113

C—3

a tail-race from the front of the terrace facing the Ahaura Eiver. A special claim of 200 acres in extent was granted some years ago as an inducement to test this portion of the field; but all arrangements in this direction have fallen through. There are many men in this neighbourhood who think that capital will yet be forthcoming to undertake this work. Ahaura. During the last year several sluicing-claims have been taken up on the terraces on the Orwell Creek side of the Ahaura Eiver. Opposite Eiverview some of the layers of wash-drift are said to give Jdwt. of gold to the tin dish. There is a great depth of gravel with a little gold all through it. Three claims were opened out here at the time of my visit, and a commencement was made to open out another. Two other parties of miners were working on the same side of the Ahaura Eiver, about two miles and a half lower down, and were said to be doing fairly well. One of them is constructing a water-race from Orwell Creek, which will be a distance of about five miles when completed, which shows that there is sufficient prospect to lay out a considerable amount of either money or labour to work the ground. In regard to the claims on the terrace alongside the Ahaura Eiver, from the appearance of the bedding of the gravels, the Ahaura Eiver has at one time run at a higher level and concentrated the material which it brought down by the stream and formed the rich gold-bearing layers there are in the wash-drift. Indeed, the action of the river has cut away an immense quantity of auriferous drift on both sides, and in all probability this river-bed will pay to work below the upper line where the old gravels of either the Miocene or Lower Pliocene age joins the slate formation and the more recent deposits. Seeing the large depth of auriferous drifts on both sides of the river, there must be a considerable quantity of gold among the wash in the present bed of the river. Taking the Eiverview side of the river, all the creek-beds—lrishman, Black Sand, and Sullivan's—coming out of the range between this and Callaghan's Creek have been worked, and there is a large area covered with the old gravels on the terraces which would pay well for working with water. Some years ago Mr. J. Gow, then manager of the Nelson Creek Water-race, made a survey of a water-race from Lake Hochstetter to command this ground. The cost of same, with a carryingcapacity of about fifty sluice-heads, would be about £21,000. A line was selected in which very little timber would be required, as most of the channel would be in tunnels through soft sandstone and " Old man " reef. The only place where there is any doubt about the cost of this supply is at the head, where there would be a tunnel about one mile in length. At the time of my visit there were about twelve Europeans engaged in mining opeiations in the Eiverview side of the Ahaura Eiver. Gallag han's. This is the next diggings from the Ahaura, going down the Grey Valley, where gold-working has been constantly carried on. Since it was first opened a considerable quantity of gold has been obtained from the bed of Callaghan's Creek, which has been worked from about 40 chains up from the Grey Valley Eoad to its head; also the most of the beds of its tributaries, wherever washdrift was found. The whole of the wash-drifts consist of old gravels, which lie on either a sandstone or "Maori " bottom ; but there is a large area of country here where there is little or no wash-drift on the top of the sandstone, especially on the steep slopes of the ranges. The water which cut out the valley of Callaghan's Creek has laid bare this sandstone, and washed away in many places any gravel deposit there may have been. Still, at the same time, there are considerable areas of ground in this locality covered with auriferous wash-drift. The present workings are about two miles and a half up the creek from the Grey Valley Eoad, on low flat terraces alongside the creek. Some of the parties have a very good way of working, seeing that there is very little water to be got to carry on sluicing operations. Craig and party work the ground in an open face about 30ft. in depth. They first sank a shaft and brought in a small stream of water to work what is termed a water-lift. There is an underground tail-race from the bottom of the shaft which conveys away any drainage-water, and also water from the lift. The shaft is divided in two divisions, one in which a tank is placed, having a valve at the bottom, and in the other division is a cage and truck. When the loaded truck is placed on the cage, the tank being filled with water at the top of the shaft holds sufficient water to be capable of hauling up the loaded truck, and when the tank gets to the bottom of the shaft and the truck up to the surface, the valve at the bottom of the tank is opened automatically, and is emptied of its water. The weight of the empty cage and truck is sufficient to counterbalance the weight of the empty tank, hence it comes up to the surface again while the truck goes down the shaft. The winding is therefore done by this means. There are about twenty-two Europeans and eight Chinese working in this locality. Nelson Creek. There is still a considerable number of miners working in this locality ; but the principal place where mining operations are carried on is the flat alongside Nelson Creek, below the Township of Hatter's Terrace, and on the lower end of Try Again Terrace. The gold-workings here extend up the tributaries of Nelson Creek, and also up the left branch, for a long distance; but most of the ground that has as yet been discovered payable for working has been sluiced away with water from the Nelson Creek Water-race, before the bridges and flumes collapsed. As a general rule there is very little wash-drift on the side of the ranges; the sandstone-rock and " Old man bottom" is found close underneath the mossy vegetation on the surface, but wherever there is a gravel deposit it is generally found to be auriferous. The largest deposit of alluvial drift on the ranges in this locality is found at Owen's Lookout, where there is a gut containing a great depth of alluvial drift going back into the range, and apparently partly going through the range into the left branch of Nelson Creek. The gravel in this hill is similar in character to that found on Napoleon Hill, and also at Boss, and it is evidently part of the same run or gold-bearing lead which has not been entirely denuded. The same line of country