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at £33,586. Dividends were paid during the year to the amount of £99,181 Bs., bringing the total disbursements to £6,239,008 14s. 6d. The average number of men employed was 620. The total yield of bullion since beginning of operations was 26,018,401 oz. 3 dwt. 11 gr.; value, £18,123,718 13s. lOd. Waihi Grand Junction Gold-mining Co., Ltd. (J. L. Gilmour, Manager).—The Waihi Co. continued the working of this mine, the more important workings carried out being summarized as follows —Junction No. 10 level: Drawing from the No. 9 pass stoping-block on the Empire lode was completed in July, and this was the only work done on the level during the year. Waihi Co.'s No. 13 level: Ore-breaking was resumed on Fahey stoping-block on the Empire lode and carried up to 67 ft. above the level. Junction No. 9 level (40 ft. sublevel) : A stoping-block, known as No. 7 pass block, was opened up on the Empire lode for a length of 209 ft., and stoping was completed on it in August. Junction No. 9 level: Work was continued on No. 10 pass stoping-block on the Empire lode, and carried up to 68 ft. above the level. Waihi Co.'s No. 12 level (about 45 ft. above Junction No. 9): An east drive from the Waihi Co.'s area followed the course of the Royal lode, crossing the boundary-line at 447 ft., and following on for 44 ft. within Junction ground. At 447 ft. the reef was crosscut, showing it to be 28 ft. in width, but the quartz throughout was of low grade. Junction No. 8 level: Towards the end of the year ore-breaking was commenced in the Lowrie stoping-block on the Royal lode and carried to 30 ft. above the level. The block was about 47 ft. in length. Waihi Co.'s No. 11 level : From an intermediate level 54 ft. up Putan rise a good deal of exploratory work was done on the Dominion lode. Two small blocks, known as Putan and Putan West, were opened up and stoped out. The work on the various levels has served to show that all the payable ore contained in the lode has now been mined. Junction No. 7 level: On Chalker stoping-block, 105 ft. in length, on the Royal lode, ore-breaking was commenced in January, and by end of year had been carried to 75 ft. above the !evel. At 300 ft. east of No. 1 shaft S.E. crosscut a crosscut was driven north which intersected two sections of the Empire lode at 18 ft. and 36 ft. in. The first-mentioned section was 5 it. wide and the other 4 ft., and both carried fair values. On the first-named section 82 ft. was driven east and west of the crosscut, and on the other vein a total of 79J ft. was driven. Blocks on both veins are being got ready for stoping. Junction No. 6 level: The Royal S.E. prospecting crosscut was extended to 410 ft., where work was stopped, the country being unfavourable. At 347 ft. in a body of quartz 8 ft. in width was intersected and driven on for a short distance east and west, but as the values were very low further driving was abandoned. A former crosscut driven from No. 9a pass situated at 100 ft. east of No. 1 shaft S.E. crosscut was extended 36 ft. to a total of 72 ft., but the country was found to be much faulted and disturbed, and work was stopped. A drive east was commenced on a vein 18 in. wide intersected at 27 ft. in the drive, and carried in to 79|-ft. The quartz was broken, ill-defined, and of low value. A rise was then put up at the 31 ft. mark, which holed through to an old intermediate level about 80 ft. up which had been driven by the former Junction Co. which had stoped the ore above it. At 40 ft. up the rise an intermediate level was opened and driven east 177 ft., 163 ft. of which showed payable ore varying from 2 ft. to a width greater than the drive. Seventy-seven feet was also driven west from the rise on ore of fair grade. On Gibbons stoping-block ore-breaking was stopped at 77 ft. above the level owing to the value falling. On the Berry stoping-block on the Martha lode, extending from No. 1 shaft \.\V. crosscut to 55 ft. west, stoping was carried to 30 ft. above the level, when ore-breaking was stopped owing to the value falling. Waihi Co.'s No. 10 level: Breaking of ore in the Ulster stoping-block on the Ulster lode was commenced in March, and at end of year the stope had been carried to 62 ft. above the level. Output: The ore won from the mine amounted to 19,568 long tons, which yielded gold and silver to the value of £41,953. The gold amounted to 5,887 oz., valued at £40,326, and the silver to 16,617 oz., valued at £1,627. Dividends to the amount of £6,906 ss. 4d. were paid. An average of forty men was employed. The total value from the area since commencing work may be set down as £2,602,482 3s. Golden Dawn Gold-mines, Ltd., Owharoa (J. Wotherspoon, Manager).—Work was continued for the year, an average of 116 men being employed, and, as during previous year, development was carried on on Nos. 2, 3, and 4 levels and several intermediate levels. On No. 2 level a rise was put up for 32 ft. on No. 1 reef from north end of old stopes on stone 12 in. wide of low value. On an intermediate level 90 ft. above No. 3 level the east wall branch reef was driven on for 97 ft. north and 173 ft. south, reef averaging from 14 in. to 18 in. of fair-class quartz. A rise was put up on the same reef for 8 ft. A crosscut west from the north drive on No. 1 reef was carried in for 83 ft. Two reefs were cut, one at 32 ft. and the other at 52 ft. The former was 6 in. wide and the latter 16 in. The first-mentioned reef was low grade, but the latter carried fair values. The latter reef was driven on for 24 ft. north and 8 ft. south. In an intermediate 70 ft. above No. 3 level the east wall branch of No. 3 reef was driven on south for 50 ft. and north for 75 ft. on reef varying from 2 ft. to 4 ft. in width of fair value. On the same level No. 1 reef was driven on south for 27ft. on quartz up to 3ft. wide of fair value. The drive north on No. 1 reef was extended for 119 ft.; the reef was small and poor. In the south end of the mine the drive on east wall branch of No. 3 reef was extended 5 ft. on quartz 14 in. wide of low value. A crosscut west from south end of Meagher's stope on No. 3 reef was put out for 26 ft., where it out the east wall branch reef, which was subsequently driven on for 51ft. north and 227 ft. south. On No. 4 level intermediate the drive north on No. 1 reef from shaft was extended 37 ft. on quartz 10 in. wide of low value. A drive north on No. 3 reef was extended for 28 ft. on reef 18 in. wide. A rise put up on No. 3 reef from face of south drive connected with winze from No. 3 level. A rise was put up on No. 3 reef north of crosscut east to connect with intermediate level, which was subsequently driven south on the reef for 40 ft. and north for 386 ft. ; quartz about 2 ft. wide of failvalue. Output: For the year 6,720 tons of quartz was mined for a return of 4,105 oz. 10 dwt. gold, valued at £39,497 75., and 7,915 oz. 3 dwt. silver, valued at £785 6s. 10d., the total value of output being £40,282 13s. lOd. The company's battery also treated ore for outside suppliers to the amount of 3,008 tons, which yielded 3,149 oz. 14 dwt. gold, valued at £18,909 10s. 5d., and 15,070 oz. 7 dwt. silver, valued at £1,234 os. 3d. The .total yield of the Golden Dawn mine since beginning of operations was 50,916 oz. 15 dwt. 15 gr. bullion, value, £110,313 3s. 9d. Talisman-Dubbo Gold-mines, Ltd., Karangahalce (W. M. McConachie, Manager).—Work was carried on steadily for the period, an average of thirty men being employed. The drive south on No. 1 Talisman level was advanced 349 ft., making total of 1,018 ft. from portal and 473 ft. south of main rise. From the main rise to 160 ft. south the lode was 15 in. wide and of good value. From 160 ft. to 208 ft. south the reef was mixed with clay, and values were low. From 208 ft. to 473 ft. south the reef was of good value, and varied from 4 in. to 4 ft. in width. At 473 ft. south the drive connected with one of the old Dubbo workings previously driven from the southern side of Karangahake mountain. A rise was put through to connect with the level 100 ft. above. This was on a footwall section of the reef. Practically the only other development work was dome-driving done on Mclntyre's leader. The leader was driven on 106 ft., and varied from Jin. to 6 in. in width, but the quartz was of high value. A rise was also put up on the leader for 24ft., following two veins of quartz of high value, but which were only from Jin. to 2 in. wide. During the year the company mined 2,034 tons of ore, all of which was treated at the Golden Dawn battery, and yielded 2,428 oz. 7 dwt. gold, valued at £14,228 lis. 3d., and 13,179 oz. 14 dwt. silver, valued at £1,057 2s. 9d. Besides this, 60 tons were mined by tributers for a return of 49 oz. 18 dwt. gold, valued at £296 6s. lid., and 162 oz. 6 dwt. silver, valued at £14 os. lid., making the total output of the claim for the year 2,094 tons of quartz, which yielded 2,478 oz. 5 dwt. gold, valued at £14,524 18s. 2d., and 13,342 oz. silver, valued at £1,071 3s. Bd. Total output since commencement of operations 18,453 oz. 0 dwt. 5 gr. bullion, valued at £18,396 6s. 6d. Dividends to the amount of £2,614 ss. 6d. were paid.

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