112

C.—3.

At the time of my recent visit here there were about twenty-seven Europeans and fourteen Chinese employed in the alluvial-gold workings in this locality. Duffers' and Half-ounce Greeks. There is a considerable population working in the vicinity of Duffers', Half-ounce, Sullivan's, and Brandy Jack's Creeks. The richer auriferous grounds in the locality are all of a very old deposit, and entirely different from the more recent drifts which cover the ranges back towards the mountains. The bottom on which the wash-drift rests is either " Old man" or sandstone, and in all the gullies and tributaries of Duffers', wherever the water has cut gulches back into the range, which is principally of " Old man" or " Maori" bottom, the wash-drift has been very good; but on getting through the line of the " Old man bottom" very little gold has been found. The whole of this evidence goes to prove that a great portion of the gold found in the beds of the gullies and creek, and also on the sides of the gulches, is derived from the cutting away of the " Old man bottom," and a concentration of the material by water. It is not to be expected that the hard compact layers of this bottom, of which there is a great depth on the ranges, would prove payable; but the material in which the gold is now found is only a very fine concentration of the immense quantity which has at some former period been submitted to the action of a rapid stream, which carried off the lighter portion, now forming the Totara Flat, while the metallic and denser particles were left behind in the beds of the streams. There is still a considerable area of ground to be worked here; but it can only be worked on a small scale, as there is no water available to command the ground on the ranges in this locality. The principal claim here is worked by the Duffers' Creek Company, who have recently constructed a reservoir in the bed of Duffers' Creek, and a water-race for some distance down the sideling to the claim the company took up. The creek-bed here is filled up with a great depth of tailings, so that no fall could be got to work the ground by sluicing in the ordinary manner. The company therefore sank a paddock and erected a set of bucket-elevators which lifts the tailings to a vertical height of about 70ft., and, being emptied into a sluice-box at this height, it is carried down the bed of the creek for some distance, the sluice-boxes being fitted with false bottoms to save the gold. An'underground tail-race was constructed from the well where the bottom tumbler of the elevators is placed, and the water used for driving the Pelton wheel which works the elevators is used again for sluicing in the bottom of the paddock, where a short line of sluice-boxes is placed to convey the sluiced material into the well, where the bottom end of the elevators is placed. The most of the gold is obtained from the boxes in the bottom of the paddock. It was thought by a considerable number of miners that this would prove a very profitable mining venture, but it has now been working about three years and the expectations formed respecting the great results from the claim have not yet been realised. Indeed, the quantity of water available is not nearly sufficient to admit of the works being carried on continuously. During my recent visit here sixty-two Europeans were employed in mining in this locality. Orwell Creek. There are still a considerable number of Europeans engaged in mining in the vicinity of Orwell Creek and Napoleon Hill. Some very rich deposits of auriferous wash-drift have been found here, both in the flat and on both sides of the range, also at Napoleon Hill. At the latter place there is a great depth of alluvial wash-drift, some places as much as 250 ft. The drift here resembles that found on the top of Mount Greenland, at the Mont dOr Claim, and of the same character as that found at the deep levels at Boss Flat, about 200 ft. under sea-level. There appears to be a synclinical basin or trough in the centre of the hill. Numerous adits have been constructed at different levels from both sides, and a considerable quantity of gold has already been obtained from this place. The cutting-away of this run of wash-drift by the scooping out of the valley of Orwell Creek By the action of water has left the concentrated material in the bed of this valley, and hence the rich layers of auriferous ground that have been found in many of the claims. The length of the deposit of auriferous wash-drift on Napoleon Hill, from the side of the range facing Orwell Creek to Delagana's claim on the opposite side, is fully a mile, while its width is quite 40 chains. Notwithstanding that this hill has been in a measure riddled with adits and drives, and rich layers of wash-drift taken out, it is. a place where a very large quantity of gold will yet be got if it were possible to get water to work it by hydraulic sluicing. All the beds of the gullies, creeks, and gulches cut out of this hill have been very rich, and, indeed, wherever there is wash-gravel drift on the ranges in the vicinity of Napoleon Hill, Orwell Creek, and the range going between Duffers', Noble's, and Half-ounce it will give good returns for working it with a fair supply of water. Very little sluicing can be done here, and even what little is done is only on a very small scale ; yet men make a fair livelihood by working the ground in a primitive manner. Indeed, if a good supply of water cculd be brought to command the terraces about Orwell Creek, it is a portion of the West Coast that would maintain a very large mining population. At the present time a co-operative company has been formed to construct a water-race from Eandell Creek, and are arranging to have a survey made to see whether a sufficient quantity of water can be got from that stream; but from my intimate knowledge of this locality there is little hope of a large supply being obtained from this source, but it is likely a large supply could be got from the Clarke Eiver, which is a considerable distance beyond Eandell Creek. As soon as a survey is made and the levels taken, this question of getting a supply of water at a high elevation will be set at rest. During my recent visit to this locality forty-five Europeans were engaged in mining. Eich leads of gold-bearing wash-drift were traced down Orwell Creek Flat, but the water, when the ground became deep, could not be overcome, more especially in time of floods, as it percolates through the surface. A tunnel tail-race was taken up through this flat, which allowed the upper portion to be worked; but nothing is known as regards the lower portion where it merges into the head of the Ahaura Plains. Several attempts have been made to form a large company to bring up