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The whole of the quartz that had been crushed up to the date of my visit in November last came from the south side of Wilson's Eiver, where the lode averaged about Bft. in thickness; but, after driving in about 80ft. from the side of the river southwards, the lode cut out into mullock. There are still about one and a half stopes to work on this side of the river, near the surface ; but about two days previous to my visit a large slip came down and covered up all the workings, so that the lode could not be seen. On the north side of the river an inclined shaft, Bft. by 3ft. Bin. in the clear, has been sunk to a depth of 45ft., and timbered with planking 2in. in thickness; but this thickness of timber is not sufficient to resist the pressure, consequently the whole of the shaft has to be retimbered before any workings can be commenced from it. The lode is about sft. thick at the bottom of the shaft, and said to contain very good stone ; but it could not be seen at the time of my visit owing to the state of the shaft. This is the side of the river where the best stone was found when the lode was first discovered, and there is a great probability of some very good crushings being obtained when the lode is opened up. An adit was driven into the side of the range on the north side of the river, a little above the level of the top of the shaft; but the lode was broken up and not found payable for working. Judging from my former examinations, and the work which has since been done, the rich shot of stone in the lode is striking northwards at something like an inclination of 1 in 6. At the time that this lode was discovered the stone was by far the richest on the northern side of the river, and there is a great probability that some good stone will be found underneath the bed of the river; but a large portion of this will have to be left, or else, if the workings approach too close to the bed, the influx of water would become too great to open out the mine; indeed, the stone underneath the river should be left to the very last before any attempt is made to take it out. The southern end of the shot of gold in the lode had been reached prior to my visit, and it is very questionable whether another rich shot will be found for some distance southwards. Since writing the above, information has come to hand that this company is not getting the rich stone to the northwards that it expected. Some low-grade ore has recently been operated on at the battery, and the returns from same have brought about a desponding state of things ; however, the company is continuing a drive in a northward direction with the hope of cutting rich ore. During the past year the battery returns show that 1,155 tons of stone have been crushed, which yielded 8750z. gold. Hesperides Company. —This company hold the ground adjoining the Golden Site Holding on the southern end. An adit was first commenced in this company's ground from the side of the river, but a slip came down from the side of the range and covered it up. A shaft was then sunk on the face of the terrace to a depth of about 70ft., and, from this shaft, driving was done on the lode on each side of the shaft. Subsequently another adit was constructed from the face of the terrace to cut the lode, and at the time of my visit some stone was being obtained with the view of having a trial crushing at the Golden Site battery; but, judging from its appearance, the yield would not be great, and no information has since reached me as to the result of the trial crushing. Triangle Extended Company. —This company's ground is to the southward of the Hesperides, and it was said that fair prospects had been obtained from quartz found in the prospecting trenches. The lode, where it is cut near the surface, was said to be 18in. in thickness, and on the same line of reef as the Golden Site Holding. Very little has been done in prospecting the quartz lodes in this district. The company to the northward of the Golden Site Holding have suspended operations for some time past, they having not yet cut any lode going through their ground. There is at the place where they were sinking a considerable depth of sandy mud overlying the rock, so that it entails considerable expense to continue prospecting on this claim. Sufficient has, however, been proved in the Golden Site Holding to show that there are quartz lodes in the locality which will give payable returns for working. At the same time, my opinion is that, although some rich stone may be found, it cannot be depended on to run any great distance carrying rich ore. The lodes here are in entirely a different formation from where they are found in other portions of Otago, and are of a more recent origin. Morning Star Company. —This is a company recently formed with a capital of £12,000, of which £8,000 is paid to the promoters in paid-up shares. This company's claim is on the mainland, facing Longbeach. Some very rich stone has been found on the ground. It is said that from one of the claims now held by this company a ton of stone was forwarded to Messrs. Wylie and Scott's battery, at Invercargill, which yielded 9oz. 14dwt. of gold. On Crayfish Island a rich auriferous lode is said to be found in the Nugget Claim, where 950z. of gold was broken out by hand. This claim has now been purchased by a company with 24,000 shares of £1 each, of which 12,000 is given to the owners of the claim fully paid up for the property. At Cuttle Cove some quartz claims have been taken up. A syndicate has been formed to place machinery on the ground. A trial-crushing from the St. George and Crown Claims at Cuttle Cove is said to have yielded loz. 7dwt. per ton. The whole of the alluvial gold found in the district indicates that it has come from quartz reefs, and this is greatly amplified from the character of the gold got in the wash-drift in the vicinity of Sealer's. Many of the particles of gold have quartz attached, and the gold itself is quite sharp on the edges and angular, indicating that it could never have been carried far by the action of water. No doubt a rich quartz lode will yet be discovered in this locality ; but the quantity of soft peaty material which covers the surface makes prospecting for lodes a difficult undertaking.