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amount of work has been done by the present party. Two men were employed, who treated 4 tons of quartz for a return of 3 oz. 11 dwt. of gold, valued at £8 17s. 6d. Prospecting-work has also been carried on in the Summer Hill and Victory Claims, Hape Creek, but no payable returns obtained. Thames Special. —This claim was forfeited and taken up by another party, who applied for protection to enable them to raise money to work the ground. Little or no work has been done on this ground for some time past. May Queen Extended, Karaka Greek. —During the past twelve months the work in this mine was chiefly confined to the extension of the south crosscut to intersect the reef. After driving 32 ft. the reef was met with, and in cutting through it strong dabs of gold were frequently seen through the quartz. This encouraged the company to drive east and west on the lode (which averages 10 in. in width) to prove its value. After driving 125 ft. east and 57 ft. west, and not meeting with as good ore as that obtained at the end of the crosscut, they decided to stope out some of the reef over the back of the level; and 103 tons was broken out and treated for 53 oz. 14 dwt., valued at £150 Bs. Bd. As this did not prove payable, or anything like as good as anticipated, all work on this reef was suspended for the time being, and the crosscut extended for the purpose of intersecting the Odd Fellows lode. This is in a distance of 96 ft., and the lode is expected to be met with at any time. An average of four men has been employed at this mine. Thames Talisman. —Operations in this mine have been of a prospecting nature, the principal work being the extension of the low level to intersect the reef worked in the early days by the Grand Trunk Company from a shaft. Up to the present they have failed to pick up the reef. A total of 411 ft. has been driven; 143 ft. was driven on a reef 18in. in thickness, in which a colour of gold could be occasionally seen in breaking out the quartz, but the reef was heaved by a break to one side. The drive was then directed to a point immediately underneath the old shaft a distance of 175 ft., but, as the Grand Trunk reef was not met with where expected, crosscutting into the walls is proceeding with a view to finding it before rising is commenced to connect with the shaft. Four men have been employed. Gloucester. —This property is at present under option to a Glasgow syndicate, who have done a fair amount of work in prospecting and testing on the various reefs, more especially in the Gloucester Extended section, where encouraging prospects are said to have been met with. Further development is required before the value of the property can be ascertained. In the Gloucester section a party of tributers are engaged in driving and stoping on Cowling's leader, from which good payable ore had previously been obtained, 10 tons of quartz being broken out and treated for a return of 17 oz. 18 dwt. of gold, valued at £43 15s. An average of six men was employed on this property. Claremont. —This claim of one man's ground is still owned by George Bryant, who consistently obtains highly remunerative returns of gold from a very small quantity of ore treated and a limited amount of work done. During the year 3 cwt. 2 qr. 8 lb. of specimen stone was treated for a return of 259 oz. 19 dwt. of gold, valued at £701 17s. 6d.; and only one man is employed. Babydim. —This mine has been worked with two men, whose attention has been directed to driving and stoping on a leader which varies from 4 in. to 10 in. in width, and from which 20 tons of ore was broken out and treated for a return of 36 oz. 13 dwt. of gold, valued at £91 12s. 6d. There has been little or no work done on the Thames-Hauraki, Deep Sinker, or Deep Level Consolidated Mines during the year. May Queen-Hauraki. —Operations in this mine during the year have been solely carried on by tributers, their attention being directed to driving and stoping on the various reefs above No. 6 level in the Saxon, Cardigan, and May Queen sections, but no permanent work of any kind has been undertaken by the company. The tributers' returns show that 1,446 tons 10 cwt. of quartz was treated for 2,564 oz. 3 dwt. of gold, valued at £7,017 15s. 7d. An average of forty-six men was employed. Victoria. —This company has done no work on their own account during the year. Seven men have been employed in working blocks of ground on tribute on various leaders from the No. 3 level to the surface in the Victoria section, and from the 70 ft. level of the Tookey section upwards, the work as a whole not having been of a remunerative character. Boring operations have been suspended for some time past on the foreshore, pending the arrival of tubing from England. When this arrives the company intends to select a new site for a borehole. 327 tons of ore was treated for the tributers for 134 oz. 17 dwt. of gold, valued at £365 lis. 7d. Waiotahi. —This mine still continues to produce ore of a payable quality from the various leaders from the No. 3 level upwards. 1,210 tons of ore was treated during the year for 1,601 oz. of gold, valued at £4,343 19s. Id., from which £900 was paid to the shareholders in dividends, making a total paid in dividends of £39,300. An average of fourteen men is employed. Nonpariel. —The work in this mine for the last twelve months has been entirely carried on by tributers, who have directed their attention to operating on the Liverpool Boys' reef and the Wade leader, which is composed of reef formation, the stringers varying from J in. to 1 ft. in thickness. 208 tons 10 cwt. was treated, which yielded 200 oz. 3 dwt. of gold, valued at £559 14s. 6d. An average of six men was employed. Fame and Fortune. —This mine has been principally worked by tributers during the year. The work has been mostly confined to the Balmoral section, where the hanging-wall portion of the Golden Age reef has been operated upon with a fair amount of success. The ore obtained from here is mostly composed of what is termed " general dirt." Work is also proceeding in the higher levels on Fox's and other leaders, from which at times a little picked stone is obtained, but nothing that may be termed a rich chute of ore has been met with. The company's battery has been fully employed in crushing for the public. 381 tons of ore was treated for the tributers for a return of 527 oz. of gold, valued at £1,505 16s. 2d. An average of twenty-five men has been employed.