H.—l9,

16

Peach District. —Work has been almost entirely suspended during the past yeai', and the returns have been very slight. The Just-in-Time Company are sinking a shaft, and erecting pumping machinery to drain their ground. The Union Beach Mine was unwrought for a considerable time, and in consequence was declared forfeited by me. An appeal against this decision was heard by the Warden, when a fine of £100 was substituted in lieu of forfeiture. The property has since been sold, and a new company is now being formed to work the ground. Tiki District. —Several claims were taken up near the private land, and a considerable amount of prospecting carried on, but the results so far have on the whole been unsatisfactory. On Mrs. MTntosh's property, Blackmore's Home Eule, and Tiernan's Claims have yielded rich returns; but, these mines not being in the gold field, do not come under my jurisdiction. A party of miners are engaged in forming a tail-race for the purpose of sluicing the Waiau Biver. This race is already finished for about 1,400 feet, and they are forming a head-race which will be about the same length, and expect to get on the river bed before the winter rains set in. A little free gold and rich specimens have been found in the Matawai and other creeks which fall into the Waiau, above where this claim is taken up, so that there is a fair prospect of the river-bed proving payable. Vizard and party, who have been prospecting the Tiki District for several years, have found rich quartz in a reef near Castle Bock. As this part is in the gold field a number of miners have taken up claims in the neighbourhood. An old battery on the Matawai Creek is being put in working order, and when a road is made to the locality it will be an important addition to the mining area. The future prospects of the whole of this part of the field are sufficient to anticipate profitable employment for a number of miners for years to come. The quantity of quartz crushed and the return of gold obtained during the year are as follows : —Tons crushed, 3,358 ; gold obtained, 7,351 oz. Te Aeoha Gold Field. During the past year a battery was erected in the township for the purpose of crushing the quartz raised from the claims adjacent to the Hot Springs Beserve. The returns not proving payable, with the exception of three or four claims, the owners of which still continued to prospect their ground after trial crushings, the whole of this part of the field was deserted. Hone Werahiko, the Native who first discovered gold at Te Aroha, continued prospecting on a large reef known as the Buck Beef, near the Waiorongomai Creek, which, although its existence was well known, attracted but a limited amount of attention from the miners during the first rush to this field. After several months of patient industry and by following the line of the reef (the bearing of which is 353° magnetic) in a northerly direction he was fortunate in discovering gold about a mile and a half distant from where the reef crops out near the flat. Immediately this discovery was made known a rush took place to the locality and claims were marked out along the line of the reef for a distance of over two miles, in several of these the miners have discovered gold in quantities which will no doubt prove payable when capital can be found to open up the field and erect batteries and tramways. Gold was discovered in the New Find Claim on the eastern face of a large outcrop of quartz, which appears to be the same reef as that cropping out at different places along the line, and is probably a continuation of the Buck Beef already mentioned; but this matter is uncertain, as several large reefs have since been discovered running in the same direction. In other claims fresh discoveries of gold have been made in reefs running about north-east, which will cross the main reefs, and the probability is that at their junctions richer deposits of gold may be found. New Find Claim.- —The workmen in this claim have been stripping soil and roots from the reef for about 60 feet by 30 feet along the eastern side, and putting a prospecting drive on the same side at a lower level; gold shows freely in the portion stripped, and fair prospects are obtained in the drive. Young Colonial. —In this claim gold can be seen along the face of a reef cropping out and standing high above the surface (and which runs in the same direction as the reef first found) ; in a cross-cut put into it fair prospects have been obtained; another level is now being driven in order to cut the reef at from 50 to 60 feet lower level. Golden Crown or Premier Claim. —Gold has been found in a reef running about north-east and at a distance of from 60 to 70 feet to the westward of the large north and south reef. The prospects at the surface where the reef has been stripped are very good, gold showing freely in the quartz, and in a drive put in at a depth of about 50 feet the reef is 4 feet in width, and the show of gold much about the same. Another reef, running in a parallel direction, situated more to the northward, shows prospects almost equal to the reef first discovered. The lodes in this claim are not yet sufficiently worked on to ascertain their value, but as far as they have been tested a large amount of payable quartz has been discovered. Queen of Beauty Claim. —Gold has been found in loose boulders of quartz on the lower side of a reef running about north-east. This is about 4 feet in width, and is evidently the same as one of the reefs found in the Golden Crown Claim. Fureka Claim. —Gold shows freely in a north-east reef 4 feet in width, on which a shaft has been sunk to a depth of 30 feet, and the whole of the quartz taken from it is estimated to yield 1 oz. per ton. This claim lies to the westward of, and is about 500 yards distant from, the New Find Claim, and the two reefs will probably junction near it. Diamond Gully Claim. —A north-east reef, about 2 feet wide and showing good dabs of gold in the stone, has been found on the western side of a large reef running parallel with and about 200 feet to the eastward of the New Find reef. Good specimens in loose quartz have been, picked up near the surface, and there is every prospect of its being a payable reef. Werahiko No. 2.—Gold has been found in a north-east reef 3 feet in width, and the quartz is estimated to be worth 1 oz. to the ton. This reef lies about 20 chains to the eastward of the line of the New Find reef. Payable gold has now been found in claims one mile apart on the line and about a quarter of a mile on either side of the main reef, showing that the belt of gold-bearing country is already proved to be of considerable extent.