1875
The arrival of the NSW Department of Mines in 1875, was a major response on the part of the Government to the many repeated calls for it to take a far more scientific and strategic approach to the development of the state’s mineral wealth.
“This was not the end of cavalier, ad hoc mining operations in NSW, it was not even the beginning of the end. It was however the end of the beginning.” [quote modified with apologies to W. Churchill].
Looking back on it from our perspective today, 1875 definitely marked the point at which things get much less dramatic in relation to the overall gold story in NSW. With almost every step forward now needing considered application of capital and regulatory supervision, the days of the wild ride where Government struggled to play catchup with events unfolding on the fields was definitely over.
Left: Mines Department Annual Report 1875. Image and content presented here from this report reproduced courtesy of NSW Trade & Resources, Minerals & Energy
“This extraordinary difference may be, and probably is, due to the fact that during the past year hopes were entertained by many that the export duty would be removed from gold; the Bill introduced for the purpose of effecting that object not having been rejected till the early part of February of this year” …
Inroductory overview to the report
In opening summary of the Annual Report, Harrie Wood looks at the possible reasons behind gold’s very poor performance in the year then passed.
Specific detailed comment is also paid to how much gold departmental investigations found in the tailings from crusher plants and how this would be the difference between successful operation and going broke for most mines.
Inroductory overview to the report
That the delay in issuing Gold Leases has contributed, as well as the reaction which usually follows periods of intense excitemcnt, to bring about the present unsatisfactory state of our gold mincs cannot be gainsayed; but it is questionable whether much of the depression is not due to another cause, namcly, that the deposits already discovered have to a great extent been exhausted, as far as they are capable of being by the process known as digging, and that systematic mining, by which alone they can be further developed, has, with very few exceptions: not been introduced.
It is well known that there are extensive tracts of land, from which the miner unaided by capital cannot obtain a livelihood, which worked by the process known as hydraulic mining, would afford profitable employment to a large number of miners, and yield enormous returns of goid.
There are other deposits which cannot be profitably worked without constructing expensive tail-races for the purpose of draining off the water. There are the strongest indications of the existence of deep alluvial leads, similar to those in Victoria, which cannot be profitably worked without the aid of machinery, and there are numerous gold bearing quartz veins and lodes which cannot be thoroughly tested without constructing extensive prospecting works, and cannot be rendered remunerative without the aid of labor-saving and gold-saving appliances.
It is generally admitted that such deposits as can be profitably worked without the aid of capital should not be monopolised by capitalists and speculators; and if it were generally recognised that it is desirable to encourage the investment of capitalist mine works which cannot be carried on profitably without its aid, an important step towards the development of our auriferous resources will have been taken.
It clearly is not in the interest of the miner that deposits which he cannot work should be shut up from the capitalist, because the working of such deposits will provide employment for his labor, as it will afford profitable investment for capital, and thus both classes will be benefitted.
Professor Liversidge has tested forty-seven parcels of quartz tailings from yarious parts of the Colony, and the results obtained by him !~how that these tailings contain an average of 6 d wts. 17’«:; grains of gold per ton. In one of the tables is given the yield of gold from sundry parcels cf quartz from various parts of the Colony.
These parcels weigh in the aggregate 10,609 tons, and give an average yield of gold equal to 1 oz. 4 dwts. 4’1 grains per ton. And as each ton of quartz crushed will produce say 1 ton of tailings, it will be seen that 21.8 per centum of the gold contained in our quartz is carried off in the waste.
This loss which will in many instances represent the difference between a remunerative and a non-remunerative mine, points to the necessity for the employment of greater care or greater skill, and perhaps in most cases superior appliances.
It may be that with the greatest care and skill, and the best appliances procurable, the whole of the gold could not profitably be saved, but at any rate the loss may be very considerably reduced, and where the skill and appliances are wanting the tailings might be saved for sale or future treatment…
The difi’erencc dearly cannot be accounted for by COIn paring the uerage yield of the two Colonies, seeing the report for the last quarter of 1875 giye~ the Yictoriln averages as fo11o,,,”s :-quartz~ 11 dwts. 18’I!) grs. per ton; tailings and mullock, 3 d,yb:l. !)-49 grs. per ton; pyrites and blanketings, 2 oz. 10 clwts. 12’23 grs. per ton; and wash-dirt 23’58 grs. per ton; showing that our quartz is twice as rich, that our tailings are nearly twice as rich, that our wash-dirt is five times as rich, and that our 8ludge contains nearly three times as mUC~l gold as the Victorian wash-dirt.
In Victoria the alluvial deposits are perhaps more extensive, and the quartz lodes as a rule are larger and more easily worked than those yet opened up in this Colony, added to which the modes of working and the labor-saving appliances employed there enable a given number of miners to raise and treat a much greater quantity of earth in a given time than can be done on our gold-fields.
The estimated value of the plant used in connection with gold mining in Victoria exceeds two millions, while in this Colony according to the returns it does not reach one quarter of a. million.
There is no reason to doubt that with improved methods of working and suitable appliances our gold fields would be more productive, a greater number of miners would be attracted to and find employment upon them, and the gold yield of this Colony would largely Increase.
Bathurst District Warden’s Report
The warden’s reports included in the Annual Report provide a detailed snapshot of all the goldmining centres across the region.
First up were the relatively minor gold mining regions of Oberon, Orange, Hockley, Bathurst, Carcoar. These were followed by the legendary Ophir and thence Back Creek, Mullion, Carr’s Creek, and Four-Mile Creek.
Bathurst District Wardens Report
The portion of the Bathurst mining District latterly under my immediate control merely comprised the minor workings at Oberon, Orange, Hockley, Bathurst, and Carcoar, which are principally confined to operations on a comparatively small scale upon the quartz reeft:! in the vicinity of the places named.
I have now no statistics in this office of the number of miners employed, but the returns from the Banks and gold buyers would seem. to indicate a fair yield of gold, as far as I can judge from personal observation of the strength of the mining community in this moiety of’ the Bathurst :fining Distriet.
I may here point out that the return8 enclosed, so far as the Banks are concerned, may be relied upon, but that, as in some instances, the gold purcha~cd by the storekeepers ha~ by them been pa~’If:~ed through the Banks, theil’ returns cannot with safety be added to the former.
Quantity purchased at Bathurst, 17,149 ozs. 17 dwts. 8 grs. 3. The prospects of the copper mine;.;, including the celebrated Cowflat mine in this neighbolirhood. a’ppear to be improving, and they are furnishing a steady supply of ore fo)’ reduction at the smelting works at Bowenfel1s.
On the whole the mining interest has certainly not been retrograding during the past nine months, although I cannot at the same time show that there has been any sensible improvement in the production of gold as compared with the previous year, from the ab~cnce of reliable information on that point.
The Gold Fields, however, upon which I have only been called upon to report, are comparatively ~o insignificant that it is difficult for me to found any general opinion of the future prospects of mining in the Colony from their condition.
BATHURST DISTRICT, ORANGE DIVISION (M!’. Warden Lane, P.M., Orange.) I IIA
YE the honor to :-;tate that very little is being- done in gold mmmg operation::: iu this district. ‘rhere was a very rich lead struck at Ophir a short time ago, but it Boon r,til out, and the owners of the daim do not appear to have sufficient means to work it properly.
I believe Ophir will yet prove a very rich gold field. The” forest alluvial” continues to produce about the same quantity of gold as usual.
The other localities (Back Creek, Mullion, Carr’s Creek, and Four-mile Creek) are almost abandoned. I have procured from the Banks, and the only two buyers of gold I know of ill Orange, the quantity of’ gold they have purchased and advanced UpOJl during the past year, amounting to 7,$)51 ozs. ~om~ of this gold I believe came from Cargo and Ironbarks.
With all eyes on the Hawkins Hill fields, the section of the report which deals with that and the adjoining fields was doubtless eagerly read by many in 1875.
“Hawkins’ Hill – to which the mining world seem to look as the beacon which must be 1ighted up before we can have brighter days – does not appear to be in a prosperous condition.
“Yery few of these mines are paying more than working expenses at the present time, and what is wanted, in the opinion of practical miners, is “amalgamation,” in order that this hill, from which marvellous quantities of gold have been won, may be thoroughly proved.
“The areas of most of the leases, which have been very productive, are small, and have been worked, comparatively speaking, to very shallow depths, but to such depths the mines appear to be exhausted, and as each company’s parcel of land is very small it is not worth while, on account of expense (sinking, it must be remembered, in this locality, costs about £10 a foot), to follow the veins down to a great depth, where possibly a second run of gold would be discovered.”
Tambaroora and Turon District
Warden Sharpe goes on to note that …
“Until amalgamation is an accomplished fact, the vast army of managers, legal and mining, directors, and all the paraphernalia which go to swell the expenses of these mines, will most effectually prevent the thorough exploration and proving of Hawkins’ Hill; whereas, under a proper system, much of this expense would be saved.”
Tambaroora and Turon District
THE Tambaroora and Turon Mining District comprises the Turon River Gold Field, which includes Wattle Flat, Box Ridge, Quartz Ridge, and the Turon River with its numerous tributaries, down to its junction with the Macquarie River, and the Tambaroora Gold Field, which includes Chambers’ Creek, part of’ the Macquarie River, Hill End, Tambaroora, Green Yaney, Dun Dun, Bogia, Pyramul, The Crudino, and Stoney Creek.
I regret to have to report that the mining in this district is not in a flourishing state; the effects of what has been aptly styled “the mining mania” are still only too apparent, but I think we have passed the worst stage of depression.
Hawkins’ Hill – to which the mining world seem to look as the beacon which must be 1ighted up before we can have brighter days – does not appear to be in a prosperous condition.
Yery few of these mines are paying more than working expenses at the present time, and What is wanted, in the opinion of practical miners, is “amalgamation,” in order that this hill, from which marvellous quantities of gold have been won, may be thoroughly proved.
The areas of most of the lease~, which have been very productive, are small, and have been worked, comparatively speaking, to very shallow depths, but to such depths the mines appear to be exhausted, and as each company’s parcel of land is 80 small it is not worth while, on account of expense (sinking, it must be remembered, in this locality, costs about £10 a foot), to fo11ow the veins down to a great depth, where possibly a second run of gold would be discovered.
Until amalgamation is an accomplished fact, the vast army of managers, legal and mining, directors, and all the paraphernalia which go to swell the expenses of these mines, will most effectually prevent the thorough exploration and proving of Hawkins’ Hill; whereas, under a proper system, much of this expense would be saved.
Another great drawback to the progress of mining in this and other places is the want of local directors. Under ordinary circumstances the whole· direction of the mine is in the hands of men who reside at great distances, in some instances hundreds of miles, from the scene of action, and who, even suppo~ ing they possess the necessary mining knowledge, require, in order that their duties may be properly fulfilled, and, with the least possible expense and delay, to reside at or near the mine over which, by virtue of their office, they exercise so powerful an influence for good or evil.
Another evil most detrimental to the progress of mining, arises from the fact that it has been undertaken, in many instances, simply as a stock-jobbing speculation, and with a view of making money out of shares, and not as a well considered plan for the development of the mineral resources of the Colony.
I do not attribute the depression in mining to defects in the mining laws and regulations, thou~h possibly they may haye had some effect, but rather to ill-considered attempts at mining.
People of all classes rushed into the pursuit as if they had merely to sink a shaft anywhere a few feet, and would find gold in the bottom, instead of giving this most hazardous of all industries their most careful consideration, and taking proper precautions to ensure success. There are only too many shafts sunk and tunnels driven in this district which could be appropriately termed” So and So’s Folly.” .
There is a vast field in this district alone for quartz mining, and, as yet, except in a very few cases, nothing has been done. except prospecting, and that in a very desultory way. The deepest shaft in the district is only a few feet over 500, ahd the great majority do not reach 200 feet.
I do not expect that the enormous yields taken from Hawkins’ Hill will be repeated, but still it is very improbable that all the wealth of those veins has been exhausted. And there are beyond all doubt many reefs here and in other parts of the Turon and Tambaroora districts which will amply repay investors if properly worked.
As a symptom that mining is not dead amongst us, and all faith is not lost in the district, I note that as soon as a lease is cancelled which is known to contain a reef from which good stone has been taken in times past, or which affords fair prospects of success, the land is immediately applied for again and labour is at once put on, or arrangements made for working it as soon as thb lease is issued.
In some instances that I am aware of this enterprise has been rewarded, and very payable stone obtained. I may also mention that a fair amount of prospecting is being carried on in this district by the miners at this time, either on their own account, backed by their mates who Rre working in the various mines, or assisted by local capital, and, to the credit of the district, be it said, this assistance is nearly always forthcoming.
Should these attempts at development prove successful it is more than probable that money will be easily procurable from other sources to carryon the war. From these signs we may gather that the miners are fully alive to the fact that it lies with themselves to give mining its proper position among the other industries of the Colony.
I may mention, however, that there have been one or two small alluvial rUflhes reported during this last quarter. The most important occurred at Back Creek, between Sofala and the Mudgee Road. lam informed that some coarse gold was obtained, but that the place is now almost abandoned.
Some prospecting is being carried on on the reefs in the vicinity of Hillend, and in one or two instances the prospects are good. 1 am informed that many of’the miners who left this district, allured by the glowing reports from other gold fields, have returned, convinced by personal observation that the prospects are better here. T annex a schedule showing the amount of gold sent by escort from this district during nine months of the pr~sent year, and that amount, 1 believe, represents very fairly the quantity of gold won during that period from these gold fields.
I shall endeavour to describe each gold field in turn, and as the most convenient arrangement will take first the line of reef’s which may be said to commence at Chambers’ Creek, and to extend thence in this district in a northerly direction u.s far as Dun Dun, forming a chain of which the principal links are Chambers’ Creek, the tongue of land between the Rivers Turon and Macquarie,-then Hawkins’ Hill, Hill End, Tambaroora, Green Yalley, and Dun Dun, thi:o; belt of auriferous country and quartz-veins is ahout 1 mile in width, or more correctly speaking, that width would embrace all the known gold-bearing reefs, and as the crow flies, about 24 miles in length.
Chambers’ Creek.-There are two main lines of reefs~ one known as Allen’s Nuggety, the other as the Bourke; they are parallel and close together, the first has been prospected for a distance of about half-a-mile ; the reef is well defined and is about 8 inches wide.
The deepest shaft on the line i~ I believe, 270 fect, and gold is to be seen in the stone at tlIa~ depth. This reef has produced some splendid specimens, especially in the lease known as Allen’s.
And on the strength of these long prices were giyen during the mining mania for shares in some of the leases, but the reef has never proved payable.
The lease known as Allen’s is the onlv one now at work on this line, and it is let to a party of tributers. 01 The Bourke is a large well defined reef, averaging 18 inches in width. This line has been opened up about 11 miles, and the deepest shaft on it is, I bdieye, the Crown -Prince, which is down about 300 feet.
I am informed that the stone at this depth gave over an ounce to the ton, and the reef was about 18 inches wide, the proprietors have howO-er stopped work.
The principal leases on this line are the Bismark, the Sir John .Moore, the Crinoline, “,Velcome Home, Dolly Varden, General Grant, General Moltke, and the Crown Prince.
A considerable amount of work has been done on all these, but the only ones at work now are the Bismark and the Sir John Moore, which latter is the property of an English Company, who haTe expended a large amount of money on the mine in the erection of one splendid battery, the purchase of another, and the construction of a wire tramway from the mine to the batterya distance of about 1,000 feet.
The greatest depth attained in this lease is 180 feet, and the Company are still carrying their shaft down with about twelve men employed. The mine however has not paid, and it i8 to be feared its failure has thrown a considerable damper on the investment of English capital in Australian mines.
The character of the Chambers’ Creek reefs, as regards gold-bearing, is what gold miners term “patchy,” that is, the gold is distributed irregularly in the veins, and this quality has no doubt misled many in their estimat~ of the yalue of the reefs in this locality, and caused much disappointment, Portions of the reefs near the surface have been v(!ry rieh, bnt the great botly of the f’tone i::! barren.
The opinion, however, 0:’ miners who h[l,Ye worked on the Bourke aUti A llell’H i::; that they haH~ not had a fair trial. ‘1’00 much money has becn expended in rlllllling along the surf:,ce looking for patche::!, and that ,,;hon greater depths are attained the guld will lJe morl’ evenly diffused through the St011(‘, nild prove paynble if not rich.
To give an itle:L of the high estimate entertained of the Chambers’ Creek reef8, during the mani:l of 1S71 anll 1872 upwards of eighty ]ease~ were taken up on the difl’erent lines, (!mbracill~ an area of about 27a acres.
Some of these leases lately eancelled haye beon immediately repeg~eJ and applied fo1’thus showin~ that the miners haye not lo~t al1 ronfLdonce ill Chamher~’ Creek.
Coming northwards and crossing the lfae(llUlrie we 11a,Yc the ,Vel(‘omc line. This reef was discovered by a miner lJamed Syme, who forllled a company known as “The ,f(,leOllll’,” and they (lroH~ along the reef rl!ieh was first opelled in a steep rayine 01’ gulIy about 100 feet altogether not,th amI south-took out ahout :WI) tOllS of stone, which wa~ Cl:;tilllatcd to go half an ounce to the ton, but no crushing eyer took place.
This Company al;,:o put in a tUllnd at a 10ve1’ lerel than tl;r (lriH~ to cut the reef, but neyer reached it fur Wtlll: of fUllCk The mine i:-; now let on tribute, but I believe the tributorii are \’aiting fo1’ rn~t1~hil1el’Y’ Tllc ,V-clcollle Reef averages about IS inches ill width, a11l extends the whole di~tallce between the riYers; it appears to ve a, main reef with a bearing nearly north and l:;outh, al1d a dip easterly about 1 in 3. “’
There are a number of other lca!-’(‘~ on this lino, the prilleipal of which are the lIawkin; Hill Yiew, Court’s and Sutherland’s, the Pactolu:-,;, the Cllmberlawl, the Great Tambaroora, and the Golden ]’lceco.
Numerous tunnels haye been drivell, and shaft::; sunk at a great expense to cut the ,r elcome at a depth, but, for want of fUlld!-’ , neyer reached their destination.
It may be saiti of this line that it has noYer had a fair trial, a~ no machinery was close at hand, and the ruggeti nature of the country rendered the nearest maehinery useless unless the stono could be conveyed to it by packing, which was too expensive. The vein was yery rich indeed,-as in the case of the Handwick, which I sha)] me!ltioll pl’c:-.;ently.
I may here remark that a fine plant has all but been completeti at the Hoot Hog, on the Oriental lease. About £200 is all that i::; required to start the battc·ry, but that sum doe~ not seem to be forthcoming. If this plant were in working order, and crll~hillg for the pli the, I belieye this line would ~o(m be in full work. East of the “Velcome several easterly UlHlerlying reef…, haye been prospected, of which the two best known arc the Italian’~ and the Yankee’s.
The first ha,-:; not been worked i:n’ t:!ome )”ear8, but it ha~ the reputation of b(‘in~ payable. The last has a shaft sunk auout 150 feet, and vcry good specimens were obtained from the Yein, which i~ about 8 inc he::; wide. I now come to tho l{anuwick reef, which is \-est of the Yankee’s, and extenuH :.:out11 tG the lfaequarie. A shaft has been sunk on this reef in the Handwick claim, a~ it i~ usual~y called, about 160 feet.
The yein is about ,t inche8 wide, with a hearing nearly north and ::iOl:th, and dips west. Small parcelf’l of picked stone from this-the only claim now at work hetween the riye~-have been brought on pack horses to Hil1enti, anti cru:5hed at 11es8r8. Pullcn and Rawsthorne’s battery, and givon a return of al::! high as 20 ouuces and oyer to the tOll.
A crushing a few days since gave 12 ounces to the ton. Next I may mention tho Rose of Australia vein, which showed encouraging prospects, but for want of funds work was discontinued. Eastward of the Itose of’ AUf’ltralia we have two lines of reefs, known as the !fare’i:l Nest, on which a deal of d(!sultory work has been done, and good shows obtained, but nothing payable. ,Ve now cross the Turon and come to the Confidence, which lease was taken up to work a large westerly underlying reef, on whieh a tunnel was driven some distance, and at a depth of about 200 feet vertical a considerable amount of stone was taken out showing gold, but the re8ul~F! of the crushing are involved in obscurity.
East of the Confidence, and at the back of Bragg’s Inn, a.re a series of reefs or veins, known as the Queen of the Ranges line. Here the country haR been greatly disturbed and tossed about, as these reefs, though probably belonging to the Hawkin’s Hill line, cannot be traced to a connection with them.
The Queen of the Ranges’ vein gave some very good surface stone where the reef ran flat, but as soon as it turned the gold disappeared. From this northward to the Saw-pit Gully most of the work has been confined to the western side of Oakey Creek, for 8.lthough the main line of the Hawkins’ Hill veins is supposed to run on the eastcrn no prospects worth speaking of haye been obtained on that side.
In this locality the reefs worked are first a supposed continuation of Brand and Fletcher’s line. In the lease known as the Colleen Bawn, and in the two adjoining leases, a good show was obtained in a wim:e sunk from a tunnel driven from the creek at a depth of about 80 feet.
The ycin was about 6 inchcs wide, bearing north and south, and dipping easterly. West of Brand’s vein we have a line of leases on what was supposed to be EiRenstadter’s 1’ein. They were called the Great Britain, ,y cst Hawkins’ Hill, and lfagellan Cloud. Shafts were sunk on all these mines, but without reaching the vein sought for. ,Vest of Eisenstadter’s is a vein known as the Star of Hopc, from which excellent prospects haye been obtained.
This reef has been worked jn the Old England mine, the Star of Hope, and two others. Underlay shafts have been sunk in all these from 150 to 250 feet, and handsome specimens obtained. The w,;dth of it varies from 2 inches to 10 inches. The bearing is north and south, and the dip easterly. The Star of Hope and Old England are nmv worked by a Co-operati,e Company, who are driving at the 175 feet level cast to intersect veins cut in thc shaft which is over ~oo feet in depth.
I belicve a crushing (.f a few tons at that depth ga,e 15 dwts. to the ton. Wed of the Star of Hope is a very large reef, known as the Queen Bee. The width is about 4 feet, and there is a fair show of gold, Jut little work has been done on it as yet. Thi~ complet~s the easterly yeins which have been discovered.
The westerly veins underlying to tho west are first the South Star line. The leasE’S worked in ~his arc the South Star, the Clan Campbell, and several block c1aims, and thcn the Lord Ashley, Shaft::; ,vere sunk to a depth of 250 feet in the South Star lease, but ‘With doubtfully payable results. The reef is about 4 inches thick and has been traced about a 111110 and worked at intervals; this vein, r am informed, gave rich returns from surface crushin;~ some years back. ,Vest of the South Star line several reefs have been worked, but !lot sufficielltly to proye whether they are payable or not. ,Va now come to the fa.mous Hawkins’ Hill veins.
They may be divided into three systemf.1,-Centrally a mainline, and on either side an outside one. The main line CO~si8ts of- 1.
Holman’s veins- two in number and 6 feet apart, These have been ‘Houg-ht from the lIonte Chrihto ~Iine to Paxton’s, a distance of about 31:6 feet. The mines now at work on them are Rawsthorne’s, Cock & Attwood’s, Hickson, Crighton & Beard’s, and Paxton’s. The average width of these veins is from G to S inches, and they have been gencrally payable.
2. Paxton’s veins arc about 6 feet west of Holman’s and three in number. One of these. the h~nging wall vein, is known also as Krohmann’s big vein; and Rawsthorne’s-these vary ill width from 1 inch to 3 feet; the bearing of a,ll the veins on the Hill worked is from 5° to 12’east of north. 3. Brown’s veins are a mass of leaders in the horse between Paxton’s and the Star of l)cace, and haye supplied a large proportion of the gold which has made Hawkins’ Hill so celebrated.
This system of veins does not extend further north than Paxton’s north sh:-tft. there being none of them in the horse in the Star of Peace ,·cin. 4. Thirty feet ‘’’lest of Paxton’s vein we ha’e that known as the Star cf Peace, and which is probably identical with Holterman’s veins; this appears to be the main vein of the Hill and has heen traced from Carroll & Beard’s on the south to :lIathewson’s on the north, a rlistanc(‘ of abuut 760 feet; the average eize of this vein is about 8 inches, and the yield 3 ozs. to the ton. In the Star of Peace lIine it has been proyed payable to a depth of nearly 500 feet.
In Fisher & Beard’s it is 3 feet thick in places, and has yielded as high as 7 ozs. to the ton. The last large crushing from this vein, at the 480 feet level, gave about -to ounces to the ton. West of this we have- 5. The series of veins ,,-hich gaye the rich crushillgs known as Holtermann’s, Krohmann’s, and Carroll & Beard’s-the ‘width of these “eins varies from 2 to ·4 inches, aDd the ,rein stone is enclosed in soft black slate; they appear to be represented in_claims north of th.e Rampant Lion by a vein known as the w:est vein, which has been ycry rich in Paxton’~ mme.
East of the main line and separated from it hy a dyke of trachytc are the vejna known as “ Stephens’, the Frenchman’s, and Rowley’s.” The first of these has been worked to a depth of over 300 feet, and the gold appears to go down in narrow perpendicular shoots, but not sufficiently diffused to make the vein a payable one.
It is probably identical with the Ro:;e of England vein, and if so has heen wt)rkcd from Tallentire and Beard’tl as t~tr north as th(‘ Trust and Try. ‘fhe Frenchman’s Yeill has heen worked to a depth of 2 iO feet, and Hhafts ~ullk to a depth of 200 feet. ‘fhe mineR in wiJieh this ,’ein has been worked most are the ()rnj~h,
the ]’renchman’~, the Amalgamated, aIld till’ Cornelian; it is generally supposed to be tIl(‘ tlame vein as tnc Scandinavian, amI if so, ha~ yielded payable gold in the Scandinavian le,!~(‘. ThL’ average width is about (j lnehcs, and varies from 1 inch to 2 feet; the dip is east, 1 in -1. and the IH.’ariu!…” i dl’gree~ wo~t of’ nOl’th. Howley’s vein waH worked somc years hack. and appear:-; ratlwr a:-; a lode ellelo~ed in sallllt-;toIlt’ than a (luarti reef.
The guld wa~ all extrurh’d from till’ matrix by washillg without the aid of machinery. The hearing and dip are the same a~ the Ia,~t. The least’s knuwn :l~ the Crown Pr111(‘e and LOlHlonderry have sunk shafts tu catch thi~ ,·oin, Lut without HucceS:-l, fhuling only a narrow leader at 120 feet. The only mine ,,;orking on thi:-; line i~ ai-acre letRl’, knowll as tlw Rose of Au~tr:Llia OJ’ Goodwin’s Vl’ntUI’C’, and they have a shilt’t down GO feet, driving for a vein to the west, betwet’ll H.owley’~ ;md ~t(‘,·ens’.
This completC’s the easterly !:lystl’ll1. The we:-;tol’ly systCTn i~ separated from tlU’ main line by a Lroad belt of trachyte, and comprise” Brallcl’R VeilH’: about a dozPH in Humher, worked mainly in brand and FletcheI’~ daim and Ei:’:(‘Il~tadtc’r’s vein, worked in the Royal Standard (bettcr known as Eiscm;tadter’s), the Lady Belmore, ,llJd others; this red’is from -1 to G inches thick, and the tleepc;-;t working on it is in Eissf’rtstadter’s IcaRo, 250 feet; it has been worked at intermls for about 1 mile; the ~tolle ha~ gonc as high as 7 ozs. in the Lady Belmore lca:-;(‘.
The Hoyal Staudard is the ouly daim at present at work 011 this line; this cOIllpleh’s the yeins kllOVll as the Hawkills’ Hill veins prop(·r. I lllay here remark that at the prl’S(~llt- time the only mines on Hawkins’ which a.ppear to 1)(‘ paying anythillg more than working expenses arc Paxton’s, the Star of Peace, :’,l1d Fischer alld Beard’s. \Tith regard to Hawkins’ Hill, SOUle of the lea:ies have atopped working altogether; others are being’ worked on a more economical ~ystelll than heretofore. The gold mine known a.~ Carroll an(l Beard’s i!-3 :tHRol’ia.ted with thOHP known as Krohmaull’s and Beyers’ aud Holtermann’R. T
he main Rhaft in the first-mentioned Company’s gl’uund is being Hunk to a greater depth than that yet attained, viz., 5:~O feet, with a view of thoroughly proving the three mines, .For a similar rC:l:4C)}1 the Star of Peace Company include in their working the lllilles known l1R Mathewson’f(, Oxon’s. and .Myers and SterellH’t-;. ‘rile Patriarch, a well-known lea:;e on Rd.wkim;’ Hill, in the hands of a few enterprising and wealthy men-is being thoroughly pro~pected,
At the back of the township a (‘ollHiderablo amount of surfa.ce ,vork has been done on vein~ whll’h arc :”mppc)Red to he a continuance of the Hawkins’ Hill line, but in this locality they are diHtin!.(ui~hed hy different names from those by which they are known on Hawkins’ Hill; for instauce, the Seandinavian is supposed to be tho same as the .Frenchman’s-the Blocker’s vein, from which a considerable amonnt of g’old wati taken in days gone-by as Htcvens’R-and the Excelsior, which I shall mention hereafter as Sergen.nt’:;.
I may remark here that two mines, the Boston and Eureka, have done a considerable amount of work on a . belt of veins hetween the Blockers and the Excelsior, and in the last mentioned, the Bureka, a Hhaft 280 feet deep has been ~mnk, and a reef discovered carrying gold, but not ill payable quantities.
A eonsiderable amount of work has been done on the Bcandinavian reef, which ha~ afforded in years past payable stone; it haH been worked in the Scandinavian lease-the Royal Alfred, the .Tust·in-’fime, and a number of block claims. It is to be regretted that this line is now idle. The Excelsior, on Sergeant’s reef, is a cheering exception to the general ullsatisfactory ~tate of the minCH in this division. I am informed that the reef was cut at a depth of 207 feet and proved V0rv rich though small, varying from 1 to 2 inches in width. The average yield per ton for 12 inonths has been about 27r ozs.
The area leased by the Company, and which is a private one, is 4 acres, and thiR mine hr~li been in full work, I believe, since May, 1874. It is to be hoped that this vein may be discovered in the adjoining leases and afford the same returns as in the Excelsior. Eastward of the Excelsior we have another reef, known as the Dragon, and this too i~ yielding satisfactory returns to the shareholders. The reef is peculiar in appearance, being stained with iron; it is about 6 to R inches wide, in soft l’ountry, and has given from 1 to 2 ounces to the ton, The gold is not often visible iu the stone, and specimens are uncommon. The dept h attaiIl(‘d is 1!)2 fect. This recf ha~ been cut in the Venus alld Prilll’c of r .. des leases adjoining’ the Dragon; ill the formm’ the pro~pe(‘ts are good; in the latter, work is dj~continued.
I would remark here that thi~ portion of the gold fidd seems to be l’oYcl’ed with about 200 feet in dept II of made g”round, ill whidl the veinK take such erratic courses as to render the following of them exceedingly difficult; nothing payable ha~ beell obtained within the last five years between the last-mentiolled lease and ‘rambaroora, excepting Oll Langford’:-; linf…’, ~_ from which a few payablc cl’uHhings hayc been taken.
Prior to that several rich deposits were ‘ found on what is known as the Red Hill and Golden Gully line, hut nothing permanent. TheHe reefs arc deeply stained with iron, and appear to have been Hubjected to intense heaL 1tfany of them contain hollows filled with ~ soft blaek powder, and the gold is found adhering to the sides of these cavitie~.
Here I may remark that the whole of the Red Hill and Golden Gnlly would pay handsomel:’ for sluicing- if water could be got to bear on it, whieh i~ a cliilieulty not casilv surmounted.
After everv thunder shower, fossickers may- be seen 8eralling out all the lrttlc gutter!”!, and 8ometime~ are rewarded for their trouble by finding very course gold. I now pass on to Tambaroon. This ha.s been one of t}tt~ richest a.llurial gold _ .. field~ in t1w colony, but has becll worked (lut, I)nc may say, for years.
The I’eef~ worked in this neighbourhood are the Canton Reef, by Chinamen principall.v~ and supposed to be payable to the water,level-about 90 feet; after that tIw (‘xI,cnses bel:orne too heavy for tbe yield. I may mention he1’(, the Britannia and Independcllt Reefs, which are south and west of the township of ‘fambaroora; north are the various reefs on the Red Hill, worlwd in the Red Hill Company lease; the Gigantic Struggle, the Perseverance, the :Marshall :3I’Malwn, and other lea~e~. and proved payable in them all to a depth of 200 fcet, when water waR struck and rendered the employment of machinery necessary. This has caused a cesfation of work in all these elaim~ or lea8es, eXl’epting the Red Hill Company, where they are taking the surface quartz out.
It is probable this Company will prove the Red Hill line, as they have a fine battery, machinery necessary for getting rid of the water, and a confidence in the value of their mine, which probably ,,·ill be rewarded if indicatiolls arr of any yalue.
This Red Hill line may be termed the favourite reef of the district. Another lille funning l:outh-we~t from the crown of the R~d Hill is White’s lli’eL which has b(‘e11 worked with payable results to a depth of about 70 feet, when water put a stop to the working~. ‘]1lu.’re is, I belieye, nothing doing 011 this reef at the present time. About a mile and half rl’Olll Tambaroora north is an abandoned alluvial diggings, known as the Dirt Holes. Various reefR in this neighbourhood have been worked, and most of’ them with payable results, but they are now lying idle.
At the Green Yalley the same state (If thing~ exists, great results were expected from the reefs in the locality, and large sums of money expended in what may be called surface workings, but without. any satisfactory result. Still adyancing northward we come to the DU11 Dun. The reefs in this part of the district labour under the disadvantage common to most others. Tlwy hav(‘ nen’}’ had a fair trial. ‘rhe principal line is known as the Craigend, and has been prospeded for a distance of about 2 miles; and numerous shafts sunk varying in depth from 20 to 215 feet. On the Craigend lease a fair return was got from what little ston’ has been (,rushed, being 20zs. 5 dwts. to the ton. The reef averages 15 inches in width. The character of the stone is seamy and contains a quantity of pyrites; the country is soft, and the working not expensive, costing for sinking about 20s. per foot. The p~ace is deserted as far as the reefs are concerned, not a single lease or claim being at work, but there is some ehance of work being renewed in the Craigend Mine before long.
The Pyramul, which is situated about 20 miles in a north-westerly direction from RiBend, has been a rich alluvial diggings. Th£’ only reef at work in this neighbourhood is that known as Bey£’fS and Weir’s. These gentlemen have erected a fine plant, and I believe “re at the present time engaged in sinking on the reef, which is a large one. It is to be hoped they will be rewarded for their enterprise and meet It suitable return for the expense incurred. The next line of reef I shall mention is that lately opened on the Crudine Creek. About five leases, containing an area of some 32 acres, have been taken up on the Homeward Bound, for so thi~ line of reef has been christened. }”’our of thelle leases are I believe in the hands of a private company, who are erecting a battery ann sinking on the reef; so far the stone has been rich; 5~ tons crushed at Hillend gave the handsome return of 36 ounces.
I am informed that there are at the present time about 25 tons at grass, anl it is expected the yield from this will not fall short of that obtained from the trial crushing. It is to be hoped that the reef will be thoroughly proved and not thrown up as in most case:.; directly a crushing does not prove· payable. I may add that the reef is from 6 ‘to 12 inches in thickness and wcll defined. About due west from Hillelld and distant 12 miles is a basaltic hill, known as Pulley’s; it is part of a range extending for about 30 miles on either side of the lIacc1 uarie.
The hill refcrred to i:-; about 700 feet above the river, which it almost overhangs; is ab:mt one milc and three quartcrs in length, and from 100 to 500 yards in width, and the top of the hill has the appearance ofhavillg been le”elled.
The basalt appears to be about 100 feet thick, viewing it from the side of the hill; beneath the basalt is found cemented drift from 1 to 12 feet in thicknci:is, overlaying :t bed of soft pipeclay or decomposed slate. ‘rhe wash-dirt over the I)ipeday -aries from a foot to eighteen inches ill thickness, and hns been proycd payable in certain -places, even ,vith very rough applianceH.
TUllncll3 arc being driven into thi~ hill at various levels, and with propel’ machinery, skilled labour, and economical management, Pulky’s Hill, and probably the adjoining hilb, may prO”e as valuable as similar formations in the sister Colony. This hill is leased chiefly in large blocks.
At the present time only about ten men arc employed on it; but two large battericH and the necessary appliances are being erected on the ground, and should the cement underlying the bas3,lt prove payable, and there is little doubt of it, this and the adjoining hill~ will probably afford employment for many years to a large digging population.
Lower down the river, and on tll0 opposite side are similar hills; two of them knovn as Finch’s and the Horse Bald Hill. About thirty men are working at .Finch’s; one tunnel is in 300 feet, and I am informed the owners have obtained as much as .~ dwts. to the load. I now come to the Turon River Gold Field which, as I have stated at thc beginning of my report, comprise~ the river ‘ruroJl and numerous tributaries, from Sofala upwards to Jew’s Creck, and donnvards to its junction with the Macquarie. The river bed and alluvial workings may be said to be exhausted, although there arc still scattered along the ri ’er and up the various tributaries parties of Chinese and a few Europeans at work.
The r~efs at ~ uggety and Spring Creek, ncar Sofala, during the mining mania, excited a good deal of attention, and deservedly so as far as is known of their character. Large areas Wbre leased, and larger sums of money expended, though not on the reefs; ono by one the mines have ceased working, and at the present time reefing may be said to be dead in this portion of the Tambaroora and Turon millillg district, the only mine at present working being that known as 2foyle’!-l Surface Hill. This miue i:-; Hituatcd at ‘Vattle Plat, and has for many years borne a Yery high charactcr for the richness of it::! auriferous deposits.
It was worked for a considerable period by a co-ol)(>rative company, who took a large amount of’ gold from it hy mere surface workillg; then it fell into the hallus of the prescnt company who seem well Hatisfied with their purchase. Thc veins are numerous, payable, in some instances rich, and close together, and the company have a small but excellent plant in close proximity to the mine. This lease has been at work constantly in the hands of the present company for about three years, and the capital has been expended in opening up the minco At Roiga I am informed the reefs were very promising as far as the prospecting of them went; a large area of ground was leased, but little work done, and now the place is abandoned.
At Box Ridge a few claims arc at work, and, I believe, with good prospects. This place and the Quartz Ridge hare becn the cause of much excitement on account of Borne vcry rich findR of surface quartz.
The last-mentioned place is now idle as far as reefing is concerned, but I believe work will be rcsumed Hhortly,-the line of reef tried being regarded as likcly to prove valuable.
I shall now make a few remarks as to the alluvial mining in this district, and these will apply to the whole of it, except Pulley’s Hill, and similar formations. The alluvial in the neighbourhood of Tambaroora has been very rich in places; every creek and gully (and they are numerous) has been, more or less, auriferous, and at one time supported a very large population, but may now be said to be exhausted.
The alluvial miners in this district are chiefly Chinamen and fossickers. Very few Chinamcn, it will be observed, do anything in quartz-mining; their labours are confined to shallow alluvial and river workings, for which they display a remarkable aptitude, appearing to be indifferent to wet and exppsure, working in large bodies, and being satisfied with moderate returns.
The Turon and :Macquarie, and many other places for many miles, have been worked oyer and over again by co-operative bands of Chinamen.
Gulgong – when all else fails
How though were things faring with that mainstay of gold production in troubled times – the alluvial fields of Gulgong?
Well not so good as it happens, though a very protracted dry spell was largely to blame with much washdirt being stockpiled for future puddling when there was water to process it.
Gulgong – when all else fails
The almost unprecedented absence of rain, combined with the temporary absence of a large number of the settled mining population of Gulgong at the Mandurama rush, near Carcoar has seriously affected the yield of gold for the last quarter of the past year.
But with the ordinary autumn rainfall a considerable addition to the escorts may be looked for. Large quantities of wash-dirt are now, in many instances, lying stacked and ready for puddling.
The work at the Welcome Reef, at Three-mile, has been much retarded by the exceptionally dry nature of the season on t.he Canadian, which has a.lways been a steadily remunerative loeality.
A new run of gold has been traced ncar the Nil Desperandum, and the eharacter of the locality for great depth rather than richness of wash-dirt sustained.
In the Parramutta Reef, nt’ar the }1(‘ad of the Black Lead, the last crushing yielded a fair and en.?ouraging average.
It will be granted by those acquainted with the Mudgee :M:ining District that a combination of causes has led to the exceptionally low yield of gold, and a comparative stagnation in mining operations now apparent; but the possibility of other rich discoveries in a district of generally auriferous formation, unaccompanied by surface indications, cannot be denied, while the large area of partially exhausted alluvial may yet be advantageou~ly worked by companies with the aid of’ efficient and modern machinery.
The neighbourhood of Gulgong in particular will in my opinion, supply a field for such enterprise for many years to come.
It will be apparent from the ~tatifltics furni~hl’d by the ~lining Registrar for the Mudgee Dit:ltriet, that its highest point of produeti”ellcss wa~ reaclH’d in the year l~i2, when from 1 he al1u’iial field~ of Gulgong and it~ vieillity not le~s than 134,4.·;)5 ozs. were dispatched by eseort. From the 10th lfay, 1871, to :WUl September, L875, lwarly 16 tons of geld were sent to Sydney from these gold fieldiil, the exad number of ounces ueing 421,477 ozs. 12 dwt~. 1·1 grs.; Y:tlul’, at £3158. Gd.; average price at the Bank,-£1,G02,403 Os. 7d. Such has ueell the euormous yield iu little more than four years of the alluvial drift lying 1()r the most part beneafh a stratum of basalt in thiH immediate neighbourhood. But it will be ob:-:crvcd that the yield fell, durillg the last year to G8,354 ozs. 19 dwts. 15 grs., while ‘luring the first nine months of the I)l’(~sent year the amount sent from Gulgong and Home RL1ie, still the most important gold fidds in the lIudgt’e llining Uistrid, has only reaehed the total of’ 21,709 ozs. ;! dwts. Is grs. rhile such a conspicuous reduction proves the partial working out of the more prominent alll,Yal (lq)ll~its, and a cOl’l’espolldill!! exodus of miners, it it:l still believed tllat the extl’nsiH~ area .rithill which dep08it~ of such cxceptional richness have been found has not beL’ll so completely exhau~h-’d but that important discoveries may Htill be made. The once celebrated ]pads, the Happy Yalll’Y, the Star, and the Black Lead, show It tendenl’Y, in the jwlgment ot experienced miners, to converge at a point ucal’ the lower end of the Black Lead in deept’l’ ground than has yet been worked. If a main gutter be discoH’red under such (‘onditions a revival, even au eclipse of the former prosperity of Gulgong, may be predicted. Thl’ reefs in the lfudgee Di~trict can hardly be said to have been thoroughly explored, or worked at SUell depth as to warrant a decided opinion upon their ultimate yalue. At present the ‘V cl(‘ollle, the :lforning Star, and the British Lioll are payabll’, and among the most encouraging illvestments. In the vicinity of Hargriwes, and at ‘Vindeyer and :lfitchell’s Creek, as also ill other localities within the district, well defined reef::; exist, which the shareholders confidently expect to be e-entually profitable. On the river Cudgegong the sluicing of large areas is being carried all at con~i(lerable outlay. Expensive dams and miles of watcr races haye been constructed for the pUt’pose of testing the ri’cr bank and the abandoned shalloy!’” workings. Copper as yet i~ the ouly metal, other tha.n gold, with OIle exception, that has been discovered within the district. At lIitchell’s Creck, near ‘Vellington, two highly ~ncouraging lodes hare be(,ll partially worked. To onc of these, known as “Vitler’s llille,” machinery to the value of £2,000 is being conveyl~d at the present time. A cinnabar mine, in the ,icillity of the Cudgegong, within 2;’) miles of 1tfudgee, has lately recommenced work. . Vith reaped to tIll’ milling- prospects of the lf udgee Di::;trict I may state Illy conviction from pa.st experience that fi’c:-;h disco’erics in the alluyial will f!’om tiUl0 to time occur From the reefs, when worked at deeper lcycls, a large and steady yield may be looked for,-the true and permanent mainstay of a mining commllllity. And, from the gellI.:ra1 superiority of the soil, and the temperate nature of the dimate, I anticipate a. continuous settlement of’ the miners upon the land, cOlll:{tituting a population thus enabled to combine the advantageouR pursuit of agriculture with the occasional enterprise and tempting rewards of gold mining.
Billabong and Forbes report (mostly)
The rich new Billabong Goldfield east of Parkes in the foothills of the Goobang Range was one of the state’s most productive fields – if only the weather would let up and allow the miners to process that stockpiled washdirt.
Footnoting a very (very!) detailed account of this field is also an update from the much older workings around Forbes.
Billabong and Forbes report (mostly)
I have now the honor to report upon the present state of the mining district under my charge, and regret that I have been unable to do so at an earlier period.
On referring to my report for the year 1874 you will observe that at the closure of that year the mining population were located to the southward of the Billabong or Goobang Creek within the extension of the Billabong Gold Field, and in the vicinity of five leads that had there been recently discovered in the alluvial plains that stretch towards the Lachlan River.
From January last these leads have been worked with unremitting energy, three with much success, the greater portion of the gold transmitted from this district to Sydney by escort during the current year having been obtained from this portion of the gold field.
So important were these leads considered in July last that the Australian Joint Stock Bank, the Commercial Bank, and the Bank of New South Wales each opened branch establishmenh; at Tichborne exclusively fur the purchase of gold.
Of these leads the most productive has been the ‘Yapping Butcher, situated on the northern side of Tom’s Knoll; it is a continuation of the :Fairy Lead, both following the summit of a ridge of palreozoic rdcks, that at a depth below the surface, varying from 4G to 72 feet, extend to the northward.
This ridge is intersected by an igneous dyke carrying quartz reefs upon its flank~. The centre appears to have been cut through from east to west near the ancient base of the knoll. It is here that the ground is 72 feet deep, that to the north and south becoming gradually more shallow until it reaches G4 feet in depth on one side and 4G feet on the other. the shallow claims to the northward, proving to be the most productive.
Some of the hard transmuted strata upon which the wash rests are interpolated by soft decomposed formations. )Iingled with this wash are quartz boulders, many of these are so large as to be immovable by any force the miners can apply except gunpowder; aU are more or less water worn and rolled. ‘Vith these are a~sociated pebbles, clays (red, brown, and white), fragments and blocks of conglomerate. ‘fhese fragments are locally known as clinkers, and with the exception of the cement are similar to the loose wash; solid nuggets of water-worn goM have been frequently obtained from them.
A few yards to the south-east of the channel cut through the lower palreozoic rocks two shafts at a depth of 30 feet below the grass struck a red quick-sand j this extended 25 feet deeper, when a little gold. was obtained. off the bottom.
The stream of saud about 30 feet wido appeared to flow to the south-west round the base of Tom’s Knoll, and above it there were no claims of value. A similar sand was found. in a shaft three-quarters of a mile distant in the same direction. One hundred yards to the cast of the Wapping Butcher the alluvium of the plain becomes deep, and consists of clays and gravel.
About 6 miles further to the east is a conglomerated. drift 300 yards wide, apparently of the pleistocene period; it is several mile~ in length, and extends to the eastern ranges that flank the granite formations; it is p:-obably the bed of an ancient river, once rapid, shallow, and turbulent in its course.
The alluvial plain separates this drift from that round Tom’s Knoll. Three or four holes have been rooted in the margin of this conglomerated drift, and a little gold obtained therefrom, but nothing payable. Neither the beginning nor the end of the Wapping Butcher Lead has been clearly ascertained; it appears at present to have been cut off at its southern extremity by the quicksand; and may be found to commence and end with the conglomerated drift.
The fragments oflight blue hardened slate found entangled in the conglomerate are the same in all respects as some strata in situ forming portions of the bed rock, but the quartz boulders differ from the stone in the reefs in the vicinity.
They may however have been derived from a higher portion of the same reefs, now broken into fragments and destroyed by denudation. I cannot ascertain that allY person has actually obtained gold from these reefs although there is undoubted evidence of’ fragments of quartz, richly impregnated with gold, having been found in the wash; these may have been derived from the drifts, but in opposition to the idea of these fragments having been transported from any considerable distance is a statement made by the local gold buyers, “ that the gold from each lead differs in quality and value.”
If such be the case the conglomerate must be derived from the rocks in situ, the debris having been removed but a very short distance and in one direction, by fluviatile action.
The quartz boulders have the peculiar rusty colour so frequently to be obserred in fragments of a similar veinstone forming the base of the older conglomerates; all are more or less rounded and water worn; and appear to be the ba~e of a pleistocene drift, the wreck of which now reposes uJ.l~m the palreozoic rocks of the district.
The vein stones in those latter although auriferous (;nntain much less gold and in smallEr masses than that derived from the disintegration and redistribution of the base of the ancient drifts.
I now feel assured that all the exceedingly rich specimens of gold bearing quartz and nuggets of gold found upon this fielu . are derived from tIle base of the conglomerated drift under consideration, and that where leads- have been discovered this drift is also present in some form. The “Vappin~ Butcher Lead is in some places two claims wide, and for about 1 mile in length has yielded a large quantity of gold. Since January last Carroll and three others from a claim of 220 feet by 220 feet obtained 1,050 ounces. D. Bowes and three others from a similar area obtained gold to the valne of £4,000.
Amongst others my attention has been drawn to a daim of 220 feet by 2.20 feet held by ,Villiam Jones and three others. This claim, situated 011 a dead lc,’cl in the midst of a thick pine scrub, presents no surface indication of any description beyond a rich chocolate soil to attract the miner; it was first occupied in January last.
The sinking was through Chocolate soil “ . 4 feet 10 “ 4 “ Yellow striated clay, mixed with quartz gravel Quartz gravel … … … … … • •• Partially decomposed conglomerate of quartz gravel, pebbles, and boulders, mixed with fragments of ironstone, igneous aiff:fl and transmuted rock, and various slates and shales 20 “ Coarse red and brown sand, and drift 12 “ Auriferous drift apparently derived from the base of the conglomerate 4 “ Making a total depth of 54 “Vith respect to the conglomerate the greater part was disintegrated, and nearly aU the pebble except those of quartz and some highly silicified fragments of schist, were decomposed and reduced to clays of various colours still retaining their original form, some portions of these being reconsolidated by an infiltration of lime and iron.
Where this lime and iron have not been removed large blocks and fragments of the conglomerate remain in their original state; these are locally called clinkers, but where they have been removed the base of this con~lomerated. d:if~ forms .the auriferous wash of this part of the gold fi(‘hL an~ it appears probable that It IS from thIS source and not from the quartz reefs in s-itul that the rIchest leadt’l have been supplied. as the proceeds of the labour of foul’ lll(,ll for b,,”ch-e lllolltlt~. Xt~arly one-third of the claim is still ul1worked.
From an adjoining- claim a Ilugget weighing 2G ozs. has been obtained. In tht> ~ame vicinity Kenna and party obtained 1 oz. 10 «lwts_ per load, Francis and pn.rty loz. per load, :Murphy and party :3 ozs. per 10a(l, 11’ Fatl(lell and party 2 ozs. per load, and ,Villiams ,tud party ~~ ozs. per load. The claims of’ )taddell aIlll party, Buckley a.nd party, and Barlow and party were also highly satisfadory. The thi(‘kl1e~~ of t;C wash i~ from 2 tu [) feet; lower down the course of the lead has not been dearly defined; a few claims in that Jiredioll Rtruek small patch(‘~ of pa.yable gold. At the head of the \Tapping Butcher Lead there is a network of claims, all of which although outside blocks (‘ither have been within the year or are now producing payable gold. The ‘richhorne Lead, a we:-;terly branch l’llttin,g as previously describe(l through the “Tapping Butcher, is oomewhat deeper than that lead, but of the Rame eharacicr, the auriferous dcpll~it~ heing deriyed from the Rame s01lrcc: the waRh is finer and eontain~ more clay aIld sand and a ~mallcr number of bouldc1rs; the thickneR~ of wa~h dirt ranges from 2 to 12 foet at the UppCl’ end; here also fra,~Il1(‘nbl of conglomerate are inters}l(‘I’sed through the wash. ‘rhe lead is tortuous ana varies in width; the depth is 72 feet at the head, deepening in it;.; onward progress to lao feet at ib~ western extremity: for the first half mile of itA (‘ourse the claims • were all rich, each pl’oducing large quantities of gold; in Rome instauces the dppth and width of the wash compensating for the povt>r1’y of t}ll’ yield per load. No. G gave ~fcrann and party within the year 1,700 OUll(‘(‘Fj of gold. About twenty-five claims situated within an equilateral triallgle. not exceeding half a mile in length, hav(‘ supplied 7 -lOthR of the gold forwarded by escort from this gold Held during the year ] S7:). ‘rhe original prospectors sharer!. the fate (;Ollltnon to pioneers; they obtained their prosJ(,d of 2 dwts. and no more; sank and drove 1,200 fect, and after eight monthR’ labour, and haxint; defended two actions initiated by jumper~, abandoned the ground. Below the Prospectors down to No. 9frontagc, th(~ claims yic·ldccl little more than wages. :””0. 10, at a depth of 130 feet, with 2 feet wash. produced 1,000 loads that yielded 15 dwts. per load; below this the lead cannot be traced although it has becn perseveringly sought for. Vith the exception of a few claims at the head the ‘Tichborne lead has been exhausted. The :Fairy lead was also a Huccess, of the same character as the ‘Yapping Butcher: :-;ituated upon the same line of paheozoic rocks the yield from the se-eral claims was not !I!uch inferior. One claim produced £2,000 worth of gold, and three other parties have each obtained gold to the value of from £1,200 to £ 1,HOO. These claims are still worked. The Fulton lead did not pro’e payable, although it produced some heavy nuggets of vater-wurn gold, and after having been worked for six months it waH abandoned. It appears to be the termination of one of the leads on the north hank of the Goobang- Creek. l:t:’Guiggan’s South: But little prugress has bcen made towards the development of thi~ lead during the paHt year. The claim of Barnett and party near the creek haH been worked continuously; the yield is 10 dwts. per load, and the wash abundant; the la~t washing of 1..J.0 loads produced 70 ounces of gollI. K OB. 6, 7, and 8 are also energetically worked; produce 8 dwts. per load. No.9 yields small wages. All the remaining claims are for the prCl:!Cllt abandoned as unprofitable .. The deep claim (167 feet) has also been worked out, and the gold has not been traced outside its boundaries. There was a lead reported by a party of (,xperienced prospectors 9 miles from Forbes about April last ; the prospect~ obtained were about 1 dwt. to the dish; nevertheless it proved a failure. . In this district, where coarse gold is the rule, prospecting by dish is very unreliable; nothing less tha.n the puddling-machine will prove the value of the grollnd. There have been no discoveries within this portion of the distri,ct during the year; two prospecting shafts have been SUlik upon the plains in the deep ground; gold was procured from the bottom of’ each, but not in payable quantities, whereupon they were abandoned. Prospecting has not been followed up with the Rame unahated energy as during the previous year; occasional Rmall patches have been found in every part of the gold field, but nothing continuously payable. That there are valuahle auriferow; deposits in these plains is certain, and nothing but the boring-rod v’il1 diseover their whereabouts. lf’Guiggall’s lead 011 the north bank of the creek is exhausted, with the exceptioll of four claims that may afford employnH’nt to the original occupants for some monthR longer. There are still ~ixteel1 parties scattered along the lead, the majority of whom are reworking portions of abandoned ground. The third prospectors have obtained this year 1,050 ounce~ of gold from their claim, and have still six months work. The second prospectors have procured 438 ounces IS dwts. U~ grs. from their claim during the year, the total produce of their ground being 1,209 ounces 11 dwts. 19 grs. Other holdings upon this lead, now abandoned by the original proprietors, have in the aggregate produced about 2,500 ounces since the 1st of .January, 1875. The village is much redue-ed in size, and most of the houses have been removed to the Tichborne or elsewhere. N otwithstanding this falling off the surrounding country is highly auriferous. The London: There has been no further extension of this lead. Blocks from Nos. 14 to 19 are still worked, and wash raised that yields from 7 to 14 dwts. per load. Its tributary, the Little Vvonder, is, with the exception of two claims at the junction, abandoned. These latter have been highly productive, the wash bein~ from 3 to 7 feet in thickness; the (lepth of sinking is aboat 15 feet greater than on the main lead. It is thus evident that these claims are on a separate rli.n that has been traced to the deep ground (175 ft.) in No. 2:3. This latter has not proved payable, although wash is abundant. This portion of the gold field i::5 of a sandy, porous description) and retains water for a very short period. At present the eight working claims have an aggregate of a,ooo loads of wash to grass awaiting rain. The boulders raised with the wash from Nos. 14 to 19 are abundant, and consist entirely of nodules and blocks of a compact rich iron ore. The miners report to me that Jarge ma:,;se>s of this ore are of frequent occurrence in their drives; these they work round. I have also been informe(l that a lode of the same ore crops out on the surfare in the scrub to the eastward of the lead. Limestone has also been obtained at a considerable depth in the locality. The remainder of the lead is unoccupied, chiefly on account of the absence of water for mining purposes. The village of London is nearly deserted, and the houses removed. The Ben Nevis, never very productive, is in the same state as at the close of last year. The deepest ground is now ascertained to be in the centre of its length. Six claims, parallel to N Oi:l. 1,t to 19, on the London lead, are now being worked, and about 2,000 loads of wash await a r:~infal1. ‘Vhat is known as a tissue bottom has been found on some part of this lead, and beneath this, at a dept h of 2u3 feet, limestone occurs. The portion of· both the Loudon and Ben Nevis leads, now the scene of mining operations, is in a belt of country about threequarters of a mile wide. The quartz reefs above these leads are numerous, but have not yet attracted attention. A number of small and unimportant leads in the vicinity, including the Band of Hope, the Glllgueys, the All ~ ations, and the Sydney Clinkers, are now abandoned in consequence of the scarcity of water either for domestic use or mining purposes. The main Welcome lead, the Victoria lead, Donald’s Gully, Paddy’S Flat, Richardson’s lead, Tearaway Gully, the Opossum lead, Reid’s Gully, the No Mistake lead, with the surfacing at the Frenchman’s lead, and also at the head of the north branch of the Bushman’s lead, are all believed to have been exhausted by the first occupants. Upon each of these leads and workings, at long intervals, there are a few parties employed upon the abandoned ground. These can always earn a subsistence when water is available at the nearest puddling-machine but the poverty of the wash and headings will not admit of cartage to a considerable distance. The Bushman’s lead and its tributaries are in the same state as at the end of 1874. Several parties are still content to work the abandoned ground for small wages, and will continut’ to do so untn they can obtain more profitable employment. The Great Northern lead, now proved to be a continuation of the Bushman’s, is still an enigDla; it has been followed during the present year from the west to the east bank of the Goobang, thence up stream for some distance, when, returning to- the western side, after a further northerly course, it enters the lagoon or basin formerly described, 92 feet below the surface, and 70 feet below the present creek. This lagoon has been found to underlie a considerable area on the west bank, extending from the place on the east bank, where it was first discovered. It contains a wash from 2 to 7 feet il: t!lil’lmess. 120 miners ha,”c bcen working without intel’mission upon this portion of the gold field for the last two years. The yield of gold from these workings during the year, has fluctuatel between 5 and 1,t dwts. per load,-the ayerage is 8 dwts. The broad course of an ancient channel has thus been followed for a consilerable lii;;tance up stream to the lagoon, now covered byalluyiulll to the depth of from 92 to 98 feet; 1)(‘’y0ncl this point the course of the old stream has liOt been discovered, and as yet has been b~,t little sought for. To the south-we:-;t of the lower end of the ,Velcome lcad is an auriferous range, the ,;olltherll slopes extellding to the Goobang Creek. This ridge terminates at the head of :’f;Gtlig~an’s lead; along it.:- crest, on the south side, arc a number of quartz reef…,; these h:1H’ ]wt been pl’owd np to this date, although all the usual indications of gold arc present. Beluw these reefs ol’c;lsional patches of gold-bearing surface arc fOUl’.d. ‘The Xibhler’s, the Growler’;-;, and the ,V~ ell-tried IC::1ds were disco”(l’cd upon these slopes in lSn~, and haxe been wurkcd out. _. few ~catterell parties may be found still fossicking in the abandoned claim~ . .: t the south-eastern C”nd ofthis range, within the past month, an allditionallcrrl ha~ bec~l upclletl that giye~ employmcnt to 150 miners. ‘fhi:; lead descends to the crcl·k, and thence runs upwards along tho llorth bank for about a mile and a half. rrhe depth is from ·j.5 to 00 feet; the thiclme~s of wash, 12 to 20 inches. About fifteen parties arc on gold. The prospects are from 2 to 12 graiu~ per dish, but irregular. It is pro bable that this lead will fall into l” o. 19 of tIle r elcomc. Thi:! claim was verv rich, as well as all those bclow it that were Ileal’ the ~de of t he present stream. There wiil theu be a lead following the upward courf;e of the (‘:’cf’k for 3 milcfl. The ,Vclcome was not worked further in that diredion in cOllsequ(llCe Jf wn.ter. Half a mile beyond the last shaft a high ridge descends to the creek, on the north bank; if the old channel is continued so far it must here cross to the south side, and probably will bt’ found at no great di~tance from the channel of the Goobang. ‘rhe ground may be deep and wet. The richest portion of the ,Velcome lead was that along the m:lrgill of the Goobang Creek. rrom the foot: of the ‘Velcome to the foot of the Bushman’s, following the course of the creek, is a distance of n.bout [) mile:!, and the deep channel between these r~accs might be traeed without encountering more than the ordinary difficulties that attend 141..:ch operations. It is perfectly clear that all the most auriferous ranges and leads have l)(:en surroundell to the southward and eastward by a deep ancient channel that received illClr ,hift nnd drainage; this channel discharged it~ waters from weHt to north for at least 12 miles of its e()UI~He; the present channel discharges its stream from north to south-west. Tlw old channel has been partially followed into the lagoon, and the continued prosperity of t!w ~olJ field is in some measnre dependent upon the succcss attending further research ill tuat direction. About the ~ame time a lead was discovered half a mile to the northward of the DaYHpring ridge; this lead haying a westerly direction has been occupied about a mile and a half in length, passing across a conditional purchase but recently made. The depth of sinking i:i from 27 feet at the centre to 36 feet at each end. The prospects obtained are irregular, and vary from 2 to 12 grains per dish. The wash, so far as has been yet discovered, is narrow and thin. The bottom is a hard slate. Furthcr to the westward in the same series of gullys, gold has been obtained in patches, but no continuous lead of any value has been yet found. There is, however, sufficient evidence of the existence of valuable deposits of gold on this part of the field. :For sarno miles further north the country presents all the indications of’ a rich gold field. The Young Australian, the Stockman’s, and other auriferous quart1. reef.~ arc situated in that direction; aJso Sparling’s Camp, and ma.ny other place~ where gold has been obtained. This portion of the district appears to haye been covered with baHalt of a very early period, Evidence of this may be traced in the transmuted and altered rucks of tae slopes and valleys and the basaltic crests of the rangcs. The prospector has left but few’ traces in this locality for miles round, The range to the north of the valley, containing the lead Jast mentioned, is 200 feet hi~her than any other upon the gold field, and consists of an augitic baflalt. A broad belt of this rock has flowed from north to south, and where it has been removed by denundation on the DaYApring ridge there are some distinct traces of an ancient river. The plains to the southward are lowcr than these basaltic ranges, and to what extent the dccomposition and rcmoval of the basalts may have affected the drainage of the district is a matter for study and consideration. vVithin thi.s district there is evidence of the existcnce of the rivers of three periods. The first anterior to the great ba:’laltic oyerfloy. The second was formed during the erosion of thc valleys, and the dccomposition of the basaltic masscs; and the third are of comparaticly rccent date. The two latter afi’cct the alluvial miner.
A drought extending over the whole period between the early part of August and the :11st of December last has seriously retarded mining operations, more particularly prospecting in new country, as there is no water to be procured for mining purposes within a large area; ill fact it can now only be obtained in the Lachlan Ri’rer, the Billabong Creek, and a few small reservoirs that are either private property or reseryed for domestic usc. The consequence i:-; that there are now at least 12,000 loads of auriferous drift on the surface awaiting rain. Estimating the ayerage yield of this wash at G dwts. per load, an additional 3,GOO ounces of gold wodd have been added to the qnantity transmitted by escort during the last quarter had the season been more propitious. This drought has also prevented the working of poor and abandoncd ground, and thus thrown many out of employment who rely upon the deserteci claims for the means of ~mbsi8tence.
This description of mining is frequently -the 801e means of present supp0rt for men engaged in deep sinking upon llew ground. Having a thorough knowledge of the history of the abandoned workings, they usually know where a little gold has becn left by thc former occupants; temporarily holding these patches they work them during their spare time, oftcn at night, and are seldom interfered with. The drought has deprivcd them of this resource. ,Vithin the year under review no new diacm”eries of any value have been reported. A fifth deep shaft haa been sunk 011 the plain to the eastward of Tom’s Knoll, and driven about 200 fect; gold was obtained, but not in payable quantities j it i8 now abandoned. Pyke’s prospectillg party of six miners haye been searching for a lead at the base of the granite range at ]~ugoura since July last; at depths varying between 150 and 190 feet they lw,yc obtained gold, but not continuously payable. A third party is prospecting to tl!e e~stward, at Bartlett’s Creek, near the conglomerate formerly noticed. Here also a little gold has been procured, but not payable. Other varties are from time to time reported to be searching in more distant localities, with a like result. Th( enormous extent of the area over which gold is distributed in small quantities is not in favour of the prospector. To the northward a few claims are still being worked upon Strasburg’s lead outside the pri”ate ground; the result is an irregular yield of’ from 7 to 10 dwts. per load, the auriferous drift being thin detracts from their value. The nc\’ lead at the foot of the Welcome eontinues payable; there are a few claims that yield from 8 to 10 dwts. per load; the wash is about 20 feet wide, and aycrages 9 inches thick. An attern pt has been made to trace some of the minor leads on the north bank of the Goobang, across the creek to the south bank without success. It is suggestive that all these small leads on the north bank should be traced at a depth far below the bottom of the present watercourse to the margin of that stream and then disappear. If these leads have been cut through it must have been by aR older channel of drainage than the existing creek. About 2,000 tons of tailings obtained from puddling machines have been crushed by the ]Jen Nevis plant; the produce was 1 dwt. 12 grains per ton. This experiment is of no yalue as a test of the quantity of gold lost by these machines, it must be sought for in the sludge A movement has been made by a party of miner.s towards the formation of a company, having for their object the construction of a r.’l.ce to convey a stream of water from a distance of about 15 miles to the abandoned workings upon the Billabong Gold Field, for the purpose of ground sluicing various areas of shallow auriferous deposits that haTe been but partially worked. Having examined the proposed course of the race along its whole length, I am of opinion that its construction is practicable, provided that the site of the main reservoir is of sufficient elevation, and that reservoirs are constructed along the cou~e of the race for the conservation of storm water. It does not appear that more than from t0ur to six months BVpply of water could be relied upon during anyone year; this would depend upon the rainfall, as it would require a larger stream than that which usually flows down the upper Goobang, to deliver a ground sluice-hea.d at the foot of a race 15 or 20 mile~ in length. The promoters hare mad.) application to the Department of lIines for so much assistance as may be necessary to dete.”mine the relatiye heights of the propotlcd main reservoir and the southern termination of their race. As this service will reyuire engineering skill and some expenditure it ought only to be performed upon security bcing given for the completion of the work or repayment of the outlay. \T orks of the fOI’(‘going Iles(‘ription have been projected and completed by miners with benefieial rpsults, both to the projectol’tl and the general milling’ interest. Had it not been for the races at the Hanging Rock and around Nundle the Peel River Gold .Field could Bot have sustained its population for so many years. ‘l’lw auriferous ground high above the river could be worked by no other means than by stream:-; brought from the table land. Quartz-mining has ]Jot been prosecuted within this district with any energy during the past year. The reeftl and veins are ~till neglected, as the mill(‘rs seem indisposed to undertake anything that doel:; :aot give promise of an immediate return for their labour. Ve still suffer from the efr(‘~h:! of lS72, not by the los~ of either capital or mi1les but by the demoralization of our quartz miners, who seem to haye acquired a di~taste for contlnuous labour. Arrangements luu’e been made for rc:-;uming operations upon the Bushman’s reef, and an extended claim of 1,:WO feet has been taken up upon Strickland’s reef, from which, at a depth of 95 feet, some very promising stone hm; been obtained, containing large quantities of pyrite::;. This reef, or Hcries of reofs, is 2 miles in lellgth, and has been profitably worked in old time:-;. It is 5 milCH due south from the reefs at the Vapping Butcher; in fact Tom’s Knoll i8 an outlier froll! the slate range that carries Strickhl.lld’s reefs. The proprietors of the extended claim referred to have recently crushed 90 tons of stone, and obtained therefrom about 10 dwts. of gold per ton. The stone exhibited a much greater quantity of free gold, but it all:!o contained iron and artlenical pyrites in veim; and detached masses. Two samples of quartz obtained from the reef under consideration at a depth of D5 feet, were transmitted to the Department of Mines for assay. The reef at the depth indicated was 3 feet (3 inches wide, and associated with another in which the quartz is of a som(‘”,hat different character and less auriferous. The fbsure was nearly vertical, the wallR lo3oft Rlate, and the line of strike north and 10 degrees east of south. One of the samples con::;isted of about half its bulk quartz, and the remaining half of sulphurets, arsenical pyrite~, iron pyrites, and a little galena, no gold visible. On assay this specimen was found to contain gold at the rate of 1 oz. 10 dwts. and 1 grain per ton, and silver at the rate of 1 oz. 19 dwts. and 4 grains per ton. The second sample consisted of quartz with but little sulphurets, the latter having been decomposed and replaced by peroxide of iron, coarse gold visible. The result of assay was at the rate of 4 ozs. (3 dwts. and (3 grains of gold per ton. lt will be observed that in these two samples the stone taken was alike in every respect, ,,.ith the exception of Hw fact that in one portion of stone the sulphurets were in a perfect condition, and in the other they were decompo~ed. The important question is ‘tOw has tltis decomposition been tjfected. , I am indebted to the Geological Surveyor for a description of the samples referred to with the result of the assay. The difference between the quantity of gold obtained from the crushing plant and that indicated by assay has probably been lost in the process of extraction. One of the shareholderR remarked to me that it was like an attempt to crush tar. The shareholders in the claim rp.ferred to continue to raise stone, but the other claimholders upon the reef appear to be awaiting the result of future operations. . The claimholders on t~e Welcome Reef have recently had a trial crushing of 20 tons of quartz raiseo from a depth of 60 feet, from which they obtained 8 dwts. of gold per ton. The tributers on the Bushman’s Reef are still raising quartz from a narrow vein, and there iR a remote prospect of the Dayspring property being rented to a company with a right to purchase. The remaining reefs are unworked. Work upon the Dayspring reef has for the present been discontinued. A few tow: of tailings, or rather forking~ from the puddling ma,chines, have been crw;ll(‘(l. The rC!’Ildt was not profitable. Iron ore fl’!lI11 the I.ol1(ion lead ha~ also bccn cl’U:-:hed with a yjew of ohtaining gold therefrom. It wa~ a failure. There are numerous reefs and vein,:’! of quartz npon the hills and ranges; SOIlH’ l·ighty of them are kllown to be auriferous; below many of these arc large areas of gold-bearing surface. You may stand npon one of thC’~e elevatiol1;”; awl ~ce milL’s of worked and exhausted leads meandering round it:’l bMe, the white piles of earth stretching avay down the yalleys until lost in the distance, and yet but few of the~;(‘ re(‘f:-: have been proved. Jt lllay be urgrd that the alluvial gold obtained from this field is coarse, and would be -isible in the stone. To this I reply that a scarcity of watr is the great difficulty that the miner:’; of’ the distriet have to contend with. Gold here has alway:-; been separated from a wa”h, the chief portion of which is stiff ;,lay, by means of puddling maehines, and the finer pal.’tiele:::l of metal have be(‘ll earrie’Q off ill the thick puddlt’, through which it is impossible that they cou]!l ::-:ink ; they may ]Jow he foun(l in the 300,ono loa~s of sludge that surround fifty-oJl~~ puddlillg machine!’;, or dOWll the Goobang Cn’ck. The miners hare only sayed the coars(‘ .g’olU. ~lally of the reefs that have been tested {‘ontain a :-;mall qu:tutity of free gold a~soeiated with :tJ’s(‘llie.tl pyritcs and galena, the latt,r in slIlall qualltities. ~Y(,flr tlt(, sur/ace, tlt{‘S(‘ componrnts arc mare Oi’ l{‘ss d(‘comp08(~d, a.wl tIl(‘ 8nlphurets arc replaced by peroxide of iron, and whell this decomposition has taken plaee free gold may be more frequently obsef’ed. As the rcefs del’l’eml, decomposition ceasef:’, allll in some instancp:,; free’ gaM disa.ppears. The decompositioll may he due to the percolation of’ rail! water frOlll the surface anti may extcull no deepel’ than it ean penetrate. This may account in some degrl’c f()r the fact that the reefs of this (listriet have always proved to be 1ll0Bt productive llcar the surface, or in the immediate vicinity of an intrusiyc dyke, hetween which and the originally softer l’o,~ks that form the walls of it:’! ‘H~~ure water charged with carbonic acid, ~odn cllloriEc, awl other ehcmicnl agellts may find it:; way to a ~I’eat depth. ~rhere appears to be increasing diRpo~ition amongst millL’I’:; to devote more attention to the extraction of gold from the matrix. It will however require Home instances of marked SUC(‘ess to induce them to form co-operative companies and recommence mining operations on the reef::: awl veins in this district. I have full cOllfid(,llCC that sooner or later ti1ey will be profitably workeu. ~ Of the six quartz-crushing plants upon the Billabong Gold Field, one has been employed during the first half of the yC’ar; one has been dismantled, and a portion sold; OIle has been uRed as a saw mill; and three unemployed are held in r(‘.servc for better times. Vith reference to the supply of wah’r for mining purpose~ it is the same as at the date of my last report. , The number of puddling machines have been slightly illCI’Cai5cd, :llld sel’eral have change.d sItes: there are fifty-oul’, many of them dependent upon storm water and catch races j thIS’ water is llsed oyer and oYer again as long :l!’l it remains fluid. From the character of this gold field no extpnsiyc mining operation has been yet found I1Pccssary that would require to be speeially described. The eight mining companies are still inactive; vegetation is prolific upon their resped.ive properties. Statistical returns, in detail, will I presume, have been transmitted to the department by the proper officers. As it is not now compulsory upon prospectors to register their areas, it is impossible to ascertain their number. The reward offered by the GOVf~rnment for the discovery of new gold fields has stimulated these pioneers, but has cau3ed them to be more secret in their operations. It is desirable that a boring-rod should be supplied for the use of prospectors under certain eonclitions. Without the aid of such a machine the deep grou~ld will not be efficiently prospected on the plains. It may be ~aid that mining i~ a ‘private enterprise and should be stimulated by private capital, but this does not apply to gold mining. The prospector for the time being deyotes his energies and labour to the public service; any stander-by may deprive him of the result of the labour of months. As a marked instance of this I refer to the prospectors of the Tichbourne lead, surrounded by untold wealth they obtained but two penny weights of gold. This claim should have been named Pisgah. . For a time there would be full employment for an experienced mining survevor upon this field, but the services required from him would be chiefly of a public nature. Every watercourse should be plotted on a large scale, with sections to the bed rock where possible; also shafts on quartz mines, with the strata cut through in the descent. Every ridge and yalley below the:surface in proved payable ground should also be plotted, with frequent sections to the rock, and that rock accurately described. Every indication of an ancient channel should be noted, and sections should be made of all important prospecting shafts on the outlying portions of the district, whether prizes or blanks. ‘llhe surveyor should also examine, prove, and report upon every discovery of gold in a new portion of his district. The miner, sometimes incompetent, at others over sanguine, often reports ground payable that is not so; he is more frequently disposed to withhold information for speculative purposes, and cannot in every instance be relied upon; he may be disposed to transfer his interest, or he muy have cogent reasons for concealing his want of success. The miner will continue to grope his way ill the dark until something of this kind is done, and made accessible to all. Upon th0 whole, excluding the exhausted leads from consideration, mining operations upon this gold field have during the past year been conduded with energy, and attended by Buccess. Our yield of’ gold has been steadily increasing year by year. lfy anxiety at present is for the discovery of one of those many leads, by which we are still surrounded, so that the population may be fully employed and retained in the district. By some accident Grenfell has always been associated with Parkes in the returns from the lfint. There is no connection whatever between the two places, which are GG miles distant from each other, and Grenfell thus gets credit for a wealth that she has ceased to possess. It is true that at the close of 1866 she borrowed a few hundred mjners from the Billabong that ‘were returned with interest in 1871. These are but neighbollrly reciproeitie~ that ought not to give one gold field any interest in the property of another. About one-third of the mining population on the Billabong have migrated to Manduram[and elsewhere; those remaining do not number more than 4,500~ quite sufficient to open hfO or more leads should they be discovered. The largest exodus has been from the Lonuon, M’Guiggan’s, and the Tichborne. Since the opening of this gold field the inhabitants have experienced many periods of depression that have been invariably succeeded by seasons of great prosperity; it has been but the interval between the exhaustion of one lead and the discovery of another. The area of worked ground has not been extended during the past year. The quantity of gold obtained from the Billabong Gold Field during the year 187G was as follows :- ozs. Jwts. grs. Transmitted by Police Escort between the 1st of January and 31st of October …………… …… ………………… 49,245 6 20 Do. do. between the 1st of N oyember and the 31st of December …………………………………………… 9,072 3 5 Held by the Banks at Parkes and Tichborne on the 1st of January, 1876 ……………………….. ………………… 1,900 2 6 In priva~e ha~ds, alld transmitted by private conveyance at variOUS times …….. …………………………………… 1,800 0 0 62,017 12 7 Less the produce of 1874, in the hands of the local Banks on the 1st January, 1875 … ……… …………… ……… 4,165 18 14 Net totaL…….. ……… 57,851 13 17 Being 6,690 ozs. 7 dwts. and 13 grains in excess of the yield from the same leads during the year 1874. The yield of the Billabong Gold Field between the 1st of January, 1871, and the 31st of December, 1875, has been 1U4,OI2 ozs. of gold, which at £3 1513. per oz. has realized £615,045. The Billabong miner has thus by his industry created a market for the farm produce of the ~’estern interior to a proportionate extent, and given an impetus to the sale ()f Crown Lands within H, radius of 70 miles round Parkes that has advanced the settlement of the llistrict half a century. Estimating the aycrage population upon this gold field at .J.,GUU during the five years ended on the 31st of December la:-t, and the expenditure of enth illuividual at lOs. per week, they have put ,,£585,000 into circulation-that is to say, more the;’!! half a million of pounus sterling. The miner may exhaust the known leads and fOfl:mkc the district for a seaSOll, but he willleaye towns aud f:lrms where he found a wilderllesd. FORBES. During the current year, with the exception of the deep lead at the Bald Hill::!, whidl IS new deserted, no mining operation of any importance has been prosecuted upon any of 1 he gold-fldJs in the vicinity of 1’orbe:-, and nothing has been done to promote their furt;lt”l’ devc1opult:nt. Several miners, who held interests upon the South Load during 18u~, 11::””, asserted flint but few of the e1aims upon its southern portion haye beep exhaustell~ ,-llld ha.ve expre:5~ed a deterlllination to reocccupy the ground,-but still they hesitate. T!:;t~ there is a la.rge area in that locality in which there is a wash of from 3 to 7 feet in thid~ll(,~ with an aycragc width of GO feet, and that will yield from 7 to 10 lhrts. of gold per load, Ii-’ admitted by mosi; of those who fomlOrly worke(l the ground. Tho depth is from 200 tn :2) ) feet, and the miner before he can reach the wash mU8t encounter quicksamls, watcl’, fod n:.’. and a swelling bottom. It is a full knowletlge of these difficulties that deters those ”Lo l:n not possess capital, but whoeyor docs surmount tho obstacles tha.t ,yill presellt themsc]H~8 Ll1 the commencement of such an enterprise, will find the ancient cllanllcl of the Lachlan Hi’l(,l’ b(‘[ol’o him, windillg through the rast allm·ial plains, intersected by the present strcanl. These plaills ha,·e reccivecl t!w drifts of an enormous portion of the western interior. Xn~ hi~ 19 remains of ll1an~r a range to mark its former site but a huge pile of naked granite boulllers : and from tlle great depth of the allm·ium of these plains, it appears to conbin as Ltrgn a qualltity of disintegrated and decomposed basaltic and other formations as would refill eyery valley and recover eyery range within the district. On the lfadman’s Lead a party of miners have, at a depth of 100 feet, struck a bed or wash 3 fect in thickness. From one bng of drift they obtained IG dwts. of gold. This may serve to direct attelltion to that portion of the gold-field. There are other portions of the fiold that might be worked and mined npOll with lC3R d.ifficulty than the locality referred to~ but the prospect of obtaining gold would 110t be so certain. lIatheson’s Lead, at the Bald Hills, the last occupied under the old frOll~age ~y:’3tem, i~; 175 feet below the gras:;; and to the extent of half a mile north n.nd south of 1 Iw pro~l’cl’tor’:l a great deal of work has been done upon it. Shaft after shaft had been Eunk upon e:teh [!],C;I, WhOll No. ‘1 South struck gold.; then No. 1 Korth ; then Nos. 2 and :3 South. The leaJ proveu to be narrow and irregular, and the wash thin. Some good prospects were from time tn tillW taken ofi” the bottom. Thus encouraged., a puddling-machine was erect!C)d, when t1:e wash yielded all average of 10 dwts. of gold per load. ‘rhis was deemed not to be payable, and work was discontinued in all but two claims. I am informed that the pt’ospectors exkmsted a length of 200 feet on the base line for 1·1:0 loads of wash. This is either the head or tributary of a lead that will eventually be discovered, when it is probable that the ,,-ash may be found in greater quantity. The gold obtained is light and inferior in quality to any yet won in the district; it resembles bad copper. This is some evidence of its being a distinct lead, una of np part of it having been mined upon at an earlier period. I am not aware of having previously stated that a,bout foul’ years since a party of Chinese miners were occupied. for some two years upon tbis gold-field in passing the sludge found in a puddler’s reservoir, on the South Lead, through a machine of’ a peculiar construction. The model was brought from Victoria. After puddling with extreme care they ran the puddle over three shaking tables, each 4 feet wide and 1,:t feet long, and each having 3. separate and distinct motion; they also used blankets and quicksilrer. Half a tea-cup full of gold, metallic lustre. The gold won wa~ Roid to the .Australian .Toint Stock Bank, or the greater part of it, and the party appeared to be satisfi(·l with the result of their operations. They were unaer the directioll and (‘ontrol of one of theil’ number. and eventually broke up when they returned to China.. Sueh portion of their plant as was movable disappeared with the party. The only crushing plant upou this gold field has been unemployed during the year uutil the last week. It is now working for the extended elaimhoiders, on Strickland’s Reef, 8 miles distant from Forbes. niany anxiously await the result. The puddling machines up to thi~ date have been idle. D p to this date 375 applil’ations for leases of auriferous tracts for mining purposes have been made through my office; of these 2SG were from the Forbes. Billabong, and Cudgellico Gold-fields, and eighty-nine from Emu Creek. Of the gross number 354 have been applied for under the provisions of “The Gold Field~ Ad of lSGG,” and twenty-one under” The Gold :Fields Act of 187.J..” Seventy-seven (77) leases hare been transmitted to this office for i::!sue; five have beeH isslle(l, eight are Htill on hand, and sixtv-four have been returned to the Department for cancellation or is~ue in Syduey. ~ ,rith reference to mining for metals other than gold I haye no report to make, as I am not aware of any mining of that character being- carried on within the distriet under my chargc. That copper and iron ore abound in the dl’Y country to the north-west of :Forbes is well known, also that auriferow-l reef:; are not of unfrcquent occurrence j but the market~ are at pre~ent too distant, and the inducements not ~umcielltly strong, to tempt any but the goldminer in that direction.
Do read this – it’s really interesting!
There wasn’t much good gold news to report from this sector, so Mr Robinson had room to record some invaluable social dynamics of life in transition from a gold centred economy to one with a more diverse base – fascinating stuff!
Do read this – it’s really interesting!
I have the honor to report to you that gold mining operations in this “division” are scarcely marked by any new feature during the past year. As far as I can gather, during the short period I have held the office of Warden, the same remark may be justly applied to the whole of the Southern Division.
There is, however, this difference between the past and present year (l875), that the effects of the mining excitement of 1872 have comparatively died out. There is now a fair amount of capital ready for investment in mining, and, I may add, a strong desire exhibited to enter into legitimate mining ventures.
Labour is, however, not obtainable. All other industries are flourishing, not only at Young but in every place throughout the district; hence it is that those who will work for wages prefer steady employment to the more precarious engagements usually made in connection with gold mining.
I don’t think it can be reasonably doubted that but for want of water-supply a marked improvement would have been shown in this division during the last quarter of the past year.
There are ten alluvial sliucing claims in Burrangong in active operation when water is obtainable, which give employment to about fifty persons, most of whom are proprietors.
Leaseowners of “plant” express strong desire to extend their works by erecting dams and cutting races, but the price and scarcity of labour operate to completely bar their efforts in that direction.
Other descriptions of mining in this division for the present have either been abandoned, or are registered under suspense. Besides the scarcity of water and absorption of labour in interests other than gold mining there is a large withdrawal of miners from their legitimate occupation in those-and they are many-who have an insatiable desire to get freeholds- by conditional purchase (purchase by virtue of improvements).
I may here remark that in a large majority of cases I have found when these applications are sent in there is not one shilling’s worth of improvements made on the land so sought to be purchased.
These are the persons that comprise the body of fossickers, and as a rule mine without either leave or license. For some time past there have been several parties, mostly composed of practical miners, out prospecting. Oue of these is now testing new ground, with a good prospect of developing a. gold-bearing quartz reef.
Besides this, arrangements are about being completed to erect two puddling machines on an extensive scale, adjacent to the township. A company is a180 in course of’ formation whirh purposes working a large breadth of the abandoned alluvial ground in Chance Gully. The claims at this place were once considered to be the richest about Burrangong. The mode of working proposed is to sink shafts, and by machilH’r.v keep the underground currf’nt of water clear, which flows too copiously to be contended a~ainst by manual labour.
The party who has been cutting a drainage-race for working the old ground at Poverty Gully and ‘Possum Flat are still hard at work. :Much time and labour will yet be required before pradical mining can be proceeded with. .Tohnson’s quartz-reef has been abandoned.
It has been forcibly put to me, by more than one intelligent miner, that Wh(‘>ll public confidence in mining matters becomes quite restored the best alluvial grounds hereabout will have passed into private hands unless reserves be made.
This, in the opinion of the persons I allude to, can only be done after a geological survey has been made, and that such surveyor should be the persoll or officer to point out the portions that should be withdrawn fi’om ~ale.
At ~lurrumburrah there are only two or three ground sluicing-claims being worked. The quart? reefs in that quarter are still, by c)mpetent judges, held to be very rich-one day or other theRe reefs will be worked with great profit.
The Company that was floated during the mining mania to work one of these claims was got into the market upon the terms of that day, which proyed so ruinous to many other person,.; and properties. ‘Vhen public confidence becomes restored I have no hesitation in predidillg that the recfs at Cunningham Creek will be worked most extensively and with profit to those who may judiciously invest capital in the undertaking.
On the Bland there are two quartz reefs, “The Ada” and “Barmadma,” • each of which have 1,000 tOllS of stone to grass, and only want a water supply and new machinery to go on working on an extended basis.
G renjell.-In this district, like Young, during the year, it cannot be said that there has been much falling otf, neither has there been any re-action in gold-mining. At no time, during the past twelve months, hai there been 150 diggers working at one time. At present there are about thirty-five men engaged in ground sluicing, and, all told, 48 persons occupied in quartz reefing. ‘raking tht:l above as compared vith the previous quarter there is a falling off to the extent of twenty men.
‘l’he whole milling interests of Grenfell are just now centered in the operations of “The Consols Claim,” the main shaft of which is now down 730 feeL The Company are getting no gold but actively employed sinking with the expectation of striking the “Reef” at a greater depth. If tlwir expectations be realized it will be the means of indllcing raritalish~ to set about opening up a number of reefs which have from time to time been discovered in the immediate yj(·init:- of the Township.
When there’s nothing to say – say nothing!
As for news from the south covering Kiandra, Tumut and Adelong – well it appears there wasn’t any!
It must be noted though that this report seems a little odd as the following year progress at Adelong was to give a special place amongst the NSW mines with the first shaft sunk to prospect deeper levels below 800 feet.
When there’s nothing to say – say nothing!
Other mining centres including Northern Region and Braidwood
Alongside the dominant centres of the Western and Southern goldfields accounts of the other major workings around Braidwood and also of those from the Northern Division were presented.
Other mining centres including Northern Region and Braidwood
Though appointed Warden fur the Tumut and Adelong, as well as for the Southern Mining District, I have been more especially entrusted with charge of the latter, and shall therefore confine my report to that district, although during the early part
(If the year I twice visited the former. At the outset I have to state with regret that the whole of the Southern Mining District has been lanquishing during the past year, the mining population having sensibly decreased, and as a consequence the yield of gold fallen off.
More than one cause haB been in operation to produce these results; but wit~out doubt the main cause has been the remarkably small rainfall of the present year.
The mining operations of the district are, with “,cry few exceptions, confined to sluicing, and no miner has a chance of setting in profitably to work upon any of its fields unless he be the owner of a race.
The winter having been an exceptionally dry one, none of the races have been running for any appreciable length of time with a sufficient head of water to allow of ground-sluicing being carried on to any great extent. Thus miners have been forced down into the main streams to work such portions of the banks as may be attainable from races drawn from the stream itself, instead. of working, as they otherwise would have been, upon the better paying ground lying at a distance from and much higher than the river.
Owing to this ~ ~()lllp~ratiely f’:lllall area of ground only ha~ been available to the miller~, and it is not to be wondered ~t that some of them, being unable to set in upon ground to which they have been [,ccustolllcd, should h~ve turned their attention to other districts or to other pU1’:mib;. Thus some have gone to Parkes, to Gulgong, or to other places, ,,,hilst nt:wr;:: ha “e left mining fo!:’ a time for work of a cognate character, hoping to resume it hereafter under more f:lYuuraLle auspice:’i. Theu again, ~ great deal of labour prevails in the interior, tlwl’e being more especially a demand for that kin(l of labour peculiar to the miner. ~Iany have, consequC’ntly, been tempted, uncleI’ the circumstances stated, to engage themselyes 1m the railway exten;:;ions, and on works of a similar charadeI’. TllU~ much as tu the mining welfare of the district generally; and now to rome to p:trticldars: The limite(iraillfall, “,.·hich has been so di:-;astrous to many localities, has hO\’ever heen (,1’ adrantagc to otliers, which ill tillles of heayy rain 01’ I10()J~ arc surcharged with water to ~n(:lt all extc·nt a~ to set machinery at clefiauee. Of these there are two instances in thi:::; (li:’trid-the S11l1alhaven bank e1ail11~ and. Araluen. “~itll l’(‘gard to the forlller, Ilcarlyall the ballk claim~ alung the ShoalhaYCll, from the jnne! ion (If Back Creek down to X erriga, a distance of (luitp 50 milefl, have been profitably york(·u, with only brief internlls, dUI’iug the year. Some of the claims which are worked by mea:l.”; of race:” supplied from tributarie~ of the riYcr, have only had p~rtial employment; but on tIle whole the yield of gold from thiN quartcr ha::; exceeded the average, and haH been t~lil’ly remuncratiye to the miners employed. In some instances it has been largely so, some r:ch tleposits haying becn struck ncar the Bomba.y eros::;ing, commencing at the bank and l’Ulllling north-westerly into deep ground, giyillg eYery indicatioll of an old rivcr-bed. This, with tIw (‘orl’esponding Hnu of an old ri’el’-bed on the edge of ihe limestone country, on the ~hoalh:Lyen Sluicillg Compailyl ground, led as much as anything else to the anticipation that tlli::- ()ld riyer-bed had its course somewlH~re in the direction of the ground at “,Varri, in which Cunnillgham reported to me that he had founel gold. ,’10111e of tho raCOd used in working the river arc vcry extell:-;ive, ana have been (~onstructed at H:l’y c’ollHidel’able expellHe. Of these I need only allwle to the two most important, that of 111(‘ :-:;hoalharen ~lllitillg Company a11l1 that of the “,V’arri t-)luicing Company. The lattcr is over ~o mileH long, allu was made at an expense of some £1,·1:00 or £1,;)00. It has 1lot t~cn at wurk for some tillle past. The former, which heall~ from Heedy Creek, is 21r for its profitable working, comes next in order. Aralllen Valley, by which term I would designate the broad flat that extends from the foot of the Bell’::: Creek lIountain down tt) Crown :Flat, can ()nly be profitahly worked in dry seasons, as the ground not being of a nature to allow of tunnelling’ has to be taken out in paddock~, the various strata of alluvial depo:-;it overlying the ,,’ash-dirt having to be carted away; so that, with these extensive openings, the work from the cost of cartage and pumping is very expensive, and the claim after all the outlay is liable to be submerged by the first flood. At present there are only three large stripping claims at work ill tbe Valley, two of them being on private ground,-the Great Extended, The Homeward Bound, and N ewmans. Of the first of these I treated yery fully in a former report, describing the mode of working by means of trucks travelling on a tramway laid on an inclined pInne. The other two are working in the usual manner, carting away the top dirt by means of’ horses. They employ from twenty to fifty hands each. In addition to these there are ten or twelre smaller parties, working with from six to ten men each, between Crown I,’lat and the Junction with the Deua River. Above the Araluen Valley proper, in what is known as r pper Araluen, in the bed of the creek and the long jutting banks that run into it, and also a.lllong~t the short broken ridges that rise from its southern and western side dO\’ll to the point where the Bell’s and lfajor’s Creek conjoin, a great deal of sluicing work is goillg on, the forrnrr on Crown, the latter mainly on private land. Here, as opposed to the Araluen Yalley, a large supply of water is re}uired, and as the men keep steadily at work it is to. be presumed that they make sufficient wages to satisfy them. At the same time it must be s::uu that the men employed here have made themselves comfortable little homeste:tds on the gronnd, and. that this probably causes them to remain contented with less gold than would sati:’tfy them elsewhere. Two reefs have been working here for a part of the present year, one on the lIajor’s Creek side of the Sugar-loaf lfountain, and the other, known as the Sideing Reef, on the Deua River; neither is at present working. The number of miners working upon Araluen waters, that is, from the head of Upper Araluen down to the junction with the Deua, cannot be far short of (500) five hundred, of whom about two-fifths are Chinese. Very nearly the half of the number is employed on private ground. For the reason given in the case of the Shoalha’”’en workings I am not in a positio!l to giye you the actual yield of gold from this field, although I trust to remedy this defect III future. }’irst in importance amongst the gold fields that require a large and constant supply of water to keep them going is certainly that of the Mongarlowe or Little River. This includes not only the Little RiYer but its tributaries-Warrambucca, Tantulian, Sergeants, Plajeur’s, Bobs, andlfettleton’s Creeks, all of which have proved more or less auriferous. During the dry season the work on this field is confined to washing the river banks, the river itself supplying sluice-heads for the purpose; but in wei weather, when the tributary creeks are runr.ing freely, the high races nre brought into work, and a good deal of the bark country and the higher hills which border the river are ground-sluiced. In fact more money hal:3 been spent hen’ in the construction ot’ racC’::; thall ill allY part of the Southern lIining District. There arc in all about liO rnile~ of races Oll this field, awl the race of the\rarrambucca Sluicing Co., formerly de~cril)(‘d by me, ha;.; no le~s than 1 lllil(~ aOt) yaruR of flumillg e!’edeu. In ordinary rainy s(‘asons tlw:-;e r:H’CS pay H~ry good di”idclld~, the grolllld being in all cascs easily sluiccu and often (‘xeeedin~ly !’it·h. In additioll to the allm·ial workillgE:; there have also been !’lome ten or a (lozcn reefs opcnetl on this Helll. Somc of thcl-;(‘ hayc turned out wonderfully ri(‘h stOllt’: rindling CH’Il the richcr-:t fiIHh of Hillend; but the rich stone only ran ill veins through the reef’ and uen’r :-;tood out long. Xonc of’ the reef’s are at prt’sent working. Tn mo;.;t of them water has beell elH’otmtered at about ·1:0 feet (lown, and no pumps yet bruught on to the ground have been able to keep that water down. Besides thi;.; the slate walls get very hard at about ~o fect below the water-line, :md only one or two :-;hafts have heen put down into the hard roc:l. One, 011 Burrell’:-; reef, waH put dO\’1l IGO feet, but it was ultimately de~erted. Some parties. however, have recently been pro~pecting in thii-l shaft above the waterline, but I have Hot lU’ard that they lla’e re~ularly ~et ill to \”ark. On this field about (:~;jO) thn’e hundred and fifty miners find employrnl’nt, the half of thelll being ChilH’;e ; alld the yield of gold is 110t to 1)(‘ aseel’iaille(l as it an goes into th’C’lllmt in the Braidwodd returnH. Next to the Little HiveI’ tlw )L~jol”s Creek or Ell’illgton Gold Field claims attention. This Held indwle::; ttl(‘ workill~::; at ~Iajor’s Creek, LOIl~ Flat, and Back Crepk. At the firstnamed the work consists almost exclusively of what i::> terlllcd “flooding ofr.” Thi:-:, can be done only at times WlH’ll the races arc fllll of water, and consists of turning the whole fOl’ce of’ a ~tr()llg stream upon some portion of land abutting OIl the creek or some of its tributaries, until it is wa~hed away down to the bed roek. After this w:lHhing away or “flooding otf” has gOlle on, as 10llg as the water 1a~t~ the tail race is eleal’(~a up and the goitl collected. In this way the bankH of alld the point:- of spur~ coming into the c:reck arc washed down aH long a~ pay::tble proRpeeb; are obtainable, sometimes to a height from the bed roek of’ :30 feet and over. Ollly vm’Y little sinkillg i~ carried 011, as nearly all the ground in the (‘reek has been tC1-3ted amI fairly wor1{ed out when fonn(l to ue payable by thiH killd of’ work After having been thus worked it fa11t; into the hano-: of the flooder::; 011’, if by any means a stream of water can be brought to bear upon it. J n thi:-; there is cOTlRiderahle diHiculty, for though the Back Creek water would comm:ud the whole of the .Major’s Creek grollnd, so much land haH been alienated at the upper part ()f the LOJlg Flat, through which only call races from Back Creek be brought: on to Major’s Creek, and 80 high a figure i:’l demanded by the owners of the ground for liberty to cut racps through it th.t Back Creek lies virtually 1-3hut up against the :Major’s Creek miners. . Long Flat is in a somewhat Himilar position to Major’s. The ground ha.R been worked out for some consi(lerable time, and the OJlly work going on cOllHists of puddling over th(~ ohl headings and ground sluicings among the short low ridges t.hat diviue it from :Major’s Creek. The upper part of the Flat, unmistakably part of’the Long Flat Creek watf’rshed, has by some meanH been alienated; and now, the miners h,n·illg worked up to the fence which divideR the Crown from the private lands, are forc:cd to content themHclves with puddling ground that in many eal”el-l has bcen worked over and oycr again, and to look with regretful eyes upon ground which they know to be auriferous, but which they are not permitted to touch. Back (1reek ha:-; been worked ouly upon the lower portion of its course where it. comes down in clORe proximity to the Long .Flat. It woulJ, however, be valuable to the miners for the strong body of water whieh it c:arrics if that water were available. Could it be taken over to :l1ajor’s Creek it would. enable the whole of the alluvial ground there to be washed, and would give cll1ployment to ycry many miners. Hack Creek being closed to them, a project was set on foot to bring thc waters of the Shoalharen on to Major’s Creek. The line of the projcetcd race was surveyed some years ago by Mr, Larmer, the d.istance being about 30 miles, and in the early part of the year some Sydney gentlemen eame on tho ground with a view to taking up the pro.iect. The plan was in every respect feasible, but the work would have been an expensive one, and I fear that this has hitherto stood in the way. I have been given to understand, however, recently, that the project has not been absolutely given np. With regard to the Major’s Creek reefs, I have only recently written you full reports upon them, accompanied with specimens, and I now only regret to add that the copa.rtners of’ Darque’:-! reef have knocked oft’ work for the last three Illonth~; awl that Fielll’H shaft all the Snob’s H(‘cf has bet’ll ,.;()mewhat hangin~ fire, owing to the difficulty experieneed in finding some economical way of’ trt-’atill~ Ow stone in such a way a~ to ~e(‘ure tho mim’rab it eontaill:’. In addition to these, two ~mall veins of quart!’;, which H.’I’e worked sume three or four yea”” ago, have recently been reopened in cOllsequence of prospedors all them ha-ing come UPOIl a run of gold. Crushings from one gaye over an ~Hlnce to the ton, and from the other 17 dwts. to t he ton. The veinfol, hovevel’, are ollly a few in(‘hes thiek. The number of miners 011 the Blrill~ton Gold Field, including” those working on private land, i~ somevhere near (300) threp hundred. and ahout eGO) sixty of these are Chinese. The golfl from lfa.ior’s Creek is all bought up on a.ccount of the Braidwood Banks. Of Bell’s Creek ’er)- little Ileed be said, as not more tllall (20) twenty miners at the ()ut~i(le are working upon Crown lands, and these arc all employed in sluicing. On the Bell’s Cl’eek IH’i’ate property some (iO) seventy men altogether arc at work; of these about a dozen art’ engaged in reefing”, and the remainder in ~luicing and Hooding’ otf. ~s regartl~ the reefs I have HO rr(‘cntly sent you a full report upon them that therp rOlJ1aim; nothing- for me to add; and a~ to the alluvial mining it i:-; preci~ely t he ~ame as that ab’rady described, depending for suc(‘e~~ u!)()n a large and regular supply of water. It is, howe’er. worthy of note that these miners on private property make no demur at payin~ £ 1 per month for alluvial mining. and for the right t(, reef £1 per month, or 10 pel’ cent. royalty, at the optinll of the miner when making his agreement. The Crown land:-3 arc equally as prodtll,tive of gold as the private lands, and if the llliner ran afford to pay this in the one ca~e hI’ (‘annot be so very badly off in the other, where on:y 10:-:. a year are required from him. The Bell’s Creek gold goes into account with that from Braidwood. Descending the Deua River into the Moruya Division of the Southern llilling District, the first gold-field that is reached is liogo. This field is situated in dose proximity to Bateman’R Bay, the tOWI1Hhip, originally the centr8 of operations, being about 4 miles from the Bay, iu a direct line, 11 miles from the Heads, and 10 miles from tIl(‘ elu:-;ter of habitations known Hi’; “ The Bay,” where the landing-pl:we for the ~teamers ha~ 11(‘en establi~hed. lfogo C~’eek is formed by the junction of lI’Leod’s and Doetor’s Creek~, and. with the two creeks ‘.lamed, has turned out in it::; time a large amount of gold. It is now regarded as work(‘d out, but wheneV(, I’ a flood takes down any portion of’ tht’ crpek hilnk~, me’n ~(‘1 in upon thc spot, and still get a small amount of gold, though not ~ufiieient to induce them to go to the expense of race t:utting to perform the work now left to the Hood~. The few men now all the ground obtain their living by snrfaeing on the drift-coyered made hills, which lie back from the creek. The wa~h i8 mostly disco,’cred on the surface at different heights on the’ hills, and is then carefully followed by tunnelling into the hills, sometiu1C’s to a distancc of 30 feet, until the wash runs out, the wmal distanee being from 6 feet to 15 feet. The wash-dirt is then taken down to the (‘reek in bags to be washc(l, the whole being a. cumbrous and primitive Illude of proceeding that fully exemplifies the low ebb to which thi8 field has tome. The golcl obtained is invariably coarse anll Ilug-getty, often carrying llUggets of from 12 to 25 dwts. each. Sometimes shafts are put down on the hill sides, but none of these eH’r ex(‘e(‘d 2;) feet. If gold is not struck then another shaft is tried; if wash-dirt is touched it ii’; followed iIi each dircet:ion till it rll!lS out, which it docs before very long, as the ground is exceedingly patchy. The reefs arc entirely deserted, not a man to be found on the ground. \Then working, the crushings from the stone gave a pretty uniform return of 9 dwts. to the ton; but no greater depth has been obtained in them than some 35 feet, that depth being sufiicient to carrv the quartz down through the soft into the hard walls, and the toughness of the latter has be;n such as to put a stop to deeper sinking. . Not more than (10) ten men are now aetuallyat work mining her(‘, for th0Ugh there are very many more miners than these living in the district, they have nearly all gone into timber squaring in the ranges, the large demand for squared logs which now exists giving more certain and probA.bly more profitable employment than mining in old ground, At Moruya mining has come to a complete standstill, for though several leases have been applied for on the reefs which have been opened up a short distance from the township, it is doubtful whether any of them “”ill be taken up when igsued. These reefs are situated about 7 miles from Moruya, on Dwyer’s Creek, a stream which joining with Wamban Creek forms ConJoin Creek, a tributary of the )Ioruya Rircl’. The different lines of reef lie something les~ than half-a-mile apart, and arc 8eparatcJ from each other hy the Willllillg8 of Dwyer’s Creek. Highest up the creek is the lIoruya Sib-er )Iining COll1pany’~ reef, from,yhieh at one time H~ry great rc~mlts were anticipate(l, but whi(‘h proyed a failure, simply fi’om a ,vant of knowleuge of how to treat the stone economically. ‘fhe reef is a very line one, fuIJy J feet wide, and the stone i~ full of metal (specimens forwarJell), which shillc~ out brightly eyen after years of exposure to the at lllo:-:phere. In some of the old he~tps, “hidl have h()ell lyiIlg for tIl(‘ last seyen or eight years exposed to SUll and rain, the arsenic from the ddHis has exuded ill very large quantities (specimen forwardetl), makillg the heaps look as if a Silt)r~torlll had beaten Oil it. “Vithin a stone’s throw of the f;ilrel’ mille is a reef of allriferow; quartz, from the stOlle of which as much as an ouuce awl a-half of gold has been cru:-:hed to the ton; and which, for several hundt’cd tOil::;, averaged 15 dwt~. per tOll. It was to all appe:tl’Hllce a hear)” blow 01’ outbur~t of quartz fully :20 feet wiue and ·.10 feet ill lCll~th, but narrowillg iow:u’d::; l,:tch end. 1’hi~ blo\- was followed dowll to :t depth of .:’;0 feet, but was fOUIHl to pinch ill gradually between granite w:tll:-~. At the en1s al~o the sallIe thing occurred, the ulow of plartJ. :subsi(ling by degrees into numerous ~lllall vei n:-: , tightly elllbed(le(l ill “Very hard granite. There i~~ still a show Oil t he face of a pretty ride reef, Imt from its not ha’illg been fulloweu with a cl’llshingmadJinc within a dozen ~’ards, I presume that the ~iOlle was llot found to bc payable be}Olid the puints already ,vol’kc(l. X ext to t1le:;c two reef:-;, and di rided from them Ly Dwyer’s Creek, is tlw Hauter’s Hcef; awl ag-ain, ”itll the (‘reek iutencllill~ bct ween each, the Donkey Hed’, the Hottcn Heer, and a series of thin surface H”ins l.y in.g hOl’il.Olltnll”v :t11(1 clOf;C t()O~ “cthcr 011 the hill side, but dippin;..; aftcr two 01’ three fed illto tight hal’l gr:lllitc walk These n~ills, a~ long a~ they continlled horizontal, were nut diIlicult to work, and 10 ton;:! of f.;tonc fri’lll thelll ga’e 11 ()Z~. of gold, but Lcill~ ollly from all inch to all illch awl a-half wide they l)ecamc tuo cOHtly to work when they reached. tfte gl’allitc. .A 11 the other reef:.., namell have “uecll worked more at’ less exten~ively, but they hare now lain it11e for many month”. 011 the bank of the Vamban Creek the Bergnlia mineral reef i::; ~ituaied, but it Las liOW Lcell unworkeu for many yearH, awl the fine plant that was erected 011 it ha:-; been HcaUered. IIl’1’(:~ again, f:tilure was due to the sallle cause as that ,,’hieh militated agaimit the Silver lIining Company-the iuaLiEiy to treat the stOlle, though it waH wOIHlerfully rich in minerals. I saw no men at work ill thiH portion of the district; in fact, though muny lc.t~es ha’y·J been taken up here, and though Dwyer’s Creek at one time had a populatiull of onT 200 miner>:!, anJ turneu out a fair amount of gold, this part of the couutry has never been proclaimeJ a gold field., and conditional purt’hasers are gm1ually clo~il1g in Up011 the gold-mining kssees. j errigundah, more generall,r knowH as tbe Gulph, Guld Fiel(l ha~ been graduaJly falling oil’ during the last year. All the best portiol1~ of the ground hare bee11 worked, though there still remain large areaR, which, with a copious supply of water, \-ollld pay well for sluir.::ing. l’hegeneral cour::ie of the G ul ph Creek i~ about from west to ea~t. Two arIllS or bl’~nl’hes rising in the Bumbo Hange join together and form the main creek at a distance of ~ome 8 miles from the to,vnship. On the left hand or northern branch Stack’::; reef iH situated, but no work is now doing on it. Near what was once the upper town, where the creek makes a sweep round a long low projecting ridge, the lir::;t main feeder (Sawpit Gully) comes ill on the north side. A reef has been opened here; but a crushing of’ 100 tom; about ~ix months ago gave a return of only G uwts. to the ton-not sumcicnt to pay,vhen the stone had to be packed to the machine. On the southern side of the main creek North’s Creck and Graveyard Guny come in. In the former, two reefs have been opened (Pollock’s and Tucker Hill), neither of which is nmy working; and in the latter, which closelyaujoills the township, Belltley’tl and Bailey’S reefs have been worked. Bentley’:::! is idle, but Bailey’s is still being perseycringly worked, and I was pleased to see a very good t:lhow of !:Itane. A tunnel is being put in, and the stone slwws a face about 5 feet G inches wide, b~tween good well-defined slate walls, the hanging wall being rather sandy. (Samples forwarded.) Bailey believes the stone will go throughout, and some of it is so good that by picking it he can obtain enough gold to carry him on by hand crushing. He is compelled to this course as thc stamping battery, though only 50 yards distant from the recf is now kept idle. The alluvial working is all carried on by sluicing, the men being scattered along the creeks at various points from the junction of the two branches down to about a mile below the township, a distance in all of some 9 miles. There are 127 miners employed on the ground, and being engaged in quartz.mining-. Of the whole number sixty-one are Chinese. The yield of gold may be pretty faidy estimated from the amounts purchased at lforuya, though probably some small portion of thi~ may haY(‘ come from lfogo and from the Dromedary. Rumbo lies on the opposite or north-we~tern face of the heavy range from ,,-h:(‘h t.he Gulf Creek takes it~ rise. The reef there has been worked spamodically up to ,yithin a fortnight before I visited the spot, a few days back, when I found it deserted, the f.’llgillC, b:’..ttery. plant, &e., being left to take care of themselves. r:nw ad it by which the reef i:-: worked wa:! so wet from recent rains that I was unable to enter to get specimens, but I picl,ed up a ff’\’ stoncs which the men had been recently trying, which I a~sume to be the last br.mght Ollt of the drive, and the poverty of which probably led to the general clearing out of the .-l!ardiUlden;. These I furward you. The Dromedary Creek is a fine stream of water, taking its risc in the Dromedary ::fOUlltain, and running into ‘V ogongo. It has turned out a fair amount of’ gold, and a tone timc ga’C employment to over 150 millors. It is now worked out for all but sluicers, and not mOl’V than a dozen men at the 01lh5ide find employment on it. . X’)t having been called upon to visit Delegate since my last report to tIl(‘ 1I00:iJrab](, the )Iinistl’r was i:leut in, I have nothing to add to the remarks then ma(le. I may ~a:-. !IOW· cyor, that, u:lkss other provision be made, I shall visit that distant portion of Ill} Lli:-:trit’t ~()mi time within tl~e llex.t two months. The salLplcs I forwarll you are only few in number, for ha,ving after col1eci-~()ll t,) 1H’ earrieu a cOllsiuc’l’ablo ui::;hlllce OIl llOr::;eback, I could not iran:-;port as m:1,uy as I ,rould JI~I.·;,· wi:::hcd. 111’. John SIlOttin, bailiff to the :N erl’igUlHlah ‘Varden’s Court, has, howc-or, pl’lllLi~ (‘[ tll make mOl’e eomplete eollections, which he will forward direct tn tile lkpartmrnt. I han’ ;.~ the :-:ame timo to call your f:lvoraLle llotice to the H!ry great a::lsisiancc that he has ]’C!!’:l’l’cd mc. I hare now ouly to allude to the l1olonglo and the’Varri rushes, if thc~- lilay ~)~, ~(‘ cilllell, which have taken ]1lace during the current year, but I have so recently a1H1 ::;,) ·:·u~;y reportcu upon each that I need uo no more at presellt than regret their ,vant of SUl’,·e~~. ‘Vitb regard to the yidJ of gold in the district, the escort has taken down frlHl’_ BraiJwoou from the l::;t X oyember, lS7J·, to the 31st October, lSi5, 1:3,693 ozs. 2 .1’’”t:,. 12 1:!’1’:; .• ,yhil:-:t the retUl’ll8 furnished 111e by the Banks show that they 1taye purc:hased in the same tiul(‘ 10,n:3S ozs. 1G d·wh;. 6 grs. This return, howeyer, docs not include the amount of gohl p:Irchased by the Araluen branch of the Bank of X ew South ‘Vales, as the 31anagcr 0:’ that branch has declined to furnish me with information. The amount purchased by the Bank at :n1oruy~ during’ the aboye period is 56’i (,Z8. 11. dwts. 17 grs., being mainly from Nerrigulldah, but the l1ining Registrar at thc bUl’l’ l)b(‘(‘ estimates the yield of gold thence for the year at 1,01-1 ozs. !) dwts. PEEL ..xn “GRALLA. .AND CLA.RENCE ANn KEW EX(TI,AXD DISTIllCTS. (lrlr. Warden B,·tclwnan, P.M., Armidale.) Glen Morrison.-This fielJ, which somc years ago promised yery favourably ha::l heconw now practically deserted, as there are but two parties at work. During the past year crushingtl from tho various reefs have taken place with highly satisfactory resu1t.s, eHpecially from th(‘ claims known as Kitcher, Stretton, and party’s prospecting claim, on the Golden Star reef” and lIaloncy and party’s prospecting elaim, on the Golden Bar, both of which claim~ haye yielded enormO~lS returns for the quantity of stone crushed. The quart·£; throughout the whole of this field is llejt.her difficult to ~~aise Ql’ operate upon, and it is a matter of surprise to me that a. largc popubti~ll has not settlell here long ago. I regret, however, to say that the miners on this field, as a rule, are sadly deficient in that indomitable pluck and pcrseverance with which the bOl/elf/dt’ mincr i~ u~uall’y eredited, the mOlle of working the reefs apparently bpill~ to stiek to the ~’laill1~ for a. 1ll1)1Ith or two ulltil a quantity of ~tone i~ brought to the erll:-lhiug machinery kiving in all cas(‘~ a good and in cxceptional 01H~S an cnormou:; resulttht> }aRt crushing of Hi tOlltl gavc 20~ 07.S. of gold), the proceeds of which are devoted to what may be terllled a. sa.t urna.lia, which lastR so long aR the fundt:! hold out. Such a mode of proceeding of cour::;e neither bencfits the owncrs of the claimR or the r:putation of the field ibelf, awl give:; little hope for thc future develllpll1Cnt of the reef:;, unleHH under very difierent management. .t fmy ~teady practieal men. would, I am satisfied, do wt’ll here. I eannot, hoYcH~r, make this :tHsertioIl without referring to the prcsent system of leasing, which, cven pre~umill~ that an eligible (‘laHS uf’ men might be iuduccd to work this field, must operate ~eriously against them. Thc most desirable ground is principally takcn up under lease, but not worked in any way; and although I am quite alive to the deHirability of recogllir,ing the rights of capital, as a matter of fact these leaseholds are not taken up by capitalists, but by, in many ease~, needy speculators, ·who have neither the means nor the energy to work them. I think the dcarth of population i:::l mainly attributable to this ca.usc, and therc i~ a diHinclinatioll on thc part of prn.dical millers to reside here, so long as they are at thc mcrcy of perf30nH who only hold on to the ground for the purpose of specula.tion. Cameron’s Creek and Puddh’dock.-Thesc fields are yirtually descrted, the same cause bein!! attributablc as in the ca~e of Glcn Morrison. , Rock.’! River.-This once bw”y district has now almost ccaHed to exist as a “diggings,” in the ordinary sense of the term. Aftcr wct w(‘ather, employment is f(Hmd for about 100 men, cxelu:-;iye of Chinese; of’ the latter therc arc not now many in the place. The miners periodically a”ail themselves of an extra. supply of water for sluicing purposes, 1’0 long as it la,.:t~, and usually ,””ith remunerative results; but directly it fa.ils the greater portion, who have gardellH or small farms in thc neighbourhooJ, resort to their cultivation, or oth(‘rwis0 employ t1!t’lil~eheH in working on the adjacent statiuns. I do not anticipate any advance in gold milliug interests in this district during the current ycar, but would observe that the township qf U raIla, which may be considered the centre of thc fielJ, is rapidly gaining importance. Oban.-This locality, which during the tin fever was worked for both gold and tin, IS nIl\’ pretty wcll abandoned, and it is unlikcly that it will ever recover itself in any way. Bin.qera.-In the early part of lS7;”, Homc very large finds took place on this field, and the quartz exhibitcd was of the richest dcscription. It was believed at the time that the reef~ would prm’e thc richest in the Colony, and great excitement ensued on the discovery. Deep sinking however speeJily exploded.any idea that the field would prove more than barely remunerative, as the rich find turncd out to be little else but a “ pocket,” to the dismay of’ the owners of the reefl, who had paid exorbitant sums for their shares. The dcpres8ing cfl’ect produced by this diHcovery has neyer been counteracted since, the population is still sparse, and with present appliances I see nothing to lea.d me to anticipate any reaction for some considera. ble period. Lunatic.-As far as can be gathered from the returns ‘to hand, about 2,190 ozs. of gold had been the yield for the past year, and the miners seem to sp~ak somcwhat hopefully of their future prospects. The rush to the Palmer River at the time pretty well cleared out the mining population from this and the adjacent districts, and though numbers of the miners have returned, they do n’Jt seem dispm-led to turn their attention at present to anything but sluicing, which yields a quicker return. The late severe drought has however militated very seriously against much bcing effected even in this direction. Nundle.-llost of the reef8 here have been unworked for the la.’5t twelve months, and many that have been prospected havc been subsequently abandoned as unpayable; what work is at present going on is chiefly confined to the alluvial claims, and the Chinese are the principal workers in them. It is difficult to arrive at any satisfactory estimate of the yield of gold from here for the last twelve months, but probably about 1,700 or 1,800 ounces would prove rather over than under the mark. Solferino.-There are only three q uartz.claima at present worked here. The extraordinary furore occasioned by the mining mania some tvo years ago having met with a reaction of a vcry striking character so far al:! this particular field is concerneu. Still the claims actually at work are provillg satisfactory to the owners. The depth of Rinking varies from :mo to 350 feet, but as most of it is through a mixture of granite and diorite it proves yel’Y expensivc. However, that the llliners have faith in the reefs is exemplified by the fact that a l1um!Jpr “7ho left for the Palmer about two years ago have returned. The .Mining Regi:-;trar iufofllu; me offieially “that he has received a number of letters from parties who formerly resi(led on this field, soliciting information as to whether any leases of unueveloped ground had beelll:ancelled.” As these applil:ants had previously a good knowledge of the locality, the fact lw.s perhaps more than ordinary significance. A few men are working the creek here, and are said to be making fair wages. An antimony mine has been di::;co~·ered about 10 miles a way, which i~ favour,lbly spoken of. Little River.-There has been but little work done on this field during the past year, though the prospects would seem to be good, as 1,000 tons of stone has be ell raised from the Perseverancc Reef. Of these GOO tons fi’om the suriilce to a depth of 70 fpet, averaged:! ozs. to thc ton, anu from that depth to loD ff~et, 15 dwts. The JIining Registrar reports that “ everv claim that stands a good show is locked up under lease,” and unrler the circumstances there ‘i~ little animation. “Cntil number” of these leases are cancelled he anticipate~ no improveILcnt, and I am disposed to fully endorse hi~ opinion. To li very great extellt this report of the gold mining industry lllay h(‘ considereu of an exceedingly :Ulsatisfactory nature as compared with similar reports of some }(‘ars back; but in referring to the existing depression, I think that the causes which ha,e leu to it may be traced to thc actual il)diiference in the matter of developing the reefs. The winding up of numerous estah’s in the Insolvent Court during the past year has revealed the fact that many of those who sought relief in that Court haH~ been morc or lcss embarrassed by the repmteJ claims made upon them under mining partnerships. The result has been that, locally speaking, any systelll of co-operation between the working miners on the one hand, and tLe capitalists 011 the othor, hm; been seriously checked, and I fear that for some time the baneful effeds of rash speculation will continue to be seriously felt in this district. \Thcther the reefs have been thoroughly tested or not, is a matter upon which I do not feellllyself in a position to give a decided opillion; but very little deep sinking, comparatively speaking, has as ~et been ac(‘omplisheu. At be::;t the workings have been confined mainly to running out leaue’:’s, anu when they fai1ed the claims have been abandoned. It can hardly be said that the majority of the reefs have had a fair tl’ial, and under the circumstances it would be unfair te· hazard the conjed ure t.hat the gold-mining indu~try in thi~ pnrt of the (‘olonv i:-: h, an”” means irretrievably ruined, or itR resourrei’ e::dw.usted.