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crushed for a yield of 1,6520z. of gold. There are at present two distinct lodes being worked i this mine. There were formerly four lodes, but it is- considered that the whole of them wi eventually come together. The main and north, lodes, which are at present the ones being worked, were 86ft. distant froi each other at No. 3 level, while at No. 4 level they were only 58ft. distant, the perpendiculs distance being about 65ft. This shows that in this short distance they approached each other 28ft and were they to continue at the same angle they would come together at about 135 ft. below th No. 4 level. Mr. Evans, the manager, is desirous of sinking the main shaft with the view of testin this, as it is expected that rich gold-bearing stone will be struck at the junction of these lodes; bul having no funds to work upon, he has been obliged to confine his operations to where the golc bearing stone occurs on the upper levels. The lodes are from 4ft. to 6ft. in thickness, and should, with convenient appliances, be mad to give remunerative returns. It would in many mining localities be hard to convince men tha a body of stone yielding 9dwt. of gold per ton cannot be made to pay for working; but it must b borne in mind that the price of mining timber is very high at Skipper's, the cost of laths being £ per hundred, and caps and props are equally expensive. In lieu of the dynamos at present used for transmitting the driving-power of the crushing battery, it is proposed, as a substitute, to bring the water from the left branch of Skipper's, first b a flume two miles in length, and a tunnel through the range about 600 ft. in length, letting the wate then drop for a certain distance, and lifting it again at about 400 ft. above the level of the crushing battery. This will necessitate the use of a considerable length of wrought-iron pipes 15in. i: diameter. The total quantity of gold obtained from the mine since it was first opened in 1863 is, as far a can be ascertained, 28,0690z., which, at £4 per ounce, represents £112,296. Very near this amoun was paid in dividends from the Welcome, and also from the Keep-It-Dark Mine in the Eeefto: district, in about one-third of the time that the Phoenix Mine has been worked. There have bee; about sixty to eighty men employed about the mine and works during the past year. Eecentl information has come to hand that Mr. Fred. Evans, the former manager of this mine, is on th way out from England to resume the management for the new company. Gallant Tippcrary. —The main adit-level in this mine is being extended for a further distanc of 125 ft., its present length being 1,300 ft. The object of the extension is to get under the shot c gold-bearing stone which is found at the intermediate level, at about 115 ft. above the adit. Eigh men are employed in the mine. During last year 855 tons of stone were crushed, which yieldei 2030z. of gold. A new block of stone was found in this mine at a distance of about 500 ft. in fron the mouth of the adit-level. A cross-cut was put in to the eastward at the point, and cut this ne% lode, which is carrying gold; but until more work has been done, and it is properly opened out its value cannot be ascertained. ■ Leviathan. —This is a claim which has been taken up during the past year. It is situate v] Sawyer's Creek, about one and a half miles from Johnston's Hotel, at Skipper's Point. There hai not been any defined lode discovered at the time of my visit in the end of March last. There is i good-sized leader of quartz which has been cut in several places along the face of the range, am some stone has been taken out near the surface, a parcel of which was tested at the Gallant Tip perary battery, which was said to give payable returns; but, judging from the appearance of th. leader and the character of the quartz there does not appear to be a great prospect of it makin* into a lode which will prove remunerative for working. The discovery was made by W. MePhersoi and J. Filippini. There are numerous small lodes and leaders of quartz running through the country-rock in th locality of Skipper's and the Shotover, but it cannot be said that ever there has been any larg amount of work done to prospect any of them ; the most of the miners here prefer to prospect th alluvial drifts. There is no place in Otago where there is more quaitz in the country-rock than a Skipper's and the Shotover. The whole of the schist-rock is highly impregnated with quartz seam and veins, being of a finely laminated character, having schist and quartz alternating ; but ii respect to large lodes there has never been any very rich deposits of auriferous quartz found as ye in any of them. Wilson's Eivee. Since my last visit to this district the Golden Site Company have erected a crushing-batter of ten heads of stamps, which is driven by a Peiton water-wheel 6ft. in diameter, and also ligh pumping and winding-gear, which is worked by another Peiton water-wheel sft. in diameter. 1 water-race is constructed round the sideling for 45 chains to the river, and at the battery it gives i head of 53ft. The battery is erected close alongside the river, about 20ft. above the level of th water, and the tailings, on leaving the blanket-tables, are discharged into the river. There is no pro vision for stacking the tailings, nor could any be made other than by lifting them and stackinj them in a paddock cut out of the rock on the side of the steep range. The gold is recovere< in the ordinary way, by quicksilvered copper-plates and blanket-tables. The stamps are abou 7001b. each when new, and are said to crush about 90 tons a week. At the time of my visi the company were erecting two berdans to treat the concentrates from the blanket-tables. Thes , concentrates have to be lifted about 10ft. into the berdans. The crushing-battery started workin: on the 14th of August last, and up to the middle of October 640 tons of quartz was crushed, whici yielded 6660z. of gold, being an average of loz. 19gr. of gold per ton. The total cost of the crushing battery and building was stated to me as £758, which is extremely little considering the place wheri it is erected, and the difficulties which had to be encountered in transit of the machinery fron Kisbee Bay to the site.