"

~.ftaii t~JiH HiJHil ~~~~iminU~i~!H ~ ,1 ': a. fe, p·::r ,Ir f r:. f I f.fi' 'f !i' 1,1 to i' ,~.

=~iU! :'{~f mum ~mi!dnn~~ff~IJm litJKt iiillf mnm mmmr. m:iiittu:

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eitiMr .....tIt ..... t or 1Outb.....t. This indicate. that .... ti. oUaJ. _in. The oJ_ at tJoe HiD_ dip norila ....... wlUle f1oriIoer.north, OIl Sole7'o. the dip ia to the eo ... ..,. .... hu probable, therefore, tIaet tloe B;n_ .... pur ia .... _ ... aliDal I did DOt eDlllm. the IUIJb l'IIDII" on the ... t ... of Doa'. Riyuiet, bali if the -.. tb_ -ll .... rtb_t. .. ;" liImIy eDOllll'h, OODOideru.g their north .... mp fDrihor .... on the .idefing, it would appear that, ... ......., to whaa miglat have ~ upeoted, the valley of the Dan ia below the poeition of the old .... h of the .mieline.

Looking at the reef .truotnre of the ield, it ia .,pw_ that at I_t three seta of &aoturee.w..t; m., one oerioe, ... on O'Brien'., Solet., HiDemoa, ...a perbapo the Lan.Ia, having an approxImately nnrth and BCMltb direcmon; the other t .... iIIobned to thet bearing at tolerably wide .... , lIeing nearlT _t aad w .... and north_t-oouth.weet, ... at the llanlook, O'Briea C"mpan1, 8terlighi, Carnegie, KiDg Jildward, L.dy H .. TIIlook, and 8trioldud's. It i. h;pa., probable that at the in_imuo of the tWD 8,..te""" tbe ground will be fonnd to oarry oonC8nmtiOllB of metal.

Moat of the work done eo far baa been on the _ ad .... tand DOrih· .... t·eouth· .... t reefs. Very little baa heen done on the n orih and eouth onee. These latter appear to be parallel to the &xes of folding of the bed.. rather than on the axial lines themselves, and the other reefs are tangenti .. l to them. The probability ia that the two .. ta came into existence, contemporaneously, and that the frac­ture. which they fill owed their origin to the aecular folding of the 8trats. To di""""" the relatione axiating between this tolding .. nd the coJUlolidation of the granite aud the formation of the reefs would be to puraue the .ubject into the domain of theory.

Long &fter the formation of the reef. thia ...... .... below ... ·Ievel, and covered with the 00&i m ..... u ... sediments, now removed by denndation; ito upheaval to its preoent height "bove the I .. -1' I ...... IIeeu pIriIy the ....... It of a oecaIar P""""'" and p&r'ly OOIlnected with the _t in......... of diabase ... mp rook which fonnd ita .. o.y later iuto the o".,rJ,-ing rock all through ... tero and .... tral T___.ia. Thio po_rfnl iDtrneive proceae mUlt have .haken the leW • ..... ia doub*l ... reaponaible for ..... y of the .lid .. fo .. wd dYpIaoing the .... fa. Cl'OMCOuraeo. however, which ... rry quartz &114 pd are mora likely dne to fractn_ or __ menta ari.ing during the genoral period of reef·f.......tioD.

I haYe DOlI yell ~ .. ble to Ind any reliable lIo.eia for an opi.ica _ to whether .1 .... or _d_ ia ID01'e .. ......we to the OOO1I1TImco of gold in the reefs.

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. The shoots of auriferous q1tArt. in thi~ field are oomemneo of OODIIiderabIe length, though lhorter .hoots are verr common. It is a familiar axiom thet a long .hoot it likely to d-..d to a good depth, but tlte oonveroe is not alway. true. It does not follow that a .hart .hoot will alway. give ont at a shallow depth. It is poeoible, too, that a Ihoot, Ihort at the aurface, may expand at a lower level . At all eyen1B, it is good mining to follow auriferous quarts- down.

The field io now languiohing ... a -rut of paat indis­cretions. Inadequate provision of capital led to mining being stopped in many C&808, just when oontinuance of the work was the most highly neeeo....,.. It aIao ga .. e rise to .whet, in Germauy, is called" Baubban," a significant and useful term, for which we have no exact equivalent in English. It denotes that the stone haa been torn out of the mine as if by robbers, the best qua.rtz rooted out in all djrections without any regard to eoonomy, aafety, or "ppear­-anoes. The Americans call it .. coyoting." The old unfilled st<>p88 and meandering unsupported excavations whioh I 8aW in some of the mines were iliutratioDa of this practice.

Work done 80 far h ... heen at quite shallow depths, mostly 'between the grass roots and 100 feet below j in 'one instance 140 feet has heen worked, but no .. rious attempt has heen mode to go down on the .hoots of stone.

A distinct defect in the min~ done is that far too little use has been mode of orG880uttmg. The struoture of the field indicates a frequent 00C1U'I'<!IlC8 of paralfel reefs or "Iuartz..filled gashes, and some of the .. it may be exIfeCted 'Will not come to surface. Aoeordingly, if there it no CI'088-<lOtting, such reefl may be miosed altogether. Of 001l1'88, the neglect of exploratory and dead work ha. been largely dne to want of adequate fund. in iuitiating the oeveraI enter­prises.

As several reefs have heen found payable for limited die­tances at shallow depths below the outcrop", the ...... lends iteslf to the inception of small undenakinga, which, if iII­finanoed, can never be expected to Iaat long, while at the ... me time a good deal of gold baa been extracted o.t little

·cost. Considerahle quantiti.. could no doWIt .till be won by smaIl parties in dilferent parle of the field if oruohing facilitiea Were handy. In 88veral of the minee a larJre proportion of concentrates wonld be obtained from tiie ,mineralieed stone. If State batteriM .... ever _bliohed in ':raamania, this district would be one of the most ... itahle for .. trial.

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The foto.re of the field, however, reate. with the application of adequate capitel and skill to the systematic development of the reefa at a depth.

I now proceed to give a short account of the several mines visited, premising that dependent 808 I have necessarily been upon various sources for informa.tion as to past history, whioh in lOme eases is merely a question of memory, I have selected accounts wbich appear to be credible, and hav& rather understated figures than the contrary.

I did Dot visit the Revenue mine, which is on the southern border of the districi I examined, and which, moreover, could not be entered. The most soatherly of tbe minos which I saw were on the old

0' Briel, OompmIY', &clion ••

These are 288 and 2890, 10 acres each, charted in the name of S. P. Crisp, a quarter of a. mile west of Dan's Rivo .. let. The track to Alberton and Ringal'ooma passes througb Section 289, and the old mine-works are situate on the slope of the hill west of the road. Hickson's camp is on this section. There a.re two paIallel main reefs, one on each section, and both of them hll.ve been attacked by tunnels, neither of which can be examined at present.

No. I tunnel on the western section has been driven to the No.1 reef, which bears north-east to south-west and dips south-east, and a level was driven on the course of the reef for abont 200 feet, with from 30 to 4S feet of backs. I am indebted to Mr. T. Hickson, who still resides on the spot, foJ" much of my. information reRpecting the work. For a.. horizontel length of abont 160 feet the stone has been stop&d out up to surface, a pretty fair indication that it was pa;table. The .topee are variously estimated to bave yield&d the 0 Brien Company from 600 to 800 tone of qna.r1a. worth I oz. gold per ton. The reef pinches and swells alternately, varying between 18 inohes and 2 feet in width generally. I am told that there is .till a little .tone in the faoe, but that practicslly the shoot has pinched or ended there, and has not been proved further. Two winzes were sunk in the level: one to a depth of 16 feet on stone steted to be 3 feet wide and of fairly good quality, the other 80180 in nice-looking stone. Owing to water, the winzes were not sunk: further. The tunnel has falien in at the point where Messrs. Hick80n and Kerrigsn first found the reef at surface and sank a shaft 4S feet, taking ont 70 tone of I-oz. stone, beeid .. fnl'tber 30 ton .. from higber up the hill. The quartz haa " very favourable­appearance, and is well mineralised WIth iron and arsenical

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p~t8, ,with lOme galena and blende (P). It is diilicllit to p1ck up a .tone round the ~Id works whiob doss not carry one or more of these minerals, 80 intimately anociated with gold in the ~uartz of our goldfield.. Some of the ,,_-to is very rich; pI .... which I picked up haphuard ...... yed 20 ... 6 dwte. gold per ton.

The No.2 reef i. 5 or 6 chai ... oouth-west of No. 1, and &Iao bears north .. ast to south·we.t, with a southerly dip. It baa been cut by a tunnel driven in the 8Outh·weat corner of the eastern ROCtion. It has been .toped out to ...nace for .. length of 80 or 90 feet, and an additional length w ... toped .. little further lOuth, but not to .urface. The general height of back. i. about 40 feet. The reef is.tated to have averaged 2 feet in width, and 300 or 400 tons of quartz were crushed, returning from 18 dwta. to 108. gold per ton.

About 100 feet to the north is another .trike of stone about 8 inches in width, which h .. been .unk upon for 15 feet, and baa yielded a few tons of 2'00. quartz, according to :Mr. T. Hickson. •

In the south·west part of Section 289 ill 8. narrow bMth and south reef, dipping west, known as the Iron.tone reef, from it. gosaan outcrop. A shaft has been sunk on it for l!O feet, and I am informed tha.t 20 tons of stone were tak.en out and crushed for 2.~ oz •. of gold. The width of thi. nnal1 reef is 10 inch .. to I foot. A good deaJ of the .tone i. oxidiaed. and lOme of it i •• aid to carry visible gold. I could not .ee any gold in the .amples whioh I took, but when the .. were &8aayed by the Government A.naly.t they returned 3 ou. gold per ton. These were oxidised specimens, but the goasan itself only contained a trace of gold.

Considered as a mining property, the whole weight of the proposition resto on the fact that the old workers (lint )feesI'M. Hickson and Kerrj~l the discovel'el'8, and after them the O'Brien Company) took out payable stone from a good length of reef, stoping it up to the grass roots, without facing the water difficulty and sinking to aJly aenolll depth They reached a point where the reef narrowed, and the gold apparently ran out horizontally, &8 it must always do in time. As the reef beyond haa never been proved. in the hill, no one can say how far the hlank extend.. The available capital W88 inadequate for sinking when they encountered water, though this is not likely to interpose any insuperable diilicnlty.

Tho conrse which owners .hould adopt if they are prepared to deve10p the property thoroughly would be to .ink a main .haft between the two reefs, 80 8B to attack either or both in depth.

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There is a good site for a battery at th. foot of· th. hill, and th. race only needs t<> be extended balf-a-mil. to connect with the Dan, and provide water "II th. year round. Good mine timber is growing in abundanoe on the sOOtiOJ!8, and the cart road, of quite .... y grade, leads p ... t th. min. from

Mathinna. Ha .. /ock Mi1Ul.

This wBB formerly Hickson's, but now comprises 10 acreB, 1780, charted in th. name of S. P . Crisp. It is situated half-a-mile nortb.west of the old O'Brien Company's aections, and abeut 8 miles north of M"thinna, just weat of the track to Alberton. It form.rly included 7 aeetiona, but th. on. DOW held is that upon which the mine-works a.re situate.

Two reefs have been worked, one from a tunnel, and the other from th. main shaft, which haa been snnk to " d.pth of 200 feet, hut only opened out from at 100 and t400 feet.

The tunnel h ... been driv.n south-w.st into th. hill for 170 feet on the course of the reef caned Hiokaon'., .nd dis­cov.red by him ten y .... ago. The reef clips to the south, a.nd the country 1S slate. The stone varies In width from a track up to 2 or 3 feet, averaging, perhaps, H foot. At 111 feet in the tunnel intersects a. shaft whioh 1,.88 been Bunk from surfac. 30 feet. Th. ston. h ... been stoped .way h.re "II the way down. It waa evid.ntly strongest round this sbaft, and I waa told th.t it waa •• ve ... 1 feet wide at surface, but narrowed, coming down to a foot or two. Further in it contra.cts and goeR underfoot on the aouth side of the drive. For abeut 15 feet behind the .nd th. tunn.1 haa been turn.d a few degrees to th. west, and h ... I.ft th. lode line to the eaat. Consequently, the .nd is in country slate.

Thirty feet south-eaat of the tunnel mouth is an under­l.y prospecting sbaft, which haa been .nnk 50 feet below tunnel level, .nd connected with latter hy stoping. Some good. gold returns were · obtained from this .haft. Mr. Hickson tell. me he raiaed £600 worth of gold from it.

Eighty feet ... t of this the m.in .haft wa. .unk with a view of working the tunnel reef at "depth. This reef, however, was not reached, but a ahort Cl"088CQt at 100 feet level, driveD from the shaft for 30 feet north-west intersected " p .... lIel reef. This waa followed for 200 feet to the .outh­west, and the late manager, Mr. Good, 8ays that it was parahle for 150 feet in length. A still lower level .. aa dnven at 1400 feet for a distanoe of 180 feet, and Mr. Good .tates th.t it was OD stone 18 inches wide, and yielded 250 tona of 15-d wt. quartz, widening to 2 feet in the bettom. The sh.A; waa snnk furth.r to 200 feet, but I believe th.

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pumping power was inadequate, and nothing more was done beyond CI1~ting the pl .. t.

By the kindnees of Mr. S. Percy Crisp, I am .. ble to give accurate figo,... (supplied by Mr. W .. lter E. T .. ylor) of the output of the mine both during the time of. the Itavelock Company and prior to it. Th .... are ... follows ,-

1 Crushings by the Hickson's Mine Company-

I 900-A ug. 22 .. . Sept. 80 .. . Oct. 14 ... Sov. 1. .. n..,. 3 ...

lOOI-Mar.24 ... May 9 ... June JO ... July 4 ... Joly 81 ...

601d. to.... OK. dwts 86 cruolled, yielding 43 IR 86" 89 6 36" 10 ~ 12" 11 ld 19" 15 16 26 stone'. 10 ton8 formation 2 i 0 J 6 cruMhfld, yielding 16 18 ~)()" 18 18 18" 12 17 23" 16 0

841 210 17

2 Crushings by the H .. velock Gold-minlng Co., N.L.­Gold.

t0D8. OJ&. dtr'8. 19O'J-J ..... 16 ... 40 crushed, yielding' 18 10

Feb. 10 ... 40 "

20 0 Mar. 16 ... 60

" 46 • :;:ril20 ... 76

" 57 7

.y 29 ... 64 " 80 4

280 171 5

Total ... 621 88'J 2 = 12 dwu. 7* graill8 per ton

plus tbe re8ult8 from 12 ewg. 2 qn. 111b8. pyritell!ll.ved, via., 6 OZ8. 1 ~ dwUl. 19 grains per too.

Mr. W. F. Ward, Government AnaI;rst, . April 10, 1902, made the following ..... y of tbe blanketings, WilSey concen­trates, and tailings for the Havelock Company,-

Go)d. <'fTh .... diU. ..... c.'- No.I-BI.nketings............ I 2 I ~ No. 2-Wilfley CiJncentrotes 4 16 9

No.8-Tailings ............... 0 4 21 ~,'"

811 ... --_.gn. o 8 6 per ton. 2 0 20

" o 2 10 " Tbe w .. t .... in the sh .. ft was up to ~ feet at the time of my

visit, barring acoess to the levels, so that the above &gUretl

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are welcome, 88 showing the value of the stone which baa been miaed and Cl"1l8hed.

The old b'\ttery W88 driven by steam, and water for the tables W&8 raised from the mine. Owing to this lack of water future crushing would beet be done on the flat, where water can be brought in from the Dan.

The two reefe are a little over a chain apvt. From the bearings of the reefs in the end. of tunnel and maiD shaft driv .. it looks ... if they might po8Iibly junction eventu&lly at the BOuthern end of an &88umed horse of country. Although this would be at the 80uthern boundary, if not out­side it, it would furnish .. re&BOn for the reef becomiug richer in that direction.

It would be I(OOd. work to drive .. Cro88CUt north-west from near the end of the lOO-feet or 140-feet level to inter&ect the shoot of stone in the tunnel-reef below the shaft, and eventually .. crosscut at the 2QO.feet. The 2OO-feet level ought to be driven further.

The good shoot of stone which h... been proved at the sh&llow levels in the main workings justifies an effort to prove it lower down, especially ... · the tatimony is to the effect that it is widening in descending. I should recom­mend that the shaft be deepened and the reef tried at each 100 feet, The experience of the Golden Gate Mine at Mathinna, where the reef W88 of no particular value above the lOO-feet level, shows that the upper parte of reefe in thia field may co .. er stroug and persistent developmente of highly payable stone, and thet it is utter foll1 to apeak of .. mine having had a proper tri&I when it 18 abandoned in the lOO-feet sone.

The Havelock is 88 enco1l1'&ging &8 any mine on the field, and more 80 than sever&! of them. I understand that it is the intention to make a freehold addition to the mine of oome of the &lluvial v&lley bottom lAnd which borders the Dan, and which is the prolongation of the agriculturol belt which farmers are settling upon lower down the river. Settlement is sure to extend to the flat alluvial 8Outh-eaat of the Have­lock, which will' be of mutual benefit to mineowners and farmers.

Ca~ Mitoe. This is situate a mile to the eaat of the Havelock:, and on

the east side of Dan's Rivulet, on Section 209G, 10 acree, formerly in the name of J. Dee, and is being worked by Meesro. Davies and Maraack. The 6-head bettsry whioh crushes fnr this and the King Edward Mine is driven by steam, and is within the eaatern boundary of Beotion II9ge (F. Davies).

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In the ..... tre of the Carnegie ..,ctiOD a tnnn.1 hao been driTeD .. bout 100 feet OD the C01ll'8e of the reef, ... hich bean E. 10" B., and dipe oteeply to the uorth. Th. reef·wall is .1 ...... on the oouth aide, ragged on the Dorth. At .. bout 70 or 80 feet in the t1lDD.1 a winze h ... been lunk, 60 feet I ..... told, and o .. erhead the reef h ... been otoped to larface 60 to 70 feet. Bmall driv ...... r. put in from the bottom of winze, 10 feot on ...... y and 15 feet the other, aud the reef is aaid to h .... ,.idened, but the lton ... hi.h .... t .. bD out,... not CODlid.red peyabl.. Beyond the wiDI8 .. north and louth croooooune with ..... terly uDderlie.,..,.... the level, and j1llt eaot of thia a ahort drive hal been put in .. uth, tap­ping the crouoou.rae, on which a winse hu heeD BUDk 35 feet and two II1II&11 dri .... opened out, on •• t 16 feet, the other from the bottom. The CI'Ol8OO1ll'110 carrieo 18 iDch .. to II feet· of bluish, laminated, ftiDty.looking quarto. The ltoD. i8 impresnated with &rIJeDical iroD pyriteo, but not Itrongly, and coutaina amall fragments of Illite in linear &l'l'lUlg8lDent, which gi .... it its laminated appearanoa.

The output of the mine is .. t preoent coming from tho croaacoune. I am informed that D ... rly 100 tons have been crnahed for 10 dwta. gold per toD: another crnahin!l' is ready in the pt.ddock, and it ia hoped that the yield of thl8 wi1l not he much 1_ than previ01l8 ret1l1'D8.

Bamplea ... hioh I took of the CJl'OI8OO1lrIe atone, on heing ..... yed by the Government ADalylt, ,.ent 6 dwta. gold per toD; but atoD. from the main lode ..... yed .. high .. 1 08.18 dwta.

E .. t of the O1'088OOune tbe lode is Iplit up, and .. bead of this tho t1lDDel is blocked, but I w .. told that it comm1lDi· _ with .. 70-f .. t ahaft from the ourf .....

J'rom its position, the lode OD the Carnegie would .. ppear to be the eut,.&rd CODtin1l&tion of the Btarlight reef on the t.djoining sectiOD to the w.at. Thia IiDe ia .. very long on., extending throngh the two 8eotiODZ, aDd the heat recommend&­tien for the Carnegie owners ia to locate the ahoot of gold.he&r. ing ltoDe in tbe reef &Dd aink OD it. A1thongh the CJl'OI8OOune for tb. present is aurifero1l8, and perhape payable in the neighbourhood of its junction with tho reef, not en~h is known of it to warrant &Dy prediction. But the reef ,tself is known to have followed .. )ong C01lrlO, and it is extremely probable that deeper work wi1l prove it equally oonataItt ftrticaIly. In the meantime it shoald he followed _ of the ................. nd dri .... OD to the bo1lDdary. It would be ...." deoirable to .......tgamate this and tbe Starlight aeotion, and work them .. ODe property.

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Starlight &ction. This ia charted in the name of T. Hickson, 135o, 10 ........ ,

..... t of and adjoining the Carnegie. No work is going on upon it at preaent. The old Starlight Company drove a long croeacut tunnel north·eaot from outside the preeont 80uth boundary, and then a long drive ... t to the eaot boundary-lino on tho couroe of tho reef for upwards of 500 foot. No work .... u dono on the lode W08t. Soveral parallol reefs are said to have been cut in the tunnel, hut were Dot J>&Table. I am informed that theae roofs wore from I to 2 feet 1D width, and genera.\ly parallel, but that one, " wide ono (12 feot), croooed the tunnel at an angle. Th. main shaft lode ... u intersected at a depth of 100 feet from aurf ... e, and this wao the one which was driven upon right to the boundary, carrying at intervals .hoots of payable atone, which have been atoped to surface A winze was anuk 32 feet from the lOO-feet lovol, and I am told that 30 tona of atuff were taken from it, cruah­ing 16 dwte. per ton. The first 10 tons cruahed from this reef went 2 o.a. 15 dwte. at the New Golden Gate battery .. dozen yoars ago. The old shafts BOOn at aurface along tho line of reef hav:e been:sunk on varying widths of atone, from 1 foo. to the WIdth of ahaft.

The old workings are inaccessible, but my information is that tho roef was aoon as wide &8 3 foot, but that the .tono is somewhat irregular. Some nice honeycomb specimen quarts with ooarso gold was ahown mo from thia roof, and burning some pioceo of atone bronght out a good deal of gold. The total yield of this mino in the old dRys i. eatimated to havo been betwOOD 600 and SOO o.a. gold.

Noone can stand On this line of reef and notice the old sOOpes o.nd works coming to the surface a.t intervals without recognising that the stone was worked just where it was payable; and I have no doubt that dead-work W&8 religiously ahunned. The greatest depth attainod anywhere W&8 the bottom of the winze, 132 feet from the aurface. Apart from the work of sinking on the known ore-shoots, the tunnel, if extended north into the hill, would intersect other reefa known to exi.t, and would gain increasing backs. Difficulty experienced in coping with wa.ter was represented to me as bemg the cauae of work ceasing on thia property. It would seem &8 if this, too, is a mine on which some eeriob work could be well taken in hand.

King &droa. d Mine. This is on a section, 1570, 10 acres, charted in the na.me of

T. Davie., nonl>. of and adjoining the Starlight.

12 Two tunnels have been driven ea.st into the side of If. north

and south spur, which descends to the flat in a southerly direction. There is a vertical distance of about 50 feet between the two tunnels.

The lowest one has been driven E. 10° N. for 115 feet, first 53 feet in thc clayey hill drift, and afterwards 62 feet across vertical sla.tes which ha.ve the usual north-west strike. At 115 feet, a drive E. 20° S. bas been put in for 20 feet upon a few inches of rubbly quartz. The end still carries the track of this.

The upper tunnel has been driven 95 feet, following a small vein on the north side, w hieh further in widena to .. foot or two of quartz. At a chain from the entrance a horee of country divides the reef, and the drive has been widened to 7 feet of soone and country. Some rich stone came from a winze here at the junction of the two forks of the lode. Tho south fork has been followed by a sbort drive which communicates with a shaft from surface, and has been stoped Ollt for 15 to 20 feet. A narrow drive has been put in on the north leg, which began with 9 inches to 1 foot of stone, which has been stoped away a little in the sol. of the level. Beyond this the quartz .as thin"ed out to a small vein on the north wall.

A few loads of itone in the paddock show nice· looking, grey, mottled quartz, highly mineralised with arsenopyrite. I understand that 60 or 70 tons have been crushed, the first 50 tons with very good reiults. There is a small 5·head battery driven by steam, situate on the machinery site to the sOllth.

Work has been going on here for a couple of years. The stone is irregular, ma.king in shoots &ad trenches, but this is not surprising, considering that the levels are quite shallow, not more than 30 to 40 feet from the surface. Driving on the reef should be continued until tbe north and south reef 80me distance ahead is intersected; and then the best spot in the lode could be selected for sinking upon. It is im· possible to do justice to the claim without sinking aAd proving what this irregular stone become. at a fair defth.

The Carnegie, Starlight, and King Edward grollP 0 reef. comprise a system of east and west fractures which, produced westward, would intersect the extensions of the Ha.velock and O'Brien Company system of reefs at diJJerent points below the Dan valley. Unfortunately this land is Bat and saturated with the drainage of the hills, but it i. possible that at a distant date deep mining from below the BU1TOund· ing heights, extended into the area of intersections, will disolose good deposits of metal. This is a ' fair inference,

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viewing the alructure of the oonnt1'y .. a whole, without ref....".,., to &IIy particular iuatanoo.

IAdy HaNktck.

This mine is on uncharted land on the north bank of a .... t_ tributary of the Dan, and I>t the BOuth· ... t extremity of the Strickland spur. It is about I> quarter of I> mile ... t of the treok to Alberton, &lid the B&me distance north of the Hl>velock Mine.

At about 60 feet above the .tre&m I> tunnel hu been dnven N. IiIJ' W. into the hill. Just inside the enUance I> winze hu been II1lIlk 10 or HI feet on &tone 6 to 8 inohes wide. Thia atone .. u very rich when first but hu become poor,.&Dd is tailing out on i1lo I ..... infOl'llled th&t the yield decreaaecl. from per ton. The 'J1IIIriIs i. good.looking with_pp'te.

At lIS fen in the tunnel a amaII cuddy ..... cut weot on .. Sat reef, &nd tot lM feet, on the oppo.ite aide of the twmel, a drive ... t hu been put in on the ....... II&t fOl'lB&tion, which is 3 to. feet wide, with b&nda of &tone in it .. foot wide. The Jut part of thi& ahort drive hu bent to the north &nd got 011 the track of the .tone.

After )IIIIaiDr throIurh this lode, the tunnel w .. continued in hard aiUm •• alate lor 80 feet without cutting &IIytbin« else.

. On the .Iope of the hill, between 30 &lid .0 feet above the tunnel, is .. ahaIlow .h&ft which is DOW 8lled in. 8tonea of bluiah-grey qu ....... well 2Jlineraliaed with pyrita and .......... pyrite, .... lying l'OlIJId the abaft. 8aJnpl.. which I took from th_, on I>oinJr _yed by the Government Anaiyat, returned III dwta. gOld per ton. The lode is ... id to Iumo been 18 inaheo wide, and to dip at &II &lllfle which wcuJd t&b it. down to the..t in the tunnel. Ita.trike ia N. IilJ'E.

The..t oIi ...nIt the hill, and this interferes with the baob. A Iitt\'! drinug on ita 001I1'IIe ia n"""""""'1 to de&ne and Iocata ill hMt I!"", but oinking ia the only _ of opening out &nythinJr permanent. The &tone is. of the favor&ble nature whicli i. prev&lent throughout thia cliatriat.

8trlchlllrtd'. M iM.

Thia property is charted in the name of A. Morrisby, 177o, :; _, and 1760, 10 _, and ia aitnete on a lofty spur on the 80Ilth • aide of 8tricldand'. c-k, a tributary of the DaD.

The reef was discovered 20 years ago hy Mr. T. Dono.van. or, as Borne say, by Mr. White, who, after prospecting all round, gave it up, 8.8 the country then wae far 1888 acoeuible than it is now. A LannCt'Oton syndicate then took it and drove the upper tnnnei. Afterwards, Mr. Strickland came into pos_slOn of the claim, and got a fair quantity of gold from it, crnshing the quart. in a small ~·bead batte~. Then Mr. Ch ... Seale acquired the grouud, and during h .. time the underlay shaft on the reef W88 Bunk between 80 and 90 feet, carrying good stone. Later, Mr. E. Davern started work and took a crushing down to the battery on the Strickland Creek, which he is said to have put through mixed with some old stone from the Compeer. He brought wire rope from the West Coast, and tried to fix it for aerial transport from the mine, but without 8UCC888. This rope ia still lying i" the bush.

The mine is approached by a. zigzag sideling from Davern's ~9 acres pnrchased block. The track i. steep, as may be ju~ from ]000 feet in height being gained in 63 chaino hOr18Ontal distance.

Two tunnel. bave been driven into the hill in a 80utherly dil"ection. The upper ODe is a. ahort drive. The lower ODe

ia the more important, and baa been driven over 200 feet. Mr. Trevelton reporto 250 feet, but the last part of the tunnel W8B too wet for me to examine.

Quartz W81 .truck about 100 feet in, and tben IOBt by the drive, which forked to the east. The lode, however,." picked up and the drive continued on the original .trike, vi.li., south·west. The reef dips north-west.

I examined the tunnel as far in &8 the water wonld permit, and at the forthest point found the reef had been .toped ont in the back to a height of 15 feet for an equal diBtance in length. It W&8 here 9 inch .. to 2 feet of .tone intermixed with cou.ntry. The stone is a white qua.rtz, streaked with graphitic and sla.ty matter, a.nd having a kindly appearance. It h ... been followed a little nnderfoot, bnt I conld qot _ much, a.8 the winze and a11 excavations in the' Bole of the drive are now filled with water. I understand tbat the winzes show a reef of Kood quality stone, averaging about a foot in width. Mr. Jolin Treverton, on authority ooDllidered reliable, reporto that the I .. t 7 ton. of q_ from the north winze averaged over 2i 08B. per ton, pin. 2t cwt. of concentrate. 8&ved (90". per ton).

In the sooth winze the reef is said to be up to 2 feet in width, and ... the stope over the leyel "hill .hows that the reef is wider than where it W&8 first otrnck in the tnnneI, it

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would oeem as if work baa been ab&ndoned just where it oUfht to have been oontinued.

obtained some good prospect. from pieces of quartz which I brought from tbe few tons in the bopper. and several aamplea sbowed coars. gold. I had no tim. to carry out a proper sampling of th. bopper content., 80 did not attempt it. However, I &elected some of the best .. looking atones (a. few of tb.m showed gold) for enriosity, and had th.m ...... y.d in the Government Laboratory. Th.y returned 6 ozs. 7 dwts. gold per ton-no ind.x of average valu.s, but showing that the atone carries rich concentrations.

About 100 feet above the end of the main ~unnel is an underlay shaft, 80 to 90 feet deep, which h ... followed a reef down, believed to be a parallel one with that of the tunnel.

A feature of this mine is that the atone is more strongly d.v.loped in the bottom lev.1 than in any other part of the reof, and the history of the work shows that the quality of the quartz is &8 good &8 or even better there than in any other portion of the mine.

It would be desirable to clean out the tunnel to the end and make a careful examination. If the reef in the end i. enoottraging, driving should be continued; and at the same time a lower level muat be' driven to get nnder the good qnartz in the stope and winze.

The ontcrop of the reef should be looked for lower down the hill. The hillside slopes to the north·east down to the Strickland valley .eeverel hundred feet at an angle of 40°, and unexampled facilities exist for driving on the ooll1"88 of the reef a good deal lower than the pre ..... t levels.

If there are really two reefs running parallel with each other .... i. thonght to be the case, they should be explored in depth by orosacutting.

When the mine is 8ufliciently developed to maintain a regular output, aArial haulage may be uaed for conveying the qnartz to the valley, but for the present any capital put into the property .hould be devoted to developing and ol":ning out the mine. The little work that h ... been done hItherto has .hOWD that the reef is gold-bearing, and even rich in places. There are indications that it may gain in width as it goo. down. 1 he nece .... '1 outlay for proving it and putting the mine into a condition to produce i. thoroughly Juatifiable. The ' indications are that it will be found neces.ary to follow the make of .tone in depth more than horizontally (though the latter is Dot excluded), and when capital is raised, this eventuality .hollld be kept in view,

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Larallila MiM.

On the Strickland spur. at its acuth-eaat end. " reef of whits and bluish quartz. nicely mineraIioed with iron and arsenical pyrite.. has been nnoovered by prospectora. whe got lOme fair retnrns of gold from it; it bei.ra .... t of north. This is above the Lady Havelcck. overloolriD« the ........ ... hich 110 .... into the Dan. A cut has been uuWie into the reef for 20 feet in lenreb and 12 feet in depth. Gold ia stated to be freely mib e in the otone. but I arrived there to ... ards evening .... hen the light ...... inanftlcient fOJ" • cIGee aearch. Twenty feet east of thia" shaft was .unk 20 feet deep. and .ome very nice gold w.. "on from it. About 3 feet width of stone w,," worked atthia.how (the Laranda). and there i. still some promising q_ lying about outlide. highlr mineralised with _nopyrite. and green witlt _mcal deoompoaition products. I have no certain infor­mation respecting the history of this mine. or wby work .... saapended. A report i. to the elfact that one wall in tlt. shaft carried a narrow make of 2,oz. .tone. and that the reef in the bottom is 8 feet wide. with gold alI tltrough it; but that it w ... intentionally IDled over with mullook by tlt. Iut party working there.

lfr'-P. J. ll'Leod. B.A. A.O.S.lI •• F.R.G.S ........ has mad. an ::1 of this are for Mr. S. P. Crisp. with the following ts :-

0... dwta. gra. BullioD... 1 16 i2 Gold...... 0 19 14 value per toD £4 SiI •• r.... 0 16 8

The Government Analy&t' ...... y of my _pie I'BII1IIted in a yield of 13 dwts. per ton; but thia w,," only from • P;­or two picked up promiacuoualy, whereas Mr. M'Leod' • ..... y w ... of "I&rger quantity. I ...... free gold obtained by doIlying lOme of the fragmente we took to camp. and gold showed &Iao on roasting some of the .tone on th. hearth.

The lod. can bo WOl"ked .... ily from sUCC881iv. tnnneIe all the w.y down the hill. and the finlt thing to bo done with the property (which h .. been taken up by Mr. S. P. Crisp) would bo to put in an edit at" NUODable depth bolow tL8 outcrop. and teat the reef in & practical way. The character of the .tone fully warrants .uch • trial.

HiIt.,,,.Od MifN. Th_ aectiona. 290. 295. 307u. 10 acreo each. are held by

the Hinemoa Gold-mining Company. No LiabiIitz. on the lO1Ith aide of the Albarton divide, "bout 12 mil.. frolll

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Mathinna. The property is on a north and eonth spu • which edends eonthwards to the north side of the Strickland Creek. The Alberton traek at the turn·oft to the mille is about 1000 feet above the Dan hridge, and .. steep track to the camp lead. w .. tward don the aide of the Hinemoo ravine, falling 600 feet at "" angle of 40".

On the .... tern .ide of the .maIl creek, and about 20 feet above it, a tunnel h80 heen driven about 200 feet into the hill due BOuth, on the conroe of a quartz reef, which dip. from vertical to west. The enclosing slatea have a mean otril;e of N. :!O" W., and a general dip north .... t.

Work .... 80 stal-ted here in April, 1903. The reef show. in the approach, where Bome nioe quartz is Been on the footwall ; entering the tunnel a make of .tone on the hanging. wall .ide continu.. a conple of fathomo, and is then replaced hy country j it afterwards comea in again for 7 or 8 feet; then paa ... into country, with hroken shoots of quartz,-rotalling I to 2 feet in width. At a wide part of the adit, about 3 feet of .tone apparently went off eaotward., hut tailed out when followed 3 or 4 yards. Beyond this 1 foot to 18 inch.. of stone iet seen in the roof for 20 feet, but ita behaviour in general is irregular. Ten feet behind the end & slide C1'088e8 the tunnel in a Dorth-weatern-80uth-eastern direction. A short C"'-'lt eaot &nd the continuation of the tunnel eouth of the slide have failed to pick up the reef. The tunnel end is in sllici6ed slate, carrying minute disseminations of galena~ and seamed irregularly with vein lets of quartz. A small vein of quartz follows the footwall side in the end, as if there were still a traek of BOmething going ahead.

The connt'7 through which the tunnel haa heen driven has evidently heen di.turbed, 88 i. shown not only hy this slide, hut &Ieo by the peeuliar arching and bending of the slate at the widened part of the level, where the drive is stopped at an abrupt face of country.

The lode consists more or les8 of a aeries of bunches of stoo:e, the be., ran occurring in the first portion of the tannel. Th. ston. i. a gral quartz, fairly well min.ralised with pyrite and ..... nopynte, and containing a1eo a littl .. copper pyrit .. and erabeacite.

Th. preoent tunnel should be extended 80me distanoe further, and & Cl'OBBCut driven west; after picking up the lode &gein, & .haft Bhould be sunk in the hillside, and the reef followed down. The work which haa bean done on tbe lode 80 far IS Dot~ sufficient for a safe estimate of ita value to be mad.. Th. tannel haa opened out a ran of quart. at that 1.1'.1 of very variable width, m08tlJ. between 1 and 2 feet, hut som. of it upward. of 4 feet WId., of low grade on the

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whole, though good in pl_ aa published ...... ys show ull to 17 dwts. per. ton. Th ... richer patch .. may be expected 1<> 8weeten the poorer grade. A published crushing of 70 .

~. '-" returned 8 dwts. per ton. To be satisfactory, either thia average .hould be raised to 10 dwts., or the stone incre&Hed to a mean width of 2 feet. However, no attempt haa been made yet to see what tbe reef is like underfoot. At lli yards in there is. body of quartz, which ar.peara to be confined to the sole of the level. This irregu arity in the 'Upper zone ill often indicative of a more persistent lode at a depth.

A cut into the hill 60 to 80 feet above the creek, and soinh of the tunnel, shows a lode, which is ahead of the present end, and cro .... the tunnel line, dipping into the hill. It waa dillieult to .ee its width, but BOme 8-inch blocks of quartz had been broken out, fairly 'mineralised.

A new reef haa been trenched acroso and cut into .... t of the tunnel, showing mineralised quartz. It has been cut across again further BOuth-eaat, about 200 feet above the creek and .'i chaino from the tunnel, where it is 3 to 3l feet

. wide, composed of quartz and lode .Iate. The quartz is well mineralised.

One and a half chain further BOuth another cut has been put through this reef, which maintains its characteristics and i. better defined. It here has a width of It foot. It i. jointed into solid cubical blocks, and i •• trongly impregnated with pyrite.

A little further south it has been cut into again, showing about a couple of feet of bluish laminated '1uartz. It has been again trenched further to the Bouth, bemg exr.:Bed in this way by snccessive cuts for a length of about 600 eet. It is thus strongly'}>6rsistent, and there is no doubt about iill promising a.ppearance. I sampled two of the cuts; the last but one gave II dwts. gold per ton, the other 4 d wts. gold per ton. It is not to be expected that this lung run of stone will prove of equal value throughout. In its free gold con. tents it is probably inferior to the tunnel reef ; the gold associated with the pyrites will be foond to be it. most important feature .

A good trial could be given it by puttiIlJ!' in a ero88Cut 200 to 300 feet from lower down the hill. It dlpe into the hill at an angle of 66" to 76°, which will contribnte to the length of the crosscut j or jf a sha.ft on the tunnel reef be decided on., it could be reached from that by a crosscut in depth. The adit Cl'08scnt, however, is preferable.

There was very little water in the creek when I was there. The qu~tity would, no doubt, be incre&8ed in winter, but to

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wlo .. t uteat .... I,. be ~ ~ tIa<Me DB the IIp8t. fie ....mae., lilt. """"" ha ... tD be low... clown the •• U.,..

I ... dentaacI that an n=,Jp='oioa of do. """",",,. with tile U ...... P f.mber IIOI'th ill taIboI of. ill WIaio1a _ the ~ froim that ..... P WOIlId be con...,.... do1m the...-. tD • hatIerJ tD be ~ below thia miDe •

.u ...... the tIlDBel nef ill ........ ned •• "iue might Ilnt be oak OIl the goed __ tD _ how it OOIltill_ 1Ulderfoot., ancl if tile _It i. ~ •• hafWiDkiDg ehooid be .........ptfGr.

Th8re ."... tD be Iocool ........... tratiou of mlllal in the ..,., pariI heiDg poor. and other portioIII GM'l')'iag • 'fair pro­JIOriIon of IJGld. If the n __ of a -. --.h ahoot. of tile higher grade et.one .,.n he --hIiHeiJ, .... &oilitiee Ier 1BiBbag it. eepeciall,. in .... jouaotioa with the ueiglohou . JIIOP8I- 1II81ltacmed, willlOlld pMI,. tD the iJDportanw ..., tilemiue. Up toth~~t work a".... tD bave been -u.d on nther tilllidlJ, J>!Obahl,. heiIIg con.idered .. heiDIf 4If .. preliaiuar;y._ "rhe more _t w-...ry. too, 01 what W01Iid -... to be the more imporlMlt ... reef, hu pouihl,. del"yed decillion .. tD the Ilnt poiat of Mtack.

Beeidee work on the known _fa ..... npioratory ......-..t «ndd v8I'J well be _tinned peat the ... nef intD the hill. Reef. in thill belt of 00IIDtry' IU'8 bown often DOt tD riae tD oouface. IIDd can _'" be 4ieoIc.ed by nnde>ground work. It ........ ot be t.oo well borDe In .. Dod tliat paniIlef reef. ia tilia lOIle are tile rule IIDd DOt the nooption. IIDd that a reef gnerall,. hu ito oompauioR not 'Ie,.,. far off. c.pitall"":' video! for .... ,. of theie, JII'OII'riiee .ilenld inalnde a nllloieBt amonnt for 8zpIor..torJ work to a ._ble e",tent.

J • ( UM MiMf, ~ ..... f"' '

Tbi. rup 00II1,....- tbe'moot northerl,. aIot.ona on the tleld. TheJ are .. tuato from ito! mile north-weat of the Hinemoa, IIDd iDolude 8eotiona lUG. 10 "" ..... R. O'Brien; ~ :; 11CI'88. P . o.UDIII; 1330. 10 _, B. So~ and

~ 337o, 10 ......... tD the lOuth of the .. bove, hu been up 0,. W. J. Conder.

·The old U .... wormp .... on Sol.,.'. IIDd O·Brien·. -u.... the low t1UU1el1lDd baUorJ lite -... OD Sol..,.'., ancl the top tunnel, w .... the main workillp w .... , OR O·BrieD· .. P. CoRnaeI'I ....u .mon ia betwoen tlieae ,_

The main work hu ..... dODll '" the IlPper ._1. A.::::­RMiJo._ from the Bin8lllOL Tbil ill jut inaide. 0' . 'I

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sou,h boundary, .. nd i. driven' from the creek N. 2,';0 W. on the m&in line of reef. The country-rook ie .Iate, diPting 8Outh·west. About a chain in there isa step in the level, w ere the timber h&o given "'''y, .. nd I did not go berond thie. Further in l understand the reef w,," multed or turned, &nd the level W88 contina.ed another 90 feet in country-rock, but th .. t .. ClI'088Cut weet 11'''' put in recently aud reooyered the reef, ... id to be 2 feet wide &Dd gold-be&ring. A .moJI proo­J*1ting .haft 11',," sunk 30 feet on the reef _y yOlU'll &go .. he&d of this tunnel, .. nd produoed highly p .. y .. ble .tone.

The first ol'11llhings from the level .topes &re reported to heye been good, the later one. I... 80, and the proprietore went oft to the western sily.rfield.. There ....... 5-he&d battery on Soley's section, which WRB afterwards taken to­the St&rlight, aud theu to the City of Melbourne Mine. There is a small underhand stope at the tunnel entrance, and the loat c1'1l8hmg was t&ken out from this and carted to Alberton. oM Ringarooma.

Mr. G. P. Sinclair, of Zeehan, who examined the workings­ll18t y ..... , reports that the reef is 2 feet wide in the back of the drive, Rond hR8 widened to 5 feet in the 8Ole, and tba~ his .amplee ...... red 15 dwta. gold per ton. Mr. Hioaeon dolJied at one tIme 21 ozs. from 3 tons of .to"e from this reef.

Inside the northern boundary of Soley's section a low tunnel on the west side of the creek and 15 feet above it has been driven 80 feet W. 30° S. acro&8 aJ .. tes bearing N. 5" W. and dipping weet. A make of quarts h ... come in in the end, and a drive haa been put in north-west for about 50 feet on 18 inches of imp .... stone and veined country. The .tooe is more solid in the first part of the drive, but in the end degenerates into veined conntry·rock. If the tunnel were continued into the hill it wonld cut tho main lode within a few chains.

Northward. the main lode run. through P. C011JlBel'. section, where it bas been trenched in a few plaoee. Inaide Sohle'. south boundary it i. well exposed by .. cut in the hillside, where a good strong body of quarts S feet wide h ... been hroken through. At thie point the -1 of my saml?lings gave a return of 6 d",te. gold per ton, The reef con81.ts of nice-looking grey-mottled stone carrying pyrite and a little copper pyrite. with some gral'hitic .I&te. It erland. soulhwards into W. J. Conder'. _twn.

It is thus .. long persistent reef running throngh all the properties, and from ita direction may junction further aouth with a .maIl but rich iron snlphide lode, whioh h&o beea ou'

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feet, running and lOuth. H&rdly 800ngh baa been do .... on it to enable a proPer epiniOll to be formed of ito value. but samples which I took from it -:red l'dwte. 16 1fI'I. gold per ton. Mr. G. P. Sinclair obtatued lOme very hi2h _1 _Ita? ibis lode. vis;-9 088. lo awte: and] !W' '4~.ffIIld..pu. ~

Other lod .. are said to exist on the propertiee, but since work ceased the growth of fern. &C .. has been considerable. and is an obstacle to examination. For a aa.tisfactory inspection, a little work IS needed in the way of clearing the ground, exposing the outcrop.. d.epening the trench .. . putting the tunnel in order, &C. From what I could ... . however, jt was quite apparent that & resumption of work is warranted. All the work done hitherto baa been ve .. y shallow, and it was sD8pended wlteq the fim I ditllculty ..... \ encountered. The low tDJlDOI h ... not been driven far enough to intersect the main reef. and a good part of the npper tunnel would appear to have been driven 011. the reef. This reef, being" long on~, i. likely to carry different shoote in different parts of ito conroe. and when the position of a shoot baa been 4etined, it ohonld be followf'd. both horison­tally and vertically. Good haoka for driving are obtainahle northwards. but not much can be got aJong the conroe of the reef BOuthwards, and sinking eventnaJly will become a · n ...... ity. .

The mine is SOO to 600 feet higher that the Hinemoa. and the creek rnns from one mine to the other. ./

Conchuimo.

In travelling over a field which baa been neglected for a time. I should have experienced greater ditliculty had it not been for the a&8istaoce of thooe on the spot with looaJ knowled~. For aid in thio direetion I beg to acknowledge my tndehtodueeo to Mr. T. Hiokeon and Mr • .Armitage; aJoo to Mr. S. P. Crisp and to hil iepleaentative. Mr. 'F. 1. Emit, F.R-G.S •• who made arrangementa for my stay in the bUlh, and likewise kindly allowed me to make nae of .. veraJ of hi. reef ourveye. which were of BHiatanoe to me in ..... paring this Report. When I am on the Mathinna field. I think . it .wiIl hit Ciesirable for me to return to this

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di.triot and connect the .trata inBtro.mentall7 both witlo. North MollDt Victoria and Mathinna, ... all three lielda fora a geological unit.

I have the hononr to be, Sir,

Your obedient Servant,

W. H. TWELVETREES, O_t OMJIogW.

W A PR.ETYIfAli, ~q., Acting &creta'1l for MiIw,

Hobart.

.lORK VAlL, GOVBRlfMENT panrr.&t T.t.8If.&.MU.

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