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40in. cylinder and 9ft. stroke, to do the pumping. The old pump formerly used, which was 9in. in diameter, was taken out and replaced with a 12in. plunger-pump, and the 9in. lift placed in the new shaft to Ifft the water from the bottom up to the 180 ft. level. These pumps, working three strokes per minute, are now sufficient to drain the mine. Since the new pumping-engine has been erected the saving in fuel amounts to about 50 tons of coal per month, which means a saving of £600 per annum. The two shafts are connected at the 180 ft. level, and the water from the new shaft is led along this level in boxes to the old shaft. A commencement has been made to construct a level at 280 ft. in the new shaft. It is expected to cut the Green Harp lode at about 25ft. in an eastward direction from the shaft, and the Black Eeef at about 80ft. north, and after driving on this reef for 230 ft. westward, the level will intersect the Cross Eeef, which is a parallel one to the. Green Harp. Taking the underlie of the lodes, this level will give about 120 ft. of backs. Until these lodes are cut nothing can be said in regard to the future prospects of this mine. The average number of men employed has been about thirty. The company had expended on the mine and plant at the, time of my visit, including the machinery on the ground, about £19,000, the machinery costing about £10,000. The management of the Kapanga and Goromandel Companies has been under Mr. Francis Hodge, who was sent out from England to take charge of these companies' works ; and it may be said that he is the only one who has come out direct from the Home-country who has carried on quartzworkings in a systematic and successful manner. He has now resigned his charge and is returning to England, Mr. Argal having been appointed to fill his place. South Kapanga Company, —A shaft was sunk down to a depth of about 100 ft., and a level put in from the shaft for a considerable distance, some three years ago ; but at that time the company was not successful in finding payable stone. Operations were suspended for a long time, but working has again been resumed. They are driving for Scotty's Lode, which is supposed to come through their ground, and occasionally get small blocks of auriferous stone ; but so far the workings have not proved to be remunerative. There are ten men employed in the mine. North Kapanga Company. — This company has a claim of 60 acres. They have six men employed prospecting for the same lode on which the Kapanga Company is getting gold ; but so far have not been successful in finding any stone of a payable character for working. In the Tiki, Matawai, and Manaia districts there has been very little work done. The most of those formerly employed here have left for the Kuaotuna field. Mr. Vizard, at Castle Bock, is still working his claim, and last year he got 1001b. of specimen-stone, which yielded lSOoz. of gold. Lanigan's Claim, Whangapoua. —A new discovery of an auriferous quartz was made last year on the Kauri Syndicate Company's property, near one of the branches of the Opitonui River, about four miles up from Whangapoua Harbour. The discovery was made in September last. The prospectors, Messrs. Lanigan and Mclsaac, found quartz cropping out on the surface, and saw a little gold in the stone. They commenced and opened out a cut or trench on the lode, which is about 3ft. in thickness, and blotches of gold were seen in different parts of the lode. Thirty tons of quartz was taken out and forwarded to the Thames for treatment, which gave a return of 61oz. 3dwt. of gold. Since then an adit-level has been constructed, which cut the lode at 60ft. below the surface, where it is from 6ft. to Bft. in thickness, and gold is seen in the lode. This is likely to prove a valuable discovery. The whole of the country between Matawai and Kuaotuna is less or more auriferous, and this claim lies at the back of Castle Eock and on the line or belt of country leading towards Kuaotuna. There is a good site for a crushing-battery on the side of the Opitonui River, where water can be got at a sufficient elevation to drive the machinery. Kuaotuna. This is an entirely new field, and one which promises to yield a large quantity of gold. There are numerous quartz lodes cropping out here and there, and prospecting has been carried on for a number of years within one mile of where the present workings are situate. On my visit to the Waitaia district about four years ago there were two men prospecting at the head of the Waitaia Greek, looking for a reef. The creek-bed had been worked in places and rich specimens had been found, evidently come from a reef. On ascertaining from these men the place where the gold was traced to the head of the gully, my impression then was that an auriferous lode would be found in the range on the opposite side of the creek to that on which they were working, as the gold seemed to have come from that direction; and apparently a payable auriferous lode has now been found within about a mile of where these prospectors were at work. Some of the claims promises to contain very rich stone, but the gold is of a fine character. In some of the lodes it appears in blotches here and there in the quartz, and in other lodes it is difficult to see a trace of gold without crushing the stone in a mortar and panning off the crushed material. A large number of claims have been taken up; but, as there is no crushing-plant erected on the field, very little of the stone has been tested. The land where the auriferous lodes have been discovered is partially Crown land, partially Native land — Kuaotuna Blocks Nos. Ib, 2, and 3—and partially freehold land, belonging to Mr. McPherson, of Mercury Bay. Try Fluke Claim. —This is one of the richest claims yet discovered. The lode was first discovered cropping out on the surface. An adit-level has been constructed from the side of the'range facing the Kuaotuna Creek, and has cat the lode, which is about sft. in width, and contains a large percentage of the oxides of manganese and iron. The quartz is very porous, containing numerous small disc-like cavities, with thin wafer-like silica walls between each cavity, presenting the appearance of sinter. . There is very little gold to be seen in the stone ; yet, when it is crushed in a mortar and panned off in a tin dish, a large prospect of golfl is obtained. On my visit to this mine a piece of stone in which no gold was visible was pounded up in a mortar, and the pounded material panned off into a tin dish full of water, when a splendid prospect of very fine floury gold was obtained. The muddy water, but none of the crushed material, was then emptied into another