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70

Alexander Mine. —This ground is worked by the owner, Mr. Newsham, who had 3 tons of quartz crushed at the Thames, which yielded 56 oz. 11 dwt., valued at £190. Prospecting-work has also been carried out in the Welcome and Loyalty and in the Cadman and Munster Mines during the earlier part of the year. Taueanga Disteict. This field is situated within the northern portion of Tauranga County. Prospecting operations have occasionally been carried on, but no fresh discoveries have been made. Attention, however, is still being directed to test the reef first discovered in Fleming's freehold. The following list shows the claims held in this district: — Absteact of Licenses for Special Claims issued from the Warden's Office at Tauranga, in the Hauraki Mining District, and registered on or before the 31st March, 1899, in the Books of the Mining Eegistrar at Tauranga.

Te Puke District. Te Puke Gold-reefs Mine (Area, 1,087 acres; owners, Te Puke Gold-reefs, Limited; minemanager, E. E. Morrison). —This is the principal claim worked in the district, and the work for the year consisted of developing the large lode, and the driving of an adit-level on the south 100 ft. below the former level, which gives a depth of 320 ft. of backs below the crown of the hill. The adit was driven northwards for 200 ft., and the reef picked up in broken country; it also passed through a number of bands of gold-bearing quartz from 2 ft. to 12 ft. in width. After the reef had been found work was suspended in that portion of the mine, and a winze started from the low level. There are five known reefs on this property, and the character of the quartz is somewhat similar to that of the Waihi district, and will require similar treatment to that at the Crown Mine. The casing-walls are of a decomposed andesite. No. 1 reef in No. 2 level is 25 ft. wide. No. 2, or white lode, has given some assays worth £1 ss. per ton. No. 3, or blue lode, is heavily mineralised, and gives assays slightly in excess of No. 2 reef values. No work has been done on other lodes yet. The main lode, or No. 1, is the one that has been chiefly operated on. The cost of mining, trucking, and wet-crushing with cyanide solution is estimated by the owner not to exceed 11s. per ton on a basis of twenty stampers, and inclusive of management. The facilities for mining are very great, as all the reefs crop on the south side of the bill, where a stream for water-power runs at the foot of it. 550 ft. of backs can be got at from the adit-levels. Three places from the Eaparapahoe Stream are suitable for building dams for storage of water at a moderate cost, so that when the time comes there will be plenty of water-power to drive the battery, and there seems to be plenty of quartz available should the mine ultimately prove worthy of a large number of stampers being erected here. Terms for a wonking option have been agreed upon to get English capital to develop the mine, and shareholders are in hopes that this will soon be settled and a large staff of men at work. In the meantime the company have let a contract to drive the western adit, which will cut the blue and white lodes at a point 200 ft. north of the other workings, at which place these lodes appear to be making a junction with the main or No. 1 lode, and towards which the chute of the best-looking ore is trending, as all the best assays are from stone towards the north. Four wages-men were employed. Clark's Freehold (Area, 300 acres; owner, John Angus Clark; mine-manager, J. A. Clark, jun.). —A considerable amount of prospecting has been done in the ground, five drives having been put in—viz., No. 1, 80 ft.; No. 2, 80 ft.; No. 3, 30 ft. ; No. 4, 70 ft.; No. 5, 100 ft.—and a crosscut 50 ft. in length. The greatest depth of any of the drives below the surface is 100 ft. Three reefs have been discovered, blue and white quartz cased in brown sandstone, varying from 2^-ft. to 8 ft. in width. Two men were employed. The owner reports that the mine is now at a standstill, owing to want of capital to properly work the property. Ben Lomond. —This is a special claim on Native land, and during the year the owners put in a drive close to the boundary of Clark's freehold, which it adjoins, with a view of picking up the Te Puke lode, but after driving for 100 ft. nothing of a payable nature was disclosed. The Sisters is another freehold property, but no work of any importance has been done on it. Mr. Alexander McKay, F.G.S., Government Geologist, has furnished the following account of the auriferous cement met with in this district. He says,— " The claim in which cement was discovered was about two miles north of The Sisters, and two men were employed prospecting. Towards the north it was rhyolite and andesite gravel mixed, Varying from 2 ft. to 8 ft. in thickness, showing traces of gold, but nothing payable. The cement is underlayed and overlaying by pumice sands, and it appears in lenticular patches in this pumice

Date of License. Area. Locality. Block. Survey District. Name of Claim. Name of Registered Owner. 710/96 18/10/97 .5/10/97 A. R. P. 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 Aongatete .. Te Puke .. IV. V. Waitaha No. 1 V. Aongatete .. Maketu Eliza The Sisters Patience Henry M. Shepherd. K. te Atirau and M. te Atira D. Lundon. 18/10/97 18/10/97 18/10/97 18/10/97 18/10/97 18/10/97 12/4/98 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 100 0 0 97 2 29 * • • Pukekura Pukerima Puke Pai Pukehina Pukema Puketora Problem Te Puke Gold-reefs. if • ■ C. McLean. a • • v • .