GOLDEN TREASURE.

Inangahua Times, Volume IX, Issue 1429, 11 August 1884, Page 2

GOLDEN TREASURE.

After a long interval this company is once more approaching the time when crushing will be resumed, and a few particulars of the works undertaken since the stampers were hung up will not bo without interest to those ao a distance who have been putting their money into the venture. The position of the property at the time it was decided to open up the present low level was something as follows. The battery consisted of ten heads of stampers, five of these were to all intents anl purposes useless. They were originally designed for crushing cement, but even for that purpose were not of the tnost serviceable kind. The other five were of somewhat heavier calibre, but still rather light for the work. It was, however decided to allow the latter to remain and purchase two new J.cavy batteries of five head eaoh, and the contract was entrusted to Kincaid and McQueen , of Dunedin. Whatever may have been the nature of the contract entered into with that firm 1 know not, but it can hardly be said to have been carried out with either the fullest credit to the contractors or the greatest satisfaction to the Company. The new batteries are not on a level with the old one, the latter being about 6 inches higher. This of itself is noii a radical fault, but it would have been better, I think, had the old battery beer- pulled down and reerer ue<] on the same plans with the new ones, as the space ox the battery house could have then been utilised to better advantage. As it is the berdans, instead of bein^ together, now stand one at each end of the batteries, and ihus take up additional room. Further than, thi?., the roof of the shed is too low, and should have been raised at least a couple of feei. Much of the wood-work übouo the house is also in a very rotten aid dilapidated state and ought to have been renewed. A good i_!eal of work of this sort ought to have been gone on with while the batteries were bein.j erected, and not left, ns ii has been, until everything else is iinishew and crushing ready to start. Omissions of this land cannot bo fairly charged again St the contractors, hr.» there seems to h;ive been a laxity of supervision somewhere fcnei the patier:;^

of the Siiaicholders Ims been muux-'S-sarily strained. Hoy/ever, the work has at last been got .-"airly under way, and a week or -ten days ought to see the battery ready for action. Some six or eight hundred yards GO the west of the battery a main shaft has baen put down to a depth of 800 ft. and odd. It is in three compartment and substantially timbered throughout. The hauling is performed by a 20 horse power steam engine erected near the shaft. At the bottom of the shaft ?«, chamber has been excavated and strongly timbered. From there a main low level has been carried in about 400 ft,, this drive is uoi timbered, tiie formation not requiring n- just yet. According to the survey made ai» the outset the reef should have been ■'net on this level at at about 300fri in, but nearly 100 ft further was driven without cutting the lode. Some months having been fruitlessly epent i;i this way, it was decided to rise from the low level to connect wit'? the winze being sunk on the reef from the level above. Accordingly, a survey having been made, a point was given in the roof of the low level at which the rise should start in order to meet, the bottom of the winze and it was commenced and continued until the requisite height had been reached. But here a fresh cause of delay arose as the winze and the rise proved to ! >e no in line, and it was some lime before proof of this could be obtained. Eventually a connection was established between the two, but an awkward elbow now marks the point of junction, the two being about Gffc. out of line. The winze from above followed the reef down ft ••• nhonfc 90ft., when the underlie carried it off to the west, and from the course *.« thus shown the main level should two been about 50ft. more to the west in order to strike the lode. The reef has been opened out upon at two points in the winze, first at a depth of abrui, 30ft, and again at about 80ft. and at each place shows a width of from twelve to eighteen inches. At the 30ft. level the stone is of remarkably good quality, gold showing plainly in the face. At the 90ft. level it is not quite so good, but is still payable. The. stone is very clean and the gold of course shows well in it. The main level being ahonfc 160 ft. below all former workings in the mine, it follows that the extent of backs is very considerable, and, with only the main r*«f as shown in the winze, might fairly be considered a good property. Bui. there are two other important runs of stone showing in the intermediate level. These a» c the " antimony reef," an enormous body of stone, in places as much as 12ft. thick. This stone I ara told will average from 7 to lOdwta. pnr ton. Little or none of this stone war. crushed in former times, as that yield would not pay under the old system of working, and with the light stampers then in use, but with the extended facilities now possessed by the company there is no doubt whatever that stone of that quality will return a

good profit. Besides the antimony reef just spoken off there is yet another important run of stone. This is comparatively free from antimony, resembling more the white, sugary character of the main reef in the winze. Enormous blocks of .this stone are exposed in the intermediate level. Patches of it have seemingly been taken out and crushed, but for the same reason as that given above it hns apparantly been left as profitless. Sor: 9 of this stone, I am told, yielded as rnu-jh as 12idwts. per ton. There are thousands of tons of this stone immediately available, and if it averages even lOdwts. should leave a good margin of profit to the company now. Some of the stone on this level ran as high as loz, lOdwts. per ton, and the whole scope of former workings seems to have been confined to the quest of this stone. Blocks of it have been rooted out here, there, and everywhere, until the whole interior of the mine is a labyrinth of short cross-cuts winzes, rises and prospecting holes, begun apparently without any relation to a general plan of working, and with no pretension whatever to either order or regularity. It is perhaps only fair to say that these are faults which cannot be fairly chargeable to any particular directory or mine manager iv the past. There have been from time to time many changes, and each has no doubt brought a fresh theory into vogue, and in working it out added so much to the general muddle. There is one good feature about the upper workings which is that they are for the most part well timbered, and beyond the laying down of fresh rails to replace the ones which liave rotted by disuse, will require nothing more done to them to fit them for work. Mr Gilbert, the newly appointed mine manager seems to understand his work thoroughly, and will not be long in laying down a settled plan of operations, and this done there is no room to doubt that the future will be a prosperous one for the company.