TELEGRAPHIC

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 13 May 1881, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC

[BY ELECTRTC TELEGRAPH.] [PBOM OUB OWN COBBESPONDENT.] Westpobt, May 12. The Government dam at Charleston was carried away last night, taking Gregory and Homer's dam also, and everything before it. Damage extensive, and will cause nearly entire cessation of mining there. The bridge at Deep Creek was also carried away. Gbeymouth, May 12. About 5*30 this morning, a sort of whirlwind from the south»west direction went through this town, leaving course marked by wrecked houses, chimneys | blown down, verandahs, and fencing car* ried away. It first blew down a large pile driver, then wrecked most of the bouses west side of Mackay-street, smashed up a new two«storey building, used as a Chinese store, owned by Wy Kee, and blew the end out of the Great Western Hotel. The next pl;ice of importance to suffer was the English Church, one half of which was utterly smashed up, while the part left standing was twisted on the piles. The parsonage also was considerably damaged, and a good deal of minor damage was done to private dwellings until the whirlwind struck the hill, where all trace of it is lost. The last house injured being that of Perkins (lawyer), who lives on the slope of the hill. His verandah roof was carried fifty yavds away— some of the garden trees were broken by the win 1,

and other damage done. The total damage is estimated at about £4000 Wyndham, May 12 The bodies of those who perished on the ill-fated Tararua continue to be re covered one or two at the time, but those got recently have been mutilated in many cases beyond identification. Auckland, May 12. Tbe charge against^Sims for attemptting to murder a girl at Eiverhead, is proceeding at the Police Court. The Medical evidence shows that several veins were severed by the wounds, but the knife fortunately missed the principal blood vessel. It is a miracle tbat tbe wounds were not fatal. Sir George Grey addressed tbe elecf ors on Monday night at the Theatre Eoyal. Timaru, May _2. The annual 'sports of the South Canterbury Amateur Athletic Club commenced to«day, and trophies to the value of £200 are being competed for. A shocking case of cruelty too children boarded out by tbe Home for Neglected Children, came to 'light-f fSliepherd, a *Vj^ajj.ato setter, witjb who-fli the children had been placed, was fined £5, for ills treating one (a girl), and the Magistrate said that if corrobative evidence could be procured of story of tbe otber child (a boy), he would instruct the police to in» diet shepherd for perjury.

By P. Q. Caples. [Concluded ] The 6r9t amalgamators are the two dollies," charged each with 601bs of quicksilver. The ground material and the quicksilver are well mixed toi gelher by a double-harrow rake, revolving at the rate of thirty-three revolutions per minute. Into these dollies there is a constant flow of clear water, at the rate of thirty-six gallons, carrying with it threequarters of a pound of ground pyrites per minute ; the overflow after leaving the lower dolly is divided between the first twoTyrolesc mills, both again discharging into a larger one— three being called a ' set ' ; the stream dividing and uniting in like manner until the whole of the sets are served. A complete set of these Tyrolese mills costs at Langland's Foundry £82 10s; the small ones are 3ft, and the large ones 4ft wide, in two castings to each mill ; the bottom is a concave basin, charged with about 30lbs of quicksilver, and copper-plated round the inner circle, the top portion being a convex covering, screwed down to almost touch the silver well, and plated with amalgamated cop. per plates ; the top and bottom revolve in opposite directions, at the rate of 10, and 19 revolutions per minute. This particu* lar motion, acting on the pulverised atoms between the two silvered surfaces, has the effect of agitating the particles from side to side, assisted by the harrows, which force an upward tendency to discharge ; each mill is served with a little sodium»amalgam every eight hours, which greatly facilitates amalamagtion. At the end of every month a general cleaning up takes place and the result entered in a book kept for that purpose. I have before me a tabulated form from this book, extending over a period of 23 months. This book gins the quantity of pyrites treated by each mill every month, as well as the mercury, sodiums amalgam and caustic soda used, which are entered up under their respective headings at the end of every month, the number of ounces of amalgam retorted, and standard gold, and the loss of mer« cury, are all written up as part of a gene* ral system adopted at the Battery. This system of record is conducted as carefully as the business transactions of a mercantile firm. In following down that column devoted to ' lost mercury ' since first starting the mills, I was quite surprised at the low average loss, which for many months runs into fractions of a pound. This is the more surprising since the ground pyrites How over eleven mer» j oury wells, having a total charge of 3751b. and eighteen copper- plated surfaces, thus disregarding the old theory ' The more silver, the more loss.' From the battery there is always a certain loss of ' floured ' mercury that the mills retain, which became a complete loss by the old system of calcination ; not only what was floured, but two pounds of mercury to the ton of calcined pyrites was considered a fair average loss, or 23(Jlbs yearly by that manner of treatment. This waste of mercury is no longer a recorded fact on the books of the company since the intro* duction of these mills. That saying alone of mercury would be an excellent charac ter worthy of the highest recommends* tion. It is in the way of goldwsaving those engaged in mining will feel in any way interested. That event has been achieved by the Tyrolese amalgamators in extracting eleven pennyweights more gold per ton from the pyrities— with less expense— thau any other form of treat* ment hitherto tried at the company's works. During eight years before 1876 the Walhalla Company collected for call cination 1411 tons of pyrites, afterwards reduced by the fire process to 942 tons, giving a return of 24760z " lldw't 6gr of gold, at the rate of 2oz 12Jwt 14gr per ton. The expenditure incurred to re.* alisc this return was at the rate of 34s

pur ton, with a lO3S of 21bs of mercury, and the wear and tear on expensive furnace works. This cumbrous system and cost of treatment induced Mr Rosnles to make numerous experiments with the raw pyrites after concentration, and pyrites for some time exposed to atmospheric influence. In both instances be found the gold in well -formed minute particles, set in a pyritiferous matrix, requiring; some well «a; ranged mechanical appliances for the liberation of the gold, and the am* algamation afterwards, Less difficulty was experienced in separating and amal* gqmating the gold from the exposed oxidized pyrites. Of all practical tests, the most successful operation proved | mechanical subdivision the most complete by grinding small quantities wet to a thick consistency without the aid of mercury. Amalgamation gave better re> salts by forcing and arresting the pnl* verized particles many times against " amalgamated copper plates " placed over mercury weJls. Guided by this i principle, led to the introduction and then | improvement of the old Hungarian or | Tyrolrse mill, now presenting the largest -workmg^*©*— for it* aise— of -any- amaU. gamator of recent discovery. By referring to the calcination process, 1411 tons of raw pyrites were' sent to the furnace, which that treatment reduced to 942 tons for a gross yield of 24760zs lldwfs 6grs of gold obtained after reduction. It is quite evident, taking the number of tons before going through the furnace, and the gross yield of gold, raw pyrites only show 1 z 15Jwts 2grs of gold per ton in the concentrated pyrites. This would be their value for furnace work, deducting general expenses incurred by cost of treatment. Assay tests, taken during the different stages in operation, enhanced their value considerably more than could be obtained from the un« genial treatment by ' cremation/ against which the stubborn ore'rebelled.

Taking the returns given by the Tyrolese mills, since active operations were commenced, 118 tons, of raw pyrites were treated, for a general aver» age of 2ozs 6dwts per ton. This yield places a greater value on the pyrites than has been proved by the catenation. The total loss of mercury was nnder 10'bs, with the exception of two months run* nine; in dry weather, having to work with half the quantity of water, when the loss of mercury was very great. Tbe above return gives lldwt more per ton from the pyrites, now being crushed ont of poor stone, than the old furnace process gave ont of rich stone, from which was declared so much wealth in dividends. By tbe fire process, pyrites lose one -third in weight, and tbis added to the present yield, brings tbe amount to 3ozs ldvrt 8 grains, which the calcined pyrites should have given. The nearest approach to that return was 2< zs 12-lwt 14grains from calcined ore by the ordinary pan amalgamators. Such proof, removes any doubt which may exist, with regard to the profitable working of the Tyrolese mills amalgamators ; especially so where byenproducts are not of marketable valne. At the mines, and from Rosales' descrip* tive account, I have collected the follow* ing particulars, relating to the mills as amalgamators ;— 1. That the pyrites at present a' lowed to run to waste can be easily treated, in small parcels, on the premises of any mining company in a ek untainous district, or any other locality difficult of access. 2. That no calcining furnace is necessary, the erection of whioh requires cosily materials, 3. That the cost of treatment is less than one-half the calcination process. 4. Tbat more gold is obtained from the pyrites, as well as metallic silver saved, when found present. 5. That the loss of quicksilver is practically nil, which varied by the old pro* cess, from If bs to 2lbs per ton of calcined ore. 6. That peculation cannot take place, without stopping the mills, a protection many of the other amalgamators do not offer. The next claim at Walhalla, with a name and a future before it for paying dividends, is the Lorg Tunnel Extended. Tbis company is formed under the "No Liability Act," in 9600 shares of £6 each. The limit to each call is ss, but current expenditure does not exceed ls 6d per month. The company's tunnel is 950 feet long, of large dimensions, and sufficient size to roll circular boiler section!) into the chamber. The chamber is 100 feet long, 31 feet wide, and 16 feet high, formed out of solid rock, securely tim bered, and faithfully built (as architects and auctioneers say) at the cost of £1900. The shaft is 12 x 4| with 6xB timber, which cost £7 10s per foot, to sink to a depth of 660 feet. This level corres» ponds with tbe workings of the ' Long Tunnel Cotnpmy,' now stoping out close to the boundary. In order to bridge the difficulty of distance between tbe reef and the shaft, the company sent for two 'National Eockdrills' to America, and once placed in motion, the distance wiil soon be holed through. Tbe pumping and winding engines are erected in tbe chamber, and tbe boilers put into their places in a solid manner. Taking the machinery, as it now stands in working order, the cost has not exceeded £2)00. The ventilation of the chamber is in the most perfect order, by having a current of air passing through to the surface. From the main tunnel, a branch line leads off to the furnaces for the purpose of

increased ventilation nnd the carriage of flrewood, leaving shaft operations undis* turbed. From the chamber, an uprise Bx4, and 510 feet in length, was carried through the hill to the surface, and, when completed, co>t £1400, A circular brick flue was afterwards built inside the uprise, at the cost of £1 per foot ; tho circular portion is utiliz?d as a flue being connected with tho furnaces, nnd the remaining portion of the uprise kept open as an air passage. In this artificial grotto, the consumption of firewood by the boiler3 does not exceed 10 cords per week, attributable to the evenness of tho underground temperature.

In every quarts mining district there r? some peculiar feature of difference in tb^ rock formation, and a distinctive charao teristic mode of occurrence in the qnar'z lodes contained therein. Walballa is no exception to the rule, ns the qaartz lodes are there worked through one of the most extensive dyke formations in the colonies. The Waihalla, or Cohen's lino of reef* strikes and dips northerly with a westerly underlie through tipper Silurian slates, associated with feist one, and dykes of diorito. The reef, a short distance under the 9urfacf, divides in two, called (he eastern and western lodes*_Tha. easier n lode opens out from a few^feet to 12 feet, and the western lodo to over 20 feet in width, BotJi lodes again join at a con* siderable depth, the intervening space between being filled with a dyke of diorite, thickly impregnated with crystals of arsenical pyrites. These crystals are a never failing source of information when cross-cutting for, or working on the reef. Whenever the dyke walls are found thickly set with these pyrites the quirtz lodes are invariably stronger and richer than where the crystals are not so plentiful. The usual minerals in the reefs, nro iron, and arsenical pyrites, bournonitc, (lead, copper, antimony) specks of palena, anl the red oxide of silver. The stand* bH value of the reef gold, is from 20 to 22 ; from raw pvrites, 20 ; and from calcined pyrites 22 1 carets, the alloy being silver. The association of this extensive dyke, following the quartz lodes, and the general productiveness of tho stone in close proximity to the dyke, gives a peculiar interest to dyke forma* tions of frequent occurrence, traversing certain portions of our own district.

I cannot close these hurriedly taken notes, without returning thanks to the managers of the Walhalla and Long Tunnel Extended Companies, Messrs Eosalfs, and Parker, for varions sources of information, so generously placed at the disposal of myself and friend, Mr P. Butler.