H.—7

16

It may now be taken for granted that in every case the reef struck at the lower level has turned out to yield the best, and I believe that many of the claims will eventually be worked by main tunnels from Black's Point and Murray Creek; and from the elevation of the present workings, and the disjointed nature of the reefs worked, I think it very probable that the actual main reef has yet to be struck at a much lower level. Some better means will have to be adopted for securing a constant supply of water, for with the exception of Anderson's, at Black's Point, who have brought in a large race from the Inangahua River, all the other machines have been obliged to suspend operations from time to time in consequence of the dry weather. If, as no doubt eventually will be the case, the majority of machine sites will be at Black's Point, it would be easy to enlarge Anderson's Race to command them all. The experience of the past summer points to the necessity of constructing reservoirs to fall back upon in dry weather. Alluvial Workings. —Long before the discovery of quartz reefs, alluvial gold has been found in isolated patches throughout the entire district, in many cases water-worn and heavy, in other cases scaly, and closely resembling the gold obtained by the process of ground sluicing in the Province of Otago. The large rush of miners to the district upon the discovery of the quartz reefs, and the consequent necessity of many of them being unable to obtain employment in quartz claims, and the impossibility of prospecting for fresh reefs without funds, led to a new overhaul of abandoned alluvial workings, as well as prospecting for fresh alluvial deposits in the various creeks adjacent to the reefs. Had it not been for the exceptionally dry summer, these efforts would have been crowned with greater success than actually resulted, but with this drawback large quantities of alluvial gold have been brought in and disposed of. Amongst the alluvial claims in the district, there is one worthy of special mention, from the quantity of work done in it. It is situated in Redman's Gully, between Reefton and Boatman's, and is held by W. Lynch and party. They have constructed a tail-race 2,000 feet iv length, the depth varying from 6 feet to 14 feet, covered and close lathed, besides bringing in two head-races for the purpose of ground sluicing. There is also a largo amount of work done in Soldier's Gully, about a mile south of Reefton, and a great deal of gold is being obtained. At the Lyell some 150 miners are working alluvial ground, and the average yield is about 100 oz. per week; and in the scattered district of the Matakitaki some 100 miners are at work, the average yield being 75 oz. per week. Fresh Discoveries. —So far as alluvial gold is concerned, lam not aware of any new workings; the miners are principally occupied in workings that were abandoned when the West Coast rush took place in the various creeks and gullies running into the Inangahua River. Fresh quartz reefs have, however, been discovered at the Lyell, towards the Eight-Mile Creek, and which bid fair to rival in richness the Little Wonder Claim. This claim was originally taken up by Carroll and Cairns as two men's ordinary claim, and it was subsequently extended to five men's ground. It is really a piece of spare ground adjoining the Alpine Company's lease, and has an excessively rich leader running through it.

Eestjlt of Cetjshings at thk Mttrbay Creek Eeefs. Subjoined is as accurate a return as can possibly be obtained. Date. Name of Company. Tons Crushed. Yield —oz. 1872, March. Energetic ... ... ... ... 10 42 1873, February. Energetic ... ... ... ... 297 108 1872, May. Ajax ... ... ... ... 603 970 „ July. Ajax ... ... ... ... 190 400 „ October. Ajax ... ... ... ... 300 600 „ November. Ajax ... ... ... ... 1,000 600 1873, March 1. Ajax ... ... ... ... 300 150 „ March 31. Ajax ... ... ... ... 500 303 1872, July. "Westland ... ... ... ... 80 40 „ August. Golden Fleece... ... ... ... 510 868 1873, January. Golden Fleece... ... ... ... 683 1,121 1872, October. Inglewood ... ... ... ... 27 55 „ October. United Band of Hope ... ... ... 31 41 „ November. Golden Hill ... ... ... ... 526 192 ~ December. Anderson's ... ... ... ... 515 581 1873, February. Anderson's ... ... ... ... 150 168 „ January. Victoria ... ... ... ... 317 149 „ January. Wealth of Nations ... ... ... 120 92 „ January. Wealth of Nations ... ... ... 210 161 „ January. Invincible ... ... ... ... 121 132 Totals ... ... ... 6,490 6,779 Population. Locality. Miners. Others. Eeefton ... ... ... ... ... ... 100 400 Black's Point ... ... ... ... ... ... 50 75 Murray Creek Eeefs ... ... ... ... ... 200 25 Kainy Creek ... ... ... ... ... ... 30 Soldier's and Devil's Creek ... ... ... ... 50 Painkiller and Eedman's ... ... ... ... 60 Boatman's ... ... ... ... ... ... 80 20 Carried forward ... ... ... ... ... 570 520