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50 ft. before opening out. We continue to cross-cut easterly at the 200 ft. level. Beyond this there is no other work being carried on in the mine. As we. are in virgin ground, both in sinking the shaft and cross-cutting, there are great probabilities of success. Being contiguous to the famous Hauraki, there is every reason to suppose it will be a successful mine." Hauraki No. 2 Mine (Area, acres; owners, Hauraki No. 2 Gold-mining Company ; minemanager, William Anderson). —Operations have not been conducted in a very vigorous manner at this mine during the past year. There is a shaft 210 ft. deep, from which a cross-cut has been driven 350 ft. to the westward and 150 ft. eastward. There are six reefs and leaders of hard white quartz encased in blue sandstone country. Since September last the company has been driving prospecting levels from the surface. No quartz has been crushed. Two men were employed for the last six months. Kathleen Grown Mine (Area, 95 acres ; owner, Kathleen Crown, Limited ; manager, H. Battens). —Mr. H. Battens, the manager, furnishes the following particulars of work done in this mine:— " During this period considerable developments have been carried out on Argall's reef, at the 200 ft. level, and for the whole time the reef has varied considerably, sometimes becoming a compact and uniform body of stone, and then separating into two distinct branches. It has also been subject to sudden disturbances, but on the whole has passed through very fair country. At times it has looked very promising, and has yielded some nice pieces of stone, but I regret that no payable ore has been obtained. Early in Januury last year the indications were exceptionally good about 50 ft. from the bottom cross-cut, and I expected to meet with success, especially as we were getting under the spot where gold was found near the surface; but unfortunately our hopes were not realised. All operations on this reef were suspended on the resumption of sinking the shaft. I may add that the risings and stopings on this reef yielded fair crushing dirt, but not sufficient to make it worth while carting to a distance to be crushed. After carefully studying the geological formation of the country, I am of opinion that it would be desirable to continue the drive south at the 200 ft. level, as it would bring us out of the dyke, and into the more congenial and auriferous belt of country. Driving on No. 1 reef north and south has been carried a considerable distance. Since this work was suspended surface prospecting has been carried on to the north of the forebreast, and a cross-reef has been discovered, which is goldbearing, encased in very congenial sandstone, and running almost at right angles to No. 1 reef. The operations in Thompson's section have been prosecuted during the whole of the year, and the reefs and leaders prospected and developed by means of drives, rises, winzes, and stopings, which, however, have not been carried on without some difficulties and drawbacks, such as slides and superabundance of water. The Nos. 2 and 3 reefs are both gold-bearing, the former being coarse and the latter fine gold, heavily charged with minerals. This section of the property is a complete network of small reefs, leaders, and veins, all more or less gold-bearing, and are undoubtedly identical with those in the eastern section of Blagrove's. We have had during the year two small lots of 5 tons each crushed from this section of the mine, yielding 11 oz. 8 dwt. of gold ; and I am satisfied that in the vicinity there is a substantial gold-bearing reef from which these smaller ones are branches or stringers. " During the month of June we resumed sinking operations, by contract, in two sections. The first 50 ft. cost £262 10s., and the second 50 ft. £260. The total depth of the shaft is 305 ft. At the 250 ft. we cut a chamber, and timbered the same, also at the 300 ft., and the shaft is securely timbered throughout, with cage-roads and ladderways complete. At the 250 ft. we put in a tank, with the necessary bearers to carry our 14 in. plunger column, and below this point we have fixed al2 in. bucket-lift. The plunger, which is on the ground, will heave from the 250 ft. to the adit level, which is 60 ft. below the collar of the shaft. The tutwork measurements for the year are as follows : Drives on reefs and leaders, 840 ft. ; stopings, 1,001 ft. ; rises, 202 ft. ; cross-cuts, 175 ft.; winzes, 77 ft. ; sinking shaft, 105 ft.; surface prospecting, 70 ft." Golden Pah (Area, 18 acres 3 roods; owner, Golden Pah (Hauraki), Limited; mine-manager, Francis Hodge). —This mine is adjacent to the Union Beach, and is worked from a shaft 240 ft. in depth, 50ft. of which was sunk during the year. There are four levels —viz., the adit, 80ft., 130 ft., and 193 ft. or present low level. The machinery consists of one 22 in. horizontal condensing pumping-engine, 43-horse power; one pair 10in. horizontal winding-engine, 18-horse power : valued at £2,769. There are four reefs in the ground, also numerous quartz-veins. The quantity of quartz treated was 31 tons, which was crushed at the Hauraki Company's battery, for 104 oz. 4 dwt., valued at £312 12s. There were thirty-one men employed, all on wages. Captain Hodge, the manager, gives the following account of this mine and workings : — " This company's measurements for the year ending 17th September last were as follows : Main shaft sunk 50 ft., and the development on various veins and leaders in the 193 ft., 130 ft., 80 ft., 60 ft., Pacific, and road-levels nearly 3,500 ft. Up to very recently this company has been engaged in the erection of extensive machinery, sinking its main shaft, doing a lot of cross-cutting, all of which may be considered dead-work. We are just now having bi-monthly crushings, to the value of £150. The average price of gold in the mine is over £3, and the future offers good chances of success." Operations were suspended by the company in the Hauraki South Mine, which was afterwards let on tribute. Zealandia Mine. —Very little development-work has been done on this ground. Hauraki South Mine. —Operations were carried on in prospecting from the shaft, but the quartz found was unimportant, and the work has lately been confined to prospecting by tributers at the surface levels. 29 tons was crushed, for 70 oz. 7 dwt.; value, £218 Is. Bd. Twenty-two men were employed. Hauraki Main Lodes. —This property consists of a fcreshore claim, in which a shaft has been sunk to a depth of 180 ft. on the beach below high-water mark, and between the Union Beach and

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