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blanket-tables being attached to the battery. The battery-superintendent informed me that the tailings assay about 16dwt. per ton. On my informing him that it would pay the company to erect a small cyanide plant, he met me with the objection that a cyanide plant had been tried with the Welcome Company's tailings and proved a failure. Be that as it may, there is no antimony in the quartz from this company's mine the same as found in the Welcome, and there is nothing to prevent at least 85 per cent, of the gold in the tailings being extracted, first by leaching with a solution containing cyanide of potassium, and after leaching, to run the wash-material over copperplates coated with quicksilver. The gold that the cyanide solution would not dissolve would be made thoroughly clean and bright, so that it would adhere to the silvered plates and be recovered in this manner. If the information supplied me is correct, the battery process is not extracting at the present time 50 per cent, of the assay-value of the gold in the ore. During the last year 470 tons of quartz was crushed, which yielded 2940z. of gold, representing a value of £1,168 125.; while calls were made to the extent of £600. Dillon. —This mine adjoins the Sir Charles Russell. At the southern end an adit was driven for a distance of 74ft. into the face of the hill from the opposite side of the gully, where the upper level is constructed into the Eussell Mine. The lode in this adit was broken up to some extent, and the company left it and sunk a winze about 7ft. from its northern boundary, and found at this place gold showing freely in the lode. This winze is down to a depth of 106 ft., but no steps had at the time of my visit been taken to test the length of the block of stone in this company's ground that will be payable for working. The value of the discovery will depend on the length of the block of stone southwards, as there is only 7ft. to drive in a northerly direction until the ground of the Sir Charles Eussell is reached. This is entirely a new district, and great anticipations were formed respecting it when the discovery was first made in the Sir Charles Eussell Mine. These anticipations have to a certain extent been realised from the value of the ore sent to the Eussell battery, which has averaged by the ordinary battery process about of gold per ton ; and if the tailings has an assay-value of 16dwt. per ton, as the battery-superintendent represented, then the ore is of excellent character, and a fair percentage of the gold it contains ought to be recovered. Golden Fleece. —This mine is still worked by tributers. They have the whole of the mine on tribute, but there is a clause in the agreement that the proprietor can, on payment of £1,000, resume the mine at any time. Very rich stone was got in this mine in the early days, both in the Ajax and Golden Fleece ground. The Ajax Company paid a good many thousand pounds in dividends, and it is said that none of the shareholders were ever called upon to pay any calls. This rich block of stone was stoped out to the 600 ft. level before the tributers got the mine ; but there is a large block of stone left on the south end which was in the early days considered of too low grade to pay for working. The tributers have been working on this block of stone, and have stoped a portion of this for 120 ft. above the 600 ft. level. As far as the tributers know, this block of stone goes to the surface, and, if so, they have a good many years' work before them. The lode varies in width, but it might be put down at an average thickness of 2ft., and it yields from 6dwt. to over Bdwt. of gold per ton. The men are well satisfied with their tribute, and consider they have a good many years' work which will give them fair wages. They pay 10 per cent, tribute on the gross yield of gold, and they get the use of the crushing-battery on the payment of 6d. per ton to the proprietor, in addition to the actual cost of wear and tear and working-expenses. The lode in this mine is between extremely well-defined walls. The underlie in very uniform, being about 67° from the horizontal at the 600 ft. level. This lode became broken up, but no doubt it will be found again at a deeper level. Although the workings are at a considerable depth below the surface, when the length of the range is taken into consideration the deepest workings are fully 1,400 ft. above the level of where the new shoot of auriferous stone has been found in the Keep It Dark Mine. During the year ending the 31st March last 1,054 tons was crushed, which yielded 3970z. gold, representing a value of £1,588 ; while eight men have been employed in connection with the mining operations. BoyoA. —This mine is let on tribute to four tributers, who have to pay the company who owns the ground about 7f per cent, of the gross yield of gold. This mine adjoins the southern end of the Golden Fleece. An adit-level has been constructed from the Murray Creek side of the range for a distance of 1,500 ft., but a more serpentine adit can scarcely be found; it is like the coils of a snake. Unless the man who constructed it, or was engaged in so doing, understood surveying it was impossible to say in what direction he was going. The present tributers are working on a small lode at the far end of the adit-level, and sloping a block of stone about 25ft. in length, and have taken this out for about 70ft. in height. The lode varies from 6in. to a foot in width ; but at the floor of the level it is broken up, and at the far end of the adit it appears to have been thrown to one side, possibly to the eastward. Judging from the appearance of the lode in the level it is likely to be got again further ahead. During the year ending the 31st March last 108 tons of stone were crushed, which yielded 530z. gold, representing a value of £213. Murray Greek. —Mining operations in the locality of Murray Creek have been for some time suspended; but.now that other mines in the district are looking better than they have done for a long time, prospecting operations are again to be proceeded with. A party of six tributers resumed work in the Golden Treasure with the view of stoping out a block of quartz from No. 2 level. In the Victoria there are some men working on leaders from the Nos. 1 and 2 levels; but these leaders are very small, and it is questionable, unless something else be found, whether the working will be of long duration. The mines are not prospected to any great depth, and there is a great probability that were prospecting operations carried on energetically, success would attend the efforts made. The ore in the Golden Treasure contains a large percentage of antimony, which makes it difficult to treat so as to get a fair percentage of the gold the ore contains. During the year 18 tons of stone were crushed from the Golden Treasure, which yielded 10-Joz. gold; and 326 tons from the Victoria, which yielded 98oz. retorted gold.