55

C—3

and assaying being done at every crushing-battery. The Foreshore Tailings Company use small hydraulic elevating-jets to lift the tailings from the foreshore, and bring the material in small sluices to a pit at the back of the building where the pans are erected. When the tailings are removed from the pit by hand-labour and stacked, another small elevator lifts the tailings from where they are stacked and delivers the material into a distributory chute which feeds each pan. No manual labour is required in handling the tailings beyond lifting them out of the pit or box at the back of the building, the elevating-jets being half an inch, and the elevating-pipe three inches in diameter. The total quantity of tailings treated in the Thames District last year was 19,309 tons, which yielded 4,4780z. 12dwt. of gold, being an average of about 4dwt. 15gr. of gold per ton. If careful assays were made of these tailings previous to treatment it would be found there is not a large percentage of the value of the bullion recovered. The following table shows the number of acres held in claims and licensed holdings in the Thames District; the number of wages-men and tributers employed by the different companies, quantity of quartz crushed, and the yield of gold and bullion therefrom : —■

Average Number of Men employed. 'or Owner: For Tributers. Tail: ings. Locality and Name of Mine. Area. s « co 3 O ,£0 Quartz Gold crushed. obtained. Quartz crushed. Mullock. Gold obtanied. Quantity treated. Gold obtained. Thames County. A. B. !P. Tons cwt. lb. Tons. Oz. dwt. Tons cwt. Oz. dwt. Tons cwt. Oz. dwt. 'apu— Sheridan's Great Republic Sundry claims >uru— Tahu's Claim 20 3 4 5 0 0 5 1 3 21 0 0 14"o 0 176 204 12 8 5 29 9 1 0 0 38 4 1 25 3 4 10 35 0 38 176 246 7 'araru—• Norfolk Sylvia • .. City of Dunedin .. 30 0 0 179 3 0 26 2 0 12 24 2 1,700 0 0 2,400 0 0 120 0 0 392 0 104 7 33 0 236 1 0 38 4,220 0 0 529 7 ihellback— Nordenfelt Waitemata Mountain Flower .. Sundry claims 15 3 31 15 0 0 13 1 26 2 "l 4 80 0 34 91 13 29 0 30 0 10 13 24 13 '4 5"0 60 25 0 44 1 17 85 0 94 116 13 59 0 35 6 Curanui — Hansen's Comer's Hazelbank 14 3 10 13 1 37 -16 1 23 8 14 27 15 6 5 2,906 10,267 136 6 663 10 2,232 7 762 10 154 0 588 0 490 11 186 6 95 19 1,150'io 0 doanataiari— Moanataiari Alfred Freedom Orlando Calliope New Whau New Alburnia Dixon's Extended .. New Chum Sundry claims 44 2 30 49 26 1,150 10 0 13,173 3,032 3 1,504 10 772 16 94 3 26 10 1 5 6 1 10 15 0 0 10 3 0 3 2 8 15 1 0 3 2 18 5 0 0 88 1 57 10 2 11,734 0 0 35 0 0 5,257 5,039 15 78 17 2,752 10 132 0 70 0 1,390 0 189 5 46 15 6 2 5 8 8 66 "o 0 39 13 4 1G 100 "o 0 349 0 0 190 0 1,466 11 11 0 1,700 0 222 0 2,560 0 12 5 400 0 220 0 628 0 2 12 1 "2 48 89 1 0 1,000 57 5 312 0 164 2 27 129 92 ; 12,374 3 48 6,257 7,184 1 7,447 10 2,886 5 Jrahamstown — Saxon ..' Victoria Sundry claims 17 1 21 34 1 30 9 14 8 20 6 349 0 0 120 0 0 215 10 208 5 218 5 59 0 60 0 122 2 52 7 1*000 19,309 0 4,478 12 4,478 12 174 9 19,309 0 Waiotahi — Waiotahi New Manukau Cambria Fame and Fortune.. Golden Age West Coast Bright Smile Sundry claims 51 3 11 31 20 469 0 0 1,000 642 0 119 0 19 3 15 3 0 15 15 2 17 55 0 11 2 3 34 6 10 5 0 0 34 4 33 4 "3 32 2,298 0 0 110 0 0 2,277 0 0 49 10 0 2,578 11 153 17 2,001 3 25 0 400 0 949 10 69 0 140 16 1,791 19 65 10 2 1 10 54 0 16 11 0 0 100 0 13 52 10 25 8 327 7 '500 107 3 12 88 37 4,899 10 29 500 5,163 16 1,418 10 1,998 5 0 * Also bullion, 3,986oii. 5dwt. value £2,182 Us. 8d.