont and Eoxburgh, the explanation of this apparent want of enterprise being absolutely due to the want of water ; the whole of the available water being taken up by mining companies, although there is gold in the ground here of sufficient richness to pay for working.

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" It may further be said that very little of the flat land can be washed away by ordinary sluicing; it is only the river-banks and the terraces contiguous to the river that can be sluiced away in the ordinary manner, whereas the bottom portions, which contain the richest layers of auriferous drift, can only be worked by dredging, or on the hydraulic-elevating principle." There are a large number of dredges on the river that will be referred to under the heading of " Dredging." In addition to these, there are a number of claims being worked on the terraces and banks of the river along the Clutha Valley, between the Beaumont and the mouth of the gorge near Coal Creek, above Eoxburgh. Proceeding up the river from the Beaumont Bridge, the valley is uniformly confined by auriferous spurs. These spurs are principally present on the western side of the river, where every little gully carries gold that would pay for working if water was brought to bear upon it. Four miles above the Beaumont Bridge, on the east side of the river, at Eae's Junction, Messrs. Eddie and Kirkpatrick have been for some years working a claim on the terraces at the lower end of the Horse-shoe Bend. They take their water-supply from one of the streams on the opposite side, at an elevation of about 300 ft., conveying it across the river in wrought-iron pipes suspended on wire-rope cables. This claim originally belonged to Mr. W. Eingway, who endeavoured to convey the water across the river by means of canvas hose. After incurring considerable expense he was compelled to abandon this method. Later on he took Messrs. Eddy and Kirkpatrick into partnership, on condition that they were to find capital for equipping and working the claim, allowing him one-twelfth interest in it; he, however, subsequently disposed of his interest to his partners. Since these men have commenced operations the claim has been paying them very well, each of them obtaining £600 for nine months' work in 1894, clear of all expenses. Some distance up, on the opposite side of the river, a claim is being worked that has a history not dissimilar in many respects to that belonging to Eddie and Kirkpatrick. It is situate at Horseshoe Bend, and for many years was known as Sullivan's Claim. During a period of twelve years Mr. Sullivan worked the claim-ground by taking the wash-dirt out by horses and trucks, and brought water a distance of about 1,200 yards to the claim. He did fairly well by working the ground on this principle, but, being convinced that if water could be brought on to work the ground on the elevating principle much larger returns could be obtained, he took Messrs. Gunton Brothers into partnership, stipulating that they should find capital for the necessary plant to work the ground by hydraulic sluicing, and in return they are to receive whatever gold is obtained until they have been repaid all the money which they have expended in the venture. When this has been done Mr. Sullivan will become a partner, getting as his share one-sixth of the gold obtained. The ground is about 14ft. in depth, and shows excellent indications of gold. A working plant, costing between £800 and £1,000, has been erected, with a good water-supply carried through I,looft. of piping, having a pressure of 132 ft. For nine days' working in the shallow ground they obtained about of-gold, and again for twenty hours' work 2oz. This was merely preliminary work leading up to a proper commencement of the undertaking. The claim is part of a compact flat of about 100 acres in extent, and shows unmistakable signs of having at one period been an old river-bed. The ground attracted attention as far back as 1863, and was at that date worked in the superficial manner incidental to the early days of the goldfields. There were about a hundred men on the flat at that time, and, although operations were carried on in a very primitive manner, 14,9000z. of gold was obtained from this flat. Island Block Company. —About three miles above the Horseshoe Bend the Island Block Company is carrying on extensive hydraulic-elevating operations. The claim consists of a flat, about five miles in length and a quarter-mile in width, held on lease from the executors of the late Mr. Joseph Clarke, of Victoria. The conditions of agreement are that the company pay £20 per acre for such ground as they may require, and 8 per cent, royalty on the gold obtained. The company has, up to the present time, worked a considerable distance up this flat, and have already paid in royalties a sum of £1,900. The flat in which they are working has, no doubt, at one time been the bed of the Clutha Eiver. This is borne out by the workings of the company, which show that a large river originally ran down between the main range and what is now termed the Island Block, the block being a long, narrow ridge of rock situate between the flat that the company are now working and the present bed of the river. There are also many surface indications to show that the river had originally run through this flat. The company first commenced operations at a point where the hollow adjoins the river, and they found the ground to be exceedingly rich. They opened a cutting up the flat in the direction of the main road, but got off the lead of gold, and for a considerable time went prospecting here and there trying to again discover the bed of the river, or run of gold-bearing gravel. There is, in my opinion, no doubt that a great deal of useless work has been undertaken, and it will probably be found that the company will have to recommence at the place where they left off their early workings, and to take the ground on the face to join their present workings. After sinking several paddocks, and prospecting in different places, they opened out at the end of what is termed the Island Block, between that and the main road, where they found good ground, and after working for some time a splendid lead of auriferous drift was found, which continued for a time to give satisfactory returns. There are ; however, alternate runs of very poor and rich ground met with in the bed of the present river, and there is no reason to suppose that the bed where the river originally flowed will prove different in character to the present one. During the seven years the company has been working the property gold worth £35,000 has been obtained from the ground, but against this sum about £24,000 has been expended in the construction of two reservoirs, payment of wages, management, legal and clerical expenses, and interest. It cannot, however, be said that the ground has not paid, although not yielding as much as the company had anticipated. The company was formed with a capital of £15,000 in cash, but 20—C. 3.

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after the mine had been equipped and operations commenced they were compelled to borrow a large sum, and at a meeting of the company held at ihe beginning of last year the chairman stated that they were heavily indebted to their bankers, and he asked the shareholders to take up 8-per-cent. mortgage debentures which were offered to them to release the securities the bank held over the property. At the present time the indebtedness of the company is said to be reduced to £2,000. The ground now being worked is about 70ft. in depth, with very little gold in the drift until within a few feet of the bottom, where the most of the gold lies; yet even with a large amount of superincumbent material to contend with, and very little gold through it, some of the paddocks have averaged as high as 5-J-gr. of gold to the cubic yard, while others only yielded ljgr.; but with no greater results than these the life of the company is assured, as such a yield is sufficient to pay all workingexpenses. At the upper end of the flat, which has been leased to the company, a dredge has been working for some time, and has taken out thirteen thousand pounds' worth of gold in less than four years' work; and when the dredge commenced operations, where some portion of the top stuff was washed away, the dredging party obtained about two thousand pounds' worth of gold in three months. The Island Block Company has one of the best hydraulic plants in the colony, it having spared no expense in procuring the most modern and substantial equipment. The water-supply is taken from the Fruidburn, where a weir is constructed to raise the water, which covers an area of about 50 acres. The weir is built of cement masonry, and is 17ft. high. Each opening in the masonry is double-planked with totara timber, and bolted to the iron. It has three gate-openings, with an iron door, one of which can be used to empty the dam ; the other two openings are in the flume, the lower one being on a level with the main level of the reservoir, so that nearly the whole of the water stored is available for the race. The third opening is situate immediately above the second, and is only used in the event of more water being required than the second opening is capable of supplying. On occasions when it is found necessary to bring in an additional supply from the Tallaburn, the upper opening will then be used. In times of flood the overflow water runs over the top of the dam, which is 66ft. in length, with a base of 14ft., and Bft. wide on top. The main flume, which commences at the dam, is laid for 6 chains on the edge of a gorge on a dry masonry wall. There are two by-washes in the flume for letting the water out when necessary. At the end of the flume coming from the dam there is a solid rock cutting, and, after crossing a small break where there is 36ft. of boxes, it crosses the Fruidburn by a flume 144 ft. long, with a fall of 2fin. to the chain, the flume being 60ft. above the bottom of the creek. The race is then constructed for 90 chains in earth and rock cutting, with the exception of three short flumes, two of which are over gullies having a length of 50ft. each, and one along a rocky ledge which is 140 ft. long. The conduit is in earth and. rock cuttings, with a fall of lin. to the chain. The company hold the right to twenty-eight sluice-heads from the Fruidburn, and twelve sluice-heads from the Tallaburn. The water is taken across the Clutha in a pipe laid on masonry piers built at each side of the river, the masonry being built on a solid foundation and laid in cement. There are four wire-rope cables laid over the top of the piers, the span between the latter being 462 ft. The pipe is suspended by suspension-rods from the cables on the same principle as the roadway of a suspension-bridge. The total length of pipes from the penstock to the claim on the west side of the river is 180 chains, and the total head of water in the bottom of the paddock is about 760 ft. The elevating - pipe is 15in. in diameter, with a heavy haematite cast-iron liner at the bottom 3in. in thickness, this latter reducing the inside diameter at the bottom of the elevating-pipe to 9in. The water is led to the elevatornozzle, which is 2-|in. in diameter, by a 9in. pipe. The pipes are all made of steel, having lapwelded joints, in 18ft. lengths, with a collar welded on each end. At the back of these collars are flanges made of angle-iron, which are slipped on to each pipe before the last collar on the end is welded on. These flanges come against the collar, and are bolted to the flanges on the adjoining pipe. The end of one pipe is butted against the adjoining one, having a thin insertion-ring between the ends, and they are held fast together with bolts through the flanges. This is what is called the Kimberley joint, which would be considered highly satisfactory were it not that at the bends, where there is a high pressure, the pipes are liable to leakage; and indeed these leaks are of frequent occurrence, and are the cause of much trouble and loss of time. There are two mains of pipes two miles long, of 15in. each, having a fall of 800 ft. The main pipes are, however, too small for the quantity used at the claim, as the pressure-gauge only shows 2401b., which is equal to only 558 ft. of head. No such pipes, for superiority of material and perfection of finish, have ever been used for hydraulic purposes in the colony. The whole of the pipes were manufactured in Birmingham, and cost Bs. per lineal foot for those 15in. in diameter and Jin. thick, 6s. 10d. per foot for those of similar diameter and thick, and 4s. 9d. per foot for those llin. in diameter and fg-in. thick. The sluice-boxes are 3ft. wide and lft. deep of kauri timber, in thickness, the sides being lined on the inside with light iron. The ripples are made of 2in. angle-iron placed crosswise in the box 1-J-in. apart, the ends being riveted to iron sides. After the material has passed over about 160 ft. in length of these ripples the bottom of the sluice is covered with cocoanut matting, having perforated plates placed on the top of strips of wood laid at each side of the box above the matting. This allows the fine sand and gold to pass through the perforations in the plates and on the cocoanut matting, while the coarse gravel and stones are carried down on the top of the plates to where the tailings are deposited. The whole of the workings are lighted at night by the electric light, and a telephone connects the manager's residence with the house of the man who has charge of the dam. This enables the water to be shut off at any time at the head works, or more let on, as occasion demands, without any waste of time. United Hercules Company. —When this company first commenced sluicing operations they were very successful in working the ground near the river, where a very rich lead of auriferous

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gravel was found. This lead seems to cross the river into the ground on the western side, as on working back from the river, towards the foot of the range, the gold got gradually less, and finally could only be worked at a loss. At a meeting of the company on the 26th February last it was decided to abandon the ground and dispose of their plant and water rights. During the last year the company carried on operations, they had an agreement with the workmen to work the claim on terms, after allowing a certain amount for working, but the men failed to make anything like wages. The directors have entered into an agreement giving the right to purchase their property within a certain time, which if exercised will give the shareholders about 4s. per share, but if not the company will have to go into liquidation. Hercules No. 2 Company. —This is now the property of Messrs. Ewing and McConochie, who purchased the mine some years ago —when the Hercules Company went into liquidation —for the sum of about £1,800. Since that date the present owners have been working the ground with varying results. Very rich ground was got, both in the Hercules No. 1 and No. 2 claims, adjoining the side of the river, but in the No. 2 claim the gold seemed to cross the river and go into the opposite bank. Looking at the configuration of the country, the indications appear to point to the fact that the river at some early period had flowed closer to the western side, between the Dumbarton Eock and the range. This seems to be borne out by the gold that is obtained by one of the dredges, namely, the Edina, which is working below the Dumbarton Rock, and found a very rich run of gold going in through the flat; and the dredging also, as far as it has been carried on, between Ettrick and Dumbarton Eock has been found payable for working. The surface of the ground indicates that the river had at one time flowed down closer to the western range, going into its present drain, or at least crossing into Anderson's Flat, on the upstream side of Ettrick. With regard to the Hercules No. 2 Claim, Messrs. Ewing and McConochie expected to find another channel of the river further back into the flat from where they were working. They succeeded in finding what they supposed to be an old river-bed, but this did not contain sufficient gold to allow a reasonable margin for profit after paying working-expenses. The party possess a valuable water right from the Teviot Eiver, and it is their intention to either dispose of the whole of the property or extend the water-race further down the range, in order to command the ground in Anderson's Flat. Dumbarton Bock Claim. —This is a special claim of 98 acres situate on the west of the river, and has been held by Mr. Kitching for several years. No work has yet been done on the claim ; but at the present time Mr. Kitching is endeavouring to float a company on the English market to work the ground. According to the prospectus shown me the capital of the company is set down at £45,000. Thirteen thousand seven hundred and fifty paid-up shares are to be reserved for the vendor, and 6,250 fully paid-up shares reserved for the promoters; the balance of 25,000 shares are offered for private subscription. In addition to the area already held by Mr. Kitching, he has arranged with Mr. Macgregor, who holds a freehold property of 241 acres, to purchase the same at a stated price, and this would make the extent of the claim, in round numbers, 340 acres. There are several reports attached to the prospectus mentioned, which show the ground to be of phenomenal richness ; but there are some instances where reports are obtained with a view of floating mining companies, which are written with rather sanguine expectations, the writers no doubt believing the ground to be as rich as described, but being often misled by statements from those who were working on the banks of the river in the early days with small quantities of water, and yet obtaining good results. At the same time, I believe this particular property is a legitimate mining enterprise, and, if a sufficient capital is provided for procuring a large water-supply, there is a fair prospect of its returning reasonable remuneration for capital invested in working it. Roxburgh Amalgamated Company. —This company has worked about 20 acres of ground, having an average depth of about 90ft. The ground was formerly held by private parties, who disposed of it to the present company, which is formed with a capital of £30,000; 15,000 shares fully paid-up were given to the vendors, leaving £15,000 of working capital. Since the company commenced operations the claim has paid them exceedingly well. For the twelve months ending the 30th April, 1895, they obtained gold to the amount of 8,8480z. 16dwt. 2gr., which left a net profit on the working of £4,790 10s.; this amount being declared in dividends for that period. For the first two years the company was at work a large area of ground was stripped by ordinary sluicing, after which the bottom portion was lifted by elevators. There is still another twelve months' work to operate by the elevating principle the ground previously stripped by ordinary sluicing. During last year the amount of gold obtained averaged, in round numbsrs, nearly 300oz. per month. It may be stated, however, that during the winter, which was very severe, operations had to be suspended for some time. Notwithstanding this the company has been able to pay about 20 per cent, dividends on their capital. They have rights for about fifty sluice-heads from the Teviot Eiver, in which a dam was constructed at the mouth of the gorge, at the lower end of the Dismal Swamp, and forms a weir in time of floods, the water from the dam flowing a considerable distance down the bed of the river. It is carried in about two miles and a quarter of fluming, the boxes being 3ft. by 2ft., to the penstock, where their lines of steel piping commence. The penstock is constructed at an elevation of 650 ft. above the workings. There is about a mile of steel piping of 22in., 18in., and 15in. diameter respectively. There are also five hydraulic elevators in position on the claim, and the company has always two, and sometimes three, of them at work at the same time. The dam in the Teviot Eiver having been raised about 6ft. during 1894 was the means of providing the company last year with a constant supply of water. The cost of raising the dam was about £4,000. Of this amount the company paid three-quarters, and Messrs. Ewing and McConochie the balance. The company employ on an average thirty men.

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Other Claims. —Adjoining the Eoxburgh Amalgamated there are several small claims working on the flat, all of which are making very good wages. Higher up the river, at Commissioner's Flat, Horton and party of six men are said to be doing fairly well, although they have a very inferior supply of water. Bald Hill Flat. There is a large area of auriferous ground in the vicinity of Bald Hill Flat. The gravel-drift here is a concentration of the material which has come off the Old Man Eange. At the head of the flat there is an indentation into the range forming a sloping flat close into its base. Directly above this flat there are rich patches of alluvial auriferous drift on the face of the range. One of these was worked by Mr. White some ten years ago with what little water he could get out of the small gullies and creeks coming down the range. It was by sluicing off the surface material he discovered what is now known as White's Eeef, which is at an elevation of fully 3,500 ft. above the level of the sea. Sluicing operations could only be carried on during the summer months, as the ground is either covered with snow or frozen so hard for several months in the year that it is impossible to carry on hydraulic sluicing, besides, there is no water available in the winter months for this purpose. Several other parties have also been working on the face of this range wherever they could find a small supply of water, but at this elevation the supply is very limited, except when the snow is melting in the spring-time, and then very few could calculate on getting more than about two sluiceheads. The whole .of the gravel-drift on the face of the range is greatly intermixed with quartz pebbles and small angular pieces of quartz, many of which contain gold, thus indicating that either quartz lodes or leaders amongst the schist rock has got disintegrated by the action of the atmosphere, causing slips to take place from time to time, a great portion of the schist being broken up into soft mud and carried away by the action of the water coming down the range from the melting snow. The whole face of this range is highly auriferous if water could be got to sluice the surface material, and no doubt if this were done several quartz-lodes would be discovered that would pay for working. Butcher's Gully, which comes out of this range, contained very rich deposit of auriferous gravel in the early days. The bed of this gully having a steep declivity the water carried away all the light material and left only a shallow deposit of heavy concentrates, therefore the gold was easily obtained, and was very soon worked out. It is on the face of this range, directly above Bald Hill Flat, where Messrs. Crossan and Gray discovered a rich quartz lode by sluicing away the surface material, and even at the present time some of their operations are confined to this system of working. There was also some very rich auriferous drift worked in the early days on the opposite side of the range, and at a much higher elevation than where White and Gray were working—namely, Campbell's and Potter's Gullies—which lead into the valley of the Waikaia Eiver; but, as all these places are at very high elevations where water cannot be got in sufficient quantity to carry on sluicing operations, it is only comparatively rich ground that can be made to pay for working. If water was available to work this ground on this range by the modern methods a large mining population could be profitably employed. From the summit of this range to its base, for many miles in length, where any deposits of alluvial drift is found, it would pay for working with a good supply of water. The richest portions of it, so far as known at the present time, is between the Gorge Creek and Blackman's Creek, a distance of fifteen miles. On this portion, as well as along its whole face, the action of water has cut out indentations, forming small water-courses, each carrying a certain portion of material into the lower ground at its base, forming small flats. Some of these are now held in fee-simple, and as, for instance, on Mr. Butler's farm, some men are making a livelihood by paddocking the ground and washing the bottom layer of drift by box sluicing, there being no available water to work it on any other system. Every small water-course contains gold, and Conroy's Gully and the beds of the Obelisk Creek contained deposits of phenomenal richness. As far as the auriferous deposits on this range have been developed, all the indications go to show that quartz lodes will be found here which will give good returns for working. The formation of the range for many miles in extent is full of quartz leaders, stringers, and veins, many of which contain gold, but before much can said respecting their value a systematic method of prospecting requires to be carried out, aided with capital to develop the lodes already found and those still undiscovered. A number of water-races has been constructed from the different creeks coming out of this range to command the ground on Bald Hill Flat, and all the available water has been taken up. Amongst the different claims now being worked, the principal ones are as follow:— Last Chance Company. —The principal shareholders in this company are Messrs. Hesson and Simmons, who have been working here with an elevating-plant for the last five years. At the time of my visit they had worked out 6 acres of ground, but have 19 acres yet to work ; the depth of the ground is about 23ft. There are very few big stones in the ground and the greater part of them are sent down the tail-race. The plant consists of 3,000 ft. of wrought-iron pipes, 15in., 13in., llin., and 9in., respectively; the pipes getting gradually smaller as they come near the claim. At the bottom of the claim there are two branches of 7in. pipes, one supplying water for the elevating-plant and the other for the breaking-down mortar. The quantity of water, however, which this company has is very limited, and in ordinary dry weather they have not a sufficient quantity to carry on elevating steadily. Some of the ground is very rich, and from information received from one of the shareholders, the gold return from the paddock washed this season has been about 2500z. It is stated that there

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is a little gold all through the drift, but the gold-bearing layer is lying on a false bottom, consisting of soft brown sand, below wliich is a blue, swelling reef. Judging from the appearance of this false bottom, there is every prospect of other gold-bearing layers being found below it, more especially as in places there are springs of water coming up through this false bottom, indicating that there is a porous strata underneath. It is a place well worthy of being prospected to test whether another layer of auriferous gravel exists under it. A short distance from this, quartz drift, somewhat similar to that found at Tinkers', is seen going through the range between Bald Hill Flat and Gorge Creek, and very probably a layer of quartz drift will be found underneath the false bottom on which the workings are at present carried on. The same remarks apply to the whole of the claims being worked on Bald Hill Flat. This ground was lying idle for many years as being worked out, on account of their not being sufficient fall to carry on sluicing operations, and uot a large enough area of ground to paddock; the material is only being elevated to a height of 22ft. A new departure has, however, been made in working the claims on this flat. In place of having wooden sluices, every one has adopted sluices made of steel plates, 4ft. wide, about 10in. high in the side, and fitted in the bottom with ordinary iron ripples. Taking into consideration the cost of timber in this part of the country, and the wear and tear which takes place on the sides of the boxes, there is very little doubt that this description of sluice will be the most economical to use. Carroll and Lynch. —This claim adjoins the Last Chance Claim, higher up the gully, the ground being about 20ft. in depth. The party are working in a similar manner to the Last Chance with pipes of similar diameter, but they have only about 200 ft. of head or pressure, the pipes being about 2,000 ft. in length. No information could be obtained with respect to the quantity of gold obtained by these gentlemen, but they assured me that it paid very well. There are two other claims working higher up the gully, above Carroll and Lynch, both of which are carrying on hydraulic sluicing in the ordinary manner; only one of which is using iron piping— namely, Wilkinson and party, who are using iron pipes with 100 ft. of pressure. It is said thatportions of Maori canoes and stone-chisels have been found on the bottom on which they are working, indicating that at some early period a lagoon or lake must have, existed in this locality. Ewing's Claim. —This claim was formerly the property of the Bald Hill Sluicing Company, Christchurch, which commenced operations in 1890, but is now the property of Mr. John Ewing, who is carrying on large hydraulic operations at Tinker's and St. Bathan's. About five acres of the claim are worked out down to the false bottom, and at the time of my visit the manager was shifting the line of pipes, in order to commence working a strip of ground on the hillside of the Last Chance Claim. This strip joins on to a block of 20 acres, which Mr. Ewing has taken up at the foot of the lower slopes of the range, nearly opposite to Carroll and Lynch. Some of this Block is of shallower ground than other portions he has previously worked, and will vary from 6ft. to 29ft. in depth. The water raised is at an elevation of about 300 ft. above the level of the claim, and is conveyed in iron pipes, loin, in diameter at the top and gradually tapering down to 9 inches to the foot of the range, and thence branching into 7 inches, for supplying water for the elevators and breakingdown nozzles. During the last eighteen months the yield of gold from this ground has been about five hundred ounces. On inquiry from the manager as to the quantity of water he required to work his elevatingplant, he stated it as seven sluice-heads. But it is only in very wet weather that this quantity is available. He estimates that had there been a regular supply of water, he could have worked out the same amount of ground in ten months—that is to say, that during the eighteen months they were practically idle for about eight months, for want of a sufficient quantity of water to work the mine economically. There is very little water in this neighborhood, and water-rights have been granted for far more water than the creeks contain, except in flood-time. The original owners of this claim commenced operations with very little capital, and Mr. Ewing had to advance money to the extent of about £4,000 to construct races, purchase water-rights, and develope the property, and in November last the property, including the gold in the paddock and boxes, was put up for sale, and purchased by Mr. Ewing. Since then the returns from the claim have been very satisfactory. For the eight weeks ending about the middle of November last, 191oz. of gold were obtained, which left a net profit for that period of £550. A great deal more ground would be worked here if there was water, but there is not sufficient gold in the ground to give adequate returns, unless by hydraulic sluicing. Water is the great element required, but the physical features of the country at this place preclude large reservoirs being constructed to conserve it in rainy weather. Between Bald Hill Flat and Clyde there is very little hydraulic sluicing being carried on, but there is said to be some fair sluicing-ground in the vicinity of the Waitakeri Creek, and, judging from the quantity of tailings coming down its bed, a good deal of work is being done in this locality. There is no doubt but that fresh ground will yet be opened near the foot of the range, between the Waitakeri Creek and Matakanui, when water is available to work it. Matakanui. This is one of the richest auriferous goldfields there is in the colony. It is, comparatively speaking, only a small field, the area of the present claims being about 210 acres, and, taking the amount of worked-out ground together with the present claims, the whole would probably not exceed 400 acres. Very little ground in the present claims has yet been worked. From information furnished me during my last visit, it may be interesting to note that 80,5100z. of gold has been obtained from this field from the following claims since 1864: Mountain Ea.ce, 15,000oz.; Undaunted, 17,000oz.; Sugar-pot, 9,000oz.; Sims, Grey, and Huddlestone, 7,5630z.; Sims and Sammon, 4,000oz.; Sims and Undaunted, 700oz.; Sims, Featherstone, and party, 8470z,; Miller

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and Martin, l,200oz.; Holmes, Martin, and Scott, 3,3000z. ; Ewing and McConochie, 2,0000z. ; Shannon and Barron, 4500z. ; Barron, Huddlestone, and party, 2500z. ; Eeid, Grey, and party, 4,000oz.; Matakanui Company, 3,5000z.; Sammon, 2 1 500oz.; Miller, 4,6000z. ; Chinese and other claims not enumerated, 4,6000z.: total, 80,5100z. There are only seven principal claims now working on this field, nevertheless there is a large extent of ground that would pay for working, but the quantity of water available is extremely limited, not one of the present companies having what can properly be termed a sufficient supply to work their ground advantageously, each company having a small race of its own, dependent, in a great measure, upon the melting snow in the spring of the year for a few months' supply. Owing to the large quantity of snow which fell during the severe winter of last year, the water-supply was very good up till Christmas, but since that time the supply has not been sufficient to work the claims in anything like a satisfactory manner. Some of the parties have made arrangements to work their claims week about—that is to say, one party carry on operations and use the water for one week, when they allow the other party to use the water for the following week. At the present time the companies are endeavouring to come to some definite arrangements with a view of amalgamating their properties into one concern ; but taking into consideration the value at which some of them estimate their claims, it is questionable whether they will get a company to take them up and find working-capital to increase the water-supply to the extent required. It may be interesting to note that the value placed upon six of these claims is not less than £56,000, They now propose that a company should be formed to purchase the claims for this amount, that a dam with 150 ft. embankment should be constructed in Thompson's Creek, in order to store flood-water, and thereby largely increase the present watersupply ; also to construct a tunnel tail-race through a spur, to give additional fall for a tail-race. Taking into consideration the value set upon the properties, and the money required for necessary works and development, which may be set down at something like £'25,000, it will probably be difficult to get a company to undertake this scheme ; at the same time there is no doubt that, if the whole of the claims were amalgamated into one company, and the water concentrated in three or four places, the ground could be made to give a far more handsome return than is done at the present time. The claims proposing to join in this scheme are Sims and_Morgan, Ewing and McConochie, Mountain Eace Company, the Undaunted, and the Matakanui Company. Messrs. Sims and Morgan hold two claims on the southern side of the lead, comprising an area of about 30 acres. Sims and Morgan. —These gentlemen hold two claims on the southern end of the lead, comprising an aggregate area of about 30 acres. At the present time they are working the shallow ground on the flat, the wash-dirt being composed of quartz and schist gravel. The ground varies from 10ft. to 12ft. in depth, but there are several gutters running into the range, or what is termed the Deep Lead, which is 32ft. in length. It is in these gutters that the best of the auriferous washdrift is found. In former years this party was working on the Deep Leads, that is, in the quartzdrift formation, but as the Deep Lead runs close along the base of the range and at a great depth, they continued the working until they were afraid that part of the hill would slip away and break down some of the water-races which are constructed directly above where Sims and Morgan were working. They therefore abandoned the Deep Lead workings until such times as arrangements can be made to either have a combination of the claims or of the water-rights, so that they can work this portion of the ground. At the place where they are at present carrying on operations, they are using about 2,000 ft. of iron pipes of 15in., 13in., llin., and 9in. diameter respectively, having a pressure of about 200 ft., similar piping being used for the branches of the sluicing-nozzles. The quantity of gold obtained by this party during last year could not be ascertained, as they had not washed-up, but one of the party informed me that he was confident that the share of the profits, after allowing for wages, would not be less than £300 per man. For the previous year it was double that amount. Ewing and McConochie. —This party worked the shallow ground on the flat during last year, having abandoned a portion of their claim on the Deep Lead, owing to the material from the side of the range slipping in to such an extent that it was impossible to work it profitably. At the time of my visit they were working on the north-western end of their claim, where the ground varies from sft. to 35ft. in depth, and is composed of tolerably coarse shingle, intermixed with schist boulders. Three acres of ground were washed away in about eight months' sluicing, and yielded about 700oz. of gold. This party has water at a higher elevation than any claim in the locality, having a pressure of 650 ft. on their workings. The water is brought from Thompson's Creek in an open conduit from the top of a spur directly above their claim, and from this spur, the water is conveyed in steel pipes for a distance of 2,000 ft., the principal main being 18in. in diameter, reducing at the bottom to 15in., llin., and 9in. respectively, similar pipes being used as branches to supply water for the pipe-nozzles. When this party were working the Deep Lead they were using tables at the end of their main race for saving the gold, but where they are at present working they have constructed a box at the bottom, having perforated plates set up above the bottom on battens, the holes being Jin. in diameter. On the bottom of this box, below the perforated plates, cocoanut matting is placed to save the fine gold. As there is scarcely any fall at the end of this box, a hydraulic director is used to blow away the tailings and stack them on worked-out ground. The box itself is 14ft. long by sft. wide. In another tail-race, which this party constructed, they have placed boxes made of sheet-iron, Bft. wide and 18in. high on the sides, and. fitted with iron ripples made of bars 2|in. wide by -Jin. thick, with angle-iron bars riveted in the bottom, and underneath these ripples cocoanut matting is placed. The ripples are made in 3ft. lengths, having the bars across one set of ripples and the next set longitudinally. Every appliance is used here to save labour as much as possible. During one year and three months' work the amount of gold obtained was about 1,2000z.

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Mountain Bace Company. —This company is working the deep lead on the western side of Mr. Bwing's claim. Their ground here averages about 150 ft. in depth, and is of the same character as that which continues along all the lead. The " oid-man " or " Maori " bottom, on which these claims are working, runs up at a steep inclination as it approaches the Deep Lead, having the quartz drift standing against it in nearly vertical layers. The opposite side of this lead comes against the base of the mountain, on which there is a large depth of loose material, which has from time to time been denuded from its sides, and on working the lead close to the base of the range this loose material slips in, making it a difficult undertaking to work this Deep Lead on the side next the main range. The company is using the smallest pipes on the field to bring the water from their race to the claim —the three mains being of 13in., llin., 9in., and 7in. diameter, respectively, with a pressure of about 150 ft. In ordinary wet weather, or during spring-time, they have about eight sluice-heads of water; and last season they had a tolerably good supply up till Christmas. During the six months ending December last they obtained about 200oz. of gold, but have had very little water since that date, and no washing-up has taken place. This Deep Lead forms but a small portion of the company's claim, as they join the Undaunted Company on the Flat, and will very probably have the same run of gold in the lower part of their claim as the Undaunted Company has, and from which the latter company is still obtaining good returns. During the last three years and nine months the Mountain Eace Company obtained over 3,0000z. of gold. Undaunted Company. —-This company holds the ground on the northern end of the Mountain Eace Company, and on the eastern side of the Sugar-pot Company's claim. The whole of their ground is on the flat, next to the deep lead, and at the time of my visit they were working on what appears to be the bed of an ancient river ; the " old-man " bottom being cut away shows the direction of the current, and indicates that it had at one time been the bed of a large river. The width of this river-bed has not yet been determined, but on the eastern side the "old-man" bottom again crops up, which tends to show that the run of this river had been from north to south, but there are no indications on the surface of the ground to show where the outlet is likely to be found. The " old-man " bottom crops out high up on both Tinker's and Matakanui side, and if a river ever flowed in the direction supposed, it must have passed through the high terraces between the ground now being worked and the company's tail-race on the plains. The depth of the ground that is being worked at the present time is about 65ft. : the first 40ft. is composed of layers of gravel and very compact clay bands; below this, there is a very heavy wash, in which there is a large amount of water-worn boulders. The clay above this rough wash is so compact that it goes down in very large blocks, and it takes a considerable pressure of water from the pipe-nozzles to break it up. The upper part of the ground was sluiced off in the ordinary manner, as far as the tail-race would admit; an elevating-plant was then erected, which now.lifts the stuff from a depth of about 30ft. Considerable improvements can be made in this claim with regard to the mode of disposing of the stones they meet with in the lower layer of auriferous wash. At present wheelbarrows are used to remove the stones from the face, and stack them on the worked-out ground. With the water at a high elevation, a small Pelton-wheel and high derrick with long jib, having wire-rope guides, would remove the stones for about a quarter of the cost of the present method. This company places a very high value upon their claim, although its area is very small. They have the best water-right on the field, having some years ago purchased the first rights of water from Thompson's Creek, for which they paid over £10,000. This right was at a very low elevation, being constructed on the surface of their claim. Since then they have arranged to have their rights shifted to a higher elevation, and have constructed a new race from Thompson's Creek, which gives them a pressure of about 400 ft. at their claim The water is conveyed from the race in two lines of pipes, one of which is 15in. in diameter, and 2,000 ft. in length, and the other 13in. in diameter and 1,500 ft. in length. In carrying on elevating operations the nozzle used in the bottom of the elevator is lfin. in diameter, anil the throat-piece is sin. in diameter, but is allowed to wear down to 8-Jin. before removal; it is found that when it has worn to the latter size its usefulness is greatly impaired, and it is more economical to replace it with a new one. The number of men employed on this claim varies from four to eight, according to the quantity of stones in the gravel-wash requiring to be removed. From the washing-up they had, some time prior to my visit, obtained 7400z. of gold. The company has still about 8 acres to work. Matakanui Company. —This company is working on the flat, between the Undaunted Company's Claim and Thompson's Creek, the depth of ground being about 45ft., the wash of which is sluiced away in the ordinary manner, and the bottom portion elevated for a height of 22ft. The ground, however, contains a great quantity of boulders, which are removed from the face by large horsetrucks running on iron rails. These are hauled from the face by a horse, and stacked on the worked-out ground; but the company can only shift a limited quantity of material, owing to the great number of stones they have to contend with. They nevertheless place a high value on their claim, and the ground requires to be exceedingly good to warrant this value, or, from the manner in which they were working it, it would need to be very good indeed to allow them much profit after paying wages and other expenses. Some years ago this company got for one season's work about 600oz. of gold. Since they commenced working this ground they have obtained on an average about 400oz. per year. They have a constant supply of water, which is brought in from the Lauder Creek in an open conduit, and from the termination of the water-race is conveyed to the claim in iron pipes, under a pressure of about 180 ft. An average of seven men are employed on this claim. Sugar-pot Company.—This company holds a claim on the Deep Lead on the western side of the Undaunted and Matakanui Companies' claims, and may be said to be the richest portion of ground about Tinker's. This ground has been worked for the last thirty years, and only a comparatively small portion of it is yet touched. The place where the company is at present working is on

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the northern end, facing Thompson's Creek, and, from the level now being worked to the surface, the ground is from 70ft. to 100 ft. in depth, and consists of a very coarse wash deposit, intermixed with very large boulders and stones. The party has Only a limited supply of water, but work in the claim at the present time is largely absorbed in removing the stones, which have to be deposited at some distance from the working, on account of the ground at the present level requiring to be worked at some future date. The stones are placed on trucks, which are raised on an incline-plane by a water-balance, and stacked on the surface. In the early days there were surface-workings on the top of this heavy wash, some distance down the flat, which yielded a considerable amount of gold. During the time of my visit one of the proprietors of the Sugar-pot Claim took me to the eastern end of the claim, where a large paddock is being sluiced away, consisting of the quartz drift-dirt. In washing a dish of dirt here nearly ldwt. of gold was obtained, thus showing that this wash must be very rich. A shaft has been sunk at a depth of about 240 ft., going through the quartz wash-drift for the whole distance, which was stated to contain very rich layers. It will be difficult, however, to work this deposit by hydraulic elevators, on account of it being at the base of the mountain, which is liable to slip away in the manner it has done in the adjoining claims. They are sluicing their stuff at the present time in the ordinary manner, havingpipes of 22in., 15in., llin., 9in., and 7in. diameter respectively, having an aggregate length of 800 ft., with about 120 ft. pressure. The average amount of gold which they obtained for the season's work when working the gravel-wash was about 400oz.; but, taking into consideration the number of large stones in the ground they are at present working, it is questionable whether half the amount mentioned will be obtained in one season, or else the ground must be of phenomenal richness. St. Balkan's. Cambrian's. —There are very few gold-workings in this locality, the gully known as Welshman's being pretty well worked out. During last year Mr. Ewing, by means of an elevating-plant, worked a strip of ground on the northern side of the creek, opposite the township, the ground having a width of about 2 chains, with a length of about 20 chains. The water for working this ground had only an elevation of somathing like 100 ft. When Mr. Ewing purchased this watersupply it was with the intention of leasing the race, or selling the water to the Chinese working in the locality; but between not getting paid for the water and the small quantity used, scarcely any interest was realised on the purchase. Mr. Ewing, therefore, constructed a hydraulic plant, and worked this piece of ground, the whole capital involved, including the purchase of the race, being £2,000, and in eighteen months he obtained gold to the amount of 800oz., which left him a net profit on the workings of £1,650. Having the water at such a low elevation he could not lift the material to any great height, but he used a hydraulic director to clear away the tailings from the end of his boxes and stack them up on the ground. If he had not worked the ground in this manner he never would have obtained sufficient returns to recoup him for his venture. He has now taken up a special claim of 32 acres at the foot of Welshman's, and is making preparations 'to work this ground by hydraulic elevating from the same low-level race he used in working the ground higher up the gulley. Mr. Ewing's Claim at St. Bathan's. —The workings are now down to a depth of 122 ft., and Mr. Ewing intends going down 10ft. further. He is elevating the material by two elevators, the upper elevator lifting 92ft. and using six and a half heads of water, the pipe-nozzles being in diameter, and the pressure of water being 500 ft. The length of the main pipe-line is 2,000 ft. of 18in. pipes, with a 15in. down-pipe.. The size of the throat-piece is 7in. This, however, wears down to 9in., when it is taken out, and replaced by a new one. The elevating pipe is 14in. to the uptake, with a cast-iron pipe on top for joining a horizontal 18in. delivery-pipe. The lower elevating-pipe is 9in. in diameter, with a sin. throat-piece and 2Jin. nozzle, under a pressure of 400 ft., and elevating at the present time 38ft., the sluicing-nozzle being ljin. in diameter. As soon as Mr. Ewing has sunk the ground down to a further depth of 10ft. he intends to put in one lift. The wash-drift in this claim is standing at an incline of 45°. He has to purchase nearly two-thirds of the water he uses, and this costs him about £700 per year, the working-expenses averaging about £1,500 per year. For the last six years the average annual yield of gold has been about 1,2000z. The number of men employed varies from five to six. Mr. Ewing is one of the most enterprising mining men in the colony. He is carrying on mining operations at Cambrian, Vinegar Flat, Vinegar Hill, St. Bathan's, Matakanui, Bald Hill Flat, and at Eoxburgh, and has erected first-class hydraulic plants at each of his claims. No expense is spared in providing an efficient plant, and the strictest economy is used in working the ground. The St. Bathan's claim, known as Kildare Hill, contains remarkably rich ground. On trying a prospect from one of the layers in the bottom of the paddock about half a pennyweight of gold was obtained, and there is no telling to what depth this auriferous drift may go. This claim is certainly an extremely valuable one, and likely to give very large returns for many years to come. At Vinegar Hill Mr. Ewing is also carrying on very large hydraulic-sluicing operations. In addition to his former working, he has opened up a new claim some distance nearer St. Bathan's than the one which he has been working for many years past. There is no doubt, in my mind, but the lead or run of the quartz-drift material will yet be traced between St. Bathan's and Vinegar Hill; but it is not likely that this lead will prove of an uniform richness for the whole of the distance. There will be rich and poor places in the lead the same as found in others. At the same time, if it is proved beyond doubt that the lead is continuous, there is a very high probability of equally as rich portions will yet be discovered as that found at St. Bathan's. In regard to both the Kildare claim, and also the one at Vinegar Hill, Mr. Ewing, although having all the available water that can be got at a reasonable expense finds there is not nearly sum-

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cient water to work the ground on such an extensive scale as it deserves. There is a large supply of water in the Dunstan Creek, but unless this is brought on to the ground at a high elevation, it will not be of great service in working hydraulic elevating, plants. This means that a very long waterrace would have to be constructed, and possibly several reservoirs, in order to get a really good supply. At Vinegar Flat, and also at Welshman's, the same gentleman has sluicing claims, which, as far as they have been worked, have given good returns. During last year he took up a claim on the north side of Welshman's, being a narrow strip of ground which the old residents pronounced as duffer-ground, nevertheless in a few months he got sufficient gold to pay for all the plant and purchase of water-race, as well as the expenses in connection with working the ground, and had about £1,600 to the good. This is merely given as , an illustration of what can be done when mining is carried on in an intelligent and systematic manner. The several other claims in this neighbourhood are all turning out fairly well, but none of the proprietors display the same energy and systematic method of working as Mr. Ewing. It is a district which will take generations to work the auriferous ground out, even were all the water in the valley completely utilized. M. and E. Company. —This company is working a claim adjoining Mr. Ewings, at Kildare Hill, but there is a very inefficient hydraulic plant on the ground. They are using pipes of 7in. and 9in. in diameter, respectively, and lifting the material about 16ft. by a hydraulic elevator, but comparatively very little material is sluiced away. The gold return last year is said to be only about 80oz. Eagle and Gray's Claim. —This claim adjoins the M. and E. Company's ground, and is said to gain fair returns for working, but the hydraulic plant used is not of a modern type and the water cannot be utilised to the greatest advantage in working the ground. Scandinavian Company. —This company is working a claim at Muddy Creek, and got about 300oz. of gold for eight months' work. The only other company working in this locality is the M. and E., whose claim is about worked out, and the Otago Company, which is working very poor ground. It is said that the quantity of gold obtained is not sufficient to pay wages for working. Naseby. The mining population in this district is about the same in number as last year. The ground is far from being rich, but the supply of water during last year being very good, the miners have done fairly well. At Enterprise Gully, Matthew Young and Son hold a water-race of their own from the East Eweburn, and are working in the terrace where the ground is from 30ft. to 50ft. deep. The quantity of water the race is capable of conveying down to this claim is about three sluice-heads, and the claim is paying fairly well. There are three parties of European miners working below Matthew Young and Son; and one of these is receiving water from the Government race, working on the same terrace, the depth of the ground being about 50ft. The other two parties use the tail-water from the Enterprise Company ; but the ground here is said to be very poor. There were three parties of Chinese engaged in carrying on sluicing operations, but one of these has recently abandoned its claim. The other two are still working with water from the Government race, but from all information that can be obtained, the ground they are working is not rich. Wet Gully .—There are five claims being worked on the terraces facing Wet Gully, where the ground is very shallow, being only lft. to 7ft. in depth. Two of these parties are working with water from the Government race, and the other three parties are working chiefly with water from the race which heads from the West Eweburn. The ground in this locality is not rich, the best of it having been worked in the early days, and the operations are now being carried on principally in blocks that had been left. Hog burn or Main Gully. — There are eleven claims being worked in this gully. Three of these are being worked on the hydraulic-elevating principle in the bed of the gully. These are held by Guffie and party, who are working about one mile and a half below the township, where the ground is from Bft. to 10ft. deep, including a considerable depth of tailings. They take their water from the main race constructed from Coal-pit Gully Dam to the commencement of Enterprise Terrace. The water is being taken down in an open race to the Slaughter-yard Spur, where a small dam is constructed, and from this dam to the claim it is taken down in pipes, where they would have about 100 ft. of pressure. The quantity of water used to work this plant is about three and a half heads. This claim was opened up about the end of February, and the only washing-up which has taken place since that date proved that the ground has paid very well for working. Inder Brothers have a smaller elevating plant than Guffie and party, for working ground in the bed of the main gully in the township, where the ground is about 12ft. in depch. The water they use for working is conveyed in wrought-iron pipes from a dam at an elevation of about 190 ft. above their claims, their pipes being llin. and 9in. in diameter. This party is carrying 011 operations continuously, night and day, with about two and a half sluice-heads of water. There is another elevating plant, belonging to John Hore, and it adjoins Inder Brothers' claim. The water is conveyed from a dam at an elevation of about 160 ft. above the claim. A portion is also received from the Government race, and a portion from a race belonging to Mr. Hore himself. Mr. Hore uses about four sluice-heads to carry on his operations. This claim, as well as that of Inder and party, is said to be paying fairly well. There are six other parties of Europeans working claims in the ordinary manner with water from the Government race, as well as three parties of Chinese. The depth of the ground in these claims varies from 3£t. to 12ft. in depth, and, with the exception of two of them, they will only give a small return for working. , ... 21—C. 3

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Mullholland's Gully. —-There are five parties mining in this locality, three of whom are' Europeans, the remaining two being Chinese. The ground varies from about 4ft. to 9ft. in depth. Only one of the claims is said to be payable for working, and this belongs to Chinese. All the claims are worked with water from the Government race. Home Gully. —There have been seven parties working in the vicinity of this gully, but one of them has recently worked out its claim. The principal workings here are in private property, the land being purchased for £20 per acre, and is the property of Mr. Joseph Creighton. These claims, with one exception, are held by Chinese; all the claims being worked by water from the Government race, and are said to be giving fair returns. Notwithstanding that the ground on this goldfield is considered to be very poor, one of the Chinamen who has been working on this claim has amassed a competency, and is returning to his' native land to enjoy the benefits to be derived from it. Bobinson's Gully. —There is only one party, composed of Chinese, working in this gully, the ground being of very poor quality. Spec Gully. —There is a considerable area of ground in this locality. There is a large number of men engaged in mining on the slopes of the terraces facing Spec Gully. Five different parties are working the claims here, with water from the Government race. It is in this locality that Mason and party are working, who possess the best hydraulic plant on this goldfield ; and they are still sluicing away the sides of the terraces, with the expectation of cutting the run of gold that came from the surface of the hill; indeed it may be said, that this party is washing away more ground than any one else on the field, and if their claim does not pay them for working, many others, whose systems of working are different, could not possibly make a livelihood. There is a considerable number of single parties and others about the field, apart altogether from those who are getting a living by working in the old ground. Idaburn. —There is only one party in this locality who has any water-right—namely, Wheeler and party, who have been working here for the last two years and a half, and doing very well. Their original claim, however, is nearly worked out. They are getting up to the crown of the ridge, which divides the Little Idaburn from the main stream. Several holes have been sunk here, which showed that there was a little gold in the ground, but the best prospects have been obtained in the basin of the Little Idaburn, above the Government race. This ground, however, could not be worked by hydraulic sluicing without interfering with the rights of water of the main Ida race. The Wedderburn. —During last year a little gold was found in the vicinity of the Wedderburn, where Messrs. Rumble and Son have been carrying on prospecting operations for the most of the season, finding a little gold. From all that can be gathered, they did not get sufficient to pay them anything but wages. Blackstone Hill. —The principal claim here is that of C. Eose, who has been working the same ground for the last twenty years, and judging from the systematic manner in which he has been carrying on his operations, there is very little doubt he has been getting good returns from it. B. Johnson has been working a claim for many years on what is termed the quartz drift, similar to that found at St. Bathan's. The ground is said to contain very little gold, but from the length of time Mr. Johnson has been working this ground, there is reason to believe that he is getting fair returns for his labour. There are three other claims in this locality, one at Pipe-clay Gully, where they are working with tail-water from Johnson's race, and the others are working in different places, but none of them are getting payable returns. A water-race was constructed from the Manuherikia River to work some ground near the Blackstone Hill Station, but it is said that the venture has not so far proved a profitable one. Their is, however, some good sluicing-ground between the termination of their water-race and Ophir, so that by extending the race it will yet prove a valuable property. At Ophir there is very little alluvial mining being carried on at the present time, every one's hopes are centred in dredging operations on the Manuherikia River, and taking the large quantity of gold obtained in the early days in the vicinity of Ophir—better known in the early days as Black's—there should be some rich deposits of auriferous drift found in the bed of the Manuherikia, below the Ophir diggings. Cardrona. A good deal of prospecting has been done during the past year. The Prospecting Association sank a paddock immediately above the private property in Twohey's Gully, taking in the whole race to a depth of 22ft., and bottomed the ground with a hydraulic pump. They also put in a drive, but no gold was obtained as far as they went; they are, however, desirous of getting a subsidy from the Government to enable them to continue the drive in both directions until they strike the lode. Another party was prospecting shallow ground along Criffel Face into Twohey's Gully. They put in cuts to strike the reef, and got gold, but not enough to pay them more than £1 10s. or £2 per week per man. At Criffel Face, prior to the time of my visit, Fryer and party had been sinking a paddock in the bottom of the place where they were driving, but abandoned it for the present, and came outside and commenced operations by driving into the front. They have averaged about £2 per week per man ever since. The depth of ground they are now working is from 10ft. to 40ft., and they are using four heads of water between two parties. Fleming and party of two are working in deep ground, but have not yet washed-up for this year. They are of opinion that the claim will pay them for working, although the gold as a general rule is of a very fine character. The quantity of water used is about four heads. Cullen Brothers and Taylor are driving outside the deep ground, and find their returns to be payable. Nicol and party are working to the south-west of Cullen and Taylor, and are averaging about £2 per week per man.

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Loft and Kernahan have come down at a lower elevation than any other party in this locality. They put in a tail-race, which required to be timbered, and struck the bottom at a depth of about 15ft., where the wash of reef is payable. Goldsborough and Andrews are working alongside cut up the hill. They are driving the ground, but up to the present with very little results. Tovey and Jones are still working on their claim, which is paying very fairly. They obtain their water from Criffel Face, and use about three heads. Frankey's Claim, in Twohey's Gully. —This is on Mr. Frankey's freehold property, and is worked by Mr. Frankey himself and wages men. The water is carried on to the claim in 7in.-pipes, with a pressure of about 180 ft. for the four heads used, the material being elevated for about 20ft. The party has not yet washed up for this year, but think the returns will prove payable. Cater, Eussell, and party of six, who bought out the original owners, are driving underneath, the stuff below being sluiced away, and the elevators taking away the tailings. They use very heavy timber-sets to keep up the ground, but no reliable information could be obtained in regard to their earnings. The following are Mr. Gow's (Inspector of Mines) reports on the different claims in the Clutha and Manuherikia Valleys :• — Matakanui Sluicing. Up to the end of the year no arrangement had been made between the several race-owners to take advantage of the liberal offer of the Hon. the Minister of Mines, towards the construction of a large dam to store the flood-waters in Thompson's Creek at a level that would suit all parties. Sims and Morgan's Claim. —This claim is situated on the south side of the field, and the sluicing water, from six to seven heads, is brought from Devonshire and Black Bush Creeks, which are about four miles south of the claim. The ground sluiced during the year is well down from the foot of the hill, and only from 25ft. to 30ft. deep. The gold return is reported to be very good. The two shareholders, it is said, divided £1,200 between them for the year's work, after paying two hired men. lam told this party has a constant supply of water, hence the good dividend. Ewing's Claim. —Bwing has sluiced off a large block of terrace during the past year, notwithstanding much lost time through the want of a full supply of water. All his men were idle at the time of my visit, and had been so for some time. I was told the yield of gold for the time worked was 630 ounces. There are generally seven men employed. Grembank's Blue Duck Claim. —Since my previous visit, Greenbank, in order to avoid touching the toe of the huge landslip at the head of his deep tail-race, drove, from a convenient place on his tail-race, about three chains of tunnel through the terrace to his working face, where he is now sluicing toward his northern boundary, in which direction the big hill appears a little more solid. This claim is said to have had only five months' water for the year, during which time, with ten men, the yield of gold was equal to £900. The quantity of water required to do efficient work is about seven heads. This will give some idea of the value of the ground here, and what might be done if there was a never-failing supply of water up to the requirements of each claim. The Undaunted. —The working face in this claim continues very deep, and the bulk of which is a very hard clay, consequently slow to disintegrate. The wash is also hard and slow to move. The yield of gold from April to the end of the year is said to be 500 ounces. This company, having the first right to a certain number of heads of water in Thompson's Creek, have, as a rule, a constant supply, and therefore object to any dam or reservoir being made in the creek, fearing it might possibly affect and depreciate the present value of the first rights now on the field. Matakanui Claim. —This claim is next to and on the east side of the Undaunted. The depth being sluiced is about 30 feet, and the yield of gold since last April is 180 ounces. This is said to be on the poor side of the usual returns, but the party knows from work done and previous washings that there is a large block of good ground yet to work. The water supply of eight heads comes from Lauder Creek, and is said to be permanent. The same party has a sluicing claim at " Dry Bread," situated about three miles east of Matakanui, on which latter claim they use four heads from the Lauder Creek. Sugar Pot Claim.—The coarse heavy wash where the claim is now being worked is nearly all local, and in which very slow progress can be made; it is worse than Kumara for stones. The water-race takes its water—from four to six heads —from Thompson's Creek at a low level, and in consequence of the registered right being low on the list from that creek, the party, as a rule, do not get their supply for more than six months in the year. There are seven in the party, and a general wash-up for the year was on at the time of my visit. The result of the wash-up will not be known for a week or two, but they anticipate getting 200 ounces. The vertical white-wash lead at Cambrian's is still being worked to a depth of from 25ft. to 30ft. by shaft and windlass on a small scale by two men. The layer of coarse quartz-wash now being followed is only seven inches thick, but from a dish of stuff washed in my presence, I think it very good. Ewing's Claim, Vinegar Hill. —The deep workings near Mr. Ewing's residence were, at the time of my visit, very much filled with water and no one working there, I think in consequence of the scarcity of sluicing-water. A new opening is now being made in the terrace a little distance to the east of the house, and on the north side of the gully. The wash rests on the schist-rock which dips at a very steep angle to the north. The white-wash is in layers with alternate layers of clay. Some of the gravel layers carry very little gold, while others give a fair prospect. The ground shows every indication to be deep, but how deep no one can as yet even guess. Mr. Ewing was from home at the time of my visit. I called at the St. Bathan's Claim, which I found idle. I did not see any one about the claim, and there was a quantity of water in the open paddock, as if it had been gathering for some hours.

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Eady and Kirkpatrick's Sluicing Claim, Glutha. —It is about two years since my last visit to this claim, since when a larger rock surface has been bared at a level probably 70ft. or 80ft. above the Clutha River, much of the debris left on the hill side-of this high beach is very much made up of angular blocks of local schist-rock mixed with river-wash, and not at all promising-looking for carrying gold. This beach appears to be worked out. There is a deep channel passed over in the early workings in the lowest part of the claim not yet bottomed, and believed to contain payable gold. In order to properly clean out this channel, a small hydraulic jet plant is being fixed in position and is nearly ready to work. The present sluicing operations are at the north end of the claim, where the ground is shallow and hungry-looking. It appears to me new ground will have to be looked for at an early date. Island Block Gold-mining Company. —There is nothing particularly new to note since 1 last visited the claim twelve months ago. The present working face is heading northward and slightly toward the Roxburgh Eoad. On the east side of this worked ground, some chains in length, there are probably several acres of solid ground now covfered with a great body of tailings which, in my opinion, should have been cast on the low side of the workings. This ground before being so covered was, to my mind, as likely to prove payable as any in the flat. In fact, the east side of the present workings is where I would look for good ground; but to remove the acres of tailings off what may yet prove equal to say, poor ground now being worked at a profit, would entail a considerable loss. Mr. Bawlin's system of working a large sluicing claim is entirely his own. Island Block Extended Sluicing Company. —During the past year this company went into liquidation, and the claim was purchased by, I think, the Golden Fleece Dredging Company. The new company is for the time being continuing the sluicing operations from where the original company left off work; but in course of time the intention is, I am told, to shift the lower end of the main pipe-line from the head-race a little to the south, and re-lay it as direct as possible to the narrowest part of the river below, where the dredge is now working. The pipes are to be suspended on wire-ropes across the river, and then laid along the flat to where the dredge found rich ground, going under the high bank near the Roxburgh Eoad. When this work is completed the high riverbank, wherever found on good ground, will be sluiced off with the Giant nozzle. This system of stripping can also be done for other claims immediately adjoining. The water can also be utilised to work the dredging plant, and thus effect a considerable saving in the present cost of fuel. Amalgamated Sluicing Company, Roxburgh. —Notwithstanding the great depth of stuff removed, this company cleans up a lot of bottom in a year. The splendid and constant supply of water at a very high pressure is the great factor in doing this heavy work. You simply turn a handle in the large water-pipe, and the fine material in the high terrace is swept away in thousands of tons in a very short space of time. I did not hear what the gold returns were lately. There is a lot of ground ahead if it will pay. Bald Hill Flat. —The sluicing claim behind Mr. Kemp's hotel was idle for want of water at the time of my visit. The manager, Mr. McPherson, informed me that the ground was fairly good, and would pay well, and with a constant supply of water would pay handsomely. The other two sluicing claims higher up the flat were in full swing, and it is reported they are giving good returns. All the water in the locality is being utilised most carefully, and made to do as much work as possible. The following is Mr. Gow's report on the South-west Goldfields of Otago:— Bound Hill Mine. —(l 7/8/95) : The gold-saving tables have lately been increased in area by five hundred square feet since Mr. Lee took charge of the mine. He has also enlarged the nozzle from 2in. to 2Jin. diameter, and the jet from 2fin. to 2fin. These enlargements, it is said, have enabled Mr. Lee to nearly double the quantity of stuff put through in a given time ; of course, a larger quantity of water was used to do this, and much more, if available, could have been profitably used. As it is, the quantity of gold obtained within a given time has been nearly doubled without employing any extra hands on the claim. Since the great improvement in the gold returns the company has applied for a much larger area of ground—one hundred acres, I think, —and has called for tenders to clear the timber off a new line of head-race to Granity and other small creeks. The race is to be cut at an early date, and made of a carrying capacity of fifteen Government heads. The length of race, or its estimated cost, I did not hear. lam told the present head-race, which carries from seven to eight heads only, is to be enlarged and improved, and that the flumes are to be reconstructed as they should be, made substantial and of larger carrying capacity. While these improvements are in hand, I would suggest a careful level be taken of the fall in the race near the flumes in order to increase the fall in the flume and the race for a considerable distance from the discharge end of the flumes. lam told there are to be ninety chains of 30in.-piping put in the ground before the races are completed. The cost of all these works, when completed, will amount to several thousands of pounds. The outlay should very much improve the prospects of the company, and will also do much good by employing labour in the locality. Longwood Mine, Biverton. —(26/8/95) : Sluicing operations were suspended some time ago, after which several short tunnels were driven into the hill from the open cutting with a view of intersecting a supposed quartz lode, running nearly north and south across the head of the open face previously sluiced out of the hill, where some very small piece's of quartz and gold were found in the washing-up. A short time previous to the above date, the company applied to the Hon. the Minister of Mines for some assistance to put in a long tunnel at a much lower level than the open workings, in the hope of intersecting the lode generally believed to exist here. Assistance has been granted on certain conditions, and a tunnel started at a level that it is supposed would cut the line of lode at a depth of 179 ft. below the surface. This tunnel, on 4/10/95, was driven 422 ft. where hard rock was first met with. The company now propose calling for fresh tenders to extend the tunnel another three or four hundred feet. Te Whara Beach. —When at Cuttle Cove I saw a miner who had just come through from Te

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Whara Beach, where I was told there were about twelve men getting gold in paying quantities. The gold is generally found in pieces from ldwt. to 30dwt. in crevices in the rock-bottom. The gravel-stripping is from 3ft. to sft. from high-water level to as low as it is possible to work when the tide is out. The workings up to the present have been confined to the open beach, but within the past few days the gold has been traced into the terrace, where the stripping is increasing in height to 14ft. and more. To cope with this extra stripping a small water-race is now under construction to the spot, to do most of the work by the use of the water. Should the ground prove payable in the made terraces it may eventually lead to important results in that locality. I saw a very pretty sample of gold, probably 10oz., from this place, all of it very much waterworn, and in pieces from the size of an ordinary bean upward. I regret I did not have time to visit this place and Coal Island, where, at Moonlight and other places in that island, there are said to be fourteen miners getting gold. As yet, it is all alluvial mining in the island, notwithstanding some very rich specimens of quartz and gold having been got there a short time ago. I was shown three specimens, in all several ounces, more or less water-worn, which were probably half gold. Some of the workings are on the beach, where the gold is found from high to low-water level. At other places the gold is found at about 150 ft. above the sea-level. There are still five men on Crawfish Island, where some are still getting a little alluvial gold. No reef has yet been found on this island. On Wilson's Eiver, some miles below the Golden Site Mine, there are, it is said, about sixteen miners getting a little gold in the banks or terraces, where the stripping is from 10ft. to 16ft., some of which is heavy wash. Wilson's Eiveb and Peeseevation Inlet Goldfields. Eeport by A. McKay, F.G.S., Mining Geologist. Alluvial Workings. —The most easterly workings during April last were at the mouth of the Kiwi Stream, where three men were engaged in working an old beach deposit at and above the present high-water mark. By their own account they were doing fairly well, despite a scarcity of water after three days dry weather, and the great cost of carrying forward provisions from Kisbee, which took three days a fortnight from full time. In the valley of Wilson's Eiver, below the Golden Site or Upper Gorge, about fourteen miners were at work; but, as the claims get worked out there is a difficulty of getting on to fresh ground of a payable character, and thus the number of miners and the yield of gold threatens to grow fewer and less. In Sealer's Creek there is little or no alluvial mining going on at the present time. On Goal Island some twenty miners are still at work, and this it would seem, promises to be the most permanent area for alluvial workings. The drawback here is the lack of sufficient watersupplies to the different localities where alluvial mining ;s carried on. Crayfish Island. —There is very little or no alluvial working being carried on here at the present time. Guttle Cove. —Specimens of gold-bearing stone are from time to time picked up on the beach, but no one is working for alluvial gold at this place. The Neck and Te Whara Beach. —About six miners, in three parties, are working at this place. Gold is still being obtained from the beach, at and below high-water-mark. Finds are occasionally made, but on the whole it cannot be said that these workings are remunerative. Some heavy graveldeposit in the cliffs, above high-water, have been prospected, and, satisfied with the prospects, all the easily available water has been brought in to work these terraces ; but the gold, though scarce, is patchy and uncertain, and these ventures when last visited did not appear to be in a very flourishing condition. Gulches Head. —Here there is a considerable area over which prospects of gold that, with a good supply of water, should be made to pay for working. The want of a sufficient water-supply is, however, the great difficulty, and it does not readily appear how, except at great cost, a good supply can be brought on to the ground.

DEEDGING. It is only comparatively of recent years that dredges have been applied to mining. When they were first used, the appliances for gold-saving were very incomplete, and many of the early dredging companies had only a very short life. Not only were the appliances defective, but men were placed in charge of dredges who had no knowledge of gold-saving. All the qualifications deemed necessary to have charge of these machines were that the man in charge must be either a mechanical engineer, or had been employed in dredging harbours and rivers in order to get a greater depth of water. The gold-saving appliances were looked on as a minor question. Th 3 result was that dredges were placed on the ocean beaches and rivers. The appliances for lifting the material was all that could he desired, but it was merely lifted and sluiced over the stern of the barge on which the machinery was placed without recovering but a very small percentage of the gold the material contained. No better illustration of the defective gold-saving appliances can be given than in the case of the first dredge constructed by the Sew Hoy Company. After working over portions of the big beach on the Shotover, there was as much gold obtained on the second time worked as there was on the first. Also, another case of a dredge which was placed off Tucker Beach to work the ground. After working for some months the dredge was sold and the company went into liquidation. Eecently, the Sew Hoy Company has placed one of their dredges on this beach, and find that it will prove remunerative for working. Other dredges have been placed on the ocean beaches on the West Coast, on places where men with crude appliances can make wages, but the whole

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of the dredging companies have proved failures, owing to having defective appliances for saving the gold. It is said, in regard to a dredge of the " Welman " principle, which was placed on the Saltwater Beach, that the ground was not payable; -and dredging operations were suspended and the plant sold. After a considerable time had elapsed, the lagoon in which the dredge was at work was cut open by the action of the water in flood-time, and left the dredge standing high-and-dry, when some men went and got gold in the place where dredging operations had been carried on to the value of several hundred pounds. The only place where dredging operations were carried on successfully in the early days of this branch of the gold-mining industry was only the Clutha Eiver ; but this river is nothing else but a gigantic sluice-box where growing sluicing operations have been carried on for thousands of years, thereby concentrating all the products of denudation from the mountains and ranges, carrying the light material out to sea and leaving the heavy concentrates in the bed of the river. Although dredging operations have been always carried on successfully on this river, it was due to the extremely rich auriferous deposits of concentrated material, and not to the appliances used on these dredges for saving the gold. Even at the present time the gold-saving appliances are very defective ; and were it not that the ground is very rich, these machines would not prove such remunerative mining ventures. Dredging can not only be applied to working the beds of rivers, but they can also be successfully employed in working shallow flats when the ground is not over, say, 40ft. in depth. The appliances that are now used for stacking the tailings admit of moderately deep ground being worked by these machines. There are two dredges at Waipori working in the flat, where the diggers in the early days could not prospect, owing to the large quantity of water there was to contend against, and both of these dredges are giving good returns. At the present time every river and stream in Otago is being taken up for dredging, and local companies are being formed to place dredges on the different claims. Sew Hoy Company .—This company has four dredges, one of which is only fit for working shallow ground. It was the first dredge they had built, and the requirements w r ere not so well known at that time as they now are. This company have been working on the Big Beach for the last seven years, and have been getting payable returns during the whole of this period. The upper end of this beach has been pretty well worked by the dredges, but the company have taken up a new claim, where very little work has been done, especially on the lower portion of it. According to the directors' report to the last annual meeting of shareholders, the lower portion of the new claim has been prospected with boring-rods, and, from the results obtained, the directors are under the belief that two-thirds of the beach is virgin ground. One of their dredges worked itself down through the gorge at the lower end of the Big Beach, but the material in the gorge did not contain sufficient gold to pay for working. The new claim referred to is at Tucker Beach, which was taken up about seven years years ago by another dredging company, which carried on operations for a considerable time with poor results ; but the cause of their failure is now ascertained. It was owing to taking the top of the wash-drift, •which is slightly cemented, for the bottom. The Sew Hoy Company have gone through the washdrift, and find that the ground will give them good returns for working. The operations in the future will be confined to the new claim on Tucker Beach, as the Star, and also the greater portion of the Big Beach, lease has been cancelled. Owing to having to shift the dredges through the gorge last year, the returns were not so large ; but, notwithstanding this, their balance-sheet shows a profit on the workings, as will be seen from the following statement :— Oct. 31, 1895. - £ s. a. Oct. 31, 1894 £ a. d. £ s. d. To General and office expenses .. .. 463 10 3 By Balance .. .. .. 642 2 8 Stationery .. .. .. .. 12 4 6 Amount written off .. 500 0 0 Interest .. .. .. . - 017 5 142 2 8 Law costs .. .. .. .. 16 15 6 Oct. 31, 1895. Bent and taxes .. .. .. 207 3 4 By Gold—Dredges .. .. 8,749 2 8 Wages .. .. .. .. 4,599 9 0 Gold—Elevator .. .. 292 8 3 Elevator working expenses .. .. 110 19 6 9,041 10 11 Goal .. .. .. .. 2,016 18 0 By Balance .. .. .. 1,261 16 1 Working expenses .. .. .. 1,112 6 3 Elevator Wages .. .. .. 560 18 5 Dividends .. .. .. .. 1,344 7 6 £10,445 9 8 £10,445 9 8 Sandhills Dredging Company. —This company has proved a failure so far. They had a good dredge, and an excellent water supply for generating electricity, by which this dredge is worked ; yet they have not been successful in finding sufficient gold to pay working expenses. Failure after failure ensued until the shareholders got disheartened, and allowed the plant to be sold to pay the liabilities. The first capital raised was insufficient to complete the dredge and place it in working order, and after getting additional capital they very soon got into difficulties, and had to dispose of the property altogether. The ground is said to be good in the bed of the Shotover, but it is questionable if those in charge of the dredge were thoroughly acquainted with the working of it, especially as a gold-saving machine. Sutherland and party have taken up a claim below Eddie and Kilpatrick's Claim at the Horseshoe Bend, between that and the Beaumont dredge. They have shifted a small dredge which was formerly working below the Beaumont for many years ; but this dredge is not of sufficient size to be of any service to dredge the river in this place, as the quantity of tailings in this part of the river bed, requires a dredge of considerable size, capable of dredging to a depth of about 40ft. This party is endeavouring to arrange to get a more powerful dredge erected to dredge this portion of the river, and from prospects which they have obtained at shallow places, they are of the opinion that the dredge would be profitable to work if a more powerful dredge was erected.

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Golden Gate Company's dredge is the next one up the river above Sutherland and party. This dredge is working opposite the Island Block at the lower end, where the ground is said to be very rich, and the company is getting good returns. The-following is a description of this dredge:— The following are the leading dimensions : Length of hull, 92ft.; breadth over all, 23ft.; depth, sft.; width of well, sft.; length of ladder, 62ft. from centre of punt to centre of lower tumbler The depth dredged with the ladder at 45° is 35ft. The hull is built of two separate pontoons, strongly braced together with three timber baulks, 16in. x 12in. The interior framing is of selected Tasmanian hardwood, well fastened with screw bolts, and braced diagonally on the sides and cross warps. The decks are stiffened with stanchions. All the planking is of kauri, and the seams well caulked with oakum and payed with pitch. The pontoons are constructed with a curved or scowshaped bow to meet the current. The tumbler framing and gantry at bow are built with raking legs of heavy kauri, well braced and bolted. A wrought-iron well has been built into one of the pontoons, from which the centrifugal pump draws its supply, the bottom of the well being fitted with a large meshed grating, easily removable for cleaning purposes. Steam is supplied by a steel boiler of an improved type designed by the engineer. In its general features it is of the Cornish multitubular type, but the position of the shell surrounding the tubes is reduced in diameter in order to lessen the large body of water which would otherwise surround the tubes. Better circulation of the water therefore ensues. The ends are stayed with gusset-stays, giving facilities for inspection and cleaning. The furnace has welded seams and Adamson's expansion joints, also one Galloway tube. The boiler was tested to 2401b. per square inch, and is intended to work at a pressure of 1201b. The result of the trials pade appears to have justified the adoption of this type of boiler. The engine is horizontal compound surface-condensing, designed by the makers (Messrs. Morgan, Cable, and Co.), and is of a strong and substantial type, fitted with cut-off gear adjustable by hand, and with provision for reversing when necessary. The condenser is an outside condenser, the cooling-surface being in contact with the river-water. The air-pump has a water-packed bucket, saving wear-and-tear, and works satisfactorily, the vacuum being maintained at 27in. All the steam- and feed-pipes are of copper. The shafting and gearing are of great strength, and the friction-gear is especially handy. The buckets (of which there are forty, having a capacity of three cubic feet each), are very strong, the bottoms being fin. and lips sin. x fin. The pins are of manganese steel. Steam winches are provided for lifting ladder and for head-line, and hand winches for side-lines. Water is supplied for sluicing purposes by a 10in. centrifugal pump. Steam ejectors are fitted for draining the bilges and charging the pump. The gold-saving appliances consist of a 40ft. length of sluice-box 3ft. 6in. wide, fitted with the usual perforated plates aud ripples and plush, with a return box for the fine material. The whole of the machinery is enclosed in a well-built galvanised-iron house. The dredge hulls or pontoons were built by Messrs. Ritchie and Co., of Port Chalmers ; and the boiler, engine, and other machinery by Messrs. Morgan, Cable, and Co., of Port Chalmers; and the dredge throughout bears the impress of faithful workmanship. Mr. Lawson, formerly of the Edina and Dome Creek dredges, is the dredge-master; and Mr. Scott, late of Port Chalmers, has charge of the machinery. Golden 'Bun Company's dredge is the next one on the river, and is working the river-banks above the Island Block, and close into the road. There is a great depth of material here, and the tailings are the source of considerable trouble. It is stated that, out of an area of about 3 acres, gold to the value of nearly £13,000 has been obtained. This company holds the inlet to the Island Block on the ancient channel run, where the Island Block Company are now working about three miles lower down. Pringles and Company have a new dredge, recently constructed, which is working in the river almost close alongside the Golden Run dredge, the latter's claim being in the bank of the river at the upper end of Island Block, and Pringle Company's dredge adjoining in the river-bed. This dredge is said to be doing remarkably well. Bennett and Company's Dredge. —This dredge was the first ever constructed on the Clutha River, and has been working steadily here for the last thirteen years, giving the owners very good returns. When this dredge was first constructed it was worked by a current-wheel; but, as dredging became more generally adopted on this river, and it was found that a current-wheel dredge could only be worked near the middle of the stream, the owners decided to dispense with the cur-rent-wheel, and apply steam, in order that they might work the beaches, which were in places very rich. Their steam-dredge was the first one placed on the Clutha River, and, although only a small dredge, steady returns are being obtained, which pay the owners handsomely for their outlay. Miller's Greek Dredge. —This is one of the largest dredges in the river, being 108 ft. in length, and constructed on pontoons. Brazil and Party's Dredge. —This is one of the early dredges, formerly worked by a currentwheel, but now driven by steam. One of the owners informed me, that in the early days of dredging, the dredge used to return an average of about £20 per week per man ; and even at the present time, with the large quantity of tailings in the river which they have to contend with, the party still continue to obtain good results. The machinery in this dredge, although small, is capable of dredging to a depth of about 30ft., and at the place where it is working there is a white gravelly bottom in the river, which enables the auriferous wash to be taken up very clean. Golden Treasure Dredge. —This dredge, is working a few yards down from Miller's Flat Ferry, on the east side of the river, and getting very good returns. The result of working the bed of the river on the east side at this point has caused a current to strike hard on the opposite side, making an eddy at the ferry, and rendering it difficult to work the punt from west to east; indeed, if the wind is blowing down the river, it is almost impossible to bring the punt to the crossing. Pringle and Party's old small dredge has been shifted up the river a few miles above Coal Creek, but as it has not been working long in the river there is no information obtainable to show whether they are getting payable returns or not.

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Manuherihia Dredge. —This is a current-wheel dredge working in the river about a mile below Alexandra. Some difficulty is experienced in working the stones of the river with this dredge ; and no doubt, if there was a road along which coal could be conveyed to the gorge where the dredge is working, steam would be used in place of the current-wheel. The dredge is working to a depth of about 31ft., and is said to be capable of raising 30 tons per hour. It is also stated to be giving handsome returns. There are seven dredges now working in the river between Alexandra and Clyde, three of which are provided with elevators to lift the material after it has been washed, and to stack it behind the dredge. These dredges are placed in the following order from Alexandra : Magnus and party, Ngapara, Enterprise, Spence and party, Findley and party; the latter having two dredges which formerly belonged to L. Gards. There are also three large dredges in course of construction, which are intended to work on the river between the points mentioned. In visiting one of these dredges belonging to Hyde and party, their washing appliances appeared to me to be very defective indeed; the quantity of tailings lying on some of the tables, to a depth of about 3in., would make it impossible to save more than a small portion of the gold, especially when the gold was of a scaly nature. The tables are placed on one side only of a revolving screen, and are only about Bft. 6in. in width, and about the same in length. It is, however, impossible to convince the owners of these dredges that they are losing gold, although it is highly probable that not more than 60 per cent, is saved. The company owning the Alexandra dredge intend to construct another dredge below the bridge; this dredge will be the largest on the river. Indeed, the whole of the river is taken up in dredging claims, and it is said that those who have interests in any of the present areas at work are placing all their spare cash in getting additional dredges constructed. The cost of a dredge varies from about £2,400 to £4,000. The latter figure, it is said, will cover the cost of a large dredge with all the latest improvements. The pontoons on which the present dredging machinery is erected, are too small to admit of proper gold-saving appliances. Where the quantity of material has to be washed that one of the large dredges is capable of lifting, it requires a large surface of gold-saving tables, and that surface must be in the width; narrow, long tables are not suitable for saving gold. When the gold is fine and scaly the material requires to pass over the table in a very thin film, with sufficient water to keep the matting perfectly clear. Hyde and Wood's Dredge. —-This dredge is working a shallow beach about one mile and a half below the Wai-Kerikeri Beach, on the Clyde side of the river. It is an ordinary bucket-dredge, having thirty-six buckets, two of which are distintegrators, and are used for loosening the hard cement, and also taking up large stones. The party is dredging at the present place for a depth of 20ft. below water-level, and it is stated that the dredge lifts on an average forty tons of stuff per hour. The material is dumped into a hopper, which empties into a revolving screen of about 10ft. in length, having perforated plates, the holes being from fin. to -Jin. diameter. The stones and coarse shingle ■fall into a semicircular iron shoot, thence into sluice-boxes covered with iron ripples, and the waste material is deposited into elevating-buckets at the stern, which then place it about 10ft. above the dredge. The angle at which the elevator is placed is about 60 degrees. The fine material from the revolving screen falls on to tables which are Bft. 6in. in width, and covered with cocoanut-matting, having a small-mesh iron wire screen on top. There is little doubt in my mind that a very large percentage of the fine gold is lost in this dredge, as it is impossible with the same amount of tables, which are on one side only, to save it; indeed, at the time of my visit I saw gold lying on the top of tables, and wherever the stuff is not led off in a fine thin film, and kept perfectly clear, the fine gold cannot be saved. From information supplied me by one of the proprietors, it appears that this dredge has not been returning large profits for a considerable time past, but the party has recently got on to a run of ground which gives them good returns. For the week preceding the date of my visit they obtained 20oz. of gold, the working expenses being a little over £30 per week. Six men are required on one of these dredges to work day and night, and the amount of local coal burned is equal to about 3 tons in every twenty-four hours. For the purpose of carrying the stones and shingle away from the end of the revolving screen, there is a 9in.-pipe, which passes through the screen and discharges water into the shoot at the end of the screen. There are also holes perforated for allowing a small quantity of water to fall on to the material as it passes through the screen. The water is pumped by a centrifugal pump, which is worked by a separate engine. The dredging appliances are worked by a compound steam-engine, fitted with the necessary winches, friction-gearing, &c, necessary to prevent a breakage taking place, should any stones or other material become jammed between the buckets and the dredge. Lowburti. —A new dredge, owned by Mr. Crookston and party of four, was at the time of my visit in course of construction on the Clutha River at Lowburn. The dredge is to be named the " Clutha," and is being built by the five shareholders themselves. It has pontoons 70ft. in length, beam Bft. 4in., with 3ft. Bin. between the pontoons; the length of the dredging-ladder is 50ft., and will dredge to a depth of 30ft.; height of upper tumblers above the deck is 9ft. 6in., the bottom tumbler running on an axle. There will be about thirty-five buckets altogether, and one or two gravellers dredging at the rate of about ten or twelve buckets per minute. The engine is a vertical one with 8-Jin. and 17in. cylinders, and having a 12in. stroke, with a speed of about 108 or 110 revolutions per minute, and a pressure of 751b. or 801b. cut off at about five-eighth stroke. This engine will drive the winches as well as the rest of the machinery used in connection with the dredge, including a centrifugal pump. The diameter of the runner is 13 Jin., and will run at about 900 or 1,000. Steam is supplied by an externally-fired multitubular boiler, having three dozen 3in. tubes. ' The boiler is Bft. in length and 4ft. 6in. in diameter. The material lifted will pass over perforated plates into boxes 2ft. 6in. wide, which will act like

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tables. Some of the machinery used originally belonged to the Queen Company. Wire ropes costing £3 each are used for mooring purposes, and it is the intention of the party to fit up an elevator later on. The dredge when completed will cost about £1,700. The party commenced to build the dredge on the Bth January last, and hoped to have it finished early in May. The following is a portion of Mr. Gow's (Inspector of Mines for the southern district) report on the dredging operations in Otago :— Since my last annual report, the addition to the fleet of dredges on the Clutha Eiver has been going on apace. Some of them were completed and working before the year end, leaving no less than seven in hand, either building or ordered. There were at the end of the year on the Clutha Eiver, between Beaumont and a little above Coal Creek, no less than fifteen dredges working, and preparations for others to fit in wherever there is spare ground. Most of the dredges now being built or ordered are to work claims from Alexandra upwards. Leigon and party, Alexandra, are building their third dredge to work near Alexandra. Some of the names of those in hand are as follows: Manorburn Dredge, Manorburn ; Ophir and Jud, Ophir; Earnscleugh Dredge, Earnscleugh; Clyde Dredge, Clyde ; No. 2, Kawarau Dredge, Kawarau. This will be the largest dredge in Otago. There is No. 4 dredge in hand on the Waipori. When last on the Clutha Eiver, I intended going aboard of all the new dredges added to the fleet since my previous visit, with a view of giving their dimensions and a few details of their working capabilities. The river was, however, in high flood at the time, rendering it unsafe to cross the stream in a boat when the dredges were on the opposite side, and in other places no one was on board. They were all idle. Golden Gate Dredge. —This is one of the additions to the fleet, and is situated at the lower end of the Island Block Claim. I could not get on board, in consequence of the flooded state of the river at the time of my visit. It is reported she is on good ground—l3ooz. of gold for seven weeks' work ; and likely to be paying dividends at an early date. She is built of timber. The pontoons are 94ft. long, by 9ft. 9in. wide each; depth, sft. 6in.; length of ladder, 62ft., carrying forty buckets; sluice-boxes, 32ft. long, by 3ft. 6m. wide. The engine supplied by Morgan, Cable, and Company, Port Chalmers. McLelland and Sutherland's Dredge. —l think this is the little dredge that some time ago worked at several places between the Beaumont Bridges. She is now located some little distance above the bridge, and a short distance below the "Tallaburn," handy to and on the low side of Eady and Company's sluicing-claim. At the time of my visit the dredge was moored out from the bank, and not working. I did not see any one about the place. I fear the shareholders will very soon discover that this size of dredge is now behind the times, and must be classed as antiquated. It is doubtful if she can cope with the body of small loose drift now constantly moving down the river-bed, and dredge up sufficient gold-bearing wash to pay. Pringle and Party's Dredge. —ln my previous report I stated that this party was then building a new dredge at an estimated cost of £2,500. The vessel is now nearly completed, and is capable of dredging the deepest ground in the claim and going through shingle beaches from bank to bank. Every new dredge is, as a rule, an improvement in the latest afloat, and this one is no exception to the rule. The timber in all parts of her construction is heavier than in others previously built. The kauri planking is 2fin. thick, and the frames are 6in. by 4in., while in some parts the timber is massive, and placed in a way calculated to prevent "hogging." She is 90ft. long. The two pontoons are 9ft. wide each and placed to form a ladder space sft. wide. The ladder is 60ft. long and capable of dredging about 35ft. deep, which to be fully as deep as may be required. The bucket-capacity is 2-J cubic feet. The engine (compound) is thirty-horse-power, by Anderson, of Christchurch. The main "catch-all" gold-saving box is 12ft. long by 2ft. wide, having perforated plates with holes, under which there is matting and plush to the end. There is a second "catch-all" under the first, and slightly in advance of the top end, 6ft. long fitted with plates and matting similar to the first. The main sluice-boxes are 3ft. wide and 32ft. long, fitted with perforated plates Jin. thick, having Jin. holes. Each plate is 4ft. long, having at the lower end a drop of 2in. into the next plate. This is repeated to the end of the sluice. Under all these plates is matting to catch the gold. The fall in the boxes is similar to that on board the " Golden Eun"—viz., lin 8. Within 4ft. from the tail-end of the main sluice there is an opening in the bottom, through which most of the fine sand passes into another box lined with plush, and fixed at right-angles to the top boxes and having a fall of about 22in. to the 12ft., 2ft. wide, discharges at the side of the dredge, and is intended to prevent any gold going over the tail-end of the main sluice. The sluicing-water is to be supplied by a 14in. centrifugal pump. The old dredge is, I understand, now working above Coal Creek, and is known as McKenzie's Dredge. Victoria Dredge, Alexandra. —This is the latest addition to the Alexandra fleet, and is intended to work immediately above the bridge. It was not working at the time of my visit, in consequence of the very high state of the river. The dimensions of this new current-wheeler is as follow : Length of pontoons, 84ft.; width of same, 7ft. 3in. each; and ladder-way, sft. 3in.; the ladder is 49ft. long, and the main shaft 6in. in diameter. The current-wheel, which is 22ft. in diameter and estimated to develop fifteen-horse power by assuming the current to be travelling from five to six miles per hour —a slow estimate for the river here. There are fourteen floats on each wheel, which revolves seven times per minute. The buckets are calculated to hold 2 cubic feet each, and it is estimated that eleven buckets per minute will be raised, or about 48 cubic yards per hour. The method of washing is by cylinder and tables. I did not ascertain their width. At the Clyde Bridge I saw a quantity of timber and plant for a new dredge, which I understand is to be built at once; preparations were then being made to start the work. I understand the plans were prepared by Mr. E. Eoberts, C.E., Dunedin, and contain some entirely new and important features in dredge-building. The dredge is to have a tailing-elevator capable of stacking the tailings from 20ft. to 30ft. high. The tailing buckets are of a new design, and look very 22—C. 3.

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neat. To prevent " hogging," four hog-posts 28ft. high are to be fixed on deck and properly braced diagonally, and stayed with rods from the top, so as to serve the double purpose by carrying the tailing elevator, which may be raised or lowered by a- winch as may be required at any time while the dredge is working. The deck plant will be placed so as to counterpoise the tailing-elevator, and keep the dredge on an even keel. I think it important to show those outside of Otago who may have an eye on some deep dredging-grounds the latest improvements in these vessels, and at the same time to give some idea of their probable cost. At my request Mr. E. Roberts, C.E., and Cutten Bros., C.B.s, of Dunedin, have kindly promised me tracings of their very latest designs to forward with this to appear in the Mines Report. Crookson's Party, Lowburn. —This is the second dredge for this part of the Clutha Valley, now under construction, —one portion afloat, —and is intended to be placed near Deadman's Point, a short distance below the Lowburn Ferry. The dimensions are as follow: Two pontoons, 70ft. by Bft. 6in. each ; depth, 4ft. 6in. ; ladder. 50ft. long; buckets, about 2 J cubic feet; and a compound engine. The plant came from the Big Beach (Sew Hoy's claim). The dredge-builders say she will be ready for work in April. Electric Dredge, Kawarau. —This dredge was only lately started, and it is now reported to be getting more gold than any other in Otago. It is working a short distance above the Bannockburn Bridge. The method of washing is by cylinder and tables. I did not get on board. It is reported that the same company is about to build a second dredge immediately, to work a second claim in the same locality, and that she is to be larger than any yet built in Otago. The plans are being prepared by Mr. Macgregor, C.E., Clyde, who, it is said, is going to introduce some improvements much in advance of all previous work of the kind on the river. The profitable working of many of the dredges on the Clutha River during the year has made this branch of gold-mining for the time being the most important in Otago. It is said that claims were lately taken up in the Kawarau to the mouth of the Nevis, and from Cromwell up the Clutha some distance above Lowburn. This class of mining distributes its proceeds very evenly all round. In the first place, there are the wages-men, then the colliers, coal-carters, wagoners, blacksmiths, and foundry workmen in great numbers—in fact, all that room can be found for in some of the foundries in Dunedin. One of the foundry proprietors, in answer to my question, "Have you much mining work in hand " ? said, " I am harassed with the amount of that kind of work in hand, and have no more room for men in the workshops. I have within the last four years turned out mining-plant to the value of £27,000, and it has all been paid for." Another foundry proprietor said, " I have about as much as I can do, and am full-handed. Were it not for the dredging-work in hand for some time past I might as well shut shop." I presume other foundries now in Dunedin get a share of the work, and several of the dredging-plants in the Clutha came from Christchurch and Port Chalmers. These few facts will convey some idea of the importance of dredge-mining in Otago.

NATURAL GAS, INGLEWOOD. The attention of the Mines Department was directed last year to the emission of natural gas in different places on Mr. Laing's property near the village of Inglewood, which resulted in my being instructed to visit and report on the same. On visiting this locality in October last the gas could be observed issuing from the ground at three different places—one place between his house and the main road, where there was some water lying on the surface of the ground ; at another place a little behind his house, where he had sunk a shaft; and, again, at about 10 chains further back, small bubbles of gas could be seen in the bank of a small creek ; but the place where it appears the strongest is in the shaft that has been sunk where Mr. Laing fixed a large galvanised-iron pipe, with hood placed on the top and soldered to the pipe, thereby making, as it were, a gasometer. On the top of hood there was a small pet-cock which he used as a burner, and in calm evenings he lighted the jet of gas, which gives a brilliant white flame. The shaft referred to had been sunk at the time of my visit to a depth of about 14ft., first going through about 4ft. of soft spongy soil, and for the rest of the distance through a very porous volcanic ash, where the emissions of gas could be detected by a hissing noise issuing from the sides of the shaft through the volcanic-ash stratum. This ash stratum, although very porous, was hard, firm ground to sink through, but, on getting down to a depth of 14ft., a layer of very soft material was met with. As the men who cleaned out the shaft on the day of my visit intended to sink it deeper, and, on trying to pump down an iron bar, with the object of getting a good blower of the gas, the bar was put down through about sft. of soft, muddy material; but no gas was observed issuing from the battons. The largest gas-blowers were coming from the sides of the shaft. On allowing this shift to fill with water, samples of the gas were collected in bladders, by means of a small inverted funnel, the wide mouth being placed down in the water where the bubbles of gas were showing, and the small end of the funnel was fitted to go inside the mouth of a pet-cock which was let into the mouth of the bladder, and made fast thereto. Two large bladders were filled with the gas, and sent to Wellington, which was sent to the Colonial Laboratory for analysis. The analysis of the gas showed it to be heavy carburetted hydrogen gas, but its exact determination was not given. On subsequent conversation with Mr. Skey, the Colonial Analyist, he said it contained a mixture of hydrocarbon gases, but he had not instruments sufficiently delicate to test the proportions; but it was practically ethylene or defiant gas (C 2 H 4 ), and therefore a very good illuminant. There are considerable quantities of this gas issuing from the ground at different places, but, unless it were a very strong blower, one cannot find these emissions unless there is water lying on the surface, when one can see the bubbles. About 10 chains distant from the spot where Mr. Laing sunk the shaft, a quarry or pit has been opened up for the purpose of getting road metal. The face of this quarry shows about 12ft. of volcanic ash on the top, overlying a heterogeneous mass of broken basaltic rock, all lying loosely

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together, which apparently has been at some period thrown out by volcanic action. The depth of this broken rock is not determined, but it cannot be less than about 30ft. thick at the place where the pit referred to was opened up. This broken rock is completely disintegrated, having large openings between the stones where gas has every facility to escape ; and it became a question in my mind how the gas did not find vent through this face of broken rock, instead of coming up through the volcanic ash to the surface. It is apparent that this layer of broken rock cannot extend over a large area, and that there must be some compact material taking the place of this layer which prevents the gas escaping, and allows it to force its way to the surface at the place where the shaft is sunk. A few weeks prior to my visit a serious accident occurred through experimenting with this gas. One of Mr. Laing's sons, a boy about sixteen years of age, lighted the gas-burner which was placed on the top of the pipe that was used as a gasometer, and after it was lighted the boy shook the pipe, which was about 16in. in diameter, and the gas exploded, throwing the boy a considerable distance, and injuring his spine so seriously that his father has no hopes of his recovery. Previous to this accident occurring, some gentleman who was delivering temperance lectures at Inglewood, and enlivening his subject with lime-light views, took up his gas-bag to fill it with natural gas instead of manufacturing it. After getting a small quantity in his bag, a lighted match was held near the mouth, when an explosion took place, throwing the gentleman some distance across a ditch, when his gas-bag was entirely demolished. Whatever his experience as a temperance lecturer was, it was very evident that he had no chemical knowledge, and that he was trying to experiment with elements of whose composition he was totally ignorant. The main question at issue in reference to the flow of this natural gas is, what is its origin ? Does it come from the decomposition of vegetable matter which has been buried during the more, recent volcanic activity, or does it come from a much older source, and belong to the hydrocarbous oil series ? In questioning several old residents as to whether any trace of petroleum was ever found in any of the wells that had been sunk about the township, and being answered in the affirmative, they took me to the wells, which they stated could not be used, as the water tasted of kerosene. This assertion, however, was not in any instance borne out: in drinking some of the water from each of these wells no taste of petroleum could be detected. One gentleman told me that some buried timber taken out of a deep cutting near his place, anfl which he carried into his yard, had such a strong smell of petroleum that it became offensive, and on putting some of the timber on the fire he nearly burned his house down. Another person spoke about some petroleum appearing on the top of water about three miles and a half from Inglewood, but he did not know the exact place. Probably, when this comes to be properly investigated, it may only prove to be oxide of iron floating on the top of the water, which can be seen in many places in the neighbourhood. Although oxide of iron appears in iridescent colours floating on the top of the water, it can easily be distinguished from petroleum, as the former disperses when stirred, breaking up into minute, thin, leaf-like particles, whereas petroleum would disperse in a more globular form. Judging from the high illuminating quality of the gas, which gives a brilliant white light, its origin is a much older source than from the decomposition of the vegetable matter buried during the more recent volcanic action, and I think it is highly probable that petroleum will be found in this neighbourhood. The gas at Inglewood is totally different from that found at Hanmer Plains, which burns with a bluish flame, and contains a composition of CH 4 and H 2 S. The Inglewood gas is again different from the natural gas found near Pittsburg. According to the analysis of Mr. Ford, four samples gave the following:—

It will be seen from this that there is more carbon in the Inglewood gas, and less hydrogen, than in the natural gases found at Pittsburg. C. Phillips also took samples from six wells—the Frederica Company (1), Sheffield Company (2), Wilcox well (3), Kane well (4), Speechly (5), and the Murraysville well (6), and found the following results:—

Per Cent. Methane, CH 4 ... Ethane, C 2 H 6 Ethylene, C 3 H 4 ,. Hydrogen, H Carbonic oxide, CO Carbonic acid, C0 2 Oxygen, O 72-18 3-60 0-70 20-02 1-00 0-80 1-00 65-25 5-50 0-80 26-16 0-80 0-60 0-80 60-40 7-92 0-98 29-03 0-58 000 0-58 49-58 12-30 0-60 35-92 0-40 0-40 0-40 99-30 99-91 99-49 99-60

Per Cent. ! n H m ... 9005 9-54 0-41 (2.) 90-64 9-06 0-30 (3.) 90-38 9-41 0-21 90-01 9-79 0-20 (5.) 95-04 4-51 0-05 (6.) 97-70 2-02 0-28 I !O a ... 100-00 100-00 100-00 100-00 99-60 10000

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The following shows the hydrocarbons contained in C n H m : —

This shows that the Pennsylvania natural gas is more suitable for heating purposes than for an illuminant. The gas from Inglewood is similar in composition to that obtained from samples forwarded from the oil-well at New Plymouth. The following is Mr. Skey's report on the analysis of the two samples collected by me: — "Both these samples are of fairly good illuminating-power, the greater part of the gases being of bicarburetted hydrogen. Taken through a good gas-burner, and lit, a very useful light is obtained. " But a trace of carbonic acid was found in either sample, and no sulphuretted hydrogen. " Petroleum semi-solid at 60° Fah. "The samples are precisely of the same quality as that of the latter samples received from the Taranaki oil-wells, one of which is No. 6944, from Mr. George Eobson, and another No. 6928, from Mr. Eoss, in both of which paraffin and light kerosene oils are abundant." There are large emissions of natural gas in the Pennsylvania district; but this is different in its composition to that found at Inglewood, belonging, as it does, to the methane series, while the gas at the latter place belongs to the ethylene series, and corresponds with the gas found in the oil-wells at Baku, where C 2 H t preponderates in the composition of the petroleum. "William F. Brandt, in describing the chemical constitution of petroleum, states as follows : — " Although in several crude oils the presence of ethylenes h-as been established, it seems that quantitatively they become chiefly of importance in the heavier oils only. In small quantities they were found by Tuttschen in Galician oil, by Beilstein and Kurbatoff in oil from Zarskiji Kolodzi—■ government Tiflis- and by Warren and Chanseler in Pennsylvania crude oil; in large quantities by C. F. Chandler, S. F. Peckham, in California crude oil, and by Warren de la Rue and H. F. Miiller especially in maltha from Eangoon, they preponderating in the latter. " According to Lackowicz, the ethylenes are wanting in Galician petroleum, and he conjectures that where found they are found by distillation. Dr. Kraemer also points out that by pressure and heat the components of petroleum—especially those boiling at a high temperature —are decomposed to aromatic bodies, and that by gasification hydrocarbons of the ethylene series may be formed. " Petroleum is always accompanied by natural gases, and where the latter appear in large quantities oil also is frequently found ; so that in many localities the striking of gas is considered a good indication of finding oil in the near future. In such case the gases result from the same process as the petroleum, they being the lowest members of the series of hydrocarbons which constitute crude oil. Since the gases penetrate the pores of the partition-rock with greater ease than the oil, they are found in the level strata of the oil-deposits as forerunners of the latter, and are also more widely-distributed than the oil." Although it is stated that the gas found at Inglewood is a good illuminant, this is not to be construed that its illuminating quality is equal to good coal-gas. There being less carbon in natural gas than in coal-gas, it gives a flickering flame, strongly affected by draught. Many experiments have been made in America to increase the illuminating-power of natural gas by carbonisation with liquid hydrocarbons, but so far this has not proved a success. A brighter flame was, however, obtained by altering and making improvements in the burners.

COAL-MINES. Noeth Island. The output from the coal-mines in the North Island depends to a great extent on the local consumption, especially from the mines in the Waikato Valley. The coal from the mines at Kawakawa, Hikurangi, and Ngunguru are suitable for marine purposes, the coal from the latter place being highly spoken of. From the samples, as far as I have seen from visiting this mine, it is superior to any coal found in the North Island, but at the same time inferior to the bituminous coal found on the west coast of the Middle Island. There is a fair area which contains coal in the vicinity of Ngunguru; but it is not of such a large extent as that between Hikurangi and Kawakawa. The owners of the Ngunguru Mine have considerable disadvantages in placing their coal in the market owing to the shallow depth of water at the entrance to the Ngunguru harbour, which only admits of small vessels, carrying from 100 to 150 tons of coal. Kawakawa Mine. —It will take yet a considerable time to remove all the pillars in the upper workings in this mine, but unless some new portion of the field be opened up the old mine will in course of another two years, or even less, have to be closed down. At the time of my visit prospecting work was being carried on ahead of the old workings, and a small area containing coal was discovered. A main roadway was being constructed to take out this block of coal; also an adit-level was being constructed near the engine-bank, where some of the miners who formerly worked in the mine think a large pillar containing coal was left. As far as the old workings are concerned the men were taking out the coal down close to the water-level, and allowing the ground

Per Cent. 21-83 78-17 (2.) 23-36 76-64 (3.) 23-48 76-52 (4-) 23-18 76-82 (5.) 22-93 77-07 (6.) 25-06 74-94

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to come down behind them, which is the safest way to take out the whole of the coal. There were twenty men altogether employed about the mine—namely, fourteen below ground and six men employed at surface work. Hikurangi Mines. —The principal mine belongs to the Hikurangi Coal Company. They have opened up a considerable area of excellent coal, hard and bright. This area is between the place where the trucks are loaded at the siding and the Township of Hikurangi. The main level and back heading is constructed for a considerable distance, and a number of bords opened up where a good output can be got whenever there is an increased demand. The coal in this portion of the ground exceeds my former expectations both as to quantity and quality, and less faulting. The upper workings in this mine are full of faults, and the coal is of inferior quality. Indeed, it may be said that the coal in the upper workings is hardly worth taking out, so long as better coal can be got in the new workings, as the number of dislocations in the upper workings will be many. The best portion of the coalfield in this company s ground is not opened out yet—that is, the portion to the northward of Bryan Mine, held by Mr. Smith, between the swamp and the main Whangarei-Kawakawa Boad, which the manager informed me would shortly be opened up. The whole of the works in connection with opening up this mine have been well thought out and very cheaply constructed, and the shareholders may congratulate themselves upon having a gentleman like Mr. Moody for their manager. In the Bryan Mine Mr. Smith is taking out the pillars in the old workings and constructing a new dip-incline in the southern portion of his lease. The coal, however, in this mine is not nearly so hard as that in the Hikurangi Mine in the lower workings ; but he has a good area of pillars in the old grounds, where coal can be got very cheaply. Another mine has been opened at Hikurangi by Mr. Mathews and party, but at the time of my visit very little work had been done in the mine. All the preliminary work is completed, such as tramways and loading-stage, and they were only making a commencement to open up their mine. The mouth of their main roadway into the mine is close to where a large dislocation has taken place, and there is a great probability of this faulting carrying on for a considerable distance. Waikato Mines. As stated previously, the whole of the coal from these mines is only suitable for local consumption—that is, for household purposes and local industries. The coal from these mines is liable to spontaneous combustion, and therefore not adapted for marine purposes. Waikato Mine. —ln the new portion of the mine the main adit is in a distance of 26 chains, of which 9 chains is stone drive. About 4J chains to the west of the main adit the fault was cut through, where the coal is about 20ft. in thickness; and it is expected that there is about two acres of good coal in this part of the mine. .The pillars are being taken out on the eastern side of the adit, but not within 3 chains of the old workings,/except at one place, where one of the bords is within half a chain. The company intend to sink an air-shaft on the summit of the hill, to draw off the foul air in the old workings, before proceeding to remove the pillars. Taupiri Extended Mine. —There are two shafts in this mine. The winding-shaft, which forms the downcast, is 166 ft. in depth, and the other shaft, which forms the upcast, is 10 chains distant from the downcast shaft, and is 204 ft. in depth. Both these shafts were sunk with iron cylinders through quicksand to a depth of 90ft. in the downcast shaft and 60ft. in the upcast shaft, and both shafts are lined ~with brick below the tubbing. The lengths of the main headings are as follows : The one to the westward is 11 chains, the eastward 13 chains, the south heading 18 chains, and the main heading in a northward direction 20 chains. There is a great thickness of coal in some parts of this mine, but there is always about 4ft. of coal left in the top of the bords to preserve the roof. There is comparatively little water in the mine, which is lifted with a Tangye duplex horizontal pump. There is a considerable area of good brown coal, that will take many years to work out. This is the largest mine in the Waikato. Last year the output was 40,160 tons. Taupiri Reserve Mine. —The workings in this mine are carried under Lake Kimihia. The length of the main-dip roadway is 18£ chains, and the lower main level is in for a distance of 31 chains under the lake. The whole of the workings in this mine are well laid out, and great care exercised to have the pillars, which are 8 yards in width, of a uniform thickness, the bords being 14ft. in width. About 4ft. of coal is always left on the roof of the bords and headings, and in no place is there the slightest sign of weakness in the roof. The roads and bords are kept very clean; all the small coal is removed; indeed, it is quite a pleasure to inspect this mine. During the last year the output was 17,134 tons —of this 8,750 tons was household coal and 8,384 tons steam coal for industrial purposes; while there was an average of thirty men employed underground and fifteen men on the surface. The company intend erecting two new steel Cornish boilers, sft. 3in. in diameter and 20ft. in length, having a working-pressure of 1001b. to the square inch. The water is to be lifted with Tangye pumps, having a lifting-capacity of 250 gallons per minute, to a total height of 260 ft.: this will allow the dip roadway to be extended and a lower level constructed. Middle Island, Nelson District. Collingwood. Collingwood Mine. —The number of faults and dislocations that have been met with in this mine, together with the small seam of coal, have so disheartened the shareholders that they intend to abandon it. Even if a good seam of coal were opened up here, only small vessels of a very shallow draught of water can come in to take away the coal. Mokihinui Mine. —This mine was worked last year by what was known as the Knights of

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Labour, but they have handed it over again to the company. Owing to the numerous faults met with, together with the difficulty of disposing of the coal, the men were unable to make wages. Cardiff Mine. —This mine was opened at a smaller cost than any mine on the West Coast, and when it was first opened it was expected that there would be an unbroken seam of coal for a considerable distance ; but a fault was very soon met with. There is, no doubt, a large area of coal in the Mokihinui field, but it is much faulted, and will always be expensive to work. The coal, however, is of excellent quality both for household and marine purposes. Westport Colliery. —This is by far the largest colliery in the colony, and the proprietors are still extending their operations. They hold two coal leases, one at Coalbrookdale, and one at what is known as the Granity Creek Lease. A very large expenditure has been incurred in opening out the coal at Granity Creek and constructing tramways, together with the erection of buildings and coalstaiths to work the mine on a large scale. Having described these mines fully in my last report, it is not necessary to do so again. The output from the Westport Colliery last year was 183,744 tons, which the proprietary value at £80,400. There are six steam-engines and two brake-drums, having an aggregate of 209 horse-power, in use, while there are 323 men employed. The value of their machinery and plant at Coalbrookdale is set down at £24,500. The haulage from the different parts of the mine is all carried out on an endless-rope principle, which works admirably. Indeed, the whole of the appliances in connection with the working of this colliery reflects the highest credit on those who have the control and charge of the works. Qreymouth-Point Elizabeth Company. —This company have been opening up some of the coal outcrops near the Seven-mile Creek, where the company consider they have a good field of coal. Contracts have been accepted for the completion of their railway, including the bridge across the Grey Eiver at Cobden, so that in course of about nine months this company should be in a position to place coal in the market. They hold a coal lease of 4,700 acres ; this large coal area, together with the Brunner coal lease which they now hold, will be in time a very valuable property; but a certain time must elapse before a foreign trade is thoroughly established, and it is only by this trade that any company can expect to dispose of a large increased output from their mines. Blackball Colliery. —There is very good coal coming out of this mine. At first a large quantity of soft coal was met with, but as the mine got opened up the coal" got harder in go:ng to the rise. At first no screens were used ; but it has been found necessary to screen the household coal. The coal is conveyed from this mine to the railway by an aerial tramway having a carrying-capacity of about 500 tons per day; but this maximum average has not yet been reached. Grey Valley. Brunner Mine. —This mine changed proprietorship during the past year, it having been purchased by the Greymouth-Point Elizabeth Coal Company. The workings are still being carried on to the dip in the old mine, and also in the new mine which was opened about two years ago, now known by the name of Coolgardie. In regard to the workings in the old mine, the levels and bords have been taken to a point where a thinning of the coal takes place—indeed, it may be said to be almost cut out. A level adit is constructed through the old workings on the Grey Eiver side of a fault, thence through stone to where the coal is again found on the north side of the fault. When this fault was gone through it was anticipated that coal would be found to extend for a long distance towards Coal Creek, where the Greymouth-Point Elizabeth Company hold a coal lease of 4,700 acres, but on extending the level northwards for a distance of 26 chains the coal began to thin out, and by carrying it still further north it cut out to a few inches in thickness. For some distance before the coal cut out the roof and bottom showed that a disturbance had at one time taken place. The roof is full of rolls and breaks, and bottom very uneven. In places it shows that a great pressure and squeezing has taken place : the joints of the coal and rock are slickensided to a great extent. In carrying down a main incline to the dip, levels were constructed at different places, and as they got northwards the same broken nature of roof above the coal was found, showing that the line of thinning was forming an arc of a circle from the fault at a point to the southward of the main dip and the end of the level from the main roadway into the mine. A main-dip incline was carried down for a distance of about 28 chains, when the coal began to cut out in the same manner as that found in the levels and bords. The former company, when they found this, made application to the Government to prospect the ground further down to the dip of the coal, as they were not prepared to prospect Crown lands from what information they had already gained by working the coal to the northward of the fault; and also gave notice, in terms of their lease, to surrender it after twelve months' notice had been given of their intention so to do. Before this term expired they represented to the Government that there was about 20 acres to the range side of their mine which contained coal, but the company considered this area too small to go to the expense of opening up. An investigation of the representations of the company was made by Mr. McKay (Mining Geologist), Mr. Cochrane (Inspector of Mines), and myself, and our report showed that the statements made by the company were in the main correct, but we considered that the thinning of the coal to the dip was due to a large roll, and that possibly the seam would be found in its original thickness by driving some distance through the stone. This incline was carried down for a distance of about 1,000 ft., carrying coal from a few inches to 2ft. in thickness in places, but it was found of no value to work, and as this dip was extended without meeting with any change it was considered desirable to suspend further operations in its construction. The dip workings being therefore circumscribed by the coal thinning out, the company commenced to draw the pillars from the old workings, which had been carried on on the stall-and-pillar

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principle. A considerable area of pillars has now been drawn to the northward of the main dip, and they are also working the coal between the dip-incline and the fault. This portion of the mine was left to the last in order to leave a large barrier between the old workings on the southward of the fault and the present workings. Subsequently the Government granted a subsidy of £1,000 towards opening up this mine, half of which was to be paid on completion of the tramway between the mine and the screens, and the other half when 20,000 tons of coal was raised. The whole of the subsidy was paid nearly two years ago, and the workings of the mine now show that there is about double the area containing workable coal that was first anticipated. The coal from this part of the field is of first-rate quality, but in some places rather tender. The workings now show that the same thinning-out takes place that occurs in the old workings back into the'range. The coal in this property is therefore circumscribed within a limited area. It is known that coal exists near the northern end of the lease, but boring operations will have to be undertaken before anything definite is known respecting the area in this part of the field. Other Mines. —ln regard to the coal-mines on the east coast of the Middle Island: My other duties prevented me from inspecting any of them, but the coal from the whole of these is only suitable for household and industrial purposes, within about a radius of from, say, 100 miles, where the coal is raised. The largest colliery on the east coast is at Kaitangata, which has about twice the output of any of the others. The coal is very clean, and well adapted for household purposes. Adjoining the Kaitangata is the Castle Hill Colliery, which took several years to open out, and may be said to have only been ready last year to get a fair output; but the output from any of the mines containing even the best class of brown coal depends entirely on local consumption, and the output can only increase in proportion to the population, and the establishment of different industries requiring coal to generate motive-power.

Explosion at Brunner Mine. A dreadful disaster occurred in the old workings of the Brunner Mine on the 26th of March, in which sixty-five men lost their lives by an explosion produced, as far as any one can now judge, from a blown-out shot. The death of many of the men was caused by the choke- or after-damp. Very few of them were found many yards from their working-faces. The first indication that anything unusual had happened was clouds of black yellowish smoke issuing from the mouth of the main roadway, which was the intake airway. Mr. Bishop, the manager, proceeded into the mine to ascertain the cause of this, but had only gone a short distance when the choke-damp rendered him insensible; on being brought out to the open air he partially recovered consciousness, but was confined to his bed for some days. As soon as the disaster became known, Mr. Scott, the manager of the Blackball Mine, hastened to Brunner to render assistance ; and the Hon. the Premier, being at Kumara at that time, also hastened to the mine, and when he arrived he instructed Mr. Scott to take charge of the rescue operations. Nothing could be done to get into the place where the men were at work until a current of air could be carried in, as the return airway leading to the fan was rendered useless by all the stoppings being blown away by the explosion, and the choke-damp, which contained a largo percentage of carbonic oxide, being a highly poisonous gas, would not admit of any one proceeding ahead of a ventilating current of air. It was extremely fortunate that a very large supply of brattice-cloth was in stock at the mine, and this was used as fast as men could nail it up to produce a return-current of air. Many of the men engaged in temporarily restoring ventilation had to be carried out of the mine; but on recovery in the open air each rushed back to render assistance so as to get to the place where the miners were entombed. As soon as the news of the disaster reached Wellington the Department wired Mr. Cochrane, the local Inspector of Mines, to proceed to the mine at once, which he reached on the 27th. Most of the bodies were got out by the 28th, and on the 31st the last body was recovered, under a fall of stone which had taken place from the roof of a bord on the west side of the main-dip incline. Being at Wellington at the time of the disaster, my arrival at the mine was not before the morning of the 30th. By that time all the temporary stoppings had been effected, and, in conjunction with Mr. Brown and Mr. Lindop, managers of the Westport Colliery, Mr. Scott, manager of the Blackball Mine, Mr. Cochrane, the District Inspector of Mines, Mr. Bishop, manager of the Brunner Mine, and Mr. Dunn, who also holds a coal-mine manager's certificate, and another miner, we examined a portion of the workings on the left side of the main-dip incline proceeding downwards. In going down the main dip there was in one place a quantity of extremely finely divided coal-dust, and on some of the props this dust was thickly coated on down-hill sides, and in some places there was evidence of charring on one side of the props. The indications here showed that there had been a great force from some place towards the bottom of the dip. In one place the iron rails were twisted, and some of the tubs were huddled up together, the sides being bent in and twisted by the force. Still, there was comparatively little damage done, or, at least, less than one would expect from the result of an explosion. The whole of the stoppings had been blown out, and portions of their remains landed in the return airway. We left the dip-incline some distance from the bottom, and went round the face of the workings, going towards the fault, where we saw in many places evidence of charring, and in the back incline large falls of stone from the roof had taken place. After examining these faces we came down to the lowest level, in which there was water. One tub full of coal was standing there as it had been left, and did not show that the force had been extraordinarily great at that particular place. The whole of the examination this day did not lead to any satisfactory conclusion as to the cause of the

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explosion. We all formed certain theories, which were found untenable after a subsequent examination. On the next morning, Ist April, we met at the mouth of the mine to continue our examination, but, after consulting as to the best course to pursue, we learned that a fire had broken out in a part of the mine on the previous night, and therefore concluded that it was not safe to continue our investigations until ventilation had been properly restored. On the 4th April the ventilation was restored, and we continued our examination, with the same result as on the first day; but next day Mr. Brown discovered a bore-hole about 2ft. lin. in depth, where a blown-out shot had taken place in what is termed " No. 4 bord " from the lowest level. The roof and sides of this bord in the vicinity of this bore-hole showed signs of great heat. The coal was coked to such an extent that it glistened like coke made in an oven. Indeed, there was no place in the whole of the workings which gave indications of so much heat. This was the first discovery that afforded anything like a tangible indication of the cause of an explosion, and after further investigation we were unanimous in opinion that the explosion was due to the blowpout shot and coal-dust. No trace of gas could be found at this place with a Davy lamp, nor in any other parts of the mine with the exception of places where falls had taken place and left holes in the roof, where a little gas was found. It may, however, be stated that there would have to be at least 2-J- per cent, of gas before it could be detected by a Davy lamp, and if there had been as much as 2 per cent., which is very unlikely, a coal-dust explosion would be greatly intensified. The Brunner cannot be termed a dusty mine ; at the same time there is in many of the bords loose small coal lying on the floor, some of which has no doubt come down from the roof and sides, while a portion would also come from the loaded tubs as they were run along the roadway. In some places in the mine there are small streams of water running down to the dip, but in other portions some of the bords are very dry. It is a difficult matter to prevent blown-out shots, but after such a disaster as that occurring at the Brunner Mine steps should be taken to prevent as far as possible a similar occurrence taking place—first, by using the explosives causing the least flame. Blasting-powder is the most dangerous explosive that could be used in a dusty or fiery mine. As far as experiments have yet been conducted, there is no explosive compound yet manufactured that can be thoroughly relied on for blasting in a fiery mine, but there are some from which the chance of a flame is very remote. The best of these explosives known at the present time for use in fiery mines are as follows : — (1.) Eoburite, which contains 89 per cent, nitrate of ammonia, 7 per cent, of di-nitro-benzol, and 4 per cent, of potassium-permanganate. (2.) English carbonite, which contains 25 per cent, nitroglycerine, 30 per cent, nitrate of potassium, 4 per cent, nitrate of barium, and 1 per cent, bicarbonate of soda. (3.) Pavier's, or English, ammonite, which consists of 81 per cent, nitrate of ammonia, 6 per cent, tri-nitro-naphthalin, and 13 per cent, chlorure of ammonium. (4.) German Kohlen carbonite, consisting of 25 per cent, nitro-glycerine, and 75 per cent. Zumischung. There should also be persons specially appointed to charge and fire all shots in coal-mines. There is little doubt, at times, when the miners are allowed to charge and fire their own shots, that in some instances they use coal-dust in tamping. In dry mines containing bituminous coal the watering of the floor, roof, and sides of a bord would greatly minimise the risk of a coal-dust explosion. Further, it is essential that in bituminous mines the fireman should have a far more delicate testing-lamp than a Davy for detecting the presence of gas. Two per cent, of firedamp cannot be detected with a Davy lamp, and this percentage of firedamp in a dry, dusty mine forms a strong explosive combination. It may be of interest here to quote extracts from English Parliamentary reports on the circumstances attending an explosion which occurred in November last at the Blackwell A Winning Colliery, near Alfredton, Derbyshire. There are three seams in this mine, 3ft. 6in., 4ft., and 3ft. 7in. respectively. The explosion occurred in the 4ft. seam, which is coal of a bright, friable, bituminous nature. The shafts are 24 yards apart, with separate winding-engines. The colliery is well found with modern machinery and appliances, and capable of dealing with a large output of coal. About 440 persons are employed in working the 3ft. 6in. seam; about 390 in the seam where the explosion took place. Mode of Working. —The seams are nearly flat, and are worked on the Longwall principle, the whole of the coal, after leaving the shaft pillar, being extracted as the workings advance. The mine is divided into four districts, and the coal brought away from the working-face by horses and by mechanical haulage. The workings are well laid out with respect to getting the coal, and the general working and ventilating of the mine. Lighting and Firedamp. —Naked lights have been used since operations were commenced at the mine, except occasionally when a few stalls or headings have been worked for a time by the aid of safety-lamps when passing through faulty ground, or when firedamp has been found ; but firedamp is seldom found, having only been reported twice during the previous ten months. One of the officials stated at the inquest that he had once found a slight show of firedamp, but did not report it, as there was a considerable doubt in his own mind about it. ... It was a rule in the mine that the Sunday-night shift of repairers should all use locked safety-lamps until the deputies had completed an official inspection of the workings. Naked lights were afterwards used throughout the whole of the mine with the exceptions previously named. Coal-dust and Watering. —The main haulage-roads of the mine are both dry and dusty, and water-barrels are daily used for damping the floor of the roadways. The coal-face is dry generally, but there are some parts of the mine which are damp and free from dust. In some places a little water percolates through the roof and floor, but this does not affect the general dry and dusty nature of the mine. The sides of the main haulage-roads, being in broken strata above the roof of

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the worked-out coal-seam, afford many cracks and crevices for the accumulation of dust, and the train of loaded tubs, drawn by rope-haulage, running at a rate of twelve miles an hour, meeting a large current of intake air, is swept clear of the fine dust which may be exposed to the ventilation. Such dust is deposited on the roof and sides of the haulage-road, or driven into the cracks and crevices until they become full of the finest coal-dust, which, when distributed, readily mixes with the air-current to form a dense, black, dusty atmosphere. Blasting. —Blasting in coal by the aid of gunpowder has been largely carried on since the mine was first opened, and occasionally shots were fired in the main haulage-road. Shot-firing certificates are given to stallmen or contractors to fire shots, and any person holding such certificate may not only fire shots in his own working-place, but, if required to do work on a main haulage-road, his shot-firing certificate qualifies him as a competent person to fire a shot, if required, in any part of the mine where he may be sent to work. The gunpowder is the black-grain quality, placed in brownpaper bags, with gunpowder fuse inserted in the bag, and tied at the mouth with a string, thus forming a cartridge. Such cartridges usually contain 6oz. of grain gunpowder. The Explosion. —At midnight on Sunday, the 10th November, the night shift of workmen — twenty-three persons —descended the mine for the purpose of preparing and examining the workings preparatory to the day shift of men going down on the Monday morning. All appears to have gone well until about 4 o'clock on Monday morning, when some of the officials and others in the mine felt a concussion, which indicated to them that something unusual had occurred in some part of the workings. It was soon ascertained that an explosion had occurred in either the south or south-west districts. On Wednesday, the 13th November, an exhaustive inspection of the workings was made in company with the officials of the mine and other mining engineers, for the purpose of ascertaining definitely the cause of the explosion and the extentof its effects. It was generally agreed that the firing of a shot in the south main haulage-road was the primary cause of the explosion. The flame from the shot appears to have lighted the coal-dust and travelled right and left until the force was exhausted, one part travelling towards the shaft, and passing by the main haulage-road into the south-west district; the other portion travelling towards the working-face of the main haulage-road, upon which the shot was fired. The various details which lead to this conclusion are : The part where the shot was fired was 418 yards from the downcast shaft, and on the main haulage-road of the south district. The haulage-road—main- and tail-rope—excepting a few yards near the bottom of the shaft is both dry and dusty, and in the immediate vicinity of the shot the broken state of the sides and roof forms many ledges and interstices for the finest particles of dust to accumulate. The shot was drilled in the broken side to a depth of 20in., and within 9in. of the roof. It was a gunpowder shot, with gunpowder fuse, and may have contained either 6oz. or 12oz. of grain gunpowder filled into one or two paper bags to form one or two cartridges. The shot had very little work to do, and the broken side giving way easily would offer every facility for the flame of the gunpowder to ignite the dust which was so thickly found in the cracks and crevices on the sides of the roadway. Such flame once started, with a sweeping current of air sufficient to supply the necessary oxygen, and the roof and sides well covered with dust, the combustion would continue until spent for want of fuel, or cool down by the damp state of the workings and tributary roadways. With respect to firedamp, no indications could be found that either a fall of roof or an outburst of gas occurred, or that an accumulation of gas was to be found immediately prior to the explosion. Both on the day of the explosion, when the current of ventilation was practically shut off, and also two days after,, a number of tests for firedamp were made with the alcohol-flame test, which will indicate clearly 1 per cent, of firedamp in the air ; but no trace could be found at any point tested near the seat of the explosion. At the point where the shot was fired there would be about 16,000 cubic feet of air passing at a velocity of 340 ft. per minute, which had travelled only 430 yards from the bottom of the downcast shaft. It is difficult to explain the erratic course taken by the explosion as it approached the downcast shaft. The roadway from the shaft to the junction of the south and south-west haulage-roads is arched with brickwork for a few yards along each branch road. There is also a road leading into the return airway near the junction, in which three doors are fixed. The floor of the roadway in the arching is damp, the walls being occasionally whitewashed, so that little dust would •be adhering to the brickwork. The explosion travelled from the shot towards the bottom of the downcast shaft, and directly it entered the arching it failed to continue in a direct line across the shaft-bottom or up the shaft, but turned round into the south-west roadway at an angle of about 50°, striking down and severely burning an official who was proceeding to his work at a distance of 264 yards from the entrance of the archway, and causing destruction of material and falls of roof for a distance of 1,100 yards from the junction of the main roads. The only explanation that can be given for this curious phenomenon is : When the explosion arrived at the junction of the roadway it would have to face a double current of air, upwards of 27,000 cubic feet per minute, which was entering the mine under conditions produced by a large fan running at 3-2 inch of water-gauge. Bather than face the pressure of the wind it turned round the arching with the divided current of air, and, finding sufficient dust to supply the necessary fuel, it passed with the current into the south-west district, and continued its progress until exhausted. It is also curious to note that, although three doors between the intake and return were blown out, the explosion did not extend to the return airway, although between the doors and in the airway it was both dry and dusty. Probably the different nature of the dust would check its progress in that direction. The case in the colliery above quoted is not quite of the same character as the explosion at Brunner, yet some of the features are the same ; but in the case of the Brunner disaster a blownout shot, which may possibly have been tampered with coal-dust, would have a far greater effect in producing an explosion than a shot that did its work. Coal-dust explosions are now well authenticated, and provision should be made to minimise the chance as much as possible of a flame from any explosion igniting either coal-dust or gas. 23—C. 3.

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COAL-DUST EXPLOSIONS. Now that the official reports upon the BlackwelJ explosion are published we can extend our knowledge upon the behaviour of coal-dust as an explosive agent per se, and those having the responsibility of the management of mines can see what precautions are to be taken in the future in view of the facts there laid before us. We are here face to face with the fact that a gunpowder-shot was fired on a main haulage-road, along which an intake air-current of 15,990 cubic feet per minute was passing, and within 420 yards of the downcast pit. From the evidence, both in the mine and at the inquest, it appears that the road was watered immediately before the shot was fired, and that watering was confined to the floor only, which seems to be all that is usually done previous to firing a gunpowder-shot in the majority of dusty mines. A report has recently been presented to the Home Secretary (18th December, 1895) by Messrs. Henry Hall and Joseph S. Martin, Her Majesty's Inspectors of Mines, upon some experiments they witnessed during last November made by Herr Bergassessor Winkhaus, at Schalke, near Gelsenkirchen, in Westphalia. One of these experiments was with coal-dust only, with an intervening space of wet roadway. The exact conditions under which the experiment was made, and the result, are best given in their own words : " The floor of the gallery was covered with dry coal-dust (91b.) for a distance of 9 yards from the cannon or working-face ; then two clay dams were erected 9 yards apart, and water introduced between the dams to a depth varying from 6in. to 3in., and the rest of the gallery to the outlet end was also covered thinly with dust. The roof and sides of the section of the gallery where the water was lodged were made as damp as possible, and a charge of 7oz. of gelatine dynamite fired, with the result that the flame of the dust-explo-sion travelled, and was plainly visible, 8 or 9 yards beyond the wet portion of the gallery, but it did not traverse the whole length of it to it? outlet, and, so far as we could judge, there was no material difference in the result from this experiment than from others where similar charges were used without the intervening water." From this it appears that even the watering stipulated by the Coal-mines Regulation Act—(General Eule 12, (h) —is not sufficient to prevent an ignition. The facts as brought out at Camerton, Timsbury, and Blackwell conclusively prove that coaldust under certain conditions will cause an explosion. What those certain conditions are we have yet to ascertain, but it appears certain that a low barometric pressure, a certain hygroscopic condition of the atmosphere, and a large amount of oxygen supplied by means of a great current of intake air, are three of them, and to complicate matters it is certain that no two dusts have attained their susceptibility of explosion under exactly similar conditions, so that it appears to be both practically and theoretically impossible to draw up any secure rule upon the subject, even should our technical knowledge be substantially increased. The North of England Institute of Mining Engineers have been making experiments with coaldust from certain mines in the north of England, and in the report just issued (Report of the Proceedings of the Flameless Explosives Committee) it is stated that -Jib. of dust in the atmosphere is equally as explosive and gives as violent an explosion as 161b. of coal-dust, which were the least and greatest quantities with which they experimented. This is a most serious statement of fact, as proved by these experiments, and will not tend to alleviate the anxiety attending thi=! subject. Knowing all this, what is the remedy? The above-named report of the North of England Institute gives the results of trials with some of the so-called " nameless " explosives, and also gives the conclusions which the Committee draw from the experience gained during those trials. Some of these conclusions are that all the high explosives give out evident flame, but that they are safer than gunpowder, and it is essential that the precautions taken when gunpowder is used should also be similarly carried out where high explosives are used. Upon perusing their report, it appears that shots of the high explosives, properly stemmed, seldom give off flame, and it can be readily understood that shots placed in stone or coal, having work to do, and not too heavily charged, will give off the minimum amount of flame, as all the energy will be exerted upon the work to be performed, and not, as in these experiments, be all exerted upon the stemming of the shot-hole or cannon-mouth. It appears to be imperative that all owners and managers of dry and dusty mines should introduce one or other of the high explosives where gunpowder is now used, assuming that some explosive is absolutely necessary. The cost of these high explosives is nearly three times that of gunpowder, and with the detonator and fuse must be quite three times as great; but it is always understood that the use of gunpowder is abused because of its cheapness, no restrictions being placed upon its employment. Where a high explosive is used a much smaller charge is necessary, so that the relative cost is probably about the same. In any case where high explosives are in use manual labour is more often employed instead of putting in a slight charge of explosive ; and, as their use must be superintended, we shall have great caution exercised, both in the placing of the shot-holes and the charge inserted so that the results will be beneficial both as regards the safety of the mine and also che amount of round coal produced.— Colliery Guardian.

THE AIR OF COAL-MINES. Under the auspices of the Midland Counties Branch of the National Association of Colliery Managers, in conjunction with the Technical Education Committee of the Notts County Council and the Derbyshire County Council, Dr. Frank Clowes delivered a lecture in the Lecture Theatre of the University College, Nottingham, on " The Air of Coal-mines." Professor Clowes, in the course of his lecture, remarked that fresh, unpolluted air, when freed from moisture, contained, on the average, about 21 per cent, of oxygen, 79 per cent, of nitrogen, and 004 per cent, of carbonic acid. The presence of a moderate amount of moisture rendered the air more pleasant to breathe, but neither moisture, nitrogen, nor carbonic acid was a constituent of air which was necessary for the support of life. Oxygen, on the other hand, was absorbed by the blood in the lungs, and was distributed by the blood throughout the tissues of the body, performing necessary vital functions. The process of respiration effected tne removal of waste carbonic acid

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from the blood, and the absorption of oxygen already referred to. The usual effects of respiration were interfered with by any cause which impeded the above useful changes. Some of the most common causes affecting the suitability of air for supporting life were, —(1) The reduction of the proportion of oxygen below 10 per cent. ; (2) the increase of the carbonic acid to 10 per cent.; and (3) the presence of even 0-2 per cent, of carbonic oxide. It was well known that the processes of breathing and burning tended to reduce the proportion of oxygen and to increase the proportion of carbonic acid in the air. The oxygen was reduced to about 16 per cent., and the carbonic acid was increased to over 3 per cent., by these processes. Air thus changed extinguished a candle-flame, but it could be breathed without discomfort and without serious effect upon the health. Air which had been rendered first extinctive of flame by the addition of nitrogen was also respirable. If, however, air was rendered first extinctive by the addition of carbonic acid, it became wholly unfit for respiration, owing to the presence in it of 14 per cent, of carbonic acid. This proportion of the gas quickly produced unconsciousness, and was ultimately fatal. It was a matter of common experience that air which had been much changed in composition by the breathing in a closed space of a large audience, as well as by the burning of a large number of illuminating flames, was breathed with safety. Numerous instances, however, were on record of quickly fatal results ensuing from breathing the air of a well or shaft into which carbonic acid from the soil had passed in some quantity. Both of these atmospheres might be extinctive of flame, whilst one was a safe atmosphere and the other an extremely dangerous one. The test by extinction of flame was therefore by no means an absolutely trustworthy one for detecting a dangerous condition of the atmosphere. There was another reason why the test by flame must not be too implicitly relied upon. There were many sources from which carbonic oxide may escape into the air. Amongst those might be mentioned unburnt or incompletely-burnt coal-gas and other gaseous fuels, and slow-combustion stoves and geysers; while in the coal-mine a firedamp explosion, especially if occurring in the presence of coal-dust, a fire in the coal-seam or waste, and the firing of certain explosives were attended with the production of carbonic oxide, and frequently yield it in considerable quantity. If only 005 per cent, of this gas was in the air symptoms of poisoning appeared, and 0-2 per cent, might under certain circumstances prove fatal. The action of this extremely poisonous gas was more rapid during exertion than during repose, andjts effect was very considerably increased by diminished proportion of oxygen or increased proportion of carbonic acid similarly occurring in the air. The utter loss of power occasioned by carbonic oxide manifested itself in a mouse with about twenty times the rapidity with which it was felt in man. Hence Dr. Haldane had suggested that a mouse might be carried into a doubtful atmosphere: if it became powerless, a man would still have time to withdraw in safety. Dr. Haldane had further pointed out that when fresh blood was diluted one-hundredfold, its colour was brownish. The colour, however, changed to pink when the blood was shaken with air containing carbonic oxide. Even 01 per cent, of carbonic acid could be thus detected. Evidently the mouse test was, Professor Clowes said, the most suitable one for ascertaining the respirability of air.' The blood test for carbonic oxide, combined with the Angus Smith or the Cohen test for carbonic acid, were also useful and practicable. The effect of the atmosphere on the flame was quite untrustworthy in presence of carbonic oxide, and of very questionable value. The lecture was illustrated by experiments and lantern-slides.

THE USB OF SAFETY EXPLOSIVES IN GERMAN MINES. Acting under instructions received from the Home Office, Messrs. Henry Hall and Joseph S. Martin, H.M. Inspectors of Mines, have visited the experimental station for trials with explosives situated at Schalke, near Gelsenkirchen, in Westphalia, and have witnessed some of the experiments which are being conducted there by Herr Bergassessor Winkhaus. A second object of the visit was to make inquiry as to what extent safety explosives have taken the place of gunpowder in German mines. The following report on the subject has been issued this week :— The Westphalian coalfield is the most important in Germany, producing forty million tons per annum, whilst the total production of the country is about seventy-five million tons of 2,2041b. The minerals are the property of the State, and in some cases are worked by the State, as in Saarbrucken. In Westphalia mining rights are granted to private individuals. Any person who has successfully bored and proved coal to exist in an area not already taken up has the right to an allotment of 500 acres almost free of cost, the only rent demanded being 2 per cent, of the average selling-price. This method of letting the minerals has its disadvantages, as it often happens that several boreholes are being put down in the same area at the same time by different individuals. The one who reaches and proves coal first wins the prize in the shape of the Government allotment, whilst the rest have wasted their money. The collieries are very extensive, and are in few hands, thus rendering it practicable to regulate to some extent the production and selling-price of coal. A syndicate is in existence whose business it is to endeavour to attain this object, and their efforts have been substantially successful. Funds are provided to support the workpeople during sickness or when suffering from the effects of accidents. A pension fund is also maintained as a provision against disability to work and old age. The colliery owners and workpeople jointly subscribe to the pension and sick funds, but the cost of the accident fund falls almost entirely upon the employers; the latter's subscription to the different funds amounts to at least 50 marks per annum for each workperson in their employ —that is, where 1,000 hands are employed, the annual subscription of the employer is £2,500. Each workman subscribes 52 marks per annum. Wages are similar to those paid in England, when we take into account the longer hours at home. Taking a large firm employing 9,000 persons, we find the average wages for 1894 were as below : Per day of eight hours —Coal-getters, 4s. 2d. ; stonemen, 4s. 4d.; repairers, 3s. 3d.; putters, &c, 2s. sd. ; horse-drivers, 2s. The production of mineral per person employed (above and below ground) is about 290 tons per annum, at a cost of something like ss. 9d. per ton. The experimental station has been erected near

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the Consolidation Colliery, at Schalke, and a description of it was given by Herr Winkhaus in a paper communicated by him to the North of England Institute of Mining Engineers on the Bth June, 1895 (see Colliery Guardian, June 14, 1895). The gallery has much the appearance of a long (115 ft.) barrel arch sunk to one-third of its height in the ground, and is a good representation of an underground working. Many hundred shots have been fired in it by Herr Winkhaus in the course of his experiments, and the apparatus is still intact with the exception of one of the cannons, which had been burst by firing stemmed shots previous to our visit. We were informed that the apparatus and fittings had cost £1,200, and up to this time the total expenditure had amounted to £2,000, and that it is intended next summer to continue the experiments regardless of expense. These expenses are met by grants from the Bergwerkschafts-Kasse, which is a fund supported by compulsory levies made annually upon the colliery-owners in proportion to their output. This fund is managed by a committee of colliery proprietors electejd by the general body of owners, with whom a representative of the Government Mining Authority sits. The funds are used for scientific research or other objects in the interests of mines and miners. The amount of the annual rate levied for these purposes is decided by the committee, and the decisions of the committee are in all cases subject to the approval of the Government Mining Authority. We watched the experiments during four days, and, by the courtesy of Herr Winkhaus, certain experiments were made at our suggestion. The conditions under which the trials were made were as follow : (1.) The shots were fired without stemming, except in the case of gunpowder, when a stemming of damp clay was used. (2.) The weight of charge was proportioned to a charge of 13oz. of English roburite, except where otherwise stated. (3.) The coal-dust was collected from the upper timbers of the screens, and was bituminous in character. (4.) All the shots were fired by a No. 8 detonator exploded by electricity. (5.) Two pounds of coal-dust was evenly spread on the floor of the gallery, and 21b. mixed with the air in the gallery, except where otherwise stated. (6.) The ventilating fan was stopped a moment or two before firing the shot: this was necessary, in consequence of the position of the fan rendering it liable to be injured by the explosion. (7.) The course of the ventilation was from the mouth of the gallery towards the cannon or working-face. (8.) The firedamp was drawn from the workings of a neighbouring mine. (9.) A 7-per-cent. firedamp mixture was used, its explosibility being tested before each shot by drawing off a sample into Lohmann tubes and exploding it by an electric spark. (10.) The .gallery was examined from time to time for partially-exploded or unburnt explosives. An experiment of some interest was made at our suggestion to test whether a local wet roadway in an otherwise dry and dusty mine would prevent the extension of the coal-dust explosion in that direction. The floor of the gallery was covered with dry coal-dust (91b.) for a distance of 9 yards from the cannon or working-face ; then two clay dams were erected 9 yards apart, and, water introduced between the dams to a depth varying from 6in. to 3in., and the rest of the gallery to the outlet end was also covered thinly with dust. The roof and sides of the section of the gallery where the water was lodged were made as damp as possible, and a charge of 7oz. of gelatine dynamite fired, with the result that the flame of the dust-explosion travelled, and was plainly visible, 8 or 9 yards beyond the wet portion of the gallery, but it did not traverse the whole length of it to its outlet, and, so far as we could judge, there was no material difference in the result from this experiment than from others where similar charges were used without the intervening water. Whether it will be possible to limit the extension of coal-dust explosions by artificially wetting local lengths of roadway in each section of a colliery can only be decided by extended experiments and careful inquiry. It is imperative that any experiments undertaken with this object should be made under the condition of a brisk ventilation at the moment the explosions are initiated, because it has been made manifestly evident by the experiments at White Moss Colliery, Lancashire, that the force and destructiveness of coal-dust explosions are immensely increased when a good supply of fresh air is present. Some experiments were also made with a view of satisfying ourselves that the detonators used to fire the shots were of sufficient strength to insure the complete explosion of the charges. Eight and a half ounces of dahmenit A were completely exploded by a No. 6 detonator, but a No. 3 detonator failed to explode any part of a similar charge; and, although time did not allow of many experiments of this character, we have no hesitation in stating that a No. 6 detonator, such as was used throughout the earlier experiments of Herr Winkhaus, was ample in strength to insure the complete combustion of the charges of explosive. We are of opinion that there is no ground for the suggestion made at Newcastle-on-Tyne, during a discussion of this subject, that the results of Herr Winkhaus's experiments could have been influenced by incomplete combustion of the charges. Time did not allow of our witnessing anything like a complete series of trials ; but we saw enough to speak with some confidence of the value of the experiments and their general tendency. We should have wished to see more of the safety explosives now in use in England, subjected to the tests; but this was quite impossible, owing to the strict regulations imposed both by the German and English law on the transport of explosive materials. In the list of explosives which appear in the tabulated experiments, " Favier" may be taken to correspond with ammonite, "English carbonite " with carbonite; but " roburit 1 " does not appear to correspond with English roburite. The other English explosives, such as bellite, electronite, and ardeer powder, were not represented in the experiments. In the results of the experiments which we had the pleasure of witnessing, and by examination of the interesting diagram of Herr Winkhaus's previous trials, we see that two or three explosives stand out as exceptionally safe. These are, German coal carbonite, roburite 1, and dahmenit A. With the first and second no ignitions of the gaseous or dust mixtures are recorded; dahmenit A gave off considerable flame with a charge of 19f0z., and with a charge of 250z. there was a violent explosion of the gas and dust. Our attention was specially directed to German coal carbonite and roburite 1. The former was tested up to a charge of 29f0z., and the latter to a charge of 26|0z., without failure. It must be borne in mind in estimating the results from certain charges, that the comparative strength of the explosives differs widely ; for instance, as is shown on the third column of

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the detailed experiments, German coal carbonite is represented by the figures 232, roburite 1 by 358, and dahmenit Aby 502. Thus, the charge of 19foz. of dahmenit Ais equal, or thereabouts, to the charge of 26foz. of roburite 1, and both these charges are considerably stronger than 2&§oz. of German coal carbonite. Heavier charges of the last-named explosive were not practicable, as the charge named entirely filled the cannon. German coal-carbonite appears in Herr Winkhaus's earlier trials, as communicated to the North of England Institute, and it is the only explosive amongst a large number which has no failure recorded against it. The only approach to failure is mentioned on page 271 of the " Transactions " referred to, in the following words : " Very feeble shimmer of light at the first window." As has already been stated, we found the fumes from this explosive to be more powerful, and apparently more noxious, than from any of the others. Eoburite 1 was not tested in these earlier-recorded experiments. Westfalit withstood the tests applied to it in our presence; but it appears to have frequently failed in the earlier experiments. Favier and English carbonite were introduced for the first time in our presence, and withstood the tests applied to them ; but these tests were by no means complete. We are of opinion that the experiments were carried out by Herr Winkhaus with consummate skill and care, and the whole apparatus of the experimental station was admirable for its purpose. A large number of similar experiments have been made at Newcastle-on-Tyne during the past two or three years, and in drawing general conclusions on this subject the information afforded by these must also be taken into consideration. The Newcastle experiments differed in one important particular from those made in Germany —viz., that the charges of explosive used seldom exceeded whilst in Germany charges of nearly 30oz. were used, and on this account the German trials might be taken as more conclusive; but at Newcastle a long series of experiments were made with the charges stemmed with damp clay, so as to approach more nearly the conditions under which explosives are used in mines, and it was decisively proved that all safety explosives are rendered more secure by proper stemming. At first sight it would appear to be more satisfactory to use stemmed shots in experiments of this kind, but if we examine the details of the North of England trials of the various explosives it will be seen that those with stemmed shots in pit-gas give no information as to the superiority of one explosive over another, all appearing to be equally safe when fired in this manner. To judge which is the safest, we must be guided by the behaviour of the different explosives when fired without stemming, and that which can be fired" with the heaviest charge with impunity will be the safest. It must also be borne in mind that the shot-holes in certain coal-seams will always have firedamp filtering into them, so that the explosive cartridge, when in position, will be enveloped in gas, and in such a manner that the stemming can have very little effect to prevent ignition of this firedamp. It still remains to be proved whether unusually heavy charges of the safety explosives, even when stemmed with clay, would be absolutely safe ; but it has been shown that some, at any rate, attain a high degree of security, even without stemming, in charges amply sufficient for all mining purposes; and the Newcastle experiments prove that stemming adds to this security. There is, probably, a breaking-strain applicable to every explosive; indeed, the results of the experiments seem to point to this, for we notice that when the charges are increased the security in many cases disappears. An explosive is safe or unsafe, when fired in an inflammable atmosphere, accordingly as the temperature of explosion is low or high, or accordingly as the resulting gases are quick or slow to reduce the temperature below the ignition-point of the inflammable atmosphere. The attainment of this desirable condition of low temperature, and consequent security, appears now to present little difficulty to the explosive-manufacturer ; but other conditions are also necessary before a good practical explosive is produced. Sir Frederick Abel says four qualities are desirable in an explosive : (1) That it should be a solid substance ; (2) permanent in character ; (3) entirely convertible by explosion into gas; and (4) to be exploded only by a detonator, and not by a blow or shock. Whether any of the explosives now procurable possess all these necessary qualities, an extended use in the mines alone can show ; but, so far as this country is concerned, English roburite may be said to have withstood this test successfully. Herr Winkhaus draws attention to what is apparently an unnecessary danger arising from the method adopted of putting up some of these safety explosives in paraffined cartridges ; and, although his experiments do not show in every case that the security of the explosive is thereby diminished, yet we think this practice should be decisively condemned. If an outer coating of paraffin wax is needed as a safeguard against damp, then each cartridge should also have an inner wrapper of noninflammable material, and the outer wrapper should be removed immediately before the charge is used. In conclusion, we submit that these experiments again prove—if further proof were needed— that the use of certain safety explosives in the stead of such explosives as gunpowder, dynamite, gelatine-dynamite, gelignite, &c, would substantially diminish the risks of blasting operations in coal-mines. Legislation with this object should not only specify the kind of explosive, but should also place a limit on the amount of charge, and forbid its ignition except by electricity. We are unable to say that any of these safety explosives are absolutely safe, and strongly recommend that their use should be accompanied by one or other of two alternative safeguards —either they should be used " between shifts," in the absence of the workpeople, or the vicinity of each shot should be made damp by copious watering. To enable the authority to decide which explosives can be properly classed as safety explosives, a testing-station will be required; and this station, we suggest, should be controlled by Her Majesty's Inspectors of Mines in conjunction with Her Majesty's Inspectors of Explosives. With regard to the second question submitted in your instructions —viz., " To what extent safety explosives have taken the place of gunpowder in German mines " ? we have the honour to report that gunpowder is entirely forbidden in mines representing about 80 per cent, of the total production (40,000,000 tons) of Westphalia. This prohibition of gunpowder has been in operation during the past four years, and is applied to all mines subject to firedamp and dangerous coal-dust; and blasting at or near the coal-face in such mines may only be carried out with " safety explosives " or certain

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other explosive, such as guhr dynamite, blasting-gelatine, and gelatine-dynamite, so used with water or other contrivance as to be safe. In such mines blasting in stone tunnels or stonework at a distance from the coal-face may be carried out with flaming explosives, such as dynamite, but in no case with gunpowder. In mines without firedamp, blasting with gunpowder or any flaming explosive is forbidden in any place which is dry, or where dust of an inflammable nature exists. In all cases, before firing a shot of any explosive it must be proved by careful examination that there is no accumulation either of firedamp or dust within a distance 10m. The other usual precautions with regard to blasting, such as proper tamping, handling, &c, have to be strictly observed. The safety explosives most generally in use in German mines are dahmenite A, westphalite, and carbonite. The effectiveness of these rules to prevent explosions has been materially diminished by the fact that up to this time charges of safety explosives have been fired by tape-fuse with the order that only the highest class of such fuse should be used, and the result has been not infrequent explosions of dust or firedamp. We are informed that it is now intended to forbid the firing of safety explosives except by means of an electric battery. Safety-lamps are compulsory in all seams in which firedamp has been found. The system of Government inspection is much more elaborate than in England, but whether it is practically more effective seems doubtful. In Germany we find one inspector for every 6,000 workmen, whilst in England the proportion is one for every 20,000. The mineral raised per life lost in German mines is about 100,000 tons, and in England 170,000 tons. This large difference may be due to the presence of greater natural difficulties in Continental mines, but another cause may be a system of inspection which, by attempting too much, becomes saddled with a responsibility for the management of the mines which ought to rest with the officials. We submit, in conclusion, that a return should be obtained showing to what extent safety explosives are already in use in England, with a view to their compulsory and general adoption as already suggested, so that the whole of the collieries may be required to attain an equal standard of safety.

Details of Experiments.

a *- 03 °a ■H ft K w Name of Explosive. .£ o 03 ■§-a.& liso£w Composition of Explosive. ° 03 S3 u Quality of Atmosphere in which the Shot was fired. Result of Shot. Roburit 1 358 89 per cent, nitrate of ammonia 7 per cent, di-nitro-benzol 4 per cent, potassium permanganate Ditto 67'3 per cent, dynamite 32-7 percent, sulphate of magnesia Ditto Oz. 13 Dust and firedamp No explosion of the dust and firedamp, nor any flame visible. Ditto. Violent explosion of the dust and firedamp. No explosion of dust or flame. No explosion of the dust and firedamp, nor any flame visible. 2 1 Wetter dynamit 358 325 *26| 14J Dust and firedamp 2 325 14J Dust only 1 English carbonite 232 25 per cent, nitro-glycerine 30 per cent, nitrate of potassium 4 per cent, nitrate of barium 1 percent, bicarbonate sodium 40 per cent, sawdust 81 per cent, nitrate of ammonia 6 per cent, tri-nitro-naphtlialin 13 per cent, chlorure of ammonium 92-1 per cent, nitrate of ammonia 5-3 per cent, naphthalene 2-5 per cent, potass, bichromate Ditto 20 Dust and fired amp Favier.or English ammonite 299 15 No explosion of the dust and firedamp, nor any flame visible. No explosion of the dust and firedamp, nor any flame visible. Ditto. Considerable flame, but no explosion of the dust and firedamp. Violent explosion of the dust and firedamp. No explosion of the dust and firedamp, nor any flame visible. Ditto. Dahmenit A 502 10J » 18 3 502 502 10| •19f Dust only Dust and firedamp 502 •25 4 1 Westfalit 470 95 per cent, nitrate of ammonia 5 per cent, shellac 111 2 3 1 470 470 640 Ditto "1 "I *3| Dust only Explosion of dust travelling 26 yards. Ditto. Gelatine dynamite 65 per cent, nitro-glycerine 35 per cent. Zumischpulver Ditto Dust only 2 3 1 640 640 *7 •7 *12 Dust only Gunpowder t 4 232 65 per cent, potassic nitrate 20 per cent, sulphur 15 per cent, charcoal Ditto 25 per cent, nitro-glycerine 75 per cent. Zumischung *12 20 Dust and firedamp Explosion of dust travelling 20 yards. Ditto. No explosion of the dust and firedamp, nor any flame visible. Ditto. German Kohlen carbonitf 2 3 4 Ditto 232 232 232 Ditto •27 •29| 20 Dust only 'he weights of chari 151b. dust was use i clay. The fumes from G •ge marl ed in t' :ed * are not proportioned to 13oz. of Englis le experiments with gunpowder, but no fi h roburite. iredamp. The shot: s were stemmed lightly with am ierman Kohlen carbouit are more objectionable than i from any of the otl iers. Colliery Guardian.

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GOLD-MILLING IN CALIFOBNIA. By E. P. Preston. The system of reduction of gold-bearing ores with stamps, as at present carried out in California, is the result of progressive improvement during the past forty-four years. The first successful mill in this State was built in the winter of 1850-51, and used steam for power. Starting with the ancient Mexican arrastra, crushing, with the help of a mule and one man, a few hundred pounds of ore at a charge, we have progressed to the present aggregation of mechanical appliances, a3 seen in the modern stamp-mill, requiring great motive-power, and disposing of hundreds of tons of ore in the course of a day. This progression is largely the result of accumulated practical experience on the part of the designers and builders of mills, as well as of the millmen in the handling of the various gold-ores. Of late years scientific investigations have greatly aided in improving both the process and the mechanism. That the results accomplished have been of economic value is evident from the fact that, while formerly a yield of 30 per cent, to 40 per cent, of the total gold in the ore was the average obtained, the best mills of to-day are able to more than double these figures. That our methods may still be improved upon, and the margin of wasted gold be still further narrowed down, is the point for which all intelligent millmen are striving. While the stamp-mill itself had been used for crushing ores long before the discovery of gold in California, since that time it has been greatly improved in detail, and its capacity and efficiency increased, hence what is now known as the " California goldmill " is a very different affair from the clumsy mills first used for crushing quartz in this State. The California gold-milling processes and the California millmen are, as a result, finding due recognition outside of their own immediate field of operation, as is evidenced by the increasing outside and foreign demand for our men and milling machinery. The development of the milling process, keeping pace with the improvement of the machinery required for ore-reduction, has had the beneficial effect of greatly lessening the working-expenses, permitting ores of a low grade to be worked at a profit. California has a great abundance of this class of ores, comparatively untouched, and these must be mainly relied on in the future as the sources of the precious metal. Already, under extremely favourable conditions, ores are being mined ajid milled in California at a cost of 50 cents per ton, as at the Spanish Mine, in Nevada County, where, with Huntington roller-mills, ores yielding 85 cents per ton have been worked at a profit. Mill-site. When assured of a constant and sufficient supply of ore, it is of the greatest importance that the site for the mill should be chosen with due regard for economic treatment. This necessitates the observance of the following points: The means of transportation of the ore from the mine to the mill, which should be done automatically, or, at least, with as little handling as possible, conveying the ore at once to the highest point in the mill, so that it will descend by gravity from one to the other in all the different consecutive operations. Another important feature is to provide sufficient space for capacious ore-bins, which are necessary to prevent a stoppage of the mill through a lack of ore, caused through unavoidable delays in the mine or along the roads. The accessibility of the mill-site as regards fuel, water, or electrical transmission, according to the motive-power to be used, and their continuity and cost at all seasons of the year, must likewise be considered. The possibility of placing the levels for the different floors on solid-rock foundations should be investigated, as stability of the machinery is most essential for successful milling. The ideal site would be to have the mill in close proximity to, but below the level of, the collar of the shaft or the mouth of the tunnel, on sloping ground, where the ore can be delivered directly from the mine to a " grizzly " on the upper floor of the mill, to be passed later, without rehandling, through the crushers, ore-bins, self-feeders, mortars, &c, while leaving sufficient space for a wastedump. For a mill arranged in this manner, including concentrators and canvas platforms, 40ft. of fall should be available. If chlorination-works are also to be used, a greater fall is desirable. Mill-construction. After deciding on a suitable site, the surface should be removed down to the bed-rock, and levelled off for the different floors. Solidity and accessibility are the chief points to be observed in placing the different parts of the mill. Where required, heavy stone walls should be erected as buttresses. The foundation for the mortars and the proper erection of the battery-frames are points requiring particular attention. For the mortar-block, a trench is prepared of suitable depth, preferably in solid bed-rock, proportioned to the height of the block, and wide enough to leave about 2ft. of free space around it, which is later filled in with concrete or tailings from the battery. These mortar-blocks vary from Bft. to 15ft. in length, and are dressed at the upper end to the size of the bed-plate of the mortar. In California they can be obtained frequently from a solid cut of a pine tree, or else consist of two or three sawed blocks fitted and bolted together ; but where clear timber of the requisite size is difficult to obtain the block can be constructed of 2ft. plank, as is done in the Black Hills in Dakota. There the bottom of the trench for the block is levelled, and some sand tamped down, on which two layers of 2in. plank are placed crosswise and spiked to each other, and made perfectly horizontal. On this foundation a mortar-block is constructed of 2in. planks, from lift, to 14ft. long, according to the depth of the trench. The planks, which should be of clear lumber, and varying breadths (in order to break joints), stand on end, with their width parallel to the long side of the mortar. They are spiked together, and fastened above and below with binders bolted to each other by transverse rods ; the upper binders (Bin. by 12in.) being even with the top of the mortar-blocks; the lower binders (12in. by 12in ) are 3ft. lower. The top of the mortar-block should be planed perfectly true and levelled, and where several blocks are placed in line all the blocks should be sawed off to one height. Before setting the

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mortar upon the block a sheet of rubber cloth Jin. thick should be placed between, or, when this is not obtainable, two or three folds of mill blankets, well tarred, will answer the purpose. The mudsills should be of square timber, free from sap, bedded in concrete on the bed-rock and secured by anchor-bolts to the foundation ; they also should be bolted to the linesills. The uprights of the battery-frames are supported in various styles, with diagonal braces and hog-chains at front or back, or with so-called knee-frames. In the former style the brace is placed on the same side as the counter-shaft, which rests low down on the battery-sills. This style is well suited for small mills using stamps not to exceed 7501b., but for large mills using heavy stamps the knee-frames are the more suitable, with the counter-shaft on a level with the cam-shaft. What is known as the reversed knee-frame forms a strong compact construction, but requires the countershaft to rest on the battery-sills behind the frame. The battery-posts are made 24in. deep, and from 12in. to 20in. wide; the centre one of a tenstamp mill being made the heaviest, as having to bear the greatest strain. They are let into the sills and secured to the line timbers by bolts. Besides the braces, the posts are given stability above the mortar by the guide-timbers which extend from end to end in one piece, and are let into the posts, to which they are bolted. The lower one is placed about 6in. above the upper edge of the mortar, and the centre of the upper one is about 3ft. from the top of the post. The seat for the cam-shaft bearing is cut in the upper part of the posts. After lowering the mortar on the block, with the planed bottom resting evenly on the sheet of rubber cloth or folds of tarred blanket, it is fastened perfectly rigid by eight bolts, four on each long side, passing through the flange which is cast on the bottom of the mortar. This flange is 4in. wide and about 2Jin. thick. The feed-floor should be high enough so that these bolts can be conveniently reached, to permit their tightening when required. The journals for the cam-shaft, which are placed in the recesses cut out of the battery-posts for their reception, are lined up and " babbitted " prior to receiving the cam-shaft with its cams. The stems are placed from -Jin. to lin. from the cam-shaft, and just far enough from the cams to clear them when dropping. The cam-shaft is made of wrought iron or soft steel, from 4-Jin. to sin. in diameter, turned true, and should have key-seats for securing the cams. There should be two key-seats, and placed one-third of the shaft's circumference apart. At one end of the cam-shaft the cast-iron " hub " of the belt-pulley (with llauges) is keyed on. This pulley is built of wood, and turned true on the shaft. Where there is more than one battery to mill, it is best to have a cam-shaft for each ten stamps, as this permits of repairs, such as changing cams, &c, without stopping more than ten stamps. The guides which direct the drop of the stems are in two sets, upper and lower—the former above the tappets and the latter below the cams—and are bolted to the guide-girts by eight bolts. They are best made of hard wood, but pine answers sufficiently well, though the former lasts five times as long as pine. The old-style guide consists of two pieces of 4in. plank 14in. wide, planed on all sides, and of sufficient length to fit easily between the battery-posts, with equidistant semicircular grooves fitting together for the passage of the stems. A quick and exact way to make these grooves is to clamp the two planed planks tightly together as they are to be placed on the frame, set them on edge, and, after marking off the centres for the five stems, bore out the circle (using the joint-line for the point of centre) with a long-handled auger having an adjustable bit. These are kept in many mills for this special purpose. Before bolting the guides in place, -Jin. pieces are placed between the two halves, and adjoining each stem, which are planed down later as the guides wear, leaving but little play for the stem. After boring out the grooves for the stems, and before putting the guides in place, they should be lubricated. A convenient and economical plan is to cut some semicircular pieces of thin sheet-iron of a somewhat larger diameter than the grooves, and drive them into the wood at both ends of the channel; then lay the halves level, groove side up, and fill the latter with linseed-oil, letting them remain until the wood has taken up all it will absorb, when the remainder is returned to the can and the sheet-iron pieces removed. If, in a pine guide, those portions occupied by the grooves are cut out square, and hard-wood bushings fitted in before boring out, the stem will work parallel to the wood-fibre, which reduces the friction and lengthens the life of the guides; while only the hard-wood bushings would need replacing, making the cost of the guides less. The great drawback to these guides is that when a stem has to be removed the entire battery has to stop; hence the adoption of separate guides for each stem, being either all iron or wooden bushing in iron frames, which are held in place by wooden wedges and the lips of the iron frames. For the support of the stamp-stems when suspended, wooden latch-fingers, or jacks, are supplied. A jack-shaft 3in. in diameter rests in bearings attached to the inner sides of the battery-posts ; on this, cup-shaped sockets ride, in which the wooden fingers are attached, shod at the upper end with an iron plate -Jin. thick, and provided with an iron or leather " hand-hold " near the top. For the greater convenience of quickly removing and replacing stems or cam-shafts large mills are supplied with overhead travellers, or " crabs," in line with the batteries, in connection with a chain block and tackle running on plates secured to the roof, shod with iron tracking. To easily reach the cams, tappets, &c, a platform is placed just below the cam-shaft. The feed-floor consists of a double board-floor of lin. lumber, with broken joints, supported on joists 18in. apart, and about 2ft. below the feed-opening in the mortar. Mill Details. The grizzly is a coarse screen, consisting of a number of parallel bars attached to a frame, set on an angle from 45 to 55 degrees, over the ore-bin. These bars may be of round, rectangular, or V-shaped (apex down), iron, or of wood faced with iron, and resting on several iron cross-rods, held apart with iron washers ; the distance between the bars should be equal to the opening the rock-crusher jaws are set to —from 2in. to 3in. There are no fixed dimensions of length or breadth,

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as these depend in a measure on local conditions, but they are usually from 3ft. to 6ft. wide, and long enough (12ft. to 15ft.) to give the fine material time to drop through the spaces before reaching the crusher-floor. Where substantial steel T rails are used for tracking in the mine, they can be made to serve for grizzly-bars when no longer of use in the mine, by turning them with the base up. The grizzly should be placed at the highest point of the mill, over the ore-bin, where the car or w r agon can enter and dump. Its chief object is to separate at once the finely-divided ore from the coarser ; a secondary purpose is served in affording an opportunity to recover drills, gads, or hammers that may have come from the mine, in the ore, before they reach the rock-breaker or mortar. Its lower end rests on a platform in front of the rock-crusher, or, better, in a chute with an adjustable end-gate, placed above the mouth of the rock-crusher so as to admit of its being fed automatically. Where the ore as delivered from the mine carries less than 5 per cent, of fine stuff the grizzly should be dispensed with, especially where, in constructing the mill, fall must be economized. Some object to the use of the grizzly as tending to feed all the hard rock by itself, and say the output of those batteries is below the others. Eock breakers or crushers are placed on a platform below the grizzly and above the ore-bin, in such a manner that the crushed rock mingles with the fine stuff passing between the bars of the grizzly. The rock-breaker must be of sufficient weight to remain firm in its place, and strong enough to resist heavy strains; the dies should be easy to exchange and adjust, and all parts requiring to be oiled should be arranged to prevent oil coming in contact with the quartz. In large mills it is best to have one crusher to every twenty stamps, and on account of their intermittent work they should have driving-power separate from that of the stamps. Bock-breakers are adjusted to crush the rock smaller than the throat of the mortar (therefore less than 3in.); but, as the work of the rock-breaker is cheaper than that of the stamp, it would pay, with very hard rock, to do more of the crushing with this machine, even to the extent of placing two crushers, one beneath the other, and bringing the quartz greatly reduced to the stamps. There are two types of rock-crushers. The older pattern carries a flat, fixed jaw, working with one having a reciprocating motion, and using flat or corrugated dies that are reversible. The Blake is representative of this pattern. The other pattern has an outer, circular, fixed jaw, within which a corrugated jaw circles, of which the Gates is representative. This latter machine permits of larger blocks being fed. It is an excellent machine for heavy work, and where the rock is not wet or clayey ; but it requires greater horse-power, for, where a Blake, 10in. by Bin., crushing 3 tons per hour, requires nine-horse power, the Gates, with a diameter of 37-Jin., crushing 3J tons per hour, requires sixteen-horse power. The Gates consists of a nearly vertical shaft of forged steel, rotated from below by a bevelled wheel set -|in. out of centre, on the top of which a chilled-iron conical head is attached, with the base downward, rotating within chilled-iron concaves, with an outward slope, set in the cylindrical body of the machine. Between these two faces the ore is crushed, their distance apart below being gauged by set-screws. The shaft, by being made to revolve around an eccentric at the bottom, has a constant crushing-power without doing any grinding. A set of concaves lasts two years, and can be replaced. The centre shaft with the chilled-iron head has been known to crush 120,000 tons of an average hard quartz before wearing out. Ore-bins should always be as spacious as the surroundings will permit, but never of less capacity than will carry a twenty-four hours' supply for the mill—say, about 65 cubic feet to the stamp. They are usually constructed with a sloping bottom, to facilitate discharging; but, where very large bins can be erected, this feature is not so essential. These bottoms must be solidly braced, and ought to be covered with iron plates over those portions where the ore has to be dropped. The front of the bin is parallel with the mortars, and supplied with gates for each battery above the level of the hopper of the self-feeders. These gates should be regulated by a pinion and rack, and set for a regular discharge and delivery, through shoots, into the self-feeders. The shoots should be lined with heavy sheet-iron. Self-feeders. —The entire value of the stamp-battery hinges on a regular and even feeding, and, as it can be done much better (from 15 degrees to 20 degrees) by a machine than by hand, this latter method has become well-nigh extinct in California. Among the mechanical feeders mostly used are the Challenge (in two patterns), Tulloch, Stanford, and Boiler feeders. Although the three latter are very serviceable for certain classes of ore, and are cheaper in first cost, the Challenge is undoubtedly the best all-round machine—which is proved by its almost universal adoption. They are either placed on a frame which runs on an iron track in the feed-floor, back of and at right angles to the battery, or are suspended from tracks supported by the battery-posts and standards placed against the ore-bin. This latter pattern permits of greater accessibility to the feed-side of the mortar. In general, the Challenge feeders consist of a hopper with a movable circular plate beneath, set slightly inclined toward the mortar, receiving a rotary motion by means of gear wheels acting on the lower face of the plate, which are moved by a friction grip that receives its impetus from a blow of the descending stem on a bumper-rod connected with it. Movable wings, extending from the point of the hopper over the plate toward the throat of the mortar, permit a given quantity of the ore to be scraped off at each blow, through a partial rotation of the plate. The older machines were made with right- or left-handed bumpers, but the present and better plan is to place the rod in the centre, so that the third stamp in a five-stamp battery imparts the blow. The newest machines have no bumper-rod, but are worked by a collar fastened on the stem above the top of the mortar. Each battery is supplied with its own self-feeder. The Tulloch feeder consists of a square frame, into which a hopper fits, having below a tray suspended from the frame at any desired angle, and in such a manner as to have a forward and backward swinging motion inside the frame, which can be arrested on the forward motion at a cer24—C. 3.

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tain point by lugs, underneath the tray, striking a bar. The back of the hopper is supplied with an adjustable soraper, and at each motion of the tray a certain amount of the ore is scraped forward and falls into the battery. The machine is operated by the descent of the stamp. Mortars. —The mortars in California are mostly single-discharge, and cast in one piece, extremely solid. When required in places inaccessible by wagon-roads, they are cast in pieces, which are later bolted together. Their interior form depends on the nature of the ore, and the procedure to be applied : thus we find them made with narrow or flaring, deep or shallow troughs, and with or without inside plates. Mortars with narrow troughs are made for greater output, while a wide trough assists battery-amalgamation, and gives opportunity for placing inside copper plates. In some of the newest styles of mortars a series of grooves are furnished in the lining plates, to contain quicksilver. The mortars weigh from 4,000 to 6,5001b., the bottoms being made extra heavy—in some of the latest patterns the bottoms are Bin. thick. The length varies between and sft., and the height from 4Jft. to 4J-f t. The inside width of the trough corresponds with that of the foot-plate of the dies. A heavy flange, 4in. x 3in., is cast on the base of the long sides, in which are four holes on each side for bolts, to secure the mortar to the block. The difference in design hinges chiefly on the different opinions of leading mining men as to the method and value of amalgamating inside the battery. Dies. —They consist of a cylindrical body of the same diameter as the shoe, with a square footplate with broken corners, and should fit loosely against the front and back plates of the mortar. The broken corners permit their easy removal. They are cast both in iron and steel. Shoes. —-They are made of iron and steel, and consist of a cylindrical body of the same diameter as the stamp-head, with a cone-shaped neck, half as wide as the cylindrical body, and about sin. long. The weight of the shoe bears a certain relation to the other parts of the stamp, generally about one-sixth of the total weight when made of chrome steel, but somewhat less when made of iron. The cylindrical portion of the shoe is somewhat longer than the corresponding part of the die, on account of its greater wear —the latter being protected by a cushion of quartz. Both shoe and die are used until worn as thin as possible; with the shoe, this may be though rarely, while the die is worn to the foot-plate, if not fractured previously. This practice is not to be commended, and should only occur in ease of necessity. On- stamps weighing about 9001b., the shoes, if of chrome steel, weigh about 1501b., and, if of iron, weigh about 201b. less, and are about 9in. in diameter. The life of the shoes depends on the nature of the quartz, and the height and speed of the drop, but as a general rule shoes and dies of steel last as long as two and a half sets of iron ones, and cost twice as much. In the matter of choice between steel and iron, the vicinity of the mill to foundries is of consequence. Steel shoes and good iron dies usually work very smooth, but where the waste iron can be disposed of at a foundry this metal is preferred for both. Stamp-heads, Bosses, or Sockets. —They are made of cast-iron or steel, of the same diameter as the cylindrical part of the shoes and dies, with two conical sockets; the upper one accurately bored out to contain the tapering end of the stem, and the lower one to receive the neck or shank of the shoe, with its enclosing circle of thin wooden wedges. Transverse, rectangular keyways, at right angles to each other, pass through the stamp-head at the end of the conical openings, connecting therewith in such a manner that when both stem and shoe are attached to the boss they protrude into the keyways. This enables them to be forced out by the driving-in of a wedge-shaped steel drift, about lin. wide, 18in. long, and tapering down from 2in. toward the point. The ends of the stamp-head are usually reinforced by having iron bands shrunk on to them. Stems. —They are made of wrought-iron or soft steel, turned perfectly true, and tapered at both ends for a distance of 6in. or Bin. They are from lift, to 14ft. in length, the diameter varying with the weight of the stem from 2fin. to 3-J-in. They are reversible, so that if one end breaks the other can be used before sending to the shop for repairs. When this repair is made the whole stem should be annealed. The stem carries the greater weight of any part of the stamp, amounting to nearly one half. The stems hang in the guides at even distances from centre to centre, and are supported while at rest by props or fingers catching on the under face of the tappets. Tappets. —They are made of tough iron or steel, cylindrical, with a flange on both ends, and accurately bored through the centre, a shade wider than the stem, and counter-bored at both ends. They are provided with a rectangular recess adjoining the central bored hole, 7in. to Bin. long, and from 2in. to 2-Jin. wide, in which a gib is fitted. This is a piece of wrought-iron or steel, grooved on one side, with curvature Jin. smaller than that of the stem, and planed flat on the opposite side. Two, or in some cases three, slots are cut through the flanges, at right angles of the stem, which connect with a rectangular recess for the gib, so that keys, when driven through the slot, press the gib against the stem, which should slide smoothly through the centre of the tappet. The tappets are faced on both ends, and are reversible. The keys are of steel, fitted and marked. Tappets weigh from 1001b. to 1201b. When fastening the tappet the keys are driven in solid; but care must be observed, as when too tightly keyed the tappet is liable to split. Cams. —They are of tough cast-iron or steel, double-armed, and strengthened by a hub, which latter is frequently reinforced by having a wrought-iron ring shrunk on. The cam itself is the involute of a circle, having for its radius the distance between the centre of the stem and the cam-shaft, somewhat flattened, however, at the point of the cam. It comprises a face from 2in. to 3in. wide, ground off, decreasing in thickness from the hub to the point, and strengthened by a rib on the under side, which runs from a point to several inches deep at the hub. The cam is fastened to the cam-shaft by steel hand-fitted keys. Cam-shafts. —They are made of wrought-iron or soft steel, turned true, with double key-seats, 120 degrees apart, for cams, besides key-seats for the driving-pulley. The cams are slipped on the cam-shaft with the hub side away from the stem, and keyed solidly in their respective places; they must be placed in such a manner that when the cams are raising the stamps the weight is as nearly

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evenly distributed over the shaft as possible. For this reason proper attention must be given to the sequence in which the stamps are to drop in the battery. Where the shaft is for ten cams, the following order or succession of drops is recommended—viz., 1, 5, 9, 3, 7—10, 6, 2, 8, 4; and would give a drop in each battery as follows: 2, 4, 1, 4, 5. The cam, in picking up a stem on the under side of the tappet, imparts a revolving motion to tappet and stem, requiring from four to six strokes of the cam to complete one entire revolution. A too rapid revolution indicates the need of lubricating. The revolving of the stem assists in giving an even wear to the faces of the shoes and dies, but it does not impart a grinding action to the stamp, as frequently stated, which can be proved by holding a piece of chalk against the stem during its ascent and descent. Screens and Frames. —Screens of different materials and with different orifices are used. The materials comprise wire-cloth of brass or steel, tough Eussian sheet-iron, English tinned plate, and, quite recently, aluminium bronze. The Eussian sheet-iron plates are perforated with round holes or slots ; the latter are vertical, horizontal, diagonal, or curved, and are either entirely smooth or burred on the inner side. The latter form is intended for longer wear by closing the burrs with a mallet when too large, thereby prolonging the life of the Screen. These screens last from fifteen to thirty-five days. The plates have glossy, planished surfaces, and come in sheets of 28in. to 56in., costing in San Francisco from 65 to 80 cents per square foot. The English tinned-plate screens come in sheets of lft. to square. They are more flexible than the Eussian iron, hence do not permit of the pulp caking along the lower edge when fed high ; and, as compared with a Eussian high one of the same perforations, they give a greater discharge : but they are short-lived —averaging about ten days. The tin is burned off before using. Brass screens, costing in San Francisco 36 cents a square foot, are sold in rolls ; they give the greatest discharge for an equal area, and last from ten days to two weeks, but should not be used if cyanide of potassium be used in the battery, on account of clogging with amalgam. The " aluminium bronze" plates come in sizes similar to the sheet tinned plate, but unpunched, the latter work being done here; they are much longer-lived than either of the other kinds, and have the further advantage that when worn out they can be sold for the value of the metal for remelting; these plates are bought and sold by the pound, and are said to contain 95 per cent, of copper and 5 per cent, of aluminium. Steel screens are not too much used, on account of their liability to rust. The life of a screen depends, aside from the manner of feeding, on the width of the mortar, the height of the discharge, and the hardness of the rock. Wide mortar and high discharge are favourable to the preservation of a screen; the form of the perforations—round holes or slots, &c.—influences the discharge-area of the screen. A good deal of confusion exists in interpreting the number of the different kinds of screens. Wire-screens take their numbers from the meshes to the linear inch, while perforated and slotted screens are numbered from the needle used in punching them, these needle-numbers being the same as are used for sewing-machines. The sizes most frequently used in gold-milling are from No. 6 to No. 9 of the perforated and slotted screen, and No. 30 to No. 40 of the wire screens. The slots are from Jin. to fin. long, and placed alternately or even in the rows, some being burred on the inner side. The following table gives a comparison of the different varieties, with their numbers : —

The proper size required is a matter for the millman to decide at each mill. The character of the ore and the coarseness of the gold have to be considered, as well as the inside dimensions of the mortar ; ore carrying extremely fine gold requiring a finer crushing, as the gold must be freed from the quartz matrix in part if the quicksilver is to act on it; but where this would lead to if carried out to its legitimate end may be imagined when the writer states that he has observed under the microscope a particle of quartz that had passed through a No. 9 screen (40-mesh) and still contained several separate but included particles of gold. Sulphide ores, having a much greater tendency to form slimes, should be crushed as coarse as permissible, and where the sulphides predominate largely, amalgamation in the battery is best avoided. The pulp discharged through a screen carries but a small percentage of the size of the orifice, while the larger proportion is much finer. It is possible to use a much coarser screen than the size desired to be obtained without any great detriment, while greatly increasing the output. The Screen-frame,- —It is made from strips of sugar-pine 1-fin. by 3in. broad, mortised, and reversible ; usually they are made to close the entire discharge-opening, grooves being cast on the exterior of the mortar for their reception. It is frequently strengthened with one or more vertical ribs across the centre opening, and is faced with iron plate on those portions of the side and bottom that come in contact with the iron keys that hold the frame solid against the mortar. In some mills the frame is made several inches lower than the opening, to permit the millmen to observe the

No. of Needle. Corresponding Mesh. Width of Slot. Weight per Square Foot. 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 \2 20 25 30 35 40 50 55 60 Inches. 0029 0-027 0-024 0-022 0-020 0-018 0016 0-015 Lb. 1-15 1-08 0-987 0-918 0-827 0-735 0-666 0-666

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interior of the mortar while in action, and to allow the hand to be introduced to remove any chips that may have passed in with the ore, as these have a tendency to bank up against the screen and interfere with the discharge of the pulp. "Where such a screen-frame is used the opening above is kept covered with a strip of canvas tacked to a wooden rod, laid on the upper projecting lid, while the loose end of the canvas hangs against the inside of the upper part of the screen frame. The plate-block (chock-block) consists of wooden blocks bolted solidly together, and fitted and keyed to the lower edge of the mortar along the discharge-opening, with one part projecting above the other, forming a recess on top to contain the screen-frame, and lined with a piece of blanket to make a close joint. The inner side is sloped or rounded off, and fitted with an amalgamated plate. The front and ends are faced with iron plate to protect the wood. Two or more sets of these chockblocks should be provided, of which one stands 2in. higher than the other ; they are then used alternately, the higher ones with new shoes and dies, to be replaced by the lower ones when the dies are worn down somewhat, to retain a more even discharge than would otherwise be possible. The drop is the height through which the stamp is raised by the cam, and through which it drops when released. Usually it is the same for all the stamps in a battery, although the end and feed stamps sometimes receive a different drop. It is regulated through the raising or lowering of the tappet, and depends mostly on the hardness of the rock. It is one of the factors in determining the speed with which the blows from the stamps shall be repeated. The usual combination of the two in the California mills is a low drop with rapid motion. The discharge is the distance between the top of the die when in place in the mortar, and the lower edge of the screen through which the pulp discharges. It is one of the most important factors in the duty of the stamps and the gold-output from the ore. It should be maintained as nearly as possible at an even height through the entire period of crushing; the height of the chockblock or screen-frame being lowered to correspond with the wear of the die. A further means used to retain an even discharge is by placing a 2in. iron plate under the dies when worn thin. The discharge stands in a certain relationship with the fineness of the screen—low discharge goes with coarser crushing, and high discharge with the opposite. The discharge varies in California from 4in. to 10in. Water-supply. —Water-pipes of 3in. diameter are brought along the front of the mortar near the upper edge, with branch-pipes lin. in diameter, supplied with faucets leading to the feed-side of the mortar, to convey the battery-water in at the back, or through the plank covering on the top ; this water is under moderate pressure. A second discharge-pipe is carried down in front of the lower lip of the mortar, where a movable perforated branch is turned across the front of the screen, discharging along the entire line on the lip; this second discharge-pipe also supplies a hose. The battery-water should enter both sides of the mortar in an even quantity, and the total amount must be sufficient to keep a fairly thick pulp that discharges freely through the screen. About 120 cubic feet of water per ton of crushed ore may be considered an average, or 8 to 10 cubic feet per stamp per hour. Aprons and Apron-plates. —The apron is a low table placed in front of the mortar, just below and in immediate proximity to the lower lip of the discharge, for the reception of amalgamated copper plates. It is set on a sufficient grade to permit the discharging pulp to flow over it in an even stream, while affording the suspended amalgam an opportunity to reach and adhere to the plate-surface. The size, shape, and slope are at the will of the millman; but usually they are rectangular, with the plates screwed down to the table with copper screws, perfectly level and smooth, the sides being secured with wooden cleats. The grade given varies from -Jin. to 2|in. to the foot, and the width of the apron is usually the width of the discharge-opening of the mortar. In some mills several of these apron-plates are placed consecutively, discharging from one to the other. They are usually rigid, but in some instances the apron next to the mortar stands on rollers, permitting it to be rolled back, and thus giving freer access to the front of the mortar. They should not be attached to the battery-frame. Sluices and Sluice-plates. —These are from 12in. to 20in. in width, and are placed below the aprons; they are usually set to a grade different from that of the apron. The plates can be fastened by cleats, or are laid overlapping at the ends, and, if not wider than 16in., do not need to be fastened down with side cleats ; this permits of their being picked up and cleaned at any time without stopping the battery. The sluices are rarely over 16ft. long—more frequently in lengths of Bft.—and should always be placed double. The width and grade, as compared with the apronareas, are mostly faulty in California mills. Glean-up Barrel. —Large mills are supplied with clean-up barrels, which consist of iron barrels supported by trunnions resting in bearings on short standards. One of the trunnions is extended to carry a loose and a tight pulley, by means of which it is revolved. A manhole, with tightfitting cover, is provided for charging and discharging, and below it is a sluice with cross-riffles to receive the pulp when discharged from the barrel. The barrel should make from thirty to forty revolutions a minute, requiring 2-J-horse power. It is used to treat the battery sands when cleaning up the mill; also, all the scrapings from the mill-floors, as well as sand from the drop-boxes and amalgam-traps, large pieces of quartz or pieces of broken shoes being added, with water and quicksilver, to assist in the operation. Glean-up Pan. —This is a small amalgamating-pan, 3ft. to 4ft. in diameter, operating with mullers with wooden shoes, and is run at a speed of thirty revolutions, requiring IJ-horse power. When in use the pan is half filled with water, and the amalgam put in, with an addition of clean quicksilver, and, if required, also some lye. After sufficient grinding, the muddy water is run out through plug-holes, the mullers stopped, and the contents drawn off in buckets. The iron found floating on top of the quicksilver is removed with a magnet, the sand is washed off with a small stream of clear water, and if any dross be found covering the surface it is skimmed off with a sponge or piece of blanket.

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Cleaning-lip Boom. —This is an apartment in close proximity to the batteries and aprons, provided with a tight floor, and with a door under lock and key; the iloor is best when laid in cement, to avoid all losses from spilt quicksilver or amalgam. It should be well lighted, and furnished with a sloping table large enough to place a screen-frame on; also with one or two watertight boxes about 4ft. long, 3ft. wide, and 3ft. deep, for panning-out purposes; these are supplied with plugholes near the bottom to drain off the water, besides water-pipes and fittings to fill the boxes when required. One or two wide shelves should be provided to hold the chemicals, quicksilver, and utensils needed in cleaning up. The latter consist of pans, Wedgwood mortar, brushes, scoops, cups, knives, chisels, rubbers, scrapers, and a supply of closely-woven drilling or light canvas ; the latter is used to squeeze the superfluous quicksilver from the amalgam. A good pair of balances, with a set of accurate weights, capable of weighing the amalgam and the retorted bullion, should also be provided. The table should be made of a solid plank, or a slab of slate or marble, supplied with a raised edge, and grooved around to drain into a pan placed on a shelf attached below the lower end; some tables are covered with an amalgamated plate. It is sometimes convenient to have a small safe in the clean-up room, but it is always better to have the amalgam delivered to the office. Poweb Foil Mills. On account of the favourable position of the majority of California mines as regards their proximity to mountain-streams and the large ditch-systems, the application of water for the motivepower of the mills is rendered easy, and, where the distance from these sources is remote, electricity generated in such localities and transmitted to the mill is being successfully applied. Where steampower has to be used, the well-timbered western slopes of the Sierra Nevada permit the cost of fuel to be kept at a comparatively low figure. Where both water and timber are hard to obtain, as in the desert regions of the southern part of the State, gas-engines have been applied with most satisfactory results. In applying water-power, where the pressure is sufficient, hurdy-gurdy wheels are chiefly used: these are vertical wheels with narrow breasts, having buckets of various patterns, radially attached to the outer circumference, the water being projected through one or more nozzles against the buckets at a low point of the wheel, allowing the water to pass from ihe buckets as soon as the blow has been delivered. The principal patterns in actual use are the Knight, Pelton, and Dodds; the actual effective power developed by the Pelton buckets is given at about 75 per cent, to 80 per cent. Where sufficient pressure cannot be obtained, the Leffel turbine and the overshot wheel are in use. As the Pelton wheel seems to find the most frequent application in California, it may be convenient for millmen to have the following rule, applicable to these wheels : When the head of water is known in feet, multiply it by 00024147, and the product is the horse-power obtainable from one miner's inch of water. The power necessary for different mill-parts is—For each 8501b. stamp, dropping 6in. 95 times per minute, 1-33-horse power ; for each 7501b. stamp, dropping 6in. 95 times per minute, 1-18-horse power; for each 6501b. stamp, dropping 6in. 95 times per minute, 1-horse power; for an Bin. by 10in. Blake pattern rock-breaker, 9-horse power ; for a Frue or Triumph vanner, with 220 revolutions per minute, o'so-horse power; for a 4ft. clean-up pan, making 30 revolutions, 1-50-horse power; for an amalgamating-barrel, making 30 revolutions, 2'50-horse power; for a mechanical batea, making 30 revolutions, 1-horse power. Mill Peactices. Where the conditions permit it is becoming the custom to place the grizzly and the rock-breaker in close proximity to the hoist, so that the bucket or car on arriving at the surface is dumped direct on a grizzly, and the crushed ore is then run over the ore-bin in the mill, and emptied therein; where this is impracticable, the grizzly and rock-breaker are placed over the ore-bin in the mill. The usual practice is to let the coarse ore from the grizzly drop on a platform on a level with the mouth of the rock-crusher, into which it is shovelled by hand. By this method the machine is not brought up to its full capacity. A better plan is to convey the coarse ore from the grizzly into the bin by means of a shoot, having a sliding gate immediately above the receiving-point of the crusher, and which is set so as to keep the space between the jaws always filled. In this way the work becomes automatic, and the services of the man attending the rock-breaker can be utilised in other parts of the mill during part of the time. Under such an arrangement the crusher will require more power, which should be independent from the other machinery. The rock-breaker is usually run during the daytime only, as it can crush in that time enough ore for the mill for the twentyfour hours. The self-feeders, in a similar manner, are kept automatically filled from the main ore-bin. The feeding, through the tappet striking on the bumper-rod of the self-feeder, has of late been modified. A collar is fastened below the guides on the feed-stamp stem, taking the place of the tappet, thus avoiding the long bumper-rod. The gauging of the feed must be carefully attended to, if the stamps are to work up to their full capacity. There should never be more than about lin. of rock between the stamp and die when they come together, or the feed should be just sufficient to keep iron from striking iron. When cleaning up the batteries the self-feeders are drawn back on a track toward the ore-bin, giving access to the back of the mortars. In preparing the mortar for ore-crushing an inch or two of tailings is spread evenly over the bottom before putting the dies in place, as this saves the wear on the bottom plate. After the dies are placed exactly under each stamp, crushed ore and fine rock are banked round them to retain them in proper place until the sands have settled firmly about them. Care must be observed to keep the tops of all the dies at the same level at all times, as otherwise when the stamps are dropping the highest die will strike against iron, while the others are still supplied with sufficient ore. This is known as "pounding."

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The stamp-head, or boss, is now placed on the die with the small conical opening at the top, and the stem lowered into it, iron against iron if it is a close fit, and driven in solid. In case the connection is not tight, canvas strips about 2in. wide are laid crosswise over the opening before the stem is lowered. The stem, with the stamp-head, is now raised until the latch-finger catches under the lower face of the tappet, and holds it suspended, and the shoe placed on the die. If the stamp-head hangs too low to permit of this, the stem is raised, and a block placed on top of the finger for the tappet to rest on. Narrow wooden wedges, about lin. wide, the length of the neck of the shoe, and of the requisite thickness to fit tightly into the conical opening at the bottom of the stamp-head, are arranged in place and tied with a string. The block and finger are then removed, the stamp-head dropped over the shank, and wedges driven down firmly. This is done best by revolving the cam-shaft slowly, and, while placing the cam-stick between, permitting the cam to act on the tappet, raising and dropping the stamp until the lower edge of the stamphead is nearly in contact with the shoulder of the stamp. It is not advisable to permit them to come solidly together, as it tends to loosen the iron ring that reinforces the stamp-head. A quick and convenient method of placing the wooden wedges on the shoe is to cut a piece of canvas to fit exactly around the neck, and attach the wedges to the canvas by driving a tack through each one into the cloth. By keeping a supply of these on hand, it becomes an easy matter to encircle the shank on the shoe and tie them fast, should the shoe become loose and droo off while the mill is running. The Drop —The next operation is fixing the distance through which the stamp is to drop before striking the die. In most mills this distance is uniform for all the stamps; but, as previously stated, occasionally the stamp operating the feed, as also the two outside stamps, receive a greater drop. The right height to give depends on the nature of the ore, as also on the speed to be given to the stamps —that is, the number of drops per minute. The tendency in most California mills is to run at a high rate of speed, usually in the neighbourhood of 100 drops per minute. The height varies from 4in. to about 10in., generally but little, if any, above the water-level in the mortar. In arranging the stamps for an equal drop, wooden blocks, cut about Jin. longer than the drop the stamps are to receive to permit the cams to clear the tappets, are placed on the die, between it and the shoe. Pieces of 2ft. by 4ft. scantling, cut to the desired length, answer well for the purpose. The keys in the tappet are loosened with a drift made of steel, the size of the keyholes, and used only for that purpose, and the stem is allowed to slip through the tappet until the shoe rests on the top of the wooden block beneath ; or, if the shoe was resting on the block previously, the tappet is slipped up till resting on the latch-finger, when the keys are driven home solid. Care must be exercised not to drive the keys too solid, else there is danger of splitting the tappet. For the convenience of the millman, a chalk-mark is made around the stem just above the tappet, which enables him, while running, to at once detect if any of the tappets have slipped. Should this occur it must be immediately re-set, or the battery-work will be irregular. The battery-plates and chock-blocks are next put in place and keyed. The Discharge is next arranged. This is the distance between the top the of new dies and the lower edge of the screen ; and to fix the right distance is of importance. The greater the height of the discharge, the greater will be the proportionate amount of pulp and slime, and they also will be retained longer in the mortar. The quantity of amalgam retained in the mortar is also proportionately greater. A low discharge calls for a coarser screen, and naturally results in a larger output of the battery, and with a larger proportion of outside plate amalgam. With a constant height of the screen, the natural wear of the die increases the height of the discharge. For ordinary iron shoes and dies, and average rock, the wear of the die is roughly estimated from fib. to lib. of iron per ton of ore crushed. To counteract the effect of this wear on the discharge height, different-sized chockblocks or screen-frames are supplied; the highest being used with new dies, and later replaced by lower ones, thus holding the distance more even than the use of a single size would permit. In some mills, when the dies are worn down, an iron plate, made for the purpose, is laid beneath them to raise them up. As a very high discharge, besides creating much slime, beats up a larger portion of the gold into float-gold than would be the case with low discharge, the choice necessarily influences the goldrecovery. This is more particularly the case if the ore carries any appreciable amount of valuable sulphurets. The discharge varies in the different mills from 4in. to 10in., the average being from 6in. to 7in. Screens. —In fastening the screen to the screen-frame, care must be observed to get it on smooth, without any wrinkling or buckling. Tin screens must have the tin burned off before fastening to the frame ; it is also well to expose the Russian-iron screens to a quick fire of shavings, to burn off the oil with which they are more or less faced. The edges of the screens are tacked to the frames, and are faced with strips of blanket to make a close connection with the mortar. In fastening a wire-cloth screen, to get it on smooth, a good method is to tack it first along the lower edge, then draw it up tight and even over the upper edge, and nail it before cutting it off the roll. As previously stated, brass-wire screens should not be used in conjunction with cyanide of potassium, as the brass becomes coated and clogged with amalgam. The screen-frame with screen is dropped into the grooves cast on the outside of the mortar discharge, and fastened solid with iron wedges—• two vertical (one for each groove), and a horizontal one in the centre of the lower lip. The wedges should have a broad head, to facilitate knocking them out. After the screen has been fastened in place, a piece of canvas or a board should be hung in front to arrest the outward throw of the pulp, from the drop of the stamp, and direct it in an even flow on to the plates beneath. In some mills this board is given an even slope toward the screen, and has an amalgamated plate screwed on, which receives the splash. Belted to the front of the modern mortars is a frame to carry the outside battery-plate and a distributing-box, a few inches above tbs apron-table on which it discharges,

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When everything is ready to drop the stamps, the self-feeder is rolled to its place, the camshaft is set to revolving slowly, the water is turned into the battery, and the mill man, standing on the platform above, grasps the hand-hold of the firat finger or prop and introduces with the other hand the cam-stick between the tappet and the revolving cam ; by this means the weight of the stamp is taken off the prop, which is pulled back and rested against the edge of the platform. The operation is repeated with each stamp until all are working. To carry out this operation when the shaft is revolving rapidly, without injuring the operator's hands, requires practice. The camstick, mentioned above, consists of a piece of wood about 2-J-ft. long, lin. thick at the point, running up to 2-|in. near the handle, and faced with strap-iron or a strip of belting. It may also be made entirely of strips of belting, 2in. or 3in. wide, nailed over each other, and attached to a wooden handle. To hang up the stamps the hand-hold is grasped, the knee pressed to the latch-finger, and the cam-stick introduced between cam and tappet as before, and the latch-finger pushed under the tappet. Before dropping the stems the face of the cams should be lightly lubricated, for which purpose axle-grease or specially-prepared compounds are used. A very useful one is a mixture of graphite and molasses. In some mills, to avoid the use of grease, the face of the cam is rubbed with a bar of common soap. Grease. —lt being essential for good amalgamation that the presence of grease be avoided in the battery, care must be observed in lubricating the cams, the stems where passing through the guides, and the shaft-bearings. In many mills, trays made from old oil-cans are fastened beneath the bearings, cloth aprons are tacked from the under-side of the guides to the floor above; rings of rubber packing or old belting also encircle the stems at the lower edges of the guides. The millman should diligently wipe off the stems, and any part of the battery-frame where the presence of grease is indicated, at least once during a shift. Grease in the mortar is indicated by a black, dirty appearance of the surface of the plates, as also by the adhesion of more than the usual proportion of the amalgam to the iron castings inside the mortar. The usual remedy is to shut off a part of the battery-water for a short time, while adding a lye-solution, or to add fine wood-ashes to the ore. The amount of water required for the proper working of the battery depends on the nature of the ore, clayey ores, or such as have a high percentage of salphurets, requiring the most; but while in the former case a greater amount is needed inside the mortar, the latter condition permits a part being added outside the screen, on the lip of the mortar. A small sluice-box with plug-holes is placed across the front in this case, or the water is conveyed by means of a Jin. perforated iron pipe attached to the vertical supply-pipe by an elbow-joint, permitting it to be turned either way, as required. " The amount of water used per ton of ores stamped varies from 1,000 to 2,400 gallons, with a mean amount of about 1,800 gallons per ton of rock crushed." Most of the mills in actual practice figure roughly on one miner's inch of water, more or less, per twenty-four hours for each battery of five stamps. To obtain the largest amount of crushing of clean quartz from a battery, only sufficient water should be used inside to keep up the regular even swash of the pulp, and, if that be not sufficient to keep the plates on the outside clear from accumulating pulp, more may be added outside the screen. The pulp, in passing down over the apron-plate, should roll in successive waves, corresponding to the back-and-forth wave-motion inside the battery, rather than flow in an even sheet, as affording a better opportunity of contact for the particles of amalgam. Where the temperature falls low in winter, arrangements should be made to deliver the water in a tepid condition, as better amalgamating results will be obtained through keeping the quicksilver in a lively condition. Where steam-power is used this can be easily arranged, but when using water-power a separate heater is required. Feeding. —Hand-feeding has become nearly obsolete in California. It is only practised in small concerns, or where a temporary mill has been put up for prospecting purposes. The advantages of a machine-fed mill are numerous : the chief of these are (1) that the wear of the iron of the shoes and dies is less and more even-faced; (2) that from 15 to 20 per cent, more ore can be crushed in a given time; and (3) that the labour expenses are reduced. The machines should be carefully gauged and watched to insure a steady low feeding of the stamps. In order to insure a good splash in the mortar, attention must be given to the succession in which the stamps are made to drop. A good splash is one that shows a wave passing along the lower edge of the screen, moving backward and forward from end to end, or a similar wave-motion that has its initial point from the centre stamp. The succession most frequently adopted in California is 3, 5, 1, 4, 2 ; 1, 5, 2, 4, 3; 1, 3, 5, 2, 4 ; and 1, 4, 2, 5, 3 ; the last spreads the pulp very evenly from end to end. The greatest amount of discharge is obtained, apparently, by dropping the centre stamp first; while the most crushing is done, other conditions being equal, by dropping the end ones first. Any arrangement of the stamps will answer, however, that distributes the pulp evenly and discharges it well. The apron should be set immediately in front of the mortar, but independent of the batteryframe, to exempt it from the jar of the stamps ; it should be arranged to permit of the grade being easily altered if necessary. The size, shape, and grade of the apron-plates differ widely, depending largely on the millman's preferences and experience. The usual form of the apron is rectangular, of the width of the discharge, and any length desired, but usually from 4ft. to 12ft., forming a level (transversely) smooth surface, set on a grade varying from -|in. to to the foot. Sometimes the surface is divided by steps, with or without distributing-boxes. These are usually from lin. to 2in. The apron should never be drawn in at the lower end, for reasons given farther on ; and the steps should not be too deep, as otherwise the plate next to the drop will show mostly bare copper through scouring. On examining a plate that is in use under good working conditions, it will appear that the upper portion, immediately below the mortar, say for a distance of 18in., carries at least 75 per cent, of all the amalgam caught on the apron, the largest accumulation showing along the line of impingement next the lip of the mortar. Now, if the apron-plate were discontinued at about 2ft., and continued

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again on a lower level of about 2in., a second line of accumulation would result, naturally on a smaller scale ; hence the advantage of the step form. Another advantage in this style of apron is, that by fastening these sections to the table by means - of wooden buttons on the sides instead of cleats and screws, and having one extra plate on hand, the scraping and dressing of the same can be performed at any time, without stopping the crushing of the stamps, by removing the plate and substituting the extra one. The grade of the apron-plate should be such as to keep the surface clear from any pulpaccumulations, but not steep enough to obtain a scouring action. It will depend on the coarseness of the pulp, the nature of the gold, the amount of water available, and the percentage and nature of the sulphurets. Where a battery-plate is in use above the apron, it is usually given a grade of from 1-Jin. to 2in. to the foot. Grades for the apron proper vary from 1-J-in. to to the foot, but the average is about lfin. The apron-plates are usually silver-plated copper plates, which have largely superseded the copper amalgamated plate of former days—chiefly on account of the readiness with which the former plates do their full duty from the first starting, which is not the case with the copper plate; also on account of their freedom from discoloration by oxidation. If silvered plates be used when running a very low-grade ore, the plating soon wears off, requiring a replating about every six months. The usual amount of silver put on plates is loz. to the square foot. The usual thickness of copper plates is -jg-in. to J-in. In preparing them for amalgamation they should first be carefully heated to a black heat, and plunged into cold water, which makes them soft and more ready to take up quicksilver. They are then scoured bright with fine tailings-sand, moistened with some cyanide of potassium, and applied with a block of wood ; then dressed all over with a weak solution of nitric acid, or with cyanide of potassium and quicksilver, with sodium amalgam sprinkled over and brushed or rubbed into the surface. Before final use it is well to give them a coating of fine gold amalgam ; or, if not convenient, silver amalgam will answer. In using the cyanide-of-potassium solution, care must be taken not to use it too strong, especially if the quicksilver is not applied to the plate immediately, otherwise a coating is formed on the surface that will not take up the quicksilver. Where the ore is of a fair grade, after a long period of continuous use the plate will have absorbed an amount of gold that will not yield to scraping unless the plate is immersed in boiling water for a time before being-scraped, or heated over a fire and hammered with a mallet on the reverse side, in which case care must be taken not to dent the plate. As the saving of amalgam on the apron and sluice-plates is largely a matter of gravity, the conditions under which the pulp passes over the plates should conform to the laws pertaining to the falling of a body through a moving liquid medium ; hence the proper shape of the apron, and the flow and consistency of the pulp, should be well considered. If, as was formerly the almost universal custom, the lower end of the apron be contracted (and in numerous cases this contraction was as great as four to one), the depth of the pulp spread over the surface of the plate increases as it passes down ; the flow of the water across a given section becomes uneven, forming at the sides a swirl, along the edge of which sand is precipitated, covering and rendering that portion of the plate useless, from its inability to come in contact with the particles of amalgam, while producing scouring-currents at other parts. The proper method is to spread the flow over a wider surface as it passes from one plate to the other, and lessen the grade, which may require an addition of clear water. This contraction of the plates is made to this day in most of the mills, when connecting with the sluice-plates. The liquid pulp, started with a width equal to that of the mortar-discharge, is made to pass over sluice-plates from 1 ft. to in width ; hence the comparatively small percentage of amalgam obtained from them. The only condition under which narrower plates are permissible is where, previous to receiving the pulp, a certain amount of the solid matter has been diverted. Where all the pulp goes from the plates to concentrators, the latter become an important factor in regulating the amount of water turned into the battery. The feed-water required for concentrators of the vanner types is from one to two gallons per minute. In dressing the apron-plates, prior to starting the stamps, they are first washed down with the hose, to remove all particles of coarse sand which might otherwise scratch the plate during the subsequent dressing, then rubbed with a brush, using if necessary, some fine tailings-sand to remove all spots or stains. During this part of the operation the brush is moistened with different chemicals, according to the preference of the millman : some use weak cyanide of potassium; others use strong brine, with a small addition of sulphuric acid ; also, sal ammoniac, or soda, or lye, besides other combinations. In many cases these prescriptions are carefully guarded by their possessors as trade secrets, and are considered the basis of all the success the owner has achieved in his business. Anything that will give the plate a clean surface, free from oxidation-stains, and retain for the quicksilver its bright condition, is useful in this respect. The main point to achieve success is to always keep the amalgam on the plate bright, and of the right consistency, and this art can only be perfectly acquired by actual practice around the battery and plates. After the plate has been thoroughly cleaned, quicksilver is thinly sprinkled over the entire surface, through a cloth, and spread evenly by means of a brush or piece of blanket, and finally the surface gone over with a soft broom or brush, from side to side ; this leaves the amalgam remaining on the plate with fine ridges parallel to the screen. Among the plate devices used in California mills, which may take the place of the apron-plates, or may follow them, is a late invention known as the Gold King Amalgamator. It consists of an iron cylinder, or drum, 6ft. long and 12$ in. in diameter, divided lengthwise into two equal parts, hinged together, and capable of being locked. Fitting tight inside of the cylinder are two corresponding semicylindrical silver plates, each with two longitudinal ribs set radially, at one-third distance apart, and about 3in. deep. The upper end of the cylinder is furnished, around the circumference, with tooth-gearing, into which fits a spur-wheel with a four-to-one transmission,

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driven by a 12in. pulley. In the centre of this end is a 3in. feed-opening, through which the pulp is dropped into the revolving cylinder. A trunnion at the lower end rests in a slide bearing, that permits of fixing the grade to be given the cylinder "by means of set-screws. The machine makes forty revolutions per minute, the pulp requiring about 31 minutes to pass through the machine before being discharged. It is run by less than -J-horse power, and is easily set up. The pulp, when dropped in the closed cylinder, is caught by one of the ribs and raised to the highest point, when it drops, to be again taken up by the next rib, advancing at the same time a short distance ahead. The discharge is through the centre at the lower end of the cylinder. From 15 to 20 tons can be passed through in a day ; or, for a larger-sized machine, from 25 to 40 tons. Where concentrators are used in the mill, the sluice-plates that follow the aprons are usually not over Bft. in length and from 16in. to 20in. wide, with less grade than the apron. The latter point is reversed in some mills, and the sluice-plates are comparatively steep. Between the aprons and the sluice-boxes a drop-box is placed, into which the pulp from the aprons discharges ; there is one to each apron, or one for two adjoining ones. These boxes are lft. wide and about lOin. deep, with flat or partly-sloping bottoms—these latter generally where one box is used for two aprons, the bottoms sloping from each end across the width of the apron, toward a central part where the bottom is level, and from whence it passes by overflow to the sluice-plates. These sluice-plates are in short lengths, and are either laid overlapping or screwed down to form a continuous sheet, and are prepared and treated in the' same manner as the aprons. Of late years a useful addition is made to the plates in the form of a shaking-plate, of the same width as the aprons, and immediately below them. It is either suspended or on a movable frame, and is given an end or side shaking motion and light grade; for an end shake, the motion is imparted by a cam with fin. stroke, and two hundred strokes per minute. The correct strokes for these plates must be determined at each mill by experiment. Their efficiency was demonstrated in one mill, where the pulp passed over two consecutive apron-plates, and then to the shaking-plate, which accumulated a greater amount of amalgam than the second apron. Amalgam-traps. —To retain any quicksilver or small particles of amalgam that escape inadvertently while dressing or cleaning the plates, traps are generally placed below the sluice-plates, and are made of various patterns. The general idea is for the pulp to drop to the bottom of a deep vessel and flow out at or near the upper edge, in some cases passing over a series of inclined shelves of copper plates during the descent. A simple and very efficient contrivance for an amalgamtrap is to suspend a narrow box by one end, and attach the opposite end to a rod connected by a pin to an eccentric, through which it receives a gentle shaking motion in the direction of its long side. The tailings are introduced into a stationary box immediately above, from whence, diluted with fresh water, the pulp passes over the top of a partition in an even sheet to the suspended box below. The proper motion for this lower box must be found by experimenting, for which purpose the end of the rod is supplied with a series of holes, to shorten or lengthen the stroke. The motion should be just sufficient to keep the pulp suspended like quicksand, without splashing or caking on the bottom. Amalgamating. —Quicksilver is charged by hand into the mortars through the throat, at stated intervals, with a small wooden spoon. Automatic quicksilver-feeders have been invented that are worked from the cam-shaft in such a manner that, at stated intervals, a little cup on a ratchet wheel, in revolving, dips quicksilver from a reservoir and drops it through a tube into the mortar. This insures absolute regularity; but for some reason they do not find much application in California. Retorted or new quicksilver should be used for charging as well as for dressing the plates. It is a good plan to keep the quicksilver used for these purposes covered with a weak solution of cyanide of potassium. Quantity of Quicksilver. —To form some idea of the amount of mercury necessary to be introduced when handling an ore the value of which is not known, a horn-spoon test of a weighed quantity is made, and the quantity of gold decided. Gold alloyed with an appreciable amount of silver requires a larger addition of quicksilver than does a purer gold. One ounce of gold of average fineness can be amalgamated with loz. of quicksilver, but for a safety margin an allowance must be made, so that 2oz. will answer better; and with extremely finely divided gold, or 3oz. If the stamps have a duty of two tons each, the amount of mercury requisite to amalgamate the gold contained in one ton of ore should be divided into five parts and introduced at half-hour intervals. If the ore be of low grade, the necessary portion may be added every hour; as the value increases, the stated intervals for charging should be reduced. The larger proportion of California gold-ores receive mercury every half-hour. The skilled millman judges from the condition of his plates as to whether he is charging correctly. He places his finger on the apron-plate, and if the accumulated amalgam gives to a gentle resistance, and has a putty-like feeling, the condition is about right ; when hard to move, he must increase the charge ; or, if thin, reduce it. The harder the amalgam the more it assumes a dead-white colour. The matter of correct charging of the mercury requires a constant watching, as on this depends the success of battery-amalgamation ; hence the ore should be frequently tested with the horn spoon. Amalgam retained on the inside battery-plates weighs heavier, for the bulk, than the apron amalgam. There is a diversity of opinion among millmen as to how often the amalgam accumulated on the aprons and sluices should be removed. Thus it is found in the California milling practices that aprons are scraped as often as twice a day in some mills, while in others it is allowed to accumulate from one clean-up day to the next, which sometimes means once a month. Personal experiments by the writer, conducted in various mills, invariably showed a yield of more amalgam from the more frequent removal of the accumulations ; but, as the clean-up of the apron would require the cessation of crushing, such frequent stoppages would materially lessen the output. To avoid this, as the upper 18in. of the apron-plate retains about 75 per cent, of all the amalgam on it, 25—C. 3.

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this much of the apron-plate may be made separate from the rest, and held in place by wooden buttons on the side, so that it can be removed at any time while the battery is at work, and an extra plate, provided for the purpose, slipped in its place. Once or twice in the twenty-four hours it is advisable to hang up the stamps, one battery at a time, and dress over the surface of the apronplate, sprinkling, if necessary, a little fresh mercury, and brushing it into the adhering amalgam, after which the amalgam should be evenly spread out again. This takes but very few minutes. Frequently, when dressing a plate, a very fine coating of a brownish or greyish colour can be seen adhering to the surface, which, on the application of the brush, is easily detached and thoughtlessly washed off. If this be examined under the glass, it will be found to contain considerable gold, hence should be gathered carefully in the gold-pan. To remove the amalgam from the plates, the stamps are hung up, the battery-water shut off, and the front of the screen and plates hosed off to remove any sand which would scratch the plate. The surface of the plate is softened by the addition of quicksilver until the amalgam moves readily. Then, commencing at the bottom and working upward, with a piece of rubber or rubber belting 4in. long, with square edges, the amalgam is pushed ahead to the upper end of the apron, gathered in a heap, and transferred to a pan or bowl by means of a scoop. The amalgam is taken to the clean-up room for further cleansing. Where the amalgam has been retained on the plate for any length of time, as during an entire run, it requires a chisel or case-knife to remove it thoroughly, care being taken not to scratch the plate. In scraping a plate it is not advisable to remove (" skin") all the amalgam ; enough should be left to form a thin coating, when ready to commence crushing again. All mills experience more or less loss of quicksilver, partly through careless handling in dressing the plates, but also from the "flouring" of the mercury (breaking up into minute globules) after charging in the battery. This loss is extremely variable in the different mills, depending on the nature of the ore, high discharge, and low temperature of the battery-water. Ores carrying much talc, black oxide of manganese, galena, or arsenical pyrites cause a good deal of flouring of the mercury. A further cause of loss is through incomplete retorting, a certain amount of mercury being retained in the bullion, which is volatilised in the subsequent melting. One half-ounce to the ton of ore may be taken as near the average loss for California mills, although in a few cases these figures are doubled. As the amalgam retained in the battery is less liable to loss than that portion adhering to the outside plates, the aim of the millman is to retain the largest proportion inside the screens. The coarseness of the gold has a good deal to do in this direction, as well as the splash and height of discharge. In some mills as high as 80 per cent, of the total yield of amalgam will be found in the battery ; it is always greatest, with the same grade of gold, where the most copper-plate surface is found inside the battery. The average proportions of amalgam retained in this country may be stated as two-thirds in the battery, as against one-third on the (outside) plates, depending, of course, on the character of the gold in each district. As the proper condition of the mercury is a matter of importance to the millman, it is well to become familiar with its different phases. Pure mercury is bright, quick, and does not change its appearance on exposure to the air at ordinary temperatures, but evaporates slightly. As the temperature decreases it becomes stifl'er, and at low temperature assumes a more leaden appearance. In raising the temperature it becomes more liquid. At 60° Fah. it emits vapour sufficient to discolour a bright piece of gold when suspended over it in a closed vessel. Pure mercury, if dropped into a porcelain dish or on a table, will form into spherical globules, whereas the impure metal breaks into pear-shaped drops, and if very impure the particles drag a tail when moved. If containing lead, a skin of metal will remain on the finger-nails when passing the hand through the surface. The introduction of grease or unctuous substances, like clay or talc, inclines the metal to separate into extremely fine globules—flouring. Quicksilver is attacked by heated concentrated sulphuric acid, but is not affected by it when diluted. Muriatic acid likewise does not affect it. Nitric acid attacks it and forms nitrate of mercury, a white compound. Quicksilver that has been used in gold-milling dissolves and retains a certain amount of gold, which remains with it, even after retorting. If quicksilver of this description be left for months undisturbed in a cold place, and then carefully poured or siphoned off, a network of fine, needle-shaped crystals of amalgam will be found in the bottom of the vessel, derived from this gold held in solution. Sodium Amalgam. —As sodium amalgam is frequently added to the quicksilver by millmen, the following method of preparing it is given : Dissolve small, dry chips of clean sodium, freshly cut from the stick, in pure dry mercury, gently heated in a flask or porcelain dish; add it piece by piece until the mass has attained the consistency of soft putty, which should always be kept dry and well bottled, as it deteriorates rapidly in the air. This preparation is added to the mercury when dressing the plates ; and to know when the proper amount has been added, dip a brightened nail into the quicksilver, which will adhere slightly to the edges of the nail if the amount be correct; whereas, if it becomes entirely coated, too much has been used, and more quicksilver must be added; on the other hand, if there be no signs of adhesion, more sodium amalgam must be added. Nearly all commercial mercury needs cleaning. The handiest way is to digest with dilute nitric acid for twenty-four hours, taking one part of acid to three of water. In retorting foul quicksilver to purify it, the retort should be only half filled, and the quicksilver covered with a layer of quicklime or charcoal-powder. The heating should then be done very gradually, the retort not being brought to a full red heat. Cleaning up. —When ready to clean up a mortar, the feed of ore is shut off, and the speed of the stamps reduced until as much of the sand, &c, as possible has been discharged, and iron strikes on iron. The battery-water is then shut off, the self-feeder pushed back, the stamps hung up, the splash-board or canvas removed from in front of the screen, and the face of the latter

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washed off with the hose. The aprons and plates are then scraped, and the aprons, if fixed, covered with planks near the mortar, to protect them while working around the mortar. The keys that hold the screen in place are withdrawn and the screen-frame loosened and slightly raised, permitting the water that is still retained in the mortar to gradually run out; a too sudden raising of the screen-frame from the chock-block would cause the water to escape in a body and possibly wash amalgam from the plates. After raising the screen out of the grooves, the chock-block and inside plates are removed, and all of them carefully washed over the apron, scraped, and set to one side, or removed to the clean-up room for treatment. The sand mixed with ore on and around the dies is taken out by trowels and passed through some other mortar, or retained to place around the dies when returned to the mortar. The dies are broken out of their beds with the help of chisels and crowbars. When the centre or end die has been successfully worked loose, the remaining ones are easily taken out, washed, examined for any adhering amalgam (which is scraped off), and placed on the floor, in the same order they occupied in the battery, ready to be replaced. The remainder of the material in the mortar is then easily removed, and placed in the clean-up barrel; in small mills it is panned in a water-box provided for the purpose in the clean-up room. In the revolving clean-up barrel, pieces of quartz or old iron, with an additional amount of quicksilver, are added, and the barrel is half filled with water, where it is left revolving for a couple of hours. As all battery-sands contain more or less nails and chips of iron and steel, these are removed by a magnet while panning out. The clean-up barrel is discharged through a manhole into a bucket placed over a riffled sluice. The bulk of the quicksilver and amalgam is retained in the bucket, and the overflow passes into the sluice. After all the sand, &c, has been removed from the battery the inside is washed out, and any amalgam found adhering to the sides or linings is carefully scraped off with a case-knife, and placed with the rest of the amalgam for further cleaning. A bed of dry tailings-sand is then spread over the bottom of the mortar, and the dies replaced exactly as they were before. The tappets are then set, plates and screens put in, the feeder replaced, water turned on, and the battery once more started. The operation of cleaning up the batteries is performed usually once or twice a month, and in some mills once a week, at which time tappets are reset and any-necessary repairs made; also, any shoes that are too thin or broken are knocked from the boss, and new ones substituted. As one new shoe in a battery of old ones causes irregular working, it is best to replace all the shoes at the same time, and if any of them are not worn down thin enough to discard they may be set aside and used to replace a broken one at some future time. The same thing holds good with the dies, for if they are of uneven height they interfere with the regularity of " splash," and the higher die will be pounding iron while the remainder have still a sufficient cushion of quartz. The amalgam obtained from a clean-up is washed in small batches in the gold-pan to free it from all sand, fine iron, or sulphurets, and then stirred up with an excess of mercury in a Wedgwood mortar, bringing all impurities to the surface ; this dross is skimmed off, and collected for further cleaning. The superfluous quicksilver is squeezed through a straining-cloth or closely woven drilling, or through buckskin, and the resulting balls of amalgam retorted. This squeezing is best done by hand. After first thoroughly wetting the cloth or skin, it is laid loosely over a cup or bowl, and a convenient amount of amalgam poured in the centre, enough to make, when squeezed, a ball of 20oz. to 30oz. The ends of the cloth are then gathered tightly together, and, commencing near the ends, it is twisted until the amalgam is compressed to a hard ball, the strained quicksilver dropping into a pan of water beneath. It is not good practice to squeeze the balls too dry, as. the last quicksilver expressed is heavily saturated with gold. In large mills the retorting is done in pans placed in an iron cylindrical retort built into a furnace, where the flame passes under and around it. But in the majority of cases in California they use the cup-shaped retort. These are made in different sizes, numbered from 1 to 7, No. 1 containing 1500z., and No. 7, 2,0000z. They are made of cast-iron, with flat or half-spherical lids, which are secured to the retort by clamps and wedges or thumb-screws, the flanges being ground together. From a vent-hole in the cover a curved condensing-pipe, securely screwed in, extends several feet. The retort is placed in a ring-standard, or suspended, when retorting, and should always have a space of about 6 inches beneath it. In preparing to retort, the inside is well rubbed with chalk, and the balls of amalgam broken up and dropped in loosely; not pressed down into a solid cake, as is sometimes the practice, as that retards the operation. The flanges of the retort and lid are then luted together with a thin paste of flour and water or sifted wood-ashes and water (the former is preferable), and securely fastened. The extended end of the condensing-pipe is placed in a vessel with water, and, as this pipe must be kept cool, fresh water is kept passing over it during the entire operation. The retort should never be filled to its full capacity, to avoid danger of an explosion through the amalgam swelling and closing the vent. At first a light fire should be started at the top, and the heat gradually increased until drops of quicksilver issue from the end of the condensing-pipe. The retort should then be kept at a red heat until no more quicksilver is seen to issue from the pipe, when the temperature should be raised to a bright " cherry heat " for a short time. The retort should be kept covered by the fire during the whole operation. If during the retorting the condensing-pipe should suck water, it should be raised momentarily out of the water to permit of the latter flowing out. A better arrangement, and one that obviates this difficulty, is to attach firmly to the end of the pipe a rubber or canvas bag in the water, which will distend itself as soon as the mercury commences to flow, and collapse when the distillation ceases. When the operation is completed, which usually occupies about two hours if the amount be not very large, the quicksilver is removed and the retort taken from the fire'and allowed to cool. The lid is removed, and the retort turned over a dry gold-pan. If the gold adheres to the retort, a few taps with the hammer on the bottom or the help of a long-handled chisel will release it. Well cleaned and retorted

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amalgam should show a good yellow colour. If black spots be seen it is proof that the cleaning was not thoroughly done, and a pale-whitish colour shows that it still contains quicksilver. Care should be observed, when removing the lid of the retort, to avoid inhaling any fumes retained therein. All retorted amalgam should be melted and run into a bar before shipping, as it saves losses incurred by abrasion where the distance is great to the shipping-point. The melting is performed in a black-lead crucible, which, when new, must first be dried and annealed by placing the inverted crucible and lid in the furnaces with a slow fire, which is gradually increased until the crucible is red-hot. When ready to commence melting, the crucible is placed on a firebrick in the furnace, after introducing the retorted bullion, in not too large pieces, with borax, and covered with the lid, adding, if necessary, more of the bullion as the metal subsides. After all this is melted down, the slag is skimmed off carefully from the top of the metal, which should show a bright surface. It is then ready for pouring. Should the surface not appear bright, and show a scum on top, some lumps of borax must be added, the crucible again covered and heated, when the scum will be slagged and skimmed as before, when it is ready to be poured into a mould. Should the second addition of borax fail to produce a bright surface, a very little nitre may be added with the borax. Before using the mould it should be warmed, and smoked on the inside by holding over the flame of a lamp, or over a dish with burning resin. The metal in the pot should be stirred before pouring; the stirrer, an iron rod, must be heated before introducing it. The bar, when solid, is turned out of the mould, and any adhering slag is hammered off; it can then be dipped into water to thoroughly cool it, dried, and weighed. Two small chips should then be taken—one from an upper corner, the other from the diagonally opposite lower comer —to be assayed. Amalgamation (Free-gold) Assay.- —Take two pounds (being exactly one thousandth part of a ton) of ore, crush in an iron mortar, and pass through a No. 60 sieve ; remove the gold and other metallic substances left on the sieve, and place in a small porcelain dish containing a little dilute nitric acid, to remove any adhering crusts of oxide of iron, &c, which might prevent amalgamation; these residues are then carefully washed and thrown into the sifted ore, which is then placed in a Wedgewood-ware mortar and mixed with enough warm water to make a stiff paste. To an ounce troy (480gr.) of new, clean mercury, free from gold, add a piece pi clean sodium about the size of a pea. The mercury thus highly charged with sodium is then thrown into the mortar containing the sample, and the mass ground constantly for an hour, when amalgamation should be quite complete. The mass is then transferred to a gold-pan and carefully washed over another pan or tub, in which the tailings are caught, and rewashed to save anything which may have escaped. The mercury is collected and transferred to a small dish ; if it be much floured and refuse to run into globules, stir it with a small piece of sodium held in the end of a glass tube, which will cause it to run together. The mercury is then washed carefully in clear water and dried with blotting-paper. It is then reweighed, and if the loss exceeds 5 per cent, the assay must be rejected and a new one made. The mercury is next transferred to a small annealing-cup or crucible, which has been carefully black-leaded inside, covered with a porcelain or clay cover, and volatilized with a gentle heat. When all the mercury has been volatilized, about 50gr. of assay lead are thrown into the crucible and melted, giving it a rotary motion while in a molten state. It is then removed, cupelled, and the " button " weighed. It may be assumed without sensible error that the mercury lost in the operation carried the same proportion of gold as is contained in the mercury recovered ; hence the gold contents of the ore will be found by multiplying the weight of the " button " obtained by the weight of the original quantity of mercury, and dividing the product by the difference between the weight of the mercury recovered and the "button." This figure, multiplied by 1,000, gives the weight, in grains, of the free gold and silver per ton of ore, which, for all practical purposes, may be assumed to be all gold. Should, however, greater accuracy be desired, hammer the " button " flat and thin, and dissolve the silver from it with nitric acid, and weigh the gold. The difference in weight represents the silver. Panning Assay. —Take 21b. of ore, crush, and pass through a No. 40 sieve; any gold in the residue left on the sieve being set aside. The sample is then carefully panned, and the tailings repanned, to make sure nothing is lost. This operation will show at once whether the ore is rich in sulphurets or not, and the nature of them. The visible gold should be panned as free as possible from all the sulphurets, taking care that none is lost. The pan and its contents, together with the residue left on the sieve, are dried by holding over a fire; the contents are brushed into a cone of lead-foil, rolled up, melted, and cupelled. The "button" is weighed, and the free gold determined by multiplying its weight by 1,000. The tailings produced in the panning operations should be panned several times to collect all the sulphurets, which should then be dried, weighed, and their percentage in the ore determined. Another method consists in not separating the free gold from the sulphurets, but in treating them both together by fire-assay, and determining the total value of the gold present in them. The operations, as far as described, are all that can be properly considered as coming under the term of battery amalgamation as practised in California, if we except the use of the riffle and blanket sluices; these are placed below all the plates, and receive a very spasmodic attention in the majority of mills. Blankets are laid in strips, about 16in. wide and about 6ft. long, overlapping each other in double sets of sluices, set on a grade of about fin. to the foot, washed in a separate water-box. The material thus obtained, with the contents of the riffles, is deprived of its valuable contents by the aid of arrastras, pans, or Chili mills. But few blanket sluices are found to-day in California mills. On the practical development of the Plattner chlorination process, by Mr. Deetken, in the "sixties," it was demonstrated that many of the low-grade quartz veins carried enough gold in their sulphurets to make their working profitable, causing attention to be directed to the con-

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centration of these ores by mechanical contrivances. From the constant and successful use of the gold-pan, the mechanical application of a similar motion was sought, resulting in the use of the Hendy and similar concentrating-machines. The Hendy concentrator consists briefly of a shallow iron pan, with an annular groove on the outer edge and a waste discharge in the centre. It is supported on a central upright shaft passing through the centre of the pan, on which revolves, above the pan, a central bowl to receive the pulp, having two tubular arms extending close to the outer edge of the pan; these uniformly discharge the pulp at right angles from their axis. At a point on its circumference the pan is attached to a crank-shaft, making about 220 revolutions per minute. The sulphurets and small balls of amalgam gather in the groove at the outer edge, from whence they are drawn through a gate, which is regulated to be automatic in its discharge. This gate is not opened until the groove is pretty well filled with sulphurets. Two of these machines, driven by one shaft, are required for a five-stamp battery. The machine needs constant attention ; one man can attend to twelve machines on a shift. They have been mostly displaced by the endless-belt machines, which have developed from the endlessblanket and shaking-table. In 1867 the first patents for the revolving belt were issued. This was the commencement of the belt-concentrators, of which at present the Frue, Triumph, Woodbury, Tulloch, Embrey, and Johnston are representatives. To produce the best results on these machines, all the stuff should be sized. The Frue-vanner, which has the largest representation in California gold-mills, has been frequently described. It has a side-shake of lin., with from 180 to 200 strokes per minute, the belt travelling upward on an incline from 3ft. to 12ft. per minute. The belt is made in two sizes, 4ft. and 6ft. wide, and in the latest patterns, as made at the Union Iron-works, San Francisco, has practical arrangement for easily changing the slope at the upper end. The frames of these modern styles are made of iron instead of wood. The pulp is discharged very evenly over the belt from a distributor near the upper end, just below the point where clear water is discharged in fine jets across the belt. In placing the machine, attention must be given to the solidity of the frame, and that a perfect level be obtained across the belt; further, the pulp and clear water must be distributed in an even depth of about Jin.; the grade and upper travel depend on the fineness of the pulp, and must be regulated accordingly. The following guide for a proper condition of the work on the belt is given by Henry Louis, E.M., F.G.S., &c, in his very useful work, "A Handbook of Gold-milling," 1894, p. 324": "The working conditions should be so adjusted that a small triangular patch of sand should show at each of the lower corners of the belt. These sand-corners should not be too large, but must be well marked, and the two should be of equal size. Should they be unequal the fault will be found to be either in that the belt is not accurately level across, that the distributor is not doing its work properly, or that some of the working parts have not been properly tightened up, so that there are other motions than the normal ones communicated to the belts. Too large a corner of sand shows that the pulp is too thick, while absence of any corner indicates that it carries too much water." Two of the 4ft. belt-vanners, or one of the 6ft., handle the pulp from a five-stamp battery. The amount of clear water required to be added is about } cubic feet per minute, the vanner requires about half-horse power. The Triumph differs from the Frue, principally, in that it has an end-shake of lin. and slightly quicker stroke (230 per minute), the belt making a forward movement of 3ft. to 4ft. per minute. It receives the pulp in a bowl containing quicksilver before reaching the distributor, which is all kept in agitation by revolving-stirrers. The Woodbury is similar to the Triumph in extent and number of motions, but divides the belt into seven longitudinal partitions; an increased output being claimed for this construction. The Tulloch gives a rocking motion from a fulcrum on the floor, making 140 shakes of If in. per minute, using either canvas or rubber belt. This machine, it is claimed, saves a somewhat larger amount of the finer and richer grade of sulphurets as compared with the former types. The Embrey is similar to the Frue, but with end-shake. The Johnston, with improvements, and the latest of the belt-concentrators placed on the market, claims many points of advantage. It is suspended from four non-parallel hangers capable of adjustment, by which the angle of oscillation can be changed as required, preventing the accumulation of sand at the edges, such as occurs with the horizontal side-shake machines, or the piling of the sands in the centre of the belt, that occurs with the rocking motion. The motion imparted to this belt resembles more nearly that of the batea than that of any of the othes concentrators. The belt is made of No. 6 duck, oiled and painted, but a rubber belt can be used at one-third the cost of those with moulded edges, which are short-lived. Small, hollow, brass siderollers on the shaking-frame form the raised edges by curving the flat belt slightly upwards. The pulp is delivered from five slots running parallel with the belt-frames, Jin. wide and 16in. long, leaving 10in. spaces, into which the pulp is thrown when it strikes the belt. Here the separation at once takes place; the sulphurets settling on the belt are carried by it up to the clear water, while the sands are carried down the belt. In neither case are the sands or sulphurets obstructed by the falling of water and sands, as in other machines where the pulp is discharged across the belt. The clear water at the head of the table, instead of being discharged from a stationary box to the moving table, is discharged from a distributor, which is attached to and moves with the table, thus stripping the belt of the smallest possible portion of sulphurets. Two widths of belt, 54in. and 72in., are used, which are given a grade of lin. to Jin. to the foot, making about 118 side-shakes per minute. Water is discharged into the jets across the belt. In placing the machine, attention must be given to the solidity of the frame, and that a perfect level be obtained across the belt; further, the pulp and clear water must be distributed in an even depth of about Jin. ; the grade and upper travel depend on the fineness of the pulp, and must be regulated accordingly.

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Canvas Platforms or Tables. —lnvestigation proving that the slimes passing off with the waste from the mill and the concentrators still carried an appreciable amount of precious metal, millmen during the last few years have extended their operations, and re-treat the hitherto escaping slimes. This is done by conveying all the waste material from the mill, through sluices, to canvas platforms having the following general features : — A platform is built oi clear, seasoned and planed, lf-in. planking, on a solid, level foundation, and given a grade of about fin. to the foot, over which No. 6 canvas is stretched smooth, longitudinally, though sometimes crosswise, with a 2in. overlap. Particular attention must be paid that the canvas is stretched smoothly and evenly, and that no cracks open between the planks constituting the platform. The length and width of the platform required depends on the amount of pulp to be handled; overcrowding must be avoided. The platform is divided longitudinally into sections corresponding to the width of the canvas, which is 22in.; the partition is made of wooden strips 2in. wide and Jm. high, covering lin. on the edge of two adjoining pieces of canvas. Running along the head of the platform are two sluices, one placed above the other ; one containing clear water, the other pulp from the mill, both furnished with fin. to lin. plug-holes over each section. Below the lower edge of the platform are two sluices placed side by side, the inside one to convey the waste, the other one for the concentrates (sweepings) from the platform. When ready for operation, the plugs are withdrawn, and both pulp and clear water commingled flow down in an even current, and are discharged through the bottom waste sluice. After one hour, or less, the plug is inserted in the pulp-box over the first section, and the clear water permitted to run for a few minutes longer, during which time quartz sand may be observed passing off the canvas, leaving a dark, partly metallic-appearing sediment on the canvas. A tray or board is then placed over the waste sluice, connecting the lower eldge of the section with the outside sluice, and the sediment is removed from the canvas, either by sweeping or with the aid of a hose with a flattened nozzle, to be worked later by chlorination or cyanide process. The following is a description of an improved canvas plant erected and operated in Amador County by the patentee, Mr. Gates: In this case, the pulp and waste-water are conducted from the mill in a flume to the plant, and there divided into two equal streams by the insertion of an adjustable division-plate in the flume. The divided pulp passes into boxes 4ft. long and Ift. wide, and having steel screen-bottoms with fin. and fjin. perforations, set on a reversed grade of 6in. to the box. The object of these screens is to prevent any chips, leaves, lint, or foreign substance from passing into the sizing-box beneath, which consists of a wooden V-shaped trough, 6ft. long, 15in. broad at the top, and 2in. in the bottom, constructed of lfin. boards. A piece of canvas is tacked on the bottom for packing; underneath is nailed a piece of scantling, 4in. by 6in., at one end of which, reaching within 2in. of the end of the box proper, a slot 14in. long and 2in. broad is cut; here a flattened galvanised-iron funnel, ending in a 2in. pipe, is attached. The pulp falls through the screen with some force, and is considerably agitated in the separator-box. Naturally the coarser and heavier particles have a tendency to settle toward the bottom. Were the outlet there large enough all the pulp would pass down and out. Its size of 2in. causes the box to fill to the height of a sluice-box in the end, through which the finer pulp flows to the canvas tables. To facilitate the separation, a device is placed in the lower end, consisting of an iron pipe, fin. inside diameter, connected with the main pipe above the screen, and divided into two sections, which are connected by rubber hose for ready detachment. The lower 6in. of the iron pipe has small perforations, through which clear water is ejected, causing an agitation of the pulp. The end of the pipe is stopped with a wooden plug, easily removed. The agitation at the end of the pipe causes the fine material to be carried upward and into the sluice at the end of the separator-box. Only coarse sand passes through the bottom pipe, and on examining this with a magnifying glass, very few particles of sulphurets are discernible. The separator works well, and disposes of a lot of coarse, valueless material that would otherwise interfere with the subsequent working of the slimes on the canvas platforms. The fine pulp flowing from the top of the separator is conducted in a sluice to the broad, flat box, in which the stream is divided by partitions into ten separate currents, each terminating over a canvas table, ten in a row. The pulp goes over a spreader made of strips of galvanised iron, fin. in height, radiating from a common centre to the farthest side of the table, which is 12ft. wide. These strips are nailed to an inclined board extending across the canvas table, having an iron strip, lin. high, fastened to the lower end, perforated or notched, with indentations Jjin. deep and lin. long, affording a perfect distribution. Twenty tables are arranged in two rows of ten each, covered with canvas laid crosswise and overlapping about 2in. These tables have a grade of lfin. to the foot, are 13ft. long, and 12ft. wide. After receiving the flow for an hour it is shut off from the table, and a flow of clear water turned on, which, in a few minutes, washes away the sand, when it is also stopped; then, with a hose ending in a flat nozzle, the accumulated sulphurets are washed from the canvas into a trough below, extending along the base of the entire series. In or er to secure sufficient fall for this sluice, each succeeding table is set 4in. lower than its predecessor, giving 40in. fall on 125 ft. of sluice-length. Two extra tables are arranged, one at the end of each row, to take up the surplus flow during the time one of the tables is shut off, to avoid overloading, as each table already carries the proper amount of pulp. The effectiveness of the canvas table depends on maintaining an even flow of pulp during a given time; it will not do to overload them. All the pulp that leaves the table is considered waste, and is collected in a flume to be used a short distance off as power on an overshot wheel, by means of which the patentee runs a vanner of his own invention. This waste water is caught up again and used on a second wheel, which also runs a vanner. The sulphurets washed from the tables flow through a sluice to a box outside the building, 12ft. long, 2ft. wide, and 12in. deep, with a cross-piece 2ft. from its upper end, reaching within 2in. of the top of the box; in this upper section the coarser grade of the material is retained, while the finer flows over the weir. The two grades are shovelled out separately, and placed in separate V-shaped boxes, over which are perforated iron pipes, from

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which small streams of water trickle, gradually carrying the pulp down and passing it through sluices on to the spreaders of separate vanners. These two machines work with different motions, doing excellent work on this impalpably fine stuff: The slimes flowing from the washing-boxes beneath these vanners are conducted, with the overflow of the two-compartment boxes above referred to, to two other canvas tables, below which they are allowed to escape as waste; not that they have given up all the precious metal they carried, but because the point is reached where it is more economical to lose the remnant than to attempt to save it. As the slimes from most of the canvas plants, as usually operated—especially where the ore crushed carries a heavy percentage of sulphurets, or has been stamped with a high discharge—are still valuable in gold, they can be conveyed to so-called slime-settlers, or tanks. These tanks, for there are generally several, are placed below the canvas platforms, and are about 2ft. deep, 2ft. wide, and 12ft. to 20ft. long. They are divided into sections of 2ft. square, by 2in. plank set on edge, extending alternately from each side, leaving an opening 4in. wide and 2ft. deep, causing the slime-water to take a serpentine course in passing through. The tanks stand level, and the slimes, in settling, form their own grade as they enter at one end of the tank, and, passing through the successive sections, issue at a diagonally opposite point only slightly clouded. These tanks require cleaning only at long intervals. Up to the present time, the concentrates in the California mills have been generally handled by the chlorination process, to free them from their gold; but within the last year several plants are successfully working them by the cyanide process. The tendency in the construction of mills at the present day is to a substitution of steel for iron, where possible, and to an increase in the weight of the stamps. A greater application of grinding and amalgamating machines, in place of, or subsidiary to, the stamp-mill, is also noticeable, the most popular of which will be shortly described. For a more thorough appreciation and knowledge of the work done by mills, records should be kept by the amalgamator of all transactions connected with mill-work, showing every item, loss of time, consumption of mercury, iron, fuel, water, amount of rock treated, &c, in.addition to the records kept in the assay office. This is already being done to some extent, but such records should be kept in the small mills as thoroughly as in the large enes. Grinding and Amalgamating Machines. Arrastras. —Although the arrastra has been largely superseded by the stamp-mill, the fact remains that it is the best and cheapest all-round gold-saving appliance we have. Hence, its use is always indicated where small, rich veins are worked in the higher mountain regions, but it is also found valuable placed below the present quartz-mill, where the waste waters from the mill can be picked up and used over again for power on horizontal or overshot wheels. In these cases, it handles the tailings from the mill after they have passed over the concentrators and canvas plants. This part of the milling is usually leased to parties who pay the mine a fixed amount per ton for the tailings, the lessees putting up all their own machinery. These arrastras are built of a size to handle at least 4 tons of tailings in twenty-four hours. Their foundations are either formed of hard-rammed clay, concrete, or a plank platform with broken joints, on which a bed of clay is placed. The foundation is always made larger than the circumference of the proposed arrastra. The bed is formed of rocks harder than the substance to be crushed, usually fine-grained basalt, granite, or quartzite. These are picked with a partially-level surface, and as near of the same thickness as possible, usually from lft. to 2ft. thick. They are built around a centre cone, forming an annular ring from 2-J-ft. to 6ft. wide, and are laid with narrow spaces between each rock, into which dry clay should be tightly rammed to within an inch of the surface. The outer circle is formed of rocks or staves, with rammed earth behind, and built from 2ft. to 4ft. in height. On the central cone, which consists of stone or a block of wood, and which stands somewhat above the paved bottom, a centre post is let in, from which project four arms at right angles to each other, and extending nearly to the outer circle. Heavy, hard-rock drags, weighing from 2001b. to I,ooolb. each (from 4001b. to 6001b. is the usual weight), are attached to the arms by ropes or chains passing through eye-bolts secured in the rock-drags. They are placed so that part of them drag near the cone, with the inside corner slightly in advance, while the remainder sweep near the outer circle with the outer corner in advance. The front edge should always be slightly elevated, so as to permit of the particles passing under the drag instead of being pushed ahead. Where a horizontal wheel is used, the arms are attached to the centre post and the wheel encircles the arrastra, the water striking on buckets set to an angle of 45 degrees. With overshot wheels the arrastra may be run by a belt and pulley attached to the centre post, or by a spur-gearing. It requires about six-horse power to run an average-sized arrastra. Running tailings, a speed of fifteen to thirty revolutions per minute is given ; crushing ore, the arrastra should be run slower and the pulp thicker. For discharging the arrastra, plug-holes at different levels are put into the outer circle, leading the pulp into sluices lined with plates, riffles, and blankets. In some cases the arrastra has been made to work continuously by fitting a screen to a part of the outer circle and letting it discharge into a line of sluices. As the arrastra bottom and drags are extremely uneven and rough when first set up, some coarse sand and water are introduced on first starting, and the drags are allowed to run slowly until somewhat smoothed down, before the regular charge is introduced. The machine is usually only cleaned up thoroughly when the bottom is worn away; between times the crevices are picked out for the depth of an inch or two with picks, scrapers, and spoons, and panned out, with what pulp remains on the bottom, after the charges have been successively thinned down and run off through the plug-holes. If crevicing has been done, a little fresh clay can be rammed in to within lin. of the top of the bed. During the grinding of the charge, the quicksilver is introduced through a cloth; the amalgam should be kept drier than in the stamp-battery, though not

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sufficiently so as to become " crumbly." Great attention must be paid to tamping the bed in solid, otherwise an excessive loss of quicksilver may occur. Continual horn-tests of the pulp furnish a guide for the proper working. Machines have, from time to time, been introduced in California to replace stamps, claiming to do more effective work, both as regards the crushing as well as the amalgamating. Those mostly seen in operation, and finding the most favour, are the Huntington and the Bryan Mills, which may be taken as types, and which reduce the ore by a continuous-rolling motion ; in the one case the roller acting on a ring on the circumference, and in the other on dies in the bottom. The Huntington Mill consists of a shallow iron pan with a central cone, through which an iron shaft revolves. Bolted on the sides of the plan and enclosing it, are semicircular iron sections made in two halves and also bolted together; one of these sections contains an opening about 9in. deep, divided into three parts, into which curved iron screen-frames are keyed, while the other section contains a feed-trough, attached near the top. Between the bottom of the pan and the lower edge of the screen-frames an iron or steel ring-die fits against the sides of the shallow pan, being secured by wooden wedges ; against this die, four rollers, suspended from yokes resting on an iron cover, revolve, receiving their motion from the central shaft. These suspended rollers are pressed by centrifugal force against the ring-die. Each roller is encircled by an iron or steel shoe fastened by wooden wedges ; this can be renewed when worn too thin, or when it becomes unround —flattened. Means are provided for lubricating the shafts on which the rollers work, without permitting the lubricant to come in contact with the pulp. As the rollers hang about half an inch above the bottom of the pan, scrapers are attached to the revolving cover between the rollers, and reaching to the bottom of the pan, to prevent the baking of the pulp. The size of the pan most frequently used is sft. in diameter, though for prospecting purposes one of 3fft. is also made ; the former is run at a speed of seventy revolutions per minute, the latter at ninety revolutions. They are provided with self-feeders, which introduce the ore at regular intervals —the only way in which they can be operated, though not correct in principle. A sft. mill requires about eight-horse power, and crushes about 20 tons per day. Before starting up, a certain amount of quicksilver, up to 501b., is introduced into the pan with some water and rock. The supply should be regulated to make a stiffer pulp than in a stamp-battery ; quicksilver is added from time to time. A groove in the bottom of the pan, connecting with a plug-hole on the outside, permits of the quicksilver and amalgam being drawn off at intervals to recover the latter, after which the former is returned. If the pan is working correctly, the bottom around the centre remains bare; this can be observed through the cover while running; when not bare, it is a sign that the pan is being overfed. As the machine throws the pulp with considerable violence through the curved screens, a shield is placed outside of them, directing the pulp into a narrow sluice-way with a spout opening on the apron-plate. It is claimed that the percentage of gold amalgamated and saved on the inside is far greater than in the stamp-mortar, going above 80 per cent.; all rusty gold being subjected to a heavy scouring action. The Russian-iron screens used are short-lived; they can be made to last somewhat longer by placing a false screen, made from an old worn screen with the openings enlarged, between the pulp and the screen proper. Great care must be exercised in putting up one of these machines to get it perfectly level and on a rigid foundation, and to keep all the bolts holding the pan on the foundation well tightened up; the feed also requires close observation. When cleaning up or renewing the ring-dies or shoes, the top cover, with the suspended rollers, are lifted out with chain-block and tackle, leaving the interior of the pan free for operation. The mill works well on soft quartz and clayey ores, introduced in pieces not larger than walnuts. A great drawback to the machine is that the rings on the rollers and also the dies become " unround," so that instead of rolling smoothly, they strike in places, necessitating changing the rings before they are worn out; this changing takes up some time. The opinions of millmen who have handled the Huntington Mill, as to its merits, are very diverse. Where the ore produces a large amount of fine stuff, by using a grizzly with closely set bars, the Huntington can be run to advantage on these " smalls " in conjunction with the stamps. The Bryan Roller-mill is a modified form of the Chili Mill, built in sizes of 4ft. and sft. diameter. It consists of an annular mortar with an outside gutter and spout, cast solid, containing steel dies arranged in the track of three crushing-rollers, which in the sft. mill have a crushing-face of 7in., a diameter of 44in., and weigh 3,6501b. They have fixed axles, " journaled " in a central revolving table, attached to and driven by a belt-pulley. This pulley is a cylindrical tank, which, in the smaller pattern, rests immediately on the rollers, andean be made to increase their crushingpower by being loaded. The mortar is supplied with curved screen-frames around the entire machine, the pulp being discharged all around into a gutter delivering through a spout on one side to an apron-plate. The chief wearing parts are the steel dies and tires on the rollers ; these latter are fastened to the rollers by wooden wedges. According to the statement of the manufacturers (Risdon Ironworks, San Francisco), one set of these wearing parts will crush from 4,000 to 8,000 tons of ore in the large size, and 1,500 to 2,000 tons in the smaller size, and at the rate of 25 to 35 tons and 12 to 20 tons per day, with a speed of thirty and sixty revolutions respectively per minute, the smaller size requiring from five- to six-horse power. The oil-channels for lubricating the bearings are arranged to prevent the oil from entering the mortar. To keep the pulp from baking to the rollers or dies, and to assist in equalising the ore received from the feeder, scrapers with adjustable springs follow each roller. They are also provided with self-feeders. In operating the mill, ore, water, and mercury are introduced into the mortar, the pulp passing around next the screens in a current not less than 300 ft. per minute, while the motion inside is much slower. The amalgam working its way toward the centre cone, is kept from being re-ground, and can be observed while the mill is in operation; it is claimed to retain 80 per cent, of the amalgam in the mortar. To clean it up, the

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dies between the rollers are removed, the pulp and the amalgam taken out, and wooden blocks of the thickness of the die put in in their stead, on which the rollers are revolved, when the remaining ones can be taken up. It is claimed for these mills that they wear smooth and even while crushing hard quartz, discharge freely (on account of large screen area), avoid sliming and flouring of quicksilver, are good amalgamators, can be cleaned rapidly, are easily put in place, and require small power for amount of work done. The Griffin Mill belongs to that class of mills using a roll running against a ring or die; but instead of several rollers, as in the Huntington, this has one roller only, swinging from a longer shaft, hung from a point in the central axis of the mill and rotated about its own axis by the power applied at the top. It is run at a speed of 190 to 200 revolutions per minute, crushing from one and a half to two and a half tons per hour, the power being applied to a horizontal pulley above, from which the shaft is suspended with a universal joint, and the roller is rigidly attached to the lower extremity of the shaft. The roller swings in a circular pan supplied with a ring or die, against which the roller works; and carries on the under side scrapers or plows to prevent the pulp from baking. A circular screen-frame is fastened on the pan, to the top of which a conical shield is attached at the apex, through which the shaft works. The pulley revolves upon a tapered and adjustable bearing, supported by the frame composed of iron standards, two of which are extended above the pulley to carry the arms in which is secured the hollow journal-pin. The shaft is suspended to a universal joint within the pulley. This joint is composed of the ball or sphere with trunnions attached thereto, which work in half-boxes that slide up and down recesses in the pulley-head casting. The lubricant is supplied, for all parts needing it, through the hollow pin. The roll revolves within the ring-die in the same direction that the shaft is driven, but on coming in contact with the die it travels around the die in the opposite direction from that in which the roll is revolving with the shaft. A pressure, by centrifugal force, of 6,0001b. is brought to bear on the material being pulverised between the roll and die. The water is introduced with feed when running, and receives a whirling motion from the roll, which brings the pulp against the screens, 9ft. in area. A circular trough on the outside of the pan conducts the pulp to one side, where it discharges over an apron.—From " Bulletin No. 6 " of the California State Mining Bureau.

GOLD-MILLING IN THE BLACK HILLS, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND AT GEASS VALLEY, CALIFOBNIA. By T. A. Eickard, Denver, Colorado. [Taken from the Transactions of the American Institute of Mining Engineers. Read at the Atlanta meeting, October, 1895.], Our Transactions contain two notable papers descriptive of the stamp-milling practice of the Black Hills and of Grass Valley—namely, the elaborate and complete treatise of Professor H. 0. Hofman, on " Gold-milling in the Black Hills," and the paper describing the North Star Mill, by E. E. Abadie, its superintendent. Having visited and examined the stamp-mills of both localities, I venture to offer here such comment as more recent information or a different point of view has suggested. I.—The Black Hills. Professor Hofman's paper was prepared in 1888, seven years ago, yet the methods in vogue to-day at Lead City and Terraville do not differ materially from those so carefully described by him. The mining industry of the Black Hills is not so actively prosperous in 1895 as it was in 1888. Not so many stamps are dropping ; some of the mines have been compelled to suspend operations owing to a falling off in the yield of ore, while others have passed into the comprehensive control of the Homestake management. Nevertheless, the mines and mills of the Belt produce more gold than any other single mining camp in the United States, with the exception of Cripple Creek, Colorado. The Belt is that part of the region contiguous to the Homestake lode and its extensions, and reaching from Whitewood Creek to Deadwood Gulch. It is the centre of the mining activity of the Black Hills, the only important mining region in the State of South Dakota. The geological relations of the ores of the district have been referred to in our Transactions by W. B. Devereux and P. B. Carpenter, respectively. It is to be regretted that so important and interesting an ore-deposit as the Homestake vein should not have undergone long ago more detailed description at the hands of some one of our members. The commercial environment of mining enterprises often militates against scientific investigation. While the writer has not had an opportunity of making a careful examination of the mines, a visit underground was sufficient to show the justification for the great ore-reduction establishments of the Homestake Mining Company. The ore occurs in large bodies of quartzified chlorite schists, conforming to the structure of the country and being a portion of it. The width of milling-ore varies from 50ft. to 400 ft. Most of the supply comes at present from above the 500 ft. level; but the developments in lower levels, down to the 800 ft., indicate the continuity of the enormous oreshoots of the mine. The huge excavations made along the outcrop of the lode are a distinctive feature of the present topography of the Belt, and bear impressive witness to the immense quantities of mill-stuff that have gone under the stamps. Extensive bodies of ore are still held in reserve in these surface open-cuts. Behind the Highland shaft-house there is a large cut, which gives a very excellent section of 26—C. 3.

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the geological formation, showing the uptilted edges of the gold-bearing schists, overlain by Cambrian sandstone. The latter, only a few feet thick at this point, is split by an intruding sheet of the porphyry which also overlies the whole formation and. caps the hilltop. The lowermost member of the Cambrian series is a conglomerate, identified by its fossils as belonging to the Potsdam period, and said to have been derived from the degradation of the gold-bearing lode under the outcrop of which it was formed by the seas of a very early geological time. These facts indicate for the Homestake vein an origin of remarkable geological antiquity. The porphyry above mentioned is a felsite. At one time it was broken with the ore and sent to the mills, in spite of its valueless character. Now it is used for filling up stopes. Underground it can be seen in dikes conformable to the vein-walls, and splitting the ore-bodies by its intrusion. The first mill in the Black Hills was that erected by the Racine Company, at the lower end of Lead City, in April, 1877. The beginning of the mining industry of the Black Hills dates back to June, 1876, when the Wheeler Brothers found rich gravel in Deadwood Gulch. The outcrops of the large quartz lodes were early seen, but quickly discarded, by the California and Montana miners, who ridiculed the idea of the profitable handling of ores which yielded on panning only from $3 to $10 per ton. After the placer mines had commenced to yield handsomely, and while the quartz lodes were unappreciated, the early mining activity was diverted to the development of the lowermost beds of the Potsdam formation, the gold of which lay in a conglomerate. It was to reduce this conglomerate that the first stamp-mills were introduced. They were of the primitive Colorado pattern, and proved entirely unsuited to the extraction of gold from such material. They made a poor record, and were followed by the fast-dropping stamps, modelled on Californian practice, first introduced by Mr. Agustus J. Bowie, jun., in his design of the Father de Smet Mill, the erection of which, at Terraville, was commenced in June, 1878. This plant was succeeded by the first of the Homestake Company's mills, which also had a narrow mortar and a rapid discharge. The Caledonia, erected the following year, used more roomy mortars and two inside amalgamatingplaces—more after the Colorado fashion. This mill is now idle, chiefly for lack of suitable ore-supply, and therefore a comparison between the two styles of working is not possible. Nevertheless, I do not hesitate to say that the Homestake mortar, deep and narrow, gives a combination for rapid pulverisation and high percentage of extraction inside the battery which render it, for the ores of this district, far superior to any other mortar I know. All the mills now at work on the Belt are under the direction of the Homestake management, with the exception of the little ten-stamp Columbus Mill at Central City. When Professor Hofman wrote his paper there were 660 stamps dropping on the free-milling ores of the Belt; to-day the number is 550. The De Smet and Caledonia Mines have been unable to survive a diminution in the tenor of the ores they produced, and the mills belonging to them have ceased operations, the former in 1892 and the latter in 1893. The Highland Company's mill has been lately increased by the addition of twenty stamps. The Golden Terra and Deadwood Mills were consolidated six years ago, the eighty stamps of the Terra being placed behind the eighty stamps of the old Deadwood mill. The two large mills of the Homestake Company have undergone steady enlargement, and, in addition to the number of stamps given in the annexed table, there are forty about to be added to the Golden Star Mill, whose total will then be 200 stamps.

Table I.— The Stamp-mills of the Belt, South Dakota.

The ore is dumped at the shaft's mouth into the rock-breakers. At the time of Professor Hofman's investigations all the Homestake mills were using the Blake, and the Caledonia had just introduced a Gates crusher. Since that time the Gates has replaced the Blake rock-breaker in every mill on the Belt. Furthermore, the rock-breaker is now placed in the shaft-house, instead of at the mill. This follows the tendencies of modern practice in California, where the crusher at the mine delivers the broken ore to the tramway, which carries it to the mill, or sometimes to a second rock-breaker. The latter arangement relieves the stamps of the hard work of stone-breaking, facilitates pulverisation in the mortar, and gives uniform conditions more favourable to successful amalgamation. The transference of the rock-breaker from the mill to the mine is in itself a praiseworthy change. It enlarges the capacity of the ore-bins at the mill, and renders unnecessary the use of separate bins for coarse and fine. In small plants where the breakers, if at the mill, would not be driven by a separate engine, it does away with that irregularity in the working of the mill arising from the unequal consumption of power on the part of a rock-breaker. It renders easy the loading of the cars which bring the ore from the mine, a factor important in the case of

Date of Erection. Num Stai ier of Name. Location. Owners. ips. homestake iolden Star highland Deadwood Golden Terra father de Smet Caledonia ]oluinbus 1878 1879 1880 1879 1880 1878 1879 1894 Lead City ... Lead City Lead City Terraville Terraville Central City... Terraville Central City... 1888. 80 120 120 80) 80 J 100 80 1895. 100) 160 j 140 1601 The Homestake Mining Company. The Highland Mining Company. The Deadwood-Terra Mining Com100 80 10 pany. The Father de Smet Mining Company. The Caledonia Mining Company.

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aerial rope-ways carrying buckets of small capacity. But more important than these minor advantages is the almost entire cessation of the production of the dust so injurious to all the mechanism of the mill and always such a nuisance to those who-work in it. Most of the mills use the No. 6 Gates breaker. The Deadwood-Terra and Highland have two each. The Homestake Mine has three, one of which is held in reserve to avoid delay due to repairs on either of the others. Experience has shown that the larger receiving-capacity of the Gates and its greater crushing-power render it more suitable for large milling-establishments than the Blake. Professor Hofman has described the various methods for transmitting the power to the different parts of the mill. Of these, the arrangement in the Golden Star Mill resembles that in vogue in California and in the best Colorado mills. The driving-shaft is approximately level with the camshaft, and the connecting-belts are nearly horizontal. The latter are in a place easily accessible, well lighted, and away from the dirt and water inseparable from the close neighbourhood of the battery itself. Such an arrangement requires that the sills under the cam-floor shall be stronger than if they simply supported the flooring, but the additional expense is trifling compared to the convenience of the plan. On the other hand, the placing of the counter-shaft immediately underneath the feeder-floor, in addition to the inaccessibility and inconvenience, the environment of dirt and water, the absence of light, &c, requires the use of tighteners injurious to the belting. The Star Mill uses one belt while the Highland wears out three. All the batteries are placed upon flat sites in two rows back to back, save at the Father de Smet, where the two rows of batteries face each other and discharge toward the centre of the mill. The latter arrangement gives a larger storage-capacity to the bins overhead, but this advantage is obtained at the greater cost of darkening the amalgamating-tables. The mortar is the most interesting feature of the Homestake mills. In Professor Hofman's paper there are drawings of it. A photograph furnished by Fraser and Chalmers, illustrates the latest design. The changes in the dimensions made since 1888, the date of Professor Hofman's paper, are as follow : Weight—lßßß, 5,4001b.; 1895, 7,3001b. Length of base—lßßß, 54fin.; 1895, 56flb. Width of base—lßßß, 27Jin ; 1895, 28Jin. Height—lßßß, 54$ in. ; 1895, 58} in. Inside width of the level of the lip-1888, 13Jin. ; 1895, 12Jin. The most important change is the narrowing of the interior width at the level of the lip of the mortar, where a slight change is more important than in any other dimensions. The measurement of a new mortar lying outside the Golden Star Mill gave an inside width of 13in. At the Columbus Mill it is 12in. The mortar, as now made, is provided with cast-steel false bottoms 2|in. thick, with a cast-iron lining fin. thick along the sides and -Jin. thick upon the feed-hopper. The inside copper plates, placed along the front, are Jin. thick and are attached to chuck-blocks. The latter are wooden blocks, designed so as to serve as a false lip to the mortar, thereby raising the depth of the issue. A piece of 2-in. plank is bolted to a If-in. board, the latter being made to project about 2in. beyond the former, to which the copper plate is attached. The 2-in. plank had been replaced at the time of Professor Hofman's inspection, with J-in. iron, but has since been reverted to, because the slight increase in the distance between the chuck-block and the shoe obtained by the arrangement he describes was undesirable in a mortar characteristically narrow and designed for rapid crushing. Two of these chuck-blocks are in use, one 9in. and the other 7in. high. When new dies have been introduced, the former is inserted, then making the distance from the bottom of the screen to the top of the die about 9in. As the dies wear down, the depth of discharge increases until, after about a fortnight, it becomes necessary to replace the high chuck-block with the lower one. The difference of 2m. between the two is approximately equal to the diminution in the thickness of the die. After a further service of two or three weeks the dies are worn out, the depth, of discharge has increased to llin., new dies are inserted, and the high chuck-block is reintroduced. In this way some sort of an effort is made to maintain a rough uniformity in the depth of the issue, a factor the importance of which is generally overlooked or underestimated in stamp-milling. It may be added that the copper-plate on the high chuck-block is flat, while on the other it has a curved surface, and is mounted on slightly thicker wood, so as to bring it nearer the die. It is the intention of the millman to keep the bottom of the chuck-block about on a level with the bottom of the shoe, and to avoid so close a neighbourhood to the ore on the die as would lead to the scouring of the amalgamated surface of the copper plate. There is only one inside plate, made of plain copper, and sin. wide. This is the one attached to the chuck-block. There is no back-plate, as was the case in the Caledonia Mill (now idle), where the mortar was more roomy and of a different design. Free mercury is fed at intervals into the battery with the ore. The Homestake mortar combines, to a notable degree, the two excellent features of a rapid discharge and a high percentage of amalgamation. Its width at the issue used to be 13Jin., was then diminished to 13in., and in the newest design is 12in. The depth, by the introduction of chuck-blocks, is raised from 9in. to llin. The mortar becomes thereby both narrower and deeper than the Californian pattern, its narrowness compelling a rapid expulsion of the pulp, and giving the mill a capacity nearly twice that of the average Californian battery when working ore of a similar character. At the same time, the depth of the mortar prevents the scouring of the inside plate, and permits the arrest of the gold by this plate, and by the free mercury added with the ore, so that the percentage of extraction follows closely in the wake of the roomy mortar of the Colorado Mill, the crushing capacity of which is only one-quarter that of the Homestake. The following comparison will be of interest: —

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Table II. — Comparison of Typical Mills.

It will be seen how closely the crushing-capacity is related to the interior width of the mortar at the level of the issue. Notwithstanding its rapid crushing, the Homestake mortar retains a percentage of the total gold extracted which compares well with any of the other districts, and is superior to some of them, though this factor will be affected by the variety of screen in use. In 1888 the Homestake mills were using No. 7 diagonal-slot Eussian-iron punched screens. At the present time the mills uniformly employ the No. 8 size of the same variety. This means slightly finer pulverisation. Professor Hofman gives the crushing-capacity in 1888 at 4-J tons per stamp per day, with a 9in. drop eighty-five times per minute. It is now about 4 tons per day, with a drop and the same speed. This shows the effect of the substitution of the No. 8 for the No. 7 screen. The No. 8 screens are considered equivalent to thirty-mesh wire. They break before they become worn out because of lines of weakness developed by the press used in their manufacture. They are, however, never retained in service until the apertures are much worn, because this would produce a coarse crushing, detrimental to a uniform product. Their maximum service is about two weeks, but this is rarely attained, because breakage occurs after six to eight days. The cause of this is the accumulation, inside the battery, of wood chips, which have found their way into the ore from the timbers in the mine. They tend to dam up the pulp within the mortar, and so subject the screen to a pressure greater than it can bear. This results in a break or a burst. Where sur-face-ore is being milled, as at the Deadwood-Terra, the life of the screen is prolonged to an average of nine or ten days, because such ore comes from workings where there is but little timbering. At the neighbouring Columbus Mill, thirty-mesh brass wire is used, and the choking of the screens is minimised by having three sets for each battery, so that while one is in place the second is being dried out, and the third cleaned with a wire brush. It would be better if the Homestake mills could find it practicable to use wire-cloth instead of punched Eussian-iron, since, apart from the advantage of a more uniform discharge, the pulverisation is more regular, because the wires do not wear so easily as the punched holes, and the apertures therefore retain their size, and the screen does good work until simple breakage requires that it be patched or discarded. The process of gold-extraction consists of amalgamation within the mortar upon outside plates and in traps, supplemented in a rudimentary way by an inadequate effort to concentrate the sulphides of the tailings. The mortar becomes an amalgamating apparatus by the use of the inside copper plate and the addition of free mercury. About 50 per cent, of the total amalgam is obtained from these inside plates. At the Deadwood-Terra the proportion reaches 70 per cent. To quote from my previous paper on the subject:— "Mercury is fed into the battery in quantities proportioned to the richness of the ore, and regulated by the condition of the amalgam on the apron-plates. At the four principal mills the rate at which the mercury is fed can be judged by the accompanying record, covering the two weeks previous to my visit. " It will be observed that though the Golden Star and the Deadwood-Terra Mills crush approximately the same amount of ore, the former uses more than twice as much mercury. This fact is explained by the wide difference in the richness of the ore; for, while that crushed in the batteries of the Golden Star average from $4 to $5 per ton, that which goes through the Deadwood-Terra ranges from $1.50 to $2 per ton.

Table III.— Consumption of Mercury at the Homestake Stamp-mils.

Width at Issue. Depth of Discharge. Weight of Stamp. Number of Drops per Minute. Height of Drop. Crushing Capacity pel Stamp per 24 Hours. lolden Star, Deadwood, S. Dak. ... L"idden Treasure, Black Hawk, Col. forth Star, Grass Valley, Cal. 'earl, Bendigo, Australia In. 12* 24 15 In. 9 toll 13 to 15 4 lb. 850 550 850 840 85 30 84 74 In. 17 7 7* Tons. 4 1 1* 2*

Dead' Tei (160 St woodGolde: (160 S i Star ,amps). Higl (120 Si iland ;amps). Date. rra ,amps). Horm (100 S :stako ;amps). 1st May, 1895 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th lb. 11 10 10 12 9 10 11 11 11 10 11 10 oz. 5 2 2 12 6 11 6 8 14 lb. 25 17 25 26 25 24 23 24 23 25 23 24 oz. 13 14 16 13 3 8 2 12 13 3 7 6 lb. 15 12 15 17 10 16 17 19 19 18 18 17 oz. 4 9 1 10 6 8 lb. 9 12 13 12 11 12 12 12 12 12 12 11 oz. 10 2 12 7 2 8 15 13 13 7 1 3 8 12 8 4 12 Average per day 11 24 17 12

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" For the year ending Ist June, 1894, the Homestake mills used 2,0841b. and the Golden Star Mill 3,3401b., making a total of 5,5241b. avoirdupois, which, at the price obtaining that year, 42 cents, makes the value of the mercury used $2,320.13. During that time 309,210 tons of ore were crushed, so that the consumption was at the rate of about sdwts. troy, or f cent, per ton. At the Deadwood-Terra 2051b. were used in February, 1895, in treating 18,483 tons of ore. It is estimated that 22 per cent, of the amount of mercury used is lost." On issuing from the battery, the pulp falls from 6in. to 10in. before striking the aprons or firstamalgamating tables. This serves no particular purpose, while the actual damage possible to the plates by the scouring of their surface, Sue to the impact of the pulp, is obviated by the interposition of a splash-board, which breaks the fall of the sand and water. This splash-board might be placed at such an angle as would permit of its use as an amalgamating device by lining it with a copper plate. In the Homestake Company's mills the aprons are 10ft. in length and 4|ft. wide. Those in the Highland Mill are only Bft. long. In all these mills two apron-plates deliver the pulp to one tailplate, having a size equal to one apron. At the Deadwood-Terra the aprons are somewhat larger— namely, lift, by 4ft. Bin., but the tail-plate is Bft. long, and only 16in. wide. The latter is called, very appropriately, a sluice-plate, and is truly an absurd device for arresting the gold. In the Homestake mills, both apron- and tail-plate have a slope of ljin. per foot, the minimum gradient at which the tables can clear themselves of the pulp. Both tail-plate and apron are dressed each morning, the aprons are cleaned up partially each day, and more completely deprived of their amalgam at the bi-monthly general clean-up, when both the tail-plates and the inside mortarplates are gone over. The traps are intended to arrest escaping amalgam. The Golden Star Mill has two at the head of the tail-plate. They are 18in. deep. They are preceded by a shallow trap or riffle 2in. deep, which is stated to do better work because of the more regular passage of the pulp. These traps catch about 1 per cent, of the total amalgam. They are, to quote again— " Cleaned up every two weeks, the accumulated pyrites are shovelled into buckets, and then passed into a pan, which extracts all the free amalgam. The residues from the pan are then fed into a particular five-stamp battery, provided with a No. 10 slot-screen. They are passed through this battery twice, and are then sent to the smelter, their final assay value being about $38 per ton. "The above suggests the Australian practice of mercury-wells, particularly employed at Clunes, with the obvious difference that the Homestake traps are not supplied with free mercury. It is claimed that if sufficient mercury is fed into the battery no free gold should escape, and the mercury in the traps would merely serve to thin the amalgam and make it easier of escape. The traps catch concentrates and amalgam only." Then comes the concentration of the sulphides. Of this not much can be said. The Dead-wood-Terra Mill makes no attempt to save the sulphides, since the ore comes from near the surface and contains nothing worthy of supplementary treatment. The Homestake mills, and that of the Highland Company, are using the Gilpin county bumping-table. Seven years ago Professor Hofman, noting the absence of any effort to save the valuable sulphides, suggested the employment of spitzlutten, supplemented by spitzkasten, preparatory to the recrushing of the coarse sands and the concentration, on buddies, of the fine. This very sensible advice has not been followed. Instead, however, two blanket-houses were erected, and, without any sizing or classification such as should precede all concentration, the blanketings were worth from $20 to $30 per ton. These have been idle for several years, and in their place eight bumping-tables were placed in both the Highland and Golden Star Mills, while six were added to the Homestake mill. It is only necessary to add that the two large mills have crushing-capacities of 560 tons and 640 tons per day, and the Homestake about 400 tons, to indicate the absurdly disproportionate nature of the equipment, which can only be considered a badly-designed experiment. The results obtained are not by any means a proof of what could be done under proper conditions, as already stated in my previous criticism of this feature: " During the year ending Ist June, 1894, the two Homestake mills produced 915,0101b. of concentrates whose assay-value varied from $5 to $8 per ton. They consist of iron pyrite, arsenical pyrite and pyrrhotite. The ore contains from 3 per cent, to 5 per cent, of sulphides, but only about 2 per cent, are saved. They are sent by rail to the Deadwood and Delaware Smelter, just below the town of Deadwood, where they are treated at a charge of half their assay-value, and converted into an iron matte very low in copper and rich in gold, which goes to the Omaha and Grant Smelting and Eefining Company, at Omaha, for further treatment." At the present time experiments are being made with jigs in order to improve this part of the milling. It is to be regretted that a representative company, such as that operating the Homestake mines, should be so slow to adopt the best metallurgical practice, remaining satisfied with a manifestly inadequate equipment and a thoroughly unscientific treatment until the successful work of a Cornishman, treating his mill-tailings a few miles down the creek, emphasized the desirability of doing something better. Professor Hofman has described in detail the method of sampling the mill-stuff by simple panning. At the present time the millwork is cheeked by sampling the pulp as it leaves the apronplates, and fills a dipper at intervals of an hour for a period of five hours. This is done each afternoon. The gold is determined by fire-assay. No accurate knowledge of the completeness of the extraction can be obtained by so unsystematic a procedure.

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The labour-costs are given in the accompanying table : —

Table IV.— Labour employed in the principal Stamp-mills.

By comparing this with Table V. in Professor Hofman's paper, it will be noticed that the mills have been enlarged without a proportionate increase of workmen. In 1888 the Homestake mill employed 20i men to attend to eighty stamps, and the Golden Star 23-| men for its 120 stamps. The chief change is in crushermen, the number of whom, by the substitution of the large Gates for the small Blake rock-breakers, has been diminished from five and six men respectively to two for each mill. The Golden Star now employs four general labourers in place of two, and the Homestake two in place of one, and this is the only increase following the enlargement of the mill. The enginemen, firemen, amalgamators, &c, remain the same in number, while the general superintendence (foreman) ha sbeen diminished for any single mill by giving one man charge of both the Homestake mills as well as that of the Highland Company's. The milling-costs, per ton of ore, are as follows : —

Table V.— Cost of Stamp-milling in the Black Hills, South Dakota.

Professor Hofman gave the costs for the year ending June, 1888. It is remarkable how little the increased crushing-capacity of the mills, due to additional stamps, has diminished the costs per ton, and this in spite of the general cheapening of material inseparable from the much-improved communication between Deadwood and the centres of industry. This applies especially to the Homestake Mill. In the case of the larger plant, the diminution of 12 cents per ton, as compared with 1887-88, did not follow the addition of forty stamps, since previous to that the cost had been 3 cents less. Much of this discrepancy is traceable to the fact that the wood, fuel, water, castings, foundry-work, &c, are supplied to the mill by subsidiary companies.

Dear ( wood-Te 160 Starr rra Mill ips). 0 Dmestake Mill .00 Stamps). Golden Star Mill (160 Stamps). IT (i ighland .20 Stai Mill ips). Num-| ber. Shifthours. Wages. Number. Shift- W ages. hours. Num- Shift- L her. hours. Number. Shifthours. Wages. foreman /Till wright 'ipefitter iinginemen firemen lead amalgamators Amalgamators )rushermen )ilers feeders ... jabourers * 1 A 12 9 7.00 3.50 x ■j 1 i 2 2 2 i 3 1 4 2 2 2 2 B 12 C 12 12 F 10 12 10 12 12 10 9 8.00 4.25 3.50 3.50 3.00 5.00 4.00 3.50 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.50 * 1 1 2 2 i 3 1 4 2 2 4 4 B 12 C 12 12E F 10 12 10 12 12 10 $ 8.00 4.25 3.50 3.50 3.00 5.00 4.00 3.50 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.50 i 3 1 B 12 D 12 12 F 10 12 L0 12 12 10 ft. 8.00 4.25 2 2 12 12 3.00 2.50 "2 2 1 s 1 4 2 2 4 3 3.50 3.00 5.00 4.00 3.50 3.00 3.00 3.00 2.00 2 4 3 2 3 1 10 12 10 12 12 10 3.50 3.00 2.50 2.50 2.50 2.00 Total 20* 59.00 64.32 23* 75.32 21* 70.07

A.—The Homestake Mill. B. —The Golden Star Mill. 1887-1888. 1888-1889. 1893-1894. 1887-1888. 1888-1889. 1893-1894. Number of stamps Tons treated 80 96,790 $ 0.2561 0.0130 0.1729 0.2766 80 106,780 $ 0.2395 0.0045 0.1562 0.2230 80 104,995 $ 0.2543 0.0105 0.1986 0.0597 0.1784 0.1097 0.0034 Number of stamps Tons treated 120 146,565 $ 0.2138 0.0079 0.1712 0.2739 120 161,755 I 0.1755 0.0044 0.1622 0.1959 160 204,215 $ 0.1556 0.0121 0.2043 0.0346 0.1637 0.1057 0.0021 Labour ... Supplies... Water ... Wood ... Coal Machinery Oil 0.0922 0.0109 0.0016 0.0103 0.0070 0.0893 0.0084 0.0014 0.0053 0.0139 Labour ... Supplies ' ... Water ... Wood ... Coal ... Machinery Oil Candles... Quicksilver Lumber... 0.1220 0.0084 0.0014 0.0252 0.0054 0.1088 0.0066 0.0014 0.0082 0.0088 Candles ... Quicksilver Lumber... Timber ... 0.0083 0.0167 0.0155 0.0071 0.0160 Total cost per ton of $0.8406 $0.7415 $0.8551 Total cost per ton of $0.8292 $0.6718 $0.7012 ore ore

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As to the efficacy and completeness of the mills as ore-reduction plants, I find myself (always excepting the feeble attempts at concentration) to be very favourably impressed. It has been urged by unfriendly critics that " haste and waste-" is the chief characteristic of the millingmethods ; but this has been said, I venture to believe, without proper regard to the conditions of the case. Something has already been said in the early part of this communication regarding the mode of occurrence of the ore. The immense size of the ore-bodies and the extensive nature of the mine developments justify the scale of the Homestake Company's operations. The ore is mixed with a large proportion of country-rock—in fact, it is for the most part only gold-bearing schist, without any marked boundary or any very noticeable difference between what is worth exploitation (and consequently ore), and what is unprofitable to mine (and therefore waste or "country"). Of the sulphides, the most favourable association is that of arsenical pyrites. But the amount of sulphides present is small, and the gold is not very closely attached to them, so that the ore is notably " freemilling." In fact, in my opinion, it is more docile than even the quartz of the main Californian gold-belt. The results obtained in the mills confirm this view. However, it is hard. The wear-and-tear of shoes and dies indicate this. The shoes wear at the rate of from 361b. to 371b. per 100 tons of ore, and the dies at the rate of 441b. to 481b. This represents a cost of only about 2 cents per ton at the prices which the Homestake Company pays, as compared with 4 cents at Angels Camp (California), 5-J cents in Gilpin County (Colorado), 4£ cents at Bendigo, and 5-J- at Clunes (in Australia), 9 cents at Grass Valley (California), and 13 cents at Mammoth, Pinal County, Arizona. These figures are instructive, but they depend largely on prices and freights. The following statement of wear in pounds of iron per 100 tons of ore is a better guide: At Angels Camp, 451b.; Grass Valley, 901b.; Gilpin County, 581b.; Bendigo, 1441b.; Clunes, 1571b.; Mammoth, 761b.; as against an average of 80flb. at the Homestake. The ore of Grass Valley is very hard indeed, while the lesser hardness of the material treated by the Australian mills is much more than offset by the absence of rock-breakers. The ore of Angels Camp and Gilpin County is comparatively soft. At present the Homestake mills save, as far as I could learn, somewhere about 75 per cent. The ore is low-grade. During the year ending June, 1894, the- Homestake and Golden Star Mills treated 309,210 tons, yielding $1,390,610, equivalent to $4.49 per ton. Having in regard the low tenor of the ore, the immense reserves of it, and the evident intention not to work for the good of posterity, it seems, from a commercial standpoint, a very proper thing to treat it with the utmost dispatch, and rush it through the mills. Of course, slower treatment would give a higher extraction, but this would not compensate for the greater cost per ton due to diminished capacity. Moreover, the results are not bad—7s per cent, is an extraction above the average even in mills treating a fraction of the quantity crushed per stamp in this district. The after-treatment, the saving of the sulphides, is a serious error, and the arrangement of the plates is a blemish ; but the excellence of the design of the mortar, the ample rock-breaker capacity and the general arrangement of the mills is such that, taken as a whole, the milling practice is one of the best examples of the cheap treatment of a large mass of low-grade ore. ll.—Geass Valley. Mr. Abadie, in his excellent description of the work at the North Star Mill, did not concern himself with the methods of his neighbours at Grass Valley. This was, doubtless, largely due to the fact that the mill of which he had charge was generally acknowledged as representative of the practice of the district. The following additional matter, based on visits to this district made in December, 1886, May, 1891, and July, 1893, may, however, render the description of the milling-practice more complete. The first mill erected in California was not built in Grass Valley in 1850, as stated by Mr. Abadie. Mariposa County claims that distinction, and accords it to a mill of eight stamps, each in its own separate mortar, erected on the Mariposa Estate late in the summer of 1850. It was not till the following January that a mill was erected on the west bank of Wolf Creek, nearly opposite the site of the present Empire Mill at Grass Valley. Mr. Abadie's drawings and photographs very completely illustrate the position and interior arrangement of the North Star Mill. The drawings are particularly valuable. The most notable change made in the North Star Mill since my first visit in 1886 has been the new arrangement of the amalgamating-tables. When going through the mill for the first time, I noticed the inadequacy of the amalgamating-surface, and the uselessness of the narrow sluice-plates. Since then the shaking-tables have been replaced in the case of the last two batteries added to the original thirty stamps, by new wide plates which are nearly 16ft. long. The old short apron and narrow sluiceplate have been thrown out. The other six batteries were, at the time of my last visit, and, it would appear, up to the time of Mr. Abadie's description of the mill, still provided with the primitive apparatus which was first criticized by me nine years ago. This is the great blemish of the North Star plant, which has followed in this respect the design of the typical Californian Mill, whose narrow sluice-plates are a remnant of the apparatus originally borrowed by the quartz-miner from the placer-digger. In order to discuss this question, a detailed description of the passage of the pulp on its discharge from the mortar will be necessary. The screen-frame, which is 4ft. 4in. long and 18in. wide, has four partitions dividing the issue into five portions. Each division of the screen-surface is 9in. wide and 12fin. high. While this construction strengthens the screen, it robs it of 1 square foot of discharging area, and is not therefore to be commended. The pulp then drops 6in. and strikes the battery-plate, which is 4ft. 2in. wide and 18in. deep. It covers an iron apron which is bolted to the mortar.

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Then there succeeds a trough from which the pulp passes through a distributor, consisting of a vertical iron partition pierced by twenty fin. holes. Then follows a drop of 3£in. to the apronplate. The latter is 4ft. sin. wide for 2-J-ft., and then becomes narrowed for the remaining 2ft., finishing with a width of 22in. Then come the sluice-plates, 22in. wide and 12ft. long. They had a slope of lin. per foot at the time of my visit, but, according to Mr. Abadie, the gradient is usually greater—viz., ljin. The aprons are given per foot. Then come the copper-lined shaking-tables. The new plates are 16ft. long, of which the upper portion, of 2-J-ft., is 53in. wide, and represents the former apron, and the remainder is 46in. wide, representing an enlargement of the sluices. Mr. Abadie says that these new plates " cannot be too highly recommended," which is quite true when we contrast them with the old arrangement; but one may be permitted to ask, Why this narrowing of the plate from 53in. to 46in. ? I take the liberty of emphasizing this matter, because it has for many years seemed to me that the Californian stamp-mill, otherwise the best machine of its kind yet evolved by the ingenuity of man, suffers seriously from an unsuitable arrangement of the amalgamating-surface. In tracing the evolution of the apparatus of the stamp-mill it will be found that the first gold-saving methods were modeled after placer-mining practice, and that in the term " sluice-plate " lingers the evidence of the transference of the sluice-box from the gulch into the mill. The arrangement of 4ft. of plate as wide as mortar, followed by 10ft. or 12ft. of plate somewhat under lft. wide, was almost universal in California a few years ago, one mill copying another apparently without inquiring into the object of the arrangement. At the North Star an examination of the sluices showed the edges of copper plate to be abraded or scoured by the swift passage of the pulp. The philosophy of the sluice-plate is not evident. The battery and apron have caught the coarser gold —that which it is easiest to arrest—and the object is to prevent the escape of particles which, because they are fine and difficult to catch, have not been stopped. Hence, the sluice-plate is put in, but it is more a launder for the convenient conveyance of the pulp to the vanners than a goldsaving device. How can we expect to catch gold which could not be arrested on a wide plate, by passing it over a very narrow one ? The quantity of water and crushed ore is still the same, but it is crowded into a much lessened space, the speed of its passage is increased, and the depth of its flow augmented. In some mills the grade of the sluice-plate is actually greater than that of the apron. Therefore, the ordinary practice should be reversed, the apron should be succeeded by a wider rather than a narrower plate, additional facilities for the catching of gold should be given by spreading the pulp so that every opportunity is afforded for its contact with the amalgamated surface of the plate. The necessity for a uniform depth of battery discharge is hardly appreciated at Grass Valley. At the North Star no serious attempt was made to regulate it, so that it used to vary from 2in. to 6in. Since my last visit it has become the practice to introduce cast-iron plates 2in. thick underneath the dies. They have lessened the difference between the minimum and maximum depths of discharge, according to Mr. Abadie, to 2in. Although his account does not state the fact, yet the context would indicate that these plates are introduced after the dies have been worn down, thereby restoring the height of the issue. At the Empire, old dies used to be placed underneath as the dies in use were worn down, and this was found preferable to employing iron plates for false bottoms (as at the North Star), because the latter broke so often. If they are made to fit snugly, this breakage should be no great detriment, as the pieces will remain in place. In addition to these methods, the Empire Mill uses the device of fixing wooden cleats to the bottom of the screen outside. The sand banks up inside the mortar, and protects the unused strip of screen until such time as, the dies having worn down, the cleats are removed and the issue lowered. At another mill, the W.Y.O.D. (" Work Your Own Diggings "), the dies are discarded before they have worn down deeply. The remnant is sold to the local foundry, and helps to pay for new dies. This is wise. The consumption of a few pounds of iron is a very small matter compared to the importance of maintaining the conditions best adapted to good work. When the depth of discharge varies between wide limits, the operation of the mill must be irregular. The minimum and maximum depths cannot be equally favourable to the particular conditions required, and an effort should be made to find the exact depth best adapted to the treatment of the ores of the special mine, and that figure should then be maintained as far as is practicable. In the matter of screens, the Grass Valley mills have, as it seems to me, taken a retrograde step. The general adoption of punched tin-plate in place of wire-cloth is defended on the ground of economy. Thus, Mr. Abadie says that " the life of a tin screen is about thirty days; the cost onefourth that of wire screens." As a rule, at Grass Valley, the brass-wire screens costs $1.55 apiece, while the tin-plate costs 55 cents per screen, the former giving a service of twenty-five days, the latter of fourteen or fifteen days. Steel-wire cloth was discarded because that which was used in this district had the defect of a shifting of the horizontal wires. The introduction of the tin-plate into the Californian mills dates several years back. I first saw it in use at the Utica Mill, Angels Camp, in 1886. In 1893 the Idaho was the only mill in Grass Valley which was not employing tin-plate in preference to wire-cloth. It is the usual custom to burn off the tin upon the blacksmith's forge, with the idea that the iron plate becomes annealed and toughened. Since tin amalgamates, its removal prevents the adherence of mercury to the screens. The cost of screens per ton of ore varies from | to 1 cent per ton, an item of expense which is trifling when compared to the importance of getting a screen which will properly size the pulp and aid in maintaining the conditions most favourable to good amalgamation. As between punched tin-plate and wire-cloth, the advantage in cheapness possessed by the former need not be considered unless it accompanies other more serious advantages; the difference of half a cent this way or that is as nothing when measured against good milling.

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No one at Grass Valley had, as far as I could learn, made any careful experiments to determine the action upon the pulp of the use of the two varieties of screen. One would naturally expect a more free issue and a more uniform crushing when using wire-cloth in place of punched plate, because the former has a discharge-area approximately one-half of its surface, while the latter, having apertures of the same size, has less of them per square inch. In making such tests it is necessary to be particularly careful, not only that the same kind of ore is fed and-that the mortars are the same, but also that the shoes and dies are in the same state of wear, so that the depth of discharge is equal in both batteries. Moreover, attention should be paid to the possibility of more stuff finding its way into one mortar than into the other. The outer batteries of a stamp-mill, where the rock-breaker is in the centre, receive more than their share of the fines. The milling-practice of the Grass Valley district has undergone important changes during the past ten years. The introduction of an inside amalgamating-pjate—first done at the North Star in 1888—marked an important departure from the extreme type of fast-crushing California battery. The tendency to increase the percentage of inside amalgamation by deepening the discharge and inserting a chuck-block, which also carries an amalgamating-plate, is a notable feature. Thus from a rapid pulveriser the California mill has been made an improved amalgamator. This older very shallow-drop mill, unable to use a plate inside the mortar, and relying solely on the outside tables, has become rare on the Pacific Slope. It has become a recognised fact that rapid crushing will not compensate for poor amalgamation ; that the sooner we catch our gold the better; and that the best feature of the stamp-mill, as compared to other pulverisers, is its capability to combine the crushing and amalgamating apparatus in one machine. At the North Star and W.Y.O.D. mills nearly twice as much amalgam is obtained from the inside as from the outside of the mortar; while at the Empire the inside extraction is from 50 to 85 per cent, of the total saving. Heavy silver plating is recommended nowadays. The North Star plates carry loz. of silver per square foot, those of the Empire have 2Joz., while at the W.Y.0.D., the newest plant, the amount has been increased to soz. One cannot remember too often that it is amalgam that catches gold, and that a good coating of gold-amalgam is better" than all the nostrums in creation. In starting a new mill or introducing new plates a good coating of silver helps to get the tables into working order in a short time, the silver being gradually replaced by gold. There is no economy in poorly-plated tables, or in short, narrow ones. No mill I have ever seen had too much amal-gamating-surface ; many of them have had too little. The value absorbed by the plates is an asset of the best kind ; and there is no plate placed in a mill but will absorb some gold and be worth more when it is worn out and discarded than when it was first put in place. The following fact will be of interest in this connection : The old plates of the sixty-stamp mill of the Montana Company (Limited), at Marysville, Montana, after four and a half years' steady work, 1887-1891, were scraped and melted down. (This was, of course, after they had undergone the usual periodical clean-up.) The twelve plates, each 54in. by 96in., yielded $90,000. One plate gave as much as $8,000. Even the small vanner-plates, 16in. by 48in., yielded $500 each. The importance of the careful sampling of the tailings as a check upon the mill-work is better appreciated at Grass Valley than in any other locality I have visited. At the Empire Mill there is an automatic sampler, invented by Mr. Starr, the former superintendent, which does excellent service. The results indicate a saving of from 85 to 87 per cent., which is fairly representative of the district.

TRAINING OP MINING ENGINEEES. A very able address was given by Professor Henry Louis, in October last, at the Durham College of Science, England, pointing out the special training for mining engineers. Mining is becoming a very large industry in this colony, and at the present time there are men adopting the profession of mining engineers who have no claim to that title, and reporting in the most glowing terms of mining properties with the view of inducing foreign capitalists to invest their money. The following are Professor Louis's remarks on the qualifications of a mining engineer : — I have the honour of appearing before you to-day as Professor Merivale's successor in the chair of mining at this college, and, as such, it is my duty to deliver a lecture that is to serve as preface to my course on mining. This occasion also affords me an opportune introduction to those interested in mining in the North of England, which opportunity I am the more eager to avail myself of because lam fully conscious of my disadvantage in coming hither as a stranger. As such, lam quite aware that my duty is a twofold one —to learn as weli as to teach, for I shall have to study thoroughly the conditions and methods of mining in this district, as well as to instruct students in the world-wide principles upon which the methods, in common with all others, have to be based. Fortunately for the mining engineer, however much practice may vary in different places under ever-varying circumstances, general principles remain the same in all quarters of the globe. For this inaugural lecture I have elected to lay before you my views as to general principles upon which I would have a mining engineer trained to his professional duties. This subject should possess a certain amount of general interest at a moment like this, when we are in the throes of one of the wildest mining "booms" that has ever been known. Many millions of pounds have been invested during the last few months in gold-mines, and the public who have eagerly invested in such mining shares, and who have rushed not a few of them to a substantial premium, have done so in very many cases upon the faith of reports made by mining engineers not personally known to them. Upon the correctness or incorrectness of the reports of these engineers will depend success or failure in the investment of all these large sums, and perhaps the fortune or ruin of not a few of the investors. I therefore venture to think that the way in which a mining engineer should be trained for his, 27—C. 3.

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task is a question that possesses for many here a very real and even personal interest. At the same time, by selecting this subject I am enabled to submit to you a synopsis of what a course of mining should, in my opinion, include, and to indicate to any future students who may be found amongst my audience to-day what their preliminary education should be to fit them for a mining engineer's profession. It may be well to glance briefly, in the first place, at the nature of the work that a mining engineer may be called upon to do, and the problems that he will have to solve, seeing that his training must obviously depend upon what his duties are to be. We see at once that these may be widely divergent with such a protean subject as mining really is. To take first, the staple of this district—namely, coal-mining—l find that out of the 540 millions of tons of coal which were produced in the world last year, the district of which Newcastle is the centre raised some forty-four millions—a figure that speaks for itself as to the extent arid importance of this industry, and warrants me in assuming that you are acquainted with even the details of coal-mining. We may take it that the principal points that an engineer engaged in coal-mining will have to study are such matters as the proper ventilation of the mine, the various methods of securing the roof, the various systems of laying out the mine and of getting the coal, the sinking and securing of shafts, pumping up mine-water, and so on. An engineer who had mastered these and cognate problems would be considered a thoroughly competent mining engineer as far as coal-mining is concerned. Now, we will look a little further afield, and glance at another kind of mining, utterly different to the first, and yet as much a branch of mining as coal-mining—namely, hydraulic gold-mining, as practised in California. As this class of work is probably less familiar to you, I will illustrate it by a few views of hydraulic mines. In the Western States of America there are huge beds of ancient gravels, now more or less cemented into beds of firm conglomerate, containing fine particles of water-worn alluvial gold, which have been deposited by the action of the same waters that rolled the pebbles and formed the gravel-beds. Some of these beds are at times a couple of hundred feet thick, and cover very large areas. The gold they contain is often not more than a few grains to the ton, and it is evident that the problem of making a profit out of two or three pennyweights of gold— a few minute specks scattered through a ton of gravel—can only be solved by specially cheap methods of mining. I need not trouble you with an account of how the modern process was gradually evolved. It is enough to say that the gravel is simply washed down by means of a very powerful stream of water. The water is brought from great distances, often of many miles, by means of canals, flumes, and pipes, and is led to reservoirs situated as high as possible above the gravel beds. From these reservoirs large iron pipes are led down, terminating in nozzles from 6in. to 9in. in diameter. By this means a stream of water is directed with enormous force against the gravel-beds. It is difficult to give any one who has not seen it any idea of the enormous power of such a stream of water coming out of a 6in. nozzle under a 300 ft. or 400 ft. head. The stream appears to be solid. If you strike it with a steel bar, the bar rebounds without entering it, as it would from a cylinder of iron. I have seen big boulders, tons in weight, lifted up by the stream of water, and tossed about like marbles. Under such an enormous force the bank of gravel is rapidly sluiced away. The stream, carrying boulders, pebbles, mud, and of course, any gold that may be present in the gravel, is directed through a series of sluice-boxes, which are simply long and wide wooden troughs. The pebbles and boulders are removed, and the gold is brought in contact with mercury in these sluice-boxes, and is then caught and collected, while the stream of mud flows away. From this brief sketch you will see that an engineer in such a mine has a very different task to that of the coal-miner, and he has neither winding, pumping, nor haulage to consider. Working under the glorious blue sky of the Californian foothills, he is troubled as little with difficulties of ventilation as he is with propping his roof. On the other hand, he has to face a series of problems of which his coal-mining brother engineers know nothing. The difficulties of bringing water into a hydraulic mine often tax all his resources to the utmost, and the problem of dealing successfully with the mass of debris produced is so difficult that it seemed insoluble; and this form of mining was threatened with extinction. It is, indeed, only quite recently that it seems to have been partially overcome. Let us take a third form of mining—namely, tin-mining, as practised in Cornwall to-day. Here veins running more or less vertical, but always most irregular, have to be followed down to great depths, both the veins and the rocks which they pass through being extremely hard. The conditions which prevail are thus very different from what we see in a coal-mine, the engineer's attention being directed now, not to his roof, but to his walls, which he has to keep well supported, while the method of exploitation is entirely changed. A few photographs, which I will show, of Cornish tin-mines, and of the stopes in which the vein-stuff is being got, will serve to emphasize these main differences in the mode of working. Further, however, after the tin-bearing vein-matter, which may contain 1 or 2 per cent, of tin, has been brought up to the surface, it has still to undergo a complicated series of operations. It has first to be picked over, and barren or worthless rock removed. The ore is then broken into small pieces, and fed into a stamp-mill, where it is crushed into fine powder under the stamps, the powdered ore being carried out of the mortar-box of the stamp-mill by a stream of water. The crushed ore then passes through various kinds of concentrating-machines, so as to separate the tinstone as completely as possible from the vein-stuff in which it is encased, the entire series of operations being often far more complicated than those I have just described. Ultimately the dressed tin-stone is ready for sale, and it is not till then that the mining engineer has done with it, for mining properly includes the whole of the operations connected with the economic getting of mineral and preparing it for the market. Here, again, are views illustrating the mining of the same material—namely, tin-stone, by the

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Chinese in the Malay Peninsula, where the mining consists in merely digging out the loose tinbearing sands, which are afterwards submitted to a long series of washings in order to clean the ore. In marked contrast to these elaborate processes, it may be worth while to refer to such mining as that of gem-mining in Burmah, Siam, or Ceylon. Here shallow pits are sunk down to the gembearing gravel, and the latter is excavated by the natives and washed in simple trays, as shown in these photographs. The gem as soon as found is a marketable article, and needs no further preparation. I have now enumerated a series of different types of mining operations, each forming an important branch of the subject, and each the object of careful study for mining engineers. The engineers in charge of each of these various classes of mines obviously need knowledge of very widely different kinds, and it would seem, at first sight, as though their training could have but little in common. In one sense, however, although the methods are so widely different, the objects of the mining engineer are in each case identical—namely, to win the maximum possible amount of valuable mineral from its deposit with the minimum of cost; and the man who does this most thoroughly is the best mining engineer. This brings me to a point that I particularly wish to emphasize, because it should form throughout the fundamental principle in the mining engineer's education. Mining is not a science, but an essentially practical art, carried on for purely economic purposes. Success in mining, therefore, must be judged in a purely financial aspect, and economy is the criterion by which the mining engineer must stand or fall. Unless a trained man can do his work more economically than an untrained one his training is useless : of course, by economy I mean economy in ultimate results, and not an immediate apparent cheapness that may, and often does, prove very costly in the long run. Whilst mining is thus not a science, it is nevertheless an art that rests upon a basis of purely scientific principles, but it is the proper application of these principles that makes the miaing engineer. A knowledge of the sciences upon which mining is based is obviously indispensable, but this knowledge by itself is not enough. The mining engineer must be able to apply these sciences, and in applying them he must forget, as far as possible, the study of science for its own sake, and must bear in mind only the practical results for which he is striying. As an example of what I mean, I may quote a case of an ultra-scientific gentleman who was put in charge of a gold-mine, and who resorted to elaborate processes to get out the utmost particle of gold from the ore he was treating, overlooking the fact that it would have paid him far better to have let a little run to waste, because these last grains were costing him far more than they were worth. Similarly, in coal-mining it is, of course, good practice to get as large a proportion of coal out of a given area as possible, but a point may easily be reached when the cost of the timber that might have to be put in to get the last portions of coal would exceed the value of the coal got. In other words, due regard must be had to what the economist terms the " marginal increment," These are instances of what I mean by following too closely the principles of pure science to the neglect of commercial considerations. I will now review briefly the various sciences that the mining engineer more especially requires in his connection with mining. First of all, naturally, comes the subject of mathematics. The higher mathematics are of immense value, not only for educational purposes as a system of mental training, but because all modern science is tending more and more every day to form a portion of mathematics. Physics have long been a branch of applied mathematics, and chemistry is fast becoming one. While these higher branches are thus of great value and assistance, certain of the lower ones, including the more elementary portions of algebra, trigonometry, and geometry, are absolutely indispensable. I need only remind you of their use in surveying and in engineering calculations ; besides, it is almost a truism that a man who is working for pecuniary results should be good at figures. Chemistry plays an important part in a mining engineer's curriculum: its theory, because a knowledge of the laws governing the constitution of matter is indispensable as a basis of scientific work, and its practice, because a mining engineer is constantly called upon to make assays of the minerals he is winning, and may need to analyse any other substance he meets with underground, as, for instance, mine gases. And even if he employs a chemist to make his analyses for him, unless he knows chemistry, he will not be able to understand as he should the results which are submitted to him. For this reason the mining engineer must not only study theoretical chemistry, but must himself work sufficiently long in the laboratory to become proficient in qualitative and quantitative analysis, and in assaying. Physics, again, not only teach the student the laws that govern the motion of matter, but is every day becoming of greater practical importance. Electricity especially has been playing a most important part in mine engineering. I need only mention electric coal-cutting, electric underground and surface haulage, and the electric transmission of power to remind you of the number of applications that this science has found of recent years; and indications are not wanting that further developments of this force will be produced before long that will almost revolutionise some aspects of mining. There seems little doubt that we shall have to look to electricity in the near future to provide us with a really perfect form of safety-lamp, and that even if explosions in coal-mines are to become a thing of the past it will be through the agency of the electric light. It may indeed be said that there seems scarcely any limit to the potential application underground of this most convenient force. I hold, therefore, that, besides theoretical physics, a mining engineer's training should include a short time in an electrical laboratory or shop, where the student may be familiarised with the construction of electrical machinery and the application and measurement of electric currents. Of the importance of mechanics little need be said ; such subjects as machine construction, strength of materials, the steam-engine, water-motors, and many others come so obviously into the every-day practice of the mining engineer that he must perforce study their principle thoroughly. A mining engineer is so often called upon to design machines for various purposes, or to test

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the efficiency of a machine already constructed, that he must be a good mechanic. I hold that it is not necessary for him to actually serve any time in workshops, although he will often find it an immense advantage to be able to use some of the simpler engineer's tools, and more especially to do a little smithing. In out-of-the-way corners of the world I have found the ability to sharpen a drill or to point a pick of greater value to me than might be supposed by those who have never prospected in remote regions. These three sciences—chemistry, physics, and mechanics, together with the all-pervading mathematics—form the basis of the mining engineer's training. Next comes what may be called secondary sciences, more closely connected with the miners' special work. These are geology and mineralogy. Geology is, to a great extent, the scientific basis of mining ; the man whose daily duty it is to exploit certain portions of the earth's crust must know thoroughly the rocks of which it is composed, their appearance, their composition, and the mode in which they were formed. He must not only know geology thoroughly, but must also have some knowledge of the subjects most closely connected with it. For instance, he must know something of palaeontology. Evidently, the more he knows the better ; but a fair general knowledge, without entering into recondite details, is all he needs. Thus he ought to be able to recognise a trilobite when he sees one, and to know that if he comes across strata containing these fossils he need not waste money in sinking deeper in search of coal-beds. This knowledge is quite enough for practical purposes, and he would not be any the better off practically for being able to name the genus and species to which the trilobite might belong. Similarly as regards lithology, this science, in its ultimate developments, is best left to specialists. All a mining engineer really requires is to tell broadly what class of work he is dealing with. It does not matter much to him as a rule whether a certain rock that he might come across is, say, a diorite or a diabase, provided that he knows beyond the possibility of mistake that he is not dealing with a stratified rock, and what the effect of a dyke of igneous rock is likely to be upon the strata which it traverses. In fact, for the mining engineer physical geology is the most important part of the subject, and one which he must have at his fingers' ends. It is, perhaps, needless to say that geology must be studied in the field no less than in the lecture-room, and that the mining engineer ought to be familiar with all the various indications by which geological phenomena can be recognised and traced. Mineralogy, including crystallography, deserves more attention than is usually devoted to it. The ability to be able to recognise at once any mineral that he comes across is of immense use to the mining engineer, and in this he is always greatly assisted by crystallographic indications. I may quote a case in point. I was once sent to report in a great hurry upon a deposit of magnetite in Nova Scotia that was offered for sale as a Bessemer ore. I found, on examing the ore, that it contained minute needle-like crystals, which, under the lens, appeared as hexagonal prisms, and which, from their crystallographic characters, I concluded to be a mineral called apatite, consisting of phosphate of lime. I accordingly broke off the negotiations at once, and subsequent analysis confirmed the correctness of my diagnosis. Here, then, was an instance in which a knowledge of crystallography saved much time and possibly a heavy pecuniary loss. Another instance that came under my cognisance was that of an engineer who had to report on a silver-lead mine. He took his samples from various points along levels, and as his assays gave very satisfactory results he was preparing to report favourably when a close examination of some crystals of galena that he had broken out from the roof of a level showed Portland cement on the back of the specimens. Needless to say this discovery was enough to show him that the mine had been " salted." These two examples will, I hope, suffice to show how the knowledge of what is really a pure science can have a very practical value even in the commercial sense for a mining engineer. We now come to the course on mining proper, to which the previous subjects serve as foundation, so to speak. I have not attempted, and in a college like this, with a staff of professors whose duty it is to teach these sciences, and whose eminence in their respective subjects is too widely acknowledged to need any word from me, I would not venture to do more than indicate what bearing these sciences have upon the training of a mining engineer, and to what extent he needs their aid. The first part of a mining course usually consists of what is, strictly speaking, a portion of geology—namely, an account of the various forms in which mineral deposits are met with, the mode in which these deposits have been formed, and the various classes of dislocations and interruptions to which they are subject. These matters need dwelling on in more detail than is usually possible in a course of geological lectures; indeed, in some Continental universities these subjects are elevated to the rank of a separate science, and professional chairs have been devoted to it. The student has next to attack mining proper, and here he comes at once into a new world. He has hitherto been studying pure science; now he has to learn an art, and must from the first be taught to consider it in its trade aspects. All such subjects as prospecting, boring, shaft-sinking, exploitation, haulage, winding, pumping, ventilation, and so on have to be considered in their economic as well as in their technical aspects. Of course, it is absolutely impossible to learn mining either from lectures or from books alone, Not very long ago I saw in a newspaper an advertisement from some one who proposed to teach mining by correspondence, and I could not help wondering how a mine would fare the manager of which had been taught in this fashion. All that a lecturer on mining can do is to describe to his students the practice in various parts of the world, and the principles upon which it is based, drawing especial attention to those methods that have proved economically successful, and also, whenever possible, contrasting with them other systems that have proved failures or have been superseded by better ones. After all is said and done, mining must perforce be learnt in the mine. A combination of practical work with lectures is the best way of learning, but then it is always preferable, whenever possible, that elementary lectures should precede the practical work, so that the student may know what to observe and how to observe it. After he has learnt all the pure science he needs, let

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him attend a course on elementary mining, and not till then let him go underground. Advanced lectures of a more specialised nature should then be attended, say, during two days a week, while the student is working in the mine for the rest of his time. Furthermore, there should be special short courses on such matters as mine accounts, mineral legislation, and mineral statistics. Minesurveying should be thoroughly taught in a course of demonstrations, in which the students themselves are made to execute surveys, if possible, underground, or, if not, at any rate under somewhat analogous conditions. They should be taught to calculate and plot their own surveys, and especial attention should be directed to the calculation of quantities upon a systematic basis. A branch of mining that requires special training is that of ore-dressing, in which term is included all the mechanical preparation of minerals after they have been brought to bank in order to fit them for the market. All methods of crushing minerals and of dressing them, whether the object of the process is to save the heavier portions, as in lead-dressing, or the lighter ones, as in coal-washing, are also included. This subject is best taught by laboratory demonstrations. A laboratory for this purpose should be filled with various types of crushing-machines, and with experimental jigs, shaking-tables, &c, so that the student can test for himself the effect of various processes, and of various ways of carrying out the same process upon a given ore; there should also be facilities for assaying the products of the operations, so that the student can prove to his own satisfaction the value of his work. Properly conducted, such a laboratory course has immense educational value, in addition to the training it affords in the treatment of minerals, and a student who has gone through such a course will have a grip of his subject and an intimate knowledge of minerals such as no amount of mere lectures or reading can give him. lam accordingly inclined to lay especial stress upon the importance of a course of practical ore-dressing. Finally, the mining engineer must have a good general knowledge of metallurgy. It is no exaggeration to say that nine-tenths of all the products of mines, whether coal or metalliferous, are intended to undergo metallurgical treatment. In fact, minerals are mined and prepared for that object. Unless the mining engineer knows exactly what the processes are by which the mineral he raises will have to be treated, he is not in a good position to judge of the most suitable condition in which they should be delivered, and without such knowledge he is likely to produce an article less readily marketable than the man who knows what after-treatment he is preparing his ores for. Obviously, therefore, the man who knows metallurgy is likely to get better prices for his products than the man who does not. In addition, the study of metallurgy completes and rounds off his knowledge of minerals, and thus puts a finish on his technical educatiou. The minor details of metallurgy are not, indeed, required, but a general knowledge is, and no man can be considered a really thorough mining engineer unless he is a metallurgist as well. I have now laid before you briefly the main elements that should, in my opinion, compose the technical training of a mining engineer, and I venture to think that a man thus trained is in a position to take his place in a mine, and to be of some use from the day he enters it, although, of course, he will have to spend a good many years underground before he can attain to any mastery over his subject. It may be objected that such a training as I have sketched out will require a good deal of time. So it will. Ido not consider five years any too much to devote to the study of mining engineering. Ido not know of any profession that can really be learnt in less, and hold very strong opinions as to the injury inflicted upon the mining industry in every way by the admission into the ranks of mining engineers of men only partly qualified for their duties. Unfortunately, mining is to some extent a hazardous career, and chance plays a far larger part in it than in most other pursuits. Hence it may happen that an untrained man now and then finds himself in charge of so good a mine that all his ignorance cannot prevent its paying its way. I remember an instance in South Africa'where a certain mine-manager had control of a very successful mine, and for a time enjoyed quite a reputation as a mining authority; yet all this gentleman knew about mining was what he had been able to acquire while following his former occupation as a ship's steward. Such things will occur as long as the duties and training of a mining engineer remain vague and undefined, but it is pretty evident that a clearer public opinion on this point is gradually springing up. One thing is quite certain, and that is that in the face of the keenest of competition all over the world to-day no mining engineer can afford to neglect any item of training that is likely to help him in the struggle for existence, and that no mine can pay so well in the long run as the mine that is controlled by a properly-qualified manager. Do not think that I am taking too candid a view of the mining engineer's duties; the sole justification for his existence is that he can make mining pay, and mining, I repeat, is a purely commercial pursuit. Accordingly, as I have said, the mining engineer must be first and foremost a man of business, and must study science, not for its own sake, but for the profit in pounds, shillings, and pence that he can get out of its application. If any of you are inclined to contrast unfavourably such a purely utilitarian career with the pursuit of science for its own sake, I would ask you to remember that, while the scientist passes his life in adding to the knowledge of mankind, the technician spends his in adding to the stock of human comfort by his labours; and I Venture to assert that of the two the latter object is at least as important as the former one.

ACTION OF CYANIDE, (Paper read before the Institution of Mining and Metallurgy by Jamils Mac Tear.) I* has been stated in one of the MacArthur-Forrest patents that '' in practice we find the best results are obtained with a very dilute solution, or a solution containing or yielding an extremely small quantity of cyanogen or cyanide, such dilute solution having a selective action such as to dissolve the gold or silver in preference to the baser metals."

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To most of those who have been engaged in investigating this process, or who may have followed the recent litigation, the precise meaning of this assertion has been somewhat of a difficulty, the only definite explanation of which so far given ha_s been the statement in the judgment of the Court of Appeal, here given verbatim, that "a strong solution attacks the baser metals without attacking the gold, whereas a weak solution is feeble and nil on the baser metals, but attacks the gold." This, no doubt, seems to be a very definite assertion, but when one begins to examine the actual facts it is "seen to be incorrect. As a matter of fact, no statement has ever yet been made— and supported by experiments—to prove that a strong solution " attacks the baser metals without attacking the gold," nor that the action of " a weak solution is feeble and nil on the baser metals, but attacks the gold." The strongest claim that has yet been made and supported by experiment is not that indicated by the above quotation from the judgment in the Court of Appeal, but only that as a general rule a strong solution, while dissolving the gold, will also dissolve the baser metals, and that a weak solution, in dissolving the gold, will also dissolve the baser metals—in both cases a much larger actual weight of base metal than of gold being dissolved, but in the case of the weak solution less base metal in proportion to the gold is dissolved than in the case with the strong solution, the ore submitted to the solutions and the length of time during which the action of the solution upon the ore is allowed to continue being the same in both cases. It has been ingeniously argued, on the other hand, that while the " selective action " mentioned in the patent does not mean that strong solutions do not dissolve the gold, but dissolve the baser metals, and that weak solutions do dissolve the gold and not the baser metals, it does mean that the proportion of gold to base metal found in the solution is generally much larger in the case of dilute solutions than it is in the case of strong solutions as used in the treatment of ores, and therefore the result is that a greater concentration of the gold is obtained by the use of dilute solutions. In discussing the question it is necessary to bear in mind the fact that two types of action are involved. Firstly, the action of chemical affinity (a term most of us will be quite satisfied to use, although advanced chemists may consider it obsolete, as it is a convenient expression to explain certain chemical facts); and, secondly, the action of such chemical affinity assisted or modified by an electric current. Before dealing with these separately it will be necessary to define what is meant by the term used in the patent specification, " the baser metals." It may be accepted that this term refers not to the baser metals in their metallic form, but in the form of their natural compounds as they are generally found associated with gold and silver in their ores. Were it otherwise, and the baser metals in their metallic form were meant, then it is evident that the " selective action," as defined in the Court of Appeal, has no existence as regards the metals, but that the action is simply one of chemical affinity where the particles of metals are so placed in the solution that they do not form an electric couple ; in other words, that the action is simply that of the cyanide solution upon the metals. Experiments on the effect of cyanide-of-potassium solution on plates of the metals were made by Dr. Gore, and the results of such experiments, with a solution containing 186 per cent, of cyanide of potassium, equal to 0-74 per cent, of cyanogen, within the limits given of very dilute solutions in the MacArthur-Forrest patent, at 60°. Fahr., were published in the " Proceedings of the Eoyal Society," vol. 37, p. 284. The table there given shows the absolute proportionate weight of the various metals dissolved or " corroded " from one square inch of surface in one hour. Taking the amount of gold dissolved as 100 parts, the following are the proportions for the metals named: — Aluminum ... ... ... 1,055 Tin ... ... ... 66 Zinc ... ... ... 600 Nickel ... ... 56 Copper ... ... ... 588 Iron ... ... Trace. Silver ... ... ... 177 Platinum ... ... Trace. Gold ... ... ... 100 It will be seen at a glance that gold is in the middle of the table, and that aluminum, zinc, copper, and silver are more readily soluble, or, in other words, the " selective action," so far as these metals are concerned, is in their favour, and against gold ; while tin, nickel, iron, and platinum are less soluble, and as regards these metals the " selective action " will be in favour of gold. Of all these metals, silver and copper alone may be considered as existing naturally in the metallic state in gold-ores in appreciable quantity, and both of these are shown by the table to be more readily soluble than gold, and so far, therefore, the " selective action " of dilute cyanide solutions upon gold and the baser metals, where the action is not assisted by an electric current, may be dismissed without further consideration. It is a very different matter, however, if we accept the wider interpretation of the term " the baser metals," and take it to mean the natural compounds of the baser metals as they are found with gold and silver in ores. In this class will fall to be included such compounds as the oxides, carbonates, chlorides, sulphides, and sulphates of the baser metals. "We may assume that the compounds of the baser metals which are to be found in the gold- and silver-ores are chiefly those of iron, zinc, copper, and lead. These are the only ones which may be considered as practically affecting the question of " selective action " in the treatment of ores. Dealing with these in their order, experiment has shown that the action of cyanide-of-potas-sium solution on freshly-precipitated oxide of iron, zinc, copper, and lead is much greater than it is upon gold. As an illustration of this, equal quantities of freshly-prepared oxides, precipitated from the sulphates, were treated with cyanide-of-potassium solution of varying degrees of concentration

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for twenty-four hours in the presence of very finely-divided metallic gold. The strength of solutions employed was:— I. 11. 111. Cyanide of potassium in 1,000 parts of solution ... 5 20 50 Equal to— Cyanogen in a 1,000 parts of solution ... ... 2 8 20 Proportion of gold dissolved (No. 1 taken as 100) ... 100 237 550 Proportion of base-metal oxides dissolved ... ... 100 100 100 It will be observed that the proportion of base-metal oxide remained constant for each of the three strengths of solution, the explanation of this fact being that the whole of the oxides were dissolved in each ease, while the proportion of gold dissolved by the solutions increased with the strength of the solution, the whole of the gold, however, not being dissolved even in the case of the strongest solution. The relative proportions of base-metal oxide to gold dissolved in this experiment were— I. 11. 111. Gold dissolved (taken as 100) ... ... ... 100 100 100 Base-metal oxides dissolved ... ... ... 1,920 650 281 It is evident that in this case the base-metal oxides (freshly prepared) were much more soluble than the gold in the dilute solution, and that such "selective action" as existed was in direct variance with that claimed for the dilute solutions in the MacArthur-Forrest patent. It may be argued that an experiment with freshly-prepared base-metal oxides does not fairly represent the condition in which the ores are usually found in nature. This is so far true, but in the carrying-out of the process in practice in many cases the treatment of the ores with alkaline solutions has the effect of producing hydrated oxides, which are readily dissolved by cyanide of potassium as in the above experiment. It is true that in the case of some of the native oxides the rate of solution by cyanide of potassium is very much slower ; for instance, in the case of a very rich gold-ore containing over 21oz. of gold to the ton, and iron, in the state of oxides, 1-202 per cent. It was found that by treating the powdered ore with a solution containing l - 22 per cent, of cyanide of potassium (equal to 049 per cent, of cyanogen) for twenty-four hours, the quantity of the solution being equal to half the weight of the ore, the amounts dissolved were : — Oz. dwt. gr. Gold ... ... ... ... ... ... 7 0 22 Iron, calculated as ferrous oxide ... ... ... 7 112 showing practically the same amount of gold and of ferrous oxide dissolved in twenty-four hours. There is little doubt that had the relative amounts of gold and ferrous oxide dissolved been determined after the treatment of the solution had continued for, say, six, twelve, and eighteen hours, it would have been found that the proportion of "ferrous oxide to gold was greater for the shorter period. In the case of the carbonates of iron, copper, zinc, and lead, the amount of such carbonates dissolved by a dilute as well as by a strong solution of cyanide of potassium is very much greater than that of the gold or silver present with them; all the more so if oxygen be absent, and the " selective " or " discriminating " action is entirely the reverse of that mentioned in the patent. As regards the chlorides, the presence of any appreciable quantity of base-metal chlorides in gold-ores is so rare that it may be neglected, but should chloride of silver be present it is dissolved much more readily than the metallic gold. The base-metal compounds most commonly met with in gold-ores are the sulphides of iron, copper, lead, and zinc, in the form of iron- and copper-pyrites, galena, and zinc-blende. In the case of these sulphides very considerable differences are met with in regard to the rate at which they are dissolved, their physical condition as well as their chemical composition affecting the action of the solution of cyanide of potassium upon them. Whatever the strength, of the solution, its action is complicated by the presence of alkali as caustic or carbonate of potash, either present originally in the solution or produced in it by the reactions taking place in the process. This alkali acts on the sulphide in certain cases, complicating the reactions, but experiment shows that as a general rule the amount of base metal dissolved is much greater than the gold or silver dissolved, even where oxygen is present. Thus, in the case of clean unoxidized iron-pyrites containing gold equal to lldwt. 10gr. per ton, the finely-powdered ore was treated with half its weight of a solution containing 122 per cent, cyanide of potassium (equal to 0-49 per cent, cyanogen) for a period of twenty-four hours. The relative amounts of gold and base-metal sulphides dissolved were— Oz. dwt. gr. Gold ... ... ... ... ... ... 0 8 14 Iron, asFeS2 ... ... ... ... ... 41 13 0 the percentage extraction of the gold being equal to 756 per cent., while 787 per cent, of the cyanogen had been used up. In the case of oxidized ores we have to deal with base-metal compounds in the form of sulphates, nearly all of which are soluble in water. So far as regards these soluble sulphates, it requires no experiment to prove that there can be no " selective action " in favour of gold when a dilute solution is used in a case where even water will dissolve the base-metal sulphates without dissolving the gold. The presence of alkali in the solution also sheets the result, as the soluble sulphates are decomposed with the formation of carbonates or oxides of the baser metals, which are acted upon by the cyanide solutions as described above. So far we have been dealing with the question of solvent or chemical action only, but it is impossible to discuss the matter from this point of view alone, and it is necessary to consider the

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question of the "selective action" of dilute solutions upon ores as involving the effect of electric action also. For instance, a mixture of particles of metals cannot be treated by cyanide-of-potas-sium solution without bringing into play the action of the galvanic couples thus formed, nor, indeed, can a mixture, say, of sand containing particles of zinc and gold (although these be not in galvanic contact) be treated with cyanide-of-potassium solution without the formation of galvanic couples and the consequent complication of the action, for, as the gold enters into solution and is diffused throughout it, it comes in contact with the zinc, which precipitates it, and thus forms the galvanic couple. So far as the solvent action of cyanide-of-potassium solutions, assisted by the electric current, is concerned, it has been known for many years that dissimilar metals, when coupled together and immersed in solution of cyanide of potassium, give an electric current. The experiments of Gore and Skey carried our knowledge somewhat further, and gave the electromotive order of the metals in solution of cyanide of potassium. It will be observed that there are certain irregularities in the order in which the metals are placed in the above table, and the author has made three several sets of experiments with the view of ascertaining the cause. He has found that in the case of silver and gold the action is very slight, and it is difficult to decide as to which should be classed as the most positive metal; but, as silver is found to separate gold slowly from such solutions, it should be classed as positive to gold. With tin also the action is very slight, but it is abundantly clear that in all cases certain of the baser metals are positive to gold and silver, and certain others are negative to gold and silver. If galvanic couples of these metals be formed, and placed in a solution of cyanide of potassium, the negative metal will be protected from attack, while the positive metal will be dissolved; and the precipitation of gold and silver from such solutions by aluminum, zinc, and copper is a good illustration of another form of this galvanic action. The application of the action of the electromotive force shown in these tables to practical metallurgy made by Skey was to indicate that, where the cyanide-of-potassium solution was used in gold-milling with the idea of brightening the mercury and aiding amalgamation, it dissolved any salts of mercury the formation of which had caused the flouring, the mercuric cyanide thus formed, when brought in contact with metallic gold, dissolving it rapidly" while the mercury was reduced. Skey further points out that most if not all of the sulphides occurring in nature are negative to the series of metals given in the above tables, and in confirmation of this the author's experiments have shown that a very considerable current can be obtained from a series of galvanic elements composed of gold, with galena or pyrites. Not only so, but peroxide of manganese and magnetic iron-ore give a very distinct galvanic current in cyanide-of-potassium solution when coupled with gold. Kobell (" Anzeigen der Munchener Academic, J. Pr. Chem. L. 76 ") suggested employing the relative conductivity of minerals for the galvanic current as a mineralogical character, and he classed amongst the good conductors "the native metals (tellurium excepted), fahl-ore, mispickel, galena, pyrrhotite, copper-pyrites, magnetite, graphite, and many others." Where these minerals are associated with gold or silver in solution of cyanide of potassium so that the particles are in galvanic contact, the electric current set up will have the effect of protecting the negative element at the expense of the positive element, which, in this case, will be gold or silver. Such an action is entirely comparable to that which is taken advantage of for the protection of copper sheathing on ships by the use of the copper-zinc couple, where the zinc is dissolved, while it protects the copper from going into solution. Another example of a similar application is the use of sheets or pieces of zinc in steam-boilers to reduce or prevent the corrosion of the iron. If we now consider how this galvanic couple-action affects the question of the so-called " selective action," there can be but little doubt that the solution of the gold is considerably accelerated by such an action. In the first instance, it may be well to place beyond doubt the fact that an electric current does very materially facilitate the solution of gold by cyanide of potassium. An experiment was made as follows : A dilute solution containing 1 per cent, commercial KCy was placed in a glass beaker, 6in. diameter, to a depth of 6in. Two iron rods, lin. diameter, were immersed to a depth of 3in. in the solution, and kept 3in. apart. An electric current, with an intensity of 6 volts, giving 1 ampere of current by actual measurement, was passed through the solution. A sheet of gold-leaf, held between two pieces of muslin, was immersed in the solution between the poles; it immediately began to dissolve visibly, and within one minute and a half had practically disappeared. An exactly similar experiment in every way was made without the electric current, the sheet of gold-leaf, however, in this case taking over ten minutes to dissolve. Another experiment was made as follows : The solution was of the same strength as before, the poles were iron plates, the surface immersed measuring 3in. by lin. on each pole. These were placed 4fin. apart, and a leaf of gold was floated on the surface of the solution between them ; a current of T % of 1 ampere was then passed, and in four minutes the gold was almost entirely dissolved, a few small fragments remaining, probably having been slightly greasy. An entirely similar experiment was made with a leaf of silver, which dissolved very rapidly and completely, and another experiment was made with fine gold-dust sprinkled upon the surface of the solution, where it floated and gradually dissolved. It will be observed that in none of these experiments was there any actual contact between the gold and the anode or cathode through which the electric current was passing, but the electric action was an indirect one. The effect of the electric current where the gold forms the anode or cathode is, of course, well known from the ordinary practice of electro-platers. That a very considerable galvanic action is produced by galvanic couples of the natural sulphides of the baser metals and gold or silver is shown by small battery-cells, in which galena and silver, iron-pyrites and silver, zinc-blende and silver, are arranged as galvanic couples, the current

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produced being sufficient, with a battery of one or two cells, to speak for itself through an electric bell, and also to drive an electric motor. It may also be noticed that such galvanic couples may readily be formed in the case of goldores by the gold coming in contact with small particles of metallic iron worn off the shoes and dies of the stamps, the wear of which often amounts to from 21b. to 31b. of iron or steel per ton of ore, a quantity enormously greater than the amount of gold usually present in an ore such as is treated by the cyanide process. The results of a large number of experiments of the action of cyanide solutions of varying strengths upon actual ores might here be given, but the author has found that the results obtained with different ores vary so much that it is necessary to consider each ore by itself. There is, however, no doubt that if the action of the cyanide solution be arrested immediately the gold has been dissolved the dilute solution will be found to have dissolved, in the case of most ores containing sulphides, less of the baser-metal compounds than will have been dissolved by the stronger solution. But this naturally follows, there being even in the most dilute solution employed an enormous excess of cyanide of potassium over the amount required for the solution of the gold, the excess cyanide, of course, exerting its solvent action upon the base-metal compounds. For example, the most dilute solution indicated in the MacArthur-Forrest patent is to contain two parts of cyanogen to 1,000 of water. If such a solution be used to treat an ore such as Transvaal tailings, containing 15dwt. of gold per ton, there will be present about 160 times more cyanogen than is chemically required for the gold dissolved. Further, the amount of oxygen present in dilute solutions in the form of dissolved air or oxygen is known to be greater in dilute than in strong solutions ; and from this cause, as well as the greater mobility of the weak solutions, it would fairly be anticipated that the action of such more oxygenated dilute solutions would be greater upon gold or silver than that of the stronger solutions. The recent work of Maclaurin has placed this beyond doubt. One illustration may be given. A gold-ore containing a small percentage of iron-pyrites was treated with a solution containing l - 22 per cent, of cyanide of potassium (equal to 0-49 per cent, of cyanogen) for a period of forty-eight hours. The solution was tested for the amount of gold and iron dissolved, and the figures—calculated to 100 parts of gold in solution—were : Gold, 100 parts; iron, 1,450 parts. It seems, therefore, it could easily be foreseen that a solution containing no great excess of cyanide of potassium over that needed to dissolve the gold would dissolve more of it from the ore in proportion to the baser metals than a solution containing a large excess of cyanide of potassium which would act more upon the baser metals, and that the galvanic couples, formed of the sulphides, &c, associated with the gold in the ore, would materially aid in the solution of the gold. Further, as to the " concentrating" action. Starting with the fact that cyanide of potassium in dilute solutions was known to be a good solvent for gold, but not for base-metal sulphides, can it be a surprise to find that on treating an ore with such solutions we obtain a larger proportion of gold dissolved to that of the base-metal compounds compared with the amounts originally present? Surely it is a mistake to call this a " selective action " in favour of the gold. The answer to the statement, as given in the judgment of the Court of Appeal, with which we started, that "a strong solution attacks the baser metals without attacking the gold, whereas a weak solution is feeble and nil on the baser metals, but attacks the gold," is entirely contradicted by the results of both experimental and practical working of the process, which show in almost every case that the action of solutions of cyanide of potassium, whether strong or weak, is to dissolve a much larger actual weight of base-metal compounds than of gold, while the electro-chemical action set up by the formation of galvanic couples plays a most important part in the reactions that take place, the effect of which has not hitherto been sufficiently recognised.

THE SIEMENS-HALSKE PEOGESS ON THE BAND. The following interesting details of the Siemens-Halske process on the Witwatersrand are culled from a statement submitted by Mr. C. Butters, managing director to the shareholders of the Band Central Ore-reduction Company : — The mining industry is expanding so rapidly, and the resources of the country are so enormous, that every department of our business is crowded with work. Everything in the country to-day, including labour, supplies, timber, iron, &c, is dearer than it was a year ago, showing great prosperity. Our business opened three years ago with the purchase of tailings. There were at that time several buyers, and tailings were actively bid for; since then the companies have gradually ceased selling tailings, and we are practically the only buyers in the field. The nature of the material has changed, and we have had to change our methods to keep up with the business; nevertheless, our purchases and contracts for the past year total more than ever. There are certain wastes and by-products produced by every mill, notwithstanding however carefully and perfectly it may be run, which the companies cannot afford to handle, but which, when collected at central stations, form the basis of a very profitable business, both to the mill to sell and for us to buy. We are rapidly adjusting ourselves to this new class of permanent business, and in connection with it we shall produce later a class of merchantable by-products which will be a very profitable addition to our business. Copper and copper products, lead, litharge, and paint will be some of the products of our melting- and refining-works. One of the principal efforts of the year has been the practical introduction of the Siemens process into a number of large plants. The Worcester plant started in May, 1894, and has regularly treated 3,000 tons per month. The success obtained in these works was followed by its 28—C. 3.

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introduction at the Metropolitan Gold-mining Company upon joint account. The Metropolitan Company have since purchased the plant from us. The plant has now a capacity of about 5,000 tons per month, and commenced operations in November, since which time it has treated 26,909 tons of tailings, and produced 4,8450z. of gold. The company is very much pleased with the plant. The May Consolidated plant, being the third erected by us on the Siemens system, started work in May, and is now treating 6,000 tons per month. Mr. Osterloh, the very able and energetic manager of the May Consolidated, is much pleased with the process. The extraction is about 80 per cent., and the working costs about 2s. 4d. per ton, excluding royalty at 3 per cent. This plant is using the system of double treatment of its sands. For the Croesus Gold-mining Company we built on contract the fourth Siemens plant, of a capacity of 6,000 tons per month, upon plans furnished by Mr. Connor, of the Consolidated Goldfields. This plant has just completed its first clean-up. The Central Works of our own company have also installed the Siemens process. Our other plants will be adapted to this process as soon as possible. Plants now using the Siemens Peocess. Companies who have decided to use the -- ~ .. Average per SIEMENS PbOCESS. Name. Capacity. ~ 6 fV ,^ Tons M Oz th ' Name of Company. Cap^' Worcester ... ... 3,000 700 Summer and Jack ... ... ... 8,000 Metropolitan ... ... 4,500 600 Van Eyn Estate ... ... ... 8,000 May Consolidated ... 6,000 1,000 Van Eyn West ... ... ... 8,000 Croesus Gold-mining Co. ... 6,000 500 Crown Eeef Slime Plant ... ... 8,000 No. 4 Central Works ~. 5,000 800 Eobinson Slime Plant ... 8,000 We have had many difficulties to overcome in the first year, but the rapid introduction of the process which is now taking place shows that it is in every case a success. The cupellation department for the recovery of the gold from lead is in the hands of Mr. Jones, a skilled Swansea refiner, and the most perfect results are obtained. Just as the MacArthur-Forrest process was gradually improved by experience, so we shall expect to learn much from other metallurgists who make use of the Siemens patent. Very little has been written so far in regard to this process ; but one pomt —that of the amount of gold in solution leaving the boxes—has been criticized. The test of any process is its ability to precipitate the very dilute cyanide solutions obtained in the treatment of slimes. Successful slime-treatment to-day is only possible by means of the use of the Siemens process to precipitate the gold from the dilute liquors without the loss of cyanide. Absolute precipitation of the gold contained is merely a question of the right box-capacity to give sufficient circulation to the solution, and expose it long enough to the action of the current; experience gives the following results: We find that, with a box inside 30ft. long, 4ft. 7-J-in. wide, and 9ft. high, containing 121 plates of steel 4ft. 6in. by Bft. by £gin. as anodes, and having as cathodes 120 frames containing four sheets of lead each 4ft. by 2ft., 480 sheets containing 8 square feet, a= 480 x 8 = 3,843 square feet lead, each plate = 220z., we can precipitate 50 tons solution per day from 2dwt. of gold to a trace only per ton. These results have been confirmed by Mr. Williams. Solution travelling a distance of 120 ft. by Bft. = 960 ft., by circulating round each plate, and going this distance in fourteen hours and a half, the box holding about 30 tons of solution, the speed of the flow being equal to about lft. per minute. The iron plates are estimated to stand five years, while the lead plates are renewed as often as the box is cleaned up, the lead being charged with an average of 2 per cent, to 8 per cent, of gold. The probability is that the working-capacity of the boxes will be gradually increased. In fact, 50 per cent, more solution can be safely put through a box in twenty-four hours if it is not necessary to have complete precipitation. This is only required with the final washes. Mr. John E. Williams, consulting metallurgist to the Crown Eeef Gold-mining Company, in investigating the capacity of the precipitation-boxes for his company for use in their new slime plant, obtained the following results : From the treatment of 24 tons of liquor in twenty-four hours through a Siemens box at our central station, results obtained by Mr. John E. Williams with a box containing fifty-six plates of the size mentioned' above:—

— Australian Mining Standard.

No. of Test. Time. Originals, 2dwt. 12gr. after Precipitation. 0005 per Cent. K. Cy. Strength of Cyanide. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Hours. 3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 Dwt. gr. 1 3 0 20 0 12 0 8 0 4 0 2 less than £ 0 0 0004 per cent. K. Cy. 0-004 per cent. 0-004 per cent. 0-004 per cent.

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TEEATMENT OF SILVEE-OEES. The following is an article taken from Engineering : — In the lixiviation process of extracting silver the ores were roasted in admixture with sodiumchloride for the purpose of converting the silver salts into silver-chloride, and after being cooled were leached with water for the removal of soluble impurities. They were then lixiviated with a cold dilute solution of sodium or calcium-hyposulphite—the latter solvent being used in Mexico. In this lixiviation the silver-chloride contained in the ore was dissolved, and by the addition of cal-cium-sulphide the silver was precipitated as a sulphide, which was dried in filters and was reduced to the metallic condition by fusion or by cupellation. The plant for the lixiviation process comprised machinery for breaking and pulverising the ores, roasting-furnace, leaching- and precipitatingvats, and apparatus for treating the final product. In Northern Mexico the ores were almost always ground in a dry stamp-mill. In the 40--stamp mill at the Yedas mines the ore —much of which arrived partially broken from the pickingfloors—was fed into two rock-breakers in the upper part of the mill, and from them dropped into the ore-bin through sliding doors, in the bottom of which it was run into cars. The Yedas mines were situated about five days' journey from the coast, in a spur of the main Cordillera, at an altitude of more than 7,000 ft. above the and all freight had to be carried to them on pack animals. The battery-posts were made of thoroughly-seasoned timber. The feed-side and front of the batteries below the lines of the braces were unobstructed, so that the automatic feeders, the mortars, and the pulp-conveyors were readily accessible. Instances of the employment of the double mill for dry-stamping were to be met with ; in this type of mill two parallel lines of battery-posts were set facing each other. This mode of construction gave a strong and steady battery-frame, but for dry-crushing purposes it was attended with disadvantages. The weight for stamps appeared to be between 9501b. and 1,0001b., when as nearly always the case the preliminary breaking of the ore was limited to passage through a rock-breaker set to crush l-|in. to lfin. Whether the practice of breaking the ore to a smaller size before feeding it into the batteries and of using light stamps for the final pulverisation would sufficiently improve the physical condition of the pulp to justify the increased complexity of the mill was a matter worthy of investigation. In one or two instances where a somewhat coarse grade of crushing sufficed, roller-crushers had been used in Sonora for grinding ores. The results obtained had, however, not been entirely satisfactory; in one or two excellently-built mills the crushers when submitted to the test of continuous hard work had failed to supply the furnaces with the amount of fine meal required of them. The roll-crusher, although without a rival as a reducer of ore to a small gravel size, had but a limited capacity when used as fine pulveriser; so that if roll-crushers were to be successfully employed for the production of fine meal for such purposes as those of the leaching process, the principle of graduated reduction in a series of machines must be more thoroughly applied. In view of the wear-and-tear of the rolls and sieves it was doubtful whether any cheapening of the operation of crushing would be. brought about by substituting rolls for stamps, the advantage to the lixiviation process would be the improved condition of the crushed ore, both for chloridizing purposes and for the filtering-vats. The chloridizing-roasting was the most important and expensive part of the manipulation. It was usually carried out in long reverberatory furnaces, divided into several hearths. In the cooler parts of the furnaces a large part of the sulphides was converted into sulphates, and in the hotter parts the chlorine necessary for the chloridization of the silver salts arose from the mutual decomposition of the sulphates, and these common salts added to the charge. The chief requisites for good roasting were carrying out the operation in a highly oxidizing atmosphere, and at the lowest practicable temperature. When ores were roasted with an insufficient supply of air, reactions occurred in the roasted mass after discharge from the furnace, and particularly after being washed with water, which interfered with the extraction of the silver. The loss of silver which occurred in roasting was affected more by the temperature at which the operation was carried out than by any Other influence. The ore was leached in large circular vats. The first leaching with water had to be thorough, since any soluble impurities which were not removed entered the chemical solution used in the second leaching. The solvent employed in the second leaching, or lixiviation, was a dilute solution of calcium-hyposulphite. Operations at new works were begun with a solution of sodium-hyposulphite, the strength employed being ten or fifteen parts of the crystallized commercial salt in one thousand parts of water. The rate of filtration in the vats depended on the physical condition of the ore-pulp, so that the mechanical preparation of the ore had to receive special attention ; the pulverised ore should be in the condition of fine meal, as free as possible from dust. When base and refractory ores were treated, rapidly solving with dilute solutions was very desirable ; under these conditions a minimum quantity of the salts of the base metals was extracted with the silver. Besides silver-chloride, various salts of silver, such as silver-antimonate and silverarsenate, were partially or wholly soluble in solutions of calcium-sulphide, which should be freshly prepared as needed. At places where caustic soda was readily obtainable, there was good reason to believe that the earlier practice of using sodium-hyposulphite as solvent and sodium-sulphide as precipitant was more economical. The precipitate obtained from pure ores was often converted to the metallic condition by fusion in crucibles with scrap-iron and borax. The product from base ores was, however, largely mixed with impurities, and was refined in German refining furnaces. Furnaces of ample dimensions were used in order that the sulphides might be mixed with a large amount of litharge. The rich lead obtained was refined in an English test furnace. The precipitation was sometimes so conducted as to furnish two grades of sulphides. The precipitate, rich in silver from the earlier stages of leaching, was treated by fusion or cupellation, and the poor variety from the later stages was shipped to smelting-works. The process successively treated a wide range of ores, which contain too much impurity to be reducible by roasting and amalgamation. The cost of working either process was much influenced by local conditions; but, if the nature of the ore was such as to require a chloridizing-roasting, the

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silver contained in it could be more cheaply extracted by a solution of a hyposulphite than by means of mercury. Ores which contained a small percentage of copper were treated by the Patera process with excellent results, and the rapidity with which the use of the process was extending in Sonora was partly due to the fact that nearly all the silver-ores found in that State were accompanied by some copper mineral. Considerable loss of silver took place in the operation of chloridizing-roasting. The fine oredust which escaped from the furnaces was mostly recovered, but a large portion of the fume escaped. The flues which conducted the furnace-gases from the furnaces to the stacks were generally too small in sectional area. The current in them was too rapid, and the fumes had a poor chance to settle. For the development of the process the reversal of this state of things is to be desired. In reduction of costs, as distinguished from the avoidance of loss, the greatest room for improvement occurred in the roasting. The more extended use of furnaces, in which the stirring of the ores was effected by mechanism or adoption of reverberatory furnaces of very large dimensions, would undoubtedly decrease the cost of this part of the operation.

PATENT EIGHTS GEANTED. Watson's Gold-amalgamatoe. I, William Watson, of Maori Eoad, Dunedin, civil and mining engineer and draftsman, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " Watson's Gold-amalgamator," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — My invention consists of a copper cylinder open at each end, and revolved on rollers E E, as in Fig. 1, or revolving on a hollow trunnion at delivery-end A and spindle at discharge-end B, Fig. 2. Instead of a complete opening at discharge-end there may be perforations, as shown at end elevation B. The interior cylindrical grooves or wells A contain quicksilver. The goid-bearing stuff is fed into the hopper H, into which is pouring a stream of water supplied by a pump if necessary, and which carries the fine gold-bearing stuff through the perforations into shoot S, as in Fig. 1, or through hollow trunnion-pipe p, as in Fig. 2 ; it is delivered into the quicksilver wells A and is rolled round in them, and either passes on over the quicksilvered interior of the remaining part of the cylinder, where final amalgamation takes place, as in Figs. 1 and 3, or is finally discharged, as shown in Fig. 2. The debris is discharged on to a copper-plate box cp, with save-all well as a prevention of loss. The revolving cylinder Gis driven by means of a belt B round a driving-pulley Pon countershaft CS by the handle H. The counter-shaft, supported on frame FF, is the driving-power, by means of a belt round the cylinder C. The said shaft has a crank for pumping, and any power may be used, and the cylinder may revolve on four rollers E E, as in Fig. 1, or on central bearings, as in Fig. 2. Fig. 3is only to show an internal cone of quicksilver wells or grooves, in steps or drops from centre downwards, which may be used instead of cylinders shown in Figs. 1 and 2 respectively if desired. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is: The revolving copper cylinder containing a series of quicksilver grooves or wells and silvered in its interior, or completely filled as to its interior surface with grooves or wells, all as described in the foregoing specification, and shown in the accompanying plans. Dated this sth day of August, 1895. William Watson. Amalgamatoe. We, Midas Gold-saving Machinery Company, of San Francisco, California, a corporation incorporated under the laws of the State of California, U.S.A., of which E. C. Hughes is president, and J. M. Eademaker secretary, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for "Amalgamator," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — Our invention relates to an improved apparatus for the amalgamation and saving of valuable and precious metals. It consists in certain details of construction which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of our apparatus ; Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken through x-x of Fig. 1 ; Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-section of the cylinder ; Fig. 4 is a view of the key. A is a cylinder of any suitable or desired length and diameter ; a proportionate length of from 6ft. to 7ft. for a diameter of 14in. is very suitable for the purpose. This cylinder is preferably made of iron tubing, and is cut in halves longitudinally, so that it may be easily opened and closed, and is provided with flanges B upon each side of the meeting edges. The flanges upon one side of the cylinder serve to form a joint about which one-half is turned to open and close the cylinder, and the flanges upon the opposite side serve for the locking devices by which the two parts are firmly held together. The hinges consist of eye-bolts C pivoted in slots in one of the flanges B so as to turn about their pivot-pins. These bolts are screw-threaded, and extend through holes in the flange of the opposing segment, and by means of nuts D they are adjusted so as to bring the flanges into proper relative position when the parts are closed together, and to lock the bolts firmly to the flange through which they pass. Through the flange on the opposite side of the cylinder passes another bolt, suitably locked thereto, and having an extension or plate with an elongated slot, as shown at E. This slotted portion projects up through the opposing flange of what would be the upper portion of the cylinder when it is in position to be opened or closed, and these two parts are secured

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together by means of keys F, which are driven into the slots E so as to lock firmly against the flange B of the cylinder. These keys are tapering or wedge-shaped as shown, and they have reversed inclines terminating in vertical shoulders at-the heads of the keys, as shown at F l , so that when the keys are to be released they are easily driven out by striking against this shoulder, thus preserving the points from injury. The interior of the semi-cylinders are lined with heavy copper, silver-plated linings G, which are shaped to fit the cylinders, to which they are firmly bolted or otherwise secured. These linings have flanges G 1 extending outwardly between the meeting edges of the exterior semi-cylinders, and rubber gaskets H are fixed to the flanges B of the lowermost segment, so that when the two halves are closed together these gaskets form a hermetically tight joint. By constructing the hinges with the swinging-bolts previously described the upper half is readily opened after the keys F have been disengaged from the locking-plates upon the opposite side by raising the upper half and turning it about these hinges. As the centres about which the hinges are turned are at some distance from the meeting faces of the cylinder sections and the gaskets, the movement of the hinged edge of the upper half takes place in a small arc of a circle, which thus insures the two parts separating directly without any rubbing movement when opened, and closing in the same manner when the parts are closed. By reason of the locking-nuts on the bolts, the hinges can always be adjusted to compensate for any wear or change in thickness of the gaskets, so that a tight joint can always be preserved at this point. The interior copper-lining segments are folded upon themselves, so as to form inwardly-projecting ribs G 2 , which stand radially towards the centre of the cylindrical structure when the parts are closed together, and by this method of forming the ribs the lining and ribs are made in a single continuous structure without any joints to leak or to catch and retain mercury or amalgam. These ribs are made essentially straight and of an equal depth from end to end, and may be as many in number as desired. The interior of this plate and the ribs are silver-plated or amalgamated, so as to form a surface for the retention of any gold, silver, mercury, or amalgam which may be delivered into the apparatus. This cylinder is provided with heads H and H l . The tube A extends over the inner end of each of these heads, and is suitably secured thereto, with intervening gaskets to make a tight joint. The head H has a hollow trunnion I extending through a journal-box or bearing J in which it turns. Through the trunnion passes a tube X which extends into the head Hto about the line of its inner end. At this point is a screw-collar K 1 which serves to receive and hold the end of a dis-tributing-tube K 2 , which is screwed into the collar and projects centrally and axially into the interior of the cylinder to any desired extent, from an eighth to a half of the entire length of the cylinder. The inner end of the tube K 2 is closed, and its periphery is perforated with a series of spirallyarranged openings. The tube X passes out through the trunnions and through a stuffing-box, shown at L, to prevent leakage at this point, and its outer end has an elbow M connected with it. To the upturned end of this elbow is connected a hopper N, which serves to receive the pulp to be fed into the apparatus. This pulp, with a sufficient quantity of water for the purpose, is delivered into the hopper, and through the pipe X passes into the extension K 2 , and is delivered through the perforations therein in a fine spray, falling within the interior of the amalgamated cylinder, and being delivered by this extension to a considerable distance from the receiving-end of the cylinder for the purpose of more generally distributing it before it comes in contact with the amalgamated surfaces. The head H 1 is closed at the outer end, and carries a bevel gear 0 through which power is applied to rotate the cylinder. The shaft P extending outwardly from the centre of this head is supported in a suitable journal-box P l . The whole cylinder is thus supported from its opposite ends, and the relative position of the supports is such that the cylinder has a slight declination from the receiving- to the discharge-end, this being just enough to cause a slow but perceptible flow from one end to the other. The head H 1 has within it two diaphragms Q and B. Both diaphragms have inwardly-projecting tubular central portions as shown, and are sufficiently separated from each other to form a trap or chamber S. The inner face of the diaphragm Q may be protected by an annular amalgamated copper-plate bolted down thereto. The pulp overflows when it rises in the cylinder to the height of the tubular opening, and, passing into the trap S, rises therein until it overflows through the tubular opening in the diaphragm E. Any fine particles of valuable metal which may have been carried from the cylinder with the pulp will be deposited in the trap S, and the waste pulp flowing into the exterior chamber in the head H will be delivered through discharge passages T, which are formed in this portion of the head, and will flow out into any suitable or desired receptacle below. The ribs G 2 formed on the copper lining of the cylinder previously described have the ends next to the receiving-head bent or turned into a sort of incline or spiral, so that material falling near this end will be started towards the discharge-end of the cylinder as the latter rotates, and the opposite ends of the plate are, in like manner, bent in the opposite direction, so as to assist in expelling the pulp at that end. The operation of the apparatus will then be as follows : Pulp being delivered into the hopper N, flows through the pipe X, and is delivered through the distributor K 2 , falling upon the interior amalgamated surface or lining of the cylinder, and as the latter rotates it constantly lifts and stirs the pulp, which maintains a level within the cylinder up to the bottom of the discharge-opening at the opposite end. The slight inclination of the cylinder is such that as the pulp and material are lifted by these flanges it always falls a little in advance of the point where it was lifted, and is gradually carried from end to end of the cylinder by an exceedingly slow movement, while the constant lifting and falling bring it into intimate contact with the amalgamated surfaces a repeated and great number of times. A slight rubbing action takes place among the particles during all of these movements, which serves to scour the gold if it is in any way coated or rusty, and to generally

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brighten all the particles of metal, so that they will become amalgamated before they have time to reach the discharge-end of the cylinder. The apparatus is continued in operation until a sufficient quantity of amalgam has been deposited upon the plates, when it is brought to a state of rest with one of the halves of the cylinder lowermost and the other uppermost. The apparatus is then held in this position by means of swinging arms or supports U, suitably fulcrumed upon the side-timbers of the frame, and adapted to be turned up so as to stand below the flanges B of the lowermost half and prevent it from turning. The keys F being then loosened and removed, the upper half is turned about its hinges, and the interior of the two halves is exposed so that it may be perfectly cleaned and prepared for further operation. The silvered lining of the cylinder and the ribs G 2 terminate a short distance from the discharge-end of the apparatus, thus leaving a space not occupied by the lining and the ribs. Any surplus mercury leaving the plates and any heavy or coarse particles of material will pass into this unoccupied portion of the cylinder, and will not be subjected to the lifting action of the ribs, but will remain in the bottom of the cylinder as it revolves, and may be removed when the cylinder is opened to clean up. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is, — 1. An amalgamator consisting of the inclined approximately horizontal cylinder formed in two segments, having an interior silver-plated lining, said lining being folded at intervals to form radial ribs, and flanges projecting between the two parts of the cylinder in single continuous segments without joints. 2. An amalgamator consisting of a cylinder formed of two segments, flanges along the edges of each segment, hinges by which the adjacent flanges upon one side are connected together, said hinges consisting of screw-threaded eye-bolts pivoted to one of the flanges, extending through holes in the opposite flange having nuts by which the flange is adjusted with relation to its opposing one and clamped to the bolts, a means for locking the flanges upon the opposite side when the two parts of the cylinder have been closed, and an interior lining consisting of segmental amalgamated plates extending from end to end and having radially-projecting ribs formed by folding said plates, flanges projecting between the meeting edges of the two segments, and elastic gaskets whereby tight joints are formed along said edges. 3. An amalgamator consisting of a cylinder divided longitudinally to form segments having flanges upon the opposite and meeting edges; screw-bolts having one end pivoted in the flange of one of the segments and the opposite end adjustably secured to the adjacent flange of the opposing segment upon one edge; locking-clamps consisting of slotted bolts secured in one flange upon the opposite side of the cylinder, and passing through openings in the corresponding adjacent flange of the other segment when the parts of the cylinder have been closed; wedges adapted to be driven into said slots to draw the flanges together, said wedges having depressions and heads F 1 formed upon them whereby they may be removed. 4. An amalgamator consisting of a cylinder formed of two segments longitudinally separable, with hinges and locking devices; interior segmental linings consisting of amalgamated plates folded longitudinally at intervals to form inwardly-projecting radial jointless ribs, and gaskets whereby the longitudinal joints are hermetically sealed when the segments are closed together; cylindrical heads upon which the ends of the cylindrical segments close with interposed gaskets; journal-boxes at opposite ends; a shaft turning in one of the journal-boxes whereby one end of the cylinder is supported; a hollow trunnion turning in the other journal-box, having a tube extending therethrough connecting at the outer end with the feed-hopper, and having the inner end extending into the cylinder and perforated to form a distributor. 5. An amalgamator consisting of a cylinder formed of segments longitudinally separable, with flanges, hinges, and locking devices whereby the two parts may be closed together; an interior lining consisting of segments fitting the two parts of the cylinder and folded to form inwardly-pro-jecting radial jointless ribs, said ribs having their opposite ends bent spirally; cylindrical heads with gaskets about which the segments of the cylinder are fitted and secured, one of said heads having a feed-tube and distributor extending through it axially into the interior of the cylinder, the opposite head formed with transverse diaphragms with an intermediate trap, and central dischargeopenings through which the pulp flows and final discharge-openings formed around the outer chamber. 6. An amalgamator consisting of a cylinder formed of separable segments with an interior lining of silvered segmental plates folded to form inwardly-projecting jointless ribs, said plates and ribs terminating a short distance from the discharge-end to leave a space for the collection of free mercury and heavy particles unacted upon by the ribs. Dated this 14th September, 1895. Midas Gold-saving Machinery Company, By J. M. Eademakee, Secretary. An Improved Amalgamating-pan foe treating Finely-divided Metalliferous Material. We, Alfred Andrew Lockwood, of Auckland, metallurgist, and Arthur Edward Langley, also of Auckland, mining agent, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for " An Improved Amalga-mating-pan for treating Finely-divided Metalliferous Material," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — This invention relates to an improved amalgamating-pan for treating tailings and other finelydivided metalliferous material, and it has been devised in order to produce such a pan or machine in which amalgamation will take place with comparative thoroughness and celerity, which may be constructed at comparatively small cost, and require no great power and attention to work it. An improved amalgamating-pan constructed according to this invention has a bottom and

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amalgamating-surface from the outside of which rises the peripheral wall of the vessel, and from the centre of which rises a cone or pillar, terminating in a journal for a vertical central drivingshaft. Over the central cone or pillar a cylindrical" or other conveniently-shaped carrier descends and carries a revolving annular muller, or rubber, adapted to work or revolve on or imperceptibly above the surface of the bottom of the pan. This carrier has an adjustable screw between its top and the top of the vertical driving-shaft, by which screw the contact or non-contact of the muller with the pan-bottom may be regulated. As under some circumstances it is desirable to pass an electric current through the material under treatment and the mercury used for the amalgamation of the metals in said material, this invention further provides for charging the revolving muller with an electric current of any desired pressure and in any desired quantity as understood in electric practice. But in order that the invention may be clearly understood, reference will now be made to the drawings herewith, in which Fig. 1 is a central sectional elevation, and Pig. 2 is a plan of the bottom of an improved amalgamating-pan constructed according to our invention. Ais the pan bottom or amalgamating-surface, having three or any other convenient number of annular mercury channels A l , connected regularly or otherwise by any convenient number of gates or openings A 2, and having an inclined grip or channel A 3 by which the amalgam or charged mercury maybe drawn off by any suitable arrangement. To the outer flange of the bottom A the peripheral casing B is bolted or otherwise fixed, and from the centre rises the central pillar or cone C, preferably cast with the bottom, but which may be separately formed and suitably fixed thereto. This pillar forms a journal for the central shaft D, which has a footstep-bearing B at bottom, and a fixed key or feather Fat the top. This shaft is driven by the bevel-wheel G and pinion H, the horizontal shaft I, and fast and loose pulley X in the usual manner. Over and enclosing the central cone is carried a cylinder M, which carries the annular muller or disc L. The cylinder M and the disc L are preferably cast separately, but they may, if desired, form one casting. An annular hopper N and its top N 1 are fitted over the top of the central shaft D and attached to the cylinder M in such manner that, by means of the fixed key or feather F at the top of the shaft D, the whole combination of muller L, cylinder M, and hopper and top N and N 1 are caused to revolve by the central shaft and bevel-gearing aforesaid. By means of the screw 0, and hand-wheel 01,O 1 , and lock-wheel 02,O 2 , the muller L may be caused to revolve on the pan-bottom A or at any desired distance above it. Pis a discharging-vessel attached to the periphery of the pan, the discharge being regulated by a movable door, or by plugs, or by any other means ; but this part of the arrangement is not included in the improvements herein claimed. In operation, the slime or metalliferous material is supplied to the annular hopper N, thence it passes through openings in the bottom of the hopper into the space between the cylinder M and the pillar C, thence between the muller L and the pan-bottom A, where, the height of the mailer being suitably adjusted, it is rubbed into the mercury by the revolution of the disc or muller L. The precious metals having been by this means amalgamated, the waste and refuse pass away by the discharge arrangement at P. The casing Mis described as cylindrical, and it is preferably so formed; but it may obviously be conical, or of other convenient shape. In order to pass, when required, a current of electricity through the material under treatment, and through the mercury in the annular channels A l , one or more—preferably two—circular ribs Q are formed on the disc or muller L. On these ribs one or more rollers E with metal springs or brushes S are carried. The rollers R, by means of light frames or yokes, are hung from rods carried by stout wooden rods V adjustably affixed to the periphery B of the pan. The electric current is conveyed from the generator by the wires or strands T to the brush S, thence by rollers R to the ribs Q and disc L. Thence it passes through the material under treatment and the mercury and iron in the pan-bottom, in currents proportional to their respective electrical conductive values, to any suitable number of binding-screws X, which carry wires or strands connected to eartji, or to the return-wire to the generator ; or the electric current may be conveyed in the reverse manner through the several connections and arrangements as above described. Instead of contact-rollers R, rubbers or sliders may be used, but the rolling contact is preferred. It is proposed to use potential or electro-motive force of such pressure only that the film of oil in the vertical bearing of the shaft D in the cone C will insulate the muller L from the pan A sufficiently to cause the required current to pass through the charge of material under treatment. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is,— 1. An improved amalgamation-pan for treating finely-divided metalliferous material, comprised of the several and various parts combined and arranged so that a pan such as A, having a peripheral casing as B, of a cylindrical or other shaped carrier as M, supporting a disc or muller such as L, with feeder or hopper such as N, substantially as herein described and explained, and as illustrated in the drawings. 2. As an amalgamating-pan of the class set forth the combination and arrangement of a method of applying an electric current in such manner that the disc or muller shall be more or less uniformly charged with a current of a sufficient potential or electro-motive force, positive or negative, as understood in electric practice, and the pan-bottom and mercury-channels A shall be more or less uniformly charged with an electric current at a potential or electro-motive force to a degree differing from that of the current pervading the muller or disc L, sufficient to cause the passage of the required current through the material under treatment and mercury in the channels A l , all as herein described, and substantially as set forth and illustrated in the drawings. Dated this 9th day of October, 1895. Alfked A. Lockwood. Arthue E. Langley.

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Impeovements in Gold-saving Appliances, to be known as the " Sentinel gold-amalgamatoe." I, Thomas Henry Davidson, of Dunedin, engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " Improvements in Gold-saving Appliances, to be known as the ' Sentinel Goldamalgamator,'" and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement : — A and A lis a cylinder composed of iron or wood, A being the bottom portion and A 1 the top or opening portion hinged to A, as shown by Fig. 3, AC. The two parts of cylinder are kept closed by means of pins and keys as shown at A 7. The joints are kept tight by a strap of indiarubber or such like material placed between the joints as shown. The inside of cylinder is completely lined with copper plates silvered A B , and attached portably to same are projecting copper plates A 2 having the form of a screw, and may be of any number, and are employed to assist in propelling the substance to be treated to the lower end, or end opposite from the feeding-shoot. A 3 are holes to allow the substance treated to pass into troughs placed underneath. A 4 is bevel-gearing employed to turn the cylinder during operation; it is shown driven by a belt, but may also be driven by handpower. ABis a bearing supporting cylinder, through which the material passes. The opposite end is held in position by spindle and bearing. B is the feeding-hopper of any convenient size. The apparatus is revolved by means of gearing A*, and the substance to be treated is brought in contact with silvered plates, and cut up and turned by means of the screws A 2, the apparatus lying at an incline endways or longitudinally. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is : The adoption of the projecting copper plates A 2 being in the form of screws, and employed to propel the substance along the cylinder. Dated this 29th day of November, 1895. Thomas H. Davidson. Impeovements in or relating to Stamp-batteeies. I, Newton John Suckling, of Pretoria, South African EepuWic, engineer, do hereby declare the nature of invention for " Improvements in or relating to Stamp-batteries," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — The modern stamp-battery used in the wet-crushing of ores has proved itself superior to all other systems, both as regards economy, durability, and efficiency. For dry-crushing, however, its capacity hitherto has been much less than in wet-crushing. A disadvantage of the dry-crushing process is due to the dust evolved, which requires to be treated with experience and care to prevent its becoming a nuisance. For finely crushing some classes of ore which are of a clayey character the dry stamps have not yet been improved upon, although a variety of new pulverisers have been introduced. In some instances various forms of revolving rolls, and many different types of pulverisers and centrifugal mills, have been used for crushing ores, both by the wet and dry process, and in several cases have given good results. Nevertheless, on the South African goldfields, and in other mining centres of the world, the modern stamp-battery is generally used for reducing the ore to the required degree of fineness for subsequent treatment. When the ore is basic and needs roasting and desulphurising, or when it requires to be dried, a drying-floor, or a kiln, or one of the various types of revolving drying or roasting cylinders, or some kind of furnace is generally used. The ore is sometimes fed to the stamps while still hot, less difficulty being then experienced in passing it through the screens. The mortars heretofore have generally been made with a double discharge to facilitate the passage of dry pulp through the screens when it is dashed up against them by the action of the stamps. But the greatest difficulty hitherto experienced when dry crushing in a stamp-mill is to remove the pulp from the mortar as fast as it is produced by the stamps, and hence the wet-crushing capacity is unattainable. This difficulty has been overcome, and many more most important desiderata in dry or partly dry crushing are attained by the improvements forming the subject of the present invention. The chief object of my invention is to provide a stamp-battery so arranged that the crushed material will be blown or drawn from the mortar-box through a closed delivery-tube by means of steam, air, or gas, and conveyed to a chamber, tank, vat, or other receptacle for subsequent treatment. The mortar-box is made air- and dust-tight, so that the dust cannot escape into the atmosphere of the battery-house, to the injury of the workmen and of the machinery, besides causing loss of gold, as is the case in dry-stamping as heretofore practised. Eeferringtothe accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a stamp-battery having a mortar-box of the usual type with a single discharge, and having my improvements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a similar section of a battery having a double discharge. Fig. 3is a vertical section of a modification hereinafter described, and Fig. 4 is a vertical section drawn to a smaller scale of a portion of a receptacle for receiving the crushed ore and air-purifying apparatus applied thereto, as hereinafter described. The same letters of reference denote corresponding parts in the several figures. Eeferring first to Figs. 1 and 2, A is the mortar-box ; B B are the screens, one only being used in Fig. 1 and two in Fig. 2. Other devices used in stamp-batteries in lieu of screens may be substituted for the screens B, and are hereinafter comprehensively included in the term screens. C C are pipes for conveying steam, compressed air, or gas into the mortar-box. The positions of the inlets may be varied as required. Existing water-service piping and fittings for supplying water to the mortar-box, for wet stamping, may be utilised for supplying the steam, compressed air,

IMPROVED AMALGAMATING PAN.

"THE SENTINEL" GOLD AMALGAMATOR

IMPROVEMENTS IN STAMP BATTERIES.

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or other gas. D, is a box, hood, or framing for covering or enclosing each screen. Eis a closed trough, pipe, or channel for carrying away the pulverised material from the mortar-box. The said trough is connected to the hood D by a flexible or an expanding and contracting length of tubing, F, as in Fig. 1, or by a telescopic tube G, as in Fig 2. His a flexible bellows-like cover surrounding the stem or rod of the stamp, and secured at its upper end to a collar on the said stem, and at its lower end to the top of the box A. This cover prevents the escape of dust through the opening in the box around the stamp stem. lis a pivoted shelf, ledge, or tray controlled by a lever and weight as in Fig. 1, or by a lever and spring, as in Fig. 2. The material to be crushed is fed on to this door and discharged into the mortar-box as required. J is an indiarubber or other soft packing or jointing strip to prevent the escape of dust around the shelf. Kis a part of the battery framing. The ore, rock, mineral, or other material or substance to be crushed is fed into the mortar-box by the usual method of hand feeding, or by one of the various types of automatic ore-feeders. If the ore or other substance is too damp it is dried before being crushed. One or more jets or currents of steam, or of compressed air or gas, or a current or currents of warm or cold air produced by a fan, blower, air-pump, or other device in use for such purpose, or a combination of any of these, is directed into the mortar-box from one or more suitable points indicated by the pipes C. The only escape for such air or gas is through the screen or screens B, and in escaping the dry or partly dry pulp will at the same time be carried through the said screen, and be prevented from accumulating inside the mortar, and thus the crushing-capacity of the stamp-battery will be greatly increased without any unnecessary trouble or complication. This is an important feature of my invention. The steam, compressed air, or gas, is directed, as indicated by the arrows, into the hood or framing D or other covering that may be substituted for the hood D, or into a continuation of the same, and thereby produces a strong sucking or lifting action through the screens, and extending to the inside of the mortar-box, whereby any pulp which is crushed to the required degree of fineness will be drawn through the screens and into the hood, whence it will be conveyed or forced along by the velocity of the currents before named through the delivery-pipes F E or G E, as the case may be, and carried to a convenient situation for further treatment. The hood D may be made flexible, or be constructed to expand and contract, so as to enable it to be easily drawn away from the mortar-box A for giving access to the screens, or to the inside of the mortar-box, as may be required. Examination of the screens and box is also facilitated by reason of the flexible pipe For telescopic pipe G. In lieu of the screens B, I may use other means for controlling the fineness of the crushed product. For example, I may employ a vertical or inclined jet or current of steam, or air, or gas, confined within the closed trough, pipe, channel, or pneumatic tube F E or E G, as the case may be, as shown in Fig. 3. The pipe Fis in this case arranged vertically. The inlet L, for the steam or air, communicates directly with the hood D, it may, however, be made to communicate with the mortar-box. The jet or current serves to convey the crushed material through the tube E and deliver it into the receptacle for subsequent treatment as above mentioned. The volume and velocity of the current of steam, air, or gas, will determine the coarseness or fineness of the product resulting from the crushing process, because it will not have sufficient force to carry upwards into the tube E any particles that are insufficiently crushed, and said particles would therefore fall back into the hood D, and thence into mortar-box A, and would then be further reduced in size and weight until they are sufficiently light to be carried upward by the current into and through the tube E. By varying-the volume or velocity of the current, therefore, the fineness of the crushing can be regulated. The fineness of the crushing may also be regulated by varying the height of the vertical pipe F. This construction is important, in that it enables the screens to be dispensed with, and avoids the wear-and-tear and enforced stoppages due to clogging or breaking of the screens, which are so prevalent when crushing by the wet process or previous dry processes is employed. I sometimes, however, use the screens B, in combination with the currents of steam, gas, or air, for controlling the fineness of the crushing. The upward current in the pipes F or G and along the tube E can be increased as desired, by other jets admitted at any suitable point or points in said pipes or tube—at L 1 for example—to maintain or increase the force or velocity of the currents within the tube E, and thereby insure and maintain a constant discharge of the crushed ore or other substance. The inlet-pipes for the steam or air in Fig. 3 are shown furnished with regulating-valves. For simplicity and convenience of working the closed troughs or pipes E from several mortars may be combined or brought together, and led into one or more main or principal closed trough, or pipe, or any other convenient channel or pneumatic tube. By these simple methods of rapidly removing the pulp from inside the mortar-box A as fast as it is produced by the stamps a much larger quantity of ore, rocks, mineral, or other material or substance can be crushed than was hitherto possible. The dry or partly dry pulp, with very little trouble and expense, and with no handling, or with small labour, is, by the aforesaid apparatus, conveyed or blown into a chamber or box N, Fig. 4, where it settles and is immediately available for subsequent treatment by any suitable process. This chamber, or box, or other receptacle, is suitably provided with canvas, or horse-hair cloth, or sieving, or other porous material 0 0, Fig. 4, which, while allowing the steam or other gas, or the air, to pass freely through it, will at the same time prevent the escape and loss of the pulp or other crushed material. The air escapes from the chamber Tby way of the liquid seal P, which may be made by water or a suitable chemical fluid. Any ore or crushed material which has not been deposited in the chamber or vat N, and has escaped through the fabrics 0, will be caught by the liquid seal P, so that no gold is lost, and fine dust cannot escape into the atmosphere. The liquid 29—C. 3.

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seal may be arranged at the floor level as shown at W, and the air will then be conducted thereto through pipes U. By removing the covers Q and E access can be obtained to the vat N and chamber T for cleaning purposes, and for replacing the fabrics O when required. In some instances the pulp is taken into vats or tanks for direct treatment by amalgamating, leaching, lixiviation, chemical, cyanide, or other processes. The vats, or tanks in this case would be provided with a canvas or other suitable covering during the process of filling, and thus all dust and loss will be avoided. They would also be similarly provided with canvas, or horse-hair cloth, or sieving, or other porous fabric in the walls thereof, preferably near the top, which, while allowing the steam or other gas or the air to pass freely through it, will at the same time prevent the escape and loss of the pulp or other crushed material. The screens B, Figs. 1 and 2, can be of large or coarse mesh or gauge when required ; as for example, with chemical, and some other treatments, it is unnecessary to produce a fine pulp, and hence the present capacity of the stamp-mill would be considerably increased when dry crushing. By disposing of the pulp as before mentioned, the great labour and expense of amalgamating, concentrating, and the other mill processes are entirely dispensed with. Any gold or other material or substance that has not passed or been carried through the screens will be retained in the mortarbox until the usual time for cleaning it up, when it is taken out for subsequent treatment. The further labour and cost of elevating or running the pulp or tailings into dams, or settling-pits, and then having again to remove them as at present for treatment by some amalgamating, leaching, lixiviation, chemical, cyanide, or other processes is avoided. By producing a dry or partly dry pulp (in place of a wet pulp, as is at present the practice), and treating it by direct amalgamating, leaching, lixiviation, chemical, cyanide, or other treatment, the great loss in gold, and the difficulty and labour of dealing with what is generally known as the " slimes " is overcome. By these improvements the loss of gold in the battery-processes, and in the subsequent treatment of the products as heretofore practised, is considerably reduced, so that low-grade ores are brought nearer a payable value. Moreover, the existing stamp-batteries and the compressed airplants can be fully utilised, and the cost of using steam or gas would not be considerable. And the fans, blowers, air-pumps, or other existing appliances for producing the required air currents are simple and inexpensive. The closed trough, channel, or pipe Bis a very simple and effective conveyor of the dry or partly-dry pulp to its required destination, but if preferred, or to meet the requirements of any particular case, the usual types of endless band, worm, screw, paddle-bladed, or spiral conveyors or elevators may be used for conveying or elevating the dry or partly-dry pulp to its required destination. In some cases it is necessary to close the space round the stamp-stems, where they enter the mortar, so as to prevent the escape of the steam or air and also the dust thereat, and thereby retaining within the mortar the full force and efficiency of the steam or air used for removing the pulp as fast as it is produced by the stamps. To accomplish the foregoing, the stems of the stamps may be made to work through a stuffing-box or gland fitted with collars or washers that allow a certain amount of lateral movement of the stem or rod without destroying the packing, as shown in Fig. 8, or a flexible cover H may be provided. This cover allows the stems to work quite freely. It may be made of leather, indiarubber, or other suitable material, which may require supporting or strengthening by one or more bands or rings, or a spiral wire-coil or the like, which, while allowing the stems to work up and down without hindrance, will at the same time prevent the sleeve or collar splitting, or collapsing, or being rapidly worn out. The opening through which the material that is to be crushed is fed into the mortar-box will usually require to be closed, or partly closed, to prevent the escape of the steam or air, and also to avoid the escape of the dust. For this purpose I may provide that the spout, or tray, or the revolving-disc, or other device of the automatic-feeder, and the opening into the mortar-box, be surrounded or enclosed by a flexible, or by an expanding and contracting-box, hood, or some other suitable covering, which, while accomplishing the before-mentioned object, will not sensibly interfere with the freedom of the automatic-feeder. Where the stamps are fed by hand labour, pivoted shelves, ledges, or trays, I, or other convenient devices, are aranged in or over or near to the opening through which the material that is to be crushed is to be fed into the mortar-box. I may introduce into the mortar-box at a point near to the said shelves, through one or more pipes or grids, or their equivalent, a jet or jets of steam, compressed air, or gas, to insure that there shall be no escape of dust at the feed opening. In Fig. 3, two shelves or ledges, I, are provided. They are connected by a quadrant, or are otherwise so arranged, that when one is open the other is closed. They are controlled as before stated by a spring, or by a lever and weight, which yields, and readily allows the ore or other material by its own weight to pass into the mortar-box, and immediately after doing so, the spring or lever and weight will again close the opening, thus not interfering with the process going on inside the mortar-box. This arrangement of the pivoted shelves, ledges, or trays, may also be used when feeding the material into the mortar-box by an automaticfeeder. The shelves or ledges may be, as before stated, provided with a flexible strip or lip J, to insure better working results, by avoiding any loss or escape of steam, gas, air, or dust from the mortar-box. Or, in place of the foregoing, a roller having longitudinal grooves or corrugations may be used. And this roller may or may not be connected with the mechanism of the automatic ore-feeder, or with the mechanism of the stamp-battery, for the purpose of supplying the required quantity of ore or other material to the mortar-box. These improvements are equally applicable, and can readily be applied to any type of steam, pneumatic, electric, or other class of stamp for reducing metal-bearing ores, or any other substance requiring crushing. And the waste or exhaust steam or air, or any other propelling or working power, used by any of these stamps may be utilised in the mortar-box, or in the box, hood, or framing, or other device which encloses the screens; or in the closed trough, pipe, channel, or

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pneumatic tube, as herein described. Or the waste or exhaust steam, or other gas, or the air from any engine, pump, or other appliance worked by these means, may also be utilized in the mortar-box, or in the box, hood, or framing or other device which encloses the screens; or in the closed trough, pipe, channel, or pneumatic tube, as herein described; or any combination of any of the foregoing. The herein described improvements in stamp-batteries are applicable to all batteries, or mills, or other pulverizers, having either a single discharge or two or more discharges from the morfcarbox or casing. I wish it to be understood that I may vary my improvements in detail to meet the requirements of any particular case or class of ore, rock, mineral, or other material or substance to be crushed, without departing from the spirit of my invention. And I wish it also to be clearly understood that I am aware of the systems mentioned in the opening remarks of this specification having been before in use, and that I do not make any claim whatever for originality of those methods which are merely alluded to herein to elucidate what follows. Neither do I claim the various boilers, engines, machines, appliances, or apparatus in use for generating or producing the steam, or other gas, or the compressed air, or the air currents which are applied in carrying out the improvements in stamp-batteries as mentioned herein. Nor do I make any claim to any type or system of automatic or other ore-feeders now in use, nor to any existing types of conveyors or elevators. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of any said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is: — 1. A stamp-battery having a closed mortar-box and closed delivery-pipe, and so constructed and arranged that the crushed material is blown or drawn out of the mortar-box and conveyed to a chamber, tank, vat, or other receptable for subsequent treatment, substantially as described. 2. The use and application of one or more jets or currents of steam, or of some other gas, or of compressed air, or of currents of air, inside the mortar-box of stamp batteries for the purposes specified. 3. Surrounding or enclosing, or partly surrounding or enclosing, the screen or screens," or their equivalent, which is or are fixed on the mortar-box by a box, hood, or framing, or the like, for the purposes specified. 4. The use and application of one or more jets or currents of steam, or of some other gas, or of compressed air, or of currents of air, inside the box, hood, or framing or the like which surrounds or encloses, or partly surrounds or encloses, the screen or screens, or their equivalent used on the mortar-box, for the purposes'specified. 5. The combination, with the mortar-box of a closed trough, pipe, or channel, or pneumatic tube, substantially as and for the purposes described. 6. Conveying or blowing the pulp or crushed material which is produced by the stamps into a chamber or box, or vat, or tank, or other convenient receptacle, for subsequent treatment by any suitable process or method as herein described. 7. The flexible cover H surrounding or closing, or partly surrounding or closing, the space or spaces round the stamp-stems where they enter the mortar-box, substantially as and for the purposes described. 8. The means for closing or partly closing the opening or space, through which the substance to be crushed is fed into the mortar-box, with or without the jets of air-steam or gas to prevent the escape of dust at the feed-opening, substantially as described. 9. The foregoing improvements applied to steam, pneumatic, electric, or other type of stampbattery, for the purposes as herein specified. 10. The combination, with the walls or roof, or cover, of the chamber, vat, or other receptacle for the crushed material, of horse-hair cloth, or other suitable porous fabric, with or without the liquid seal, substantially as described and for the purposes specified. 11. A stamp-battery, constructed substantially as described with reference to either of the accompanying drawings, for the purposes specified. Dated this 17th day of April, 1895. Newton John Suckling. Electrical Stampees foe Oee-ceushing. I, Charles Guneris Evensen, carpenter, Coromandel, do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for "Electrical Stampers for Ore-crushing," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — 1. By the aid of solenoids (three or more), being wound by suitable wires, I propose to raise and drop stampers to crush ores. 2. The lift of the rods is caused by the current entering wire + on plan, then to brush B 1 and to commutator C, thence to solenoid A, being electrically connected with commutator C, and by power of attraction raises the rod E. The commutator being divided in as many sections as there are stampers, and there being one brush for each rod electrically connected with each segment on the commutator, the current is cut off when the slits of commutator pass the brush, thus causing the rod to drop. 3. The effect of the solenoid A in pulling up the rod depends on the fact that a current of electricity produces magnetic properties at right angles to the direction of its flow, and by increasing the number of turns which the wire carrying the current makes we are enabled to increase this magnetic effect; so that with a suitably-wound solenoid we can produce any desired amount of lift with a given current by increasing or diminishing the resistance in circuit. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is : The use of solenoids (three or more). Dated this 19th day of June, 1895, Chaeles Gunebis Evensen.

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Improvements in certain Descriptions of Pulverising- and Amalgamating-pans, Herein entitled " improved central-discharge ore-grinding pan." We, Alfred Andrew Lockwood, of Auckland, metallurgist, and Arthur Edward Langley, also of Auckland, mining agent, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for " Improvements in certain Descriptions of Pulverising- and Amalgamating-pans," herein entitled "Improved Centraldischarge Ore-grinding Pan," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — This invention relates to those kinds of pulverising- and amalgamating-pans which are known as " McKay Continuous-discharge Pans," in which quartz or ore, of, say, about nine to the square inch gauge, may be pulverised and amalgamated. The McKay pan has an upwardly-extending central pillar or cone, over which is a revolving yoke or carrier, on which yoke or carrier freely play or revolve a, number of drum-shaped mullers (containing other mullers) whose peripheries have grinding contact with an internal liner or wearing surface on the periphery of the pan, and whose bottoms have a grinding contact with a liner or weai'ing surface on the outer base of the yoke or carrier. The pan has also an annular mercury well under the two grinding surfaces or liners, and ordinarily peripheral-discharge opening or openings for the escape of the fine and lighter particles with the overflow of water. Now, this invention has been especially devised in order to obtain more effective work from the said McKay pan, or other pans worked on similar principles, in pulverising and amalgamating, as well as to provide means whereby the fineness or gauge of the discharge material may be regulated more completely. These improvements in these descriptions of pulverising- and amalgamating-machines consist, first and essentially, in a central discharge for the treated material of such pans by leading such discharge through a passage or conduit in the upwardly-extending central pillar or cone, which passage or conduit may have one or more dependent ports or openings into the pan, under the revolving yoke or carrier, and any one or more of which ports or openings may be closed by means of an adjustable cover, so as to command the height at which the discharge may be worked. These improvements consist, secondly, in the combination and arrangement with the discharge passage or conduit in the central pillar or cone, and with the ports or openings therefrom into the pan of an open- or close-topped cylinder, preferably adjustable as to height, to take round said central pillar, some distance from it, outside of the discharge port or opening in use, so as to still the centrifugal motion of the material in the pan in such manner as will allow of its getting easily away through the port. But, in order that the invention may be clearly understood, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a central sectional elevation of a McKay pan, constructed with the improvements constituting said invention. It is unnecessary to describe in full the construction of the details of the McKay pan as they are well understood, and only those parts which are essential to the present improvements will now be described by reference to the drawings. In Pig. 1 one form of the central discharge is delineated and described as follows : In the central pillar or cone of the pan is a discharge conduit or passage A, having one or more ports A 1 A 1 opening into the pan under the yoke or carrier, which has a larger diameter than ordinarily, so as to leave a convenient space B between its arms and the central pillar. The discharge passage or conduit A leads into a pipe marked P, or other suitable form of conduit, leading into any receptacle in which the discharged material is received for further treatment, or for conveyance to waste. Around the central cone or pillar, and at a convenient distance therefrom, is a cylinder C C, covering the port or ports A , in the central cone or pillar, and joined to the said-central cone or pillar by any convenient number of brackets E E, slotted or formed in such a manner that the cylinder C C may be fixed or adjusted, by means of set screws E l , to the height proper and necessary to govern and still the surface of the material and water which it is desired should discharge through one or other of the ports A l . Although brackets E and set screws E 1 are mentioned as the means of attaching the cylinder C to the metal cone or pillar, it is easily seen that the cylinder may be adjustably attached thereto, or permanently fixed by other means, for instance, by set screws pinching directly on to the said central cone or pillar in Fig. 1. Fis a covering-plate adjustable as to height, by which one or more ports may be closed, so as to lead the discharge to any desired higher port. In Fig. 2 is shown another method of effecting the central discharge, which forms the first and essential part of this invention. The cylinder Cis in all essential particulars fixed as described above in reference to Fig. 1, but instead, of the passage or conduit A and port or ports A 1 being formed in the central cone or pillar a tube or movable conduit A passes upwards through the said central cone or pillar, and is preferably adjustable as to the height of lip or opening A l , over or through which the discharge passes, by means of the tube or conduit A, into a flexible or fixed or jointed tube P; by which the discharge material is led to waste or into any receptacle for further treatment. The tube or conduit A may be fixed as to height of lip or opening A 1 by the gland and stuffing-box G, or by any other convenient means. In the operation of the pulverising and amalgamating process carried out in the McKay pan, or others of similar construction, it is well understood that the discharge heretofore has been from the periphery, or more towards the centre, but yet outside of the yoke or carrier. This method of discharge is objectionable, as the centrifugal force acting on the contents of the pan tends to carry the heavier particles to the outer circumference, from which they are liable to be carried into the discharge mouth or lip. Now, the operations of the improved pan are similar, except in the one respect of the central discharge inside the yoke or carrier, to those hitherto carried out in said pans. The discharge of only the finest-pulverised material through the port or opening A 1 is insured by the position of the cylinder C away from but covering the said ports, and by stilling the centrifugal force, and governing the motion of the material under treatment, insures that only material of the requisite fineness may be discharged. The lower the position of the port or opening of discharge A 1 in the central pillar or cone the coarser will be the grade or gauge of the discharged material.

ELECTRIC STAMPERS FOR ORE CRUSHING.

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Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is,— 1. In pulverising or pulverising- and amalgamating-pans of the class set forth, a central discharge through a passage in the upwardly extending central pillar, substantially as herein described and explained, and illustrated by the accompanying drawing. 2. In pulverising or pulverising- and amalgamating-pans of the class set forth, the combination and arrangement with a discharge passage (as claimed in claim 1) above of a ring or cylinder, open or closed-in top, inside the yoke or carrier, adapted to be adjustably attached or permanently fixed to the said central pillar or cone, substantially as herein described and explained, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings. Alfred A. Lockwood. Dated 9th October, 1895. Aethub A. Langley. Improved means op Concentrating Ores or other Substances. We, Walter John Hammond, civil engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and residing at London, England, and John Gordon, merchant, a citizen of the United States, residing at Kio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for " Improved means of Concentrating Ores or other Substances," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — The invention relates to concentrators such as shown and described in the letters patent of the United States, No. 450013, granted to us 7th April, 1891. The object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved apparatus for mechanically separating lighter and heavier particles of ore and other substances in the same manner as is now done by a skilled hand in " panning." The apparatus consists principally of a vessel preferably made conical, and mechanism for imparting to it a varying motion around a fixed centre, and an oscillating motion around its own centre, the latter being eccentric to the centre of the reciprocal motion. The invention also consists of certain parts and details and combinations of the same, as will be hereinafter described and then pointed out in the claims. Eeference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar letters or reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures. Fig. lis a sectional side-elevation of the improvement; Fig. 2is a plan-view of the same, with parts in section, on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3is an enlarged sectional side-view of a modified form of the apex of the conical vessel, the section being taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4is a similar view of another modified form of the same; Fig. 5 is a like view of another form of the same ; Fig. 6 is a plan-view of a modified form of bearing for the handle of the pan ; Fig. 7 is an enlarged side-elevation, with part in section, of the tilting mechanism; Fig. 8 is a partly sectional sideelevation of a modified form of the device for varying the throw of the vessel; Fig. 9 is a diagrammatical view of the motion of the vessel; Fig. 10 is a sectional side-elevation of a modified form of ring; and Fig. 11 is a side elevation of a modified form of shoe. In order fully to understand the method which is carried out by means of our improved apparatus it is necessary to state the principles on which the invention is based. As is well known, heavy materials which will sink in water when the latter is at rest, will float in and be carried by the same water when it is in motion. If this motion is slow only light substances will be lifted and carried, and if the motion is rapid heavier materials will be caught vp —in fact, there is a direct relation between the specified gravity of a body and velocity required to lift and carry it. In consequence of this relation, if a mixture of substances of different specific gravities be put into a fluid, say, water, to which is imparted an increasing velocity, then the fluid will begin by picking up the lighter particles first, and then, as the velocity increases, the heavier particles in regular order, until finally, if a high enough velocity is given, all the particles, light and heavy, will be kept in suspension. If, now, the velocity is slowly diminished the particles will begin to deposit themselves, but in a reverse order—that is to say, the heavier particles will come down first, the lighter settling the last of all. If at any time the velocity is allowed to continue constant a certain part of the substances will be deposited, and the rest will remain indefinitely in suspension—that is, so long as the velocity remains constant so long will the bodies held up continue in suspension. It is therefore evident that to effect a separation of the mixed bodies it is only necessary to increase the velocity until all are in suspension, and then to decrease it again, stopping the change at that point when the lightest particles only are suspended, then removing those lightest particles, repeating the operation to get rid of or to eliminate the next lightest, and so on, until finally the heaviest particles remain alone. The operation is greatly facilitated by giving little shakes or jigs to the mass of water and suspended material, or by suddenly and temporarily checking the motion of the water, not only because such jigs, by momentarily changing the velocity of the fluid, produce in a minor degree the same effects as the more apparent changes of motion described above, but also because they help to prevent the accumulation of particles into lumps and groups, enabling the individual particle to free itself from contact with others, and so follow freely in its own course. For example, a heavy particle may be prevented from falling by a number of light ones adhering to it, while a light particle may be held down in a similar manner by heavier ones. A quick jerk or jig frees them all, and it is evident that, as in the process of sifting any material, the more varied the jigs or jerks are in force and direction the more quickly and easily will the particles be freed from each other. In order to obtain the above-described result, and to carry the method into effect, we provide the apparatus shown in the drawings, and presently to be described. The concentrator is provided with a suitably-constructed frame A, on which is journalled in suitable bearings and steps the vertically-disposed shaft B, provided with a pulley 81,B 1 , connected by a belt with suitable machinery for imparting a rotary motion to the said shaft B, the motion being

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preferably varying in speed. It is understood, however, that other suitable means may be employed for imparting a rotary motion of any kind to the shaft. On the upper end of the shaft Bis secured a socket C, provided with two bearings G l , in which is-fitted to slide the diametrical arm or spoke D 1 of a wheel D, disposed horizontally, and carrying on the upper surface of its rim a ring E, provided with an inwardly-extending flange E l , engaged by a flanged ring D 3, bolted or otherwise secured to the rim of the wheel D, as is plainly illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. The outermost face of the ring E abuts on an annular flange D 2 formed on the rim of the wheel D, so that the ring E is free to turn on the rim of the wheel D, but is prevented by its flange E 1 engaged by the flanged ring D 3 from moving upward out of its bearing. If desired, the flange E 1 may be formed exteriorly, as shown in Fig. 10. From opposing sides of the ring E extend upward and outward the brackets B a and E 3 , provided with bearings E 4 and E 6 respectively, in which are mounted to turn the trunnions F and F 1 respectively, bolted or otherwise secured to the outer face of the vessel G, preferably made conical in shape, as is plainly illustrated in Fig. 1, the apex of the vessel being in vertical alignment with the centre of the ring E. The ring E is provided with a handle E 6 , having an extension E 8 extending outwardly parallel to and below the trunnion F l , as will be readily understood by reference to Fig. 1. The apex of the vessel Gis preferably made in the shape of a block, having either the form shown in Fig. lor that of G 2 or G 3 shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The block G 1 has a conical recess, while the block G 2 is straight, and the block G s convexed on its upper surface. Each of the blocks is secured in place by a bolt and nut, as is plainly shown in the said figures, and the varying forms are necessary according to the material to be treated. As illustrated in Fig. 5, the apex G 4 is exteriorly removable, so that the concentrates accumulating in the apex of the pan can from time to time be removed without disturbing the other solid matter in the other part of the pan. The base or top of the vessel Gis preferably provided with a separate and upwardly and inwardly curved annular rim G 5 , to prevent splashing of the material under treatment over the upper edge of the vessel. In this rim G 6 is arranged a gate G G of any approved construction, and serving to discharge part of the contents of the vessel when the latter is tilted, as hereinafter more fully described. From the underside of the rim of the wheel D depends a bracket D 6, in which is journaled a screw-rod H, directly under and parallel to the arm D l , said screw being provided on its outer end with a wheel H l , and having its inner threaded end screwing in a nut C 2 attached to one of the bearings C 1 of the socket C. Now, by turning the wheel H 1 in one direction the wheel D, and consequently the ring E and vessel G, are caused to slide inward, as the arm D lis fitted to slide in the bearings C 1 of the socket C. By turning the wheel H 1 in the other direction the said wheel Dis fitted to slide in the opposite direction, carrying the ring E and the vessel G with it. The screwrod His located directly under the arm D l , so that the centre of the wheel D may be made to coincide with the shaft B if desired, but, in order to successfully operate the machine, the centre of the wheel D must be held eccentric to the shaft B. In order to automatically impart the forward and backward motion to the wheel H 1 above 'described, to move the centre of the wheel D nearer to or farther from the centre of the shaft B, the following device is provided : On the handle E", extending from the ring E, is fitted to slide vertically a frame 12,I 2 , provided with brake- or friction-shoes I and 11,I 1 , located opposite each other, and arranged in such manner as to engage either the top or bottom of the wheel H 1 on each revolution of the shaft B, whenever the said wheel passes between the said shoes. By shifting the frame I 2 downward into the position shown in Fig. 1 the shoe I will be engaged by the wheel H l , as the latter passes between the two shoes, but the lowermost shoe I 1 will then be out of contact with the said wheel, and consequently the latter is turned in one direction as long as it is in contact with and rolls off on the upper shoe 1. Now, when the frame I 2 is moved upward, then the wheel H l , in passing between the brake-shoes, will roll off on the brake-shoe I 1 and be out of contact with the brake-shoe I, and as the said brake-shoe I 1 engages the wheel H 1 at the bottom the said wheel will be turned in an opposite direction. If desired, the frame I 2 may be moved into an intermediate position, so that the wheel H 1 will engage neither of the shoes I nor 11,I 1 , and no feeding of the screw H in either direction will take place, but the said screw will remain at a standstill. In order to shift the frame I 2 in the manner above described, the said frame is provided with an elongated aperture I s , engaged by a pin on arm 14,I 4 , held on a shaft P, extended transversely, and mounted to turn in the handle E 6 previously described. On the shaft I 5 is secured a second arm 16,I 6 , standing approximately at right angles to the arm 14,I 4 , and pivotly connected with a rod I 7 having a handle 18,I 8 , adapted to be taken hold of by the operator to move the said rod forward or backward, to impart a swinging motion to the shaft I 5 and the arm 14,I 4 , to raise or lower the frame P for the purpose above described. On the rod 17,I 7 , near the handle 18,I 8 , is arranged a pin P, adapted to engage one of a aeries of notches E 7 , arranged on an extension E B , forming part of the handle E" previously mentioned. The operator, after shifting the rod I 7 to move the frame P into the desired posiiton, engages the lug Pin the corresponding notch E 7 , to lock the said rod, and consequently the frame P, in position until it is desired to change the motion of the screw-rod H, as above described. The extension E 8 of the handle E" has a bearing in a fixed board J, and for this purpose the latter ia provided with an opening J 1 having bevelled sides, so a? to permit a sidewise swinging of the handle, and also to permit a forward and backward sliding of the handle in the said board. As illustrated in Fig. 6, the handle E" may be pivotally connected at its outer end with a cross head or block E l 6, fitted to slide longitudinally in suitable fixed guideways B w . In order to impart a jerking motion occasionally to the Vessel G the following device is provided : On the outer end of the trunnion F 1 is secured the horizontally-extending tube X parallel with the handle E 6 . Into the said tube extends a rod L, provided with a series of annubu- ridges L l , placed suitable distances apart, as is plainly shown in Fig. 1. The extreme outer end of the rod L

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is normally mounted to slide and to turn in a universal joint N, supported from the board J previously mentioned as long as jerks are not desired; but when the jerks are required the rod Lis fastened by a pin N 1 or other device to the universal joint N, so that a longitudinal motion of the rod Lis prevented, but it is free to follow the gyrating motion of the vessel G. The rod L between its ridges L 1 is engaged by two oppositely-arranged plungers O, mounted to slide in suitable bearings K 1 secured on the outer end of the tube K. The plungers O are pressed in contact with the rod L by springs O 1 held in the said bearings Xl,K l , as is plainly shown in Fig. 1. Now, when motion is given to the apparatus the tube X is caused to slide so that the plungers O held in the bearings K 1 of the said tube ride over the ridges L 1 on the rod L, thus imparting certain jerks or shakes to the vessel. In order to keep the vessel G trembling slightly between successive jerks springs F 2 and F 3 are interposed between the bearings E 4 and W respectively and the vessel G, as is plainly shown in Fig. 1. In order to tilt the vessel G to remove the separated lighter particles a tilting device is provided, which is shown fully in Figs. 1 and 7. The trunnion Fis provided with a key F 4 , engaging a slot in a sleeve P mounted to turn in a bearing E 9 formed on the bracket E 2 in alignment with the bearing E 4 . On the outer end of this sleeve Pis keyed or otherwise secured, an arm P l , extending downward and formed with a forked end P 3 , in which are journalled the trunnions Q 1 of a nut Q,in which screws a screw-rod E, formed with a ball E l , mounted to turn in a ball-bearing E ll , secured on brackets E 1 ' 2 and E l 3, of which the bracket E l 2is bolted to an arm E l 4 extending from the bearing E 9 , and the other bracket E ls is bolted to the bracket E 2 . On the extreme outer end of the screw-rod Eis secured a handle or crank-arm E 2 , adapted to be turned by the operator to screw the screw-rod E forward or backward in the nut Q, to exert a pull or push on the arm P l , to turn the sleeve P, and consequently the trunnion F, so that a tilting motion is given to the vessel G. By turning the crank-arm E 2 in an opposite direction the vessel G is returned to its normal horizontal position. In order to give additional jerks to the vessel G we provide the latter with an outwardlyextending arm T, formed at its underside with angularly-extending ridges T l , adapted to rise over a pin U, held on a post U l , set at the rear of the machine in the ground or floor, as is plainly shown in Figs. 1 and 7. In order to hold the shoes I and I 1 normally out of contact with the wheel H 1 the device shown in Fig. 8 may be provided, the said shoes having their supporting frame I 2 formed with a rod S 1 fitted to slide in the handle E 6 , the upper end of the said rod being pivotally connected with a shifting lever S 2 , which takes the place of the rod 1 , . A spring Sis coiled on the rod S\ and rests with one end on the handle E G , pressing with its other end on the lever S 2 , so as to hold the latter and the frame I 2 in such a position that the shoes 1 and I 1 do not engage the wheel H 1 as the latter passes between the shoes, and only when the lever S 2 is pressed or raised do the shoes I and I 1 engage the wheel either on the top or bottom. The frame I 2 may be lifted or dropped by a screw and nut-wheel, as shown in Fig. 11, the said wheel being worked by a chain under the control of the operator. The shoes I and I 1 may also be mounted yieldingly on the frame 12,I 2 , as shown in the said Fig. 11, to insure proper contact with the wheel H l . The operation is as follows: A charge of gravel, sand, earth, or crushed ore, consisting of particles of different specific gravities, is put into the vessel G, and enough water, the amount of which is determined by experience, is added to the material, and, after establishing the proper distance between the centre of motion and the centre of the vessel G, the machine is started by revolving the shaft Bin the manner above described. The revolving of the shaft B causes the socket C to move the wheel D around eccentrically to the shaft B, and as the ring E is mounted to turn in the rim of the said wheel, and is connected by the handle E 6 with the slot J 1 in the board J, the said bar serves as a handle to turn the ring in its bearing in the rim of the wheel D, so that an elliptical motion is given to the vessel G, the handle E 6 at its extension E 8 sliding in and out of the slot J, and moving sidewise therein. Such a velocity is gradually imparted to the vessel G that all the materials, or nearly all, rise and remain in suspension. The motion is then gradually slowed until a top skin or upper layer of the lightest materials present is left in suspension. The increasing velocity, and the subsequent decreasing velocity, is given to the vessel G by the operator varying the motion of the main driving-shaft, or manipulating the frame I 2 so as to move either of the brake-shoes I or I 1 in engagement with the wheel H 1 as the latter comes round on each side of the shaft B. When the upper layer or top skin seems quite free from heavier particles the vessel G is slowly tilted or tipped over by the operator turning the crank-arm E 2 , as above described. The top skin still floats in the revolving water, and gradually passes with the water to the lower side of the vessel, and is finally thrown over the edge of the latter by the force of the moving water. The vessel Gis now again righted by the operator turning the crank-arm B* in the opposite direction, as above described ; some water is added, and another skin separated and eliminated, until finally a button or lump of the heaviest substances present in the material remains in the bottom of the vessel G. It depends on the particular material to be separated out whether the skins or the buttons or lumps are saved. The machine is principally employed, however, for separating gold from gravel, and sulphurets from quartz, but apatite or phosphate of lime can also be separated from heavier less valuable material. It is understood that the tilting of the vessel G takes places while the latter is in motion, as above described, so that the water in motion carries the top skin with it over the lower edge of the tilted vessel; although it can be tilted, if necessary, in a state of rest. It will also be seen that as the vessel G approaches in its motion the fixed board J, which forms the varying fulcrum for the sliding-handle E 6 , a push is given to the said vessel, and when it recedes a pull is given to the same, both due to the friction of the handle E 6 in the slot J 1 on the board J. The sides of the slot J 1 are bevelled, as previously described, to permit an oscillating motion of the vessel G about its own centre. It is apparent that this oscillating motion is a progressive one, as one complete oscillation of the vessel on its own axis is made in the same time that one revolution is made around the central shaft B.

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By reference to Fig. 9 it will be seen that the peculiar motion given to the vessel G causes each point of the vessel to describe an ellipse on each full revolvtion of the shaft B ; and the position of the ellipses and their size vary according to the revolution of the respective point—that is to say, the point nearest the slot J 1 describes a smaller ellipse than that farthest from the slot. Furthermore, the position of the ellipses varies owing to the eccentric position of the wheel D relative to the shaft B and the friction caused by the ring B in its bearings on the top surface of the rim of the said wheel D. The form of the ellipse also varies whenever jerks are given to the vessel, each ellipse then having protuberances, as shown in one of the ellipses in the said Fig. 9. It is understood that the bar T and fixed pin U give a vertical jig to the vessel G only when the latter is in a horizonital position, and the frequency of the said jig given by the plungers 0 and the ridged rod Lto the vessel G depends on the rapidity of the motion of the main shaft B. It is evident, however, that the frequency of jerks can be altered by giving an independent reciprocating motion to the ridged rod L inside the tube X, either when the machine is in motion, or more especially when it is at rest. This independent reciprocating motion may be given by hand or by mechanical means. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is,— 1. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft, a disc or wheel eccentrically mounted thereon, and a vessel-carrying ring mounted to turn on the said wheel, and provided with an extension or handle having guided movement in a fixed bearing, substantially as described. 2. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft, a disc or wheel eccentrically mounted thereon, a vessel-carrying ring mounted on the disc to turn relatively thereto, and provided with an extension or handie, and a fixed bearing in which the said extension has guided movement to impart to the ring and vessel a gyrating motion about the centre of the shaft, and an oscillating motion about the vessel's own centre, substantially as described. 3. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft carrying bearings, a wheel fitted to slide in said bearings, a ring mounted to turn on the said wheel, a vessel carried by the said ring, and means for causing the ring to oscillate relatively to the wheel, substantially as described. 4. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft, a ring mounted on the shaft and constructed to slide toward and from the centre thereof, a vessel carried by the said ring, means for causing the vessel to oscillate relatively to the wheel, and means for adjusting the said ring to vary its eccentricity and the range of its gyratory motion, substantially as described. 5. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft, a ring mounted on the shaft, and constructed to slide toward and from the centre thereof, a vessel carried by the said ring, means for causing the vessel to oscillate relatively to the wheel, an adjusting screw for moving the said ring to vary the eccentricity thereof, said screw being provided with a wheel, and a shoe arranged to engage the said wheel as the screw revolves with the shaft, to rotate the screw and move the vessel-carrying ring in an essentially radial direction, substantially as described. 6. The combination of a revoluble shaft, a vessel-carrying ring mounted on the shaft and constructed to slide toward and from the centre thereof, a vessel carried by the said ring, means for causing the vessel to oscillate relatively to the wheel, an adjusting screw for moving the said ring to vary the eccentricity thereof, said screw being provided with a wheel, and a movable frame pro.vided with shoes adapted to engage the said wheel as the screw revolves with the shaft, to rotate the screw and move the vessel-carrying ring inward or outward, substantially as described. 7. A concentrator, comprising a vessel provided with trunnions, a ring or support provided with bearings to receive the said trunnions, and means for imparting a gyratory motion to the ring, substantially as described. 8. A concentrator, comprising a vessel having trunnions mounted to slide in suitable bearings, a sleeve in which one of the trunnions has sliding movement and with which the said trunnion is held to turn, and means for turning the sleeve to tilt the vessel, substantially as described. 9. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft carrying a socket having bearings, a wheel fitted to slide horizontally in the said bearings, a ring mounted to turn on the rim of the said wheel, and a vessel having trunnions journalled in bearings supported on the said ring, substantially as shown and described. 10. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft carrying a socket having bearings, a wheel fitted to slide horizontally in the said bearings, a ring mounted to turn on the rim of the said wheel, a vessel having trunnions journalled in bearings supported on the said ring, and a handle extending from the said ring and guided in fixed bearings, substantially as shown and described. 11. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft carrying a socket having bearings, a wheel fitted to slide horizontally in the said bearings, a ring mounted to turn on the rim of the said wheel, a vessel having trunnions journalled in bearings supported on the said ring, a handle extending from the said ring and guided on fixed bearings, a screw-rod screwing in the said wheel and engaging a nut in the said socket, a wheel held on said screw-rod, and a frame fitted to slide and carrying two shoes adapted to engage the top and bottom of the said wheel, substantially as shown and described. 12. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft carrying a socket having bearings, a wheel fitted to slide horizontally in the said bearings, a ring mounted to turn on the rim of the said wheel, a vessel having trunnions journalled in bearings supported on said ring, and a handle extending from the said ring and guided in fixed bearings, a screw-rod screwing in the said wheel and engaging a nut in the said socket, a wheel held on said screw-rod, a frame fitted to slide, and carrying two shoes adapted to engage the top and bottom of the said wheel, and a mechanism for imparting a sliding motion to the said frame, as set forth. 13. A concentrator, comprising a vessel having trunnions mounted to slide in suitable bearings, a sleeve turning with one of the said trunnions and permitting the latter to slide into the sleeve, an

IMPROVED CONCENTRATOR. Hammond and Gordon's Patent.

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arm secured on the said sleeve, a nut mounted to turn in the said arm, and a screw-rod screwing in the said nut and journalled in fixed bearings, substantially as shown and described. 14. A concentrator, comprising a vessel having trunnions, a ring having bearings engaged by the said trunnions, a tube extending from one of the said trunnions and carrying spring-pressed plungers, a rod having ridges extending into the said tube and adapted to engage or be engaged by the said plungers, and a fixed support with which the said rod is adapted to be connected, the vessel being adapted to move toward and from the said support, substantially as shown and described. 15. A concentrator, comprising a vessel having trunnions, a ring having bearings engaged by the said trunnions, a tube extending from one of the said trunnions and carrying spring-pressed plungers, a rod having ridges and extending into the said tube and adapted to engage or be engaged by the said plungers, a stationary universal-joint for carrying the outer end of the said rod, the vessel having movement toward and from the said joint, and means for preventing longitudinal movement of the rod in the said joint, substantially as shown and described. 16. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft, a vessel-carrying ring eccentrically mounted on the shaft to turn relatively thereto, and provided with an extension or handle and a fixed bearing in which the said extension has guided movement, to impart to the ring and vessel a gyrating motion about the centre of the shaft, and an oscillating motion about the vessel's own centre, substantially as described. 17. A concentrator, comprising a suitable vessel, means for imparting a gyrating motion thereto, and an extension or handle connected to the vessel, and having guided movement in a fixed bearing to cause the vessel to oscillate about its centre, as and for the purpose set forth. 18. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft carrying bearings, a wheel fitted to slide in said bearings, and a vessel-carrying ring mounted to turn on the said wheel, substantially as described. 19. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft, a vessel-carrying ring mounted on the shaft, and constructed to slide toward and from the centre thereof, and means for adjusting the said ring to vary its eccentricity and the range of its gyratory motion, substantially as described. 20. A concentrator, comprising a revoluble shaft, a vessel-carrying ring mounted on the shaft, and constructed to slide toward and from the centre thereof, an adjusting-screw for moving the said ring to vary the eccentricity thereof, said screw being provided with a wheel, and a shoe arranged to engage the said wheel as the screw revolves with the shaft, to rotate the screw and move the vessel-carrying ring in an essentially radial direction, substantially as described. 21. The hereinbefore-described construction and arrangement of parts constitute our improved concentrator, substantially as set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings. Henry Hughes, P.A.1.P.A., Dated this 4th day of July, 1895. Agent for the Applicants. Improvements in the Art op Centrifugal Separation op Ores and the like. I, Orrin Burton Peck, a mining engineer, residing at 225, Dearborn Street, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois, and a citizen of America, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " Improvements in the Art of Centrifugal Separation of Ores and the like," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement :— In the drawings Pig. lis a top plan view of the entire machine; Fig. 2is a central, vertical, longitudinal section through the treatment-vessel; Fig. 3 is a transverse section on the line of 3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4is a longitudinal section on the line of 4of Pig. 1; Fig. sis a longitudinal section on the line of sof Fig. 1; Figs. 6 and 7 are perspective views of the striking fingers PP; Pig. Bis a transverse section on the line of Bof Fig. 1; Fig. 9 is a detail in elevation of the rotary liquid valve n ; Fig. 10 is a transverse section on the line of 10 of Pig. 2, showing the discharge-valve and its operating-lever; Fig. 11 is a sectional detail on the line of Fig. 1 of the valve—actuating mechanism; Fig. 12 is a central, vertical, longitudinal section of another form of my improved machine; Fig. 13 is a transverse section on the line 13 of Fig. 12 ; Fig. 14 is a top-plan view of the mechanism for reciprocating the inner impact-shaft; Fig. 15 is a detail in elevation of a part of the belt-shifting mechanism of Pig. 12; Fig. 16 is a central, vertical, longitudinal section through the treatment-vessel of a modification of my improved machine; Fig. 17 is a transverse section on the line 17 of Fig. 16; Pig. 18 is a top-plan view of the reciprocating mechanism of Fig. 16; Fig. 19 is a transverse section on the line 19 of Pig. 16; Fig. 20 is a detail showing a top-plan view of the crank-shaft 6 1 ; Fig. 21 is a detail showing a portion of the mechanism for projecting and withdrawing the agitating-pins ; Fig. 22 is a transverse section on the line 22 of Fig. 21. All sections are taken in the direction indicated by the arrows. Similar letters refer to like parts throughout the several views. A designates a bed-plate, on which is supported, by standards AIA 1 in which it is journalled, the treatment-vessel A 3 , preferably of cylindrical form, and provided with an interior separating surface a. This vessel has upon its exterior a conical belt surface or pulley a l , by which it is rotated by a belt a 2 from the cone-pully Bon the countershaft 81,B 1 , preferably journalled in standards on the bed-plate, and driven from any suitable source of power. The treatment-vessel or separating cylinder is preferably closed at the feed-end by a stuffing-box B z , through which passes an inner, preferably hollow, impact cylinder or shaft C, which is suitably journalled in standards, allowing both rotation and reciprocation, and rotated by a cone-pulley C l , driven by a belt C 2 from the conepulley C" on the countershaft, at a different rate of speed from the outer cylinder, preferably faster, causing the agitating means carried by said cylinder C to travel circumferentially with respect to the separating surface. The stuffing-box is provided with a circular-threaded gland ot plug b which maybe screwed in towards the elastic packing b l , compressing it, and thus ensuing a practically watertight joint. 30—C. 3.

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The inner cylinder is divided by a partition c into two sections c 1 and c 2. The former is supplied with orifices D through which mingled ore and a liquid, preferably water, introduced by a pipe D 1 passing through the stuffing-box D 2 similar to 82,B 2 , is fed to the treatment-vessel at or near the headend. Section c 2 is preferably provided with orifices along over the separating surface of the treatmentvessel, in which are preferably screwed, or otherwise secured, hollow projections or tubes d, through which are forced jets of a liquid, preferably water, supplied by pipe d 1 passing through a stuffingbox d*. These jets are for the purpose of bringing and keeping lighter substances in suspension in the liquid during separation by their impact against the material, also aiding in moving them toward the point of discharge, and assisting latter, by their increased impact, in dislodging the heavier for removal. The tubes, also, in their movement through the liquid and suspended material, act by their direct contact to mechanically agitate the lighter portion and maintain it in suspension. At the outer extremity of the inner cylinder, beyond the pulley C l , is secured a flanged collar E, having a groove or annular way E l , formed by said flanges; into this groove extends the forked end of a lever E 2 pivoted at c. When the other end of the lever is moved back and forth, by the means hereinafter described, the inner cylinder is given a movement of longitudinal reciprocation in a direction transverse to the path of rotation of the separating surface, thus causing the impact jets to travel longitudinally with relation thereto, bringing practically the whole of such surfaces under their action. The inner impact-cylinder also serves as a deflector to guide the material along near the separating-surface in the channel or passage which it forms with the outer vessel. The treatment-vessel discharges into a hood P, which communicates with branch pipes F 1 and F 2 , conducting the lighter and heavier substances respectively to suitable .receptacles, the passage from the hood to the pipes being controlled by the valve/, which is automatically operated, as hereinafter described. Within the hood, keyed to the inner cylinder, is preferably placed a circular plate f l , which deflects the material discharged from the treatment-vessel into the hood, and at the same time, by its proximity to the end of said vessel, to so close it that sufficient resistance is offered to the discharge of material and liquid to maintain the channel practically full, and keep the material on the separating-surface in a state of submergence, allowing the suspension of the lighter portion. On the exterior of the treatment-vessel, held between a fixed and movable ring, is mounted the loose cone-pulley G, which is rotated by a belt G 1 from a pulley G 2 on the countershaft. This pulley G is recessed out at its side of largest diameter for a portion of its circumference, as shown at g 1 in Figs. 2 and 3. This unequal distribution of weight serves to impart in its rotation a vibration to the treatment-vessel, assisting in separating lighter and heavier material, and when its speed of rotation is increased, as hereinafter described, also aids in discharging the latter. To accompish the separation of material in the treatment-vessel, and the separate discharge of lighter and heavier substances, the speed of rotation of the treatment-vessel, the inner impactcylinder and the vibrating-pulley, the reciprocation of the inner cylinder, the periods of introduction of material and liquid through pipe D 1 and of impact liquid through pipe d l , and the operation of the discharge-valve, are preferably automatically controlled by the mechanism which will now be described. These actions might, however, be otherwise effected, manually if desired. On the countershaft B 1 is fixed a worm g engaging a worm-wheel g l , mounted on a short shaft g ,2 journalled in a bracket bolted to one of the countershaft standards. This shaft carries at its inner end a gear H, which meshes with one of a series of speed-gears H 1 on short transverse shafts H 2 , and on the last of these shafts is a small gear h, which engages with a large gear h 1 on a stubshaft W journalled in a standard on the bed-plate. The interposed system of speed-gearing is to vary the relative speeds of rotation of the parts by the interchange and substitution of the gears in the manner well known. The gear H, which rotates at a comparatively slow rate of speed, carries on its inner surface three sets, I I 1 and I 2 of small movable friction-plates i, which are secured to the face of the wheel at their inner ends by flanged brackets i 1 and at their outer by screws i 2 engaging series of holes; by changing the number or position of these plates the surface of frictional contact may be varied both in length and position. On a shaft J, suitably journalled in a position parallel with the face of gear h l , are mounted two friction-wheels, J 1 and J 2 , adjustably secured thereon by set-screws, and alternately engaging with the friction-plates during the rotation of the gear. On the end of shaft Jis a gear j which communicates through a train of speed-up gears j 1 on the short longitudinal shafts j" 1 with a gear X mounted on the end of the longitudinally extending threaded rod K l . This rod is supported for rotation in standards, preferably mounted on the base-plate, and carries along its length internally-threaded sleeves, XK 1 K 2 , upon which are mounted the transversely extending belt-shifting bars LL 1 L 2, which are supported at their outer ends by sleeves I, sliding freely upon the rods I 1 supported by the cross-bars P. Upon the ends of bars LL 1 L a are vertical pins M, engaging the opposite sides of the belts which communicate rotation to the treatment-vessel, the inner impact cylinder, and the vibrating pulley. As the gear h 1 is rotated by the intermediate gearing, the sets of friction-plates on the surface engage the friction-wheels J 1 J 2 , and through the speed-up gearing, cause the threaded rod to be rapidly rotated alternately in opposite directions with greater or intermediate periods of rest, thus causing the belt-shifting bars to travel along the rod in accordance with this rotation, and move the belt from one end of the cone-pulleys, C a 1 and G to the other, increasing and decreasing their speed of rotation, with intermediate periods of constant speed. These pulleys are so arranged on their respective cylinders that for an increase of speed of C and G, that of a l , which is tapered in the opposite direction, is decreased for the reason hereinafter stated. The threaded sleeves, XK 1 K 2 , are preferably made in two parts, and upon each of these bars a set-screw M 1 passing through the belt-shifting bar. If it be desired that any of the belts shall remain stationary in its movement along the surface of its cone-pulley, maintaining the

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speed of rotation of one or more parts constant, while the others are varied, the set-screws are loosened, thus allowing the sleeves to turn freely in the bars and preventing their travel along the threaded rod. At the same time, set-screws M 2 in the sleeves I are tightened to engage the rods P-, thus insuring the belt-shifting bars remaining stationary. The rod K 1 also carries another threaded sleeve m, upon which is mounted a bar m 1 extending in one direction only, and supported at its outer end by a sleeve similar to the others. To this bar is secured a rod m s , to which is pivoted a connecting-rod N, pivotally connected at its opposite end to the end of a lever N 1 on the stem of the clear liquid impact-valve N 2 in the pipe d l . The bar m l , being caused to travel back and forth by the rotation of the rod K 1 within its threaded sleeve, causes the valve N 2 to be alternately opened and closed by the interposed rods and levers. It may be thrown out of action, if desired, by an arrangement precisely similar to that of the belt-shifting bars. In the pipe d l , beyond the valve N 2 , is another valve nof the straightway type, having upon its upwardly extending stem a belt-wheel or pulley n l , which is rotated by means of a belt n 2 passing over a pulley n" near the end of rod K l . The sizes of these pulleys may be so proportioned that during the period in which the valve N 2 is opened the valve n 1 will be opened and closed a number of times, imparting a pulsatory action to the jets of liquid issuing from the pipes d, increasing the effect of their impact force. It is not always essential or desirable in carrying out the process herein described to apply the impact jets in a pulsatory manner, but will depend upon the grade of material under treatment and various other conditions. When the valve n 1 is not in use, the belt n 2 is to be removed from its pulleys, and the valve is left open. The rod K 1 has also secured thereto a cylinder O, having in its surface a continuous cam-groove 01,O 1 , into which extends the end of the lever E 2 previously described. The rotation of this groove imparts to the end of said lever a reciprocating movement, causing the longitudinal movement of the inner cylinder by the engagement of its opposite forked extremity therewith. Upon the opposite surface of the gear h l , from that which carries the friction-plates, are, preferably, three sets of two adjustable fingers P P l , which are secured to the face of the gear by set-screws passing through slots P 2 in an enlarged portion P 3 , the slots permitting an adjustment of the fingers circumferentially of the gear h l . The finger P lies in the same plane as its enlarged portion, and projects close to the face of the gear, while the finger P 1 is bent twice, nearly at right angles, which causes it to project in a plane at a slight distance from the surface; it also has a greater radial length. These fingers respectively engage the ends of the levers p p l , the former being a simple lever pivoted at its centre upon a standard mounted on the bed-plate, while the lever p 1 is compound, its two sections being mounted upon two similar standards. The opposite ends of these levers contact with the lower and upper sides respectively of a lever p 2 extending at right angles from the end of the stem of the material feeding-valve Qin pipe D l . The opposite extremity of the valve stem carries a lever Q l , the lower end of which projects through a slot in end of a lever Q 2 , fixed to the stem of the liquid-valve gin a pipe q l , communicating with the pipe D lat a point between valve Q and the treatment-vessel. To the outer extremity of the lever p l is pivoted a rod E, connected to one member of a bellcrank lever E 1 pivoted to the bed-plate, to the other arm of which is pivotally attached a long con-necting-rod E 2 , leading to the upper extremity of a lever r, to which it is attached by a bolt passing through a slot r l . The lower end of the lever ris secured to a rod r 2 , having a socket r 3 at its opposite end, in which is secured by means of a set-screw the stem of the discharge-valve /. By changing the point of attachment of the lever r to the rod r 2 , and by turning the valve stem in its socket, the extent of movement of the valve/ may be adjusted, and its relative time of action to the other elements varied. A weight r 4 , near the upper end of the lever r, assists in throwing said lever in one direction or the other. As the levers pp l are moved downward by the contact of the fingers P P l , they respectively raise and lower the lever p 2 , thus opening and closing the valve Q, with intermediate periods during which it is stationary. This lever p' 1 carries upon its upper and lower surfaces small pins S, which serve to prevent the slippage of levers pp 1 as they engage it. As the valve Q is actuated, it also in turn opens and closes the liquid-valve q through the intervention of the levers Q Q 2 ; at the same time, the discharge-valve /is operated by the bellcrank lever and its connecting-rods and levers. The operation of the device is as follows: The valve Q being opened to its fullest extent, ore, in a finely-divided state and mingled with a liquid, preferably water, is fed into the treatment vessel, which is being rotated at a speed sufficient to develop the desired degree of centrifugal force, in sufficient quantities to fill the channel or passage between the inner impact cylinder and the separating surface. Here the centrifugal force causes the material to move toward a position around the circumference of the vessel, and the heavier to lodge upon the separating surface. At the same time, the material in suspension in the liquid and the surface of the accumulated material is subjected to opposing forces of preferably approximately constant degrees in the form of the impact of the jets of liquid issuing from the orifices in the surface of the inner cylinder, the liquidvalve N 2 being partially open, and to the action of the moving tubes themselves, which produces an agitation in the material, permitting the heavier portion to be precipitated, and causing the lighter to be suspended in the liquid and moved along toward the outlet by its impellent force, largely or wholly without frictional contact with the separating surface. The separation is further aided by the vibration imparted to the treatment-vessel by the recessed pully G. It will not be found necessary under all conditions, however, to employ all of the abovementioned opposing forces, and they may be used separately, and of a greater or less degree of intensity, as may best be adapted to the conditions or material under consideration. It will be understood that the more violent the agitation, with relation to centrifugal force, during the separating period, the heavier will be the portions of material discharged during such period, and vice versd.

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The separation being accomplished, the valves and gearing are in the position shown in the drawing, and heavier material is now to be discharged. The group I of friction-plates in its upward movement, as shown in Fig. 5, engages the friction-wheel J l , and causes it to rotate through the intermediate gearing, the longitudinal threaded rod, thus moving the threaded sleeves and the bars which they support, shifting the belts to the opposite ends of the cone-pulleys, and opening wide the liquid impact-valve N 3 . At the same time the finger P strikes the end of lever p, which, by means of the system of levers already described, closes the material - valve Q, opens the clear liquid-valve q, and shifts the position of the discharge-valve/ As a result of these changes, the supply of material is shut off from the feed-end of the treatment-vessel, the speed of rotation of said vessel is decreased, causing the heavier substances to be held less forcibly against the separating surface, and permitting them to be dislodged by the increased impact of the jets of liquid, the greater impellent force of its flow, and the increased agitation due to the more rapid movement of the tubes. The heavier material is thus carried out of the treatment-vessel, and into the pipe F 2 , which conveys it to a separate receptacle. This position of parts, and constant degrees of forces for discharge, are maintained until the group P of friction-plates in its downward movement engages the friction-roll J 2 , causing the opposite rotation of the rod Xl,K l , which, with the striking of the finger p 1 against the lever p l , restores the elements to their former condition, and the period of separation follows. When a separating vessel or cylinder is used, of sufficiently large diameter to permit an accumulation or head of liquid at the receiving end to secure by the centrifugal force generated therein the force of flow through the same, the packing-boxes are preferably dispensed with. By means of adjustments and changes in the various parts of the mechanism, the length and frequency of the periods of operation of the elements, the intensity of the applied forces, and their relation one to the other, may be varied within the desired limits. By suitably arranging the speed-gearing H 1 in the usual manner, the relative speed of rotation of the countershaft and the longitudinal-threaded rod may be changed, thus varying, relatively, the rate of speed of rotation of the pulleys C, a l , and G, and the rate of change in said speed, and, consequently, between the intensity of the centrifugal force, agitation, and vibration, and the change in said intensity. This adjustment also changes the frequency-with which the fingers strike the valve-actuating levers, altering the frequency and length of the periods during which material and liquid are fed to the treatment-vessel, irrespective of the speed of rotation of the countershaft. The relation of these may be further controlled by the circumferential movement of the fingers on the face of the disc, while the time and extent of movement of the discharge-valve may be independently adjusted by the point at which its lever is attached to the connecting-rod, and the movement of its valve-stem in the connecting socket. The adjustment of the contact-surfaces I I 1 12,I 2 , and the friction-wheels engaging therewith, furnish a means for changing the intensity and time of application of these forces—centrifugal, agitation, and vibration—collectively, to vary the periods of separation and removal. If, for example, it is desired to gradually change the speed of rotation of the separating-surface, inner impact-cylinder, and vibrating fully during the period of separation, say, an increase thereof, and then almost immediately decrease them to the initial point, during the period of the removal of heavier substances, the contact-surfaces may be sufficiently increased by adding the removable plates, and the friction-wheels moved well in towards the centre of the gear h l . As a result, one or the other of the wheels will be in frietional engagement with the contact-surfaces a greater part of the time, actuating the belt-shifters almost continuously alternately in opposite directions, effecting the required change. Or if it is desired to maintain the speed of rotation of these parts approximately constant during the periods of separation and removal, but of different rates, plates are removed from each of the contact-surfaces, and the friction-wheels removed towards the periphery of the gear, giving substantially the arrangement illustrated in the drawing, when the wheels will be alternately engaged and oppositely rotated, with intermediate periods of rest, thus quickly shifting the belt to the one end of the actuating cone-pulleys, and rotating the parts at a constant rate for separation, and then to the other ends thereof, varying the speed to the required amount for discharge, and maintaining them there until the cycle of operations recommences. By setting any one of the belt-shifting bars along the threaded rod the timing of the movements of the part it actuates will be changed with respect to its fellows. The rotation of any one pulley may be maintained constant by throwing out of action and fixing its belt-shifting bar. Or any one of the pairs of pulleys may be removed and others of different size substituted, or the pulleys reversed in position on the shaft, thus making the change in its speed of rotation opposite to the others. The setting of the bar m 1 on the rod K 1 adjusts the periods of action of the impact-valve, and by putting pulleys of different diameters in place of those on the rod and on the stem of valve n the speed of rotation of said valve, and consequently the number of pulsations of impact jets of liquid delivered upon the separating-surface during the time that valve n 2 is open, may also be varied as desired, increasing or decreasing the agitating effect. In the form illustrated in Figs. 12 to 15 inclusive, the rotatable separating vessel S 1 is of conical form, and has a series of peripheral orifices S 3 discharging into the hood F. The inner impact-shaft or deflector S 2 is also conical, preferably of about the same taper as the separating vessel, and has over its surface the impact orifices s. This inner shaft is preferably supported by two long hollow trunnions s 1 s 2 , suitably journalled in standards to permit rotation by means of a pulley T at a different rate of speed from the separating vessel, preferably faster, and also a movement of longitudial reciprocation by means of the mechanism which will now be described. Below the outer extremity of the trunnion s 2 is fixed to the bed-plate a table T l , having upon its upper surface a sliding plate, T 2 moving between suitable guide-ways. Upon this plate is located a block t, mounted to slide in guide-ways thereon. This block carries at its top a journal having a projecting bushing t l , which engages an annular groove t 2 in the outer surface of trunnion s 2 . At

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the end of plate T 2 is rigidly secured a block U, in which is journalled a crank-shaft U 1 rotated by a pulley U 2 from any source of power. A connecting-rod v extends from the cranked portion of the said shaft to the sliding block t, to which it is pivotally connected. The plate T 2 is given a motion of slow reciprocation, by means of a gear u 1 mounted on a tranverse shaft u 2 journalled to the table, which meshes with a rack V on the bottom of said plate. The shaft u 2 is rotated by a worm-wheel V l , which engages a worm V 2 upon a shaft v extending longitudinally beneath the table and journalled therein. This shaft has at its outer extremity two tight pulleys v and v 2, and between them a loose pulley v a . Upon these pulleys are an open belt W and a crossed belt W l , which extend to similar pulleys on a countershaft. These belts are engaged by three pins W 1 upon a belt-shifting rod w 1 mounted to reciprocate in brackets on the table. Upon this rods are lugs, u 1 w'\ which contact with a rod w 2 fixed to the table T 2 . Upon the upper surface of the rod w are two lugs iv s , between which projects the end of a lever x pivotted at its centre to an upright on the table, and weighted at its upper extremity w l . Between the pivot and the weight is a slot x 2 in an enlargement, through which projects a pin fixed in the upper end of the upright. In operation the block t is given a movement of comparatively short rapid reciprocation, by the rotation of the crank-shaft U\ making the inner impact-shaft travel in the same manner longitudinally of its axis of rotation, and tranversely to the path of rotation of the separating surface, causing, with the differential speed of rotation of the two, the impact-jets of liquid from orifices sto play over preferably the entire surface. At the same time, the rotation of the shaft v by the belt W on the tight pulley v 1 causes, through the intervention of the gearing, the comparatively slow travel of the plate T 2 , carrying with it both the fixed and sliding blocks, resulting in a similar longitudinal movement of the impact-cylinder. This continues until the bar w 2 strikes the opposite lug to 1 , actuating the belt-shifting bar and moving the belts WW 1 on the surface of the pulleys. The travel of the bar w also causes the lugs to 3 to tilt the weighted lever, resulting in its falling to its other limit of motion—that is, until arrested by the pin striking the end of slot x 2— and carrying the belts by the dead point, when each are equally on a fast and loose pulley. This places the cross-belt W 1 on the pulley V 2, and rotates the shaft v in the opposite direction, thus changing the direction travel of of the impact-shaft. The separating vessel has a cylindrical portion x beyond the discharge orifices, to permit the reciprocation of the inner shaft, and the pipe D 1 and d 1 extended sufficiently through their stuffingboxes for the same purpose. As shown in Fig. 12, the conical impact-shaft or -deflector is about at its extreme point of travel into the separating vessel, and the period of separation is about to begin. As heavier material accumulates on the separating surface, the shaft is moved gradually to the right, thus carrying its exterior away from the separating surface and widening the channel or passage between them. As a result, the distance between the surface of the impact-shaft and the surface of the accumulated heavier substances is kept approximately constant by this gradual movement, maintaining an approximately constant ratio between the force of aqueous impact from the orifices and the impellent force of the liquid, carrying or moving lighter substances flowing through the channel. This continues until the end of its outward movement is reached, when its direction of travel is reversed, causing the surfaces to gradually approach one another, increasing both the aqueous impact and impellent forces, thus dislodging the accumulated heavier material, and discharging it separately. At all times the short and rapid reciprocation is occurring to evenly distribute the field of action of the impact-jets. At the same time, this rapid motion produces a series of slight contractions and enlargements in the size of the channel, causing a wash or series of waves, which assist in separating lighter material and suspending it in the liquid in a manner somewhat similar to a jig. The mechanism for automatically actuating the feed- impact- and discharge-valves, and varying the applied forces by different speeds of rotation, already described in connection with the other figures, may be likewise employed here, and has therefore not been illustrated. In the form illustrated in Figs. 16 to 22 inclusive, another means for varying the intensity of agitation is shown. The treatment-vessel is journalled in suitable standards by hollow trunnions 2', 2", the latter having secured thereto a belt-pulley 2", by which it is rotated. Through these trunnions project the hollow trunnions 3, 3' suitably journalled in standards, and supporting the inner hollow frame or cylinder and deflector. The trunnion 3' carries a belt-pulley 3", by which the interior cylinder is rotated at a different speed than the treatment-vessel, preferably faster. Near the outer end of trunnion 3' are a series of external circumferential grooves 4, which are engaged by a flanged bushing 4', this bushing being carried by a sliding plate 5, which is supported in suitable guides upon a table s'. On the lower side of the table are a pair of depending lugs 6, and journalled in the table beneath the sliding plate is a crank or eccentric shaft 6', driven by a gear 6 connected to any source of power. A connecting-rod 7 extends from the crank to the depending lugs, and when the shaft is rotated causes the reciprocation of the sliding plate, carrying with it the inner cylinder or deflector, thus giving thereto a movement of longitudinal reciprocation as well as the rotation imparted to it by the pulley 3". This pulley is secured to the trunnion by a spline and groove to allow the longitudinal reciprocation of the latter. In the plates 8 B', closing the opposite ends of the inner cylinder, is journalled a shaft 9, which carries on the portion within the cylinder a long sleeve 9' secured to the shaft to rotate therewith, and having along its surface oppositely extending pairs of perforated lugs, 10 10. The lugs 10 have pivotted thereto a bar 11, to which are secured the agitating-pins 12, projecting outward preferably through wearing sleeves 12' placed in orifices in the surface of the inner cylinder. The lugs 10' have pivotted to them a counterweight 11', which is connected by a bar 13 to the pin-bar 11. The purpose of this counterweight is to counteract the outward thrust of the pin-bars produced by the action of centrifugal force, and thus relieve the strain upon the operating parts.

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The shaft 9 extends through the plate B', and is secured at its outer end by a double spline and groove to a short shaft 14', extending within the trunnion 3', and having a cylindrical recess at 14", into which the shaft 9 projects. This shaft 14' is provided, like the trunnion 3', with external circumferential grooves engaging a flanged bushing, which is supported by a sliding block 15, mounted in, guided upon the upper surface of the plate 5. The outer extremity of block 15 is cylindrically perforated at 15', and into this perforation extends the end of a short shaft 16, suitably journalled on the plate 5, and rotated by means of a belt on the broad pulley 16. The end of the shaft 16, which is within the perforation, has upon its surface a right- and left-handed continuous spiral groove 17, and into this groove projects a pin 17', mounted in a screw plug 17", held in a block above the shaft. On the shaft 14' are two pins 18' (see Figs. 21 and 22), which project through inclined slots 18' in the outer end of the trunnion 3' of the interior cylinder. The shaft 16 being continuously rotated, the engagement of the pin 17' with the continuous spiral groove causes the independent reciprocation of the block 15 upon the sliding plate 5, which results in the pins 18 being forced through the inclined slots, causing by their thrust the shaft 9 to be rotated slowly ahead of the trunnion 3. By this movement the bars 11 are moved outwardly radially, projecting the agitating-pins through the holes in the inner cylinder, and upon the backward travel of blocks 15, withdrawing them by the movement of the pins toward the opposite ends of the slots. The operation is so timed that when the period of separation begins the pins are extended to their outmost limits, and then as separation progresses, and the material accumulates on the separating surface, they are slowly withdrawn, maintaining the degree of agitation approximately constant in the narrowing channel, and keeping lighter substances in suspension without disturbing the heavier. As the period of separation approaches its end, the pins will have been withdrawn to their inmost point, and the heavier substances are now discharged by projecting them towards or into the accumulated material, agitating or disturbing it sufficiently to allow its discharge by an increased flow of liquid. In this modification the material and liquid are fed to the separating surface through orifices 19 at the feed-end of the interior cylinder, and the material separately discharged through orifices 19' at the opposite end of the treatment-vessel. The mechanism for automatically actuating the feed- and discharge-valves, and varying the speeds of rotation already described in connection with the other figures, might be likewise employed here, and has therefore not been illustrated. The phrases " aqueous impact force," " aqueous impellent force," and similar expressions, have been used throughout to distinguish between the cause, action, and result of the agitating effect of impact of the molecules of a liquid, not, however, necessarily water, and that of the motive or propelling effect of a flowing liquid. Although the terms " cylindrical" and " conical" have been applied throughout to the separating vessel, and the inner impact-shaft or deflector for the sake of brevity, these forms are not absolutely essential to the operation of the machine, and any other might be employed by which the desired result would be obtained. It is to be understood that the word is used in this generic ■ sense in both description and claims. The phrase " constant impact force during the period of separation," and others similar thereto, have been used, and it will be seen that when, during the periods of separation and discharge, the impact-jets are pulsatory in character, their maximum and minimum effect will be controlled by the lever actuated valve N 2 , and will therefore be constant for such period, making their mean effect also constant. It will be noticed that, while the aqueous and other forces opposing centrifugal force permit or allow the precipitation of heavier substances, they cause or effect, that is compel, the suspension of the lighter in the fluid, whereas the centrifugal force acts positively to effect both results. This explanation is made because it was not always possible to bring out the distinction clearly in the claims, without prolixity, when mentioning these forces in connection. It is obvious that many changes and modifications in the details of construction of the various parts of the mechanism herein described may be made as desired by the constructor, or to best suit the varied conditions under which the machine is operated, without departing from my invention. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed or carried out, I declare that what I claim is,— 1. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface and means for effecting agitation of material while in a submerged state thereon, to assist separation, substantially as described. 2. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface and means through combined mechanical and aqueous forces for effecting agitation of material while in a submerged state thereon, to assist separation, substantially as described. 3. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface and means for effecting agitation of material thereon while separating and removing lighter substances, and intermittently removing the heavier, substantially as described. 4. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface and means for effecting agitation of material while in a submerged state thereon, to assist separation, means for intermittently or periodically stopping the flow of material to the separator, and means for intermittently removing the heavier material, substantially as described. 5. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, an agitator in proximity thereto, and means for imparting different speeds of rotation to one of them to effect varying degrees of agitation of material over the separating surface, substantially as described. 6. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, a rotatable agitator in proximity thereto, and means for

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varying the speed of rotation of said agitator to effect different degrees of agitation of material over the separating surface, substantially as described. 7. In a centrifugal separator, the combination-of a rotatable separating surface, a rotatable agitator in proximity thereto, and means for varying the speed of rotation of said agitator to effect different degrees of agitation of material over the separating surface, substantially as described. 8. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, an agitator in proximity thereto, means for imparting different speeds of rotation to one of them to effect varying degrees of agitation over the separating surface, and means for causing a flow of liquid to remove separated material, substantially as described. 9. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, a rotatable agitator to separate lighter material, and means for increasing the speed of rotation of said agitator to effect the removal of heavier substances, substantially as described. 10. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, a deflector for guiding material along near said separating surface, rotating at varying speeds, and agitating means carried by said deflector, substantially as described. 11. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, and means for securing aqueous impact force over that portion of the surface where separation is being effected to cause the suspension of lighter substances, substantially as described. 12. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, means for securing aqueous impact force over that portion of the surface where the separation is being effected to cause the suspension of lighter substances, and means for removing the heavier substances by increased impact force, substantially as described. 13. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, and rotatable means for securing aqueous impact over that portion of the surface where separation is being effected to cause the suspension of lighter substances, substantially as described. 14. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, and means for securing varying degrees of aqueous impact force over that portion of the surface where separation is being effected to cause the suspension of lighter substances, substantially as described. 15. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, upon which the material is in a submerged state, and means for securing aqueous impact and impellent force over that portion of the surface where separation is being effected to cause the suspension and removal of lighter substances, substantially as described. 16. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separator surface, and means for procuring pulsatory aqueous impact force over that portion of the surface where separation is being effected to cause the suspension of lighter substances, substantially as described. 17. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, and means for securing varying degrees of centrifugal force, and aqueous impact and impellent forces to effect the separation of lighter and heavier substances and their removal, substantially as described. 18. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, means for securing aqueous impact force over that portion of the surface where separation is being effected to cause the suspension of lighter substances, means for stopping the flow of material to the separator and increasing the flow of liquid thereto during the removing period, and starting the flow of material and decreasing the flow of liquid during the separating period, substantially as described. 19. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable vessel or cylinder, a shaft or cylinder extending through the same such shaft, provided with two hollow sections, each communicating with a supply-pipe or conduit, and provided with orifices or perforations communicating with the vessel or cylinder, substantially as described. 20. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, conduits for supplying material and a liquid thereto, and a means for effecting the removal of heavier substances by increasing the speed of rotation while the flow of material is stopped, substantially as described. 21. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable vibratable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, conduits for supplying material and liquid thereto, and means for effecting the removal of heavier substances by increasing the intensity of vibration while the flow of material is stopped, substantially as described. 22. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface upon which the material is in a submerged state, conduits for supplying material and liquid thereto, and means for effecting the removal of heavier substances by increasing the speed of rotation, substantially as described. 23. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, and agitating means movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation of said surface, substantially as described. 24. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, and agitating means movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation of such surface, upon a supporting body maintained at a constant distance therefrom, substantially as described.

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25. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, and rotatable agitating means movable in a direction transerse to the path of rotation of such surface, upon a supporting body maintained at a constant distance therefrom, substantially as described. 26. In a centrifugal separator, the combination with a rotatable separating surface of agitating means, the two relatively movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation, substantially as described. 27. In a centrifugal separator, the combination with a rotatable separating surface of agitating means, mounted upon a supporting body maintained at a constant distance therefrom, the two relatively movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation, substantially as described. 28. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, and agitating means automatically reciprocating in a direction transverse to the path of rotation, substantially as described. 29. In a centrifugal separator, the combination with a rotatable separating surface of agitating means, the two relatively automatically movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation, substantially as described. 30. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable vessel or cylinder, and an agitating shaft or cylinder passing in a watertight manner through one end thereof, the two relatively movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation of said vessel, substantially as described. 81. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable vessel or cylinder, a material supply-pipe or conduit communicating therewith in a manner to secure pressure through the vessel, means for effecting agitation of the material within said vessel, and means for effecting endways movement back and forth of the agitating means, substantially as described. 32. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, and agitating means movable toward and from such surface, substantially as described. 33. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, and agitating means movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation of said surface, and toward and from the same, substantially as described. 34. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable vessel or cylinder, an inner perforated frame or cylinder, pins within said perforation, and means for projecting and withdrawing the same, substantially as described. 35. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable vessel, rotatable agitating means, movable along the axis of rotation thereof, and engaged by a reciprocating bushing to effect such movement, substantially as described. 36. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, and aqueous impact, means to effect agitation of material thereon, the two being relatively movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation, substantially as described. 37. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, and rotatable aqueous impact means to effect an agitation of material thereon, movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation, substantially as described. 38. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, upon which the material is in a submerged state, a deflector or cylinder in proximity thereto, and means for producing a wash- or wave-motion in the channel between them by rapidly varying the size thereof, substantially as described. 39. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable conical vessel, a conical deflector therein, and means for producing a wash- or wave-motion in the channel between them by imparting to one of them a rapid reciprocation, substantially as described. 40. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable separating surface, and aqueous means to effect agitation of material thereon, the two being relatively gradually movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation, and at the same time quickly movable back and forth to a lesser extent in the same direction, substantially as described. 41. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a conical shaft provided with jet orifices, said shaft being movable longitudinally on its axis, substantially as described. 42. In a centrifugal separator, the combination with a rotatable conical separating surface of conical aqueous impact, means to effect agitation of material thereon, the two being relatively movable in a direction transverse to the path of rotation, substantially as described. 43. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a conical separating vessel and an inner conical shaft or deflector, forming therein an intermediate channel or passage, the two being gradually relatively immovable in such a manner as to enlarge said channel during the separating period and decrease it during the removing period, and means for securing at the same time a shorter, quicker movement thereof, substantially as described. 44. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a conical separating vessel and an inner conical shaft or deflector, forming therein an intermediate channel or passage, the two gradually relatively movable in such a manner as to enlarge said channel during the separating period and decrease it during the removing period, means for securing at the same time a shorter, quicker movement thereof, and automatic means for effecting such movements, substantially as described. 45. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable treatment vessel and rotatable separating mechanism therein, means for varying the speed of rotation and friction-rolls connected thereto, and actuated by revolving friction surfaces to accomplish this variation, each surface being composed of movable sections, whereby its extent and position may be changed, substantially as described. 46. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable treatment vessel and rotatable separating mechanism therein, means for varying the speed of rotation, friction-rolls connected thereto by intermediate gearing, and actuated by revolving friction surfaces to accomplish this variation, substantially as described.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING GOLD

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47. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable vessel, means for applying material and liquid thereto, valves for regulating the flow thereof, and a rotating wheel having projecting portions contracting intermittently therewith for actuating such means, substantially as described. 48. In a centrifugal separator, the combination of a rotatable vessel, means for producing agitation in said vessel, means for supplying material and liquid thereto, valves for regulating the flow thereof, and a rotating wheel having projecting portions contracting intermittently therewith for actuating such means, substantially as described. Dated this 29th day of June, a.d. 1895. Oebin Burton Peck. impbovements in the process of and apparatus for extracting gold and silver from Ores and the like. We, the Cassel Gold-extracting Company (Limited), of 108 a, Hope Street, Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North Britain, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for " Improvements in the Process of and Apparatus for extracting Gold and Silver from Ores and the like," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — This invention has for its object the obtaining of gold and silver from their ores or like compounds. In carrying out the invention the ores or like compounds in a powdered state are treated as hereinafter described in a vessel made of wood, or of any other suitable material lined or covered if necessary with wood or some other suitable inert substance. The vessel, which may be shaped like a barrel or cylinder, and set horizontally with a shaft or other convenient support for a plate-carry-ing frame passing through it, is fitted internally with one or more amalgamated plates, so disposed as to be readily accessible for removal, replacement, and renewal. When a barrel-shaped vessel is used it may be fixed to the shaft which passes through it, so that by the revolution of the shaft the barrel is rotated, and the frame carrying the amalgamated plates is so arranged and adjusted that it may either remain stationary while the barrel rotates or it may rotate with the barrel, or be merely hung on the shaft in such manner as to be freely movable without necessarily revolving with the barrel and its contents. In any case it is essential that there should be easy access to the amalgamated plate or plates by means of suitable openings, which may also serve for charging and discharging the apparatus. In carrying out the invention the apparatus is charged with the powdered ore, and a sufficiency of water containing some cyanide, such as cyanide of potassium, dissolved therein, or water containing any substance which will dissolve gold or silver or gold and silver, or will assist amalgamation, but which will not materially affect the apparatus. The charge is then stirred or agitated by putting the apparatus into operation until the gold or silver or gold and silver is or are, as far as practicable, caught on the amalgamated plate or plates, when the exhausted mass is discharged, and the amalgam is collected from the plates, and the gold or silver or gold and silver recovered therefrom. The mass from which the gold or silver or gold and silver has or have been collected by amalgamation, as far as practicable, is discharged into a tank or other vessel so arranged that if the solution contains gold or silver or gold and silver such solution may be drawn therefrom, and, if necessary, any liquid remaining entangled therein may be washed out, and the gold or silver or gold and silver then recovered from the solution by any well-known means. The accompanying drawings illustrate a form or apparatus suitable for carrying out the process above described, Fig. 1 being a longitudinal section of such apparatus ; Fig. 2, a plan-view of same, one half being a plan-view of the underside thereof, and the other half plan-view of the top side thereof; Fig. 3, a transverse section through such apparatus; Fig. 4, an end view of the form of amalgamated plate which we prefer to employ ; and Fig. 5 a side-elevation of such plate. It will be seen that the amalgamated plates A (Figs. 4 and 5) which we prefer to employ are corrugated or otherwise indented, as such form will give increased rigidity to the plates while providing a much larger and more effective surface, as the corrugations or indentations will have a shielding or guarding action to protect the metals caught on the plate or plates, and thus form a surface which is favourable to the retention of the fine metal after initial contact. The apparatus shown in the drawings consists of a barrel or drum B secured to a horizontal shaft C and provided with suitable openings b 1 and b 2 , for the purpose of charging and discharging the apparatus, and also for introducing and withdrawing the amalgamated plates A, such openings being fitted with suitable covers for the purpose of closing same securely when the apparatus is in operation. Upon the horizontal shaft or support C a frame D is mounted in such a manner that it is free to rotate on the said shaft, the extent of this freedom being capable of adjustment, and into this frame the amalgamated plates A are inserted and secured firmly therein. The freedom of the frame D to rotate in relation to the shaft can be adjusted by any suitable means, such as by clamping such frame more or less tightly to the shaft or by pressure-screws passing through the frame and bearing on the shaft. The object of thus mounting frame D on the shaft C is to permit of both plates being easily got at for renewal, &c, and to enable it to offer such a resisting yielding action to the materials to be treated as is found best suited to force such materials into most efficient contact with the plates A, while abrasion and strain on same (which might otherwise be considerable, especially in starting the apparatus, when the ore is not in suspension) is avoided or considerably diminished. In carrying out the process the powdered ore is introduced into the barrel or drum B, together with the water containing some cyanide dissolved therein, or water containing any substance which will dissolve gold or silver or gold and silver, or which would assist amalgamation and not injuriously affect the plant. 81—C. 3.

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The opening or openings through which the ore and the solution is introduced is or are then securely closed. The barrel or drum B is then caused to rotate, whereby such ore and the solution will be brought into intimate contact with the amalgamated plates A, and the gold and silver, or a portion of the gold and silver, will be deposited on the amalgamated plates. It will be seen that, as the barrel or drum B is caused to rotate, while the frame carrying the amalgamated plates is mounted more or less freely on the horizontal shaft C of such barrel or drum, the contents of the latter will, as same rotates, be kept in constant agitation, and the action of depositing the gold and silver on the amalgamated plates A will consequently be greatly facilitated. It will be readily understood that, instead of causing the barrel or drum B to rotate, same may remain stationary, while the frame D, carrying the amalgamated plates A, may be keyed to the shaft Csoas to rotate with it; but we do not recommend this, because of the abrasion and strain on the plates which would ensue, especially at the commencement of the agitation. Again, both the barrel B and the frame D, carrying the amalgamated plates A, may be caused to rotate, either in the same or in opposite directions, and at the same or at different speeds. In either case the necessary agitation of the contents of the drum or barrel B will be produced. When the operation has been completed the exhausted mass will be discharged through the openings b, b l , or b 2 , and the amalgam collected from the plates A, easy access to which is given by the swinging frame and apertures, and the gold or silver or gold and silver recovered therefrom. Should any gold or silver or gold and silver still remain in the mass discharged from the drum or barrel B any known means may be employed for recovering same therefrom. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is,— 1. The improved process for extracting gold or silver or gold and silver from ores and the like, consisting in submitting such ores or like compounds in a powdered condition to the combined action of one or more amalgamated plates, and of a solution containing a cyanide or other suitable substance which will dissolve gold or silver or gold and silver, or which will assist amalgamation, but will not injuriously affect the apparatus, in a vessel provided with suitable means for producing agitation, substantially as described. 2. The apparatus for treating gold- or silver-ores or gold-and-silver ores and the like in the manner set forth in the preceding claim, consisting in a vessel having one or more amalgamated plates mounted therein, such vessel or the plates, or both, having suitable motion imparted thereto substantially as described with reference to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, of the accompanying drawings. 3. In apparatus for treating gold- or silver-ores or gold-and-silver ores and the like in the manner set forth in claim 1, the employment of corrugated or indented amalgamated plates for the purpose specified. Dated this Ist day of October, 1895. The Cassel Gold-exteacting Company (Limited), By Heney Arnold Jones, General Manager and Secretary. Impbovements in Process and Appaeatus foe exteacting Gold peom Oees and other Auriferous Substances. I, Bertrand Chase Hinman, of 22, Cliff Street, New York City, New York, United States of America, chemist, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " Improvements in Process and Apparatus for extracting Gold from Ores and other Auriferous Substances," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — In the extraction of gold from ores and other auriferous substances by bromine, a larger quantity of bromine must be employed than is necessary to combine with the gold. There are always present in the ore many other elements which combine with the bromine, so that the use of an excess of this element becomes imperative to completely extract the gold. An excess of bromine attacks and dissolves the gold very quickly, and this is an important feature in the treatment of gold-bearing ores. Unless, therefore, means are provided to prevent the loss of the bromine, and to regenerate it from its combinations, the process would become too expensive, and therefore practically prohibitive. The object of my invention is to extract the gold from ores by the use of an excess of bromine, and to regenerate the bromine. In the accompanying drawing Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of an apparatus for carrying my invention into effect; Fig. 2is a similar view of a modification. The pulverised ore is mixed with water and is thrown into a revolving cylinder a. I then add from 31b. to 201b. of bromine to each ton of ore, or so much as may be necessary to speedily dissolve the gold. The cylinder is closed and revolved for one or two hours, when all the gold will be found in solution. The ore is then thoroughly leached, and the filtered solution is run through pipe b, into a separating tank or still c, which can be hermetically closed. As a leaching solution I prefer to use water charged with one or more of the halogens (excepting fluorine), which prevents the possibility of the gold being precipitated in the ore. A pipe d leads from the top of the tank cto a condenser c, which is filled with cold water or other cooling medium. The contents of the tank c are now heated to such a temperature that the bromine distills over as vapour through pipe d into condenser c. Here these bromine vapours are condensed into liquid bromine, which is collected in receiver/. The heat by which the distillation is effected may be applied in any suitable way, such as an open fire, or immersed steam or hot-air pipes. I prefer, however, to use live steam, which is injected directly into the liquid from a suitable generator h through a pipe g which opens into tank c below the surface of the liquid. By the use of the live steam the solution is not only

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quickly raised to the distilling-point of the bromine, but the separation of the bromine is also mechanically greatly expedited. If other elements have been present in the ore- with which the bromine has combined, the solution in tank c will contain such of them as are soluble in water. To set the bromine free from these combinations I introduce chlorine through pipe i from cylinder j, or the chlorine may be directly generated in the tank. The chlorine may be admitted simultaneously with the steam, and displace the bromine from its combinations, or I may introduce into the solution or produce in it any other oxidizing agent sufficiently powerful to set free the bromine from its combinations. Such an oxidizing action will be produced, for instance, by the use of potassium permanganate and an acid. The liberated bromine vapours are, of course, carried through the condenser and collected in the receiver/. In some instances it may be desirable to introduce the liberating reagents directly into the cylinder with the ore, which will prevent the formation of the bromide salts. After all the bromine vapours have been expelled from the tank c and condensed the steam is turned off, and the gold solution is allowed to run through tap k into a precipitating-tank I, where the gold may be precipitated in any manner. If desired, the cylinder a may be directly connected with the condenser c and with the steam- and chlorine-pipes. In this case the cylinder a will itself constitute the still, and the tank c may be dispensed with. In the modification illustrated in Fig. 2 the bromine is recovered by driving air through the body of the liquid in the tank c. The compressed air is introduced into the tank from compressor in through pipe n. The air will drive out the bromine through pipe o into a tank or vessel p containing an alkaline hydrate capable of absorbing the bromine. Bromide and bromate salts are thereby formed, from which the bromine may be recovered in any suitable manner. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,— 1. The process of extracting gold from ore, which consists in dissolving the gold by bromine, separating the free bromine from the solution, recovering the bromine, and then precipitating the gold, substantially as specified. 2. The process of extracting gold from ore, which consists in dissolving the gold by bromine, distilling the free bromine, condensing the bromine vapours, and precipitating the gold, substantially as specified. 3. The process of extracting gold from ore, which consists in dissolving the gold by bromine, distilling the free bromine by steam, condensing the bromine vapours, and precipitating the gold, substantially as specified. 4. The process of extracting gold from ore, which consists in dissolving the gold by bromine, forcing steam into the solution beneath the surface thereof to vapourize the bromine and charge the steam with such vapours, driving the charged steam into a condenser to liquify both the steam and bromine, and precipitating the gold, substantially as specified. 5. The process of extracting gold from ore, which consists in dissolving the gold by bromine, driving the free bromine in the form of vapours out of the body of the solution by the action of com- ■ pressed air and into an alkaline solution to form a salt, regenerating the bromine from such salt, and precipitating the gold, substantially as specified. 6. The process of extracting gold from ore, which consists in dissolving the gold by bromine, adding an oxidizing agent to liberate the bromine from the combinations formed during the treatment of the ore, separating the liberated bromine, recovering the same, and precipitating the gold, substantially as specified. 7. In the process of extracting gold from ore, a leaching solution charged with one or more of the halogens, substantially as specified. 8. An apparatus for extracting gold from ore, which consists of a vapourizing-tank, a vapour outlet-pipe, and a condenser or regenerating-tank, substantially as specified. 9. The process of extracting gold from ore, substantially as herein described. Dated this 21st day of June, 1895. Bbeteand Chase Hinman. An Impkovbd Tumbler foe Deedging-machines. I, David Williams, of Eeefton, in the colony of New Zealand, blacksmith, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "An Improved Tumbler for Dredging-machines," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement : — My invention relates to improvements in lower tumblers for dredges used for excavating, and has for its objects providing attachments for reducing the wear upon buckets by breaking up the ground in front and at the sides of the same, and in this manner to perform a given quantity of work with less expenditure of power than is required with apparatus at present in use. I carry the objects of my invention into effect by supplying to the tumbler-shaft a central casting which is made to receive horns, the whole to revolve with the buckets, and so arranged that the said horns are immediately in front of and central with the buckets, and extend outwards to about the same distance as the buckets, and break up the ground at the centre. Upon the peripheries of the two flanges of the tumbler I shrink a wrought-iron band, the flanges being made broad enough to receive the same. Dovetailed through these bands and passing into the flanges I fit other horns, which also extend outwards to about the same distance as the buckets, and break up the ground at the two sides. In order that my invention may be more easily understood, I will now proceed to describe the same in detail, and for that purpose shall refer to the accompanying drawing. Similar letters of reference and figures indicate similar parts. Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation on line C D, Fig. 2, of buckets, ladder, and bottom tumbler fitted with my improvements. Fig. 2 is a plan of the same partly in section on the line A B,

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Fig. 1, and showing the method of fixing the flanged horns; a 1 is an ordinary tumbler, but having its flanges a 1 widened at the peripheries a* to receive band a", which is of wrought iron shrunk to the said flanges; b is the ordinary bottom tumbler-shaft fitted with the usual bearings c carried by ladder d ; buckets c are carried upon links / in the usual manner ; g are the flange-horns, made of mild steel with chilled points, and are shaped as shown ; they are provided with stems g l , which pass through bands ft 3 into flanges a l , ?.nd are made of a dovetailed form, as shown at h, Fig 2, the horn being shown out of its true position in this case to show the construction. As the stems with their dovetail pass through the bands as before mentioned, and thence into the flanges, they serve as keys to secure the band and flange together. The whole are securely held in position by bolts g 3 . The central space usually left between the two halves of a tumbler I occupy with a carrier i, shaped as shown. It is made to fit upon shaft b, and slightly to overlap and fit upon the square portions of the tumbler, as shown in the section, Fig. 2, and in this manner it is made to revolve with the tumbler. Slots are provided for receiving the stems j 1 of central horns /, which are tapered as shown to insure a tight fit, and are secured by keys/ 2 . The carrier iis strengthened around this slot by a shrunk wrought-iron bandj 8 . It will be seen from the foregoing description that horns j and g revolve in front and at the sides respectively of buckets c; that the ground is thus broken up by a shaip instrument, which passes through the ground easily, and prepares the same in a broken form ready to be taken up by the bucket immediately following. In this manner a saving of motor-power and wear-and-tear of buckets is effected. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,— 1. In lower tumblers for dredges, the combination of a carrier i and horns j, substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore described, and as illustrated on the accompanying drawing. 2. In lower tumblers for dredges, the combination with flanges a 1 of horns g, substantially as and for the purposes set forth. 3. In lower tumblers for dredges, the combination of carrier i and horns j, with horns g fitted upon flanges a l , substantially as and for the purposes set forth and illustrated. 4. The improvements in lower tumblers for dredges, such as described herein, constructed, arranged, and operating, substantially as and for the purposes set forth herein, and as illustrated on the accompanying drawing. Henry Hughes, Dated 21st June, 1895. Agent for the Applicant. Impeovements in Gold-dredging Machineey. I, Andrew John Park, of 11, High Street, Dunedin, patent agent, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "Improvements in Gold-dredging Machinery," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:— This invention has for its objects the saving of all the wash-dirt lifted in the buckets of golddredges. It is found that when the bucket containing wash-dirt has turned the upper tumbler the wash-dirt does not all drop on to the drop-plate, but some misses it and falls into the well. This result is owing to the wash-dirt adhering to the bucket, and not all dropping out immediately its mouth is over the drop-plate. To remedy this I use a jet of water, arranged so as to play into the bucket and loosen the wash-dirt, and also a series of drop-plates below the ordinary one to. insure that all the wash-dirt will be caught. In the drawing, Tis the shaft of the upper tumbler in a bucket-dredge, B is one of the buckets. DP, and S are the drop-plate and shoot leading into the revolving screen, E S. DP No. 2is an extra drop-plate leading into sluicebox SB, placed as shown. WC is a water cistern placed above the tumbler framing, with a standpipe, S P, on top to keep up a pressure; V is a valve in the bottom of the cistern, actuated by levers L/ and rods E E l , admitting water into the nozzle N, which is ejected into the bucket B. The lever L is actuated by an arm A attached to the tumbler-shaft T, and is brought back with the weight Won the rod E l . The supply of water to the cistern is kept up by a forcepump, not shown on the drawing. The action of this arrangement is as follows : The arm A on the tumbler-shaft T, as it revolves, depresses the lever L, which acts on the valve X V and allows water from the cistern to flow through the nozzle N into the bucket B, and thus washes out any material which may remain in the bucket after its charge is delivered on to the first dropplate. There may be one or more drop-plates below D P No. 2, as shown on the drawing. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,— In a bucket gold-dredging machine, — 1. The valve leading out of the cistern W 0 to the nozzle N, actuated by the system of levers A L/, so that a jet of water may thereby be caused to play into the bucket B as it turns over the tumbler. 2. The addition of one or more drop-plates below the first. 3. The combination of a jet of water, actuated as described, with one or more drop-plates below the first. Dated this 12th day of November, 1895. A. J. Pabk. Improvements in and relating to the Extraction of Metals and to Apparatus theeepor. I, Dr. Carl Hoepfner, of 36, Frankfurterstrasse, Giessen, Germany, chemist, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " Improvements in and relating to the Extraction of Metals and Apparatus therefor," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — My invention relates to the electrolytic extraction of metals, and to apparatus therefor, more

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR EXTRACTING GOLD FROM ORES &c.

IMPROVED TUMBLER FOR DREDGING MACHINES.

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especially to the direct treatment of mixed ores or mattes, and the production of pure metals therefrom. This process is thought to be of great value in less civilised countries, for instance, —(1) English colonies, (2) Canada, (3) wild west of United States. In order to utilise silver-ores, and especially copper-ores or mattes, in districts destitute of coal, I proceed in the following manner : — They are .powdered, and lixiviated in a stirring apparatus by means of a hot liquor which contains cupric chloride profitably in the presence of common salt or other chlorides, such as chloride of calcium, of magnesium (CaCl 2 ; MgCl 2 ). Cupric chloride acts upon metallic sulphides of the silver and copper as follows : — 3 CuCl 2 + CuS +Ag a S = 2 Cu 2 Cl 2 + 2 AgCl +2 S. The copper and the silver respectively are dissolved as proto-chlorides, sulphur being set free. In addition to the silver or copper are dissolved, if these metals are present, also lead, bismuth, arsenic, iron, zinc, and the like, in changing proportions. The liquor is separated from the ore or matte. To obtain pure copper from these liquors, which, when derived from mixed ores, as usually shall be the case, mostly contain a comparatively large number of different metals, I precipitate from them, in the first place, the impurities, such as arsenic, antimony, bismuth, by lime or cuprous oxide (Cu 2 O), and the precious metals contained therein, such as gold and silver, which simply takes place chemically by copper, but may also be effected electrolytically. The copper (and, later, also the other more electro-positive metals) is then separated electrolytically from its proto-chloride solution in baths which have movable cathodes—that is to say, rotary or vibrating disc-shaped or plate-shaped vertical cathodes—and whose anodes consist of carbon or other appropriate insoluble substances, and are separated from the cathodes by membranes of leather, cloth, asbestos, parchment-paper, nitrated cloth, parafifinated fabric, perforated mica, or combinations of these substances. An apparatus suitable for this purpose is represented by way of example in the accompanying drawing:— Pig. 1 shows a vertical longitudinal section. Fig. 2is a vertical transverse section through an anode-cell. Figs. 3 and 4 are the corresponding sections through a cathode-cell, with a rotary cathode. Fig. 5 shows an upper view of the apparatus. Fig. 6 is a view of the cathode moved to and fro by means of an eccentric, the shaft being shown in section. In this apparatus the anodes, supposed to consist of four parts, are in connection with the source of electricity by the conductor I, while the cathodes X are in electrical connection with the same by the shaft iv, actuated by means of the cord-pulley d and by the contact-brush c, and can be kept uniform by friction-cushions x (Fig. 3) or the like. The different cells with side-walls / are separated from each other by membranes m which resist mechanical and chemical action and are held together by means of bolts b. Pipes r serve for conveying the liquors of the cathodes and anodes. The cathode-cells are in connection through the arches c of the cells with a channel g, formed at lowest point of the triangular apparatus, the said channel forming the common admissionchannel, whereas the discharge of the liquor preferably takes place above. The rotary cathodes may also be replaced by cathodes caused to oscillate or vibrate—for instance, by means of an eccentric (Fig. 6), or any other suitable device. The movement of the cathodes renders it possible to obtain pure and good copper from the liquor of Cu 3 Cl 2 (cuprous chloride) even in presence of comparatively large quantities of cupric chloride and of other metals which is otherwise not certain in practice when working on a large scale. The liquor of cuprous chloride (Cu 2 Cl 2 ) usually enters the cathode-cells at their bottom and leaves them at their top, after having given off a portion of the copper or all of it to the cathodes. Cuprous chloride (Cu 2 Cl 2 ) gives twice the amount of copper per ampere as compared with CuSO 4 (cupric sulphate). In contact with the anodes, which mostly consist of carbon, is also a liquor of chloride, which, under the action of the electric current, sets free chlorine. This latter may be passed off in the form of gas, and utilised for the extraction of ores or other chemical purposes, but may also be used in the interior of the anode-cells for producing there chlorates or per-chlorides, or if minerals are brought into contact with the moving anodes, as further on will be described, also of proto-chlorides. It is especially advantageous for extracting copper, silver, lead, and the like to surround all these anodes with cuprous chloride (Cu 2 Cl 2 ), as the cuprous chloride (Cu a Cl 2 ) can be chloridized by chlorine in the nascent state to regenerate CuCl.j (cupric chloride), and as, moreover, the electromotive force required for the electrolysis is then reduced to one-half, so that one-horse power becomes capable of producing some 40 kilograms of electrolytic copper from the cruds ore per day. The cupric chloride (CuCl 2 ) thus obtained is continuously led off from the anodes, and may again be utilised for the lixiviation of copper, silver, lead, and the like. It is, especially in cold climates, of great advantage to use vertical hollow-box or grill-like cathodes, and to heat the same —for instance, to feed the interior of such cathodes by steam, hot gases, or liquors, so as to heat the cathode surface. Likewise, also, the anodes, if tube-like shaped, may be similarly heated from the interior. It is expedient to also keep the anodes in motion. This is preferably effected by means of the following simple apparatus, which consequently also enables the direct lixiviation of pulverised ores to be effected in the electrolytic apparatus, as above alluded to. These apparatus are substantially composed of electrodes, which act on one face as an anode and on the other face as a cathode. Such electrodes, which I term double electrodes, preferably consist of small or large pieces or plates of carbon placed in a frame, such pieces or plates of carbon

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combined by a suitable medium in this frame so as to form practically a single electrode. This may be effected by simply placing the said pieces or plates of carbon close together, or by pouring asphalt or similar substance round them ; or, better still, by fixing small pieces, rods or tubes, of carbon side by side in or upon the holes of a plate of wood, vulcanite, copper, or any other suitable material, surrounded by a frame so that the anode face be perfectly protected against acids, whilst the cathode face may have a metallic surface. The carbon pieces or rods of these electrodes may also be surrounded by a metallic cover, or be covered by one or more metallic plates, especially on the cathode side of the electrodes, for the purpose of facilitating the detachment of the metal precipitated by the electric current. Electrodes of this kind are, for instance, shown in Figs. 7 to 13 of the annexed drawing, in which G represents the pieces, rods, or tubes of carbon, C 1 the carbon plates, F the frame, and V the plate of wood, vulcanite, or the like surrounded by the frame. Fig. 8 is a cross-section of the electrode shown in side-elevation in Fig. 7. Fig. 11 is a cross-section of the electrode shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 12 represents a portion of an electrode according to Fig. 7, having carbon tubes C, the plate V consisting on one side of a metallic coating or metallic plate M, and on the other side of a non-conducting material E. Fig. 12a illustrates a portion of an electrode, in which the carbon pieces C are cemented to a perforated metallic plate N, while a detachable metallic plate M is provided on the other side. Fig. 13 shows a portion of an electrode according to Fig. 7, in which the carbon pieces are surrounded by a metallic cover Z. An excellent material for double electrodes, which may also be used with advantage as an ordinary anode, is obtained by placing, upon one or both sides of a plate consisting of artificial carbon, small pieces of retort carbon or other durable carbon or coke, or by inserting them therein and by fixing them in a reliable manner. Electrodes of this kind are shown in Figs. 14 to 17 of the accompanying drawing, in which C represents the durable pieces of carbon put on, C 1 the base-plate of artificial carbon. In Fig. 14 (with cross-section, Fig. 15) the carbon pieces C are placed on the base-plate, and in Fig. 16 (with cross-section, Fig. 17) the said pieces are inserted into grooves g of the base-plate. It is evident that, for producing such double electrodes, many other combinations may be employed without departing from the scope of my invention. They have all this characteristic feature in common : that electrodes of any desired size, with a comparatively large effective surface, may be produced in a cheap and convenient manner either from small or large pieces of carbon and utilised for metallurgical purposes. A number of such electrodes are preferably combined to form an apparatus or a battery by placing them with their frames against each other and pressing them closely together between strong terminal plates by suitable devices, such as are, for instance, employed in filter-presses. Such apparatus needs only two current contacts, does not require numerous carbon contacts, allows of the use of high tensions, and may be easily adapted also for low tensions, each two plates being turned towards one another with their carbon sides, and special cathodes being placed between such pairs of plates and connected with the terminal through which the negative current enters ; whereas the metallic covers of the carbon plate are connected to the terminal through which the positive current enters, and several of its electrodes, or the whole, may be easily set in rotary or vibratory movement by a simple device, such as, for instance, journals arranged on the terminal plates. If found suitable, diaphragms may be inserted between the single electrodes, and the several cells of the apparatus may be enlarged by intermediate frames. An apparatus of this kind is shown, as, for instance, in Fig. 18 of the accompanying drawing. C are electrodes, somewhat similar to those shown in Fig. 7; p are thick metallic plates, between which the electrodes are pressed together by means of bolts A. The journals JJ of the plates p are on the one hand connected with a source of electricity, and on the other hand with an electric conducting device, for instance, a metal or carbon plate 2, 3, provided between the plates p and the terminal electrodes; but the current, instead of at the ends, may also enter at a point inside the apparatus —in fact, any desired number of plates may be connected in parallel or in series with one another. D are diaphragms; F 2 are inserted frames for increasing the interval between the elements, if necessary, or for providing double membranes; Fig. 19 shows a vertical longitudinal section of an electrolytical apparatus, in which the electrodes immersed into the electrolytes revolve. The elements of this apparatus, which, as compared with those heretofore used, have the advantage of being very inexpensive to manufacture, are supplied with the electrolytes, in the present case with a solution of Cu 2 Cl 2 , through feed-channels which connect the cells of the same in a suitable manner, either in parallel or in series. Such feed-channels are, for instance, designated in Fig. 8by4,5, 6. On the faces of the cathodes of the electrodes the metal (copper) is precipitated, while on the faces of the anodes, if a solution of Cu 2 Cl 2 is present thereon, the latter is transformed into CuCl 2 , which may then' be again utilised for lixiviation. If, however, in such an apparatus the several cells are not in communication with one another by admission and discharge channels, but are chemically isolated from each other, or if groups of cells are chemically isolated, various electrolytic operations may be simultaneously performed in the several isolated cells or groups of cells of such an apparatus, as will be readily understood. It is also evident that this apparatus, when using a suitable exciting liquid, can inversely be transformed into an apparatus generating electricity, the poles being reversed, and the metals dissolved. In the process of lixiviation the liquid takes up in a certain time comparatively large quantities of iron; the latter is not welcome, and is removed preferably by oxide of zinc, calcium (ZnO, OaO) or by a carbonate, such as carbonate of calcium (CaCo 3 ), or also by air, in which case ferric oxide (Fe a 6 B ) is precipitated.

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It is advisable to keep the liquor acid, for which purpose sulphurous acid suffices, which, with CuCl 2 and water, is transformed into 2 HCI + H 2 SO 4 + Cu 2 Cl 2 , so that, besides Cu 2 Cl 2 , also hydrochloric acid and sulphuric acid are produced. The iron may more conveniently sometimes be precipitated by Cu 2 0, which is obtainable in any desired quantities from the purified liquors of Cu 2 Cl 2 by CaO without electrolysis. The loss of acid resulting therefrom may be replaced very cheaply by sulphurous acid (SO 2 ), which, by cupric chloride (CuCl. 2 ), will be transformed into sulphuric acid, and, with the existing calcium-chloride (CaCl 2 ), gives'again HCI. On the access of air or introduction of oxygen cuprous chloride (Cu 2 Cl 2 ), produced by the reducing action of sulphurous acid (SO 2 ), may be regenerated to form cupric chloride (CuCl 2 ), which is to be used for further lixiviating purposes. Cv. 2 Cl 2 + CaCl 2 + SO 2 +20 = 2 CuCl 2 + CaSO 4 . Exactly as in the case of copper, I may extract silver from the ores, and obtain the same by electrolytic means. Similarly also nickel, cobalt, zinc, tin, and lead. Compound ores or mattes which contain several metals—more especially the mixed sulphide-ores, containing silver, lead, zinc—may also very advantageously be thus lixiviated, with or without a previous treatment with acids or the partial use of an oxidizing or chloridizing roasting, the various metals being extracted and precipitated in succession by electrolysis from the liquors anyhow produced. For the extraction of zinc from the ores, or from any residues of same, I use very strong and hot solutions of cupric chloride (CuCl 2 ) ; but, in fact, sometimes an oxidizing roasting of the zinc containing material is expedient or necessary, whereupon the oxide of zinc is transformed into chloride of zinc, either by chloride of iron or chloride of calcium or magnesium or sulphurous or sulphuric acid in combination with suitable chlorides, as, for instance, CaCl 2 , MgCl 2 , KCL, NaCl. From the chloride of zinc thus obtained the zinc is extracted by electrolysis, or the zinc is extracted from its sulphide by means of diluted nitric acid in combination with hydrochloric acid (or sulphuric or sulphurous acid and a suitable chloride), whereupon, from the produced nitric gases, the nitric acid is regenerated, and can be used over and over again for the extraction. From sulphate of zinc, chloride of zinc can be produced by the addition of common salt or another suitable chloride, and crystallizing out the sulphate from the solution at a lower temperature. The solutions of the chlorides of the metals, after the methodical elimination of more electronegative metals, are electrolyzed at the cathodes. At the anodes chlorine is thereby generated, which chlorine may be employed therefor directly generating per-chlorides or other compounds of chlorine, or being conveyed in its free state to the outside in order to be utilised for lixiviation or other purposes. It is evident that in such apparatus also any other liquors containing metals may be treated, irrespective of the mode of their production—for instance, oxide-ores like calamine, which often accompany the sulphides, may be dissolved by sulphuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ), and the solution be decomposed at the cathode, whilst at the anode sulphurous acid (SO 2 ) is simultaneously transformed into sulphuric acid (H 2 SO 4 ). Such oxide-ores, however, which, when directly treated, require too great an amount of acid, are more conveniently melted together with valuable sulphide-ores, which contain silver, copper, lead, zinc, or the like, to form a mixed matter, from which the several metals can easily be obtained one after another in a pure state by the treatment hereinbefore set forth; this is of special importance for Caledonian nickel-ores and Australian tin-ores, because in this manner the tin and the nickel can be concentrated and extracted at a very low cost, thereby considerably saving not only outlays for transport, but also smelting losses. By thus smelting various metals together to form a matter, I achieved, indeed, great advantages when using the above-described process in combination with movable electrodes, but this mode of proceeding was altogether impracticable in the metallurgical processes heretofore employed, owing to the difficulty now overcome by my said invention of separating again the various metals. The apparatus, having double electrodes, also allows of the direct electrolytical treatment of powdered gold-ores at the anodes, either with chlorine or cyanides or both. The apparatus also permits of the electrolytical treatment of gases, such as sulphurous acid, and also of organic bodies at the electrodes. It is, however, useful to carry out a metallurgical operation at least at one of the two electrodes. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,— 1. The treatment of sulphide-ores or mattes, or mixed minerals containing copper, silver, nickel, lead, or zinc, or other metals or several of them, by lixiviating them with a solution of cupric chloride (CuCl 2 ), and by electrolyzing the liquor of the chlorides or the proto-chloride of copper thus obtained in a neutral or preferably slightly acid state at the moving cathodes, especially rotating or vibrating vertical disc or plate or grill-shaped cathodes, of a bath with insoluble anodes, at which a suitable solution of proto-chloride or chloride is present, the chlorine produced at the anodes being either discharged in the form of gas and further utilised or employed in the interior of the anode-cell for producing chlorine combinations, chlorates, or, preferably, per-chlorides, especially cupric chloride. 2. In the process described in the first claim, the separation of the anode- and cathode-cells by membranes of cloth, leather, parchment-paper, asbestos, nitrated cloth, paraffinated fabric, perforated mica, or combinations of these substances. 3. In the process described in the first and second claims, the circulation of a liquor of cuprous chloride (Cu 2 Cl 3 ) at the anodes. 4. In the process described in the first, second, and third claim, the movement of the anodes. 5. For carrying out the process described in the preceding claims, an apparatus, consisting of electrodes of any suitable size and a proportionately large effective surface, which electrodes are pressed together similarly as in filter-presses, and consist of small or large pieces, rods, tubes, or plates of

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carbon connected together by suitable binding agents, and surrounded by a frame, or which also consist of such plates made of artificial carbon in or upon which small pieces of durable carbon or coke are arranged, these electrodes acting on one side as an anode and on the other side as a cathode, with or without the intervention of membranes, and with suitable inlet communication for the several cells. 6. In the apparatus described in the fifth claim, the chemical isolation of single cells or groups of cells from one another for the purpose of simultaneously carrying out various electrolytic operations in the same. 7. In the apparatus described in the fifth and sixth claims, the arrangement enabling the precipitated metals to be detached from the surface of the cathode. 8. In the apparatus described in the fifth, sixth, and seventh claims, the rotation, vibration, or other movement of the same, thereby permitting of direct treatment of the powdered ores in the apparatus. 9. The use of such apparatus or part of such apparatus in the reverse manner for the purpose of generating electricity, and also for electrically treating organic bodies and gases such as SO 2 . 10. In the described process and apparatus the direct use of dissolved sulphurous acid for producing sulphuric acid or hydrochloric acid, a regeneration of cupric chloride (CuCl 2 ) being effected from cuprous chloride (Cu 2 Cl 2 ) by the access of air or oxygen for the purpose of extracting ores. 11. By the process and apparatus described in the preceding claims, the treatment of ores and liquors containing gold, silver, lead, nickel, cobalt, or zinc, or several of these metals, with or without copper, the various metals being extracted and successively precipitated. 12. In the apparatus described in the preceding claims 1-11, the use of hollow, heated electrodes, especially cathodes. 13. The melting-together of oxide-ores, especially New Caledonian or similar nickel-ores or Australian or other tin-ores, with copper-, silver-, or gold-ores containing sulphur for the treatment specified in the eleventh claim. Dated this 30th day of May, 1895. Cabl Hoeppnee. Improvements in Separating Gold and Silver prom othee Materials. I, Nathaniel Shepard Keith, of The Sandycroft Foundry and Engine Works Company (Limited), Hawarden, Chester, England, electrical engineer, do hereby declare that the nature of my invention for " Improvements in Separating Gold and Silver from other Materials," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — While part of my process is applicable to the recovery of the metals from many solutions of gold and silver, it is specially designed to the obtaining of those metals from rocks and ores. Heretofore the most practised plan has been to submit the ground or pulverised ore containing gold to the action of dilute solutions of cyanide of potassium, which dissolved much of the gold contained in the rocks or ores; from which solutions the gold was obtained by precipitation by means of zinc, in the well-known way. The gold has also been obtained from the above cyanide solution by means of electro-deposition. In this case sheets of iron were generally used as anodes, and for cathodes, sheets of lead. The main objection to the zinc deposition are the great waste of zinc and cyanide of potassium, due to the impossibility of effecting the deposition in chemical equivalent quantities. The same objections prevail with the before-mentioned electrical deposition. Iron many times in excess was used, and consequently more cyanide than the chemical equivalents of the materials involved in the reactions theoretically necessary to deposit gold electrically from suitably organized electrolytic baths. Again, oxygen, in its nascent condition, was set free in the solution, and oxidized the cyanide to cyanate, which is useless for dissolving gold. It is more economical to use the solution of cyanide over and over again if possible. By this my process I provide materials to be associated with the cyanide of potassium throughout, so that the actions and reactions may be according to the laws of chemical equivalents of the essential materials involved. For example: The gold dissolved shall replace in the solution some equivalent quantity of some substance, which shall again go into solution to again act, instead of escaping as gas, or forming compounds which are inert for the purpose. Then the gold and this substance shall be by electrical action recovered from the solution, wasting only an equivalent quantity of a cheap material. In this way the minimum quantity of material is used, and the minimum amount of electricity is required, so that the cost of the process is at the minimum. I will now describe my process. In preparing the usual solution of cyanide of potassium, which is variously made of different strengths varying from 0-01 per centum to 5 per centum, I add a solution of mercury in cyanide of potassium; for instance, that made by dissolving oxide of mercury in a solution of cyanide of potassium, or that made by electrolytic solution of mercury in the same solution. This latter is made by making mercury the anode in an electrolytic bath, and is well known as the " battery process," with other metals. I prefer, however, to form my solution of mercury by using for the electrolyte a solution in water of equal parts of cyanide of potassium with either bromine of ammonium or bromide of potassium, or both, thus forming bromide of mercury, which is more easily soluble. I add this solution of mercury preferably, at least, in quantity sufficient to supply an ounce of mercury to each ounce of gold to be dissolved by the solution. But the amount may be varied without departing from my invention. Sometimes it may be preferable to add more mercury in this way, so that more may be associated with the gold at the subsequent stage where the gold and mercury are recovered on the cathode of an electrolytic bath, as is hereinafter set forth. In this solution gold replaces the mercury to become cyanide of gold, and the mercury is again dissolved by the cyanide of potassium, to be again replaced by more gold, or deposited on the

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR THE ELECTROLYTIC EXTRACTION OF METALS. Hoepfners Patent.

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cathode of the subsequent electrolyte bath. Having prepared my solution, I submit the auriferous or argentiferous materials to its action in the same manner as heretofore practised, in vats, tanks, or the like. In a solution of cyanide of potassium, gold is electro-positive to mercury, and by reason of that quality is capable of combination, and does combine with the cyanogen, or the bromine, or the other acid equivalent constituent of the solution of mercury associated with the solution of cyanide of potassium, setting the mercury free to be redissolved. By this action the gold becomes more freely soluble in the cyanide of potassium solution. The first action is probably the reduction of mercury on the surface of the gold, where, by reason of the combination of the electro-positive gold and the electro-negative mercury, the solving action goes on more rapidly than is the case where a simple solution of cyanide of potassium alone is used. When the solution is drawn from the vats I pass it either continuously through, or treat it in divided quantities successively, in an electrolytic bath constituted as follows : — I use for the anode any metal or material which is a conductor of electricity, and also practically insoluble, or unalterable, in the electrolyte in which it is immersed while in an inactive state —■ that is, when no electric current is acting on it; but, while it is an anode for a current of electricity, will be freely dissolved by the electrolyte, or form compounds with the component parts, or some of them, of the electrolyte that do not practically impede the current of electricity, or, in other words, offer too great resistance for the practical working of the process. Zinc is the best metal I have used, though iron may be used in the absence of zinc. I use zinc, or iron, in the form of plates, rods, prisms, or other forms. I preferably amalgamate the surfaces of zinc with mercury. I also, when I desire to replenish the mercury in the solution used as the cathode-electrolyte of the bath, use mercury as an anode. I place my anodes in separate electrolytes, distinct from the electrolyte in which I place my cathode, as is hereinafter set forth. I sometimes place the mercury anode in the electrolyte for the cathode. I may use two or three of these aforementioned anodes at the same time, but each in its appropriate electrolyte, as hereinafter set forth. I may use a carbon anode —in one case as a support for the mercury, which is the true anode part of the combination. If I use a carbon anode exclusively oxygen may be set free at it, which action requires more electrical energy to be expended. For the cathode I may use any conducting material or metal, such as carbon, copper, lead, or mercury. But I prefer to use a metal which will retain an adherent coating of mercury without materially losing its cohesive strength. Copper I have found best adapted for this purpose. Preferably I use it in a sheet form, because of the extended surfaces. I use two kinds of electrolytes—one for the anode, and the other for the cathode. The one for the anode is such as will dissolve the anode only under the influence of the electric current, or form with it compounds which do not practically impede the passage of the electric current. With a carbon anode, oxygen or chlorine might be set free to escape as gas. They must not communicate deleterious materials or qualities to the other electrolyte. When zinc is the anode I prefer a halfsaturated solution of chloride of ammonium in water for its electrolyte; or I may use a like solution of sulphate of ammonia for the electrolyte for either zinc, iron, or carbon anode. When I use mercury as an anode, for its electrolyte I prefer a strong solution of cyanide of potassium, say, loz. to lib. of water ; but other strengths may be used. To this electrolyte I frequently add a little quantity of chloride of ammonium, or of either bromide of ammonium or potassium, to facilitate the solution of mercury in its electrolyte. I separate the two kinds of electrolytes by means of a porous partition-wall, diaphragm, or pot, of unglazed earthenware or like material, or asbestos, or skin, or parchment, or any material through which the two electrolytes cannot mix. For the other electrolyte I use the solution containing the gold or silver, or both, prepared as I have herein set forth, or otherwise, whether containing mercury or not. If there be no mercury in the solution or electrolyte, or only a small quantity, the gold will be deposited in the cathode, be it either lead or copper, in a regular coherent form, and may be recovered from the cathode by wellknown means. But I prefer to deposit the gold upon a copper-plate cathode which has its surface amalgamated with mercury, which last forms an amalgam with the gold and silver deposited thereon. I may amalgamate the surface of the copper cathode before beginning the deposition of the gold, or deposit the gold and mercury directly thereon in the bath. But, as the copper cathode will not hold mercury enough at the beginning to amalgamate all of the metals, or gold, which should be deposited on it before removal, I prefer to supply enough mercury to the solution used for the extraction of the gold, or silver, from the rocks or ores, as before specified, and afterwards used as the cathode electrolyte, to have the joint deposit of gold or silver and mercury made by the electric current a coherent and adherent coating on the cathode. Therefore, it is necessary, in carrying out this programme, to add from time to time to the electrolyte some of the aforesaid solution of mercury. This may be done at any stage of the process, but preferably while the solution is the cathode-electroyte in the electrolytic depositing bath or vat. If the joint deposit of metal and mercury on the cathode be hard and brittle, and disposed to cleave off, more mercury should be added. In this way the amalgam on the cathode may be kept in a sufficiently plastic state to be readily removed when desired. When I use mercury as an anode as before mentioned, from time to time during the operation of depositing I remove the strong solution used as that anode-electrolyte, and put it into the cathodeelectrolyte, from whence the mercury dissolved by it in its first position is deposited on the cathode in its second position. I immediately supply its place with fresh strong solution, so that the process may go on as before. When I use zinc or other material for an anode, from time to time as often as the electrolyte has ceased to dissolve the anode, or form compounds therewith, as hereinbefore set forth, I remove that electrolyte altogether, and replace it with fresh electrolyte. When the cathode-electrolyte has become sufficiently exhausted of its auriferous or argenti--32—0. 3.

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ferous contents, either wholly or in greater part, I use it again for dissolving more gold or silver from auriferous or argentiferous materials, rocks, or ores, as before described. From time to time, whenever necessary or desirable, the cathode is taken from the bath, and the amalgam thereon removed by scraping, or otherwise, the cathode returned to its place, and the metals of the amalgam separated by distillation as usually practised in the metallurgy of gold. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,— 1. Dissolving gold or silver from auriferous or argentiferous rocks or materials by the combination of either bromide or cyanide of mercury with a solution of cyanide of potassium. 2. In the treatment of auriferous or argentiferous materials, rocks, or ores, for the extraction of gold or silver, the use of a solution of bromide of mercury. 3. In the electrolytic recovery of gold or silver from its solutions, the use of an electrolyte for the anode of the bath, which electrolyte is a solution of an ammonium salt, such as the chloride, bromide, iodide, or sulphate, and is kept in a porous vessel immersed in the solution of gold or silver. 4. In the electrolytic recovery of gold or silver from its solutions, the use of a zinc anode in a separate electrolyte, consisting of a solution of an ammonium salt, such as the chloride, bromide, iodide, or sulphate. 5. In the electrolytic recovery of gold or silver from its solutions, the use of an iron anode in a separate electrolyte. 6. In the electrolytic recovery of gold or silver from its solutions, the use of an iron anode in a separate electrolyte, consisting of a solution of sulphate of ammonia. 7. In the electrolytic recovery of gold or silver from its solutions, the use of a mercury anode. 8. In the electrolytic recovery of gold or silver from its solutions, the use of an electrolyte containing a solution of bromide of mercury combined with the gold or silver solution. 9. In the electrolytic recovery of gold or silver from its solutions, the use of an electrolyte containing a solution of cyanide of mercury combined with the gold or silver solution. 10. The process of separating gold or silver from its solutions, which consists in electrolytically depositing them simultaneously with mercury upon a cathode to form an amalgam. 11. The process of extracting gold or silver from auriferous or argentiferous materials, rocks, or ores, which consists in submitting the materials, rocks, or ores to the solvent action of a solution of cyanide of potassium containing a solution either of cyanide or bromide of mercury, or both, and then depositing the gold or silver, or both, and the mercury, from the solution so obtained, by means of electricity upon a cathode as an amalgam. 25th January, 1895. N. S. Keith. Impeovbments in Appaeatus foe the Electeolytical Sepaeation of Pbecious Metals feom THEIE OSES, OE OTHEE MaTEEIALS CONTAINING THEM. We, Louis Pelatan, of Cite D'Antin, Paris, in the Eepublic of France, engineer, and Fabrizio Clerici, of Milan, in the Kingdom of Italy, engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for " Improvements in Apparatus for the Electrolytical Separation of Precious Metals from their Ores or other Materials containing them," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement, that is to say : — Our invention has for its object to provide a means for effecting the direct extraction of the precious metals, such as gold and silver, from their minerals, or from any other materials containing them. In this process the minerals or other materials which contain the precious metals are pulverised, and mixed with a solvent, in the same vat in which the metals are separated by means of a current of electricity and retained by a mercury cathode. The solvent used is that which is best suited to the nature of the materials to be treated, those preferably employed being alkaline cyanides, or chlorine; but any other suitable chemical agent may be used. The conductivity of the bath is insured by mixing with the electrolyte an alkaline salt, preferably chloride of sodium. Our invention, however, does not relate especially to these points, which we have already described in our prior patents, and which we only refer to here in order that our present invention may be better understood. Our said invention consists of an electrolytic vat, constructed for facilitating the reactions required by a particular arrangement of anodes and cathodes, and by the manner in which the liquids are kept in circulation during the electrolytic action. In order that our invention may be readily understood, we will describe it with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation, partly in section, of the electrolyte vat. Fig. 2 is a transverse section, showing the manner in which the anodes are set in motion in order to secure the continued agitation of the electrolyte. Fig. 3 is a modification of the apparatus, in which the circulation of the electrolyte is caused to take place round fixed electrodes by the action oii centrifugal pumps. Fig. 4 is a plan-view of the vat, showing the different parts thereof, in which the two devices for causing the circulation of the liquids being treated electrically are arranged alternately. Fig. 5 shows the passage through the wall of the vat for the shafts operating the rotating anodes. Fig. 6is a section taken on the line ab, Fig. 5 showing the connection of an agitating anode with its motor-shaft. Figs. 7 and 8 show, in section and end view, the means by which the liquid, forced under the pressure of the circulation pumps, enters the vat. The vat (1) is preferably raised from the ground, so as to facilitate the withdrawal of the liquids therefrom, and may be made of brickwork or the like, its inner walls being coated with cement. The ends of the horizontal shafts (2) rest on bearings (3), fixed in the walls of the vat at a certain uniform distance from the bottom thereof, and support metal cylinders (4), provided with agitators (5).

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These cylinders are mounted preferably in sets ; they are shown in sets of four, for example, in the drawings, and between the sets are two plates (6), mounted on supports (7), fixed or not in the masonry of the vat (1). The shafts (2), the cylinder (4), and the plates (6) are formed of or are coated with an electro-positive metal, such as iron, steel, platinum, or any other analagous metal, the cylinders and the plates being employed as anodes, while mercury or amalgamated plates, or other suitable metallic plates, arranged at the bottom of the vat, act as cathodes. The anodes which we employ by preference are made of cast iron. The walls and bottom of the apparatus are usually provided with an insulating lining of cement, ebonite, or other like material, as shown at (8) in Figs. 1 and 2. When the vat is constructed of brickwork or the like a lining of cement is preferable. The bottom of the vat is provided with dips or depressions, arranged horizontally, each dip extending across the whole breadth of the vat, and occupying a certain portion of the length thereof. The cathodes (10) are in these depressions, which are separated from each other by low partitions or sills (9), formed of cement. When mercury cathodes are employed, which is in most cases preferable, they are formed by plates covered with mercury, fixed at the bottom of each depression. If desired, the mercury may be spread right over the bottom of the vat, in which case, however, we should recommend that floating plates of amalgamated copper be arranged on the surface of the mercury. Suitable orifices for the discharge of the contents of the apparatus are arranged in the vat. The horizontal shafts (2) may be rotated by any suitable means, those which we have shown consisting of a horizontal shaft (12), provided with bevel-wheels (13), gearing with the bevel-wheels (14), fixed on the ends of the said shafts (2). The shafts (2) and the plates (6) are connected by means of a conductor (15) to one of the poles—say, the positive pole of a generator of electricity, such as a dynamo. Another conductor (16) connects the other pole—that is, the negative pole of the generator to the mercury cathodes. The distance between the plates and the cylinders forming the anodes on the one hand, and the bottom of the vat where the cathodes are fixed on the other hand, should be such as to render short circuiting impossible, which, if it took place, would prevent the satisfactory working of the apparatus. In the arrangement shown, the agitation is effected by means of the anode cylinders provided with agitating arms, the said arms being made of wood or any other suitable insulating material. The agitators on the adjacent cylinders are arranged to alternate with each other, as shown clearly in Fig. 4, so as to secure the perfect agitation of the material under treatment. If this precaution were neglected, the material under treatment would accumulate on the bottom of the vat, which, covering the cathodes, would obstruct the current of electricity, and so prevent the proper electrolytic action. The cylinders constituting the anodes may be all rotated in the same direction or in opposite directions to each other. Another means of agitation which may be employed in combination with that which we have described consists in the employment of powerful liquid or gaseous currents. For this purpose a centrifugal pump (17) is provided. A feed-pipe (22) passes from the pump into the vat, and dips into the liquid contained therein. The pipe (11) of the said pump (17), by which the liquid is forced back, is divided into several small pipes (four are shown in the drawings), which are each fitted with an outlet nozzle (18). These outlet nozzles open into the vat beneath the anode plates (6) so as to insure the perfect agitation of the material being treated. The pump maybe operated by a belt (21) passing over a pulley keyed on to the shaft (12). By this means the mass of liquid contained in the vat is drawn in by the pipe (22), and forced through the said vats by the nozzles (18). The jets of liquid from these nozzles produce a thorough agitation and stirring through the whole liquid, insuring a perfect mixing of the materials, and preventing them being deposited. In order to gain a good effect from the jet of liquid a screw-threaded rod (19) is mounted by means of a centre-pin (20) in each nozzle (18). The pipe (22) terminates in a rose (23) so as to intercept matter likely to clog the pump. The action of the pumps may be so arranged that the anode plates (6a, Fig. 4) may be joined, and rest at one end on the vat, while leaving at the other end of the said vat a space for the circulation of the liquids. The liquid will then be drawn in by the suction-pipe (22) of the pump, and will circulate through the vat in the direction shown by the arrows in Fig. 3 —that is to say, the liquid will be withdrawn from the vat at the upper part thereof, and will be forced in by the nozzles (18) beneath the anodes (6). The liquid will thus be continually displaced from below between the two electrodes. The anode plates may also be disposed as shown at 6b, Fig. 4, in which an easy passage is left for the liquid between the adjacent sides of two plates as well as at their ends. In this case a sort of eddy or whirlpool will be imparted to the liquid instead of the regular circulation we have described with reference to the plates, shown at 6 a in Fig. 4. We have shown in the drawings one pump employed for each pair of anode plates, and feeding four distributing-pipes or -nozzles (18), but we do not limit ourselves to the nature of the injection apparatus, which may be of any suitable kind, nor to the number of nozzles employed, or to their general arrangement, operation, or mechanism for working them. The pump (17), for example, may be replaced by any other arrangement for injecting a liquid under pressure through the pipes or nozzles (18). Or, in place of the pump (17), we may employ a ventilator or fan, or a compressed-air apparatus, and force through the vat air or other suitable gas under pressure, so as to produce the required agitation. The operation of the apparatus is as follows : The auriferous and argentiferous materials held in suspension in the liquid are introduced into the vat for which the mercury cathodes have been already prepared as hereinbefore described. The necessary solvent—for example, alkaline cyanide— is then added to the liquid, and some common salt, for insuring the conductivity of the electrolyte.

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The bevel-gear (13, 14) is then caused to rotate the shafts (2) with the anodes (5), and the centrifugal pumps (17) are also put into operation. The contents of the vat are thus thoroughly stirred up, and a current of electricity is passed through by means "of the conductors (15, 16). When it has been proved, by the examination of test portions removed from the vat, that the electrical action is completed, the said vat is emptied. The precious metals will then be found deposited on the mercury cathodes, and may be then separated from this metal by the means usually employed. The vat may then be prepared for a fresh operation. The solutions of cyanides employed are weak solutions, not generally exceeding three parts of cyanide to 1,000 parts of water. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is,— 1. In the electrolytic extraction of precious metals by the direct action of a current of electricity on a suitable electrolyte, containing either in suspension the materials to be treated or auriferous and argentiferous liquors previously prepared, the employment of an electrolytic vat, with cathodes situated at the bottom thereof, the liquids subjected to the action of the current of electricity being kept in constant agitation by the rotation of the anodes, substantially as described. 2. In the electrolytic extraction of precious metals by the direct action of a current of electricity on a suitable electrolyte, containing either in suspension the materials to be treated or auriferous and argentiferous liquors previously prepared, the employment of an electrolytic vat with cathodes situated at the bottom thereof, the anodes being fixed opposite the cathodes, and the liquors being kept constantly in movement by the action of a pump, or any other equivalent means, substantially as hereinbefore described. 3. In the electrolytic extraction of precious metals by the direct action of a current of electricity on a suitable electrolyte, containing either in suspension the materials to be treated or auriferous and argentiferous liquors previously prepared, the employment of an electrolytic vat, with mercury cathodes situated at the bottom thereof, the said liquors being kept in movement by the rotation of the anodes, or a part of them, combined with the action of the pumps or their equivalents, substantially as hereinbefore described. 4. The improved apparatus for the electrolytical separation of precious metals, substantially as hereinbefore described, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 29th day of May, 1895. Louis Pblatan. Fabeizio Clebici. Improvements in the Exteaction op Gold and othee Peecious Metals peom Mineeals and Oees containing them. Whereas I, Werner Siemens, of 94, Markgraven Strasse, Berlin, in the Empire of Germany, Doctor of Philosophy, am desirous of obtaining letters patent for securing unto me Her Majesty's special license that I and such others as I should at any time agree with should from time to time, during the term of fourteen years (to be computed from the day on which this instrument shall be left at the Patent Office), make use and vend within the Colony of New Zealand and its dependencies an invention for " Improvements in the Extraction of Gold and other Precious Metals from Minerals and Ores containing them," and, in order to obtain the said letters patent, I must, by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, particularly describe the nature of the said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and make a distinct claim for the novelty thereof. Now, therefore, the nature and details of the said invention, and the manner in which the same is to be performed are particularly described in the following statement: — When gold is contained in gold-bearing minerals in such a finely-divided state that it cannot be extracted by the washing and amalgamating process, the chlorine process has hitherto been employed, in which the chlorine is produced either by chemical or electrolytic methods. This process, however, is subject to serious disadvantages. In the first place, the chlorine only acts as a solvent on the gold after all the more easily soluble metals or metallic compounds have been previously dissolved, involving a large expenditure of chlorine, or complicated preparatory processes, which can often not be carried on at the same works. Furthermore, the chloride of gold is a compound that is easily decomposed, involving considerable loss of gold in its separation. These disadvantages are, according to the present invention, in a great measure obviated by employing in place of chlorine a dilute alkaline or neutral solution of potassium-cyanide, which dissolves the gold out of the finely-divided minerals or ores carrying the same, and which can be separated from the residue without loss of gold. The separation of the gold from the solution obtained can be effected by chemical methods, but it is preferable to effect the precipitation thereof by electrolysis, in which case carbon, iron, or other metals may be used as anodes. In order to enrich the solution as much as possible for this galvanic separation process, it can be employed repeatedly in the known manner to act upon fresh quantities of ores. After separating the gold, the solution, after making good the cyanogen expended, can be used again for fresh extractions until it has become unserviceable by reason of its having taken up too large a quantity of metals that cannot be separated by electrolysis. The cyanogen contained in such spent solutions may then be regained by chemical means. If the ores contain metallic compounds that are soluble in potassium-cyanide, it is of advantage to separate these by suitable solvents before extracting the gold. The above-described method is also applicable for the extraction of other precious metals that form soluble double salts with cyanogen —such as platinum, silver, mercury, &c. Having thus described the nature of my invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I claim— 1. The method of extracting gold and other precious metals from minerals or ores containing

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR ELECTROLYTICAL SEPARATION OF PRECIOUS METALS FROM THEIR ORES.

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them by dissolving the same from the pulverised minerals or ores by means of an alkaline or a neutral solution of potassmm-cyamde, or other cyanogen salts, substantially as herein described. A. i he use of lyes containing precious metals, produced as referred to in the previous claim for tne separation of precious metals by electrolysis. And I do hereby for myself, my heirs, executors, and administrators covenant with Her Maiesty her heirs and successors, that I believe the said invention to be a new invention as to the public use and exercise thereof, that I do not know or believe that any other person than myself is the true and first inventor of the said invention, that I will not deposit these presents at the Patent Office with any such knowledge or belief as last aforesaid. In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this 20th day of June, 1888. Weenee Siemens. Peocess op Exteactinq Peecious Metals feom Oees. _I, Oscar Frolich, of Berlin, in the German Empire, electrician, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " Process of Extracting Precious Metals from Ores," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement'— This invention relates to the extraction of precious metals from ores, and has for its purpose to obtain those metals free from the other metals present in the ore. If the ore contains, besides the precious metals—gold, silver, platina—a considerable amount of other metals, the extracting process is usually carried out in the way that the latter are removed or remain in the residue, so as to obtain a solution of substantially the precious metals, as especially is the case m treating the ores with chlorine. The removing of the inferior metals frequently is a difficult operation, but was considered necessary on account of the known methods not being capable of allowing the precious metals to be obtained from the final solution separately from other metals contained therein, so that a mixture would have resulted from which the precious metals had to be extracted by a separate process _ It is, however, possible to extract, by the aid of electrolysis, the precious metals from a lye containing also other metals, it being only necessary to so control- the tension of the decomposing-cell that the inferior metals are allowed to remain dissolved, whilst the precious ones are caused to separate with practically sufficient speed. When a solution containing several metals is subjected to electrolysis, and the tension of the decomposmg-cell gradually increased, the metals will be precipitated in the order of the places they occupy in the tension series—that is to say, that metal which is most electropositive will be deposited first then the one in the next series, and so on ; therefrom it results that the precious metals being of the highest electropositive order will first separate out, whilst the inferior ones will not be deposited until the tension of the cell has been further increased. If, therefore, the electric tension is kept below that limit on which inferior metals commence separating the precious ones are alone deposited, and when the operation is continued for a sufficient length of time all the amount of the latter will come out. It is obvious that by this way it is also possible to separate the precious metals from each other but as for this purpose the electric tension would have to be regulated within so narrow limits as to make it a rather troublesome operation, and as, on the other hand, it is desired to obtain all the precious metals present, it will practically be sufficient to extract all of them in one operation The degree of electric tension to be applied is dependent upon different circumstances—viz the nature of the acids the different metals are combined with, the concentration of the solution' and the nature of the different metals. It is practically sufficient to find by experiment the limits of the electric tension for the special lye which is obtained from the metallurgical process so as to operate within these limits with the result of separating the precious metals alone The'limits of the electric tension, however, must be determined anew when from any cause the constitution of the lye is altered. For instance, in operating with a lye which contains sgr. each of chloride of gold, copper and iron in one pint, and using a lead cathode, a coal anode, and a current density of 12amp for each two square yards, the limits of electric tension would be between 1-2 and 1-4 volts—viz mere traces of copper and iron were precipitated within these limits, whilst gold separated completely and with sufficient speed. J Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is: In the process of extracting by electrolysis the precious metals from a lye containing besides these metals inferior metals the application of so low an electric tension in the decomposing cell that only or nearly only the precious metals are deposited. ■ J Dated this 23rd July, 1895. OscAE Fkslich _ An Impeoved Peocess foe Exteacting the Peecious Metals fbom Eefeactoey Oees. I, Christopher O'Brien, assayer, of the Thames, New Zealand, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "An Improved Process for Extracting the Precious Metals from Eefractory Ores, and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — In carrying the improved process into effect about one ton of the refractory ore crushed or pulverised to the requisite degree of fineness, is placed in a barrel, and a proportion of about 500 gallons (more or less) of water mixed with about 301b. (more or less) of sulphuric acid is added to it. Steam or other heating agent is then admitted to the barrel for the purpose of the temperature of the water therein contained. The barrel is rotated or kept in motion for a s°pace of about three hours. The. quantity of sulphuric acid and water will be varied according to the nature of the ore that is under treatment, but it may be assumed that about 500 gallons is

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approximately the proper amount of water, and that the quantity of sulphuric acid will generally be in the proportion of 1 of acid to 10 of water. The barrel used in the process should be furnished"with hollow trunnions, one of which may be used for the purpose of admitting steam to the interior of the barrel, while the other may be used as a vent for the escape of the gases that may be generated and to relieve the pressure within the barrel. When the sludge within the barrel has been treated as above stated for a period of about three hours it should be removed from the ba.rrel and placed in an airtight vat furnished with a false bottom upon which the sludge will rest. Below the false bottom is a cock for drawing off the liquid from the vat. In the airtight cover of the vat is placed another cock or injector, through which steam, mixed with hydrochloric acid, or brine, may be injected into the vat. In this case the steam acts chiefly as a vehicle to carry the hydrochloric acid, or brine. As soon as the contents of the barrel have been transferred to the vat, and the airtight cover made fast, the cock below the false bottom and the cock or injector in the cover will both be opened, the water contained in the sludge that lies on the false bottom of the vat will gravitate downwards, and be drawn off through the bottom cock, the mixture of hydrochloric acid, or brine, entering the vat through the upper cock or injector will filter downwards or percolate through the sludge and also exit through the bottom cock. As soon as all the water is drawn off from the sludge, and the latter reduced to a nearly solid mass, the sludge may then be removed from the vat and treated by any known method for the purpose of separating the precious metals which are now contained in a free state within the sludge. The effect of introducing the sulphuric acid into the barrel just mentioned is to dissolve or remove away the base metals or minerals from the surface of the precious metals contained in the pulverised ore that is under treatment. It will also have the effect of dissolving a certain proportion of the silver, such proportion being held in solution in the water. The subsequent treatment of the water and sludge in the vats by the admixture of hydrochloric acid, or brine, will cause the silver that is held in solution, as before mentioned, to be precipitated, and thus not only the gold but the silver may be saved, to be subsequently treated by any known method for separating free precious metals from their ores. The base metals or minerals that are held in solution will, however, pass away from the vat through the bottom cock, and are either lost or may be separately treated should the solution be considered worth the trouble. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is, — _ 1. Treating refractory ores containing the precious metals with sulphuric acid heated by steam or other heating agent, as herein set forth. 2. Treating refractory ores containing the precious metals with hydrochloric acid, or brme, as herein specified, and for the purpose herein set forth. Dated this 2nd day of October, 1895. Chbistopheb O'Bkien. An Impeoved Peocess foe Effecting the Amalgamation of Gold and the like Metals IN OSES. We, Emile Lawrence Opperman, of 132, Hanley Eoad, Finsbury Park, London, electrician, Ewald Fischer, 25, Listria Park, Stoke-Newington, London, engineer, and Carl Tunstili John Opperman, 2, Wynyatt Street, London, E.C., electrical engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our invention for "An Improved Process for Effecting the Amalgamation of Gold and the like Metals in Ores," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in arid by the following statement:— . This invention relates to an improved process of effecting the amalgamation of gold with mercury, the object being to more effectually amalgamate more particularly what is known as floatgold in ores, or very-finely-divided gold. In order to insure the amalgamation of the gold we cause the vapour of mercury, at a suitable temperature, to be brought into contact with the wet or dry crushed ore, either directly under the stamps which crush the ore or after the crushed ore has been removed from the stamps. The mercury vapour may be conveyed by suitable pipes from a retort in which the mercury is heated to the crushed ore, so that the vapour of mercury is brought into contact with the gold, and amalgamation effected, the mixture being afterwards treated in any convenient way for extracting_ the gold from the amalgam, such as by electrolytic action. The vapour of mercury can be mixed with steam or other suitable gas. In some cases we find it convenient to mix the vapour of mercury with ammonia-gas or other suitable re-agent which facilitates the amalgamation when the gold is coated with foreign bodies or substances. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we claim is, — 1. In amalgamation processess, the use of vapour of mercury with steam or gases mixed therewith, substantially as described. , 2. The employment of mercury vapour for the purpose of effecting the amalgamation ot the metal under treatment in the manner hereinbefore described. Emile Laweence Oppeeman. Ewald Fischee. Dated the 11th day of October, 1895. Cabl Tunstill John Oppeeman. An Impeoved Method of and Appliances foe Eaising Watee feom Mines oe elsewheee by means of compeessed ale. I, George Lansell, of the Fortuna Crushing Works, Bendigo, in the Colony of Victoria, quartzminer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " An Improved Method of and Appliances for

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Baising Water from Mines or elsewhere by means of Compressed Air," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement •— Ihis invention has been devised for the purpose of raising water from mines or elsewhere without having to use the expensive and cumbrous pumping appliances hitherto necessary. According to my said invention the water to be raised is conducted through a pipe or tube from the dam tank, reservoir, or other receptacle containing it into a pipe or tube leading down a certain distance proportionally to the height to which it is required to be raised in order to provide a sufficient body of water for the compressed air to act upon, as hereinafter described In practice, I find when it is required to raise the water 250 ft. it is necessary to lead such water down one leg of an inverted siphon for about 100 ft. so that it will rise to a corresponding height in the other leg, and thus provide a column of water 100 ft. high above the point of entrance of the compressed air. This supply cf compressed air (which may be drawn from the ordinary compressed air supply-pipe, commonly used in mining plants) is led into the bottom of the siphon below the point of entrance of the water. A check, back-pressure, or retention valve is inserted in both the water and air supply-pipes to prevent either the water or the air being forced back either into the air mam or into the water reservoir. t Wlt^ is arran B ement I have found in practice that it is practicable to raise water to a height of over 400 ft in one lift. Where, however, the total height to which the water is to be raised exceeds that height, it may be necessary to use two or more lifts, one being used to raise the water as far as practicable and to deliver it into a tank, tub, or other receptacle, and another for raising it from the said receptacle to a further height of about 400 ft., and so on as often as required. Eeferring to the accompanying drawings, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the application of my invention to the raising of water from a mine, whilst Fig. 2 is a similar view illustrating a series of lifts such as would be used in a deep mine. The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in both the figures. _ Eeferring first to Fig. 1, A represents a tank or other receptacle containing water which is to be raised to the surface, whilst B represents one leg of an inverted siphon, which is in communication with said tank, and extends down for a certain distance (say, 100 ft.), where it enters an enlarged part G, of the mam water delivery-pipe D, whose lower part, corresponding with the pipe B forms the second leg of said inverted siphon, whilst its upper part extends upwards for over 400 ft if required. _ The lower end of this enlarged part C of said water delivery-pipe is connected by the branch pipe E with a compressed air supply-pipe F, such, for instance, as that used for supplying compressed air to the rock-drills, &c, in a mine. ° The pipe B leading from the tank A, dam, or other place whence the water is to be pumped is provided with a check, retention, or back-pressure valve G, to prevent either the water or the compressed air from passing back into such tank or other receptacle, whilst the branch pipe E is also totted with a check, retention, or back-pressure valve H, to prevent any compressed air or water being forced back into the air supply-pipe. It is also fitted with a stopcock I, to enable the supply ol air to be regulated according to requirements. The arrangement illustrated in Fig. 2 is one that has been found to answer very well for raisins water from a, leve of 1,385 ft. below the surface, and is given by way of example, it being moreove? understood that the drawing is merely a diagrammatic one and not drawn to scale. The water is in a dam A at the 1,385 ft. level, and is carried down a pipe B to the 1 560 ft level where it passes into the lower end of the delivery-pipe D extending up to the 960 ft. level and discharging mto a tank or other receptacle A l , compressed air being led through the pipe E into the lower end of said delivery-pipe D below the point of entrance of the pipe B, as described i W inn£ f e T \° Fl f f The water in tank A 1 at the 960 f - level is carried down to the J'tuniT , ? th ? ° Wer cud of a secona d elivery-pipe, up which it is raised by gravity to the 9bOtt. level and by compressed air entering through the supply-pipe E 1 to the 560 ft level, where it is discharged into a tank or other receptacle A 2. In the same wav the water is led from thence down to the 700 ft. level, and afterwards raised to the 250 ft" level and finally, after being carried down to the 350 ft. level, it is raised to the surface It will' thus be seen that, by a succession of four lifts, I am enabled to raise water 1,385 ft., the air pressure used being such as is required for driving rock-drills, &c—viz., about sixty pounds to the inch 1 am aware that contrivances worked either with compressed air or steam, on the principle ot an injector, have been used for raising water short distances; but, for such work as pumping water out of deep mines these contrivances are useless, because they can only raise the water a comparatively short distance. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,— 1. The herein-described method of raising water from mines 'or elsewhere by means of com pressed air consisting in first leading such water down a certain distance proportionately to the height to which it has to be raised, and conducting it into a delivery-pipe above the point of entrance of a supply of compressed air, substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. ' 2. The herein-described appliances for raising water from mines or elsewhere by means of comPressed air, consisting of the various parts combined, constructed and arranged substantially as and tor tne purposes specified, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 3. Appliances for raising water from mines and elsewhere by means of compressed air in which the supply of compressed air is led into a delivery-pipe below the point of entrance of the water substantially as and for the purpose specified, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings 4. In appliances for raising water from mines or elsewhere by means of compressed air a delivery-pipe (such as D) connected near its lower end with the dam, tank, or other receptacle

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(containing the water to be raised) through the medium of a pipe fitted with a check, retention, or back-pressure valve (such as G), in combination with a compressed air supply-pipe leading into said delivery-pipe below the point of entrance of the water," said compressed air supply-pipe being also fitted with a check, retention, or back-pressure valve, substantially as and for the purpose specified, and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Dated this 6th day of June, 1895. Geobge Lansbll. Hydraulic Injector Funnel. I, Edward Eainsford Graves, of Gladstone, in Tasmania, miner, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for a " Hydraulic Injector Funnel," and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — This invention is intended to be used in conjunction with my improved hydraulic sluice-race (patented 3rd January, 1895, No. 7355), and is confined entirely to those parts marked in the drawings A, Aa, B, C, Dd, B, F. The object of the apparatus is to provide the means of applying waterpressure to the stream of dirt flowing from any face under operation by hydraulic sluicing in low flat country, where the natural fall of the ground is very slight, to assist the transit of the material along the tail-race to its outfall. Under such circumstances it is evident that every available inch of grade is of importance, and that consequently the upturned funnel provided with my race for ordinary use is quite inapplicable. To meet this difficulty a horizontal funnel with a movable joint or hinge to allow of its being raised or lowered as may be necessary to connect with the face-race, which discharges into it. The external force required to impart sufficient speed to the movable material (which otherwise would be very sluggish and soon cause the tail-race to silt up entirely) is applied by the introduction of a powerful jet of water from a hose or metal pipe and nozzle through a narrow neck attached to the tail-race. By these means —the horizontal funnel and the assisting jet of water — it is possible to work to advantage much low-lying ground that could not otherwise be turned to profitable account, a grade of only 3in. to the chain being sufficient for the purpose. Reference to the accompanying drawings will demonstrate the simplicity of construction and mode of application of the apparatus, which will be seen to consist of five principal parts —the funnel, the connecting bend, the movable joint, the neck, and the fiipe and nozzle. The following is a description of all necessary details as shown in the drawings : Fig. 1, elevation of the plant connected at one end with face-race and at the other with tail-race; Fig. 2, plan of the whole ; Fig. 3, longitudinal section of pipe and nozzle, neck, and tail-race on line W X ; Fig. 4, longitudinal section of face-race, funnel, and part of connecting-bend on line V Z. A, funnel or in-take of wrought or cast iron (or other metal) of circular section, tapering smaller inwards from mouth, inner end flanged to connect with bendß. Aa, Aa, dotted lines, showing how funnel may be adjusted vertically, by means of the movable joint C, to ground higher or lower than the tail-race. B, connecting bend, a pipe of same diameter as neck and smaller end of funnel, which it connects through the medium of the movable joint C. C, movable or hinged joint, connecting funnel and bend with neck to enable funnel to be raised or lowered as may be necessary; the joint consists of a flat circular chamber in the flange attached to neck D, into which the flange attached to bend B fits, the two working freely face to face, and being held together by an angular plate and bolts. D, neck, a pipe of considerably less diameter than the tail-race to which one end is attached by flanges and bolts ; the other end is closed with the plate E admitting the nozzle for the jet of water, a junction is cast on one side of the pipe, with chambered flange for movable joint C ; dotted line Dd (in Fig. 3) shows position and shape of aperture formed by the junction. E, circular plate, bolted on to the flange of outer end of neck, thus closing it, but with opening in its centre to admit nozzle for jet of water. F, hose or metal pipe, with nozzle conveying water at sufficient pressure into neck through hole in centre of plate E. G, open trough or race, receiving the dirt as it is cut down from the face and delivering it into funnel A. H, pipe tail-race (part of Patent No. 7355), into which the dirt is discharged with great force by jet of water from nozzle F through neck D, and is thence and thereby conducted to its final destination. The operation of the apparatus is very simple. As the washdirt is cut down from the face it falls with the water into open trough G, along which it flows to the funnel A. At this point the action of the invention commences. The funnel A having been raised or lowered, by means of the movable joint C, to connect with the trough G, water also having been turned on to the nozzle F, the powerful jet issuing thence shoots through the narrow neck D into the tail-race H with a double effect: It first exerts a suctional power, drawing the stuff in the trough G—even when on a lower level than the tail-race —through the funnel A and bend B into the neck D, and then it applies propelling-power, driving the continuous stream of material forcibly through and out of the neck D into and along the tail-race H. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,— 1. In mining operations by hydraulic sluicing, the attachment to my improved hydraulic sluicerace (Patent No. 7355, 3rd January, 1895) of a funnel-shaped in-take, which fits into the end of the face-race, and receives from it the dirt cut down from the face, made horizontal to economize fall in low flat country, and with a movable or hinged joint to enable it to be raised or lowered as circumstances require, substantially as described and illustrated by specification and drawings. 2. In connection with the above funnel the further attachment of a neck or pipe of much smaller diameter than the pipe tail-race, and the application, by a metal pipe or hose and nozzle through one end of it, of a powerful jet of water ; the object of the jet being to draw in the dirt from the trough by suction, and propel it through the neck into and along the tail-race with an impetus sufficient to compensate for any lack of natural fall in the ground, substantially as described and illustrated by specification and drawings. Heney Hughes, Dated this 11th day of December, 1895. Agent for the Applicant.

IMPROVED COMPRESSED AIR FOR RAISING WATER FROM MINES &

HYDRAULIC INJECTOR FUNNEL.

IMPROVED-NOZZLE.

IMPROVED APPARATUS FOR PLACER MINING

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An Impeoved Nozzle foe Distributing Watee and othee Fluids undee Peessuee. I, Holmes Samuel Chipman, of 54, Margaret Street, Sydney, in the Colony of New South Wales, merchant, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " An Improved Nozzle for Distributing Water and other Fluids under Pressure," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — This invention relates to an improved nozzle for distributing water and other fluids under pressure by which is obtained a practical and powerful spray, covering a large area, while at the same time the flow of liquid takes place without producing back pressure. This improved nozzle is especially serviceable for fire-hose, lawn-sprinklers, fountains, air-distributors, and tree and land irrigation, though it may be used as a substitute for ordinary nozzles for any other purpose. This improved nozzle for distributing water and other fluids under pressure has a longitudinal bore, on the end of which is a bell-shaped mouth with preferably an angular base or shoulder, and in which bell-shaped mouth is a ball or sphere retained loosely therein by a bar or brace or other device across said mouth. Preferably small grooves or ways are cut or made in the surface of said ball or sphere. But, in order that this invention may be clearly understood, reference will now be made to the drawings herewith, in which Fig. 1 is an elevation, Fig. 2, a vertical section, and Fig. 3, plan respectively of one of the improved nozzles for distributing water and other fluids under pressure ; fig. 4 shows the means of using the nozzle in conjunction with the nozzle of a fire-hose ; and Figs. 5 and 6 show the nozzle in two constructions as a lawn-sprinkler, a fountain, a treeirrigator, and such like. The improved nozzle consists of a metal casting A with a screwed socket-end A' for attachment to supply-pipe, and having a through central bore A 2, an annular shoulder A 3 , a taper or bellshaped mouth A 4, and a brace, or bar, or guard A s . In the mouth A 4, and under the guard A s , is a ball or sphere B, which preferably has helically cut therein small grooves or ways B\ In use the fluid under pressure, say, water, is admitted to the casting A l , and passing through the bore A 2 finds its way under ball B, which it lifts against guard A 5, and forms a uniform annular passage for itself, whence it is emitted in a circular drenching shower or spray with force sufficient to cover a comparatively large circular area. The grooves B 1 insure a steadiness of position of the ball B under guard A 5 above or in front of mouth A 4. Figs, 4, 5, and 6 require no further special reference, as they but show the improved nozzle in neat and handy combination, with in Fig. 4 a straight through nozzle, and three-way or two-way cock, in Fig. 5, with an angle or bend and a supporting bracket, and in Fig. 6, with a straight through reducing nozzle, a three-way cock, and a holding spike or prong. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be peformed, I declare that what I claim is,—■ 1. An improved nozzle for distributing water and other fluids under pressure, consisting essentially of a bell-shaped mouth, in or above which a loose ball or sphere is retained, substantially as herein described and explained. 2. The improved nozzle for the purposes set forth having a longitudinal bore, a bell-shaped mouth at the end of the bore, an annular shoulder at the junction of the mouth and bore, a round ball having grooves in its surface placed loosely in the mouth, and a bar or guard for retaining the ball above or in front of the mouth, substantially as herein described and explained, and as illustrated in the drawings. 3. The particular combinations and arrangements of mechanical parts for the purposes set forth, substantially as herein described and explained, and as illustrated respectively in Figs. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the drawings. Dated this 13th day of November, 1895. H. S. Chipman. Impeovements in Methods of and Appaeatus foe Placee Mining. I, Edward Delavan Bronson, of Denver, Colorado, in the United States of America, mining engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention for " Improvements in Methods of and Apparatus for Placer Mining," and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: — My invention relates to methods of and apparatus for placer mining, and it consists essentially in disintegrating and softening the material to be treated by means of a jet of water until the said material becomes a semi-fluid mass of mud mixed in with detritus and debris, which is then sucked up by a pump, preferably a centrifugal pump, and is forced from the latter pump into a sluice-box or line of sluices provided with riffles, and set at a sufficient inclination to allow the mass pumped up to find its way down the said sluices. The said invention also consists in an improved method of using the same water over and over again, and in certain other novel features which will be hereinafter described and claimed. Beference is had to the accompanying drawing which illustrates the operation of the apparatus. A represents the bed of a stream, which is shown as covered with water, and as provided with an arm A 2, from which still water may be supplied to the force-pump C; or with an arm A 3 , from which water may be supplied to the force-pump C 1; and also with a pit A 1 at one side thereof, and in which lies the deposit being mined, which pit is preferably adapted to be fed by the water in the stream A, but which may be wholly supplied with water from the force-pump C, or from the force-pump C 1 should the supply of water be inadequate. The force-pump C draws water through the hose or pipe c, and delivers it through the flexible hose C\ which terminates in the nozzle C 2 for concentrating the stream of water. By means of this stream of water the silt, detritus, debris, or other material to be treated is disintegrated and reduced to a semi-fluid mass of mud, or mushy sand mixed with gravel or the like solid particles, which can 33—C. 3.

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be pumped up by means of a strong pump of any suitable construction, but preferably a centrifugal pump of the small type. Such a pump is shown at D, which is driven by means of the pulley B from any suitable source of power not shown. The induction-pipe D 1 of this pump is connected by means of the large flexible pipe D 2 to the pit A l . This flexible pipe D 2 is preferably made of a plurality of detachable sections C, coupled together as at D l . Each section has attached to the outer end two eyes or rings D 2, to which guideropes/ are attached, by means of which the end of the suction-pipe D 2 may be properly placed, so as to suck in the semi-fluid mass to be treated to the greatest advantage. The eduction-pipe D s of the pump D opens into the upper end of the line of sluices H. This line of sluices may be made of any desired number of sluice-boxes h, which, where two or more are used, should telescope preferably into each other at their lower ends, as shown. These sluice-boxes are mounted upon a suitable system of piling k, which should preferably be as simple as possible, in order that the sluice-boxes may be readily taken down and moved about when desired. My improved method of placer mining is to disintegrate and drench the deposit by means of the pump C, then to pump up the softened material by means of the pump D, and, forcing the same into the line of sluices H, the material finds its way down the said sluices, leaving the metal behind in the riffles. Where there is abundance of water the pump C 1 would not be used, but where there is a scarcity of water the pump C may be done away with, and the pump C 1 may be used to disintegrate and to drench the mass of material to be treated. Thus, suppose A s to represent a pond or pool of water left, for instance, in the otherwise dry bed of the stream, and suppose A 1 to represent the bed or deposit to be treated. Now, by pumping from the pool A 3 through the long hose 03,O 3 , indicated in dotted lines, and through the nozzle a*, the material in the bed A 1 can be put in such condition as can be pumped up into the line of sluices H, whence the mass runs downwards, and a great deal of the water would return to the pool A 3 , whence it might be pumped again to the pit or bed A l , and thus used over and over again. Thus, it will be seen that a small pond of water would be sufficient to accomplish a great deal of washing out of the metal, or could be used in the treatment of a very large mass of deposit. It will be seen that the herein-described method and apparatus are eminently adapted for use on the side of lakes or ponds, or on level lands where there is no natural fall of the water. Moreover, it will be seen that the material to be treated can be handled in enormously large quantities and at comparatively small cost. By having the tail-end of the line of sluices elevated high enough the tailings from the sluices would take a long time in rising to a sufficient height to be in the way, while by the construction of the line of sluices, and the supports for the same, the said line may be readily moved when the pile of tailings becomes too large, or when the bed of deposit has become exhausted. While I have shown a still waterpocket A 2 to feed the force-pump C, this is by no means necessary, as the said pump could draw immediately from the stream A, or from the pool A 3 , if desired. Again, any suitable source of fluid pressure, such as a head of water, may be substituted for either of the force-pumps Cor C l . Moreover, Ido not mean to limit myself to any of the precise details of construction of the various parts herein described, as the various parts of the apparatus are old; but the idea of this method of placer mining, and of the combination of parts for carrying out the said method, I claim broadly as my invention. Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is,— 1. The method of placer mining, substantially as herein described and shown in the drawings hereunto annexed. 2. The combination and arrangement of parts comprising the apparatus for placer mining, substantially as herein described and shown in the drawings hereunto annexed. 3. In an apparatus for use in placer mining, the combination with a line of sluices raised above the level of the ground to such a height as to insure the certain delivery of the material thereon, and to provide ample dump for the tailings therefrom on the surface below the line of sluices, of a force-pump and a flexible hose attached thereto for disintegrating and drenching the material to be treated, and a centrifugal pump and flexible connection adapted to convey the disintegrated and drenched material to said line of sluices, substantially as described. 4. In an application for use in placer mining, the combination with a sluice-box or line of sluices of a force-pump and flexible hose drawing water from near the base of said sluice-box or line of sluices, and delivering it under pressure to the mass of material to be treated for the purpose of disintegrating and drenching the same, and a centrifugal pump and flexible connections adapted to convey the disintegrated and drenched material to said sluice-box or line of sluices, substantially as and for the purposes described. Hbney Hughes, F.A.1.P.A., Dated this 19th day of July, 1895. Agent for Applicant. Me. Heiden's Method of Extbacting Gold and Silveb by Electeo-chemioal Action. The present process of saving fine or encased gold from crushed ores by passing it over amalgamating copper plates, mercury ripples, and blanket-tables is as wasteful now as when introduced by the Port Philip Works, on Clunes, in the year 1856. The loss was then 60 per cent of gold, such waste being left in the tailings and allowed to run into the watercourses. In 1860 the buddle concentrator was introduced to treat the sand after it left the blanket-tables. This method saved another 10 to 20 per cent, from the calcined concentrated pyrites, the fine-floating gold in the alluvial deposit having for the most part invariably been lost.

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This great waste, continuing for so many years, is attributable mainly to two causes:— 1. The sickening of the mercury by the presence in the treated ore of deleterious substances— such as sulphur, arsenic, zinc, antimony, &c. —rendering the mercury powerless to amalgamate with the gold or silver. 2. The current of water, flowing over the amalgamating copper plates and blankets sluices the very minute floating and often partly-encased gold away with the travelling sand, and the mechanical contrivances have failed to prevent this loss of the precious metals. To overcome these difficulties the operation of the chemical-electro action is made use of in such form that every particle of the precious metal in the fluent ore becomes electrolised in its passage through the amalgamating apparatus, and thereby in combination with the chemical action of dissolving impurities from the gold, and, keeping the electro-negative mercury both bright and active, absorbs every particle of free or dissolved gold or silver. The amalgamator provides a clean and bright mercurial bath, through which, by a wellbalanced gravitation, is forced the pulverised-ore pulp, or the auriferous river-sand freed from stones and gravel, or the auriferous ocean-beach sand separated from the ironsand, by electromagnets. For crushed ore and river and sea-beach workings, in order to prevent a rush of water and sand through any one portion of the mercury bath "bafflers" are provided, which compels the precious metal in the fluent ore to come in contact with and be retained by the mercury. The length of the mercury bath can be arranged to suit the requirements of the ore operated on. The electric current from the dynamo produces, with the arrangement of the attached anodechamber, containing an alkaline solution, a continual flow of hydrogen and sodium. This effectually prevents any flouring or sickening of the mercury in the bath which forms the cathode. A slab of lead forms the anode from the positive pole, and is suspended in the solution in the chamber. The solution in the anode-chamber rests on a section of the floor of the mercury ; the positive current from the dynamo passes to the lead anode, where oxygen is given off, and forms peroxide of lead on the anode. In order to reach the mercury cathode the current must pass through the alkaline solution in the chamber, which becomes decomposed, and gives off hydrogen and sodium in the mercury, thereby not only preventing any sickening, but the presence of sodium in the mercury is highly beneficial to destroy any mineral coating on the gold, and enables the mercury to amalgamate it when clean. The alkaline solution in the anode-chamber is permanently retained, and requires only the expenditure of a few pence daily to keep the solution up to its electric potency. When the apparatus is used to work the auriferous silicate sand on the ocean-beaches, after the ironsand has been separated by electro-magnets, sea-water will be a most useful substitute for the alkaline solution. In this case the anode-chamber is dispensed with, and a broad carbon rim with cross section is fastened in the descending barrel of the amalgamator. The carbon rim forming the anode electrolises the sea-water and the gold in its passage over the carbon anode, the electrolised gold, being in affinity with the negative-charged mercury, is immediately attracted and converted into amalgam. The chemical properties of sea-water through the operation of the electric current are favourable in developing sodium in the mercury and oxygen by decomposing the water. The cleansed silicate sand, after passing through the electro-amalgamator, can be turned to flow back to the pumping tank and forced up again through the electro-chemical charged mercury; this repetition of treatment will exhaust every particle of the minutest float-gold and gold and silver held in solution in the sea-water. In the treatment of refractory ores, by the use of a weak solution of cyanide of potassium, or other suitable solvents, to dissolve the casing or covering matter of the particles of fine gold, and with the arranged electric action on the fluent ore stuff as it passes over the gravitating-table apparatus, these particles, which would otherwise be lost, are instantly amalgamated with the mercury. The ore to be treated must be first pulverised fine by the usual stamper or other suitable machinery, and then run into a tank containing a solution of cyanide of potassium, and brought to a consistency of fluent sludge. In the tank is placed a centrifugal pump, which is arranged to keep the mass in agitation, and also to pump it up to the hopper of the gravitating apparatus through which it is conducted with the beneficial result as described above in the treatment of silicate beachsand. The fluent ore is then conducted into rotary distributing-pipes which form the outer edge of a sectional electro-amalgam table. The table being arranged with alternate carbon floors, insulating rubber, and mercury zones, the carbon floor in each section forms separate anodes, and the mercury-wells the cathodes. As the ore in solution travels over the electro-charged carbon rim, the gold, whether held in solution or as free gold, becomes electrolised, and is at once precipitated and amalgamated in the mercury. When the fluent ore has passed through the last mercury well it is conducted by a connecting-pipe back into the pumping tank, whence it is by turn again propelled by the centrifugal pump through the electrolising process, and passes anew through the mercury wells, this automatic process being repeated until, with thousands of impacts, every trace of gold has been seized by the mercury. When the precious metal is exhausted the sludge is pumped into a filtering tank, and the cyanide solution saved and prepared for the next charge; the loss is a mere trifle, being at the very low grade of \ to 2 per cent, cyanide solution. The whole working is as nearly as possible automatic, and comparatively small power only is necessary to work the pump and rotary arms and dynamo. The size and cost of the apparatus depending upon quantity of ore to be operated upon for each charge, the supply and demand being equalised the apparatus can be worked continuously.

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This scientific method of extracting gold from refractory ores and saving the floating gold from river and ocean-beach sand brings every particle of gold under the direct influence of the electric action; and by the arranged form of a set of electro-magnetic cylinders to separate in an economical and expeditious manner the silicate sand and gold from ironsand will open up a very extensive field of labour for New Zealand, and will, it is confidently anticipated, effectually overcome all the difficulties hitherto connected with saving gold and silver from refractory ores, and float-gold from the dSbris of river- .and ocean-beaches, and render payable to a degree beyond present conception those untold stores of wealth which are being constantly passed by as non-payable and unprofitable to work. Oscar C. Heiden.

MINE-MANAGEES , EXAMINATION PAPEES. Questions used in Examination of First-class Mining Managers. (" The Mining Act, 1891.") Fiest Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. [The candidates will not be allowed any books other than logarithm tables during the time they are sitting for examination. They must attempt to answer every question, and all calculations must be shown in detail.] Subject A. 1. How would you proceed to sink a shaft in alluvial ground, and how would you keep it plumb and free from twisting? 2. Describe fully how you would construct a vertical uprise for, say, 100 ft., if the ground had to be blasted. 3. If you had to sink a shaft through 40ft. of quicksand, how would you proceed? What appliances would you use, and how would you keep the shaft plumb ? 4. What is meant by "passes"; how would you construct them, and at what distance should they be apart ? 5. Give the dimensions you consider most desirable for a main level if a double line of rails had to be laid down; what size of trucks you would use, and gauge of rails. Subject B. 1. Describe how you would open out a chamber from a shaft timbered with frames, 9ft. by 12ft. in the clear: (a) the side you would open out from ; (b) the dimensions of timber you would use for opening-out set; (c) show by sketch how you would fix such set. 2. Show by sketch how you would fix the timber for timbering a shaft as described in preceding question, and how you would divide it into compartments if pumps had to be placed in the shaft, and give your reasons. 3. How would you timber a main level to insure its safety in the event of one set of timber breaking down, so as not to endanger the other sets being carried away? 4. In driving a main drive in alluvial ground where the material was loose gravel drift, describe how you would timber the ground, and what precautions you would adopt to prevent a run taking place. 5. Show by sketch how you would timber a "pass," give its dimensions, and describe how you would place ladders in such a pass if it was constructed on an inclination of 80° from the horizon, and how you would construct them. 6. If you were sinking a shaft and close timbering it with planks, how would you fix them at the corners; and what provision would you make if pumps had to be placed in the shaft ? 7. If a shaft was found to be too small, after it was sunk, for several lifts of pumps to be placed, show by sketch how you would widen the shaft at the change of lifts; and describe how you would place tanks in the shaft, and also how you would construct them.

First Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject E. 1. Describe the gases met with in gold-mining, their composition, and how they are detected; and what effect, if any, has water on any gas met with ? 2. If you had gas in the end of an adit, or main drive, so that men could not work, how would you dispel it? 3. What appliances would you adopt to produce good ventilation in a mine where a large quantity of deleterious gases are generated ? 4. What effect does decayed timber produce in a mine ; does it produce any gas, and, if so, what is its composition, and what effect has it on the workmen? 5. If you had to divide a current of air into four equal divisions in airways of different lengths, give the dimensions of each air-course, and show by calculation how you arrived at it, so that the velocity was the same in each: the main air-course being 6ft. by 7ft. and 800 ft. in length, having 30,000 cubic feet of air passing through it per minute; the length of the divisions being 300 ft., 500 ft., 900 ft., and I,looft. respectively. 6. If you were ventilating a mine by a furnace, the size of the down-cast shaft being 6ft. by 7ft., and the temperature 50° Fahr., give the dimensions of the up-cast shaft, having the same depth as the down-cast, where the temperature is 140° Fahr., so that the velocity of the air will be the same in each shaft.

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Subject F. 1. If you had to tap a body of water from a drive, how would you approach it, and what precaution would you adopt ? 2. If you had to construct a dam underground in solid rock, with brick, where the water was raised to a level of 300 ft. above the dam, give the thickness of a wall you would construct in a drive 6ft. by 7ft., and state the pressure there would be on the face of the wall. 3. Show by sketch how you would construct a dam in a drive to keep water rising in the drive to a height of 6ft. 4. In sinking a shaft through a loose stratum in which there was a considerable quantity of water, describe how you would dam back the water to prevent it going down the shaft.

Second Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Subject G. 1. Give the relative strength of rackarock, roburite, and gelatine dynamite in comparison with blasting-powder. 2. Describe how you would use blasting-powder in wet ground. 3. If you had to cut down a bench of solid rock, and drill a hole 10ft. deep and 7ft. back from the face, how much dynamite would you require to use for blasting? Show by calculation how you arrive at the result. 4. What materials do you consider best for tamping a hole, and what appliance would you use for tamping? 5. What effect has frost on dynamite ? At what temperature does it freeze ? And describe the best appliance for thawing frozen dynamite. Subject K. 1. Divide -0654 by 3-145, and extract the cube root of the quotient. 2. If seven men performed a certain piece of work in 3 days 1\ hours, how long would it take a man and a boy to do the same work, the boy being able to do five-eighths of a man's work ? 3. If loz. of gold of 24 carats is worth £4 3s. lid., what would be the value of 15oz. lldwt. of gold of 15875 carats fine. 4. A circular vat is 19ft. 6in. in diameter and 3ft. 3in. deep: give its cubic contents in feet. 5. Give the superficial board measurement in feet of four 17ft. lengths, 10in. x lin., three 19ft. lengths, Bin. x and seven 20ft. lengths, 17in. x 2-Jin.

Second Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject C.— On the Drainage of Mines and on Pumping Appliances. 1. Describe the class of pumps you have been accustomed to. 2. What is about the usual height a lift-pump is set above the water? 3. What limits the height to which water could be forced? 4. Is the pulsometer an economical machine ? 5. How many tons of water could be lifted from a mine in twenty-four hours with a singleacting pump, 24in. diameter and 12ft. stroke, making eighteen strokes per minute, efficiency 75 per cent. ? 6. What thickness of rising main would be required for 24in. pumps, the lifts being 150 ft. ? 7. What would be the difference in weight of steel and cast-iron as above? 8. How could you utilise electricity as an agent in the drainage of mines ? Subject D.— On the Haulage in Shafts and in Underground Places; also on the Strength of Hauling-ropes and Chains. 1. What systems of underground haulage are you conversant with? 2. What forms of safety-catch are you conversant with ? Describe one form. 3. Describe a cage-indicator, how and where attached to the engine. 4. What is the safe-working load for a flat steel rope, 4'sin. by O'7sin. ? 5. What is the safe-working load on a close-lmked Jin. chain ? 6. What is meant by the term " horse-power " ? 7. What is the theoretical power of 4 cubic feet of water per second falling 20ft. 8. Iα the above question, with an efficiency of 79 per cent, in the motor used, what would be the actual horse-power ?

Thied Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Subject I. — A Knowledge of Underground Surveying, and the Making of Plans of Underground Workings, showing also the Dip or Inclination and Strike of the Beef or Lodes. (a.) The candidate must produce a plan drawn to a scale of 2 chains to an inch, showing the surface boundaries of a mining claim not less than 20 acres in extent. The plan must also show the underground workings on the same plan, but in different-coloured inks. All traverse lines on which the survey is based must be shown, with their bearings and lengths, together with the lines connecting the underground with the surface survey. The plan must have a north point, and the words "magnetic" or "true" written on it according to the meridian used. The plan must bear a certificate as follows : "I certify that the survey from which this plan has been drawn was done by myself, and that the plan is my own work also " ; and it must be signed and dated. T . yji (b.) The original field notes of the survey must be produced, together with the tables of meridian and perpendicular distances (if any) for each station in the survey; all traverses should be

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calculated from some convenient point in the survey; also produce a specimen of the method of calculations from which the positions of pegs have been derived. All of these must be signed by the candidate and dated. (c.) Give a full description, in writing, of the method adopted in the survey, describing the initial point from which it was started, and show the close of the work, both in links or feet, and the angular difference on closing. Describe how the inclined measurements were reduced to horizontal. State whether the true or what other meridian was used, and whether the same meridian was used both above and below ground, and how the meridian was obtained. (d.) Say what precautions were used to ascertain if the instrument was in adjustment, and how the length of the chain or tape was tested. What instrument was used? What were distances measured with? (c.) Draw a rough diagram to show how the surface and underground surveys were connected, and describe in writing the method adopted. State your opinion of the most accurate way of performing the above operation: first, when there is only one shaft; second, when there are two or more shafts.

Third Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject I (continued). — A Knowledge of Underground Surveying, and the Making of Plans of Underground Workings, showing also the Dip or Inclination and Strike of the Beefs or Lodes. (J.) State whether the compass can be relied on for underground surveys, and give your reasons for the answer. (g.) If you are obliged to make a magnetic underground survey, state what means you would use to check the correctness of the survey, and how would you know that the surface and underground survey are on the same meridian, or how would you reduce them to the same supposing one to be magnetic and the other true. (h.) From the most easterly station used in the survey, calculate the length and bearing of a line drawn thence to any one of the corners of the claim. (i.) Describe in writing the adjustments of a plane theodolite and also of a miner's compass. (In both of these subjects the candidate will be examined by the supervisor.) (J.) Describe the method of plotting the plan, and how the area of the claim was ascertained. (k.) What are the regulation marks that should define the boundaries of a claim under the Mines Act. (I.) State where you learnt surveying, who taught you, and how long you have studied.

Fourth Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Subject J. — A Knowledge of the Different Bocks where Gold, Silver, Tin, Copper, Zinc, Lead, and Antimony are found, and on the Formation of Lodes and Leads. 1. Describe what mineral lodes generally occur in limestone, slate rock, granite, serpentine, and propylite tufas. 2. What ores are of most frequent occurrence in each of these formations? 3. What is a saddle reef, and how are they supposed to be formed? 4. What are true deep leads, and describe New Zealand examples, if any are known to you. Subject H.— The Effect that Faults, Slides, and Mullock-bars have on Lodes, and how to ascertain the Direction of Slides and Heavals. 1. Describe with the aid of diagrams four instances of faulted lodes which you have yourself surveyed, giving the localities, and the amount and direction of the dislocation; how this was discovered, and the amount of deadwork that had to be done in each case. Subject L.—A Knowledge of Part VI. of " The Mining Act, 1891."

Questions used in Examination of Second-class Mining Managers. (" The Mining Act, 1891.") First Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. [The candidates will not be allowed any booka other than logarithm tables during the time they are sitting for examination. They must attempt to answer every question, and all calculations must be shown in detail.] Subject A. 1. How would you proceed to sink a shaft in alluvial ground, and how would you keep it plumb and free from twisting ? 2. Describe fully how you would construct a vertical uprise for, say, 100 feet, if the ground had to be blasted. 3. If you had to sink a shaft through 40ft. of quicksand how would you proceed? What appliances would you use, and how would you keep the shaft plumb? 4. What is meant by "passes " ; how would you construct them, and at what distance should they be apart ? 5. Give the dimensions you consider most desirable for a main level if a double line of rails had to be laid down; what size of trucks you would use, and gauge of rails. Subject B. 1. Describe how you would open out a chamber from a shaft timbered with frames, 9ft. by 12ft.

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in the clear : (a) the side you would open out from ; (b) the dimensions of timber you would use for opening-out set. 2. Describe how you would fix the timber for timbering a shaft as described in preceding question, and how you would divide it into compartments if pumps had to be placed in the shaft, and give your reasons. 3. How would you timber a main level to insure its safety in the event of one set of timber breaking down, so as not to endanger the other sets being carried away ? 4. In driving a main drive in alluvial ground where the material was loose gravel drift, describe how you would timber the ground, and what precautions you would adopt to prevent a run taking place. 5. Describe how you would timber a " pass," give its dimensions, and also how you would place ladders in such a pass if it was constructed on an inclination of 80° from the horizon, and how you would construct them. 6. If you were sinking a shaft and close timbering it with planks, how would you fix them at the corners; and what provision would you make if pumps had to be placed in the shaft. 7. If a shaft was found to be too small, after it was sunk, for several lifts of pumps to be placed, describe how you would widen the shaft at the change of lifts ; and also how you would place tanks in the shaft, and also how you would coustruct them.

Fiest Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject C. 1. Describe the gases met with in gold-mining, their composition, and how they are detected ; and what effect, if any, has water on any gas met with? 2. If you had gas in the end of an adit, or main drive, so that men could not work, how would you dispel it ? 3. What appliances would you adopt to produce good ventilation in a mine where a large quantity of deleterious gases are generated ? 4. What effect does decayed timber produce in a mine ; does it produce any gas, and, if so, what is its composition, and what effect has it on the workmen? Subject D. 1. If you had to tap a body of water from a drive, how would you approach it, and what precaution would you adopt ? 2. If you had to construct a dam underground in solid rock, with brick, where the water was raised to a level of 300 ft. above the dam, give the thickness of a wall you would construct in a drive 6ft. by 7ft., and state the pressure there would be on the face of the wall. 3. Describe how you would construct a dam in a drive to keep water rising in the drive to a height of 6ft. 4. In sinking a shaft through a loose stratum in which there was a considerable quantity of water, describe how you would dam back the water to prevent it going down the shaft.

Second Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Subject E. 1. Give the relative strength of rackarock, roburite, and gelatine dynamite, in comparison with blasting-powder. 2. Describe how you would use blasting-powder in wet ground. 3. If you had to cut down a bench of solid rock, and drill a hole 10ft. deep and 7ft. back from the face, how much dynamite would you require to use for blasting? Show by calculation how you arrive at the result. 4. What materials do you consider best for tamping a hole, and what appliance would you use for tamping ? 5. What effect has frost on dynamite? At what temperature does it freeze ? And describe the best appliance for thawing frozen dynamite. Subject F. 1. Divide -0654 by 3-145. 2. If seven men performed a certain piece of work in 3 days 2J hours, how long would it take two men to do the same work ? 3. If loz. of gold of 24 carats is worth £4 3s. lid., what would be the value of 15oz. of gold of 15 carats fine ? 4. A circular vat is 19ft. in diameter and 3ft. deep : give its cubic contents in feet. 5. Give the superficial board measurement in feet of four 17ft. lengths, 10in. x lin., three 19ft. lengths, Bin. x 3in., and seven 20ft. lengths, 17in. x 2in.

Questions used in Examination of Battery Supeeintendets fob Ceetificates. ("The Mining Act Amendment Act, 1894.") Fiest Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. [The candidates will not be allowed any books other than logarithm tables during the time they are sitting for examination. They must attempt to answer every question, and all calculations must be shown in detail.] Subject A. — The Different Modes of Reducing and Pulverising Ores. 1. Show by sketch how you would construct the foundations for a stamp-mill with twenty heads of stamps, and give description of same.

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2. What weight of stamps do you consider best suited for dry crushing? Give their drop, and number of blows per minute ; and show by calculation the theoretical horse-power required to drive a battery of twenty heads of such stamps. 3. In constructing a new stamp crushing-battery for dry crushing, and the ore to be treated by the cyanide process, what mesh and description of screens would you use, and at what height in relation to the bottom of the screens would you place the dies in the mortar ? 4. What depth of ore would you keep in the mortar to produce the greatest crushing efficiency with economy ? and give your reasons why. 5. Describe the action of Blake-Marsden and Gate's rock-breakers, the speed they should be worked at to give the most efficiency with economy ; also the dimensions that the ore should be reduced to by rock-breakers before going into a stamp-mortar. 6. Describe the action of Cornish and Krom rolls; also a Huntington mill sft. in diameter : and show by sketch how you would screen the ore if rolls were used, and how you would dispose of the coarse particles that did not go through the screen. 7. Describe the Mundy and Kaiser buddies ; give their dimensions, and speed they should be worked at to produce the best effect; also, the angle at which the bottom should be constructed in relation to the horizon. 8. If you were using a Challenge ore-feeder, describe how you would fix it to feed the stamps automatically. Subject B. — Amalgamating-machines. 1. Describe the action and speed of the following grinding-and-amalgamating machines— namely, Combination, Watson-Denny, and McKay pans; the quantity of tailings each pan would manipulate efficiently in every twenty-four hours ; also the theoretical horse-power required to drive each pan. 2. Give a sketch of a separator or settler, showing its dimensions ; also give the speed it should be worked at, and the time required for the manipulation of each charge. 3. What is meant by agitators, what is their use, and how are they constructed and worked? 4. In using a plant of twenty berdans for grinding and amalgamating, what quantity of tailings would this plant be capable of treating in twenty-four hours ? Give the speed at which you would propose to work the berdans, and the quantity of quicksilver you would use in each berdan; also the theoretical horse-power required to work the plant. 5. Give a detailed description of the Washoe process from the time the ore is put into the pans until the bullion is retorted.

Fiest Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject C.— The Use of Quicksilver and the Methods of Using it in connection with the Extraction of Gold and Silver from Ores. 1. What effect has ore containing galena, zinc-blende, and antimony on quicksilver? 2. How would you coat copper plates with quicksilver? Also describe how you would remove all the gold and silver from plates that had been used for amalgamating purposes. 3. What quantity of quicksilver would you use in a Watson-Denny pan ? 4. How would you detect impurities in quicksilver, and remove them ? 5. Describe the classes of ore most suitable for amalgamation with quicksilver, and give your reason why. 6. What chemicals, if any, would you use in pan-amalgamation? and, if used, give your reasons for same, and also their reactions. 7. Describe the method you would adopt for recovering the gold and silver from ores containing the sulphides of copper, lead, and antimony. Subject E.— -Ghlorination Process of Recovering Gold from Orfis. 1. Describe the class of auriferous ores best adapted for treatment by chlorination, and give your reasons why. 2. Why do pyritous ores require roasting before chlorination ? And describe the process of roasting such ores in a reverberatory furnace. 3. How is chlorine gas manufactured ? and how is it applied in the extraction of gold from ores? 4. What time is required in subjecting the-ore to the action of chlorine gas by the Plattner's process, and also by the Newbery-Vautin process ? 5. Give a sketch of a modern chlorination plant, and mark each portion with distinctive letters; also give the time occupied in each operation with the ore.

Second Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Subject D.— Lixiviation Process of Recovering Gold and Silver from Ores. 1. Describe how you would make silver-nitrate standard solutions to test solutions of KCN ; also show how you would test such solutions. 2. Describe how you would test the strength of crude KCN. 3. If a vat is 22ft. 4in. in diameter, and contains a depth of 19in. of ore, how many cubic feet of ore is there in the vat, and what weight of solution will occupy 10in. in depth of such vat ? 4. Show by sketch a complete plant for treating pulverised ore by the cyanide process, and how you would arrange it; also mark each portion of the plant by distinctive letters, and state what the letters refer to, giving the dimensions of the different parts. 5. How many pounds of a strong solution containing 18 per cent, of KCN should be used to

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make up 11 tons of a 035-per-cent. solution, using a sump solution containing 0-11 per cent, of KCN? 6. How many tons of 0-5-per-cent. solution can be obtained from 13 tons of o'9-per-cent. solution, using a 0-17-per-cent. solution for dilution ? 7. In leaching auriferous or argentiferous ores with potassium-cyanide solutions, if such ores contained sulphides of copper, antimony, and zinc, what effect (if any) would each of these metals have on the extraction of the gold and silver from the cyanide solutions ? 8. Describe the best method of preparation of zinc used for the precipitation of the gold and silver from cyanide solutions, and give the reasons why. 9. Describe how you would assay sump KCN solutions to ascertain the quantity of gold and silver they contain. 10. If you had to treat ore by the cyanide process containing 80 per cent, of fine gold and 20 per cent, of coarse gold, what means would you adopt to recover the latter? 11. If you have 18-per-cent. strong solution of KCN in the dissolving-vat, and you required 15 tons of a 4-per-cent. working solution, how many pounds of the strong solution would you use to make up the required quantity, first utilising 2-5 tons of a I'l2-per-cent. solution in the reservoir ? 12. What was the average consumption of cyanide and zinc per ton of ore in any cyanide works you have been connected with ? 13. What are the antidotes of prussic acid ? If a workman showed signs of cyanide poisoning, what remedies would you apply ? 14. What quantity of KCN is required for the solution of loz. of gold and loz. of silver per ton of ore ? and how does this quantity compare with the theoretical quantity ? 15. In treating poor tailings is there any limit to the weakness of the solution used when zinc is the precipitant, and why ? Also, what substitute for zinc can be used as a precipitant when the solutions are very weak ?

Second Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject F.— The Sampling and Testing of Ores. 1. Give the principal reactions of both the oxides of iron when in solution. 2. Name the physical characteristics of zinc-blende, and the methods by which you would chemically determine it. 3. State the methods for detecting antimony in siliceous rocks. 4. How would you detect minute quantities of copper in lode matters ? 5. What would be your easiest and most rapid method for estimating the proportion of copper in a mixed sulphide ? 6. Name the tests for carbonic acid in both air and rocks. 7. How would you test pyritous quartz for silver and gold? 8. What process would you use for detecting silver in its ores ? Subject G.— A Knowledge of Arithmetic and the Method of Keeping Accounts. 1. Divide -0654 by 3445, and extract the cube root of the quotient. 2. If seven men performed a certain piece of work in 3 days 2 J hours, how long would it take a man and a boy to do the same work, the boy being able to do five-eighths of a man's work ? 3. If loz. of gold of 24 carats is worth £4 3s. lid., what would be the value of 15oz. lldwt. of gold of 15-875. carats fine ? 4. A circular vat is 19ft. 6in. in diameter and 3ft. 3in. deep, give its cubic contents in feet. 5. Give the superficial board measurement in feet of four 17ft. lengths, 10in. x lin., three 19ft. lengths, Bin. x 3|in., and seven 20ft. lengths, 17in. x 2fin. Subject H.— A Knowledge of Part VI. of " The Mining Act, 1891."

Questions used in Examination op Mining Managers fob First-class Certificates. (" The Coal-mines Act, 1891.") First Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. [Candidates must attempt to answer every question. All calculations to be shown in detail.] Subject I.— On the Sinking of Shafts and Construction of Main Roadways, opening out a Mine, and the Division of a Mine into Districts. 1. Having to sink a shaft 200 fathoms deep by 14ft. diameter, describe— (a.) Means you would adopt to insure shaft going down truly vertical ; (b.) Fittings required at top of shaft for landing debris ; (c.) Precaution necessary to prevent anything falling into or from sides of shaft; (d.) System of shot-firing suitable for sinking ; (c.) Means you would adopt for securing the walls of shaft during sinking, and prior to walling being put in. 2. Describe how you would sink through running sand or other loose material for first 70ft. of a shaft rectangular in form; the work to be done without iron cylinders. 3. Suppose pair of shafts 1,200 ft. deep having reached coal Bft. thick, lying at an angle of 10°, line of cleavage being at right angles to line of strike, roof good, floor inclined to lift: show by sketch what, in your opinion, is the proper relative position of shafts, mode of working you would adopt, and size of pillars you would leave surrounding shafts, position of doors between upcast and downcast shaft, —stating fully the reasons guiding you. 34—C. 3.

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4. Assuming coal-seam described in last question gives off firedamp freely, how would you ventilate during time men holing round the shaft-pillars, and what special precautions would you take in order to prevent accident ? 5. State generally your experience of sinking and openicg-up of mines, with conditions under which experience gained ; also duties and responsibilities of a chargeman of a shaft in a sinking. Subject II. — The Various Methods adopted in securing Shafts and Workings in a Mine, showing Relative Efficiency of each Class of Material used. 1. Show by sketch how you would proceed to line a shaft with brick, the work to be done in sections as sinking proceeds. State means to be adopted for securing good solid beds on which to place walling-rings. 2. Describe fully scaffold you would use in walling, how it would be secured while in use, and how you would provide for water to be drawn from below scaffold. 3. It is required to put arching in at bottom of a shaft I,oooft. deep, coal being Bft. high, measures overlying being hard with soft floor; width to be same as shaft—namely, 14ft. Give sketch of a proper form of arch for this work. 4. If found necessary to pack up space over the crown of arch, or at back of brickwork generally, what kind of material would you use ? 5. Show by sketches how you would set timbers in main levels or drawing-roads— (a.) With soft floor and strong sides ; (b.) With good roof and weak sides and floor ; (c.) With weak roof and floor and good sides.

First Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject lll.— The Various Methods of hewing and cutting Goal of Different Classes, and securing Ground while so engaged. 1. Explain, with sketches, the principles which should in your opinion govern the timbering of working-places and roads, so as most effectually to resist the pressure of the ground. 2. Describe the bord-and-pillar method of coal-working, and state the width of bords and size of pillars you would adopt in a seam lying at an angle of lin 4 with 500 ft. of cover; the seam being 10ft. thick, strong roof and weak floor. 3. In working a pitching seam on bord-and-pillar system, in what relative position would you keep the pillar and solid coal-workings in order to prevent accumulation of gas in the goaf being forced on to the workmen in the solid coal ? 4. In removing pillars, would you have props drawn as coal removed ? and, if so, state the means you would adopt to prevent roof breaking over the working-places, and precautions to be observed by workmen engaged in drawing timber. 5. Under what conditions would you advise working coal by long-wall system, and what are 'its advantages ? Describe fully. Subject IV. — Various Methods of ventilating, and Constructions of Airways. 1. Explain the theory of the ventilation of mines, and why artificial ventilation is more reliable than natural. 2. State rules which should be followed in splitting air, and state what is the practical limit to the number of splits, and why. 3. How would you proceed to remove an accumulation of firedamp from a working-place ? 4. In the event of firedamp being found in a working-place by the fireman in making his inspection, should he report condition of place as he found it or as he left it ? 5. Describe what, in your opinion, is a good type of safety-lamp for use in a fiery mine where locked lamps only are permitted. 6. In what velocities of an explosive mixture are certain forms of safety-lamps unsafe ?

Second Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Subject V. —On Area of Airway, the Velocity and Division of Currents, and Deductions to be made for Friction. 1. Sketch water-gauge, and explain its use. 2. How would you expect the gases in a mine to be affected by a rise or fall in the barometer? 3. Given'an airway 6ft. by 6ft., passing 20,000 ft. of air, how much would pass in one Bft. by Bft., the pressure being the same in each? 4. In a mine ventilated by three splits, how would you ascertain that each split passed its proper share of the air; and, if you found one passing more than it ought, how would you remedy defect ? 5. In arranging for firing shots in a mine giving off firedamp at the faces, how would you instruct your shot-firer to proceed in order to minimise danger from gas being fired ? 6. Sketch an undercast and overcast for air, stating kinds of material you would employ in construction of such. 7. Sketch furnace suitable for a large mine, marking principal dimensions. Show in sketch where a dumb-drift should be placed, and precaution necessary to prevent coal-seam being fired, Subject Vl.— On the Nature and Composition of Explosives and Dangerous Gases met with in Goal-mines, and on Spontaneous Combustion. 1. Name the two gases most common to coal-mines, how they are detected, and what are the results of their presence in the workings.

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2. If main return airway of a mine ventilated by a furnace becomes foul by the pressure of firedamp, what means would you adopt to prevent an explosion, and clear return of gas ? 3. If the air in a mine contains just sufficient firedamp to show a cap only just perceptible, what additional percentage of gas would be required to render the mixture highly explosive ? 4. Describe any mechanical ventilator of which you have a knowledge, and give dimension of such fan to produce 100,000 cubic feet per minute, with water-gauge 2in. at the fan, stating effective horse-power required to drive it. 5. What precautions are necessary to avoid blow r n-out shots, and what are the dangers to be feared from such ?

Second Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject VII.— On the Drainage of Mines, and Pumping-appliances. 1. Describe the action of lifting- and forcing-pumps, giving the terms used in describing their parts, with sketch of working parts of bucket-lift. 2. A pumping-engine makes 10 strokes per minute; length of stroke, Bft.; diameter of pump, 18in. What quantity of water is raised per minute, and what horse-power is there in the work, assuming set 30 fathoms long? 3. Under what circumstances would you prefer to place pumping-engine at bottom of shaft, instead of having engine on surface ? 4. State your experience of direct-acting pumps placed underground, having what, in your opinion, is a good type of such pump. 5. Say if you have had experience of pumping with electricity, and describe the advantages of that mode, if any. 6. What would be the vertical height of a column of water which gives 1501b. per square inch, and what weight of water would such column contain if 9in. diameter ? Calculate thickness of cast-iron pipe required for the above pressure. Subject VIII.— The Haulage of Coal on Underground Planes and Shafts ; also, Different Systems of such, and Horse-power required to do the Work. 1. Given a quantity of 1,100 tons, to be raised in eight hours from a shaft 1,200 ft. deep: Show by calculation how you would arrive at dimensions of engine, drum, and ropes required for the work. 2. Assumed shaft, 1,500 ft.: the load to be raised at each winding is 7 tons net. It is desired to increase power by applying a balance. Show by sketch how you would accomplish this, and by calculation how much the power of engine would be increased by such application, assuming a rope suitable for load given. 3. What system of haulage are you acquainted with ? Describe it fully, with arrangement for securing tubs to rope. 4. It has been found necessary to transmit power from the surface to the underground workings. The shaft is 1,200 ft. deep, and point where power to be applied is 40 chains from shaft. What system of transmission would you prefer, and how much power would you require on surface to obtain 20-horse power at seat of application underground ?

Thied Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Subject IX.—The Theoretical and Effective Power of Steam-engines and Boilers ; also on the Strength of Hauling-ropes and Chains. 1. An engine single cylinder, 20in. diameter, 40in. stroke; steam pressure at boiler 751b. per square inch, cutting off at one-third the stroke. Show by calculation how you arrive at— (a.) The mean and terminal pressure; (b.) Effective horse-power, choosing what you consider a suitable piston-speed for such engine. 2. Describe fittings required for steam boiler of Lancashire type, 28ft. long, 7ft. 6in. diameter, showing by sketch the position of each. 3. If boiler in last question required to work at 1001b. pressure, show by calculation the thickness of steel plate you would specify to be used in its construction. 4. Calculate the breaking-strain of steel-wire rope, and state what proportion of this the work-ing-load should be. 5. What kind of iron would you specify to be used in making the chains required for cages in winding-shaft for a load of 7 tons ? What size chains would you use ? Show calculation. Subject X.— The Incrustation in Steam Boilers: Causes of same, and Bemedies therefor. 1. Knowing that the feed-water of boilers under your charge contained sulphate of lime, what steps would you adopt to prevent incrustation ? State fully the reasons guiding you. 2. State advantages arising from the heating of feed-water. 3. Describe what in your opinion is a good method of heating feed-water for steam boilers. 4. How would you prepare for a thorough inspection of a Lancashire boiler (internal and external) ?

Thied Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject XL— Tapping Water in Mines, and Mode of constructing Dams underground. 1. Describe how you would proceed to put in a dam for the purpose of keeping back a feeder of water met with in a tunnel Bft. by 6ft., and 100 yards from the surface. Give sketch, with dimensions, and material to be used.

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2. In driving towards old workings known to contain water under pressure, what precautions would you adopt to avoid accident ? State fully the reason guiding you. Subject Xll.— Blasting, and the Use of Explosives. 1. In a fiery mine worked exclusively with locked lamps, and which is dry and dusty, what precautions would you adopt in connection with shot-firing in order to avoid accident ? 2. Do you know of any high explosive which is nameless when fired, and the fumes of which are not injurious to workmen ? Describe, and give composition. Subject Xlll.—The Effect that Faults produce in Goal-seams, and how to ascertain Direction of a Goal-seam when severed by a Fault. 1. What do you understand is meant by the following terms : (a) dyke, (b) slip-fault, (c) overlapfault ? Give sketches illustrating appearance and action of each. 2. To what action is the presence of dykes attributed, and of what substance are they mainly composed ? , , ~ 3. Finding your coal-seams cut off by a fault having the appearance of a down-throw, show by sketch what steps you would take to ascertain the amount of displacement. 4. In driving a heading to the rise in a coal-seam lying at an angle of 1 in 10, the direction of heading being at right angles to line of strike, you meet an up-throw fault of 10 yards : in what direction would you drive to recover the seam, and what length would the drift be ?

Foubth Day.—Time: 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Subject XIV.— A Knowledge of Surface and Underground Surveying, and of making Plans shoiving System of Working, Inclination of Seams, Faults, and Course of Ventilation. 1 Candidate must produce plan showing the system of working in a colliery with the surface taken up for at least 20 acres in the vicinity of the shaft, and the underground workings in differentcoloured ink. He must describe how he would connect them with the surface in the event of there being only one shaft. The levels and main headways must have assumed traverse calculated in detail, and showing latitude and departure for each bearing. 2. Describe the adjustments of the ordinary theodolite. g Bearings Distance. Inclination Rise. Ft. AB, N.35°W. ... ... 550' BC, N.30°8 600 Level CD,N.SO°W 700 r evel - DE,N. 60° E. ... ... 500) EFN.BO°-30E. .. ... 650 7 0, 30 inclination of line Eto F. Eequired bearing, length, and grade of a line to connect A to F. 4. How would you hang and check sight-lines in carrying on a tunnel? 5. What are " bench-marks," " contour-lines," and " intermediate sights " ? Subject XV. — A Knowledge of Arithmetic, and Method of keeping Accounts. 1 A colliery producing 2,500 tons per week of large coal and 650 tons small; the wages cost on total output is 4s. 3£d. per ton: what is the cost of the large coal per ton if debited with the whole of the wages, and credited with the value of small coal, which brings 2s. 9£d. per ton ? 2. With your coal costing 4s. 6'235d. per ton delivered in wagons at the mine, what would the cost be if rates were increased 11J per cent., and again if reduced 5f per cent. ? 3. If pillars are left 22 yards by 13 yards, bords 6 yards wide, and headings 4 yards wide, what percentage of the coal is being won ? 4. Multiply five pounds five shillings and fivepence halfpenny by two thousand five hundred and nineteen. 5. Divide £501 Bs. 3£d. by 314-25. 6. How much does the royalty on 123,891 tons amount to at 4£d. per ton, and what proportion does this bear to total cost, which equals 4s. 6'235d. per ton?

Foueth Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject XVI.— A Knowledge of the Character of the Different Classes of Coal, and also of th& Character of the Bocks and Formation of Country where Coal is likely to be found. 1. What is meant by the terms " hydrous " and " anhydrous" when applied to coal? 2. What should be the analysis of a good bituminous coal ? 3~ Describe the qualities essential in a coal used for manufacture of gas. 4! In exploring new country in search of coal, what are the features to which you would give special attention ? Describe fully the several steps of such operations. 5 Describe the leading features connected with the existence of coal as found in your district, and show by sketches the pitch of seam, with roof and floor, for some feet above and below. Subject XVII.— A Knowledge of the Provisions of " The Coal-mines Act, 1891."

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Questions used in Examination op Mining Managers foe Second-class Ceetificates. ("The Coal-mines Act, 1891.") Fiest Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. [Candidates must attempt to answer every question. All calculations to be shown in detail.] Subject l.—Qn the Sinking of Shafts and Construction of Main Roadways, Opening-out of a Mine, and the Division of a Mine into Districts. 1 Describe the necessary fittings required for the starting of a new shaft, and explain the operation of sinking to the stone head, and kind of timbering you would use in supporting walls of shaft until walling put in. ....... 3 i_ 2. What do you consider a good method of lighting shots in a sinking-shaft; and what precautions are necessary to prevent accident in connection with shot-firing ? Give particulars of any improved method of shot-firing of which you have had experience. 3. What means are generally adopted to make sure of getting good solid beds for walhng-rmgs in a sinking-shaft ? Subject ll.— The Various Methods adopted in semiring Shafts and Workings in a Mine, showing the Relative Advantages and Efficiency of each Class of Material used. 1. In putting in brick lining in a shaft, what precautions would you adopt to secure safety of men working on scaffold ? State how you would secure scaffold when in use. 2. Sketch set of timber suitable for ground where side pressure very considerable. 3. How would you timber the bottom of a winding-shaft where the roof is strong and sides and floor weak ? , , 4. In what system of working coal are chocks used in preference to prop-wood I What are the advantages of using timber in this form ? 5. What fittings are required for relieving the cast-iron tubbing used in shafts from the pressure of water during time the tubbing is being fixed in position ?

Fiest Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject lll.— The various Methods of hewing and cutting Coal of Different Classes to advantage, and securing Ground while so engaged. 1. Describe the mode of working any seam of coal with which you are acquainted, and show by sketches the position of main level and branch headings. 2. What size pillars would you leave to support shaft 200 yards deep, seam pitching at an angle of 14 degrees ? 3. The greater number of accidents are due to falls of roof and sides in working-places. State what, in your opinion, is productive of such accidents, and how they may be prevented. 4. What does the Coal-mines Act require as to the inspection of mines before starting work ? 5. What precautions should you take with regard to missed shots ? Subject IN. —The Various Methods of Ventilation, and the Construction of Airways so as to produce a good Circulation of Fresh Air in any Part of a Mine. 1. What size would you make an airway to pass 10,000 cubic feet of air per minute, at a velocity of 4ft. per second ? ~.,;. , 2. State your views as to how a mine is affected during a heavy fall of the barometer. 3! What are the most dangerous gases commonly met with in coal-mines? Why are they dangerous ? And state which of these you have had most experience of. 4. What is the duty of a manager as regards ventilation, and what is the minimum quantity of air which should circulate per man employed in non-fiery mines ?

Second Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Subject V.— On the Area of Airways, the Velocity and Division of Currents, and the Deductions to be made for Friction. 1. State the general laws relating to the friction of air in mines. 2. What quantity of air per minute will pass through a shaft or circular airway 10ft. diameter, speed of current being sft. per second? 3. Explain uee of water-gauge, and state when it should be fixed to ascertain the drag of the mine. ... 4. Sketch air-crossing or bridge for carrying main return over the intake airway : say how you would construct such, and material to be employed. 5. Have you any knowledge of the construction of " ventilating-fans " ? Describe such a fan aa you may have had experience of. Subject VI. On the Nature and Composition of Explosives and Dangerous Gases occurring in Coal-mines, and on Spontaneous Combustion. 1. Describe the best type of safety-lamp of which you have had experience. 2. Have you any knowledge of high explosives in use in coal-mines ? Describe such, and give composition. .... . , 3. In what position would you expect to find black-damp or carbonic acid in a coal-mine, and what are the causes tending to the production of this gas ?

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4. Have you had experience of underground fires? If so, describe what, in your opinion, led up to the firing; and state generally your views as to spontaneous combustion, and best means of dealing with a mine so circumstanced.

Second Day.—Time : 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Subject VII.— On the Drainage of Mines, and Pumping-appliances. 1. What are the conditions which would decide you to wind the water from a shaft, in preference to pumping ? 2. What are the conditions rendering the fixing of a direct-acting pump at shaft-bottom preferable to putting a pumping-engine at surface ? 3. A shaft 100 fathoms, from which it is required to pump 100 gallons per minute, the engine being placed on surface : how many lifts would you apply ? and sketch arrangement where lifts junction. 4. Give your experience of the erection and working of pumping-appliances. Subject VIII. — The Haulage on Planes and in Shafts; also Different Systems of Underground Haulage, with Horse-power required to do the Work; also on Strength of Hauling-rope and Chains. 1. What do you consider the most easily applied and generally useful application of ropehaulage ? Give your experience, and describe fully means of attaching the tubs to rope, also arrangement of tension. 2. Give sketch of a useful form of drum for use in lowering coal on self-acting inclines, feeding the main haulage-road. 3. On an incline having a grade of 1 in 5, and 40 chains long, it is required to lower 12 tubs in a race, the weight of coal being 6 tons, empties weighing 6cwt. Give particulars of the drum you would erect, size of rope, and general arrangement of incline with passing«place.

Thikd Day.—Time : 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Subject IX.— Tapping Water in Mines, and Mode of constructing Dams in Underground Workings to keep Water back. 1. Being required to drive towards old workings known to contain a large body of water, what special precaution would you adopt in order to prevent accident ? Give fully your reasons for the precautions you would adopt. 2. If required to fix dam to keep back water, what are the conditions which you would try to secure in the site where dam to be fixed ? Sketch form of suitable dam to resist a head of 150 ft., and material used in its construction. 3. Suppose water to exist in old workings adjacent to mine in which you are engaged, what thickness of barrier would you leave and through which water could be run off ? Subject X.— Blasting, and the Use of Explosives. 1. Give your experience of explosives other than powder, and detail their advantages or otherwise. 2. What are the objections to powder in fiery mines ? 3. Have you experience of the system of water-cartridge in use in some mines ? 4. What rules should be observed as regards short-firing in mines giving off gas, in order to minimise accident ?

Thibd Day.—Time: 2 p.m. to, 5 p.m. Subject Xl.— The Effects of Faults on Coal-mines, and how to ascertain the Direction of a Coal-seam when severed by a Fault. 1. Give a sketch showing the appearance of coal-measures intersected by a dyke, and state how character of coal changed by action of dike. 2. What are slip-faults? Show by sketch what you understand their effects to be. 3. Do you know of any coalfields where faults of considerable magnitude have produced beneficial results ? Describe. 4. Show by sketch how you would proceed to ascertain the displacement of a coal-seam by an up-throw and down-throw. Subject XII.— A Knowledge of Arithmetic, and Keeping of Accounts. 1. If colliers are paid 2s. 2-Jd. per ton of coal sent out (gross weight), and the seam produces 30 per cent, of slack which is unsaleable, how much do the mine-owners pay for coal sold, and what would pay-sheet for 1,200 tons amount to ? 2. Multiply J of 37 by f of 86. 3. If 4,568 tons cost; £851 19s. 4£d., what is that per ton in pence and decimals? 4. In driving a headway 6ft. by 6ft., 120 yds. long, the men are to be paid, at per cubic yard, 9s. 6d.: how much will the work cost ? Subject XIII.— A Knowledge of the Provisions of " The Coal-mines Act, 1891."

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List of Mining Managers, Battery-superintendents, and Engine-drivees who have obtained Ceetipicates undee the Mining and Coal-mines Acts of 1886, 1891, and 1894 As there have been several inquiries made as to the names of persons who 'hold certificates as THE MINING ACT. Fibst-class Sekvioe Cebtipicatbs. Issued under " The Mining Act, 1886," without Examination mmr mm=" mw 111 WSf~ Plis=t> n i -K-γ -n j-j-icivb, x. x>.j xnames. Pnrvm (T- T?noo III» SSSs Bu4;W H.Thames. HunK Cham's G 4J ™ ameS - HI IP » s Conraason M., Thames. Ker J "Thames JT& F -> Eeeffcon ' Corin W Thames T i? f." t, ■ Scofct ' T -> Waiorongomai. afeifSr- K&r**- S^^rS l * llf— SIS Ifep ,^ illfe s=«&- lii^Elliott, J., Maeetown. McKav T "Rno<j vivian, c. neetton. Evans, Skipper's. Hj,! S R eefton. S' £ SAsI k5 i^W'Glass, W. M., Naseby. Morgan, k, Otago. Kg, G.',' Super's. MnMM M«,-m a n a? ,«- Certificates, under " The Mining Act, 1886," and Black, G., Reefton. DonTdson w" m« Kru.zenza, W., Reefton. Caple S , P.' Q., Danedin. Sμ WD ' S^ tOn - Carter, J., Thames. GaXef WP E»L gan ' H m F " Wellin g fc °nCasley, G., Reefton. Hams Thames - Cochrane, D. L., Reefton. CgwtS OUat W W A G - D «°edin. Colebrook, J. D., Coromandel. Holn'e W CoroZadel W^ 0 "' h^ meS - Coombe, J, Reefton. wSS* 1 m,,M " if *^«««^ , « issued on Projection of Foreign Certificate, under « The Mining Act 1886" Argall, W. H., Coromandel. First-class Mine-manager's Mines ty virtue of his Office under Binns, G. J., Dunedin. a f Ttu S Mine - mana^rs ' Certificates, issued after Examination, under - The Mimng Act, 1891 " c, J wka T m ha Re e e S fto n. J KeT P ' B B s H Th c a m r m - dei - !SSS safev^ia±i Lahey, P., Reefton. Paul Matthew Ti? w 6rney ' R - Thame3 ' atSSTSS.. wXa e m?cfda T ptrn S : Se Co «d- C Z ass Minvmanag*', Certificates, issued after Examination, under " The Mining Act 1891 " Christie, William, Waitekauri. White, G. H. Thames.

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Second.olass Sebvice Cebtificates as Mine-managebs. Issued under " The Mining Act, 1891." \dams, W. J., Thames. Gemmings, Charles, Thames. Milne, John, Thames. Aenew J. A., Coromandel. Gribble, James, Norsewood. Moyle, Thomas, Thames. Allen Richard, Reefton. Guthrie, John, Wellington. Naysmith, James, Reefton. Areali A E Goromandel. Guy, Robert, Kuaotunu. Newdiok, Alfred, Thames. Bennett G H Goromandel. Harris, Richard, Thames. Notman, Alexander, Reefton. Beeley Thomas, Reefton. Harvey, William, Reefton. O'Keefe, M. W. D., Thames. Beard W T Reefton. Hardman, James Edward, Thames. Page, John, Lyell. Bone William, Reefton. Hicks, William, Thames. Parkiss, Jos. W., Reefton. Bowler John Thames. Hetherington, William, Thames. Potts, W. H., Thames. Blair Thomas, Kuaotunu. Hill, Alex. Grey, Waikakaho. Primrose, J., Kuaotunu. Bray Edwin, Reefton. Hore, John, Wellington. Pettigrew, Robert, Sydney. Brownlee, Thomas James, Thames. Hollis, Fred. J., Waihi. Peebles, Alexander, Kuaotunu. Brokenshire, James, Thames. Hornibrook, H. P., Kuaotunu. Pollock, John, Thames. Bolitho James Reefton. Jamieson, John, Reefton. Phillips, William Henry, Thames. Brown John, Macrae's. Johnstone, William, Collingwood. Rabe, Henry, Thames. Bremner John, Coromandel. Jobe, James, Thames. Reid, Thomas Groat, Thames. Borlase J H., Capleston. Johns, Thomas, Thames. Richard, John, Thames. Bunny 'Joseph, Thames. Kendall, Henry, Thames. Rickards, A. H., Kuaotunu. ByrneYJohn, Karangahake. Kerr, George, Kamo. Radford, Thomas Thames. Caird Alexander McNeil, Reefton. Kirker, Thomas, Thames. Rogers, Charles Henry, Reefton. Campbell, J., Kuaotunu. Laughlin, David, Thames. Rogers, William Henry, Kumara. Climo Noah, Coromandel. Law, John, Thames. Ross, J., Thames. Comer, George, Thames. Loughlin, S., Thames. Rowe, James, Thames. Cowan Hugh Kuaotunu. Lough, Henry, Thames. Shaw, James, Karangahake. Corbett T Paeroa. McLean, James, Thames. Sligo, Alex., Nenthorn. Comer W. W., Thames. McLean, Alex., Coromandel. Thomas, James, Thames. Crabb 'Thomas, Reefton. McLean, Charles, Thames. Thomas, A., Thames. Daniel P. P., Greymouth. McCormick, Charles, Coromandel. Thomson, John, Dunedm. Dobson John Allen, Kuaotunu. McQuillan, John, Reefton. Tregellas, James, Reefton. Edwards George Westport. McNeill, Daniel, Thames. Tregoweth, William, Thames. Ellery John Reefton. McNeill, George, Upper Kuaotunu. Wells, Charles Lewis, Thames. Flannigan, Francis, Reefton. McCombie, John, Karangahake. Willets, Henry, Thames. Foster Thomas, Wellington. McEwen, James, Reefton. Williams, James, Thames. Gale G W Coromandel. McLoghry, Archibald, Karangahake. Williams, John, Thames. Gill George, Thames. Mackay, William, Nenthorn. Whisker, Charles, Thames. Glasgow T. M., Thames. Martin, James, Reefton. White, John S., Karangahake. Goldswo'rth'y, Henry, Thames. Meagher, John, Karangahake. Wilson, James R. S., Kuaotunu. Govan, Joseph, Thames. Mills, George, Thames. Wilson, J. G., Thames. Griffin Patrick, Thames. Mayn, John, Coromandel. Woolcock, James, Ihames. Grimmond, Joseph, Ross. Martin, David, Black's Point. Worth, Robert, Waihi. Goldsworthy, William, Mauku, Auck- Morgan, William, Upper Thames. l ani j Moorecroft, Thomas, Thames. Engine-dbivbbs' Sebvice Cebtificates. Issued under " The Mining Act, 1891." Audley F Coromandel. FitzMaurice, Raymond, Reefton. Phillips, W. H., Thames. Battens, H., Coromandel. Grundy, T., Thames. Ryan, J. P., Coromandel. Biack C Reefton. Harrison, R. H., Kuaotunu. Roche, H., Thames. Black,' G.J ., Reefton. Hope, J. S., Waitekauri. Saunders, William, Reefton. Bridson Mat J Thames. Hufton, George, Reefton. Smith, R., Thames. Casley, J., Thames. Ivey, R., Thames. Skilton, A. G., Westport Clerkin F Reefton Latimer, Alfred, Dunedin. Sullivan, W., Coromandel. Crabb J Reefton. Lamberton, J., Reefton. Titley, A. W., Black's Point. Crofts' J'w Skipper's. Lawn, E., Reefton. Walding, J., sen., Coromandel. Cook w'., Thames. McLean, J., Reefton. Walding, J., jun., Coromandel. Craig D ' Thames. Milne, S., Coromandel. Warne, G., Thames. Davie's, T., Thames. Murphy, A. R., Queenstown. Wishart, R., Thames. Dunstan, J., Thames. Morton, C, Thames. Wood, A., Thames. Faithful, William, sen., Cromwell. Patterson, D., Reefton. Faithful, William, jun., Cromwell. Patten, A. C, Reefton. Engine-drivers' Certificates issued after Examination under " The Mining Act, 1891." Allen A Thames. Dunstan, 1., Waihi. Ross, M., Reefton. Auld ' James Reefton. EUiston, A. J., Reefton. Slowey, William, Reefton. Blackadder D , Reefton. Lawn, C. H., Capleston. Wilson, F. H., Thames. Daldy, E. A., Coromandel. McAuley, T., Reefton (for water). Wynn, M., jun., Reefton (for water), THE COAL-MINES ACT. First-class Mine-managebs , Cebtificates. Issued under the Coal-mines Acts, 1886 and 1891. Aitken T., Wendon. Irving, J., Kaitangata. Redshaw, W., Whangarei. Alexander, T., Brunnerton. Jemison, W., Waimangaroa. Reed, F., Westport. \ustin J Sheffield Kenyon, J., Shag Point. Richardson, D., Abbotsford. Bishop, J., Brunnerton. Kerr, G., Kamo. Shore, J., Kaitangata. Brown T Westport. Lindop, A. 8., Springaeld. Shore, T., Orepuki. Brown! T.',' Glentminel. Lindsay, W., Otago. Shore, W. M., Kaitangata. Cameron, J., Denniston. Lloyd, J., Invercargill. Smart, W., Chnstchurch. Campbell J C , Fairfield. Louden, J., Green Island. Smith, A. E., Nelson. Collins W , Taupiri. Love, A., Whangarei. Smith, T. F., Nelson. Dando,' M., Brunnerton. Mason, J., Nightcaps. Sneddon, J., Mosgiel. Elliott R Wallsend. May, J., Greymouth. Swinbanks, J., Kawakawa. Ferguson,' A., Whiteclifts. Moody, T. P., Kawakawa. Taylor, E. 8., Huntly Freeman J Green Island. Moore, W. J., Springfield. Thompson, A., Whitechffs. Gearv j' Kamo Nelson, J., Green Island. Walker, J., Collingwood. Grayf J ,"Abbotsford. Ord, J., Huntly. Williams, W. H., Shag Point. Harrison, J., Brunnerton.

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Certificates issued after Examination under the Coal-mines Acts, 1886 and 1891. First-class. First-class. Second-class. Armitage, P. W., Auckland. Hosking, G. P., Auckland. Barclay, T., Kaitangata. Gibson, John, Westport Jebson, D., Canterbury. Lindsay, J. 8., Orepuki. Green, E. E., Abbotsford. Milligan, N., Thames. Snow, T., Mercer. Green, J., Brunnerton. Newsome, P., Denniston. First-class Mine-managers' Certificates issued on Production of English Certificate, under " The Coal-mines Act, 1886." Binns, G. J., Dunedin. Cochrane, N. D., Dunedin. Macalister, J., Invercargill. Black, T. H., Waipori. Garrett, J. H., Auckland. Nimmo, J., Oaniaru. Broome, G. H., Ngakawau. Hayes, J., Kaitangata. Straw, M., Westport. Cater, T., Auckland. Hodgson, J .W., Ross. Tattley, W., Auckland. First-class Mine-managers' Certificates issued to Inspectors of Mines by virtue of Office under " The Mining Act 1886," and " The Coal-mines Act, 1886." Cochrane, N. D., Westport. Gow, J., Dunedin. Wilson, G., Thames. Gordon, H. A., Wellington. McLaren, J. M., Thames. MINE-MANAGEBS' SeBVICE CERTIFICATES (FOBEIGN). Issued under " The Coal-mines Act, 1886." Frame, Jcseph, Kaitangata. Lewis, W., Blackball. Scott, Joseph, Ngahere. Irvine, James, Dunedin. Pollock, James, Green Island, Otago. Tennent, R., Bruunerton. Jordan, R. S., Kaitangata. Proud, Joseph, Wanganui. Wright, E. S., Auckland. Second-class Mine-managebs' Sebvice Cebtificates. Issued under " The Coal-mines Act, 1891." Carson, M., Kaitangata. Lobb, Joseph, Mokau. Sara, James, Reefton. Collier, Levi, Kamo. Love, Alexander, Orepuki. Ross, John, Kawakawa. Clarke, Edward, Shag Point. Mclntosh, Allan, Shag Point. Smith, Charles, Whangarei. Elliot, Joseph, Coal Creek. Marshall, J., Ngakawau. Thomas, James, Springfield. Harris, John, Denniston. Murray, Thomas, Denniston. Wallace, William, Huntly. Herd, Joseph, Brunnerton. Nimmo, George Stewart, Ngapara. Willetts, John, Papakaio. Howie, James, Kaitangata. Radcliffe, William, Reefton. Willetts, John Morris, Papakaio. Leeming, William, Whitecliffs. Roberts, John, Brunnerton. Young, William, Waimangaroa. Engine-deivers' Ceetificates. Issued under " The Coal-mines Act, 1886." Bainbridge, William, Brunnerton. Henderson, J., Huntly. Sampson, J., Huntly. Beirn, William H., Kaitangata. Hetherington, R., Huntly. Saunders, J., Denniston. Clark, A., Kaitangata. Howie, William, Walton Park. Shore, Joseph, Kaitangata. Davidson, Robert, Walton Park. Kelly, Peter, Kaitangata. Skilton, F. G., Denniston. Elliott, R., Denniston. Leisham, G., Denniston. Skellern, R., Huntly. Eltringham, Stephen, Greymouth. Marriott, T., Huntly. Smith, J., Denniston. Poote, Thomas, Miranda. Mason, J., Springfield. Southall, James, Brunnerton. Gall, Adam, Huntly. Muir, T., Huntly. Thomas, William, Kamo. Gill, Robert, Shag Point. Moore, Luke Martin, Brunnerton. Troughhear, Robert, Dobson. Gillies, D., Walton Park. KcFarlane, Henry, Miranda. Turner, Henry, Kawakawa. Girven, Adam, Kawakawa. McGarry, James, Brunnerton. Vincent, James, Miranda. Grundy, Walter, Kamo. McGregor, Duncan, Stirling. Wearn, Alfred, Boatman's. Gibson, J., Denniston. Mclntosh, Donald, Allandale. Wearn, James, Wallsend. Gray, G. A., Kaitangata. Me.Vie, John, Walton Park. Williams, Llewellyn, Kawakawa. Harrison, C. P. R., Huntly. O'Neil, J., Denniston. Woods, William, Kawakawa. Hazeldene, T., Denniston. Porter, H. R., Huntly. Williams, F. A., Shag Point. Hartley, H., Huntly. Ryan, T., Huntly. Second-class Mine-manager's Certificate issued after Examination under " The Coal-mines Act, 1891." Dixon, W., jun., Kaitangata. Engine-dbivebs' Service Cebtificates. Issued under " The Coal-mines Act, 1891." Archibald, W., Kaitangata. Greening, Luke, Springfield. Prentice, J., Shag Point. Barlow, William John, Shag Point. Johnstone, R. N., Kaitangata. Jiixon, William E., Shag Point. Boag, John, Shag Point. McVie, Gavin, Kaitangata. Todd, William, Dunedin. Forrestor, Robert, Kaitangata. Milburn, Edward, Westport. Webb, Peter Oliver, Nightcaps. Girvan, R., Kawakawa. Park, John A., Huntly. Engine-drivers' Certificates issued after Examination under " The Coal-mines Act, 1891." Cook, S.,Fairfield. Marshall, D., Kaitangata. Shearer, W., Huntly. Johnston, W. P., Kaitangata. Napier, A. T., Kaitangata. Battery-supeeintendents' Certificates. Issued under " The Mining Act 1891 Amendment Act, 1894," without undergoing examination. Adams, H. H., Waihi. Hope, John S., Waitekauri. Noble, James R., Karangahake. Banks, Edwin Gripper, Waihi. Hutchison, William, Karangahake. Park, James, Thames. Barry, Herbert Percy, Waihi. Margetts, Frederick Ernest, Kuao- Shepherd. Henry Franklin, Waihi. Goldsworthy, Henry, Kuaotunu. tunu. Walker, James A., Kuaotunu. Goldsworthy, John, Kuaotunu. Merlett, Richard Sheridan, Waite- Wilson, Arthur E. Waihi. Greenway, H. Howard, Auckland. kauri. Wilson, James Kitchener, Auckland Heard, G. St. Clair, Waihi. Napier, James, Karangahake. Battery-superintendent's Certificates issued after Examination under " The Mining Act 1891 Amendment Act, 1894." Allen, F. 8., Thames. Robinson, J. R., Waitekauri. Taylor, C. H., Tararu. Ansley, Comyn, Paeroa. 35—C. 3.

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SUMMABY OF WORKS CONSTRUCTED. The following statement shows the whole of the different classes of works constructed by the department, either by direct grants or by subsidies te local bodies, during the last fourteen years (the votes for this purpose having been under the control of the Hon. the Minister of Mines), for the purpose of opening up the mineral belts throughout the colony, and also for the development of the mining industry : —

Nature of Works. Total Cost of Construction, or Amount authorised to be expended. Expenditure, by way of Subsidy or otherwise, by Mines Department. Amount of Liability by Mines Department on Works in Progress. Up to Years 1882-83 and 1883-84. Water-races Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations, subsidised by Mines Department Construction of drainage- and sludge-channels, subsidised by Mines Department £ a. d. 29,252 1 11 21,437 11 2 £ a. d. 14,853 9 5 13,089 16 0 £ s. d. 14,398 11 6 8,347 15 2 52,841 17 0 21,844 16 7 10,207 15 9 13,216 13 4 3,350 0 0 3,400 0 0 5,750 0 0 2,468 15 4 781 4 8 1884-85. 122,498 3 5 55,606 17 4 37,135 7 1 Water-races Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Roads to mines, other than gold, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations, subsidised by Mines Department Construction of drainage- and sludge-channels, subsidised by Mines Department Diamond and other drills 4,846 1 9 13,667 10 1 14,596 2 9 9,630 9 6 4,648 11 6 12,384 15 9 13,566 14 1 6,293 16 6 12,739 17 6 4,594 10 0 111 19 0 2,888 1 0 850 0 0 108 0 0 3,692 0 0 4,050 0 0 3,600 0 0 1,050 0 0 1,858 0 0 1,931 4 8 1885-86. 45,174 15 11 33,648 7 0 38,284 10 5 Water-races Roads on goldfields Roads undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Roads to mines, other than gold, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations, subsidised by Mines Department Construction of drainage- and sludge-channels, subsidised by Mines Department Schools of Mines .. .. 3,660 4 9 27,543 18 8 6,063 2 3 12,360 14 9 6,964 4 4 27,567 19 8 14,773 2 3 13,043 15 9 12,477 9 2 1,551 19 10 4,827 0 10 490 12 8 11,860 18 0 1,999 5 7 6,389 5 9 10,051 14 9 2,160 9 7 3,994 16 6 1,260 9 7 6,995 9 9 900 0 0 71,602 7 10 43,049 5 3 61,785 1 4 1886-87. Water-races Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Roads to mines, other than gold, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Construction of drainage- and sludge-channels, subsidised by Mines Department Diamond and other drills Schools of Mines 12,453 3 5 1,928 14 4 22,229 16 1 3,466 0 8 17,791 7 0 12,613 4 8 7,415 19 6 10,455 1 5 306 1 0 110 13 1 15,671 19 6 4,521 7 3 4,618 4 7 5,549 14 6 422 15 6 3,183 7 1 6,207 18 0 422 15 6 3,383 7 1 672 6 10 700 0 0 1887-88. 49,894 4 8 46,415 18 9 37,813 13 7 Water-races Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Roads to mines, other than gold, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Construction of drainage- and sludge-channels, subsidised by Mines Department Schools of Mines Aids to treatment of ores 0 6 6 6,860 4 3 2,998 15 0 6 6 6 17,281 11 3 8,012 5 2 14 5 i 7,370 0 0 3,942 4 2 6,456 8 0 2,703 19 3 924 8 0 1,859' 3 7 1,200 0 0 1,110 4 11 2,221 19 4 390 18 3 2,054 10 6 337 4 3 209 1 9 19,380 17 4 31,741 10 0 14,837 8 8

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SUMMARY OF WORKS CONSTRUCTED— continued.

Nature of Works. Total Cost of Construction, or Amount authorised to be expended. Expenditure, by way of Subsidy or otherwise, by Mines Department. Amount of Liability by Mines Department on Works in Progress. 1888-89. Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Construction of drainage- and sludge-channels, subsidised by Mines Department Wharves, contributions by Mines Department Aids to treatment of ores, subsidised Schools of Mines £ b. d. 10,253 5 3 £ a. d. 4,304 3 9 £ s. d. 13,218 11 6 7,318 1 0 2,466 16 8 5,195 6 1 474 0 0 236 0 0 687 8 0 589 19 5 54 10 6 96 6 0 209 1 9 1,188 6 10 343 13 5 895 16 10 44 14 •", 1889-90. 19,531 2 6 8,555 5 6 19,489 13 3 Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department.. Works undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Water-races Wharves Schools of Minos .. .. ' .. Aids to treatment of ores Tracks to open up mineral lands Diamond drills 3,834 9 7 8,507 15 8 2,200 0 0 9,148 5 9 3,451 17 11 719 0 0 150 0 0 1,034 0 11 142 8 9 207 3 6 425 14 5 8,005 5 4 5,928 1 3 663 0 0 681 0 0 193 13 5 50 14 0 1,040 0 8 142 8 9 1,000 0 0 425 14 5 792'16 6 1890-91. 17,150 9 1 15,278 11 3 16,314 10 6 Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Water-races Wharves Schools of Mines Tracks to open up mineral lands 8,811 14 4 2,703 5 0 5,542 19 8 10,815 14 8 2,252 5 5 6,234 4 6 39 9 9 3,898 4 0 78 4 7 5,201 5 0 5,027 3 4 663 0 0 3,847 10 0 419 19 5 20,905 9 0 23,319 2 11 11,311 12 9 1891-92. Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Work undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Water-races Wharves Schools of Mines Tracks to open up mineral lands 14,226 5 1 3,162 0 0 1,455 5 5 2,256 13 6 8,460 0 3 1,720 18 6 336 15 9 2,256 18 6 11,707 9 10 4,937 10 2 1,663 0 0 1,370 19 9 40 0 0 1,370 19 9 41 16 0 418' 3 7 1892-93. 22,511 8 9 14,187 3 9 18,786 3 7 Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Water-races Wharves Schools of Mines Tracks to open up mineral lands Artesian-well boring, Maniototo Plains 15,199 2 4 550 0 0 970 4 9 3,811 1 10 17,325 10 0 1,033 0 0 865 4 3 3,811 1 10 9,628 6 10 4,831 9 10 1,768 0 6 1,232 4 4 1,232* 4 4 419'19 5 268 16 6 550' 0 0 281 8 6 1893-94. 22,312 13 3 24,548 3 11 16,916 3 1 Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Water-races Drainage-channels Wharves Schools of Mines Tracks to open up mineral lands Repairing flood damages Artesian-well boring, Maniototo Plains 18,418 19 2 5,038 11 6 2,245 19 4 5,271 17 1 15,056 0 11 2,718 17 8 1,709 18 5 5,271 17 1 13,013 18 5 5,576 10 7 1,027 7 11 900 0 0 1,000 0 0 1,555 19 9 1,55519 9 500 0 0 800 0 0 50o' 0 0 518 16 6 33,831 6 10 27,331 10 4 21,517 16 11

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SUMMARY OF WORKS CONSTRUCTED— continued.

It will be seen from the foregoing statement that works to the value of £35,782 Is. sd. were authorised during the past year, as against £40,228 15s. 3d. for the previous year, whilst the expenditure during the period referred to was £31,921 18s. 5d., as against £24,440 19s. lid. for the year previous, leaving the liabilities on works authorised and in progress on the 31st March last to be £33,642 12s. sd. The actual cost of works undertaken, completed, and in progress during the last fourteen years that votes for this purpose have been under the direct control of the Mines Department for the development of the goldfields has been £539,935 18s. Bd., out of which the Government has expended £380,041 19s. 9d. in subsidies to local bodies and direct grants for the construction of the different works, whilst £159,893 18s. lid. has been contributed by local bodies and prospecting associations. The past year has been an eventful one for the gold-mining industry; inasmuch that the returns from the Coromandel and Waihi Mines have attracted the attention of capitalists, and led to the investment of money in opening up and developing the gold-mines in the colony. The mining industry has been in a depressed state for some years past, owing to the amount of local capital available being totally inadequate to carry on prospecting works on anything like a large scale, the mining operations being confined to existing mines, and even in these the workings in many instances were not carried on in a systematical and economical manner. Many of the shareholders could not pay their calls when due, and the result was that undeveloped mining properties could not give sufficient returns to meet the current expenditure, or, if they did so, the ground was opened up in such a manner that the best of the gold-bearing portions were taken out in order to get as much paid in dividends as possible, while very little provision was made for carrying on prospecting works in the undeveloped portions of the mine. The inflow of capital in mining ventures will have the effect of the whole of the goldfields being prospected on a larger scale than hitherto done, and, although many of the claims that are now taken up and placed on the market for the purpose of floating companies to work them may

Nature of Works. -Total Cost of Construction, or Amount authorised to be expended. Expenditure, by way of Subsidy or otherwise, by Mines Department. Amount of Liability by Mines Department on Works in Progress. 1894-95. Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Water-races Drainage-channels Wharves School of Mines .. .. ... Tracks to open up mineral lands Repairing flood damages Artesian-well boring, Maniototo Plains Diamond-drills £ a. d. 20,908 13 7 £ a. d. 15,160 3 5 £ s. d. 18,752 10 7 685 18 4 2,295 9 2 1,934 5 7 10,805 15 4 4,801 19 7 1,521 0 0 2,378 13 2 2,427 10 11 673 14 10 3,006 13 0 2,151 18 8 3,647 5 2 999' 8 6 999 8 6 505 19 11 505 19 11 40,228 15 3 24,440 19 11 29,492 13 0 1895-96. Roads on goldfields Roads and tracks undertaken by County Councils, subsidised by Mines Department Works undertaken by prospecting associations and companies, subsidised by Mines Department Water-races Drainage-channels Wharves Schools of Mines Tracks to open up mineral lands Repairing flood damages Artesian-well boring, Maniototo Plains Diamond drills 14,554 0 7 19,970 6 6 14,086 4 8 4,614 11 1 1,607 8 6 4,290 16 11 3,477 7 0 6,820 18 3 5,100 0 0 1,726 4 8 5,162 9 2 2,240 5 1 10,093 3 0 2,515 7 9 2,657 0 1 999 3 0 999* 3 0 216 1 6 216* 1 6 35,782 1 5 31,'."21 18 5 33,642 12 5 Summary. Roads on goldfields Subsidised roads and tracks Subsidised roads and tracks other than on goldfields Prospecting Water-races Wharves Schools of Mines Drainage-channels Diamond-drills Treatment of ores Tracks to open up mineral lands Artesian-well boring, Maniototo Plains Repairing flood damages 188,168 17 6 129,373 15 7 6,146 9 10 91,035 14 8 68,470 4 10 435 15 9 19,144 3 1 28,022 9 3 5,170 11 4 1,342 8 9 325 8 1 800 0 0 500 0 0 174,832 12 10 74,157 7 4 4,759 6 2 19,936 9 0 63,330 12 3 285 15 9 19,144 3 1 17,799 5 2 3,428 11 4 742 8 9 325 8 1 800 0 0 500 0 0 14,086 4 8 4,290 16 11 10,093 3 0 2,515 7 9 2,657* 0 1 539,935 18 8 380,041 19 9 33,642 12 5

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prove valueless, there is no doubt that a certain proportion of them will be found to be good properties when properly developed. Mining in this colony is only in its infancy in regard to quartzworkings—the surface of the ground has been merely'scratched—the want of capital and experience in the method of treating the auriferous and argentiferous ores in an intelligent manner, as well as the crude method in many places of working the auriferous drifts, has greatly retarded the development of the goldfields. It is only now beginning to dawn on men having charge of reduction works for the treatment of gold- and silver-ores that they have not been recovering anything like a fair percentage of the gold and silver —indeed, to take the whole of the auriferous ores treated in the colony up to the end of last year, it may be safely stated that not more than 50 per cent, of the assay-value of the ore has been recovered, and it is even questionable if so high a percentage has been got. The introduction of cyanide solutions in treating auriferous ores has quite revolutionised the system of extracting the gold and silver from the pulverised ores in the North Island, and improvements are continually being made in the method of using the cyanide solution. So far as using the cyanide process on the West Coast is concerned, it proved a failure; but the only experiment that was made was on antimonial ore, which is not suitable for treatment with strong cyanide solutions. Sulphide of antimony has about the same effect on cyanide as sulphide of copper. With regard to the treatment of this class of auriferous ore, Mr. Pielsticker (the gentleman who was defendant in the test case in regard to McArthur-Forrest having the sole right of the patent to use cyanide in any form for the treatment of ores) states that the company he is now representing is using as low as 0-03 per cent, solution of cyanide of potassium, or ten times as weak a solution as the Cassel Company, and deposits the gold by the Siemen's-llalske process. The effect of the weak solution, Mr. Pielsticker states, is that sulphides of copper and antimony do not interfere to any appreciable extent with the extraction of gold and silver by the cyanide process. If this is thoroughly proved, there are bodies of refractory ore in the North Island which can be worked at a handsome profit. In concluding my remarks on the mining industry, I would place on record my opinion that there is a great future for the colony; it is teeming with mineral wealth; but the want of capital up to the present time has prevented the development of mining to any extent. The discovery of gold in the Kapanga shaft at Coromandel, after sinking through about 500 ft. of barren ground, will give an impetus to other companies to test the deep levels. The rich stone found in the Hauraki Mine also shows that our quartz lodes are second to none yet discovered in any part of the world. Blocks of specimen stone are obtained in this mine that will yield at least 4oz. of gold to every lib. of stone. The whole of the quartz-mines will be worked in a far more extensive scale in the future, and the returns will necessarily be largely increased. The increased value of the produce of the gold-mines last year —namely, £306,536 —shows that a considerable improvement has taken place, and comparatively small developments have yet .been made. Most of the foreign capital forthcoming for mining ventures during the past year has been expended on merely preliminary works. It is extremely gratifying to me to see the progress made in mining in this colony and the capital that is forthcoming to develop its mineral resources. Having been connected with the Mines Department since its formation and intimately associated with all its officers, I cannot sever my connection with the department without expressing my gratitude to the different Ministers of the Crown under whom I served, for their kindness and urbanity to me on all occasions, and also to the Under-Secretary and other officers for the valuable assistance they have rendered me at all times; and, although lam leaving the public service with a view of bettering my own position, I still hope that I may be of some benefit to the colony in assisting in the development of the great mineral resources to which I have referred. I have, &c, Henky A. Gordon, M.A.Inst.M.E., Inspecting Engineer.

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List of Works on Goldfields undertaken wholly by the Mines Department, or by Subsidies to County Councils, Local Bodies, and Prospecting Associations, in Progress on the 31st March, 1896.

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost, or Amount authorised. Amount of Amount due by Contribution paid ; Mines Department by Mines on Works Department. ! still in Progress. NORTH ISLAND. Roads (subsidised). Bay of Islands County. Road from Taumarere Railway-station to Puhipuhi Township New Bay of Islands Coal Company £ s. d. 482 0 0 £ s. d. 146 0 0 £ s. d. 95 0 0 500 0 0 250 0 0 982 0 0 146 0 0 345 0 0 Coromandel County. Pumpkin Flat-Just in Time Road Lower road from Great Mercury Battery to Kapai low-level and new battery-site Road from Main Road, Kapanga, to Success Mine, on top of range 310 0 0 450 0 0 160 0 0 200 0 0 10 0 0 100 0 0 600 0 0 150 0 0 150 0 0 1,360 0 0 510 0 0 260 0 0 Thames County. Hapi Creek Road Karaka Creek Road Te Papa Gully Road 150 0 0 150 0 0 100 0 0 75 0 0 75 0 0 50 0 0 Thames Borough. Low-level Tunnel, Jubilee Mine, Waitekauri 400 0 0_ 200 0 0 1,500 0 0 750 0 0 Ohinemuri County. Lower Waitekauri Road Drain along Mill Road, Paeroa Komata Creek Road 347 13 4 46 0 0 600 0 0 28 16 8 209 12 3 23 0 0 300 0 0 Tauranga County. .Katikati, Waihi Road 993 13 4 28 16 8 532 12 3 300 0 0 150 0 0 MIDDLE ISLAND. Roads (subsidised). Waimea County. Baton to Karamea Repairs, Wangapeka' Track 100 0 0 100 0 0 50 0 0 50 0 0 Marlborough County. Pelorus Road Board. Deep Creek to Dome Creek and Long Valley, Kaituna 200 0 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 75 0 0 Buller County. Track, Fairdown from North Terrace 150 0 0 97 8 0 2 12 0 Grey County. Marsden-Dunganville Road 100 0 0 50 0 0 Westland County. Widening Seddon's Terrace Track .. 150 0 0 65 10 0 9 10 0 Tuapeka County. Metalling road between Lawrence and Waipori.. Bridge over Clutha River, at Miller's Flat 550 0 0 2,000 0 0 150 0 0 200 0 0 1,000 0 0 2,550 0 0 150 0 0 1,200 0 0 Vincent County. Renewal bridge to Bannockburn 1,200 0 0 600 0 0 Southland County. Repairing bridges, Waikaia Bush Repairing road, Athol to Nokomai 38 13 4 20 0 0 13 4 0 6 2 8 10 0 0 58 13 4 13 4 0 16 2 8

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List of Works on Goldfields, &c.— continued.

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost, or Amount authorised. Amount of Amount due by Contribution paid Mines Department by Mines on Works Department. still in Progress. Works constructed wholly by Mines Department. Culverts in Tiki Road Tapu Creek extension Bridge over Slate River Track into right-hand branch of Cullen's Creek.. Big River Road Track from Brown's Terrace to Arnold River Road, Gannon's to Painkiller Deviation, Pleasant Creek Track Wakamarina Forks to Wairau Valley Thompson's Track Paeroa to Waitoa Hikutaia-Waihi Road Junction of Waihi Road to New Find, Waitekauri Thames to Hikutaia Upper Waiotahi Road Thames to Waikawau Hampden to Horse Terrace Approaches, Matakitaki Bridge Soldier's Creek Road Murray's Creek to Painkiller Bridge over Karamea River Great South Road Deviation, Larrikins Road Road from Lyell's Bridge to Ryan's Bridge and approaches, Skipper's Point Arrowtown to Macetown Road to Barrytown Tracks, Stewart Island Garston to Nevis Blagrove Road Waitaia Battery Road Preece Point Road Coromandel to Kuaotunu West Tokatea Road Tokatea, Kennedy Bay Hooker's to Mercury Bay Opeto Road Main Cabbage Bay Road Road to W. R. Kelly Claim, Gentle Annie Creek, Mata Puriri to Tairua Kauaeranga Valley Road.. Waiomo to Monowai Puriri to mines Waitahi Village Settlement Clearing Karaka Creek from flood-damages Whangamata Road .. .. Netherton Road Waitekauri to New Find Paeroa Mill Road ' Owharoa to Waitawheta Deviation Road, Earl's Hill Waihi to Katikati Bartlett Creek Track Prospecting Track, Lyell to Larry's Track up Collery Branch, Waiho River Gordon's Settlement to Waharoa .. .. ... Road, Turua .. Upper Tararu Road Maratoto to mines .. .. Wharepoa Settlement Road Deep Creek to Dome Creek and Long Valley Wairau Road Board, road through Mr. Adams's property .. Track to Adamstown Road to diggings, Cape Foulwind Converting Wilson's Lead Track, Addison's, into a dray-road Crow Diggings Track, Waikupakupa, Ocean Beach, to main road Track, Totara River to Constitution Hill Wire Bridge, Waiho River Ngahere to Blackball Ahaura Bridge Waipori-Berwick Gorge Road Pine-tree Road, near Kanieri Tracks to Western Sounds £ s. d. 100 0 0 446 1 11 50 0 0 25 0 0 4,005 0 0 200 0 0 250 0 0 130 0 0 250 0 0 2,500 0 0 205 13 4 1,315 0 0 128 8 0 600 0 0 392 10 0 1,100 11 7 3,484 0 0 280 0 0 200 0 0 200 0 0 1,511 18 0 8,854 9 7 1,494 16 5 100 0 0 1,500 0 0 600 0 0 300 0 0 200 0 0 150 0 0 400 0 0 150 0 0 150 0 0 100 0 0 50 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 •50 0 0 100 0 0 233 0 0 226 10 0 31 6 0 100 0 0 12 1 6 50 0 0 75 0 0 75 0 0 250 0 0 50 0 0 50 0 0 200 0 0 75 0 0 150 0 0 100 0 0 70 0 0 357 10 0 100 0 0 170 9 9 169 13 9 379 7 5 100 0 0 100 0 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 400 0 0 597 1 5 100 0 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 600 0 0 500 0 0 500 0 0 44 0 0 8,807 17 11 £ s. d. 50 0 0 386 1 11 30 0 0 3,37019 1 100 0 0 196 10 6 1,884 17 3 56 0 0 815 0 0 86 8 0 400 0 0 292 10 0 850 11 7 3,450 18 6 218 15 0 198 5 0 178 4 0 1,487 11 7 7,946 10 3 1,375 4 2 400 0 0 275 0 0 130 8 0 200 0 0 70 9 9 133 19 3 200 0 0 200* 0 0 229 0 2 40* 0 0 200* 0 0 7,307 17 11 £ s. d. 50 0 0 60 0 0 20 0 0 25 0 0 634 0 11 100 0 0 53 9 6 130 0 0 250 0 0 615 2 9 149 13 4 500 0 0 42 0 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 250 0 0 33 1 6 61 5 0 1 15 0 21 16 0 24 6 5 907 19 4 119 12 3 100 0 0 1,500 0 0 200 0 0 25 0 0 69 12 0 150 0 0 200 0 0 150 0 0 150 0 0 100 0 0 50 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 50 0 0 100 0 0 233 0 0 226 10 0 81 6 0 100 0 0 12 1 6 50 0 0 75 0 0 75 0 0 250 0 0 50 0 0 50 0 0 200 0 0 75 0 0 150 0 0 100 0 0 70 0 0 357 10 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 35 14 6 179 7 5 100 0 0 100 0 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 200 0 0 118 1 3 100 0 0 60 0 0 150 0 0 600 0 0 300 0 0 500 0 0 44 0 0 1,500 0 0 46,097 6 7 32,761 1 11 14,086 4 8

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266

List of Works on Goldfields, &c.— continued.

Locality and Nature of Works. m . , <-ir>et Amount of Amount due by ' ' Contribution paid Mines Departmem Amount authorised. sti.f'in^ss. Schools of Mines. Schools of Mines Schools of Mines (Otago University) £ s. d. 13,894 3 1 5,250 0 0 £ s. d. 13,894 3 1 5,250 0 0 £ a. d. Prospecting Subsidies. Kapanga Gold-mining Company (Limited) Puhipuhi Prospecting Association .. .. Longwood Sluicing Company, Riverton .. Thames County, Sheridan's Company Cinnabar Mining Company, Auckland (£1 for £1 10s.) Ohinemuri County .. .. .. James Shaw and party .. .. .. Prospeoting Association, Coromandel H. H. Adams, Waiorongomai Mr. Olderog, Arahura Charles Porter, Ross Kumara Miners' Association (Scatterini and Anderson) Westland County Drainage-tunnel, Dunedin Flat (£1 for £1) Totara Miners' Association (J. Smith and party) Kumara Miners' Association .. • Prospecting Association, Mokihinui Frying-pan Tail-race Extension, Low-level Tunnel, Boatman's Prospecting-tunnel, south side Inangahua River Kumara Miners' Association (Henley and party) Kumara Miners' Association (M. Manton) Mokihinui Prospecting Association (French and others) Westport Prospecting Association J. Staines, Kanieri Mining Association, Kumara (John Kane) Joseph Dyer and party, Kuaotunu Gillam's Gully Prospecting Association (Bramhall and party) Te Aroha Town Board Miners' Association, Charleston Invercargill Prospecting Association.. Miners' Association, Kuaotunu Thames County (R. Kelly and party) Miners' Association, Riverton New Eldorado Sluicing Company, Limited, Fat Boys, Criffel Totara Miners' Association, Ross (Coffey and party) T. and J. Wallis, Thames.. Totara Miners' Association (Waylen and party) Kennedy-Waikaia Association, Invercargill .. Inangahua District Miners' Prospecting Association Gold-mining Association, Palmerston North .. Collingwood Prospecting Association .. .. I Tapanui Prospecting Association Thomas Begg, Dunedin (Hindon Mines) Upper Moutere Road Board Lowburn Miners' Association (Scoles and party) Buller County (H. Mohan and party) Miners' Association, Greenstone (O'Donnell and party, and J. Pope) Coromandel County (Meikle and Moriarty) Kumara Miners' Association (Rogers and Block) Buller County Council (J. Gardiner and Alex. McKay) .. South British Prospecting Association, Lyell .. Mining Association, Fairlie Otago Miners' Association .. .. Miners' Association, Greenstone (Crawford and party) .. j Driving Tunnel, Canada Reefs .. .. A. D. Bayfield, Westport Tinkers Miners' Association, Matakanui Kanieri Prospecting Association Antonio Negri and party, Seddonville Tauranga County Borell Association Prospecting Tunnel, Boatman's District Adit Level, Maungatawhiri Creek Tunnel between Chatterbox and Patten's Creeks Tauranga County : Te Puke Prospecting Association James Bowlker, Christchurch, Prospecting, Harorata District Havelock Miners' Association .. Queen of Beauty Company, Prospecting Deep Levels 19,144 3 1 20,600 0 0 200 0 0 300 0 0 180 10 0 500 0 0 200 0 0 29 5 0 200 0 0 250 0 0 54 18 0 226 0 0 124 0 0 1,862 13 0 1,800 0 0 135 0 0 40 0 0 40 0 0 600 0 0 300 0 0 60 0 0 58 14" 0 57 10 0 58 10 0 432 6 0 96 0 0 9 0 0 120 0 0 60 0 0 100 0 0 110 0 0 150 0 0 40 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 300 0 0 100 0 0 97 10 0 50 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 200 0 0 40 0 0 50 0 0 40 0 0 75 0 0 220 0 0 75 0 0 100 0 0 75 0 0 56 0 0 135 0 0 40 0 0 600 0 0 92 10 0 187 10 0 26 0 0 60 0 0 50 0 0 39 0 0 52 0 0 302 10 0 120 0 0 75 0 0 50 0 0 42 0 0 39 0 0 25,000 0 0 19,144 3 1 19,144 3 1 1,231 17 0 13 15 0 63 6 0 30 5 0 108 11 2 6 0 0 368 3 0 86 5 0 86 14 0 60 0 0 91 8 10 94 0 0 14 12 6 34 10 0 76 16 3 11 5 0 7 10 0 55 6 6 65 10 0 48 3 9 16 4 0 105 10 0 6 13 6 754 7 8 674 5 6 61 7 6 15 0 0 161 11 3 137 7 11 25 0 0 2 8 0 3 18 9 11 5 0 197 9 8 4 10 0 12 6 25 16 0 12 3 0 32 5 0 11 18 6 68 13 6 13 2 6 225 14 6 6 5 0 20 0 0 5 0 0 138 8 9 12 12 1 5 0 0 26 19 0 24 16 3 18 0 0 18 13 4 43 10 0 3 7 6 34 4 0 17 17 0 17 15 0 43 1 6 6 6 6 6 17 6 50 0 0 42 0 0 150 0 0 50 0 0 12 15 10 8 7 0 41 0 0 24 2 6 50 0 0 100 0 0 20 0 0 25 0 0 18 4 0 37 10 0 52 12 0 7 5 9 8 0 0 35 19 2 16 13 0 9 0 0 25 17 6 116 0 57* 8 0 30 4 3 7 10 0 15 0 0 6 15 0 282 1 10 14 1 3 3 0 0 50 0 0 30 0 0 14 0 0 60 15 0 20 0 0 17 18 2 46 5 0 79 13 9 13 0 0 27 0 0 25 0 0 19 10 0 26 0 0 151 '5 0 60 0 0 37 10 0 25 0 0 21 0 0 19 10 0 7,000 0 0 10,093 3 0 57,883 6 0 4,422 13 8

267

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List of Works on Goldfields, &c. — continued.

Summary of Works.

List of Works on Goldfields constructed wholly by the Mines Department, or by Subsidies to County Councils, Local Bodies, and Prospecting Associations, and completed prior to the 31st March, 1896.

36—C. 3.

Locality and Nature of Works. - Total Cost, „ Amount of or ! Contribution paid Amount authorised. D ™ ent . Amount due by Mines Department on Works still in Progress. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. Water-races. Waimea-Kumara Water-race Mount Ida Water-race Improving Water-supply, Oamaru Gentle Annie Creek, Mata, R. Kelly Sulky Gully (Wills and party) Finlay McLiver Roaring Meg, Jones, Baxter and party Argyle Water-race 28,238 17 9 8,287 14 8 1,250 0 0 200 0 0 300 0 0 400 0 0 1,600 0 0 400 0 0 27,122 12 6 8,287 14 8 1,150 7 2 40 0 0 76 5 0 34 5 4 1,116 5 3 99 12 10 60 0 0 73 15 0 165 14 8 800 0 0 200 0 0 Drainage and Tailings Channels. Kumara Sludge-channel No. 5 Rimu Drainage-channel Trustees' Main Tail-race, Waimea 40,676 12 5 3,000 0 0 500 0 0 1,600 0 0 36,711 4 8 1,319 4 11 0 12 6 273 2 6 1,680 15 1 249 7 6 726 17 6 2,515 7 9 5,100 0 0 1,592 19 11 2,657 0 1

Roads (subsidised) — Bay of Islands County Coromandel County Thames County Thames Borough Ohinemuri County Tauranga County Waimea County Marlborough County (Pelorus Road Board) Buller County Grey County .. .. * Westland County Tuapeka County Southland County Vincent £ s. d. 982 0 0 1,360 0 0 400 0 0 1,500 0 0 993 13 4 300 0 0 200 0 0 150 0 0 150 0 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 2,550 0 0 58 13 4 1,200 0 0 £ s. d. 146 0 0 510 0 0 2816 8 97 8 0 £ s. d. 345 0 0 260 0 0 200 0 0 750 0 0 532 12 3 150 0 0 100 0 0 75 0 0 2 12 0 50 0 0 9 10 0 1,200 0 0 16 2 8 600 0 0 65 10 0 150 0 0 18 4 0 Works constructed wholly by Mines Department Schools of Mines Prospecting subsidies Water-races Drainage and tailings channels .. 10,094 6 8 1,010 18 8 4,290 16 11 46,097 6 7 19,144 3 1 57,883 6 0 40,676 12 5 5,100 0 0 32,761 1 11 19,144 3 1 4,422 13 8 36,711 4 8 1,592 19 11 14,086 4 8 10,093 3 0 2,515 7 9 2,657 0 1 Total 178,995 14 9 95,643 1 11 33,642 12 5

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contribution paid by Mines Department. NORTH ISLAND. Roads (subsidised). Bay of Islands County. Tiriwhanga Gorge to Galbraith's Road, Puhipuhi Air-line Road to battery-site, Puhipuhi Tiriwhanga Gorge to Puhipuhi £ s. d. 237 0 0 73 0 0 800 0 0 £ s. d. 118 10 0 36 10 0 800 0 0 1,110 0 0 955 0 0 Coromandel County. Improving road to Iona and Just in Time Companies' mines Making and improving track from Tokatea towards Kennedy Bay Golden Belt Track Tokatea Road (repairs) Making and improving track from Golden Belt to Tiki Making road from Ring's Bridge to Kapanga Mine Making road to Kapanga Mine Temporary track from Tokatea Saddle to Waikoromiko 200 0 0 320 0 0 100 0 0 300 0 0 239 3 3 150 0 0 132 0 0 50 0 0 133 6 8 213 6 8 50 0 0 150 0 0 159 8 10 100 0 0 88 0 0 33 0 8

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List of Works on Goldfields, &c.— continued.

268

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contribution paid by Mines Department. Coromandel County —continued. Continuation of track from Success Company's mine to top of main range Completion of road from Tokatea Saddle to Tokatea Battery Widening road from Matawai to Vaughan's claim Improving track, Mercury Bay to Waitai Continuation and improving Waikoromiko Track Emily Battery to Rocky Creek Track, Bismarck Battery to Kennedy Bay Road up Manaia Extension of Vaughan's and Vizard's Tracks .', Vizard's towards Marebel Extending and widening Waitaia Road Makarau to Waiau Waikawau. to Tiki Paul's Creek to Cabbage Bay Waikawau Creek Track McLaughlin's Road Manaia to McGregor's new find Manaia to Tiki Old sawmill towards Matawai Extension of Paul's Creek Track Matarangi Track Thames-Coromandel Road, via Manaia Harbour View extension Kapanga to Paul's Creek .. .. .. Mercury Bay to Kuaotunu Wainara to Kuaotunu Sea-beach to Kuaotunu .. .. • ■ ■ ■ Just in Time Road, extension to Coromandel Road, Waikawau Bridge to McLaughlin's Mercury Bay Road Bridge to Dugend's store, and widening and metalling road from bridge to Log Hut.. Road from junction of Red Mercury battery up Pumpkin Flat to Waitaia To connect road from Log Hut to commencement of contract of Kuaotunu-Meijjury Bay Road Road, with culverts and bridge, from Kapanga Hill to Scotty's Gold-mining Company's mine £ s. d. 80 0 0 50 0 0 357 0 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 60 0 0 200 0 0 675 10 6 150 0 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 1,600 0 0 500 0 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 500 0 0 200 0 0 300 0 0 400 0 0 300 0 0 210 0 0 200 0 0 360 0 0 450 0 0 1,650 0 0 450 0 0 67 10 0 990 0 o 450 0 0 345 0 0 150 0 0 £ a. d. 53 6 8 33 6 8 238 0 0 66 13 4 100 0 0 40 0 0 133 6 8 450 7 0 100 0 0 133 6 8 66 13 4 1,066 13 4 333 6 8 133 6 8 50 0 0 50 0 0 50 0 0 250 0 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 200 0 0 150 0 0 105 0 0 100 0 0 180 0 0 225 0 0 1,450 0 0 225 0 0 45 0 0 495 0 0 300 0 0 230 0 0 100 0 0 200 0 0 150 0 0 13,430 3 9 8,480 15 10 Te Aroha Town Board. Road to connect with railway-station Lipsey's Bridge 120 0 0 64 0 0 60 0 0 32 0 0 184 0 0 92 0 0 Thames County. Making new road from Ohinemuri River to Karangahake Quartz-mine Dray-road to connect Otanui Mines with crushing-battery at Maungawherawhera Creek Improving roads from Waitekauri Road to Katikati Road Improving road up Karaka Creek to Lucky Hit Company's mine Improving road to upper mines, Waitahi Karangahake to battery Ralph's Battery, Waitekauri Otanui Road to mines Road to Wick's Battery Rocky Point Road, Tararu Thames Borough boundary to haematite-mine Widening road from bridge over Hape Creek to Otanui Mines Track, Karangahake Goldfield Kauaeranga Valley to Otanui Tapu Road to mines Tauranga Road to Karangahake Bridge-site Karangahake Bridge Track up Maungakerikeri Creek Thames Borough boundary to Hape Creek No. 2 Upper Karaka Road Repairing flood-damages, Waiotahi, Moanataiari, Karaka, and Collarbone Roads Sea-beach to Waiomo Te Papa Gully Road New Find to Waiomo Battery Rocky Point Road Waiotahi towards Mercury Bay Te Mata Road Waiomo Creek to Tapu Alabama Creek Track Road from Prospectors' Mine, Puriri, to battery Karaka Creek to Lucky Hit Bullion Mine, Tapu, to battery Track to Hikutaia Goldfield 650 0 0 710 0 0 250 0 0 263 1 0 258 18 10 300 0 0 399 1 0 299 18 0 70 0 0 300 0 0 350 0 0 183 17 0 784 1 0 470 7 0 81 17 9 341 5 0 229 6 6 93 4 4 600 0 0 179 13 0 350 0 0 750 0 0 75 0 0 110 0 0 429 11 10 522 11 0 178 17 6 1,499 0 0 100 0 0 50 0 0 365 0 0 36 5 0 147 15 2 433 6 8 473 6 8 166 13 4 175 7 4 172 12 7 200 0 0 199 10 6 199 18 8 46 13 4 200 0 0 233 6 8 122 11 4 522 14 0 313 11 4 54 11 10 227 10 0 152 17 8 62 2 11 300 0 0 119 15 4 175 0 0 375 0 0 37 10 0 55 0 0 214 16 11 261 5 6 89 8 9 749 10 0 50 0 0 25 0 0 182 10 0 18 2 6 73 17 7

269

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List of Works on Goldfields, &c.— continued.

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contribution paid by Mines Department. „ m . Thames County— continued. Upper Tararu Road to Sylvia Mine Road to Puriri Battery .... Thames to Waikawau'Road .. .. Track from Tararu Creek Road to McDerinot's Claim Track to Try Fluke Claim, Tapu Waiomo to Puhoi Creek Waiokaraka Road Bella Street, and Campbell Street to Moanataiari Creek Moanataiari Creek Road .... Tararu Creek Road and Tararu Road .' .. £ s. d. 684 7 0 11 13 0 37 10 0 45 0 0 91 15 0 88 0 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 £ s. d. 342 3 6 5 16 6 18 15 0 22 10 0 47 7 6 16 10 0 100 0 0 50 0 0 75 0 0 _ , „ Ohinemuri County. Jubilee Mine Track Track up Tui Creek .... Prospecting-track, Whangamata and Waitekauri Tramway, Karangahake to Railey's reduction-works Strengthening bridges, Waihi Road Paeroa to Hikutaia Repairs, flood-damages .... Hikutaia River to Marototo Mine Karangahake through Gorge (bridge and culverts) Waitekauri Lower Road .... Metalling Karangahake Gorge Road Karangahake and Waihi Road .. ]\ Karangahake Hill Track .. '. Bridge over Ohinemuri River at Karangahake .. Hikutaia-Paeroa Road .. .. Paeroa-Te Aroha Road Tui Creek Track .. .. . [ Waitekauri to Lowrie's and Birnie's Road, Karangahake to Waihi 12,784 15 11 118 0 0 306 0 0 200 0 0 400 0 0 200 0 0 400 0 0 34 13 8 180 15 0 200 0 0 300 0 0 170 0 0 237 10 0 87 4 0 12 11 0 500 0 0 200 0 0 129 18 6 200 0 0 240 12 3 7,361 12 11 59 0 0 153 0 0 L66 13 4 200 0 0 133 6 8 200 0 0 17 6 10 90 7 6 100 0 0 189 2 8 85 0 0 118 15 0 43 12 0 6 5 0 250 0 0 100 0 0 64 19 3 100 0 0 164 8 2 Piako County. Extension and completion of Te Aroha Tramway Tramway to Fergusson's Battery, Waiorongomai .. Road, Waiorongomai .... Track to claims at Buck's Reef .. .' Track, Fern Spur to Butler's Spur .. \\ Tracks up Stony Creek, Te Aroha Goldfield, &c. .'' 18,000 0 0 1,500 0 0 497 17 0 55 5 6 231 17 9 54 0 0 4,183 4 5 2,241 16 11 12,000 0 0 1,000 0 0 331 18 0 36 17 0 154 11 10 36 0 0 Hutt County. Road to connect Otorongo Bay with Albion Company's battery, also to connect Terawhiti Quartz-mine with battery Road, Makara Junction to Terawhiti 20,339 0 3 509 16 6 13,559 6 10 210 17 0 450 0 0 225 0 0 SOUTH ISLAND. Roads (subsidised). 959 16 6 435 17 0 Marlborough County. Track, Deep Creek to Dead Horse Creek Mouth of Gorge to Forks, Cullensville to Mahakipawa Diggings' Formation of road at Cullensville, Mahakipawa Havelock-Mahakipawa Road Dead Horse Creek to Sunnyside 68 0 0 450 0 0 217 4 0 905 0 0 75 0 0 45 6 8 225 0 0 108 12 0 505 0 0 50 0 0 Waimea County. Road to open up Table Diggings Punt over Motueka River .... Repairing Baton to Table-land Track Dove River to Baton Saddle, and from Rolling River to Wangapeka Saddle 1,715 4 0 260 0 0 100 0 0 40 0 0 120 0 0 933 18 8 130 0 0 50 0 0 20 0 0 60 0 0 520 0 0 260 0 0 Collingwood County. Road, West Wanganui Bridge over Aorere River .... Extending Anatoki Bridle-track Bridge over Takaka River at Pain's Ford 300 0 0 173 14 0 160 0 0 1,597 7 8 200 0 0 115 16 0 80 0 0 798 13 10. 2,231 1 8 1,194 9 10

C—3

270

List of Works on Goldfields, &c.— continued.

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contribution paid by Mines Department. Buller County. Deviation of road from Candlelight Flat to Deep Creek, Charleston Road from Orowaiti Lagoon to North Terrace Prospecting-track from Razorback to Paparoa Range Track from Seatonville to Larrikin's Waimangaroa to Denniston Road to connect alluvial workings with Charleston Road Track, Four-mile Creek towards Grey Valley Road to connect alluvial diggings north of Deadman's Creek Ngakawau to Mokihinui, via beaches Road to connect Ngakawau Railway with Mokihinui Coal Company's workings Lyell Bluff to Victor Emmanuel Claim Beach, Little Wanganui to Mokihinui Cape Foulwind Road Road up Nile Valley Denniston extension Promised Land towards Motueka Road over Gentle Annie Extension, Lyell Creek to Low-level Tunnel Extension of track 50 chains south of Brighton Continuation of road, Deadman's Creek Ngakawau Railway-station to Mokihinui Addison's Flat towards ranges North Terrace to Oparara Diggings Extension of Croninville Road Waimangaroa to sea-beach Extension of track, Oparara to Fenian Creek Con's Creek to Beaconsfield .. .. .. Addison's Flat to Caroline Terrace Waimangaroa to sea-beach extension Addison's Flat to Gallagher's Lead Road to Swanston's Gold-mining Company £ s. d. 370 0 0 256 18 6 100 0 0 438 9 6 787 0 0 400 0 0 300 0 0 278 0 0 100 0 0 193 0 0 650 0 0 300 0 0 450 0 0 56 16 4 850 0 0 380 0 0 200 0 0 60 0 0 140 0 0 437 17 0 50 0 0 20 0 0 500 0 0 100 0 0 80 0 0 100 0 0 80 0 0 200 0 0 390 0 0 50 0 0 50 0 0 £ s. d. 246 13 4 171 5 8 06 13 4 292 6 4 393 10 0 266 13 4 200 0 0 185 6 8 66 13 4 128 13 4 433 6 8 100 0 0 300 0 0 28 8 2 425 0 0 190 0 0 100 0 0 30 0 0 70 0 0 218 18 6 25 0 0 10 0 0 333 6 8 50 0 0 40 0 0 50 0 0 40 0 0 100 0 0 195 0 0 25 0 0 25 0 0 Inangahua County. Dray-road from Soldier's Creek to Devil's Creek Dray-road from Inangahua to Rainy Creek Battery Dray-road from Capleston up Little Boatman's Creek Dray-road from Capleston up Main Boatman's Creek Dray-road from Westport Road to Inangahua River Track from Devil's Creek to Big River Track from Waitahu River to Capleston Survey and expenses Track from Cariboo to Big River Dray-road up Murray Creek to United Inglewood Claim Road from Reefton to Big River, via Devil's Creek Road up Big River Continuation of dray-road up Little Boatman's Creek Road from Capleston to Larry's Creek Track to connect Capleston with Lone Star Crushington to Globe Company's workings Snowy Creek Track Reefton to Big River Glenroy to Horse Terrace Devil's Creek to Globe Hill Extension of Dray Road to Boatman's via Painkiller Mangles Valley to McGregor's Station Globe Hill to Merrijigs Larry's Creek to Lyell Widening Larry's Creek Road Road up Burke's Creek, Little Boatmans 8,368 1 4 4,806 15 4 647 0 0 900 10 0 379 0 0 697 0 0 224 5 0 134 3 6 358 0 0 250 0 0 728 0 0 3,472 0 0 614 0 0 922 19 0 169 7 6 640 0 0 75 0 0 403 0 0 85 15 0 1,792 0 0 254 0 0 917 6 2 53 17 6 600 0 0 1,397 6 0 1,061 15 0 118 10 0 149 0 0 431 6 8 606 6 8 252 13 4 464 13 4 149 10 0 89 9 0 238 13 4 166 13 4 364 0 0 2,314 17 4 307 0 0 615 6 0 112 18 4 426 13 4 50 0 0 201 10 0 42 17 6 1,194 13 4 122 10 0 458 13 1 26 18 9 300 0 0 698 13 0 530 17 6 59 5 0 74 10 0 17,052 14 8 10,300 8 10 Grey County. Road from Notown to Deep Creek Road from Langdon's to Moonlight Contribution from goldfields vote towards main road Track, Waipuna to Clarke's River Track, Cameron's to Cape Terrace Road, Limestone to Maori Creek Red Jack's to Nelson Creek Barrytown to Deadman's German Gully to Arnold's Flat Baird's Terrace to Lake Brunner Hatter's Terrace Road Irishman's to Lake Brunner Hatter's Terrace Track, Baird's Terrace to Irishman's Deep Creek to Bell Hill Track to Blackball Diggings Track from Ahaura, Kapara, Reese's Flat, to new rush on banks of Ahaura River 1,100 0 0 1,600 0 0 2,296 6 6 1,200 0 0 700 0 0 800 0 0 601 17 6 2,240 0 0 120 0 0 400 0 0 1,000 0 0 2,400 0 0 600 0 0 250 0 0 1,331 0 0 790 0 0 20 0 0 550 0 0 800 0 0 2,296 6 6 800 0 0 466 13 4 533 6 8 401 5 0 1,493 6 8 60 0 0 200 0 0 500 0 0 1,200 0 0 400 0 0 125 0 0 665 10 0 395 0 0 10 0 0 17,449 4 0 10,896 8 2

a—s.

271

List of Works on Goldfields, &c. — continued

Locality ana Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contribution paid by Minea Department. Westland County. Improving track, Butcher's Creek to Gentle Annie Terrace Bridle-track to Kanieri Lake Bridle-track to Eel Creek Tunnel-track, Galway Beach to Gillespie's Beach .. . • •. Eoad from Duffer's Creek, Greenstone Road, to fifteen-mile peg, Christchurcn Road Continuation of track, Back Creek to Eel Creek Bridle-track, Duffer's Creek, Bowen and Okarito Road, to sea-beach Ross Borough boundary to Mount Greenland Track, Kanieri Lake to Humphrey's Gully Track, Larrikin's to Loop-line Dam Rough Wainihinihini to Upper Dam Browning's Pass to Reefs Okarito Forks to Teal Creek Road, Christchurch to Baldhill Range reefs Extension of Tucker's Plat Road to New Rush Hokitika Borough boundary (Beefton) to Shotover Rush Track to New Rush, Back Creek Repairing old track round Wataroa Bluff New Rush, south side of Hokitika River Cedar Creek Road to Farmer's Creek Road to gold discovery near Blue Spur .. £ s. d. 225 10 0 719 11 0 168 9 0 437 5 0 £ s. d. 163 13 4 350 5 6 84 4 6 218 12 6 726 9 0 249 4 0 333 18 0 1,280 15 0 279 2 0 449 11 0 450 0 0 3,311 6 0 600 0 0 500 0 0 170 19 6 120 0 0 100 0 0 50 0 0 37 18 6 55 7 0 75 0 0 480 4 6 166 3 4 222 12 0 853 16 8 186 1 4 299 14 0 300 0 0 2,207 10 8 400 0 0 250 0 0 85 9 9 60 0 0 50 0 0 25 0 0 18 19 3 27 13 6 37 10 0 10,340 5 0 6,496 10 II Taieri County. Mullocky Gully to Silver Peak .. .. • • ■ • - 499 15 0 333 3 4 Lake County. Track, Skipper's to Phoenix and Scandinavian Reefs Track to connect scheelite-mine with Lake Wakatipu Arrowtown to Macetown, construction Arrowtown to Macetown, maintenance Invincible Quartz-reef Track, Rees River Rees Valley to company's workings Pack-track, Criffel Diggings Left-hand Branch Road, Skipper's Old Morven Ferry Road Road to workings above Cardrona Piers, Victoria Bridge Skipper's Road Saddle to Deep Creek 292 2 3 225 0 0 225 0 0 150 0 0 300 0 0 61 7 6 50 6 6 63 9 10 289 0 0 70 0 0 725 0 0 200 0 0 194 14 10 150 0 0 150 0 0 100 0 0 200 0 0 30 13 9 33 11 0 31 14 11 144 10 0 35 0 0 362 10 0 100 0 0 2,651 6 1 1,532 14 6 Tuapeka County. Making road from top of Terrace to Waipori Bush Road, Beaumont to Remarkable Bush Improving road from Waipori Township to antimony-mines, Lammerlaw Ranges .. Waipori Township to Waipori Bush Clutha River to Campbell's Waitahuna to copper-mine Road to open up quarry for Waitahuna Bridge Waipori Road, via Bungtown 300 0 0 300 0 0 200 0 0 200 0 0 76 9 0 200 0 0 160 9 10 566 8 10 200 0 0 200 0 0 133 6 8 133 6 8 50 19 4 133 6 8 106 19 11 283 4 5 2,003 7 8 1,241 3 8 Wallace County. Track, Colac Bay to Round Hill Pack-track to Round Hill, Colac, and Orepuki 200 0 0 1,050 0 0 133 6 8 500 0 0 1,250 0 0 633 6 8 Maniototo County. Road to Serpentine Diggings Pig and Whistle to Clarke's Diggings Shepherd's Hut Flat to Vinegar Hill Kyeburn Peninsula to main road 136 10 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 82 0 0 91 0 0 133 6 8 66 13 4 41 0 0 518 10 0 332 0 0 Fiord County. 300 0 0 Dusky Sound, tracks 200 0 Waitaki County. 41 12 0 20 1G Road, Naseby to Livingstone

a—3

272

List of Works on Goldfields, &c. — continued

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contribution paid by Mines Department. Southland County. Improving tracks from Mataura to Nokomai Improving road, Waikaka to Leatham Improving road from Waikaka Township to Leatham Creek .. Improving road from Waikaka to Waikaka railway-siding Widening and improving bush-track to Waikawa Waikaka to Switzer's Road near Waikaka Township Waikaia to Whitcombe Waipapa to Six-mile Beach £ s. d. 75 0 0 150 0 0 30 0 0 150 0 0 150 0 0 150 0 0 150 0 0 811 6 8 175 0 0 £ s. d. 50 0 0 100 0 0 20 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 180 13 4 87 10 0 1,341 6 8 838 3 4 Diamond and other Drills. Inangahua County Council (diamond) Springfield Colliery Company (diamond) Westland County Council (tiffin) Diamond drills for prospecting purposes.. 2,000 0 0 1,250 0 0 350 0 0 1,570 11 4 1,000 0 0 625 0 0 233 0 0 1,570 11 4 5,170 11 4 3,428 11 4 Wharves. Repairs to wharf, Coromandel Anikiwi Jetty, Marlborough 300 0 0 135 15 9 150 0 0 135 15 9 435 15 9 285 15 9 Aids to Prospecting. Construction of low-level tunnel, Terawhiti Queen of Beauty Company, prospecting deep levels Caledonian Low-level Company, prospecting deep levels Red Hill Gold-mining Company, prospecting deep levels Caledonian Low-level Company, low-level tunnel Lyell Creek Extended Company, low-level tunnel New Cromwell Gold-mining Company Deep-level Association, Waipori Little Boatman's deep-level tunnel Oterongia Prospecting Association Vincent County Tapanui Prospecting Association Tuapeka County Maniototo County Pullar, Shelmerdine, and Basan Royal Oak Association Star of the East Quartz-mining Company West Coast Prospecting Association McBride and party McLean and party Deep-level Tunnel j Tokatea Deep-level Tunnel, Owharoa Deep-level Tunnel, Tapu Deep-level Tunnel, Cedar Creek Manuka Flat Prospecting Association Red Hill Minerals Company Tuapeka Prospecting Association Cardrona Prospecting Association Cromwell Prospecting Association Coromandel County Thames County Thames Borough Buller County Inangahua County Westland County Grey County Deep-level Prospecting Association, Waipori Waipu Prospecting Association Hokianga County Vulcan Smelting Works, Onehunga Ohinemuri County Waitaki County Waihemo County William Fox and party Kirk and party Hodge and party Carey and Hyndman Don, Boyce, and party Quentin McKinnon Bullion Mine, Deep-level Tunnel Sutherland and party Inangahua Low-level Tunnel Deep-level Tunnel, Manaia Waimea Miners' Association, prospecting at Callaghan's Totara Miners' Association, Ross Antonio Zala 750 0 0 300 0 0 300 0 0 600 0 0 2,700 0 0 300 0 0 250 0 0 450 0 0 600 0 0 198 17 2 137 9 0 25 0 0 12 0 0 500 0 0 400 0 0 300 0 0 150 0 0 300 0 0 169 2 2 66 0 0 700 0 0 300 8 0 1,200 0 0 1,207 10 0 200 0 0 437 19 10 277 0 0 800 0 0 500 0 0 550 0 0 309 18 0 200 0 0 146 12 6 488 7 0 1,236 19 4 871 15 2 432 9 8 180 0 0 100 0 0 30 0 0 100 0 0 29 5 0 85 9 0 711 1 8 176 0 10 98 13 8 441 9 4 107 16 0 58 10 0 300 0 0 30 0 0 6,966 0 0 451 4 0 50 0 0 51 3 6 4 10 0 150 0 0 150 0 0 150 0 0 300 0 0 300 0 0 150 0 0 100 0 0 300 0 0 300 0 0 99 8 7 68 14 6 12 10 0 6 0 0 250 0 0 200 0 0 150 0 0 75 0 0 150 0 0 84 11 1 33 0 0 350 0 0 200 5 4 600 0 0 603 15 0 100 0 0 218 19 11 138 10 0 400 0 0 250 0 0 275 0 0 154 19 0 100 0 0 73 6 3 244 3 6 618 9 8 435 17 7 216 4 10 90 0 0 50 0 0 15 0 0 50 0 0 14 12 6 42 14 6 355 10 10 88 4 11 49 6 10 220 14 8 53 18 0 29 5 0 150 0 0 15 0 0 3,000 0 0 225 12 0 50 0 0 51 3 6 4 10 0

273

C—3

List of Works on Goldfields, &c.— continued.

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contribution paid by Mines Department. Aids to Prospecting— continued. Ross, Cunningham, and another Wm. Thompson, stores from Benmore Station Totara Miners' Association, Ross Harris, Davidson, and party Boatman's Tailings Company Boys's Tunnel, Bluespur Totara Miners' Association, Ross, Montina and party Gillam's Gully Prospecting Association Deep-level Prospecting Committee, Dillmanstown Westport Prospecting Association Te Aroha Prospecting Association Robert Richie, Kuaotunu Owharoa Tunnel, Lindsay Jackson Coromandel County (£ for £) Mr. G. Rehay, Arahura Hyndman and party, Callaghan's Flat Lakes Mapourika, Waiho, and Wataroa Miners' Association Kumara Miners' Association Thames Miners' Union Star of Canterbury Miners' Association Miners' Association, Rimu Buller County, Messrs. Negri and others Johnson and party, tunnel at Callaghan's Flat W. L. Webb, Nelson Kumara Miners' Association, Solberg, Stewart, and party Buller County, between head of Fox's River, Brighton, and Deadman's Creek Welcome United Gold-mining Company, Greymouth .. ... Orepuki Miners' Association Totara Miners' Association, Gagliardi and party Contingencies Antonio Zala, Ross Halligan and party (tunnel at Cedar Creek) R. Goudie and party Totara Miners' Association (Chamberlain and party) Miners' Association, Greenstone Westland County, T. Radonicki and party Waimea Miners'Association (Lot, Keir, and party)Cardrona Prospecting Association Waimea Miners' Association, Stafford H. Crossan, Beaumont Prospecting Association, Westport Cape Colville Prospecting Syndicate Port Charles Prospecting Association Totara Miners' Association, Ross .. v .. Lake Mapourika Miners' Association £ s. d. 9 0 0 2 1 10 8 6 6 27 7 6 150 0 0 94 12 3 246 10 0 94 15 0 407 0 3 25 0 0 20 12 6 72 3 0 325 0 0 200 0 0 98 15 0 552 14 6 53 12 0 22 10 0 75 15 0 38 5 0 16 0 0 27 0 0 90 0 0 24 0 0 64 15 0 29 5 0 245 12 6 90 0 0 12 10 0 484 15 10 39 0 0 198 1 10 154 12 0 208 10 0 59 0 0 40 0 0 90 0 0 140 5 4 113 1 0 28 0 0 39 0 0 32 0 0 28 0 0 24 0 0 12 0 0 £ s. d. 9 0 0 2 1 10 8 6 6 27 7 6 150 0 0 94 12 3 246 10 0 94 15 0 407 0 3 25 0 0 20 12 6 36 1 6 162 10 0 100 0 0 49 7 6 276 7 3 26 16 0 11 5 0 37 17 6 19 2 6 8 0 0 13 10 0 45 0 0 12 0 0 32 7 6 14 12 6 122 16 3 45 0 0 6 5 0 242 7 11 19 10 0 99 0 11 77 6 0 104 5 0 29 10 0 20 0 0 45 0 0 70 2 8 56 10 6 14 0 0 19 10 0 16 0 0 14 0 0 12 0 0 6 0 0 33,152 8 8 15,513 15 4 Water-races. Water-main, Bull's Battery Round Hill Water-race Tomkiss's Water-race Cardrona Sludge-channel New water-mains, Thames Water-race Argyle Water-race Nelson Creek Mikonui Water-race Brown and party, Kumara Randall Creek Water Race Thames Water Race Contingencies 350 0 0 200 19 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 1,479 10 4 8,103 15 1 957 16 9 14,279 16 4 90 0 0 222 2 3 1,250 0 0 659 12 8 100 0 0 133 19 4 100 0 0 50 0 0 739 15 2 8,103 15 1 957 16 9 14,279 16 4 22 10 0 222 2 3 1,250 0 0 659 12 8 27,793 12 5 26,619 7 7 Drainage- and Tailings-channels. Drainage-channel, Lawrence (total cost, approximate) Subsidy towards purchase of Messrs. Laidlaw and Crawford's freehold in Spotti's Creek, to allow tailings to be deposited (Tinker's Diggings) Damage by floods, Thames Sludge-channel, Smith's Gully, Bannockburn Round Hill Sludge-channel survey Compensation to J. Costello, damage done by tailings Long Gully Sludge-channel New Pipeclay Gully Sludge-channel Kumara Sludge-channel, No. 2 Ophir Tail-race Lawrence Drainage-channel Muddy Creek Channel St. Bathan's Channel .. .. .. .. ... Tailings-outlet, Maerewhenua Ross Sludge- and Storm-water-channel Kumara Sludge-channel, No. 4 Kuaotunu Sludge-channel (£1 for £1) 3,000 0 0 500 0 0 1,000 0 0 1,000 0 0 52 19 7 788 0 0 150 0 0 1,547 18 0 2,762 17 2 2,300 0 0 1,150 0 0 2,000 0 0 2,000 0 0 1,595 4 0 1,675 10 6 1,000 0 0 400 0 0 2,000 0 0 400 0 0 500 0 0 251 1 0 52 19 7 788 0 0 100 0 0 773 19 0 2,762 17 2 1,150 0 0 956 14 0 1,000 0 0 1,000 0 0 1,595 4 0 1,675 10 6 1,000 0 0 200 0 0 22,922 9 3 16,206 5 3

274

C—3

List of Works on Goldfields, &c.— continued.

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contribution paid by Mines Department. Aid towards the Treatment op Ores. Testing-plant, Schbol of Mines, Thames Testing minerals, Dunedin Exhibition £ s. d. 1,200 0 0 142 8 9 £ s. d. 600 0 0 142 8 9 1,342 8 9 742 8 9 Works wholly constructed by Mines Department. Construction of road, Arrowtown to Macetown Road to open up Woodstock Goldfield Ahaura to Amuri Waikaia Bush Road Waitahuna Bridge Merrivale tracks .. Mokihinui to Specimen Creek Wilberforce Quartz-reef Road Opening Mokau River Lyell to Mokihinui Brighton to Seventeen-mile Beach Whangapeka to Karamea Hatter's Terrace to Bell Hill Cedar Creek Road Owen Valley Road Cobden to Seventeen-mile Beach Cedar Creek Road Bridle-track to Upper Anatoki Whangamata Road Waikawau to Manaia Karangahake through Gorge Arthur's Point to Skipper's Tracks to Coal Island Grey Valley to Teremakau Rimu to New Rush Kuaotunu-Coromandel Road Tapu to Waikawau Puhipuhi Road Jackson's Bay to Cascade and George River district Improving roads and tracks, Collingwood to Takaka and Motueka Tramway from New Find to Waitekauri Havelock-Mahakipawa Dray-road Mokihinui to Wanganui Burnett's Face to Coalbrookdale Deadman's to Christmas Terrace Low-level Alpine Claim, Lyell Bowen Road to Salt-water Beach Repairing damage done by floods, Westland County Deviation of Road at Kanieri Forks Road up Dart River - Coromandel to Kuaotunu Kuaotunu to Mercury Bay Thames to Manaia Cobden to Seventeen-mile Beach Bridge over Mahinapua Creek Garston to Nevis Track up Waiho River Haast Ferry to Glue-pot Paeroa-Waihi Road Waitekauri to New Find Mahakipawa to Waikakaho Oparara through gorge to gold-workings.. Okira Bridge, at Dirty Mary's Creek Lagoon Bridge Widening Cape Terrace Road Deviation, Granville Road Tucker's Flat Road Dillman's to Larrikins' Road Track at Kanieri Lake and Mcintosh Falls, Lake Mahinapua.. Extension of Road, Rimu to Shallow Rush Gillam's Gully Track McKay's Creek, Kokatahi Track Aorere Valley to Karamea and Mokihinui Arrowtown to Macetown Nelson Creek Bridge Cascado to Barn Bay Road Repairs to decking, Tapu Wharf Waitekauri Battery from Junction-Waihi Road Deep Creek, Wakamarina, to Empire City Company's claim .. Track to Diggings at Cape Foulwind Bridge over Fox's River at Brighton Totara Bridge Road from Mokihinui Bridge to gold-workings 9,270 6 8 1,000 0 0 2,504 19 7 1,000 0 0 750 0 0 500 0 0 1,238 7 5 1,830 17 7 552 8 0 5,098 8 6 1,789 7 2 2,000 0 0 500 0 0 3,000 0 0 2,208 9 2 3,036 1 4 1,500 0 0 722 8 0 141 10 6 1,000 0 0 1,000 0 0 12,167 4 1 54 6 3 900 0 0 829 17 9 500 0 0 750 10 0 1,396 17 9 5.310 10 11 10,905 8 11 100 0 0 1.311 9 0 200 0 0 200 0 0 20 0 0 80 0 0 60 0 0 100 0 0 140 0 0 200 0 0 200 0 0 350 0 0 500 0 0 400 0 0 503 16 10 1,565 17 2 105 0 0 126 0 0 114 0 0 250 0 0 183 12 1 150 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 70 0 0 247 18 7 125 15 0 195 4 6 150 0 0 149 16 0 100 0 0 29,938 1 2 450 0 0 100 0 0 411 7 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 50 0 0 497 11 0 100 0 0 255 0 0 75 0 0 9,270 6 8 1,000 0 0 2,504 19 7 1,000 0 0 750 0 0 500 0 0 1,238 7 5 1,830 17 7 552 8 0 5,098 8 6 1,789 7 2 2,000 0 0 500 0 0 3,000 0 0 2,208 9 2 3,036 1 4 1,500 0 0 722 8 0 141 10 6 1,000 0 0 1,000 0 0 12,167 4 1 54 6 3 900 0 0 829 17 9 500 0 0 750 10 0 1,396 17 9 5.310 10 11 10,905 8 11 100 0 0 1.311 9 0 200 0 0 200 0 0 20 0 0 80 0 0 60 0 0 100 0 0 140 0 0 200 0 0 200 0 0 350 0 0 500 0 0 400 0 0 503 16 10 1,565 17 2 105 0 0 126 0 0 114 0 0 250 0 0 183 12 1 150 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 70 0 0 247 18 7 125 15 0 195 4 6 150 0 0 149 16 0 100 0 0 29,938 1 2 450 0 0 100 0 0 411 7 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 50 0 0 497 11 0 100 0 0 255 0 0 75 0 0

275

C—3.

List of Works on Goldfields, &c.— continued.

87—C. 3.

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contributions paid try Mines Department. Works wholly constructed by Mines Department— continued. Clearing two miles of old track from right-hand branch of Kanieri River to Gentle Annie Terrace Extending horse-track to Blackball Creek Matawai to Kaimarama Cabbage Bay to Port Charles Tiki to Mahakirau Karangahake Gorge to Waihi Upper Tararu Road Red Hill Road Repairs, Nile Bridge Miller's Flat to Skipper's Cobden to Coal Creek Track to New Find, Tairua Cedar Creek dray-road Road to Matarangi Goldfield Repairs, Manaia Track Upper Township School Bridge Tiki Bridge across Waiau Scott's Bridge Oteau Bridge Mercury Bay-Kaimarama Road Stoney Creek Track Road to mines, Waiomo Upper Hill Track to branch track, Waiorongomai Canadian Gully Bridge, and repairs to tunnel on horse-grade, Waiorongomai Waiorongomai Road Track from Slate River to Rocky Pack-track to Killdevil Repairs, Wangapeka Road towards Crow Diggings .. .. Repairing flood-damages, Grey County Taipo Track to Seven-mile Repairs, Totara Bridge Repairs, Kanieri Lake Road Mercury Bay to Whenuakite and Boat Harbour Tiki to Gum Town, via Kaimarama Coromandel to Kuaotunu Kuaotunu to Mercury Bay .. Driving Creek to Cabbage Bay and Driving Creek to Cape Colville Tiki to Waikawau .. .. .. .. .. ... Paeroa to Te Aroha Puriri to east side of range .. .. ■ Onamalutu to Wakamarina Forks Waimangaroa to Denniston .. Road to Lyell's Creek Extended Company's tunnel Jackson's Bay to Cascade Bridge over Ogilvie's Creek .. Gillam's Gully Track Bridge over Kanieri River at Kokatahi Road to Oparara Diggings Millarton Road Waiau to Preservation Inlet Hatter's Terrace to Haupiri Grey River to Moonlight Blackball Track .. Ahaura-Kopara Road Mackley's to Waipuna Terrace Footbridge over Blackball Creek Waipapa to Waikawa Waipapa to Six-mile Drain at Adamson's Maruia Track, between Reefton and Maruia Sledge-track to Langdon Reefs Track to Blackball Township, repairs Track, Old Man Range Road to gold discovery near Blue Spur Bartlett's Creek Track Prospecting- track, Brunnerton-Paparoa Extension Seddon's Terrace Track to new claim Contingencies £ s. d. 13 0 0 £ s. d. 13 0 0 500 0 0 150 0 0 700 0 0 250 0 0 350 0 0 471 10 3 249 8 1 1,131 2 6 580 0 0 375 0 0 47 11 6 466 11 2 75 0 0 90 0 0 50 0 0 256 0 0 175 0 0 150 0 0 50 0 0 15 0 0 50 0 0 30 0 0 70 0 0 100 0 0 225 0 0 100 0 0 153 0 7 370 0 0 194 5 8 336 0 0 80 0 0 150 0 0 160 0 0 770 0 0 450 0 0 660 0 0 600 0 0 365 0 0 696 19 6 400 0 0 100 0 0 200 0 0 1,110 8 1 150 0 0 220 0 0 467 10 10 100 0 0 249 0 3 7,961 19 6 1,650 0 0 530 0 0 1,185 12 5 400 0 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 50 0 0 50 0 0 30 0 0 40 0 0 50 0 0 45 0 0 200 0 0 125 0 0 208 10 6 609 12 2 500 0 0 150 0 0 700 0 0 250 0 0 350 0 0 471 10 3 249 8 1 1,131 2 6 580 0 0 375 0 0 47 11 6 466 11 2 75 0 0 90 0 0 50 0 0 256 0 0 175 0 0 150 0 0 50 0 0 15 0 0 50 0 0 30 0 0 70 0 0 100 0 0 225 0 0 100 0 0 153 0 7 370 0 0 194 5 8 336 0 0 80 0 0 150 0 0 160 0 0 770 0 0 450 0 0 660 0 0 600 0 0 365 0 0 596 19 6 400 0 0 100 0 0 200 0 0 1,110 8 1 150 0 O 220 0 0 467 10 10 100 0 0 249 0 3 7,961 19 6 1,650 0 0 530 0 0 1,185 12 5 400 0 0 100 0 0 150 0 0 200 0 0 100 0 0 50 0 0 50 0 0 30 0 0 40 0 0 50 0 O 45 0 0 200 0 0 125 0 0 208 10 6 609 12 2 142,071 10 11 142,071 10 11 Roads to open up Mines other than Gold. Aniseed Valley to Champion Copper-mine Richmond Hill to copper-mine Track, Ohinemuri Coal-seam Road, Kanieri Coalfield 4,963 10 6 315 16 0 267 3 4 600 0 0 4,116 10 6 209 4 0 133 11 8 300 0 0 6,146 9 10 4,759 6 2

a—3

276

List of Works on Goldfields, &c.— continued.

Henry A. Gordon, M.A.Inst. M.B., Inspecting Engineer.

Locality and Nature of Works. Total Cost. Amount of Contributions paid by Mines Department. Tracks to open dp Minebal Lands. ilory Harbour to Kopack 'ort Pegasus Track temoving snags and felling timber, Mokau River Igakawau Foot-bridge £ s. d. 50 0 0 155 7 6 40 0 0 80 0 7 £ s. d. 50 0 0 155 7 6 40 0 0 80 0 7 325 8 1 325 8 1 Bepaibing Flood-damages. 'names Borough .. 500 0 0 500 0 0 Abtesian-well Boeing. laniototo Plains 800 0 0 800 0 0 • Summary of Works. loads (subsidised) — Bay of Islands County Coromandel County Te Aroha Town Board Thames County Ohinemuri County Piako County Hutt County Marlborough County Waimea County Collingwood County Buller County Inangahua County Grey County Westland County Taieri County Lake County Tuapeka County .. Wallace County Maniototo County Fiord County Waitaki County Southland County & s. d. 1,110 0 0 13,436 3 9 184 0 0 12,784 15 11 4,183 4 5 20.339 0 3 959 16 6 1,715 4 0 520 0 0 2,231 1 8 8,368 1 4 17,052 14 8 17,449 4 0 10.340 5 0 499 15 0 2,651 6 1 2,003 7 8 1,250 0 0 518 10 0 300 0 0 41 12 0 1,341 6 8 & s. d. 955 0 0 8,480 15 10 92 0 0 7,361 12 11 2,241 16 11 13,559 6 10 435 17 0 933 18 8 260 0 0 1,194 9 10 4,806 15 4 10,300 8 10 10,896 8 2 6,496 10 10 333 3 4 1,532 14 6 1,241 3 8 633 6 8 332 0 0 200 0 0 20 16 0 838 8 4 Mamond and other drills Vharves lids to prospecting Vater-races .. .. .. )rainage- and sludge-channels iid towards treatment of ores toads wholly constructed by Mines Department toads to open up mines other than gold 'racks to open up mineral lands tepairiug flood-damages irtesian-well boring, Maniototo Plains .. 119,279 8 11 5,170 11 4 435 15 9 33,152 8 8 27,793 12 5 22,922 9 3 1,342 8 9 142,071 10 11 6,146 9 10 325 8 1 500 0 0 800 0 0 73,146 8 8 3,428 11 4 285 15 9 15,513 16 4 26,619 7 7 16,206 5 3 742 8 9 142,071 10 11 4,759 6 2 320 8 1 500 0 0 800 0 0 359,940 3 11 284,398 17 10

277

G.—3

Return showing the Value of the Sales of Water, and Expenditure on, and Collateral Advantages derived from, the Working of the Water-races constructed and maintained by Government during the Year ending 31st March, 1896.

• Henky A. Goedon, M. A.lnst.M.E., Inspecting Engineer. Approximate Cost of not given ; printing (2,850 copies) £283 7s. 6d., exclusiye of plans.

By Authority: John Mackay, Government Printer, Wellington.— 1896.

Value of Sales of Water and Channel-fees. Expenditure on Maintenance. Profit or Loss. Percentage ! Average Approximate on Number of Amount of Capital Men Gold invested. employed. obtained. Value of Gold ob-tained. Average Weekly Earnings of Men after deducting Value of Sales of Water and Channel-fees. Name of Water-race. Cost of Construction. Total Cost of Construction. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d. £ s. d.Oz. £ s. d. 795 13 6 £ s. d. Waimea 770 3 8 25 9 10 134,499 0 5 ) ( 1197,927 14 7 J 69 1,925 ! 7,507 10 0 1 18 11 Kumara 4,106 11 3 1,943 8 7 2,163 2 8 41,463 16 0 101 6,045 23,575 10 0 3 17 0 Kumara Sludge-channel .. 21,964 18 2 Nelson Creek 90,722 10 8 Argyle 15,151 15 3 Mikonui 25,927 4 6 Mount Ida 1,189 1 0 1,363 4 0 *174 3 0 • 69,644' 4 9 69,644 4 9 j 2 3 5 61 2.305J 8,876 3 6 Blackstone Hill 136 11 7 29 8 0 102 3 7 7 216 831 12 0 2 0 0 Totals 6,227 17 4 4,106 4 8 2,116 13 1 267,571 19 4 399,373 <J y 238 10,491 J : 30,790 15 6 _J * Loss.

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THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT ON ROADS, WATER-RACES, MINING MACHINERY, AND OTHER WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH MINING., Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1896 Session I, C-03

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285,022

THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT ON ROADS, WATER-RACES, MINING MACHINERY, AND OTHER WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH MINING. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1896 Session I, C-03

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THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT ON ROADS, WATER-RACES, MINING MACHINERY, AND OTHER WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH MINING. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1896 Session I, C-03

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THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT ON ROADS, WATER-RACES, MINING MACHINERY, AND OTHER WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH MINING. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1896 Session I, C-03

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THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT ON ROADS, WATER-RACES, MINING MACHINERY, AND OTHER WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH MINING. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1896 Session I, C-03

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Pages 41-60 of 305

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Pages 41-60 of 305

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THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT ON ROADS, WATER-RACES, MINING MACHINERY, AND OTHER WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH MINING. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1896 Session I, C-03

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THE GOLDFIELDS OF NEW ZEALAND: REPORT ON ROADS, WATER-RACES, MINING MACHINERY, AND OTHER WORKS IN CONNECTION WITH MINING. Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1896 Session I, C-03

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