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length. It requires about eight men in the mine to get sufficient stone to keep the crushing-battery fully employed. The battery crushes from 65 to 70 tons of stone per week with ten heads of stamps. Premier Company. —This is a company re-formed about two years ago with English capital. Previously to the formation of the new company the want of capital greatly crippled their mining operations, and the cost of getting the stone broken out was far more than it should have been if the mine had been opened out on a proper system. Eecently, a low-level adit has been in course of construction, and is now in about 1,400 ft. The quartz crushed has been taken from the shaft on the upper level, which is sunk to a depth of about 200 ft., the lode being followed on a level at this depth for 354 ft. to the westward, a drive having been constructed to the eastward for 406 ft, to meet the low-level adit. There are still about 300 ft. to drive before a connection is made, but the work at the present time is stopped. The lode is from 18in. to 2ft. in thickness, and about twenty men were recently employed; but very little work has been done in the mine last year owing to alterations being made in the crushing-battery, the old over-shot water-wheel being clone away with, and a Pelton hurdy-gurdy wheel 6ft. in diameter erected in its stead. During last year 274 tons of stone has been crushed, which yielded 760z. gold, being an average of sdwt. 13gr. of gold per ton, which cannot be said to be payable for working a small lode in hard country such as exists in the Premier Company's mine. The following is an extract from the Otago Witness of the 18th February last, of the report of their London correspondent in reference to the remarks of the chairman of the Glenrock Company, respecting the Premier Mine, which is portion of the company's property : —" I may now tell you that we lost no time last year in starting the necessary works in New Zealand on the Piemier Mine. We had all the properties registered under the name of the Premier Consolidated Gold Company. Up to that time all workings had been carried on from the main level or No. 1 adit, and from these workings 5,0810z. of gold had been obtained from 5,000 tons of stone, taken from No. 1 lode, as also from No. 2 or vertical lode. The opinion of Professor Black, and of Mr. L. O. Beal, was strongly in favour of driving the low-level adit 200 ft. below the old workings. Professor Black and Mr. Beal said the result would be that we should certainly strike rich gold-bearing stone. The rock, however, through which we have had to go is very hard, and dynamite was the only stuff to deal with it, and progress has been very slow. We continued to receive hopeful reports, but we regret that the last crushing has not borne out the confident forecasts expressed by Mr. Farrel in his advices of 12th August, which were conveyed to the shareholders in the Board's circular of 24th September. The mortification of the Board was great, and the directors could imagine how the shareholders also felt on the subject. The crushing of 275 tons, however, is believed to have come from a new reef on the upper level, and not from the low-level adit. The directors, I may say, contemplate taking immediate steps which will effectually preclude any further misadventure on account of reports which are not borne out by results, and they will communicate to the shareholders on the subject as early as possible. Professor Black and Mr. Beal are gentleman highly spoken of in New Zealand, and they swore to their reports being accurate, and it is hard to think that they would peril their reputation in such a manner. We hope that we shall yet achieve the results we have been striving for, and which they say can only be done by cutting a tunnel right through from east to west." It is to be hoped that the mine will yet prove a payable investment, and that rich goldbearing stone will be got at the low levels; but even if the lode proves to be of low grade, the lowlevel will enable the company to work the mine on the upper levels far more economically and systematically. Sunrise Company. —This company's mine is at a higher elevation than any other mine in the colony, being about 5,000 ft. above sea-level. Very little work can be done at this elevation for several months in winter; and it is only during the summer months that the quartz can be taken down to the crushing-battery, which is erected at the foot of the range on the side of Macetown Creek. A low-level adit has been constructed for 530 ft., but this level did not cut the lode previously worked. At the end of the low level an uprise has been constructed for 50ft., and a drive made from this uprise towards the bottom of a winze sunk on the old lode for a distance of 80ft., where the lode is from 2ft. to 3ft. in thickness. A considerable quantity of stone is lying on the surface ready to send to the crushing-battery. There has been 214 tons of stone crushed since the beginning of the present year, which yielded 1730z. of gold, representing a value of £672. Only about four men have been employed in the mine. Mining Eetuens. The following statement will show the mining companies who have complied with the Act last year and published a statement of their returns, in compliance with " The Mining Companies Act, 1886," as amended by " The Mining Act, 1891." It will be seen that there are a great number of companies which have not published their statements, and the Inspectors of Mines have been instructed to compel them to comply with the Act: —