NEW ZEALAND MINERALS.

Inangahua Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1231, 9 February 1883, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND MINERALS.

; ♦; : " • (To tlio Editor of the Colliery Guardian.) Sirt.^A- few months. ■* ago If was spending , .a. few days , in r> Reef ton,.' .T tov/n situated on the Inangahua River, ' . New Zealand,, which is 'purely a gold j mining, district, and a few lines in „ reference to the above may bV'Soniething,new to your numerous readers/ ' T was highly interested whensfcand-. . ing .on the ranges, l^SQOft, above the riyer, to see such indications of enor^. nidus belts 'of /gold-bearing .quartz, reefs, extending for miles, with a strike north and south ; also looking southeast the mind is at once struck in contemplating the future greatness of this vast and inexhaustible gold-mining district. These ranges, whose tops and heights for hundreds of feet have been denuded of their micaceous slate, and have parted .with- their precious , metal from the eroded quartz reefs , during the drift period* Nature hav- | ing done a great deal to help the gold | mining in this country, as the rocks , which have been ground down must ? have been . something enormous in lifting up these huge ranges, and tearing I and rending the rocks of slate into various forma and shapes* The quartz reefs, in the grinding processhave been pulverised so fine that they , have parted with their gold, hence the enormous deposits of shingle or drift; in the Grey Valley, and, in* judging by the past, some of the . rqefs in the' district will be found of great -richness, . in the future. ' ' ; : I had the pleasure; of going through, some of the gold mines.- From some, of these mines from. 100 to 200 tons of quartz are crushed weekly, yielding, on an ayerage, over 2 ozs. of gold from each ton* of quartz. The dividendpaying mines, such as the " Welcome " and " Keep-it-Dark," are now paying at the rate of £4,000 per month. . Gold-bearing stone has ibeen found to the south of Reefton. In the. Globe claim some extraordinary specimens of stone have been broughtto light, yielding as much as 1 dwt. of gold to 1 lh. of stone, the richest finds which have" taken place ..here. Some of the reefs are as much as 20ft. in thickness, and ovQrJJOQtlsase&pf 16£ acres each, and. ..a. few special leases, varying from lOO^to 1,000 acres, have been taken up very recently, employing about 3,000 gold miners. " When the whole of the claims are in full swing, with their ten', twenty or thirty head batteries at work, some thousands more quartz miners will be employed, whose wages are, on an average, 10s, t per day of eight hpurs. Then insteadioffarmers sendino home meat for sale at 6d. per pound, Ihere will be plenty to consume it here, and get the 6d. on the spot. It is quite a common matter for a man to take up 1,000 shares at Id. per scrip, and in the course of a few months e'ath scrip' to yield £1.. The reefs of the.. West Coast yield on an average, 1 oz. 4d\vts. te the ton. This vast reefing country extends for 200 miles, a large portion of which the foot of the white man has never trod. A large amount of slate rock is covered

with drifts ; the soft gold bearing reefs have been carried, doyvp. the creeks, clearly showing this is a fine field for a prospecting syndicate to raise money and go to-work with a diamond drill. A prospecting licence for three square miles, can be taken up for one penny per acre for one year. Several tunnels -at- the .foot of the ranges have, been driven for a considerable distance, crossing several rich reefs, and will no doubt; eventually prove of great benefit. Great improvements are being made annually by utilising the water-power to compress air to drive rock borers, also in introducing labor-saving machines, and using . the coal resources to generate motive power to be' used, in driving! "** mining plant (as Sir William Thompson has clearly shown • that, by the use of dymano^electric machines, motive power could be generated to an almost unlimited extent, that thousands of horse-power can be convoyed to a distance of 300 miles by means * of a single copper wire of £ in. in diameter, at the cost of one penny per ton for 100 miles). .. ■"" Also, when the diamond drills get fairly to work, a new pra will set. Hi, as a new light will be thrown upon the district when the strata has been bored 1,000 ft in depth. . Then, the fact will be realise thatjthe borer. Will play a most important judiciously and practically handled- 1 — will make some startling revelations be being the key to unlock the precious mineral resources. In the -Souvenier . claim," ■at Reefton a magnificent t lode of j-ich -antimony has been discovered, 6 ft.. in. width and, a great distance in length, this antimony carrying a good percentage, of gold, making it of great value. ' The antimony, when smelted, is worth 470 per ton. This district is unique, and good openings are- offered.#to English capitalists. ' • • . .. On the proposed route of the .East and West^Doaist Bailway»from here vpa iteeftoii to iChristchurch and atyjufc thirty miles east of Reeftqn, the^granito ranges set in, near which some stream . tin, coppalv and other minpials have been found; i and during our coming . .summer, at Christmq^^gggpee^g^eill he vigorously pushed forvyard, with a view to develop the above minerals, same as at Mount Bishop, in Tasmania, where shares has ( rlsei> from £5 to £65 per share, Some," shareholders aro receiving frotri £500 to £700 per month in dividends. '.•'..'' In reference, to the coal resourcesof the Grey Valley I. refer yqu to my ~ report, you pubjisheJ'ln'yQur "valliabfe" paper, Dccpinber .I'6'th, I^l. Sj'n^* ; writing that report jt have discovered * ..a few more s«anis fof coal, varying" in thickness from 17ft.,. t0 20 ft., within a few miles of the port, and will require .a railway to be made that distance. This.njpal.isof ctxceUeiitquality for steam ■ purpo^eSjvand tilljie largely draWn v upon for . f oGpaur^steanners whelfi tlfe T* . Banama Canal is completed. ; V ij * * .There is. at present a fine opening' ' for English capitalists to speculate ' ' in forming a syndicate to raise money ' to develop these resources, and have steam colliers especially built iq carry" l.QOOtoiis of coal tpon 12-ffc drfcft, to enable the* coniffany to export the coal to the various ports in New Zealand " and Melbouiile. . From the outlay in developing the different resources a ■ large* and handsome return would be : realised. , ' Specimens 5 of gold-bearing quartz, antimony, and coal are forXvaftled by this mail for inspection.— l .am, sir, yours, &c, Jonathan Harrison F.G.S., M. and C. Engineer. New Zealand, Sep. 6tuytßß2. ' [The last Gazette to hand contains a statistical table, Showing the total quanity and value of gold entered for duty for exportation from New Zealand from the Ist April, 1875, to the 30th of June, 1882. Tho figures for that period are 9,910,210 ozs. representing a value of £38,666,278. Out of this grand total the. following are thi» portions produced on the various goldfields, in rotation of : quanity : — Otago, 4,134,837 ozs., valued at £16,283,843 ; West Coast, 2,750 J52 . O zs, -valued at L 10,765,440; Nelson, 1,630,583 ozs., valued at L 6,472,908; Auckland, 1,342,774 ozs., valued at L 4,946,64 2; Marlborough, 51^120. ozs, valued at 1x197,311 ; and. lastly, Wollitiigton wttTi the' grand retq'm of 34 ozs., valued at L 134. The' Vguauties' for - the quarter, ended ,30th- June, 1882 from the three principal districts stand th^s:— West C0a5t,. 56,028 ozs. Otago, 40,080 : 029. j Auckland, 15,434 ozs. Andthe quantities; for the corresponding quarterm'ißßlwi6re as follows: —West U6a&; 52,471 ozs. ; Otago, 4^, .07^).;ozs. Auckland, 11,736 ozs.; showing that the-: West Coast is growing the lading goldfield in the Colony, gaining fast on Otago, the excess for the last quarter being no less than 16, 000 0555., as compared to .the returns fronrtlieiast-mentioned distric.ti ; -Thcj '- 'Inatigahua reefs are'Sie main feeders of the West Coast returns.]