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quartz-mining. Puhipuhi Distkict. This field is situate about twenty-two miles from Whangarei, and sixteen miles from Kawakawa, and is about ten miles eastward from the main Whangarei-Kawakawa Eoad at Hikerenui. The present track to the field leaves the main road near Mr. Easmussen's store, going past Mr. Garsted's homestead, and following the valley of the Waiotu Creek to Mr. Parsons's homestead; thence through the Puhipuhi State Forest to near the head of the Tangiapakura Creek, where the prospectors' claim is situated. A discovery of auriferous and argentiferous quartz lodes was made in this locality in October, 1888, by two brothers, William and Charles Wilson, aud J. D. Collins, who were engaged at that time gum-digging. This party got Mr. John Connyngham, a storekeeper at Whangarei, to take out a prospecting-license, when John Fraser, C. E. Smith, and George Walker joined them to prospect the lodes which they had found. Up to October last very little was done to test the lodes beyond scratching the caps of the reefs and forwarding samples for assay. The first lodes discovered are situated alongside a small branch of the Tangiapakura Creek, about 12 chains above its junction with the main creek. The cap of one of these lodes is exposed in the bed of the small stream—it shows about Bft. in width, and is running in a north-west and south-east direction. The quartz is of a bluish-white appearance, with small streaks resembling silver-glance. A small parcel of 2101b. of stone from the cap of this lode was forwarded to Messrs. Fraser and Sons, of Auckland, and tested in the ordinary way in their pans, and gave bullion—principally silver —at the rate of 18s. 6d. per ton of ore. Another sample of 4601b. of stone was taken from what is termed the Black Eeef, which runs parallel with the other and about 3 chains further to the northward. This lode is from 2ffc. to 3ft. in thickness, and contains a good deal of the oxides of iron and manganese mixed amongst the quartz, and presents the appearance of a lode where iron-pyrites has become decomposed. This sample was also tested by Messrs. Fraser and Sons, and gave bullion—principally gold—at the rate of £1 6s. per ton. Siuce the discovery of the two first lodes six other reefs have been discovered in the prospectors' ground, and in two of them—the Silver Eeef and Wilson's Eeef—there were fair samples of pyrargyrite and proustite (ruby silver). Mr. Whitaker, of the Bank of New Zealand, Auckland, got as high assays from Wilson's Eeef as Boz. of gold and 2540z. of silver to the ton, and Mr. Burns, of the same bank, made assays from stone found outside the prospectors' claim, which gave the following results : — No. 1 sample—l9dwt. 14gr. gold and Boz. 3dwt. silver per ton. No. 2 sample—l6dwt. Bgr. gold and 230z. 16dwt. silver per ton. No. 3 sample —4oz. gold and 530z. silver per ton. At the time of my last visit to this field the prospectors had sunk a winze on the Silver Eeef to the depth of Bft. The lode at this depth was about 2ft. 9in. in width, and showed a little ruby silver disseminated through the stone for the whole width of the lode. An adit was commenced at the creek-level, and at the time of my visit in January was constructed for 60ft., but about 200 ft. further had to be driven before they expected to cut the lode. When this adit is completed it will give 100 ft. of backs. The construction of this adit was at that time the only legitimate prospecting work that had been done as regards testing the value of the lodes at a reasonable depth below the surface. Wilson's Eeef is situate alongside the main branch of the Tangiapakura Creek. It is about 18in. in thickness, but there has been no work done on it to test its value beyond breaking out a little of the lode-stuff near the outcrop. Mr. G. Wilson, Inspector of Mines, Thames, inspected this field in December, aud took what he considered average samples from the different reefs then discovered, and had these samples assayed by Mr. C. Eodes, of the Bank of New Zealand, Paeroa, with the following results : —

A sample from Sir. Connyngham, from lode in most northern portion of Puhipiihi State Fyrest, contained neither gold nor silver. 4—C. 3,

d Desc: ■iption of leefs, &o. Value per Ton of 2,2401b. 1 "S 6 !<5 Name of Beef. Zf *»«*■ Underlie. 1 Kemarks. Gold. Silver. Value. 1 Black Reef Wilson's Reef Ft. in. 1 9 N.-S. 1 6 N.-S. lJtolE. Slightly to W. Brown oxidized quartz Reef hanging on wall of precipice Oz. d, g., Trace j 0 1 15, ,Oz. a. g. i Trace 7 8 5 £ s. d. Nil 1 8 10 18 Silver Reef 1 in 3 bJ Quartz, very hard, from two places .. Hard whitish ore, with bluish streaks of sulphide, and probably antimonide of silver Sample from northern workings, rubble Sample from solid stone Sample from middle workings, face .. Sample taken from paddock Sample from southern end of paddock Selected ore, picked by prospectors .. Hard whitish quartz, rubbly Trace 4 11 11 0 18 10 2"o j N.-S. 2 0 .. * Trace 1 12 6 0 5 0 3 3 C 14 15 16 13 5 12 4 Mary Reef Fraser's Reef Ditto, No. 2 Nickel Reef 2-'e '.'. 2"o '.'. 2 6 i N.-S. 1 4 N.W. 1 0 N.W. 1 0 N.-S. 1 in 2 E.i 1 in 3 E. 1 1 in 3 E.i Slightly! to W. 1 in 3 W. 1 inl N.E. 1 in 3 W.I 1 in 3 E. 0 2 0 0 3 0' Trace 0 1 15 0 1 15 0 1 15, 0 1 15! Trace Trace 21 9 4 32 10 2 5 11 1 21 9 13 97 18 9 , 8 14 18 8 18 1 2 12 6 0 16 8 3 12 6 5 10 8 0 16 10 3 11 0 15 0 6 1 12 10 1 13 6 0 8 0 0 2 8 Very hard agatised laminated quartz 7 10 Snowdrift Reef .. Blue Reef 2 6 [ N.N.W. 6 0 j WW, White mullocky soft quartz Quartz brown and flinty, also white mixed with blue streaks Trace Nil ' 0 16 8 Nil 0 2 8 Nil 11 9 Barton Reef Connyngham Reef I 1 0 N.N.W. ■10 N.-S. South-west corner of ground, hard white quartz Brown oxidized quartz Trace j Trace ! 4 18 0 1 15 22 0 7 0 0 5 6 9a Easterbrook Reef 5 0 N.N.W. Slightly to E. Vertical 1 in 3 E.i Trace 0 9 19 0 1 6 8 8a Christie Reef Ditto, No. 2 1 0 j E.-W. ; 3 0 [N.W, Has hard bluish slate walls .. Nil Trace Nil 0 6 12 Nil 0 10