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the only water obtainable was that which was collected in small dams after every shower. This, however, was found to be insufficient, and the ground was eventually abandoned. The assertion that a large proportion of the gold of the colony has been supplied by " Maori" or " Old man " bottom, may provoke considerable discussion. But when the matter is inquired into, and comparisons made between the character of the ground now being worked at Napoleon Hill and at Eoss with the false bottom on which more recent drifts are being worked elsewhere, it will be found that no difference in the character of the material can be distinguished, except in some places where the ground is denuded. Every creek and gully crossing this belt, flowing into the Grey River, contains gold, and rich deposits have been found in some of these creek-beds. In the creeks above the belt where the "Maori" or " Old man" bottom is found, the gold appears to be less in quantity, and different in character. More attention will in the future have to be given to this subject in order to prove the reliability or otherwise of these bottoms with respect to their gold-bearing qualities, as this opens up a very large question as to the extent of auriferous drifts on the West Coast. Another class of material to which attention should be directed is that of the quartz-conglome-rates, which cover an immense area in the watersheds of the Maruia, Glenroy, and Matakitaki Rivers. This quartz conglomerate resembles in appearance and seems to be of a similar character to that now being worked at Johannesberg, in South Africa, and which is giving such rich returns. Some parcels of quartz-conglomerate found here have been tested, and gave yields of from 2dwt. to sdwt. of gold per ton; but the area of ground covered with this material is great, and, as it is not to be expected that the whole of it would prove payable for working, a considerable amount of prospecting may have to be done before layers containing gold of a payable character are found. Sufficient is known, however, of its auriferous nature to justify its being prospected in a thorough and systematic manner, for, should a belt of this quartz-conglomerate be found of a character payable for working, it would prove one of the largest fields in the Australasian Colonies where quartzcrushing machinery can be profitably employed. Although the operations of dredging the rivers have, in Otago and the West Coast, been attended with success, .very few of the machines have been successful in dealing with the gold found on the ocean-beach. The large quantities of gold found on the different beaches would lead one to believe that dredging operations in connection with this class of material could be very successfully carried on. So far, however, experience has shown that such is not the case. Dredge after dredge has been placed on the sea-beaches of the West Coast, but, up to the present time, in none of the claims where they have been employed have dividends been paid. On many of these beaches there are still large quantities of gold to be obtained, and some of them contain very rich auriferous sands. Each of the different systems in present use for working alluvial drifts will be dealt with under separate headings when describing the various districts. Suffice it to say that the population which can be profitably employed in alluvial gold-mining is only limited by the quantity of water that can be brought to command the ground. If there were an abundant water-supply, thousands of men could find profitable employment in sluicing the terraces and the sides of the ranges, while the valleys could be worked by means of hydraulic elevating. Storage reservoirs, water supplies, and tracks, are questions affecting the expansion of the mining industry to which more consideration in the future will have to be given. Maelboeough Disteict. The principal workings in alluvial drifts in this district have been confined to Wakamarina and Mahakipawa. The former place was opened in 1863, and large quantities of gold was obtained from the drift found in the river-bed. However, very little gold has yet been found on the terraces alongside the river. Some rich deposits of gold were found in the different bars of the Wakamarina Eiver, and especially at Deep Creek, near its junction with that river. During recent years the only workings of any great extent have been confined to the gorge at the mouth of Deep Creek. Several mining companies have, one after the other, taken up this gorge, but so far have been unable to work it. One company managed, about three years ago, to get a paddock out on the upper end, but the amount of gold they obtained did not compensate them for their labour, and a flood came down and covered up all their workings, so that they were compelled to abandon it for the season. These operations were carried on in one of those deep guts or waterholes, where gold was found on a bar at the upper end, and also on a bar at the lower end. This fact leads many to believe that an immense quantity of gold will be found in the pot-hole. The impression formed about gold being obtained in the bottom of a deep gut has only been realised in a few instances, the general rule being that in the bottom of the pot-holes in river-beds nothing but a fine sediment or loose gravel is found, with but very little gold ; and this is likely to be the case with regard to the bed of the gorge of the Wakamarina River. Although this work has been attempted by several companies, none of them have commenced operations in such a manner as to insure success. The river is subject to heavy floods, and, when these come down, the paddocks that have been taken out are filled up, and all operations have to be again commenced de novo. If any company is determined to expend money in working this gorge, they must, in the first place, be prepared to build a substantial dam at the head, and when this preliminary step has been effected, as many men as can be placed at work should be employed to remove the gravel in the shortest possible time. The failure of the company's operations here may be attributed to the small number of men employed after the completion of what is termed the head-works. The only other field where mining operations on anything like a large scale have been carried on is at the Mahakipawa. The drift in the bed of this creek was found in many places to be very rich; but the upper part of this creek has now been worked out, and the workings at the present time are confined to the foot of the gorge and in Mr. Cullens's freehold. Some of the claims here have yielded good returns for the time they have been working ; but they are subject to being swamped out by floods in the creek. The Wairarapa, the Hibernian, and the King Solomon Mines have been the best claims on this field.
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