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a—3 a

No. 2 South Keep-It-Dark. —During the year No. 3 level has been extended 300 ft. south along the line of reef without anything of a payable nature being discovered. This level is now about 500 ft. in from the shaft. Driving has for the present been stopped, and a rise is being put up above the level on the north-east end of the claim. There is a small well-defined reef about 10 in. thick, and gold-bearing, in the rise, and present indications lead to the belief that it will widen out. The directors contemplate driving a cross-cut to the westward from the bottom level underneath the Inangahua level. There has been a proposal to amalgamate this and the Hercules Company, and so form one strong company, and thoroughly prospect the mines at deeper levels. The prospecting of the two mines could then be much more cheaply carried out. Wealth of Nations. —This claim is one of the properties purchased by the Consolidated Goldfields of New Zealand, and is the chief mine of what is known as the Wealth of Nations group, which comprises the Wealth of Nations, Energetic, and portions of the Gladstone, Beaconsfield, and Undaunted. The work on this property has been purely of a developmental character. The battery level has been extended 380 ft., and a connection made with the old workings in the Energetic Mine, which were successfully tapped, there being 150 ft. of water in them. The 200 ft. level has been driven 330 ft., and a cross-cut 177 ft. The 350 ft. level has been driven 100 ft., and a cross-cut 30 ft. The 500 ft. level has been driven 242 ft. and a cross-cut 40 ft. A winze has been sunk 130 ft. from No. 5 level on ore, and 60 ft. have been driven from the bottom of the winze. A new incline shaft has been sunk 344 ft. for the purpose of working the ore at the lower levels. Altogether, 1,928 ft. of driving, &c, has been done during the year, besides repairing and reopening 1,840 ft. of old levels. Forty men were employed iv the mine at the end of March. Inangahua Low-level Tunnel. —The properties known as the Golden Fleece, Eoyal, Salisbury, Juno, and portions of the Gladstone, Beaconsfield, aud Undaunted are now held in conjunction with the Inangahua Low-level Tunnel Company, from which in the future all will be worked. A boiler and air-compressor to work the rock-drills have been installed, and also an air-winch for hauling. Good progress has been made in pushing ahead the tunnel, 380 ft. of old workings having been reopened, and the tunnel extended 1,089 ft. during the year, the face now being in 3,989 ft. In the Golden Fleece and Eoyal 964 ft. of driving and cross-cutting has been done. A winze is being sunk from the lowest workings in the Golden Fleece to connect with the main low-level tunnel, and it is now down 145 ft. This tunnel will be 800 ft. below the lowest workings in the Venus, 654 ft. below those in the Golden Fleece, and 886 ft. below those in the Eoyal. Big Eivbe. Big Biver. —During the last twelve months the shaft has been sunk 150 ft., making a total depth of 932 ft. from the surface. From this level a cross-cut is being driven, which at present is 200 ft. in, to intersect the reef, which, it is expected, will be reached in another 50 ft. A winze has been sunk from this level (No. 5) 90 ft. on stone. A reef was discovered last October on the surface showing gold. A level to cut this reef at a depth of 70 ft. was driven, and a connection made with the surface by rising. The company are at present unable to crush, owing to their race and a good many chains of fluming having been destroyed by floods. It will cost about £300 to repair the damage. During the year 2,000 tons of stone has been crushed, for a yield of 1,983 oz. of gold, valued at £8,030 195., out of which shareholders have received £1,800 in dividends. The total output of the mine is 13,979 tons of quartz, which yielded 19,317 oz. of gold of the value of £77,760 13s. Bd., from which dividends to the extent of £40,500 have been declared. Devil's Cebek. Progress Mines of Neiv Zealand. —This is a company recently floated in England by the Consolidated Goldfields of New Zealand. There are 250,000 shares in.the company, with a working capital of £50,000. This mine comprises the following claims—viz.: Globe, Progress, Progressive, Eose, Wedge, Ballance, Larnach, Carroll, and Deep, which contain about 740 acres of ground. In the property formerly known as the Progress the following work has been done during the year: No. 5 level has been extended 99 ft. south, and 225 ft. of cross-cut has been driven. In No. 2 level an uprise of 122 ft. was made to prove what was known as the Dam Block. The level was extended 91 ft., and a cross-cut of 62 ft. driven. From No. 1 level a cross-cut was driven 115 ft. to connect with the new shaft now being sunk to work this and adjoining properties, and a chamber 26 ft. by 13 ft. by 10 ft. has been cut out. In the old Globe Mine the work done has been of a considerable magnitude. No. 4 level has been driven east 286 ft., west 154 ft., and south 106 ft. Bodies of ore have been developed in the east and west drives. The stone in the east drive is the same body of stone previously worked in No. 3 level, but that in the west is not supposed to have any connection with any previously known ore. No. 5 level has been driven 263 ft. east and 231 ft. west. The eastern drive has been on stone the whole distance, with the exception of 30 ft., whilst 80 ft. was on stone in western drive. From the western drive a cross-cut of 11 ft. was put in, a winze sunk 58 ft., and an uprise of 45 ft. was taken up, all being on ore. A winze has been sunk on stone for a depth of 158 ft. from the intermediate level below No. 5. The intermediate level below No. 5 has been driven 34 ft., from which an uprise of 12 ft. was made, and a cross-cut was driven therefrom 11 ft. to the South Eeef. No. 6 level has been extended 253 ft. east, and 368 ft. west, and the following cross-cuts have been put in, viz.: No. 1, 44ft.; No. 2, 32 ft.; No. 3, 16ft.; No. 4, 27 ft.; No. 5, 22 ft., all being driven south. No. 1 north, 18 ft., and No. 2, 9 ft. All these workings are chiefly on stone. In the south-east a rise has been taken up 78 ft., and in the west another of 206 ft. In the west a winze has been sunk 125 ft. A cross-cut from the bottom of this winze has been driven 32 ft. All these workings are in ore. A cross-cut is now being driven from No. 6 level to connect with the new shaft, and the drive is now in 145 ft. The new main shaft, which measures 13 ft. 2 in. by 6 ft. 2 in. in the clear, and is in three compartments, was started in November last, and was down 625 ft, on the 2nd May ultimo. The company are bringing in a water-race 10J miles to work