H.—s

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Tokatea Mine.—Under the management of Mr. P. L. Hall work continues to be vigorously carried on, principally at the low- or what is now called the main-tunnel-level, the extension of which is still being continued, and has now reached a distance of over 2,300 feet from the mouth; the ground still continues exceedingly hard, requiring dynamite to blast it. Towards the upper levels various passes and winzes have been made and substantially timbered. The upper levels of the mine are still worked by tributers, who, as a whole, have been very successful. Two hundred and thirty fathoms of reef have been stoped out for 305 tons of quartz, which yielded 1,472 oz. of melted gold, valued at about £2 17s. per oz. Bismark Gold-Mining Company. —This company's mine is also under the charge of Mr. Hall, and has been wholly worked by tributers, who have had one crushing of 40 tons, for a return of 202 oz. gold; another crushing of about 45 tons is now ready to be sent to the mill, from which a similar return is expected. Royal Oak. —The upper levels are still being worked by tributers. A crosscut is now being driven from the No. 6 level of the Tokatea, which is intended to cut the Royal Oak lode at about 320 feet below the floor of their upper level; 250 feet requires to be driven before this is done, of which 50 feet has now been completed. Pride of Tokatea. —The work done in this mine has been prospecting the old lodes from a lower level; though a few specimens have been obtained, the general results have not as yet proved payable. In the relinquished portion of this company's ground there have been several small claims taken up, the holders of which have been doing well. Pita's Block. —This block lies immediately to the south of the Tokatea Block. Only one or two holdings are now working, the large number of licenses taken out having been, or are in progress of being, re-entered by me on account of non-working. Success. —A new low-level has been driven which opens up a large block, the first operations on which enabled the directors to declare 2s. 6d. per share dividend. A rise is now being made to connect with the upper level; this is much required for ventilation, as the air is sometimes so bad that the men cannot work. The gold in the leader at the low-level shows much more through the stone than in the upper level, but occasionally patches of gold occur that, without crushing, can at once be put into the pot and melted. In the neighbourhood of the Success there are three small claims at work prospecting, but so far these have not met with any success. Tiki District. —Mining in this district has gone down to a very low ebb. On the Government land all the holdings are or are about to be re-entered for non-working. There are three or four claims at work with about a dozen men, but these are only prospecting. On the private property, out of the large number of claims that have been sold or leased by Mrs. Mclntosh (the owner) only three are at work, namely, Home Rule, Blackniore's, and Tiernan's, and these are not displaying much vigour, there only being about fifteen men employed by the three. Matawai Disteict. —This district has been very much kept back through the extraordinary time taken to complete the new battery and water-race, &c, erected near the foot of the Matawai Creek. A start, however, has recently been made: and Vaughan's Claim crushed 44 tons for a return of 160 oz. of gold. On this claim a lower level is now being driven, which will give 100 feet additional backs on the reef. Warrior.- —A low-level is also being driven in this claim. A trial-crushing from overhead gave at the rate of over 15 oz. to the ton, but as the leader is small (2 in. thick) it takes a lot of work to get out a ton. Castle Rock. —This is the most southerly mine in the Coromandel District, but there is no means of bringing its quartz to the mill, there being no road. The county, however, contemplate making one shortly. In the Hauraki North, or Coromandel District there were no mining accidents of any kind during the year. The total quartz crushed was 2,907 tons for a return of 7,576 oz. 12dwt. 1 gr. melted gold. Hauraki South. —Like the Coromandel District, the principal feature is also the increased energy displayed in mining at deep levels. This is caused by the rich finds obtained in the Prince Imperial down to their lowest level (No. 5), being 428 feet, and also in the Queen of Beauty mine, down to its lowest level, 679 feet, this being now the deepest shaft on the Thames Gold Field. Another feature is that steam-power for crushing quartz is gradually being changed for water-power. This is now taxing the county (late Government) water-race to its very utmost. Many are still retaining their steam machinery in case of accidents to the race, and for the summer season when not nearly the present quantity of water can be supplied. The power of another race as large as the present one could be easily utilized if brought in from the Puru and Waiomo District, from which a good supply can be obtained. Kuranui Hill United. —Under the management of Mr. Thomas H. Crawford a very large amount of work has been carried out in this mine during the year, principally at the 80-feet (below sea) level. Here 600 feet of country has been cross cut, and about 1,100 feet of driving done on the various lodes. Very encouraging prospects have been obtained on the Wheel of Fortune and Duke's reefs. Good or even rich returns may be expected from those blocks, which are solid up to the beach level. On Cook's leader good gold-bearing stone has recently been obtained. As this leader lies within the same strike of country that very rich returns have been obtained from in the Shotover, Caledonian, Prince Imperial, and Queen of Beauty, the manager naturally expects that some very rich returns may be obtained from it. The upper