UNITED ALPINE.

Inangahua Times, Volume VII, Issue 1071, 7 April 1882, Page 2

UNITED ALPINE.

The usual number of hands are breaking out stone from both the north and south stopes. In the former the reef is about L'O feet in tliickn.s.. and

some very g*>od patches of gold havo been met with. Just now the air in the lower intermediate level north is very bad, and tho manager, Mr Black, is constructing a rise to connect with the upper intermediate, which will give a good draft, and enable work to proceed with more facility. A main pas . is being constructed between Nos. 4 and 5 levels, so as to give direct communication between tho two levels. Hitherto to go from one level to the other necessitated a very round about course, which the present work will remedy. The pass will be constructed with a man-hole and ladder the whole distance together with quartz pass. At No. 6 level the contractors have during the past week only had one shift working in the face, .the remaining hands having been engaged timbering up something over a hundred feet of the tunnel which they had driven without putting in timber. The total length of the level at present is a little over 500 feet The battery lias not been running full time during the past week, owing to the supply of quartz being rather short The monthly cleaning up will take place on Saturday. No. 2 ALPIXE During the latter end of last week the contractors in the No. 6 level of the United Alpine Company met with what gives promise of opening out into a large body of stone within the boundary of this company's lease, through the level is at present being driven. Just now nothing can be said of the value of the find, as the quartz has not yet been driven through, and only one of the walls is at present visible. From appearances it would seem to be the tail end of a reef, but whether it is an entirely new run of stone, or the underly of the United Alpine western reef cannot yet be determined. A few days work will no doubt reveal the actual value of the find.

LYELL CREEK EXTENDED. The directors on Saturday last accepted the tender of Micheal Cullen and party, at £1 12s 6d per foot for extending tunnel a distance of 500 feet The contractors arrived from Reefton on Wednesday, and will commence work at once. VICTOR EMANUEL News from this mine is of a very encouraging nature. While the hands were procuring timber, a few days since some distance up from the site of the tunnel they came upon the outcrop of a reef, carrying gold. During the past few days this has been stripped in places, and shows a well defined body of stone three feet thick, carrying a very good prospect of coarse gold. It is the opinion that it is the same body ol stone as that driven on in the company's level. Indications of the continuance ofthe reef through the entire length of the lease have been traced in numerous places. This proof of the value of the property wilt cause a marked improvement in the value of the company's scrip.