H.—3

44

the same strike as the main reef, dips also close upon vertical, and shows a strong outcrop of massive quartz, in places three to four feet thick, down the slope of the hill just noted—was mistaken for its continuation, and worked for some distance eastward into the hill slope— i.e., towards the other workings, and for about 130 feet in depth, paying in the average sixteen pennyweights per ton. The fact of its becoming poor and very thin in the face at that depth, whilst the workings on the main reef, but little in advance, showed the latter rich and strong, and appeared to run gradually more south out of the line, induced Mr. Parry, the manager, to drive a cross-cut south, which at 42 feet struck the main reef, rich, and nearly three feet thick. From this point, which has since been connected with the main workings east, a drive is being carried on westward —the reef continuing of the same thickness and richness —and will soon extend beneath the gully at the foot of the hill. Touching the southern branch of the main reef, it is of a rather mullocky character, and also soon assumes the strike of the latter, with a nearly vertical dip, its thickness ranging from nine inches to two feet. It has been worked up the slope and near the top of the hill in several places—at one rather extensively—by open cuttings, but the returns were not very satisfactory. Still there is chance of its proving, perhaps, very rich near the foot of the hill, whence it is seen disappearing westward underneath the alluvial of the gully, at a point where it would be struck by a cross leader, which has been worked up to within half a chain on the south. This leader, which is from three to six inches thick, and runs rather crookedly towards it at a mean strike of N. 40° E., and dipping N.W. at 65-75°, has been worked for about half a chain in length by a shallow open cutting, and the quartz obtained is said to have been very rich. The mode of exploitation adopted for this mine is by under-hand stoping, some of the steps or stopes being from 20 up to 40 feet high, and there were large places left open overhead, very unsafe for the men working underneath, and which ought, therefore, to be filled with waste, to guard against accidents. As I have already given at another place my opinion on the comparative merits of over-hand and under-hand stoping, I need only remark here that I should certainly advise the owners of the mine to prosecute its future working in depth by the over-hand system of exploitation. The crushing machine of the Cromwell Company (manager, Mr. Edward Rigg) lies at the foot of the range near the mouth of the Bendigo Creek, about one mile and a half from the reef. It consists of ten heads of revolving stamps, in two batteries, fed by hand, and driven by a waterwheel. The coffers are shallow, and the gratings have 122 holes per square inch; formerly such with only 100 holes per square inch were used. As gold-saving appliances, serve common amalgamating tables, and ten feet of blanket-strakes, four for each battery, with an inclination of nearly two inches per foot; for the treatment of the blanket-sand, serve a revolving-barrel and shaking-table. Owing to the large quantity of pyrites and other ores in the quartz, the saving of the gold is very difficult, and though Mr. Rigg carefully superintends the working, I feel convinced of both gold and quicksilver being lost in considerable quantities, and that it would pay well to treat the large heap of tailings accumulated near the battery. Before leaving this splendid mine, I may mention that the fortunate owners have very materially enhanced its value by the late purchase from the Aurora Company of a fine water-race, capable of furnishing sufficient water power, not only for working pumps and hoisting gear for a main shaft, but also for effecting crushing on a more extensive scale direct at the reef, and thereby saving the heavy expenses at present entailed by the carting of the quartz so far to the mill over a difficult road. The Reliance Company. —This company, managed by Mr. J. Mitchinson, of Bendigo, to whom I am indebted for information about it and the district generally, holds the ground westward of the Cromwell Company, in the line of Logan's Reef, commencing at foot of the hill repeatedly mentioned in the foregoing description. Misled by the workings of the neighbouring company, before the true position of the main reef was discovered, a fine whim-shaft was sunk to a depth of 170 feet on the line of the northern branch of Logan's Reef, close to the. eastern boundary of the company's lease, and right at foot of a high vertical precipice of mica schist. The upper 50 feet sunk through consist of drift; below that the reef branch was struck, but the quartz proved not payably auriferous, and also soon pinched out, the walls coming close together. There was water coming in at the bottom, but not very strong. When afterwards understanding how Logan's main reef really ran, the company abandoned this shaft, and sunk another southward abreast in the supposed line round the foot -of the high rock precipice ; but this, according to a subsequent mining survey, seems to lie a few feet beyond the correct line. When I saw this shaft, it had penetrated to a depth of 110 feet, and, curiously enough, through nothing but small, angular, and washed drift from top down, whilst a very strong influx of water had made its appearance —features which, considering the vicinity of the rock, clearly indicate the existence at that place of a deep kind of pot-hole or gulch. As the water was too strong for further hand-bailing, Mr. Mitchinson intended to shift the whim from the other shaft to this one, and he may by this time already have ascertained whether, what seems not unlikely from the close neighbourhood of Logan's Reef, a deposit of rich washdirt exists at the bottom of the lode. Regarding the chance of the existence of that reef in the ground, I think it is very good, judging from the strength of the reef in the nearest part of the Cromwell Company's workings ; but touching the striking of it by the shaft, all depends upon its angle of dip westward in strike ; for the deeper this is, the deeper will the shaft require to be sunk, though, should it be flat, the reef might actually exist at the bottom of the gravel hole. The northern branch of the reef, on which the first shaft has been sunk, crops out on the top of the precipice, and is traceable for a a good distance down the smooth western slope, where several old shafts from 50 to 75 feet in depth are said to have followed good quartz, whilst numerous auriferous specimens have been found along the line on the slope. Considering this, it would, no doubt, be advisable to prospect that reef-branch systematically along its line, and more extensively near that one of the old shafts in which the best indications are said to have been obtained. The southern branch of the reef looks not at all unpromising, where it crops out at the foot of the hill, and would also, in my opinion, deserve to be well prospected. The Aurora Reef. —This reef, which has been abandoned for the last two years, but, from its really good prospects, certainly deserves another trial, runs about a quarter-mile north of Logan's, at a strike of E. 5° N., and dipping northward at 75-80°. The only accessible portion of the old workings is an adit driven in the strike of the reef, though in a rather irregular and crooked manner, a length of 700 feet,