CHRONOLOGY - 1855: Gold Trails

GOLD SUMMARY FROM THE REPORT

Araluen Divisinn.

-The Araluen Redbank Gold Dredging Company, N.L., lost considerable time during the early part of the year owing to accidents, but during the latter half worked almost continuously and treated 138.000 cubic yards for a return of 1,419 oz. of gold, valued. at £5,536. This company has applied for another lease on tbe western Side of Araluen Creek. The Araluen Valley Gold Dredging Company’s dredge was worked on tribute by two different parties, but they met with indifferent success. Altogether 187,300 cubic yards of ground were treated for a return of 626 oz. of gold, valued at £2,441. The dredge belonging to the Victorian Araluen Dredging Company only operated during tbe first three month. of the year. 86,000 cubic yards were treated for a yield of 374 oz. gold. The dredge was then diS’ mantled and removed from the district. Messrs. Minahan and Waddell continued their prospecting operatior.s at the bead of Goodenough’s Gully-some 1,400 feet above the bed of tbe Araulen Creek, ncar its junctiou with the Deua River. The tunnel driven into tbe side of the gully was continued for a further 66 feet (200 feet in alll, but the reef was not encountered. 300 feet lower down tbe hill a reef was discovered on the surface, and 4 tons of stone were sent away for treatment and yielded 6 oz. of gold. Driving on tbis reef has been started, and at 21 feet in the reef is 3 feet wide, aud assays 19 dwt. to the ton.

Armidal_ Dil·ision.-

The new find recorded at Brooklyn, about 17 miles nort.h·east from Armidale, on Portion 78, Parish of Davidson. bas not so far becn productive. A considerable amount of work has been done, and over £980 has been spent on the mine. A tunnel has been put in 423 feet and driving has been carried out for ahout 600 feet, wbich proved the wash to be 70 feet wide and 600 feet in length-averaging 9 to 12 inches of wash dirt. The Brooklyn Gold Mining Syndicate is working this property. J. P. McKinlay is also driving ~ tnnnel on a site in the same locality, which has furnisbed cncouragin’l prospects.

Barraba DiIJisinn.-

The whole of this year’s yield was won from 60 tons of ore raised from qnartz reefs In the vicinity of Wood’s Reel and Titree. Binqara Divinon.-The gold yield for the year represents values obtained by fossickers from old alluvial workings at Upper Bingara, Bobby Whitlow, and Spring Creek.

Blayney Division.

-Edgley and party at Forest Reefs ~ank a fresh shaft, bnt, owing to influx of water, operations were suspended to install pump and boiler to deal w’th tbe water.

r.ombata Division.

-Hopes were raised of the opening up of an extensive area of country by the discovery of an alluvial and reefing proposition at Little Plain. 12 to 16 miles from Bombala, the country for reefing being taken up for 9 miles. A. J. M. Glashan put down three shafts on what were thought to he main reefs, wh!ch, however, petered out. ‘Vork is stilI being carried on in t.he original area ,vith the hope of enconntering thc main recf. It is thought that saddle reefs exist in this centre of operation.

Braidwood Dil.’ision.

-Messrs. A. and J. Saville continued dredging operations on the Mongarlowe or Little River near the junction of Feagan’s Creek. but. owing to the numerous and high rocky bars encountered, only 73,000 cubic yards were treated for a return of 72 oz. gold. It is now intended to take the dredge out of the river bed and worl’ out from the we.tern bank.

Canbp/pqo Division.

-Ncarly all the gold prodnced in this district during 1920 was the result of operations carried out by the Mount Roppy Gold Mining Company. which are referred to elsewhere iu thi. report.

Carcoa.r Dit’ision.

–At I~yndhllrst, Railway and Mines Ltd., the year’s work was confinr.d to development and the treatment of slimes. At Burnt, Yards and other localities only prospecting operations were carried out.

Cobar Dit,isinn.

-The year under review has been one of the worst for mining on tbis field. A fire in the C.S.A. Mine led to some of t.he smaller mines closing down. as they depended on the C.S.A. for the treatment of their ores. The fire broke out in March last, and the C.S.A. has heen sealed down ever since. Tributors still continue to work some of thc smaller mines belonging to Great Cobar Limited. At the Occidental Mine extensive alteration” were made in t.he method of treatment, wbich it is anticipated will lower the cost of production. Cornish Rolls were substituted for the Stamper Battery, and all subsequent handling of the ore will be done automatically by machinery. A thoroughly up·to·date winding, crtBhing, and treatment plant will soon be in operation. The main are body is large, and it is intended to treat at least 1,000 ton’ per week. The Leslie i:lynrlieate is still continuing operations near Cobar, but the mine at present is only In the prospecting stage. Splashes of ore arc showing on tbe face’of the drive, but do not indicate anything of a payable nature. It is tbought that good ore may be found by fnrther driving. A small compressor and air receiver, together with 400 feet of piping, have been placed on the mine, but not yet used. • The Brown Lode IIHne at Wrightville appears to be one of the most promising mines for its size in the district. Development work durIng the year was carried out as follows :-Winzes, llg feet· driving. 168 feet· cutting, 60 feet. 204 tons of stone raised. on treatme;’t, vielded 127 oz’ of gold. valued at £617; and 37,081 07. of silver, Yalued at £8,H05. Th; prospects for the coming year appear to be bright.

Cootamundra Division.

-Of the gold won in this division the Christmas Gift Mine supplied 810 oz. , valued at £2,489. This output was obtained during the early part of the year. 1’0r the past few months the owners have been occupied in purchasing and erecting a new plant consisting of poppet·heads and winding gear, compressors, rock-drills, and a ten·head battery with tables, &c.; It is anticipated that the plant will be ready fo~ use early in 1921, and that it will result in increased production. The Imue continues to develop satisfactorilv, and there are large reserves ot ore for treatment. – The Cullinga Extended Gold Mine, known also as the nnrrowa Syndicate, has .temporarlly suspended operations for the purpose of raising further ~~~~:al. They raised 240 tons of stone, yielding 52 oz. of gold, valued at

Copeland lJivi8ion.

-At Copeland, in the Mountain, Maid Mine about 200 f~et of driving were done by the party and fair stone obtained; no crushmg was done. . The Federation Gold Mining Company carried out development work m the way of tunnelling, sinking winzes, and a limited amount of stoping. A.complete ten-h~ad battery was erected during the year on the Bowman River, about a mlle from the mine. 200 tons of quartz were raised and 114 tons treated for a yield of 209 oz. gold, valued at £1,045. . At Kerripit River, Cantwell and party worked nearly full time in extend· mg the low· level tunnel, but results were disappointing.

Coramba Di”ision.

-G. A. Ellis raised 14~ tons of stone, of which 8 tons were treated for a return of 12 oz., valued at £43. During the year 25 feet of sinking and 50 feet of driving were carried out in a new shaft, which is now down to a depth of 30 feet. Twenty feet of stoping was also done. A five-head stamp battery was purchased. It is intended to pump out the water from the main shaft-a depth of 95 feet-and to resume opera· tions at the lower level. . A. L. Walsh raised 100 tons of stone, of which 25 tons were treated for a return of 9 oz. 10 dwt., valued at £38 7s. lId. Wm. Brown, near Coramba, with the assistance of Government aid, sank a shaft on the reef 9 inches wide. Twenty tons of stone were raised. from whicb 6 tons were picked and crushed at the Bucca Creck natterv and yielded 12 oz. gold, valued at £43. . Near Upper Bucca D. Campbell carried out a good deal of prospectin!( work. ~ o. 1 shaft was sunk to a depth of 25 feet on good stone; No.2 to 62 feet on a good body of stonc carrying gold all the way; No.3 shaft to 12 feet on new line of reef 2 fect wide, containing fair gold. 60 tons of stone were raised from No.2 shaft, but were not treated.

Drake Division.

-The gold yield for the year was obtaincd mainly by fossickers at Tooloom, Pretty Gnlly, and Surface Hill. Lady Jersey l’rline.-Tbis property (a large producer in years past), situated at Long Gul1y, near Drake, is now being opened up by W. H. ‘l’rewenack. The shaft is now 40 feet deep. It is considered that this mine will have a bright futur.e. Operations during the past year were somewhat hampered by scarclty of water. Pentham’s Reef is also situated at I.ong Gully, and, although the vein does not exceed 5 inches in tbickness, future prospects appear good. forty tons of formation have been raised, and arc expected to yield 2t oz. gold per ton over the plates. A small thrce·head battery and an oil’engine have been erected on the lease. The lessee is now awaiting rain to fill the temporary dams to commence crushing operations. Messrs. Fell and Taylor’s dredge on Bulldog Creek bas also been operatinq during the year. The owners erected a sluicing plant, valued at about £3,000.

Fifield Division.

-Gold mining has been carried on by prospectors and fossickers in connection with platinum mining, 268 loads yielded 40 oz. 5 dwt., valued at £156. Forbes Division.-There bas been no gold yield in thi~ division during 1920. Mr. J. Birnie is now erecting a ten·head stampcr battery at Britannia Lead, South Forbes, and the results of his prospecting are such that he considers a good return will be made from the battery. Experiments are still being carried on for the purpose of extracting thc gold from tbe old tailings at Calarie, but so far witbout success.

Glen Innes Divi8ion.

-The gold output for 1920 did not Come up to expectations. This was mainly dne to the failure of the dredging operations on tbe Oban River. Of the total production of ,,9 oz., 21 werC secnrpd by fossickers mostly in the vicinity of the Henry River. 1·’. Mannix, who continues to hold a gold lease ncar Moggs Swamp, produced 2 oz. of gold from treatment of 60 loads of wash dirt. ‘lhe work comprised 43Jeet of sinking and 22 feet of driving. The Mitchell River Gold and Tin Mines Limited produced 6 oz. of gold as a result of their dred!ting operations. This return is considered untitltisfactory, and the ground is now being further tested by boring

Goulbum Divi.ion.

-J. L En~lish wan a little gold from 5! tons of are, which was treated principally for copper. At Rinda, Anderson Brothers, G. Young, .T. S. Pagett., ‘1’ • .T. )feCormaek, a~d others acql1ired large areas On private law-IE to- proRpcc~ for gold and dIamonds. So far the gronnd haR not bern t(>,,,tcd. but it l~ understood that capital iq being rai~ed, and that systematic prospectb~ operations will be commenced Shortly.

Gundagai DiniSl:on.

-Thc gold hpre wa;; ohkinpd princip[tll~~ from two sOllrces~the A~elollg Creek Dredging Company’R leasp~ and the I,ang Tunnel Gold lIme. At the former 5, 12:~ oz. of gold were WOIl, valued at, £~n.771; and at the latter ROl 07.., worth i:j,:2i.:-l. At the I.ang Tunnel Gold l!inc the hattery wa.; idle for want of vater .luring half of the year; there is now an ample Rupply. Graham ·and party at Sandy Falls, (‘aolae, are down ;>0 feet on a nice reei outcropping for Borne di~tance. _.. trial cru”3hinfJ’ of 1:> tons realised over;3 oz. per ton. Machinery is bein~ erected on the minE’. At Tarrabandra, C’1!1tk and Vcsley’s big reef is engaging a.ttention, but h .. , not yet been eqllInped. A good deal of phl~pecting is still goin;< on in variou; parts of this divh;ion.

– Hill End Didsion.

-Stcady work proceeded in tlLis didsion during thc year. Amal~amated Hill End JJmited t”rminated their tribute of the property in August last, aftpr “igorousl~” concf’ntrating on the Mka reet and obtaining 1,lY6 oz. gold valued at £5,:340. ‘rhe mine if; now being worked by the Marshall’s Hill End Gold )[ines, .x.L. This company has driven the level north from the bottom of the Star of Peace shaft (100 feet under the main tunnelle·”I) on the north ‘ide of Fisher RTld Beard’s crOS’>-course. So far f.hey have not got to the continuation of the rich mineral stone sonth of the cross-course,and intend I.wing deeper. Other prospecting work has al-!o been carried out. and, :-.ince August last, a. furt.lter 152 tong raised and trcatf’d gave 204 oz. of gold, valued at £1.020, which, added to the old company’s output, brings the mine’:; production for 1920 up to 1,400 oz., valued at £6,360. The Deep IJevels Ha.wkin·~ Hill Gf?ld l[ining Compan~r confined this year’s operationg to the Exhibition Shaft, which wa~ repaired to the 40(l-feet level and then cross-cut east to the reef and stopecl from the lenl. In this shaft. stoping wa~ continned at the 200, ~.jO, and 320 feet level8, yielding a fair amount of payable stone. Towards the end of the Far the shaft was repaired down to the old bottom at 410 feet” and, after cross-cutting east to the recf formation, a fair Lady of crUShing stuff waH m~t. showing leaders. ‘.rho main level going south ha.s been ?toped 1~ to I’; feet wide overhead. The water has to be pumped from this level to the 320-fcet levcl, where it. rUlls ont through the tunnel. 1,582 ton~ of ore yielded on treatment !H 7 07.. of gold, va.lupd at £-!,5ti;). At Hawkin’s Hill Cpntral a connection ha~ been made from the bottom of thc Patriarch shaft to the bottom tunnel, and fltoI,ing haB bpC”n c l.rried out. between. (‘rushings were taken from llndpl’ the Con~olidatf’d ‘l’unnel from a level Houth of the 500-fcct (bottom) level of the Patriarch shaft. At 100 feet under thJ:.:; level the management drove south to the boundary of b-Iarshall’s Hilll~nd Company’~ grollnd, and there connected with a level driven uy that company from their top HtopC5 on the mica reef. This givea a connection with the bottom t·unnel. and affords good ventilation and a get-away’ for the water of t.he old Patriarch shaft. A~ the eOO-feet level stoping h now proceeding On a. reri sho,ving fair prospects. Alluvial digger~~ after f:.j,( months’ cps~ation of ofJcration-; con~equ(‘nt on the drought, raised a.nd t.rrated about. 5H.OOO loads of wash dirt, from which they wall 178 oz. 01 gold, valued at £~70.

Hiil7ron(J DiIJision

.-The yea.r’s production of gnld for this divigjon waS obtained from three mines. HilLgrove as a mining field is fast declinin~, as no new ore bodies ha.ve been di~covcred within recent years. Attention is, therefore, being more actively directed to the treatment of “”nds. New Baker’s Creek Gold Mining Company raiRed 70 tons of qnartz, which yielded 77 oz., and treated 914 tons of tailings, yielding 174 oz. of gold. J. L. Hocking, at Baker’s Creek, raised 10 tons of .tone, and obtained 62 oz. 10 dwt. ~old worth £250; the lode requires to be developed. Gilliland and Newton, who are tributors from ‘:fe8~rH. Cameron and Sutherland on the old .Blcanora Leases at Hill.~royc, raised I.) tons stone, yielding 14 oz. 10 dwt of gold. valued at £’>2. The same party. operating On 11,126 tons of sand and slimes by e,-auidation, won 1,4S0 oz. gold, valned at £3,368.

Kempsey Division.

-W. Wiley, in the l’arish of =–ewry, raised about lOJ tons of stone; the result of the treatment is Hot vet known. Durilllr the year he did a little driving. and fe-timbered the old working shaft 11P from the 100 feet level. 1Uandurama Di”’3ion.-Wlth the exception of the work of a few alluvial fos8ickers~ the year’s operationg were again confined to ::;hcahan nrotherH~ Junction Reef ~1ine. They raised 1,100 tons of stone. which returned 300 oz. of gold, valued at. £1,200. The drought calIbcd It serious stoppage for about a third of the ~rear; cturinq recent months, however, t·wo winzes have been snnk and thc ditferent ore beds tapped. In several places these prove~ payable. ‘fhis i~ an excellent propert.y, easy to operatf and capable of Increased product IOU.

1Uoruya Division.

-~Iining operations arc practicall’ at a standstill in this locality. C. H. Stubb. did a little driving and stoping on his lease. He raised 24 ton. of stone, 12 of which he had treat cd ; thi; yielded 16 oz. 5 dwt. of goil, valned at £76. I Narooma DiviR~;on.-Mining for gold has been carried out on a yery Jimited scale, and ha~ been confined to !’.IoulltJ Dromedary. Nerl”igundail Division.-The Sonth Coast Gold Dredgin~ Company did very little work. as the dredge was hung up most of the year for repair~ and water. From 15,000 cubit’ yard~ of matprial treatcd, 1:3 oz. of gold, valued at. £50, were Wall.

N!£ndle Division.

-l’he gold WOn was obtained by fossickcrs and pro’pectors. With the assistance of prospecting ahl, ~Iahony. Sipple, and ]larty are driving a tunnel on the western side of Monnt PJea8ant. ‘I’hey have drjven through 20 feet of hard cement formation, and kO feet of alternate bands of diorite and slate rock. The ohject in ,”jew hi to opellllp t.he goldbea. ring body of cement believerl t.o be one of the ontIct.’”i of what i.;: kumvn a9 Mount. Pleasant ])eep Cement. Lead. R. Northmore hag been continuously working- during the ~’par on the Morton Mine. He drove 200 feet, but failed t,o get an v gold. He js SCm dri ving in the hope of picking up lo-:;t rcei6 or IeaUf’f.’3. “

Oranqc Divi.S’ion

.-There ha~ been a revival of acth+itir.;:; on the (lId Lucknow field. Here, followin;..{ on a. geological examination of the land adjoining the old workings of Lucknow, the Sout.h J,uc]{now Gold Minin~ Syndicat.e acquired an area of private Ia.nds allout. a quarter of a mile sonth-east of the old Lucknow. With the aSBi,tanec of aid from the prospecting vote. a shaft was sunk to 4~ fC’t’t on a HitP. snggp.”,t,rd hy ~lr. Geologic~1 Surveyor Harper. At :~:Z feet.. t.he prospectors pas~(‘d throllgh b:ls3.lt into diorite. At j7 feet a quartz leader Wl~ cut. underlying northeJ. st. At 50 feet or more (according to the soundlles,.., of the countfv) a cross·eut will be put into the Rerpentine. It is alRo jntended to drive at the contact to cat~h the i-inch quartz lea.der whif’h waH uw;overed in the shart. ~t. 87 feet. Plant to the value of £~OO ha” been erected, and althou”h DO gold has yet been won, the mille i, full of promise. 0 At the sout,h-east end of old Lueknow workingq another area of private lands was acquired during t,he year. A syndicate has been formed to thoroughly prospect t.he area. which has been given the name of the “ Lucknow Pups.” An old shaft on the property has been cleaned out to a depth of 75 fcct, and further explorat.ion i~ now going on. The Sulphide Corporat.ion JAmited. at Lewis I)ond~, did considel’ahle work dl1rin~ the year. ‘fhe mine’~ arc is mainly iron pyrites, containing small quantities of gold, and the property is mined principaUy for its sulphur (‘ontrnt.~. The boU-om levcl is at prp.,pnt at a depth of 240 f(‘et. A winz!? sunk 40 feet lIe low this levcl ~hows fair ore. and it is t.he intention of the COIllpany to sink the shaft another 10() feet. . A fair amonnt. of pro:-::pectirlg ha::: te(>n done at Ophir, Springfield, E3£t Guyong, and Rosedale.

Rockle?! Divi,ion.

-At Hope’s Creek, 1.000 tong of alhl”ial wash dirt. returned 20 oz. of gold. Here the wash dirt is treated by running wnter in ground racc. The prospects for the future arc good, but operations are hampered by an inadequate water supply. Hyde and party, at Main Ridge and Cotterill, at Dack Creek. treated some alluvial wash dirt. the lattcr ohtnining 20 oz. of gold. At. Sewell Creek, Sewell raiRcd 24 oz. from wash dirt from an open cut. At Davcy’g Creek and Carter’s Hill a little prospecting work was done. 80fala Dit”ision.-The gold mining operations of this division arc now entirely contincd to alluvial working.;:.. At Golden Point, Herriott and Bennett did eonsistent work. Unfortunately the long drought robbed thcm of the opportunity of Riliicing, and. with onlv ~ixtct’n weeks’ run, t.hev trcat(‘d 20.000 loads fur :36 oz. of gold, valued at £171. ‘l’his claim ha~ u· promhdng future. At the Turon, and also at Thompson’S Point., fossickers engaged in alluvial work whenever the Turon waters adnlitte”.

Stuart Town Dil.”isilJn.

-Han-ey’g Freehold Gold Dredging Company, at Bnrrcndong. undertook the difficult task of refloating the old pontooUA in the Macquarie Ith’er, near Bnrrendong HomeFltead. After a ~Heat deal of work the pontoons were ultimately refloated, thoroughly overhauled, retimbered, and otherwise repaired. A powerful elevator was installed and separate engines and othrr improvement’::l completed, maRing the plant one of the most powerful in Australia. A fine elect.rie-light plant has b(‘C’n installed, and admits of wf>rk being carried on continu01 sly day and night.. ActuaJ dredging; operations could not be commenced until July last., since when, hon’ever, the company has had some excelh nt return~. In 6 months ~OO,OOO cubic yards of material have been treattd for a yield of 750 oz. gold (£3,000). ‘The future of the enterprise is mOl t promising_ ‘fhere are also two other bucket dredges in the Mncql1arie, and with rcpairs now almost complet.ed they will goon be oprrat,jng. Development ,vork only has been carried on at. Mount Dou~las. ~Iuckerwa Creek. ‘Vit.h the assistancE’ of Government. aid the main level wag extended t.o 480 feet to drain the uppf’r workings. The reef has been f’arried on to the foot.-wall aU t.he way, bnt prosppctg wprp poor. and any improvement i~ cOfl..;idcred unlik€’ly until the diorite i!’ vassed through. ‘j’J1(‘ upper Icypls show encouraging pro’>pect5!, but future development depends on the succesS of the lowcr level or tunnel. The installation of machinery is necessary in order to cope with the wat.er. S!£nny Camer.-The old” Sunny Corner” mine acconnted for the greater part of the year’s output. Although this is a silver-lead-zinc proposition, the gold contents showed ;JOO oz., Yallled at £1,500. . On the Sure Gift Mine, Smith and party in,talled a battery and prO’ldfd a water ~uPIJI~·. A .small crushing was put through “,H·h di.,eouragi~lJl’; result~. The sinking of a new shaft to a dept.h of 100 feet if; eH~wntlU I before any more stone can be raiscd, as flood waters rushed into the old working shaft and it, fell in.

Tuena Dil’i.~ion

.-During the year a rich find was rcport.pd to havo been made at Junction Point., but the rrsl1lts were disappointin/!. ArpaR embracing the bed and ballk~ of ‘Jluena (‘reek, between Mount Co;tigan and the A~hercrombie River, have been taken up, containing, it is belieyed, large quantities of gold. TrnnkeJ/ Di1.”ision.-The ~fonnt Dudley Gold Mining Company carried on extensive mining operations at their Mount Dudley MinC’. Of 2,300. tons of ore raised during the year, 1,300 tOil!’ were treated for a rrt.urn of 586 oz. of gold, valued at £2,344-. The slimes and tailings weft’ not treated. ‘fhi!’; company has a vcry fine battery erectp9- on the mine! ~nd a large dam of a capacit.y of 1,000,000 gallons. There IS also an aUXIlIary 81lpply wcll connected with pipes to make water available in times of drou!(ht. ‘l’hc year’s work has been conrentrated upon the main ::lhaft.. No. 1 level. 81 feet, was driven 15() feet 110rt·h and 180 feef. south from the shaft ; No.2 level, 145 feet, was driven nort.h and 204 feet south from the shaft : .xo. 3 level, 200 feet, wa’ driven RO feet fr0111 the shaft. 1’be !tIastodon Gold ]fining Syndicate sank a prospecting shaft, bnt the rMultfl being unsatisfactory. the mine was clo”lpd do,vu. Small parcels of stone were crushed at. J .. T. Henry’, hattery for the Whv Worrv Syndicate. Hunter and ~’ranci’, and n. n. )[cKellar. A~lluvial ~minillg has ·been somewhat neglect(‘~ in t.his di”iii~Hl of latr-, but towards the close of the year the Ullrartlllng of a ~plendld nugget, rontalnin~ 115 oz. of gold, b~’ Dwyer and Brown, at Hobby·s.Y~rd~, (ahout 50 miles from Bathurst) has again drawn attention t·o thIS f:rl~. ‘1’he nugget is !) inche~ long, 4 inches ,vide, and two inches deep. and lR said to be the largest nuggct discovered in the district during the last 50 vcars. The Wattle Gold ~[ining C’ompan,’ has been formed to work the mine at Kempfield on which t:artwrigllt and party had been working.

Ural/a Division.

-The recent heavv rains have refo:l1lted in about ~;; oz. of alluvial gold being recovered by fossickcrs on the old Rocky lU ver digging~. No reef gold has been won. . During t.he vear thp, land on which t.he Long Tunnel Mine is sltuatrd was leased to’ V. 8. Hrooi{s. A tunnel has been driven 100 feet aJld timbered, and plant and machinery to the value of £50 erected. Thp. lessee expects to meet with gold-bearing wash when t.he tunnel has bern extended another 70 feet. Wattle FI,It Didsion.-Operations here continne disappointing. Tho field is capable of much better result.fi. At Big Oakey only pro”pecting work wn~ donr during the ye3;r. No stone was raised for treat.ment. The management drove the mam le’(‘1 50 feet and a cross level 50 feet. A winze wa~ carried 40 feet and the rL’cf struck; the reef, howc,·cr, was cnrrying insuffif’ient gold to pay. No work was done at either Little Oakey or the Caledonian. lVeabow/a Dilli-;ion.-At ~aingala } H. Rollo raised 3 tons of stone~ vhich on treatment yielded 4 oz: j dwt. of gold, valued at £16. Owing to damage cauf.icd bia flood in Dccl’mlJcr.lOH1, mine operations are heing confined to sinkiug a ncv shaft., for which Government aid has beeH granted. E. F. McPherson, on his gold Jcase)n the “Parish of Aim;ley, rnisC’d al::ollt ItO tons of Htone, ,vhjch has not yet. uc(‘n crushed. Durin~ thE’ year he drove 75 feet north and 75 ft’ct south at the l:W-ieet len:L He strnck water in thc north drive. but found a second chutc of gold about 60 fe, t ill south drive and a good reef over 2 teet wide in faee of thic;; drln~.

If/ellington Dil’i.~i{}j/.

-Th(‘re wa~ a decided rE’yival in the industry during 1H~O, flnri, notwith..-:taudillg a decrease in output, the mining acth·ities show a progres.:-.ive tcndency. Lee and party eOllllnenced work in June last on the old Welconle Jack Gold :lline. Drh”ing “outh south’wc~t on the linc of the lode, klOhn Fospeds Improved, and, Ollt of a paddock of 14 loads, “ trhl crushing gave fair rC8nlts. Kelly Ilrother;;, at WlIuluman, hnve done commonable work, and the pro .. ~pectB are most promising. A RmaH battery and othel’ plant wero in~tn.lled. Of ~no tons of ~tone raised. 26:1 ton” were trE’ai cd for 255 oz. geld valued at £076. The slimes and tailin~s were nottrcnted. Con;;iderable areas of private lands have been prospected. Win/lever District.-’Thc past year h:l.S bc(‘;Jl fI, very fa,!r one for alluvial tn!nin4: in this til vision, at; there has been Illenty of ra.in to keep the creck~ nnd rivers running for the water Hupply. 1,800 load:-; of wash dirt, on trc~trncnt., yielded 140 oz. gold, worth £5-1:2. lVolumla Division.-Jarncs illater niiBed and treated D tons of stone, yIelding ~d oz. 11 dwt., vaillod at £111 3s. ll1. 11

WINlong and West Wyalong Divisions

.-Gold mining has almost cea,ed jn this diviHion. One party only is prospecting neaT the barrier line of reef. Oprrations at the ‘rrue lUne and Junction Mines were rendered unprofitable by reason of the hi!(h cost of minin~, otherwise there iq a quantity of ore in these mines wbich would be worked.

Yas.c; Dit’i,;ion

.-rrhe only gold won during t.he year was frotn the copper and silvcr·lead ores raised in thi~ division. The Kan~iara Srnrli~ cate, trom the le:lscR h.cld by I)yrites Limited, at Kangiara. obtained 34 oz. of gold (£20~), and the Mount Price Silver, Copper, Cold, and I,cad Mining Company Limited won 73! oz. (£323) from the Clan Mackenzie Mine in the Bame locality. Ye,.randerie Di1·ij:ion.-~o mining operations for gold as the princiJlal met.al arc carried out in this diviSion, but 4;10 07.., valued at £~,OjO, ,,’ere reeOl’ered during the course of the t;rcutment of the silver-lead ores raised.