, 1866.
VICTORIA.
REPORTS
OF THE
J . MINING SURVEYORS
A.ND
R JE G I.8 T R A R So
QUARTER ENDING 30TH SEPTEMBER, 1866.
-.
'.,
PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OF P A~LIAM.:ENT BY HIS EXCELLENCY'S COMMAND.
, '
JOHN }'ERRES, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, MELBOURNE. No. 14. APPROXIMATE COST OF REPORTS.
DErAILED PARTICULARS. AMOUNT,
:£ •• d. Cost or Preparatlon, abont 10 0 0 Printing, &0. 81 16 4
TOTAL £ 91 16 4
, . SUMMARY.-GOLD MINING STATISTICS FOR THE QUARTER ENDING 30TH'SEPTEMB~R, 1866.
TABLE'showing approximately the NUMBER OF MINERS employed, the MACHINERY in use and its Value, on the several Gold Fields in the Colony of Victoria. • Compi1~ed from the Mining Surveyors and Hegistrars' Reports for the Quarter ending 30th September, 1866.
Quartz Miners. 2Ilachlnery employed in Alluviallllining, Machinery employed in Quartz 1Ilining, Number Approxi~ of I_~ mate Square Price ot Gold DIS'rRlCT, DIVISION, Total Steam Engines ~ lIlile. of I .; Value of Aurife- per OZ, Number of employedWinding, ~ .~ :l ~ ~ ~ ,. " all rous AND, l)umplng', &C. .".; ""§ =i '"a :::: K " ;::::: ~ Ground .,; ,Miners. 1------'5 ~ " 15 ~ '" "' ,; Mining SUBDIVI:noN, ~ /1 ~ " go ~ actually w .~ ~ '" .~ ~ ~~ Plant. worked go , ~ ! No. .;; d § a ~ j :a From 1 To i ~ upon* [il! power. ~ ::: r3 i5 power" ~~ iii' ~ ~ ~I~I __I- "" I £ .£ s, d • .£ s,d. BALLARAT: 2115 41>4 4,220 88 2,987 138 16 lit; 3 26 479 216 280,268 6! 4 0' 6 4 20 Contral DivIsion , , 3,51! 4. 20 I,M6 682' 152 2,396 33 830 60 4 6 2 7 135 78" 04,550 8 4. 1 0 Southern Division" 230 2,500 44 700 .50 32 ," 13 270 88 66,000 13i 4 0 0 Bunlnyong " 2,020 250 " 10 600 40 2,670 75 1,520 32 16 6 140 40 70,000 11 3 17 6' 4. 00 Smytllesdo.le 2,030 4. 0:1 800 650 , 600 2,0.50 21 321 180' 12 ~ 16 29 610 182 108,000 S~ 3 18 6 {)reswlck 44 128 1 8 2 1 25 ' 23 ,', 2,&00 2. /I 18'6 4. 16 76 8 ' Gordon 170 a50 130.. 44 48 3 28 24 ,290 176 ',. 3 58,000 13 3 16 3 3 180 StelgUtz 60 120 1 0 17 0 613 268 1,308 15 2 •• i" 10 Hi9 11 174 '11 9 29.8 0 2~. 3 16 6 a Blackwood 5 : 65.. 80 3 II 17 0 3170 Blue Mountain South 50 10,716 3,0021'1';i31 15,687 208 6,511 464 81 10 44 4 ,48 .. --3-'lOtl5- 116 2,118 13 mlil 13 2 669,198 69 Totals " --1--1------,. --'-----,---, ------1--1-·-,1---1-- --1------, ------1--1--1--1--- BEECHWORTH: 17 136 14 5 144 34 55 13,100 3 34 17 28,000 3 196 366 Beechworth ,); 587 1,008 119 1,714 190 366 274 195 20 489 18 1 18 8 5.300 a Stanley 40 2 32 /I 39 /I 8,700 3 190 a 19 6 Yackandandah 9~2 600 310 1,832 II l! 6 I 5 750 2 aao Sandy Creek 31 126 158 36,&00 2 3 19 II 366 398 49~ 122 1,016 19 30S 62 37 25 5 58 48 Indigo 35,900 53 II 176 ag6 ~35 1,599 259 '2,093 8 I:.!I 60 10 7 83 8 167 S Buckland 8 3 94 3 40,9410 48~ 3 17 6 3 18 0 Crooked River 164 113 389 Ij66 160 184 43 387 1 9 2,500 /I II 11 0 3MO Mit 36,614 20,364 15,113 18 72,109 9,832 2,623 420 128 522 185 13;-;; 5,770 8 567 6 -;;;- -;;:;;; 6 60 2.016,695 GRAND'l'o;!'ALS I m i-;-I :lli- ~ -;;;;--;;u- 777~ , NO'tE.-The Re " MINING SURVEYORS AND REGISTR·ARS' REPORTSo BALLARAT CENTRAL DIVISION.• (Formerly Nos. 1,2, and 3.) Mr. Ha'l"l'i6 Wood, ltlining Regi8trar. THE TOTAL NUMllER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Total for the Europeans. Chinese. Division. B.ema.rks. Alill.vial Miners ...... 3,511 255 3,766 ". Quartz Miners ...... 454 ... 454 Totals ... 3,965 4,220 = THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Golden Point Lead 936 Snecimen Gully 81 Reilan ... 84 SfnClair'8 Hill 20 Inkermann Lead and Reef 571 Canadian and Prince Regent 48 Frenchman's Lead I 760 New Chum and Sailor's Gully 26 W oolshed Lead 225 Clayton's Hill...... 16 De~.d Horse Lead 182 Pennyweight and Red Hill 20 Essex Lead .. . 93 Ashe's Lead ... 12 SWlLmp Lead .. . 80 Eureka ...... 15 Col: bIer's Lead 850 Black Hill and Black Hill Flat ... 115 Sebastorol ... 80 Little Be . 0 250 MiJkmald's Lead 8 Brown at 26 White Flat ... 56 Springs ... 67 Golden Point...... 82 Dead Horse ... 48 Old. Post Office Hill, Poverty Point, and Inkermann Gully 81 Hed Streak 68 Gwn·Tree Flat 70 Total ... 4,220 THE MAOHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL l\:[mllm. Description of Afoobinery. Aggregate At Work. Idle. Horsl>-l!!lwer of At !Vork. Idle. Steam Eugines. ------~~--~------I------I----i------I------I------I------Stelm Engines, winding and puddling Sii 3 2,987 Steam Engines, winding and crushing 23 3 216 479 Puddling Machines 123 15 Whims ... 10 6 Wheeler's Patent Crushers 2 Boring Machine!, ... 3 Total value of mining plant in the division, £280,268. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,6t. The price of gold during the quarter in the division'has been from £4 Os. 6d. to £4 28. per oz. 4 THE FOLLOWING 'INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND CEMENT CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM :- . . ! Remarks relative to the Name of Company. Where Quartz, It." were Quartz crushed. Total Yield I Depth at which the ohtained. Yi!ide~~s;,ld of Gold. Quartz, . &0., were ob- pe~Ton. tained. ' ---"- Wns ewt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. sT. Black Hill ...... Black Hill ... 5,134 0 0 0 4 10'0.2 1,134 1 0 60 fcet to 180. feet Llanberris ...... Gum-tree Flat .. , 5,422 0. 0 0 3 0.'50 819 818 30.0. feet Temperance ... Little Bendigo ... 70.0 0 0 0. 14 15'66 512 14 0. 300. feet and 530 feet Majestic ...... Black Hill .. . 1,440 0. 0. 0. 6 5'23 441 14 0. 200 feet Sisters ... , .. Little Bendigo ... 1,230. 0 0. 0. 7 5'30. 444 2 0. 520 feet and 567 feet Monte Christo ... Ditto ... '" 900 0 0 0. 7 17'73 348 5 0. 70. feet and 90. feet Old Post-Office Hill Old Post Office Hill 2,1,50 0. 0. 0. 2 21'66 312 1 0. 100 feet and 140. feet Union ...... Ditto ... '," ' .. ~ , 1,5PO" 0. 0. 0. 2 9'60. 180, 00. 130 feet Endeavor ...... Specimen Gully ... 1,144 0 0. 0 2 21'76 166 5 '6 100 feet and 200. feet Britannia ... Ditto ...... I,Q6l 0. 0. 0. 3 3'0.5 i65 18 0. 120, feet and 140. feet One-and-All .... Little Bendigo .. ~ . 270. '0. 0.' 0.'12 0. 162 0. 0. 350 feet Little Bendigo ... Ditto ... .., 20.0. 0 0. 0. 5 0. 50 0. 0. 90 feet I. ; ~ t .. ',', ~ . .. /. \. - Totals, Quartz 21,151 0 0 0. 4 11'62 4,742 9 0 ., ,.-. Quartz Tailings and Ce- ment crushed ;- - Two-Ton ...... Black HilPc, ' ... ,1:,"1,800. 0.·':0 '6 1~ ,'2'66 .. 100 0 0 Surface , • ·>f; • ,C.'IN THIS :-, .1 \ .. , ~DIVI8IONI oz. dwt. gr. : ALLUVIAL. Inkerman and Durham Junction Co. , ?~~o ~~ .. ~ <,' United Extended Band of Hope Co. ,7,490 "8 7 Melbourne and Ballarat Freehold Co. 9 0 Roh-i-noor Co, ", f 6,676-17 12 ',: QUARTZ. 'J;:~! Sir William Don Co. ,6,007, 1 0. Black Hill Co. 1,134 0 Albion Co. ... , 5,424 15 13 ' Llanberris Co. 819 8 18 Prince of Wales Co. "3,525,19 6 ' Temperance Co. 512 14 0. United Red Jacket Co •••• ... . 3,437 0. 0. Majestic Co. ... 447 14 0 St. George United Co .... 3,038 2 0 Sisters Co. 444 2 0. Nelson and Wellington Co. 1,619 16 0. New Monte Christo Co. 348 5 0. Defiance Company ... . -, 1,317, .2 0. 'Band of Hope Co. ,346 2 18 Ballarat Extension Co .... 1,1,44 3 ,8 Qld Post-Office Hill Co. '. 31~; , 1 0 Royal Saxon Co. 1,05,0. 5, 0 Union Co: 180. 0 0 Great Redan Extended Co. 979 18 ,3' Endeavor Co. 166 5 6 Newington Co. ... 900 0. 0. : Britannia Co. .. 165 '18 0" Essex Co. ' , 809 12 . ° One-and-All Co. . '! I 162 "'0.' '0 Golden ]n~ece Co. , , ... 191, 7.12 : Two-Ton Co. 100. 0.' 0. Working Miners Co. ... HH 0 0. Victoria Co. 93' "0' 0' Blue Jacket Co. " 150., 0. 0 J~ittle Bendigo Co. ' .", 50.: '0. 0. .... Arrah-na-pogue Co. 78 9 0, ' " Mocking.bir~ Co. .. 50 0 0. '.t" Total, Alluvial ,and Quartz 49,375 18 7 q The United Working Miners CompaIiy have only been getting gold since the 27th ,September ; prior to that date they were engaged in prospecting. ' , . , The falling off in the quantity of goldobta,ned by the St. George United Company is owing to' uriforesee;n circumstances in the miIiingmanager's department, which are not likely to occur:again. The decreasein'the quantity of gold obtained by,the United Extended Band of Hope Company duijng the quarter, is owing to the drives from the No. 2 shaft having been swamped. In my last report the value of plant other than engines and puddling machines was not given, but the value of all the company's plant is included in this ,report; , " ,,' ',: , , , T~e Golden Fleece Company have been occupied during the, greater part of the quarter·in prospectlllg. I, , ' The N ewing'ton Company commenced raising gola 'only six weeks since. The Prince of Wales Company are not. at present working the quartz reef, ,the present level having been worked out, and the shaft will have to be sunk, deeper before opening another level. " 'The Sebastopol Company'have beeneng'uged in cutting a~main drive through reef. The manager states ,there' is every indication of a lead in the'face of the :main drive, at a distance of 470 feet. .. The Reform Gold Mining Company have'not obtained any gold, in consequence of having to re-organize and to re-open the mine frorP the 8~aft. I. ".. ,-,,, No account'h'as been kept of the,quantity of quar,tz crushed by the Band of Hope Company at Little Bendigo, nor pf the qua)1tityof ~ailing8" crushed 9Y the Victoria Company, Golden Point; )' i,'" Several new companies are about'starting at Ballaratl West ap.d, Sebastopol, and will probably' be in full work by the end of the next quarter. ' , 'I ~' , i .. ,t 5 SOUTHERN DIVISION. (Formerly No.4.) M,'I'. MiChael O'Malley, MinWng SurveyO'l' and Regist'l'a'I'. THE TOTAL ~UMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- I Total for the I Remarks. I Earopee.ns. Ohlnese. Division. Alluvial Miners ...... 1,556 6S2 2,238 Quartz Miners .. , '..., ... 152 6 158 Totals ... 1,708 6S8 2,396 - ,. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBPl'ED:- " Bulldog ... 400 LongGully ... 30 Mount Misery Creek 300 Kangaroo (j-ully 16 Moonlight " " ,., , 60 Kangaroo Hill ' . 40 Junction 120 Staffordshire Reef ... 140 Little Hard Hilla 100 Cambrian Hill and Winter's Flat 185 Whim Holes 30 BlackLead ... 12.0 Sawpit Gully 20 Napoleon and Dogtrap 70 Grassy Gully .. . 100 Watson's Hill ... 35 Spring. Creek .. . 50 Sago Hill 100 Pinchgut ... '" 80 Frenchman's Gully ... 70 Break-o' -Day and Raglan ,300 Total 2,396 Italian Gully ... 30 THE MAOHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- QUA1tTZ MnmIG. Description of Machinery. I Number Aggregate I NlllIIber Aggregate AtWorlt. ' Idle. of Stamp Horae-power of AtWorlt. Idle. , of Strunp Horse-power of Heada. Steam Engine•• i Heads. Steam Engines. 1---- '---1---- Steam Engines ... 23 10 6 S30 1 6 78 135 Horse Puddling Machines ... 45 ]5 ...... Whims ...... 2 2 ...... 5 ...... Whips •...... 7 ...... 2 ...... Boring Machines ...... 2 ...... ' i Total value of mining plant in the division, £54,550. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, o~ may have been, actually worked upon, 8. . . Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 8. The price of gold during the ~arter in the division has been from £4 Is. to £4 28. per oz. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO T:B:E QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- Average I Total Y"eld of Nrune of Qompa.ny. Whore Quartz was obtained. Quartz Cl'llllhed. Yield of G<>ld ' 1 per Ton. I G<>ld. - tens ewt, qr. OZ, dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr.' Staffordshire Reef ...... Staffordshire Reef ... 600 0 0 o 1 20 55 0 0 Comet ...... Ditto ...... 235 0 0 0'1 19'50 21 5 221 Great Northern (formerly the Orien- Ditto ...... 601 0 0 02 4 65 2 4 tal)' . , . Kangaroo ...... Kangaroo Hill ... 1,170 0 0 o 3 10 199 17 12 '" ------. Totals, Quartz ... 2,606 0 0 o 2 14'86 341 5 14t In the Sebastopol portion of the division matters generally are looking healthy, and confidence is strong touching the ultimate success of most of the deep lead companies along the valley of the Leigh from Ballarat to the Durham. The following are the yields reporte!I for the quarter :- ozs. Alston and Weardale (7 weeks) 1,119 Bonshaw ...... 2,520 Great Gulf 2,312 Scottish 'and Cornish 1,131 Sons of Freedom (6 weeks)... 600 The Prince Alfred Extended and Lord Palmerston ComEll,nies are still in expectation of ultimate success; but as yet matters do not appear very promising. There was a small rush in the vicinity of Bulldog at the latter end of JUly, and some twenty claims turned out tolerably well, paying perhaps £5 or £6 pe~ week per man; others as low as 30s. The place is now nearly wrought out, and the whole district thereabout is assuming a worn·out and deserted aspect; not so, however, with Break.o'. Day, where matters look promising and lively. The Elder's Estate Company, especially, are doing very well; and the old company known as Grant and Party still continue to obtain excellent returns. On the whole it may be said that this portion of the division is in the ascendant, and likely to become a paying gold field. . BUNlNYONG DIVISION. MT. Robert M. HaTVey, Mining SurveyOT and Regisflrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER ()F MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Total for the Europeana. Chinese. Division. Remarks. Alluvial Mi:ners ...... 2,020 250 2,270 Increase of 70 during quarter. , Qua.rtz Miners ...... 230 ... 230 " Totals ... 2,250 250 2,500 \ ·THE,TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Watson's Hill 50 'White Horse 50 Durham 750 Magpie 100 Green .Hills 120 Cobbler's ... 100 Scotchman's 250 Long Gully , ... 50 Franklyn 100 One-eye and Spring Hill 50 Hard Hills .. . 100 New Chum ...... 50 Union Jack .. . ' .. , 100 Napoleon 300 Black Lead ... 100 Winter's Flat 50 Total 2;500. Hiscock's 180 THE MAOHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- QUA.RTZ lIUNING. Description ,of Machinery. I Number .Aggregate At Work. , Idle. Idle. : of Stamp Horse-lCower of Heads. Steam Engines. 1------1--.....-----1------;·------1------ Steam Engines n. ... 37 7 700 6 7 88 ' 270 Puddling Machines n. ... 47 3 ...... Whims ...... 30 2 ...... , .~Total value of mining plant in the division, £66,000. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, 01' may have been, actually worked upon, 13t. Number of distinct quartz reefs' which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 12. ' " The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £4 to £4 Is. per oz. . 7 THE FOLLOWING INFOaMATION HAS BBEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE G~LD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- , I • Remarks relative to the Name of Company. Where QUMtz was Quartz crushed. IYield Avera~ of Id Totlll Yield of Depth at which the obtiilned. per Ton. Gold. Quartz WIllI obtained, &0. --.. ~--- tons cwt. qr. oz. dwt. 81'. oz. dwt.81'. Imperial ...... Hiscock's Reef .. . 2,815 0 0 0 8 10'14 406 9 6 260 feet. One-and-All ... . Ditto ...... 2,000 0 0 0 8 15'10 1 862 19 0 180 feet. Totals, Qua.rtz ... 4,315 0 0 0 3 12'41 769 8 6 QUARTZ. In this branch of mining there is no change to report. The claims at work on Hiscock's Reef are continuing to yield steadily an average of 3~ dwts. per ton. The Erin-Go.Bragh are driving for the reef. A new company is being formed to try tlie Long Gully Reef. Wit4 qUll.l'tz yielding such a poor average as the reefs of this division, the utmost economy and the best appliances for the saving the gold must be adopted. ALLUVIAL. During the quarter seven new claims have been registered, representing 149 men's ground. Durham Lead. The National Company are obtaining excellent yields, and have struek some new ground which promises well. A party of Chinese are erecting an engine on the Duke of Northumberland ground in Moore's Paddock. The @aribaldi, and other claims below on this lead, are doing little more than paying expenses; even this enables them to explore the mines, and I believe that hy these means much richer groUnd will be proved than has yet been found on the Lower Durham. Scotchman's Lead. The Buninyong Company report an improvement in their mines generally. Frankl!!n Lead. The Franklyn Company's yields have improved during the quarter. Na!f!oleon and Wellington Leads. The Leviathan Company are still working and obtaining gold in payins- quantities from the main gutter; their expenses are, however, heavy, as they are at the same time driVlllg for the continuation of the Napoleon gutter, to which they now must be very close. The New Waterloo Company are sinking a shaft from which to work a tributary, proved in working the Wellington gutter. [1nion Jack and Tributaries. . The Buninyong New Company have proved that a large amonnt of payable gronnd exists in their claim, and are now obtaining large returns. this has led to a new company being formed to work the Union Jack northwards from the old Pactolus Company. During this quarter the shallow workings have been in full operation throughout the division, and though the lucky finds of gold in large quantities are now very scarce, still all employed in this primitive mode of working can depend upon earning fair wages. S~lY'l'HESDALE DIVISION. _"'fr. John Lynch, Mining Surveyor and Regutrar. THll TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- i I Total for the I Europeane. i Chinese. Division. Remarks. --. --_._-- Alluvial Miners ... '" I 2,030 600 2,630 Quartz Miners ...... 40 ... 40 --.. -~- Totals ... 2,070 .600 2,670 '"'' . ~ '~"1 ~'.I{, ,.,! .: " •. \..... ,'; ... THE'TOTAL NUMBER, OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTim:- Smythesdale ... 200 Carngham :~ Scarsdale 650 Bottle Hill " , 70 Brown's' '...... 100 Preston Hill 100 Monkey Gully and Italian Gully 100 Snake Valley 330 Springdallah '" ' ...... 520 Happy Valley ...... 600 Total 2,670 ~HE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- I ALLUVIAL MINING. QUUTZ MINING. Description of Machinery. , ' Aggregate , Number Aggregate At Work. i lIdI•• Horse-power of At Work. Idle. of Stamp Horse-power of Steam Engines. Heade. Steam EngineS. ,. .. -~ -- _... Steam Engines ...... 58 17 1,520 3 3 40 140 Whims ...... 13 3 ...... Horse Puddling Machines ... 32 ...... ~ ... , I .' . Total value of mining plant in the division, £70,000. Number of square miles of auriferous ground:which is being, or may have been, aotUJl,lly worked upon, 11. , Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the,present time, H. . The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £3 178. 6d. to £4 pel' oz. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM :- Remarks relntive to the Wher.~z was Total Yield Name of Compo.ny. ob ed. Quartz C1'UShed. Yi,tJ~T~ld of Gold. Depth at which the per Ton. Quartz was 0 bl>ained. &c. ------tons ewt. qr. oz. dwt, gr. oz. dwt. gr. Britannia ...... Britannia Reef, 3,039 0 0 0 4 14'08 697 0 0 400 feet. No appre- Carlfgham ciable change in the quality of the stone as compared with lesser 'depths. The mines are looking much better now than at the close of last quarter. . Along the'Main Lead. from Scarsdale to Springdallah, a distance of about four miles, the returns from the mines are very satisfactory, and a few months hence, it is to be expected, will be much more considerable. The Try A ain, situated in the Devil's Kitchen, had, for the last week, 103 ozs. 12 dwts. The Atlas, adjoinin Again, had III ozs. 16 dwts. This claim has but lately got into proper working order, and hdirt in the face of the drives is of great thickness, and the width of the gutter very considerable, it is hoped that this claim will continue imflroving. The Golden Horn, adjoining the latter claim, have had for some weeks back difficulties in subduing the water; but this is now effecte'd, alld the result has been 134 ozs. for the last week. The next adjoining claims are the Golden Lake and Scarsdale Extended, the former of which is sinking through the rock successfully, and the latter, after baling for several weeks, have ceased for a' while. A little to the westward of the Golden Lake, towards the Springdallah Ranges, a party of twenty four are sinking a shaft, and have reached a thick stratum of black clay. From all appearances they are upon a new lead. , The Golden Stream had 112 ozs. for the last week. This is a great improvement upon. former returns, and from the appearance of the mine it is believed there will be no falling off, at least for a long ti.me. T!:te. company .is at present e~cavating a reservoir for th.e reception of ~ain.water for supplymg the boller, It havmg been ascertamed that the feed-water obtamed from the mme acted very injuriously upon the boiler. The North Grenville continue to give excellent ret,urns; they are about si;\king a second shaft, and machinery has been already obtained. The Avon clift had, last week, 130 ozs., and the TIute 144 ozs. Such yields as these are highly encouraging, especially at a time like the present, when the district is not quite'recovered from the evil effects of the excessive speculations of last year. At the Red. 'White, aud Blue J~ead, Smythesdale, there are four companies at work, Harris and party have been getting excellent dividends for a long time back, and some of the others are getting paid. From the Red, White, and Blue Lead there is little or nothing doing as far as the Phcenix claim at Nintingbool, a distance of three miles. At the latter place several Ohinese companies are at work, and, from what can be learned of their operations, they are doing remarkably well. They purchased the greater part of the Phcenix claim some months back, subdivided it into small claims, and sunk a shaft· on each. By their skilful and inexpensive method of treating such description of mining, they; have succeeded in realising excellent profits. ' . ',rhere is a slight stir farther north, at Haddon. The Gladstone Lease Company there have got an excellent prospect, and are making preparations for operations on a large scale, The :Falcon are not doing much. The Gulf Stream !l-re idle; a lease of the ground has been applied for. Nothing further is doing in this locality. Turning to the southern end of the Main Trunk Lead, we find things there less encouraging. The Grang'fnlnJ!: /lav? had, for ~ few we~ks back, a falling off in the yield i there is, ho~ever, no fear 9 of this claim not being able to resume its wonted place as one of the first in the district. The portion of the mine between the present shaft and the southern boundary of the Try .Again lease is nearly worked out, but there is a space of about 4,000 feet south of the shaft still untouched; and as there is a shaft now being sunk and very far advanced towards completion, near the southern extremity of this block, and as the present shaft can be rendered available for the working of the block for a con· siderable distance southwards, it is easy to see that in a short time the Grand Trunk will be doing better than ever. . . The Exchequer have reached the gutter at a very convenient distance from the shaft. I believe they were a little too shallow, and had to open the drive a little deeper. Everything is nearly completed now, and strong hopes are entertained that this claim will soon rank amongst our best paying ones. . The Cape Clear have been paying little more than current expenses for-a few weeks back; but still it is very poor; and, indeed, it may be remarked that the failure of this claim has done more to discourage mining enterprise in the locality in which it is situated than any event that has occurred from the commencement of deep mining to the present time. The Latia Rookh have driven into the gutter. The washdirt is poor, but I am told the mine will pay. The Cape of Good Hope have re.organized, and are now working. .At Derwent Jack's the deep lead is deserted; a few small companies are getting paid in the sliallow ground. Brown's and Italians' Diggings may -be ranked in tho same category, with the exception of the sluiciVg companies in the former place, and thesc would qo exceedingly well had they plenty of water. Their supplies are now obtained from the head of Ross's Creek, where they have dams erected, but this supply is at best very limited, and in a comparatively rainless season like this exceedingly so. The sluicers have held a meeting lately, at which they prepared retinons to the neighboring local bodies to assist them in devising some scheme for the obtainment 0 a permanent water-supply, and referred to Lake Burrum beet as the most likely source. There is no doubt, if the extensive tracts of shallow and surfacing grounds around Smythcsdale and Brown's could be operated upon, with even half the results which the sluicers say they have realised from the portions in thcir occupation, it would' be worth while to labor hard to obtain a water supply; .At Happy Valley matters are receding fast. The Robin Hood and the British (leases) are both worked out. The Volunteers and Grand Junction have been at law since March last, and have not yet terminated; this has had a bad influence upon the affairs of both companies. The Waverly are about winding up; there has been a long trial of this claim, and the owners have concluded that further operations would- be inadvisable. The Investigator have reached deep ground, but nothing'definite has been yet ascertained. The Cleft.in·the-Rock (lease) is paying. These are the only claims now on Happy Valley. . . There is not much change. in the aspect of mining affairs at Linton since the date of my last. The few claims that are there using steam-pow{!r are barely paying, and the Great Britain has alto. gether ceased. At Carngham there is a slight improvement perceptible. Some of the large companies that were formed during the mining mania of 1865 are being dissolved, and the ground is again reverting into the hands of small co-operative companies. It is for small companies of ten to twenty men that the ground at Carngham is peculiarly fit, the wash being rather poor but extensively distributed, and the sinking shallow. When the whole of the ground is again III the occupation of companies such as tliese, I have no doubt but that Carngham. will become as prosperous as it was during the years 1863 and 1864. The British Columbia is all'ain in the hands of a small company, and work is com menced there. The .Alabama are idle. The Black Tulip have made some efforts to recommence work. The Ca:ngham United were partly at work and partly idle during the quarter. The Magnum Bonum are paymg well. The British Standard, on Preston Hill, have just finished the sinking of a new shaft. The General Kossiaski is being re-organizcd uuder a new title and proprietary. The above are the principal claims in this division, and from this short review of their condition and prospects it will.be seen that the division is fast improving in its auriferous productiveness. There are a great many small parties working in the shallow ~ul1ies, in all parts of the division, and, although no formal report is ever made of their receipts, I think it may be safely inferred that they are getting fair remuneration, and that a considerable quantity of gold is procured from that source. CRESWICK DIVISION. Mr. James Stevenson, Minvng Surveyor and Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER 'OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Europeans. Chinese. Tota.! fOl' the I Division. lUlmarks. ,. .Alluvial Miners ...... SOO 650 1,450 Quartz Miners ...... 600 ... . 600 Totals ... 1,400 650 2,050 a. 10 . ~ THE TOTAL NUMBBR OP MINBRS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:-. . '>""" ~·.·t~ 1'" .... "J "I; .~. , • " , Clones :, .,:. :: .. ,,~ ... ,. ; .... :. .,'Z.oO ..S.;uky.,GullY .. ~. 30 Creswick' . 100 Slaty Creek ... 96 Spring. Hill ; .. . " 70 Mopoke I ·100 Eaglehawk " .. . 30 Humbu,g Hill ... .60 Red; Streak '148 . Portuguese Flat. 80 Union Hill .. . 32 Back Creek ... 50 Longpoint. ' .. . ~, . 200 (.Rocky.Lead !" •••... 180 Diamond Gully . . .' 20 Pinchgut ... : . 60 > ~ .'.' " Cobbler's:Gully 50 ,';', • I ,., , Bald Hills .". 50 ...:. ,·2,050 I;.• : .. L . )': •• f· ,_" ," THB ,MACHINERY ,I'S ~s FOLLOWS:-;- , ". ALLUVIAL lIIINING. .' QU.i\.lI.l:Z MmmG• . '~"I " Number L ~greg"'te I Number I Aggregate. AtWork, Idl~ of St&mp, Horse'l!ower of Ai Work. Idle. of Stamp , Horse'power of. I Heads. Steam .&>gines, , :·Heads: Stea.m Engines! ~~--~--~----~I-~--'r-----'I~--~ --~~~I,,------I-----~I------~ Stea!ll ~ngine~: ' 14 5 295 2S IS2 ".610 ; . W;hims " ... ' j , 5 '5 1 Puddling Machines 14040' ...... ,I : '. Cement Mining. .... Steam .Engines .... 2 ,... " 26 Whims • 2, , ... : , , ~ips 3 ~.".' .. ~. ""' .... •••'1. «Total.. value of mining plant in the division, £108,000.. , '.' - . . ";', .:; Ni:u:ilber of'square miles ohurife'rOus grounu which is being, or may have beim; actually' worked tipon,·8!.- , ,'. :'. " " I Number of distinct'quart~freef8 which have been actually provedto'be auriferous to the present t 'tune; 14'; ""'... ',...... ' '. "',' ',I ... " c .. "'... , .1:':.1 /f.hc;price of gold,during.th~ qlt~~~rin the di-r~io~.hll;S b~~u fr?m, £3 18s •. 6d. to £4. Os, 3d. pe~ oz...... , "., , :.. '" .... ;'. . ' ,; .':' ::; .. "' .. '.•• ., t '.~. ".' • " " .' ;. r . • ..'.' . Tint FOLLOWING INFORMATION. 'IIAS •BEEN'. OBTAINED' 'RELATIVE TO THE" QUANTITY ~ OF QUARTZ AND ~: .. "'QUARTi')TAlI:;i~GSaA.ND CE:M:ENT' cimsHlm 'DURING' THE QUARTER, AND . THE GOLD OBTAINED . .• ~.TiiFlREF:liOM:""':"" .' .' , 'l'\ " • .'. A_.. ~e' i ltemarks relative to the . Whero QulU'tz. &c., .Quartzcrushed. Yield of Gold ' Total Yield of DepthatwhiebtheQuartz, ~··N~1f~~~~'.~-.b~~~. _, t", .L_~were~o'bta.ined. \ " ' . "" per Ton. ;', "Gold.. ; &6., were obtained•. , "':~ ",', . ... • ( :1"'; ·C'O , • '. ,. I tons cwt!·qr. 00. dwt. gr. 0" dWt: gr. " '. : ...c .. Port Phillip Clunes Reefs 13,965 0 0.0 7 6'02 5,062 18 12 Greatest depth 374ft. Victoria , ... , Ditto 4,494 0 0 "0 5.. 14'71 1,261 5 0 Greatestdepth 630ft. ClunesUnited Ditto, ... •.• '920 0 O· 0 4 7'33 198'1 0 ,Greatestdepth440ft. New North elunes Ditto·... 45 0 0 0 3 16 8 5. 0 Greatestdep~h600ft. LiviIigston.e ana party,. Cobbler's Gully... , , 98,,0 0 0 4 23'63 . 24 S]2 I Glad ... j S'ulk' 'Gull'''Ean' 'e .,' '24 :'0"0 0" 9 7 1 'I}" 3" (j " .•. . , ' • H'~·'~~'~~~· ~t· ~ ..... ; .. ii~·' ,~ .. J:. , r Y ~IH~ll\. ,I:.. ',: >,'-L l\'~ J:"'l~' II :' ;;, c. ; r" ', ..."., .,1:>', - f'r:' J.:," .H·t;.;I· ,! .. ;, -:A' ~,lTotals~'Q~artz\:: i9;546":'O ((0',6 t7'241 1; 566' Y ·:o··~·.··h::':' 'X,* .... , .'.. :~.L< .'Zir'%.'L·.~ n••.•. ,..•. ' •.t,.~, ..;.~ ')' "'\" "t , .• ~ , •. Lt,· ,~:, f •••:..! .... ·ll1.'· .. • '», ·.:'jL! ;A",' ,-1,', , CemeiitcM.shed. ~.' "'.' ...• ; ,'~-'--'-' I : .. ~ :.: .::'.. 1 Hard Hills Hard Hills 400 0 0: 0 4 7'41 86 3 12 70 feet: Enterprise Ditto 975, 0 0 i 0 1 21'14 91 14 6 Collected entirely from surface and tailings. Totals, Cement... 1,37;··O·'~ '1()'2'1~'091177 17 IS . The impro~ement noticed in m{I~~he;~J~t· c6ntitiiiEi'~:·'fhe returns of some of the large alluvial companies are not 80 great,. but this iamore t4an compensated by the yield of gold obtained in sluicing, and al8~!nS~~k;t;~ii;;ili~trft~~'~:::d~:tC~m~1:~a!~e:~ ~~n:~~lieJ'~ ili~~~~tinu~'work, owing to the settling down of the ground; the company havc'not yet decided whether they will move the machinery and commence a new shaft, , . At Bald Hills, the Great Eiitenaed 'C6mpany'have 'tiotairied durIng ttte quarter 425 ozs. 14 dwts. 2 grs. In working out'the new ground it was found to be dipping, and could not be reached unless by putting in a llew level at a greater depth ;.tlfe directors considered it more advisable to sink the second shaft in Sims' ·paddock and work from~·it.;. in the mean'time a portion of the claim has been let on tribut~ .... employing the company's :na~hLnll.ry. IU,shaf1N o. 2, .. the depth .re.ached is 12.6 feet, n~mel:y, '6 feet clay, 80 fcet rock, 20 feet stIll' clay, and 20 feet III second rock: ThIS IS the first Instan~e In .tl,t,lS division where a second rock has been'struek., " .: .' .... , ... 1,.,; . At Graham's Hill very little wo.r~_has been dQna in mining, thb miners being still enga:ged,wit~, theIr farms, taken up under the 42nd clause of the Land Act. ' On Union Bill, the Rose of Allandale Compa!1y and SwiT1dle'~ party are opening out the grouud, but have scarcely ~a~hed any yet...... ' ,_ . '~'... .' I 11 • ~. ~ • ~ t < ,~ _ ~ At the Red Streak, f)wing: to the threatened litigation ,by the Grand Tru.nJc Comp!l11y against the purchasers of that company's claims, I have been unable to get 'any accurate ,returns of the yield or workings/of the ground; it is, however, known that the purchasers are doing well. Two new lease claims have been marked off a-head of the Grand Trunk Company's claim. The yield of the o~her com panies for, the quarter is as follows :- oz. d~ gT. " Imperial Company, hired labor. ' ': .. " ..... ;1; 601 12 0 Junction Company, hired labor ... 498 14', 12 Hit-or-Miss Oompany; 12 men :::: " , 363 10 2 First Chance Oompany,5 men .... , 50 o 0 At Rocky Lead the Jupiter Oompany, finding the gutter deepening' as it proceeds northward and that the main level will not reach it, propose sinking a blind shaft, and to use in the mine an engine with an air compressor. Owing to the manager's absence I have been unable to obtain the yield of this company. That of th~ other companies for the, quarter is ,as follo.ws :'-'t " Golden Gate Company, hired labor Golden Emporium Oompany, 24 men You Know Company, 16 men, ... Some of the sluicing companies have had a first washing.up, the majority, chiefly Chinese, have, however, yet to wash; one Ohinese party of 12, working at Humbug Hill, have had 150 OZS., and the Humbug Hill Sluicing Oompany, working near Bald Hills, have had 90 ozs. 10 dwts. I At CIunes, the Port Phillip OOlnpany crushed, during the quarter, 13,965 tons of quartz, which yielded 5,062 ozs. 18 dwts. 12 grs. of gold. A dredging machillehas' been erected to clear the settling pool of sludge; two percussion tables-one on Rittinger's principle, and the other according to H. A. Thompson's patent-are in course of erection; a hydraulic lift has also been fixed at the buddIe, the truck-full of pyrites is lifted from the rails on to the upper floor, and there tipped, which is a great saving of labor, and an improvement in eyery, ,w.ay,on the former system. The Clunes Oompany paid, during 'ilieq\i~rtJr; di~id\lnds'amounting to £792, being 8s. per scrip, or £8 per each original,share. At main shaft on No. 51eyel, the w:estern croes-cut has been continued at prices varying from £t'l8s~ to £10 tler'.fathom ;;'and,the ,e'ast(mi, at,frolJi,£4 ,]78. to £5 15s. On No. 4 level, the winzes on Robinson's Heef, north and south, have again been abandoned, owing to the influx of water. On N o:'3'level,' etoping- has been continiIed on the Western; Eastern, Robinson's, and Welcome Reefs, at from 6s. 9d to 7s. 3d per, ton •• At the/soulh ,shaft" on, No. 5 level, the western cross-cut has been set at £3 15s. pcr,fathom/or slate,and £9 for quartz, and the eastern at £6 5s. On No 4, level, driving 'on the western reef, south, has 'oeen set at' £4 15s, per fathom. Winzes have been sunk on Robinson:s Reef, at from ,£8 lOs. to £13 18s, per fathom; also three.. w.ere.commenced on the eastern reef, at from £6 15s. to £9, but' had to be abandoned o.wing to the water. On No. 3 level stoping has been done at the follow~ng prices: E!l8tern Reef, 48. to 8s. :per ton ; Western Reef, 68;; and Robinson's Reef, 48. 9d. to 6s. 6d.per ton. The greatest depth at which quartz is obtained ,is 374 feet. and 244 men are employed on the mine. I The Victoria Company crushed 4,494 tons of quartz, which yielded 1,~f;jl 'ozs. 5 dms. of gold. The Illain shafL,has, bllep. ,sunk ao feet I during the quarter, making a total depth of 630 feet. A chamber has been opened, and"25 feet' drivell"ffomtheeastti'rn cross·cut towards Robinson's Reef; which is expected to b~.soon cut. On No,_ 6,leve.l th~ north winze has been sunk 44 feet through quartz, and the south 'winze"70'feet, making 'tlie"pres'ent 'd'eptllon thir course of the lode of each winze 100 feet, and through payable stone the entire way. The north level has been driven about 60 feet, and the lode' found to be small and poor most of the. distan<)e., : r.,he nortp shaft has als'o been sunk 32 feet, and 'holed.to No.5 level. On the ea~tern boundary of the claim a shaft has been com menced, to strike the run,of alluvial known as the Red Run, !lnd wh~9h ..has b~en found so good in the claim of the Clunes Alluvial Oompany. It is down 75 feet, and still in rock, . which is considered a good indication. Stoping has Qeen done (l.t fro~ 68. 3d. to lOs.: per .to;m, ,T4e greatest depth at which quartz is obtained is 630 feet; some of the stone taken from thisd~p~h IQoks most promising, and is expected to pay very well. Eighty-five men are employed on th~,mine; . The Clunes' United Company, owing to the alliount of dead' work done during the quarter, crushed only 920 tons of quartz, which yieIaed 198 ozs. 1 dwt. of gold. Two winzes have been sunk from No.4 to No.5 level, and rises put up to meet them. The reef is still found underlying west very muoh, and various trials of stone taken (rQm th(ll9we).".part of th~.winzes have yie~ded 4t dwts. to 6 dwts. per ton. A winze h!!-s been sunk o~N 0, 3 level, Eastern Reef, and a rise put up from No.5 level to meet· it. On No.5 level the Eastern Reef has been driven about p6 feet; the lode is from 2 to 3 feet thick, and the' 'storie appears promising. A stope has been begun on the reef, going south. The mullock and air shaft on Robinson's Reef has also ,been repaired and Jogged up about 120 feet. Sixty men are emJ:lloyed at the mine.. ': , ,The New North Olimes eompany~, in' the!Ieep shaft, have. driv.en through Robinson's Reef, and found it 10 feet thick. Forty-five tons of the stone were orushed, and yielded 80zs. Ii dwts. After driving some distance, the 1V0rk was suspended at this place,'pepdingthe sinking of the whim shaft. A whim has been erected at the Whim or Esmond's shaft, and a contract let for sinking it 200 feet deeper. At 235 feet a body of quartz, supposed to be Robinson's Reef, was struck, and sunk in for 20' feet. The reef was then cross.cut to ascertain its width, but after driving about 20 feet without meeting the outer wall the work was I suspended, and the men have begun to slab up the shaft. The' engine and plant of the Pioneer Company, Durham, have been purchased, and will shortly be er!lcted over this shaft: ' The South Olunes Company have established the cOIlllnuitication between the engine and'north shafts on the 446 feet level, and two winzes w('jre,als9, begun at the bottom, but had to be s1,lspended, owing to the influx of water. Two rises are also in operation on the upper shoot of quartz. 'l'he work at the south shaft has been res;umed, and 30 men are employed' on ·the mine. The CIunes Alluvial Company obtained, during the quarter, 1,636 ozs. of gold. The various im. provements and alterations alluded to in my' last report have ,been compIet.ed, and are answering very welL The buddle enables a larger quantity of water to be used without injury, and the slu e. ,and s~nd from it, in conjunction with the water from the machines, are pumped into thc se pool, whence the water is again used. The ground in the western part of the claim is being blocked out; some of it had, however, to be temporarily abandoned, owing to the timber being unequal to the l2 pressure caused by the,washdirt having been taken out to a great height and. width. It having been ascertained that the rough quartz stones forked out of the puddling machine\" as well as the tail sand, would pay for being crushed, a tramway is in course of erection for the transmission of this material (some thousands of tons) to the Port Phillip Company's batteries. One hundred men are llOW emploY!ld at the mine. The Clunes Extended Alluvial Company have re.organized, with an increased capital of 300 shares, making a total of 620'shares, at £10 each. The ~haft has been baled out, and a contract let for repairing and enlarging the shaft from a depth of 114 feet to the bottom, and then sinking a further depth of 20 feet, making a total deptJi of 180 feet. The Comet Alluvial Company have been prospecting, and have found the ground dipping westward to be poor, the washdirt averaging about 1 dwt. per ton. The ground eastward has averaged from 2 to 3 dwts. per ton, and from the prospects washed in driving south, the washdirt appears to be improving. Thq,Ballarat and Clunes Alluvial Company have had different trials made of the washdirt, A crushing of 200 tons at the Port Phillip Company's works having given a yield of only 3 dwts. per ton, the directors, supposing some error had taken place. got some of the washdirt pnddled at the machines of thc Comet Company, which gave a yield of 5dwts. per ton; they have therefore decided to erect puddling machines, and afterwards have the quartz boulders and tailings crushep., if, on trial, it be found to pay. The washdirt has now been followed 250 feet from the shaft. 'rhe dip is towards the south 4 feet in 100, and the face has 4 feet of washdirt, gradually increasing in thickness. GORDON SUBDIVISION. Mr. Thomas Oowam, Mining Surveyor and Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Tot&! for tho Europea.lIlI. Chineso. Subdivision. Remilori Alluvial Miners ...... 76 8 84 Quartz Miners 44 44 ...... , ... - Totals , .. 120 8 128 v THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Mount Egerton 4 All Nations Gully 16 Big Hill Reef 40 Parker's Gully 20 Moorabool .. . . 6 Bull's Run Gully , 8 Greed's Reef 4 Saw Mill Gnlly 30 Total 128 THE MACRINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVLU. Mmni'G. , QUARTZ MmnIG•• ~ DescriptiOIl of lIfuchinery. I Horse.power of I HorB&-power of At Work. Idle. Steam Engine. At Work. Idle. Steam. Engine. ------I Steam Puddling , .. ... 1 ... 8 ...... I ...... Steam Crushing ...... 1 ... 23 25 Horse Puddling Machines ... 2 ...... , ... Total value of mining plant in the Ilubdivision" £2,500. Number of square miles of a1l!iferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,~. '. ' Number of distinct quartz reefs which havc been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time,17, . The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from £3 18s. 6d, to £4 Is. 6d. per oz~ ,. " 13 THE FOLLOWING IN]'()]l.MATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELA'fIVE TO '.l!HE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ ORUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM!- I I : Avem I Rem8l'its relative to the Where Quartz was Total Yield of Depth a.t which tho Na.me of Oomps.ny. obtained. Quart.!! crushed. •Yield of Id ' Gold. , I i per'l'on. Qwutz was obtained. . -", tons ewt. qr. \ oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. M.ount Egert.on ... Big Hill Reef ... 2,470 0 0 0 3 22'69 487 5 0 130 and 220 feet level 8, , ALLUVIAL. Within the last fortnight this branch of mining has improved 'in some slight degree, owing to a small rush having taken place at Saw Mill Guliy, near I,al·lal, in shallow ground. the deepest working not, exceeding 6 feet. The bottom, below which no gold can be obtained, appears to consist of clay, mixed with sand. I forward herewith a tracing, showing the approximate P.osition .of the gully. It is situated 4ti miles from the nearest gold workings, and 3 miles from the township of Lal.lal. There are no quartz reefs i.n the l.ocality. From the appearance of the country I am of opini.on that the workings will n.ot be of a permanent character. The number of miners on the ground is ab.out 30; the total pupulati.on ab.out 40. Kerrit Bareet Oompany.-The claim of this company has been taken up by a new c.ompany, under the title .of Armstrong, Roxburgh, and Co. It is being held in reserve for the,purpose .of pro· curing machinery. . , A. party of eight Chinese have taken possession of a claim at Parker's Gully. These are the only Chinese who have worked in the subdivision since it has been under my charge. QUARTZ. The Egerton Mining Company still c.ontinue to work steadily, as shown by the tables. The total number of days the batteries of the company have been at work during the quarter is 66. The four men set down as working at Greed's Reef are simply prospecting. STEIGLITZ SUBDIVISION. Mr. Henry Davidson, Minilng Surveyor and Registrar. TIm TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS!- Total for the Europe8ollB. Ohinese. Subdlvlaion. Remarks. Alluvial Miners , ...... SO 120 ISO Quartz Miners ...... 170 ... 170 , Totals ... 230 120 350 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED :- Steiglitz...... 168 Morrison's and Tea-tree , 130 Dolly's Creek ' 38, Stony Rises ... 14 Total 350 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOwS:- Dcsarlption of Ma.chlnery. Number A.ggregn.teHorse· At Work. of Stamp powerofSteam At Work. Heade. Engines. Steam Engines .•. 1 4 28 130 4 20 176 290 Flumes 9 Sluice-boxes 48 Dei:ricks '3 Sluices 44 Horse Whims 3 Total value of mining plant in the Bubdivisi.on, £58,000. Number of square miles of aurifer.ous ground which is being, or may have been"actually.worked upon, 13. Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually pr.oved to be auriferous to the present time, 49. The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from £3 16s. 3d. to £3 18s. per Oil. ~, 14 . . .. :' ...',' '. '(.'::.: ',. . . Mining affairs throughout this subdivision have continued very dull' during. the. quarter, but within the last few weeks there hl).s been an apparent improvement. . A,.new, ref!f has bee.n.discoveredqy Quick and party, near tlfe old cemetery, on the road from Steiglitz tq ¥egedith,from'which some, very' good specimens have been obtained; several· other parties are prospecting in'the vicinity. Many have been making good wages at the alluvial diggings in the same locality, but I am unable tO,furnish actual results, as there appears to be a disinclination to give any informatton on the subject. . . , . .' 'On Steiglitz proper, the only company at present crushing 'is the Steiglitz Company, Boxing Re~f,..~!ld,_tl!~y have m;lb' •. bE!~n ,d!,iying the las~ ( " ~ ...L \ , " BLAC~WOOD D'lVISroi Mr. E. ·G. Magnu,s; Mining Surveyor and Registrar. ,'I, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS :- ., .... EuropeanB. ChineBe. Total for the llilmlll'kB. . ",' r D,ivisi~n. .tj .. ----I " .... ' , Alluvial Miners 613 427 1,040 Quartz Miners 268 268 .. \.: , ., ~ ( "il" ~.! 't·;) ;',;" :II.' Totals 881 '427 1,308 ~ . 15 ., THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Golden· Point . 287 Barry's Reef 115 Red Hill 215 United Reef 10 Simmons'Reef 126 Luckv-hit Reef 15 Sebastopol ... 90 Newman's Reef 16 Yankee Gully 100 Goodman's Creek 27 Ballan Flat .. . ·30 'Ballan 10 Main Creek, below Sebastopol .. . 178 Split-tree Gully Ranges .. . 63 Jackson's Gully 11 Total 1,308 Johnson's Reef 15 THE MACHINERY IS AI;! FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL lIIINING. QUAllTZ MniING. -I' " Description of Machinery. Number Aggregate At Work. Idle. Horse-power of At Work. Idle. ot Stamp Steam Engine. Heads. ~~a:-~~e~~ : ------'------ 15 5 90 169 Steam Engin.es ...... , . ... 1 ',5 Water-wheels ...... 7 4 84 ... Wat'er-wheels, for.drainage ... 2 2 ...... Whims ...... 1 ... 1 8 ...... Horse-pow~ Puddling Machines ... 2 ...... Total value of mining plant in the division, £29,800. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have ·been, actually worked upon,2t. Number 'of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 16. : . The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £3 16s. 6d. to £3 17s. per oz. THE FOLLOWING 'INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND CEMENT CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM :- , Average Remarks relative to the Name of ?~mpan1. Where Quartz, &0. f were Quartz crushed. Yield of Gold Tota! Yield of . Depth at which the obtained. per Ton. Gold. Quartz was obtained. , .... " tons cwt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Crown ...... Simmons' Reef ' .. 2,950 0 0 0 1 1~ 239 13 18 40 feet to 11 0 feet Williams Bros. and Co. Ditto ...... 700 0 0 0 3 18 131 5 0 150 feet Big Hill ...... Ditto '" ... 450 o ·0 0 3 0 67 10 0 130 feet Guard and Co. ... Atkin's Reef ... 370 0 0 0 9 0 166 10 0 170 feet Harris and Co. ... St. George's Reef ... 184 0 ·0 0 8 0 73 12 0 30 feet Faugh-a-Ballagh ... Ditto ...... 444 0 0 0 8 12 188 14 0 30 feet True Blue ...... Ditto ...... 400 0 0 0 14 12 290 0 0 130 feet Catherine ...... Barry's Reef ... 550 0 0 0 4 0 110 0 0 85 feet 90 Grace Egerton '" Ditto ...... 865 0 0 0 10 0 432 10 0 feet Hudson and Sons ... Ditto ...... 200 0 0 o 14 0 140 0 0 30 feet Taylor and Co. ... Homeward-bound Reef 350.. 0 0 0 9 0 157 10 0 45 feet Hansmann and Co. ... Ditto , .. ... -82 0 " O' '0"18"'12 75 17 0 34 {'eet Hansmann and Co. ... Ditto .. , ... 51 0 0 0 1 0 2 11 0 34 feet, 10 feet of reef Harris and Co. ,., Eureka Reef ... 49 0 0 1 6 12 64 18 12 Surface to 10 feet Trew hella Bros. and Co. Lucky-hit Reef 400 0 0 0 8 0 ' 160 0 0 Surface to 80 feet r ,.~ .. United ...... :Unite~ R.eer, .. :..... "640" 0 0, I I a 6'72 ,a 0 98 feet Alpine ...... Barry's Reef " ... t" 300':0 0 0 2' a 30 0 0 90 feet ------Totals, Quartz ... 8,985 0 if 0 6 16'40 3,002 11 6 ------Quartz Tailings and Ce- .. , ment crushed :- Fletcl).er and Co. ... Split-tree GUlly.:j.'l.anges , 70 0 0, 9 6 ,01 ,21:. 0 0 • ' "':. ~ ... • I • ~ .. '. . - -~\ ,,, ',~ 1 The reefs in this division,are looking remarkably well, .but, owing,to the small supply of water during the whole of this winter, a great quantity of stone remaips tinc~ushed in the vicinity of Barry's Reef. . Harris and party opened a new'reef adjoining the Pioneer lease, and about 200 feet to the west of Trew4e)la's Reef. It is a well-defined and settled reef, but, unlike any other in this division, it underlies to the east. They had a small crushing of -49 tons, tako'n ~ri:im tlie siirface down to 10 feet, which yielded 1 oz. 6~ dwts. to the ton', taking the whole of the-reef, about 4 feet in thickness. The Cornish Company have just completed their tunnel, on which they have been engaO'ed upwards of twelve months, and the stone is looking t~lerably well. - to... Messrs. Williams Brothers and Company are through with their tunnel, which drains the mine to a depth of 180 feet. They will now be able to get out stone in qnantities at a very trifling cost. 16 . Alluvial mining generally is very dull, though there are exceptional cases of good .yields. The majority of the hill sluicers are very 'short of water. Sweet and party (4 men) are still averaging about £8 per man a week. We have have had a trilling addition to the Chinese population this week, and I understand there are many more coming.' ' . A new reef has been struck on land held under the 42nd section of the "Amending Land Act 1865," situated'about half a mile south. west of the Blue Mountain. BLUE MOUNTAIN SOUTH SUBDIVISION. Mr. R. H. Horne, Mining Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER 011' MINERS IS AS FOLLO'WS:- Europeans! Chinese. Totaf for the Snbdivision. Rema.rks. Alluvial Miners ...... 00 ' JO 60 ' OtherpopulatJon about 15 Quartz Miners ...... i) 5 Totals ... 55 I--~-;'~-' 65 I THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Old Camp Ground (south) 20 Yankee Gully and the vicinity .. . 30 Snake Gully...... 10 J.Jocality south of the Blue Mo~nt (not yet named) ... 5 Total ... 65 Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, ,£80.' Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upou,3. ' . Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present tlme,3. ,'. The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been £3 17s. per oz. The inclemency of the last winter quarter, with respect to ice and snow, as well as storms of hail and rain, frequently caused most of the alluvial claims to suspend operations. • BEECHWORTH MINING DISTRICT. BEECHWORTH DiVISION. Mr. AieXander Alderdice, Mining Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS -IS AS FOLLOWS:- I Tot",1 for the European•. Chinese. Division. Remarks. - Alluvial Miners ...... 587 1,008 1,595 Quartz Miners ...... 119 ., . 119 Totals ... 706 1,008 J,iJ4 17 THE TOTAL, NUMDER OF'MINERS IS THUS DISTRIDUTED i- SEring Creek 112 Myrtleford. &e. 92 Silver Creek 22 W ooragee '" 352 Deep Creek 20 Reid's Creek 60 Hurdle Creek 50 W oolshed .. " 210 Pennyweight, &c ... . 46 Sebastopol .. . 146 Two-mile Creek .. . 51 Eldorado .. . 142 Three-mile Creek .. . 243 Six-mile Creek 38 Totals 1,714 Bowman's Forest ... 130 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- I -. ALLUVIAL MlNING. QUARTZ~G. Description of Jl!iij:hinel'l'. Number Aggrega.te Ntunber , Aggregate At Work. I Idle. of Stamp HOl'lle-power of At Work. Idle. of Stamp' Heads. Steam Ellgines. Head!!. ~=';:'!jg,~~:' Steam Engines ... 13 4 ... 136 2 1 17 34 Puddling Machines ... 6 ...... , ...... Whims and Pulleys ... 14 '" ...... Pumps ...... 55 ...... Sluices ...... 144 ...... , ...... Water-wheels ... 29 5 ...... Boxes ...... 3,100 ...... , Whips ... 5 ... '" ... 2 ...... Boring Machine , ...- ... 1 ...... f - Tot~ value of mining plant in the division, £28,000. ' Nm;;.ber of square miles of auriferous ground which, is being, or may have been, actually worked upon. 24. • Number of distinct quartz reefs which have be~n aetually proved to be auriferouato the present time, 17. The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been £3 19s 6d,' per oz. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ, ETC., CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM. Remarks relative to tho Name of Compa.ny, and I Where Quartz, &c., were Qufll'tz crushed. Tota! Yield of where crushed. i obtained. Yi~~·.;}'ft"old Gold. Depth at which the pertcn. Qeartz was obtained. . Bolam and Wood's Mill: tons cwt. '11. OZ. dwt. gr. Oz. dwt gr. Henderson and Co .... Excelsior Reef, W oora- 100 0 0 3 17 19'20 389 0 0 180 feet gee - I> Orion ...... Orion Reef; Wooragee 40 0 0 013 0 26 0 0 .Totals, Quartz ... i 140 '0 0 2 19 .6'85 415 0 0 Mullock, Casing, ~c., cTUshed:- Stanley Crushing Co.'a Mill: I Golden Bar ... Golden Bar Reef, Three-! 150 0 0 0 220'32 21 7 0 mile Creek i A very marked improvement has taken place in thc prospects of the miners in this division, as until a few week's back it was thought that this winter was likely to be a repetition of the last, and that the miners would be at a standstill for want of the usual supply of water; but the increased rainfall for the months of August and September has raised their hopes considerably, and it is now believed that the supply of water will reach the average of former. years. Spring Creek and neigltborl,ood. All the sluicers are vigorously at work, and speak of their prospects as remunerative. Some attention has been again directed to the quartz reefs in this Vicinity, and several of the old reefs have been taken' up, among others, the Canadian, Madman's Gully. This reef was opened about four years ago, and as long as it was worked gave very good returns, but had to be abandoned on account of the water being too heavy. A short time back it was taken up again, and some stone got out that looks remarkably well. The Pioneer Cement Company, W oolshed, have agreed to erect their machinery on the reef, to do the 'pumping and crushing. Pending the erection of the machine, some very fair stone is being got out above the water-level. ' The reefs at the head of Three-mile and Six-mile Creeks will have a chance to be tried now, as the Stanley Crushing Company have purchased the mill of Messrs. Bolam and Wood, formerly at the Two-mile Creek, and have erected it at the head of Three-mile, where it is surrounded by reefs, and no doubt will be a paying speculation for the company. A trial erushing of stone from the No. 14, b. " Golden Bar Reef~id ~ot ~vrn. out1well, v.il!:,. 3.!iw.ts.,;but!t issaid.. that. th~ greater part was casing'and mullock. The mill IS employed at.p,-;esen~ in crushing from the ManhattariReef, and it is thought that }he stone will- run about! oz. per tonT;:' ," ': ~.. .-'. ,. ,.., ~ ~ . Woordgee. ' .. r; . -... :: Since the' commencement of winter: nllriing has been resumed' here; and the Chinesi/express theinselves' as being geiierally 'satisfied 'with the renlUneration they obtain. Some at the claims pay, remar1rably well; giving as much as 30 to '40 ozs. weekly': . . .' .The reefs in this neighbor,hood arE' paying very go.od dividends; the Excelsior rem:jr1rably ~o. ThiS reet (better known as .Lee s), when opened first,. ,gave the very large. yield <;If 9 ozs; .to the ton. After bemg worked a short time the reef was supposed to have run out, and the claim changed hands, the present holders, however, have proved the fallacy of tlie supposition; for, instead of running out, it has increased in length and breadth.: The shaft is'nowdown f80 feet; the reef shows an average breadth of 2 feet, and continues to look-well. ,-The ·present proprietors ·have crushed-lOO tons of stone, which yielded 389 ozs., ,or.a trifle under. 4 ozs. to the ton .. , . _... ,,' \ .. The Orion·Company.~ave given up.their,old sh~ft"the la~tcrnshin.g from it only producing 13 dwt~·_ to. ,the· tOQ,.. In theIr new shaft they have struck. the reef, which looks·, well;. though only 6 inch'e~ wide ..... " . ,\ , . .' '., ' ' . .~ \1'he stone'bein'g r~~~ from the Lily R~ef'promi~es to pay. A trial crushing will take place in the course of,a few days. . I ' .. - , -": •.. '.' -, • , In Johnston's Lease, Young's Creek, they have not washed up yet,.so cannot tell whether-it will be such a success.as was anticipated. A great deal of money has been spent on this lease, in' b1ll:sting up the tail-race, and building a dam in the creek for the purpose of supplying the claim -wit)l'W,:a~r; as in summer: the creek is almost dry. B010rnan's Forest. \:. . ,. ". ' .. • The aijuvial diggings here will so.on be in the hands of the Chinese altogether, as the Europeans continue to sell out to them. Nearly all the claims held by Europeans have been suspended, the ,late rains having increased the drainage to such an extent that t~e machinery employed (horse-whims) is unable to keep the water down. : I . '.. The Balclutha Tunnelling Company; Kne~bo~e's 'Gully, have not yet reached the r'eef, but they hope to do so in the course of a fortnight. . .' ..' ,,( ,'.. ' •. ", ~'''.' ';;-i- . ...... , ,; "'My~tlifdr'd;-.';;'" ,·,d •• ,'0'" • ., c.,',. . . ~, " . "" 'rhe M;id I,,' ,~, ,,1 . ~ .• • I .' .~'. II"'J .~~ I' -, " ~. 1'- .. . \ ~:;.~: ... " o STANLEY SUBDlVI!UbN. ' Mr. Thomas StUbbi~, Mining Registrar. Total for the I Eoro~s. Chinese. ,tl Subdivision. Alluvial Miliers 195 - --_. 469----' -, .,.; til Quartz Miners .,. 20' Totals 294 195 489 "., ',. THE TOTAL NU,MBER 'OF MINERS, IS THUS 'DISTRIBUTED; Upper Nine-mile , 83, Back Creek 60 Lower Nine-mile 97 Deep Creek .. , 20 Rocky Point ... .• ,64 Nuggety Gully 14 Poverty ".. ~ _':" ." 5 Europa Gully 43 Up'per Six: 12 --, Milkman's Flat 53 I·,. Tot!!!~ , Hurdle Flat 38 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL MINING: Descrlption of.lI:I'&chinery. I·' ...... :eg:>.te ' I N1lll1ber I '.- , At'Work. I : IdJ,.' e.' Horse-power_.'. of At Work. IdJ e. of S'"mp- Horse-powe,rSte En of • " Steam Engines. i Heads.. :l.m gme. ------'------:-'---' '----1"""-==--- -! -•.,;:,.---- Puddling Mills Steam Engine ::: I ~.~ ..~.. '1:: p -,~I-:'I :"0." 'l~f~ Ii'. • <: -.l' t _.... L~ L ..... • With water-power, when .. suppJ,y can be bad. Total value of mining plant in. the Bubdivision, £5;300. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 12t. ,. " 0, , .,. ,." "'..' ~ Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 15. . " . '. ' . ' The price o~ gold during the quarter in the Bubdivisiol]- has been from £3 198. to £3 19s. 6d. per oz.' ," , ' '. ,,' '" ,. , " , " THE FOLLOyn.N,G, INFORMATION, HM BEEN OBTAINED RELATIyE TI~ THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ 'CRUSH:ED D,URING, THE QV,A~TER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- , , -' , .. ! ' - . Where Quartz was I .A.vera~ Total Yield of Remarks relative to the Name of Company. obtained.' Quartz crUshed, : Yield of ' ld Gold. Depth at which the per Ton. Quartz was obtained. I , ., , tons cwt. qr. : oz, dwt. 111. 0;;. lIwt, 111 • ...... Homeward-bound I ... Rocky Point ... 65 0 0 013 0, 42 5 P 420 feet ••• 't Kerry Eagle ...... Rocky Point ... 47 0 0 o 19 0 .4413' 0 80 feet ------Totals, Quartz ... 112 O· 0 o 15 12'42 86 18 0 •• Sluicers and puddlers have been actively employed during the quarter, the supply of water being sufficient to give ful time to the sluicers, and with every prospect of a good supply for many months to come. In alluvial mining no fresh ground has been opened since my last report. . .. The quartz r~efs at Upper Nine-mile ~ave not, up to date, had a trial crushing; they are still ralBlllg stone, and waiting their turn for the milL . The reefs at Rocky Point are'not being much worked at the present time, the yield of gold not being sufficiently remunerative to warrant the proprietors ip employing many hands. 20 YACKANDANDAH SUBDIVISION. . Mr. Tk08. G. Kennan, Minirng Surveyor and Registrar. THE TOT~L. NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Total for EluopeallS. Chinese. , the Bubdivlllion. Remarks. - 1 Alluvial Miners ...... 922 600 1,522 ,. - Quartz Miners ...... 310 ... 310 Totals ... 1,232 600 1,832 ~ THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS ·DISTRIBUTED:- German Flat 70 Osborne's Flat 180 Muddy Creek ... 62 Allan's Flat .. . 50 Murphy's Flat 75 Staghorn Flat...... '" 55 Hayes' Point 20' 's Creek and Range ... 195 Kirby's Flat ... 31 Twist' k .. , 217 Bell's Flat ... 37 Clear Creek 160 McCarthy's Flat 60 Little River , ...... 10 Whisky Flat 140 Gullies between Kinchington's Creek and Township Hills 50 Yackandandah '" •.. .. . 50 Pyke's Flat ... 150 Rowdy Flat 220 Total 1,832 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- • ALLUVIAL l'tI:INnIG. QUARTZ ·l'tI:INnIG• ~~p"onof~~. Aggregate Number Aggrega.ta At Work. Idle. HOI'!l&cof At Work. Idle. of Sta.mp Hors... power ot Bteru:n . es.. Heads. Steru:n Engines. \ Wa.ter-wheels, for drainage 25 15 ...... n. ... purposes - , Water-wheels and Stampers ...... 3 16 ... Stea.m Engines ...... 2 ... 23 32 Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £8,700. Number of square miles of auriferous ground' which is being, or may have been, actually worked .. upon, 9. . . N umbel' of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to l1e .auriferous to the present time,58. The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from £3198. to £3 198. 6d. per oz. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ms BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE· TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ PRUSHED DURING THB QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- I Where Quartz wa.s ·TotaJ. RemArk. relative to the Name of Company. obtained. Quartz crushed. Yi~d~ld Depth at which the parTon. Yield of Gold. Quartz was obtained. tOIlS ewt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Homewa.rd-bound ... Kinchington's Creek 2,340 0 0 1 5 0 2,925 0 0 90 feet TaW Reef Prospectors Ditto ...... 160 0 0 1 0 0 160 0 0 40 feet Ditto No.1 North ... Ditto ...... 106 0 0 010 0 53 0 0 30 feet Fulton's ...... Ditto ...... 47 0 0 2 12 0 122 4 0 80 feet , Markham ...... Ditto ...... 20 0 0 0 6 0 6 0 0 40 feet Bangor ... Clea.r Creek ... 150 0 0 0 412 .33 15 0 40 feet Scandinavia.n ... Twist's Creek ... 36 0 0 010 0 18 0 0 60 feet United ...... Ditto ...... 458 0 0 o 1720'64 409 0 0 100 to 160 feet Sydney ...... Ditto ...... 14 0 0 I 517:14 18 0 0 20 feet Nonpareil ' ...... Ditto ...... 75 0 0 1 1022'40 116 0 0 Twist's Creek Reef ... Ditto ...... 58 0 0 o 11 0'821 32 0 0 0 - Danish Reef...... Ditto .. , '" 22 0 0 I 1510'90 39 0 Homeward-bound, No. Ditto ...... 67 0 0 o 1519'70 53 0 0 I North ... Homeward-bound ... Ditto ...... 53 0 '0 o 17 8'60 46 0 0 'Polar Star ...... Ditto ...... 6 0 0 I 1616 11 0 0 ~ Totals, Quartz 3,612 0 0 1 2 9'13 4,041 19 o I ~ 21 There is nothing new to report for the quarter. Alluvial miners are very busy during the continuance of the supply of water, but it will be very short this year. Quartz miners can do com· paratively nothing towards increasing the escorts, owing to the want of machinery. Four or five additional mills would find ample employment. Most of the miners have not capital to erect machinery, and have been obliged to register suspension of their claims until such time as more mills are erected. With an average, as above, of I oz. 2 dwts. 8 grs. to the ton, I do not think it will be long before such is the case. SANDY CREEK SUBDIVISION. Mr. John W. Beattie, Mining Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS HOLLOWS:~ Eu:rope!mll. Chine.... I .Tota.! for the Subdivision. Rema.rks. ------._.-._,-- Alluvial Miners ...... 31 126 157 Quartz Miners ...... 1 ... 1 Totals ... 32 126 158 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Sandy Creek, from Reservoir downwards to Cemetery (3 miles) 30 Sandy Creek, from Cemetery to Niven's Flat, inclusive (Ii miles) 108 Sandy Creek-Beazly's Flat 4 Lockhart's Creek 8 Sandy Creek, below the Junction 8 Total 158 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL MINING.' QUARTZ MINING. .~-. -- Description of Machinery. Aggregate Number Aggregate At Work. Idie. Horae.=or. At Work. ldie. Horae-cof Steam . s.· °iI=p Steam • es . . --.~ - ..... _- Water-wheels for pump- 4 1 ...... ing 1 Elevator Pumps ... 4 ...... '" Californian Pump ••• I 1 ...... Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £750. . Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 2. Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proyed to be auriferous to the present time, nil. The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from £3 11s. 6d. to £3 12s. ~_ a Comparatively little progress has been made il) the working of the creek claims during the quarter, owing to the wet weather, which precludes the employment of horses and drays in stripping. Damage too, though fortunately of-no great extent, was sustained by the majority of claims from a flood. The Nil Desperandum Company, referred to in my last report, bottomed on payable washdirt, and are almost prepared to commence washing. Surfacing has not been prosecuted to the same extent as during the preceding winter. The only other subj!lct that calls for notice is that a prospecting party is at length engaged. in the search for auriferous quartz. • 22 • • I ~. ",I" l@IGO' :OIVISW~.. , ,Mr ... R. 41'1'ow{Jmitll", j(im;i(f!:g S.'I!/rve,yorl ~ncJ,R(Jgisfl(ar. .", If. ( " '. Totnl for tho I Europeans. Chinese. Division, ------I-"'u'------i---______.Alluvial :Mlners ...... 398 496 894 . Quartz Miners ...... 122 ... 122 I ,. I Totals ... ,i'" 520 , ,.. " '496 ," 1,011:1' :; I " ., " ... . . ; 'r '.' THE TOTAL NUMBER' OF MINIIRS IS TB:uSDIBTRIBUTED:- Chiltern Lead 170 ". W ahgunyah Lead ... 12 New Ballarat Lead'" 30 Perseverance Lead 32 Suffolk Lead ,. 18 Glencoe Lead 44 New Hibernian Lead 8' Lu'cknow; Briti8h Queen, and Clyd~~: Lancashire Lead SO dale Leads 14 Black Dog Lead ,.' 80 Hibernian Lead 24 Indigo Lead 184 N ewcastie Lead 18 Wallace's Gully 12 Quartz :-'-' W oodlimds Lead 32 Magenta Reef , .. jJ ., Mount Pleasant Le~d 10 Higgins' and Attree's Reefs so Allandale Lead 4 ' Parish's Reef••• ... 4> Harrietville Lead 10 Nicholson's Reef ' 4 Cornishtown Lead ..• 8 Prince Albert Reef 4 Devonshire Lead I ...:. 10 Eureka Reef ... ,.,_2, Durham Lead .~ . 28 All Nations Reef 9 Caledonian Lead .- .::. ~ ·',i' 20 Baram~ogiE! Reef . ::: 2 Clare Lead '12" Reefs norlhof Rutherglen 52 Fifeshire Lead ." .,.,. ,- :~i' 6; Warmol's,Reef 9 Robert Burns Lead 18 ':," ~ • I ';. J. __\ r; Lanarkshire Lead :., ' 32" 'Tdtill -: > •• !!: ... 1,016 All England Lead 28 .. ' THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS;- " ,~ . . ! ALL1JVIA.L Mnmm. QUARTZ Ml:Nn!G. '. Description of Machlnery. A,ggregate Number Aggregate At Work. Idle. HQrll&-power of At Work. Idle. of Stamp Horse-~wer of Steam Engines. Heads. ~tea.m ljinOl!. --~- " , 10 9 4 Steam Engines ... 308 J " ~!l, •. ~8~ , .~, Steam and horse-POwer} Puddling Machines , . . '. 58 4 ... "' ...... ~. • "1' ...... : ...... Horse Whims .•. ;, .. 24' 13 ...... -.. ... , Whips - ...... ",\1 ... 25 ...... <':'.1:.,,: ~ ...... " .'~ .,, ... ~ • J" , Total value of mining plant in the division, £S6,5OO. """ , '" . Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been,8,ctualiy worked upon, 2: ' ',!" .,,',.",'..... , Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actUally proyed to be auriferous to' the present time, 17. , The price of gold, during the quarter in the division ~as been from .£3 19s. Sd. t.o· iis 19s. 6d. per oz. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN,70B~AINED·, RELATIVE TO THE QU'ANT~TY OF .QUARTZ ORUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- Average I I Remarks relative' t'o' the . Name of Company. 'Where Quartz was Quartz orushed" Yield or Gold Tota.! Yield Of. Depth at . which the obtained.' ' perTon.' ,", GOld. ---''':'''' QiiaitZwMobtained. , --..---- tOil. ewt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr• Magenta .. . .. , J.ady Darling Reef... 180 0 0 0 16 2'66 145 0 0 50 feet to 70 feet· Ditto .. . From various reefs... SO 0 0 0 6 0 24 0 0 20 feet to 100'feet o-olqen Bar '" , ... Higgins' Reef ... 692 0 0 I 0 5 16'25 196 8 12 50 feet to 220 feet Ditto .,. ... I From various reefs... 77 0 0 0 13 10 51 13 6 Surface to 70 feet All Nations .. , ... All Nations Reef .• , 440 0 O· 0 4 7'47 94 17 (), 30 feet to i50 feet, Ditto , .. ... Victoria Reef ... 537 0 0 0 5 7,-S2 143·0 0 20 feet to SO feet Great Eastern .., Campbell's Reef... 16 10 0 2 2 16 35.4 0 Surface to 100 feet Ditto ... ,.. Trial crushings'from I 58 16 0 011 19'59 34 14 19 From surface to 60 various reefs ... 1______• _____1 feet 1 1 Totals, Quartz ". I 2,081 6 0 0 623'17 724 1713 23 ,There is little ,(!r ,no change ,observable in al~~vial I!1ining, since my last report. I -The continued success '6f the Extended Sons -of' Freedo¥1 Company has induced other parties to register' claims on the supposed course of the lead, and attempts ;ue being made to form companies under the Limited Liability Act. ' The Murray Valley and the Indigo Grand Junction companies (registered) have not yet resumed operations. • :;': ,Tile whole,of the alluvial claims on the Clydesdale Lead are at a standstill, the Black Ball being worKed out; arid the others are' protected by registration suspensions. ,The Glencoe, the United Buttons, and the Perseverance Comptnies have been the most successful during the quarter. , , " ,Although ,water is plentiful, there are,comp~ratively few Chinese at work on the dry l~adB. Alluvial mining, I regret to state, is not improving, the difficulty of raising capital proving a great. obstacle to the formation of new companies to, work the deeper and more difficult ground. Several reefs are being prospected in the division, but no discoveries of any importance have been made. Some of the' recently discovered .reefs, north of Rutherglen, appear to be more than payable, but t4!'l atone being confined to small veirui orJeaders, it woUld be premature to pronounce an opinion. : , " .- , .... ' A crushing machine of 8 stamps, worked by an 8 horse-power engine, has been erected, by whichrthe miners can have their stone crushed at'hand, two~ding the expellse of cartage to Chiltern, a distance of 12 miles. , 'BUCKLAND DIVISION. Mr. Lewis 0. Kinchela, Mining Registrar.. , ,\ ,TRE TOTAL ~UMBER OF MINERS IS ,AS FOLLOWS:- : Total for the :> • \ ~ I Euxopea.ns. Chinese. DivWon. :Remarks. Alluvial Miners .... \ .... 235 1,599 , 1,834 ' f.. Quartz Miners ,... ~ ~ .. :259 n. 259 "1 Totals ... 494 1,599 2,093 ., , TRE TOTAL NUMBER 'OF MINERS IS TRUS DISTRIBUTED :-- Two Branches of Ovens River 16' Harriet- Morse's CreeK .. : ...... 234 ville •..• ., . , ... ," l.. 188 Buckland River to First Bridge ... 451 Harrietvilleto"Freeburgh i crossing ,73 First Bridge to Upper Bridge ' ... '400 Freebur~h crossing to Bright ... ,174 Upper Bridge to Junction ... 112 Bright HEdge to Buckland and Ovens Right Branch ... ' ... ' 105. , Junction 88 Left Branch 102 Junction of river to boundary of division, including Happy Valley... '... 63 Total 2,093 Growler's Dreek ' : . ..', '103'! 1 "I" .:" .' " ALLUVIAL l.,lnrnm. '" Desaription of Maohlner.r. ' At Work. At Work. Idle. Water-vrhee1s on Deep Leads 2 Water-wheels in Well Claims 53 5 Hydraulic Hoses 7 3 2 : {atWork56) {' at Work 57} Steam Engines 8 :, Idle 25J Idle 26 2 I {atWork74} ...' Water-wheels ... 6 Idle 12 ,', Total value of mining plant in the division; £3~,900. Number of square miles of auriferous ground' which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 53. . "Numb~r"of distinct quartz reefs ~hich have beell actually proved to be auriferous to the presellt- tIme,114. .;" .. . The price of gold du,ring the quarter in the division has been from £3 178. 6d. to £3 18s. 64, per 'oz,' , ' 24 THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION 'HAS nEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ, QUARTZ TAILINGS, AND MULLOOK ORUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GoLD OBTAINED THEREFROM :- . Average Yield Remarks relative to the Name of Oompany. Where ~uartz, &c., were I Total Yield of o talne Morse's Creek:-" tons cwt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz, dwt. gr. Perseverance ... Oriental Reef ... 5,009 0 0 0 6 2 1,523 11 5 From surface to 153 feet Australasia ,.• ... Ditto' ... 1,300 0 0* 0 8 0 520 0 0 160 feet to 200 feet Moore, Phillips and Co. M?rni~g Star Reef i 590 0 0 0 9 8'54 276 0 0 Surface to 90 feet Davis and Co.' .,. V lctona Reef .". 104 0 0 1 10 0 156 0 0 SUrlace to 210 feet James and Company ... W oolloomooloo Reef I 27 0 0 1 2 5'33 300 0 Rowe and Company ... Lucknow Reef ... 50 0 0 {I 8 0 20 (I 0 Ditto ...... Butler's Old Reef . 40 0 0 010 4) 20 0 0 \ Growler's Creek:- Gregory and Co. ... Ebenezer, Beef ... i 96 0 0 I 10 0 144 0 0, From 19(1'feet to 220 feet GitcllCll and Company Fenian Reef ". 18 0 0 O' 16 12 14 17 0 57 feet Ovens River :- - McLean, . Wallace, and Rose, Thistle, aJ;ld 1,1l0 {I {I o 14 9'08 798 0 0 From surface to 400 Gale Shamrock feet Morton and Co. Wombat Reef ... 30 0 0 1 0 0 30 0 0 Cadzow and Company Golden Rock ... 18 0 0 2 0 0 36 0 0 Surface Try Again .,. . .. Try Again Reef ... 100 0 0 0 3 0 15 0 0 Relianee ... .. , Reliance'Reef , .. 500 0 0 0 3 0 75 {I 0 Surface Brown, Craig and Co ... Three·mile Reef ... 24 0 0 0 15 0 18 0 0 Buckland :- Paulessy and Company The Welcome Reef 90 0 0 1 12 2'66 144 10 0 Surface to 58 feet The Alta...... The Alta Reef ... 11,312 0' 0 0 7 7'61 480 0 0 120 feet Totals, Quartz ... 0 0 0 8 6'16 4,300 18 5 Quartz Tailings and Cement crushed. i Stev~ns and Company QuartzTailings from 1,000 0 0 0 2 (/ 'loo 0 0 Oriental stone for- merly raised Ditto, ...... Ditto, Old White Star 170 0 0 0 2 2'82 18 0 0 Reef .Ditto ...... Ditto, sundry. at Git- 140 0 0 0 2 20'57 20 0 0 " chell's Mill - . ~~--~" 'T?tals,Q~artzTail- } i 1:310 0 0 0 2 2'56 138 0 0 mgs ana Cement ' --ll:o-I Mullock crushed ." Butler's Old Reef ... 10 0 0 0 6 0 300 • The accuracy of this return is doubtful. , N.:B.-Seventy·ftve tops of tailing. are estimated to p.oduce 1 toll o! mundic, wbich yieldl!. from 2 to 3 07A\ of line gold. A very marked increase has taken place in the quantity of quartz crushed, and the amount of gold obt~ined ~herefrom, this quarter, as compared with the returns furnished to your department for the prCVlOUS eIghteen months. The increase has not been caused in any appreciable degree by the discovery of new reefs, as hitherto no stone has been crushed; in fact, little has been raised from the numerous reefs at and in the immediate vicinity of Harrietville ; but the abundant supply of water now admits of cruShing being- effected at a price, which renders many of our previously abandoned reefs sufficiently re- _ munerative to induce small parties to re-occupy them; in addition, a more economic system of work is now adopted by the'large companies, whereby they render payable stone previously passed over as almost valueless. ~ _ The result of the first crushing from the Welcome' Reef on the Buckland River was regarded with considerable interest, as indicative of the success of· quartz mining in. that portion of the division, where that branch of mining may be looked on as Ii new industry. I give in the schedule annexed the amo,unt of gold obtained from eight days crushing up to 29th September, and, as far as I can judge, the party have now ready for the mill about 300 or 400 tons of equally good stone. The Alta Reef, Upper Buckland, is likewise paying'handsome dividends to the shareholders, though for manYlears previously (since it was opened) it was It ruinous undertaking for all the companies who attempte to work it. The Rose, Thistle, and Shamrock reef, Ovens River, which perhaps is one of the most valuable mining properties in this division, is noteworthy from the fact of the reef being larger and apparently richer at the level it is now being worked upon-400 feet from cap of reef-than at any previous point hitherto worked, excepting the surface stone first struck. This mine is the deepest in this district. Of the ei~ht reefs registered during the quarter, only two may be specially adverted to, viz.-one at the head of Happy Valley Creek, a locality seve.;ral miles distant from any previously known reef, and from which a trial crushing of 4 tons yielded 14 ozs. 5 dwts. of smelted gold. This stone was crushed in the Beechworth Division, and consequently does not appear in myreturn. The other new reef is one on the Buckland, also at It considerable distance from the reefs already known. From the accompanying return it will be seen that the extraction of gold from quartz tailings has been commenced here on a large scale, and with, I believe, very 'satisfactory rt'sults. , A reduction of our mining population has taken place, mainly on the Buckland, a con siderable number of Chinese having left. .A tendency is shown by the miners to leave the upper portion of that river, and set in some ,miles nearer to Bright, which accounts for the fact of,some of the 25 heretofore valuable races in that locality being now without parties to use the water they contain, although the rent for. a sluice-head has gradually receded from £6 to £3 per week; however, when a. more moderate price for water is accepted, I have little doubt of operations being again vigorously renewed on the upper banks of the Buckland. The deep leads here are, I regret t CROOKED RIVER SUBDIVISION. Mr. James Travis, Mining Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINER~ IS AS FOLLOWS:- I Total for the Europeans. Chinese. Subdivision. ·.Remarks. . Alluvial Miners ...... 164 llS 277 Quartz .Miners .. , ... SS9 ... SS9 . Totals ... 55S lIS 666 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED: Good Luck Creek 52 Wentworth River 100 Hibernia Creek 25 Black Snake 20 Jungle Creek ... 25 W ongungarra River ..• 85 W onungatta River .. . 14 Crooked River .. . 84 Dargo River 195 Mount Pleasant 110 Spring Hill 10 Thirty-mile Creek 20 Twelve-mile Creek 6 Good Hope 20 Total 666 THE MACHINERY.I8 AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVr.u. MIlffiilG. QUAl!.TZ MINING. Desoription of Machinery. AggregateHorse. Number IAggregllteHOJ'II&o Atwork.j Idle. power of Steam At Work. Idle. of Stamp power of Bteam Engin••• ---- Heads. Engineli. Steam Engines ...... 5 S 66 102 Water-power Machines ...... , ... 2 1 28 ... Total value of mining plant in the Bubdivision, £40,900. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,48t· • . Number of distinct quartz· reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present hme, 317. The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from £3 178. 6d. to £S 18s. per oz. No. 14, c. T:E[)~ FOLLqWING INFORMATIO,N' lUS, PIlEN OB~AINED RE~ATIVE TO THE ,QUANTITY OF, ,QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD'OllTAINED THEREFROM:'--'-' " , Remarks relative to tho Nama'of Oompany. , 'Whars" Quartz was;, Total Yield , Depth at which the ob~ined. of Gold. , Qnartz WlYl obta.ined, .. -,...,..------.:I'7"""'~ -,-..------~~- -.-'-.' -'."--- _"_- --'"-' -----;--- o!,•• ' t ... : ~ "" .' ton 'CV?' qr. "01..: dWt. gr~"'-' I 01..'. dWt"~" d~~· H ..... " ." Rose and Cro~n... Rose and Crown Reef 20 0 0 1 2 0 22 0 0 40 feet Rose of Australia .•. Rose of Australia Reef 200 o· 0 100" '10 0 '0 '40 feet to 60 feet Globe ...... Globe Reef ... 10 0 0 0 13 2'20 6 11 0 Surface 'to 40 feet Golden Dream ... Golden Dream Reef 10 0 0 0 11 21'60 5 19 0 Surface to 30 feet Albury and Allan '.. Oriental Reef ... 13 0 0 ,0 19' 3'70 12 . 9 0 25 feet Lintoll and Co. ...• ,St. Leger Reef ...' '5,6 0 0 0 13 9'43 37 9 0 60 feet to 90 feet Magenta .•. Magenta Reef 26 0 0 2 17 16'61 75 0 0 100,feet to 130 feet Glen Ora .•. •.. ,Glen Ora,;Reef '., .. , .. ,39 0 0, 0.. )9,i)~'23 '" 3,7, 16, ",0 ,90 feet to 1.20 feet Frank Walsh •• , Frank Walsh Reef.. , "r3 0 0 2 0 16'61 26 9 0 Surface to 20 feet Cocksey and Co, '" Royal Saxon ReefE. 6 10 0 I 4 0 0 26 0 0 '135 feet Russell and Co, ... Excelsior Reef ... 14 0 0 I 0 14 0 9 16 0 40 feet to 60 feet Kennedy and Co. ... Royal Saxon ReefW. 10 0 0 I 1 2 21'60 II 9 0 50 feet Mooney and Co. ... Invincible Reef"-::-: " -T2-~0-"'0' ~'CJ4 Cj" 20 8 0 Snrface to 15 feet Brice and Co. ... Eglinton...... 5 0 0 I 12 9'60 8 2 0 Surface to 40 feet Good Hope ...... Good Hope Reef 707 0 0 • 1 1 18'43 769 10 0 240 feet to 340 feet Jeff, Davis ...... Jeff. Davis Ree:(,., , .. ",225 O,.,q 0, 7, :17~2.8<· 86 17 0 60 feet to 100 feet Morning Star ... Morning'Star Reef... 20 0 O! I 10 0 30 0 0 Surface to 60 feet John H. Conness and eo. John Conncss Reef 22' 0 0 22 0 0 484 0 0 Surface to 30 fcet New America ... New AII!e~icaReef.. " I 28 0'0 0 16 4',29 ~';22 13 0 ,Snrface to 45 feet Totals, Qnartz ... -},.-246.'-IO-"-.0-1-1-7-7-';;-;;-'-I-,7-0-2-8-0 I No improvement' has taken" plactf'in "mining operations in this subdivision during the quarter. The annexed schedule shows a decrease of· J:!early 111.'1.in the numlier of quartz miners, as compared with my last report: There is a slight,iricrease in the numBer' of alluvial miners, which isocc3sioned partly Jhro1Jgh 3. portion ofthose :Vho were dischargea, from the reefs having. aet in to work. t.he ~!uvial at Good Luck Creek, and p,/l,rtly !hrough a small rush 'Y;Wch has taken place to the Wentwo!1th. .n.}ver. l .'~ . . Notwithstanding the large return 'from the John Conness Re~f, the average for the qU:art~r is abont 8 dwts. less than that for the last.".,· ',. .' . , ,; . Work has been snspended on several of the reefs in the neighborhood of Grant, the owners' of the claims having found that, at the present cost of. 'cartage. and ·crushing, the reefs are neither extensive enough or rich enough to pay for working. Very few reefs in this part of the subdivision. exceed 8 inches in width; and although nearly all that have been worked have given a return of over 15 dwts. to the ton, yet they ar.e too small to leave any profit for working, after paying.35s. per ton for cartage and:25s, for crushing. I' ,:" 'J 1i . ~~, .• , ".: '" ' \. Of .tHe reefs lately discovered near Grant, I 'consider the Frank Walsh tp.e,:roos~ promising. The first crushing gave Ii return ofa little over 2 ozs. to the ton. Since thel1 , a :sh,at:t .has:been put down to a depth of 75 feet, the wiuth of the reef at that level being about 4 ...f..eQtdl.!ld. t,he stone looking qui~e as well as it 'did On the surface... . • ';.,,, '".' " Thc~JJnion Reef, I regret to say, is abont being abandoned. The company have-been'engaged during the ~whole of this' qnarter in prospecting the reef, but without success, and have therefore determine4. ~Q exp~nd no more money upon it. \" - ., . On the Upper Dargo, mining operations are looking much more promislng:~dnow that the winter is civer there will in all probability be a considerable increase in the populatiorr. .. The, crushing from the John Conness Reef, as well as that from the Morning Star, has giv:en' every satisfaction to the shareholders. The Conness Reef is about'3 feet in width, and the shaft is'down about 30 feet. Up to the present time there has not been more than 12 men at work on it.. The Morning Star is'from 3 to 5 feet in width~ and although not so rich as the J ohn (Jonness~ bids fair to be a good paying reef. There are abont 12 men at work on the prospecting claim. The Eureka Company have not had any stone crnshcd from their claim during the present quarter. The reef is about 18 inches in.\yidth, and the quartz looks very well. There are 12 men e~ployed on this claim. also., . '. , , . Work is suspen~!;)4 on the Moonlight, True',Briton, Great Britain, G\and Junction, Ophir, EIgQ!,ado, 'Mariposa, Banner of Ulster, Sir Charles Darling, and North Star Reefs. The lllvening I:!tar Compa~y have 00.1y·4 men at work. The reef in the' j)1'()specting claim is a little'over 3 feet thick, and'the stone is remarkaqly rich, " " ."', '-'The Califor'Iiia and America Ree(s. ,ar~ 'both lo~king. well, so far as they_have. been open\.ld;' the foi:nief is about 2 ~eet wide, and the other 12 inches. ·There are only 2 men employed o,n each.~.e~f.,. '''. E~cepting the rush,' before' mentioned, to the W ent~orth' River, I have )lothing to report" conceruing the alluvial mining in the subdivision. There about 100 people, principally Chinamen; 'at work OIl that r~ver, most of whom are making average :wages. " , I .: 'r: *:.\ r r:: .' l.t\ I :.- ' .. 27 MITCHELL 'RIVER SUBDIVISION. ~1'. A. M. R088, Minmy Surveyor and Regiat1'a1'. THE Toin NUMBlni 'OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Total4'o~ the " Europeans. Chinese. " Subdivision. Remarks. Alluvial Miners .; 160 184 , 344 Quartz'Miners 43 43 Totals 203 184 38i THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERs IS' TRUS DISTRIBUTED:- Store Creek 30 ~,Sandy Creek '" 72 MacDonald's CreeJr 14 Morris Creek 12 Barmouth Creek 18 Wentworth River r no Nicholson I{iver ,20 Burnett's Creek 8 Shady Creek 8 Haunted Creek 9 Prospect Creek 30 Tambo River 12 Merrijig Creek .36 Two-mile Creek 8 Tota,l ... 387 THE MAOHINERY. IS AS FOLLOWS: :i'" .. ; . QUARTZ Mi~G. Description of Machinery. Aggregate At Idle. Number H At Idle. of Stamp . orse-~wer of -Work. f~~·~';\',;~!. Work. Heads. Steam Engine. -----____--::' __ -I----I--~-~·-·I·~~---l ------_____ 1.____ _ Steam Engine 9 15 Total value of m~ning plant in: the subdivision, £2;500. Number .of' square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 3," •• :.'_ • Number of dlstmct quartz reefs whiCh have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present tinle, 11. " ,i . The pric~ of g~ld during the qUll!t~r in the subdivisiqnh\lSbeen from £311s. to £3168. p~r oz. , .. I have the honor to report the commencement of the crushing by the Tambo Company's ste!\m mill, at the Store Creek,' on the 4th of, September, of inferior stone selected for the first tri8.l crushing.' The result was stated to be 11 ·dwts. to the-ton. - 1- have not· ~eeeived any further particulars from the manager. The introduction of this machine is expected to give great encouragement to quartz mining in North Gipps Land, and will probably lead to the discovery, at Store Creek, of reefs as numerous as those at Swift's Creek, where machinery is now being erected. In alluvial mining;' nothing of importance has o~curred. The rush to Haunted Creek proved unsuccessful. One has lately been made to the Wentworth River, and consists principally of Chinese miners. ' JAMIESON SUBDIVISION. (Part of Jordan North.) , Mil'; Samuel K. Vickery, Mming Surveyor aJii,d RegiatTa;r. , , ' THE To,'l'A.~ NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS F,OLLOWS:- Total for the Europea.ns. Chinese. SubdiviBiou. Remarks. ------,------1------__. ______. Alluvial Miners ...... 250 40 290 The incre,ase on last quarter's Quartz Miners ", .. ... 220 ,. 2 return is due to the discoveries at " ----.. 2 .0., ", Mount: Pleasant and Cameron's ., ; -.-.7--. - Creek. Totals ... '47<; '40 " 510 I I t}', "~ ... l. " ",,: .. I',t,·- - ~ ,,,,~,~~, -,' '. -" ,."." " • '._' .t.~'\ ) 28 Tmn TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Hell's Hole and Dry Creek, near Banks of River' Goulburn, between Merton 45 SwamRY Creek and Jamieson 45 BenalIa .. ; 25 Mack's Creek .:. . ... 15 Mount Pleasant, Molesworth 75 Sailor Bill's and Swampy Creeks 75, Devil's River 10 Prospectors throughout subdivision 20 Howqua River, including Cameron's Creek and tributaries...... 165 Total 510 Banks of River Goulburn, between Big River Junction and Jamieson ••. 35 THE. MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- i .. ALLUVIAL l'!f:rh'ING. QUARTZ lIlmmG• Description of Macllinery. Aggregate Number of Aggregate At Work. Idle. Horse-power of At Work. I Idle. IStamPHeadSI I of , Steam Engines. HOl'!le-~w,!," .--- Steam Crushing Machines ...... n. ... -~-~-- -~·-r:"''''': -... . Water-wheel Machine ...... 1 ... Hi ... Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £16,500. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actua.lly worked upon, 14•• Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actua.lly proved to be auriferous to tl:fe present time, 12. The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from £3 148. 6d. to £3 17s. per oZ. THE, FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS 'BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUABTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- 'A."~ :Name of Company. Where Quartz was obtained. Quartz cruehed. Yield"f ld Total Yield of per Ton. Gold. --~-- --'r- tODe. owt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr Star of the West ... Company's leased ground, 210 0 0 0 9 10'28 99 0 .0 Mack's Creek Luck's All Company's claim, Mack's 310 0 0 0 3 5'41 50 0 0 Creek Just-in-Time Prospecting claim, Sailor 40 0 0 0 8 1'20 16 2 0 Bill's Creek Champion Company's leased ground, 66 0 0 4: 4 9'45 278 10 0 Flume Creek Mountain View Ditto, Swampy Creek ... 250 0 0 014 '"92 176 0 0 Elizabeth Prospecting claim, Swampy 40 0 0 010, 0 20 0 0 Creek' Trio Company's claim, Swampy 122 10 0 0 8 0 49 0 0 Creek Totals, Qua.rtz ... 11';;-38 10 o 1013 6'26 688 12 0 I have the honor to report that, during the quarter, mining in this subdivision has been prose· cuted with unequal and variable results. The want of success which attended the mining ventures during tlie summers of 1864 and 1865, in another portion of this gold field, has resulted in producing a want of confidence throughout the district which is now severely felt in this neighborhood. A large number of claims nave been placed under suspension or abandoned, and many of the miners have left for other parts of the district or New Zealand. Notwithstanding this general depression, the yields from the trial crushings on the different reefs at the workings have been sufficiently encouraging to lead to the belief that the Jamieson gold field proper will eventually prove important and remunerative. The desertion of quartz claims has led to the opening of new alluvial claims on the Goulburn River, which, though by no means rich, afford constant and prof}table employment to a limited population. . During the quarter a new gold field has been opened at Mount Pleasant, near Molesworth, at which place two payable reefs have been discovered, and on the courSes of these about 40 claims have been taken up. The reefs have every appearance of being permanent, and the quartz taken from them exceeds in richness any previously discovered in this district. At the date of my first visit to this field, four weeks ago, there were about 50 men engaged, which number is being daily augmented. Subsequent to the discovery of the reefs" some a.lluvial claims were opened, in one of which paya.ble gold was obtained. . The yield of gold from Mount Buller (Cameron's Creek) continues regula.r and satisfactory, though nothing of special importance has to be noted as. having taken place since the date of my special report on that gold field. 29 The alluvial workings at Hell's Hole and Dry Creek, near Merton, still afford steady and remunerative employment. . At Benalla 'quartz mining is not being prosecuted with that degree of energy which might be expected from th~ character of ~e reefs ~eady open~d. A crushi!1g machine has just been completed by the Lion Company, but the YIeld obtalUed from theIr tnal crushing has not yet been reported. GAFFNEY'S CREEK SUBDIVISION. (Part of Jordan North.) M'I'. Hugh St. H. Blair, Mining SU'l'Veyo't' q;nd RegistTatr. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- \ Total for Europe!lllll. Chin_. the Subdivision. I :Remark!!. ~--~-.~~-~~~.--~~ .-_._ .. _--- -- Alluvial Miners ...... 100 70 170 Quartz Miners ...... 250 ... 250 Totals ... I 350 70 I--~ TUE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS If} THUS DISTRIBUTED :- Goulburn River 30 Ryan's Creek 6 Gaffney's Creek 100 Lyre Bird Creek 40 Cannon's Creek ... 25 Wallaby Creek 30 Raspberry Creek and branches ... 120 Prospectors ... '->5 Victoria Gully ... ••• 60 Bald Hills ...... ~ .. 4 Total 420 1) THE MAOHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- I ALLUYL\.L Mmmo. QuaTZ Ml:!:nl THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THB QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER. AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- Avemge Remarks relative to the Name of Company. Wbere Quartz was I I Total Yield obtained. Qu:a.rtz crushed. IYield of Gold j of Gold. Depth at which the pelTon. Qu:a.rtz w... obtained. ------to"" ewt. qr. oz. dwt. sr.-I----:- dwt. sr. Golden Gate ... Castle Reef ... .., 40 0 0 o 11 12 2~ 0 0 Surface to 30 feet A 1 Company '" Ditto ...... 800 0 0 I 15 0 1,400 0 0 Surface to 60 feet Welcome ...... Welcome Reef ... 100 0 0 I 15 0 175 0 0 70 feet Raspberry and Welling- Outward· bound ... 40 0 0 0 7 12 15 0 0 20 feet ton Golden Belt ... , .. Homeward-bound ... 1,782 10 0 0 2 7'36 205 12 0 70 feet to 80 feet Victoria ...... Ditto ...... 700 0 0 0 5 3'42 180 0 0 80 feet Hunt's ... Ditto ... .. , 1,500 0 0 0 7 2'061 531 9 0 70 feet to 100 feet GaJfney's Creek United Ditto ...... 745 0 0 0 8 28'67 14R 10 0 40 feet to 70 feet Perseverance ... Cannon's Reef ... 84' 0 0 1 15 12 60 7 0 10 feet Rose of Denma.rk ... Eureka...... 1,866 0 0 0 4 8'08 296 4 0 70 feet Eldorado ...... Lyre Bird Reef ... 820 0 o \112 7'20 1,824 6 0 70 feet t Totals, Quartz ... 7,927 10 o 10 10 '28'9514,859 8 0 30 . The sanguine expectations f9rmed last year as to the probable yields of the qU8l'tz r~efs in this subdivision during the present season have, I am sorry to say, not justified (on, tlie whole) the high opinion which many had formed of the richness of the subdivision. This is partly referable to the unrea. sonable 'expectations formed by distant and even, 'in some cases, local holders of mining shares, but is in a much greater degree attributable to:"-lst, the costly but defective machinery erected ;' 2ndly, to too great a reliance having been placed on the limited water-power attainable, and to the high rate of wages which have long ruled, to the injury. both of employers and employed. Owing to these causes, several mills have until lately been permitted to stand Idle, while water was almost everywhere available as a motive power; and this has mostly occurred incases where the yield from the mine has given a low but steady average, say froll}_ 2, to 4,.dwts. per ton, with a. gr~at .breadth of crushing stuff easily got and as easily reduced at the'mill.' At'last(and'very recently) the'tribute system; which has wrought such changes elsewhere, has been essayed here, lj.nd so. fa,r with the most complete success. This co·operative system of mining is advantageous in every respect, both to claimholders and the working miner, for the intelligence of.,the lntterprompts him to strain every nerve when lI,ia own interests are immediately concerned in theeconomical working of the mine, and then, a fair and honest equivalent of labor being given and expenses reduced to a minimum, the hitherto profitless mine becomes a source of revenue to its proprietors, and the material prosperity of the district is also largely enhanced. I may also instance some of the' older and richer claims which continue to furnish the larger portion of our escorts, viz., the A 1 Company, Castle lteef; the Eldorado, Lyre Bird Reef; Hunt's, ,Victoria,' Rose of Denmark; and' t.he Gaffney'S CreekoUnited (formerly known as the Shakespeare Company); these, by:.;eference tp tl1!l.tabulated returns, will be found to ~urnish the larger portion of the gold of this subdivision. .. . . ' . With regard to the alluvial workings, I have mucl). pleasure, in reporting an increased activity, which promises well for the coming summer. . The upper portions of Raspberry and Gaffney'S CreeJrs . may be now considered as thoroughly worked. out; riot so .that portion of Gaffney'S Creek which ,extends from its junction with Raspberry Creek to its confluence with the Goulburn River. This portion of the creek was neglected at the first, on.account of its depth and general difficulties in the way of readily working its bed. During the latter end of the past summer excellent prospects were obtained, and now nearly the whole of its course is Qccupied by strong working parties, who look with confidence to good yields Ol{tlle subsidence of the Winter floods: Thitv.3'itlso pleasure in reporting that a party has been formed for working the bed' of-the River Goulburn below Gaffney'S Creek.~~The bed of this river has long been known as highly: aurif'-lrous, but up to the present time has only been partially worke4 by means of "wi.ng d~m8" from Its banks (C,hilinmen being th~ principal advimture.l's ,~Itherto); but thIS party purpose dIvertIng the ·stream . from Its course for a dlstance9f about a mile In.length, a highly favorable bend of the river has been secured, across the isthmus of which' the current will be carried by meaDs 'of an open, channel, terminated by a short tunnel. Should tnis ven. ture succeed there will be a large increase in the population, as the Goulburn undoubtedly contains quan· tities of fine gold. The success of one attempt would lead to the worlci'ng of the bed of the river for ll1any miles of its tor~uous ctpurse • . ,' -- WOOD'S POINT SUBDIVISION. I (Part of Jordan l'!0rth.) Mr. A. B.Ailnsworlh, Mining Swrveyor and Registrar. TotaJ for I Europeans. Chinese. the Subdivision, I Remarks. .i-., AlluVial Miners <, 4 244 Quartz Miners 663 ------\----·1----- Totals ···1 903 4 907 e,' ~ THE TOTAL NU1UlER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED;- Wood's Point and Morning S~r 250 Lower Goulbum . '. . 140 Right and Left Branches of ditto 80 Gooley's Creek and Bald Hills 130' ., 25 .. Harper's, Rillar's, and Pheasant Creeks 20 .. , Perkins' Creek and Waverley .•• Emerald claims 12 All Nations 50 Maori Creek 4. Edwards' Reef 4. Bald Hills to Matlock 10 Toorak to Columbia. .,. -,", 20 , , Black River ... 80 82 Movjng po?ulat~0!l of I)liner~ ,~nd prospectors . ''fQ.t~t '..... _. "' .. ~' ..... ,.. '" ._- ... -- "---_ .. ,.- .. 901 31 THE MAOlIINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL ]IInIDIG. QUARTZ ]IImnIG. ~---~--~~-, Description of Machine.\7. Aggregt>teHorse- Number Aggregn.teHorse- At Work. Idle. power of Steam At Work. Idle. of Stamp power of Steam Engines. Hen.ds. Engines. -----~--.------~---- Crusbing Machines :- Steam Engines ...... 3 2 74 97 Water-wheels ...... '" ...... 3' 3 79 ... Turbines ...... ,~I '" 32 , ... Steam Engines, with auxiliary ...... 3 ... 55 41 water-wheels or turbines I 1 Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £60,000. ~'." Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 18. '. I ; ", ,'., Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time; 90. '. 'i The, price of'~old di:uitlg th~ quarter ~ the subdivision has been from £3 to £3 19s. per oz. TH~ FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS, BEEN ,OBTAINED REL~TIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE Q,UARTER, AND THE GOLD' OBTAINED THEREFROM:- Remarks relative to tbe N&JIle of Company. Where Q~' was Quartz crushed. Yi.:fJ:r"&ld ITotal Yield of , Deptb at' which 'the I obtained. per Ton. Gold. Quartz was obtained. ------tons <:wt.'q,r, 0,," dwt. gr, oz. dwt. gr. Prospecting Claim : ... , . Morning Star Reef • 2,400·· 0 ,0 1 ·321'45 2,867 5 0 Surface to· 100 feet Scott and Cherry .. , Ditto , .. ... 2,400 0 0 o IS lS'SO 2,254 0 0 Surface to 150 feet Hope ...... Ditto ...... 1,600 0 0 I 1422'72 2,795 15 0 150 feet to 250 feet Wood's Point ... Ditto ... '" 145 0 0 0 S 12'41 61 15 0 100 feet Champion ... Champion. Reef- •.. 435 0 0 o 10 0 21710 0 Surface to 50 feet Robert 'Burns ... Robert Burns Reef 1800 O· '0 3 0 27 0 0 50 feet Never-Mind Prospecting Never-Mind Heef ... 1,500 0 0 01423'28 1,122 15 0 Surface to 100 feet All Nations .. , ... All Nation~ Reef ... 1,570 0 0 0 6 2'75 480 0 0 Surface to 150 feet 9 Prince of Wales , .. Ditto ...... 357 10 0 o . 6'20 . 165 10 0 70 feet· Blazing Star ...... Blazing Star Reef... 400 0 0 o 10 10'68 20S IS 0 Surface to 100 feet Vulcan ...... Vulcan Reef ... 6 0 0 0 7 3 2 :.lIS Surface to 30 feet Alps Great Claim ... ,Morning' Star Reef 982 00 1 .10 0 1,473 0 0 SOO'feet .. '. Rlty a.l Standard ... Royal Standard Reef 2,700 0 0 3 I 18'45 S,33S 16 0 Sulface to 70 feet , ------Totals, Quartz .•. 14,675 10 0 I 7 6'62 20,014 6 IS The tonnage of the Blazing Star crushing is estimated only. All other;particulara are from the bank or claim books. , The Star of the East Company nave not yet had a washing. up. Considerable.oepression continues to be felt throughout the district, but the excellent returns which I am enabled,to forward will show that the cause ofthis depression lies in the past chiefly. . .The. ;yield ,of gold is over 20,000 ozs., ,pving.an average, per ton, of quartz and mullock crushed, of over 1 oz. 7 dwts.; and taking the miners In round numbers at 1,000, and the average value of gold at £3 . lOs .. per oz., the production will be worth 15s. per head per diem, or much higher than on any other gold field in Victoria, and this without'including the alluvial 'gold obtained, which I estimate at from 1,200 to 1,500 OZB. for the quarter: ' '.' . '" - . A considerable decrease of population, caused br. the extreme tightness of the money market and the high cost of provisions, has taken place; and. while the'number of quartz miners has diminished, the body of alluvial miners has nellifly doubled. Three quartz proSpActing claims, seven ordinary claims, and thirty. eight alluvial claims, have been registered foJ;' the quarter; most of these, however, are under the new bye·laws, and represent only one man's ground. Very few interests have changed hands; and the wants of the subdivision have been' but slightly assisted by extraneous aid. The additional crushing power, obtained during the pas~ q~l!Xter.. ~lr o'nly be felt during that ending with the year, no return having as yet resulted from its operat~~ns. , The machinery for the Leviathan prospectors, and that for the Golden Bar Reef, is on the ground~ and partially erected; they are both to be worked by water-power. All the claims at present giving paying returns look more promising fdr. the immediate fqture, and; notwithstanding the all but complete stagnation in business, the district has never been healthier, or of more promise, since the quartz mining began to be developed. Mining management has ma.terially improved, though much yet remains to be done :iii that direction. . In conclusion, I would c~l attention. to the' escort for the month of July past, which was the largest yet sent from Wood's Pomt, namely, 16,704 oza. , \ 1'1 .' tI, 32 BIG RIVER SUBDIVISION. (Part of Jordan North.) Mr. Penro8e Nevf;ns, Mining Surveyor and Registrar. TIlE TOTAL NUMBER OF Munms IS AS FOLLOWS:- Eur¢pe!l.llll. Alluvial Miners 298 Quartz Miners 56 'Totals 354 TIlE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Head of the Big River 4 Railway Creek and Reefs ... 21 Frenchman's Creek... 20 Jcm Thomas's Creek and Reefs 29 Sixteen-mile Creek... 8 Sebastopol Creek 3 Warner's Creek ... 5 Frier's Creek 176 Enoch's Creek and Reefs...... 28 Prospecting 10 Big River, from the township of Enoch's Unemployed 20 Point to Warner's Creek ...... 4 Ditto; to Newman's ...... 10 Total ... 354 Ditto, to Darlingford, from Newman's 16 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS;- ALLUVIAL J\:£n!ING. I QUAltTzlllnIDm. Description of Machinery. I • Number of IAgg:regateHorse. I At Work. Idle. Stamp Heads I power of At Work. Idle. Number of I~!; ~orse. Stamp Heads. Steam Engines. ---. -~---'I~~: ---I i- Water-wheel Crushing Mill ...... 1 4 .. . at the Luck's-All, War~ ner's Creek I . Steam Mill, dittO, ditto ...... 1 12 16 Water-wheel, Unknown ...... ' I ... S .. . . Steam Mill, ditto ...... I ...... 1 5 16 Water-wheel, Star of Erin . ..~ '" ... . I , .. 1 ... 8 ... Water-wheel, Stade's Reef, ...... , ... 1 ... 2 .,. ~ .. prospecting claim , .. J I I I I .. . Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £13,800. N umber of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 21. _, Number of distinct quartz reefs which hav;e been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 8. . The prioe of gold dUring the quarter in the subdivision has been from £3 168, to £3 18s per oz. TIlE FOLLOWING INFORMATION liAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QU~TER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- • . ! Itemarks relative to the . Na.me of Company. Where Quartz was Quartz Cl'llllhed. IYield Av.ra~ of ld ToW YIeld of I Depth at which the obtained. ./ per Ton, Gold. Quartz was obtained. --- -~------~-- tons cwt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Luck's-Al! ... , .. Warner's Reef, War- 500 0 0 0 2 19'20 70 0 0 150 Jeet ner's Creek Unknown United ... Unknown Reef, Rail· 876 10 0 0 6 10'51 282 3 0 Surface to 80 feet way Creek Hope-On Hope-Ever ... Seek-and-Find Reef 300 0 0 01922'88 299 6 0 130 feet Prospecting claim .. , Stade's Reef ... 30 0 0 2 3 l4'80 65 8 !2 Surface to 30 feet Star of Erin ...... Enoch's Creek ... 460 0 0 0 4 8'29 99 19 0 Surface to 30 feet Nil Desperandum Railway Reef· Surface to 3Q feet ... _2_~1_2I 0_,_4~ Totals, Quartz ... ~,168 10 O. 0 7 13'70 820 18 12 • TrIal e1'IIlIhIng, at the Unknown Companys machine. 33 I have the honor to report that during the quarter. quartz mining in .the subdivision .has been of a very discouraging character, and consequently a great degree of depresSIon at present eXIs~. The' yield of gold from the Luck's-All Company, at Warner's Creek, the Unkno~n. Umted, at the Railway Creek, and the Star of Erin, on Enoch's Creek, as will be seen by th~ statIstIcal returns, has proved highly unsatisfactory, so much so that'it appeared probable, at one tJD?-e, that all would have to be wound up. I have, however, now reason to hope tl1a.t an event so dIsastrous to quartz mining in this subdivision as this would be will be averted. Owing to the poor returns from the crushings of the Luck's-All Company, work has, for a considerable time, been totally suspended. Within the last few days, however, an arrangement has been entered into to let the mine on tribute, for 6 months, on the following terms :-Twclve and a half per cent. of the gross yield is to go to the company, 10 per cent. to be retained as a reserv~ fund to meet contingencies, the balance to go to the tributors, who are seven in number, and who mtend to commence work at once. If the 10 per cent. reserved should not be required, it is to be equally divided between the tributors and the company. . Adjoining this claim, a lease applied for by W. Knowles has been forfeited. ThIS ground em braced No.1 south, ,and a considerable extent of unoccupied ground adjoining. I am informed that it is probable that it will be again applied for on lease by other parties. . . No.1 north is entirely at a standstill, as also is the Ariel Company adjoinmg, who have applIed for a lease, but are unable to carry out any further prospecting. 'rne large outlay they have already gone to has crippled their resources, and has.not as yet been attended with any satisfactory results. The Star of Erin Company have also been signally unfortunate, so far. This company com menced crushing in the first week in J UntIl The results [roved eminently disappointing. The machinery is worked by' water-power, which, being very limite , prevents it being worked to advantag~. It has, further, been put up in a very unsatisfactory mann~r, so that a considerable a~ Vari0llS other leases in this subdivision have been forfeited, through the inability of 'the, parties to earry on work: ' I'may espeeially mention the Nulli Secuildus, upon whicli 'favorable and deeidedly eneoUl'~giIfg prospects have been obtained. , , ' , :' :' The Star of India, ,Frier's Creek.-The projectors are still at work, and appear sanguine of success, but as yet there is nothing to report. It h:;ls been the general opinion that some good reefs would be found near this creek, but as yet this expectation has not been'realisf>d. , ',One new quartz mining company, situated about half a mile froni' the 'township~of Enoch's Point, has been started during the quarter, called the Big River Gold Mining Company, 'They have applied for:a lease. A.couple of'very p'!70mising leaders of quartz have J:een stru~~ -;ithina few inches ,of ,t~e surface, averagmg from 8 to 12 mches. The promoters entertalll confident ,hopes of-success III thls claim', but being destitute of fundslare at present quite unable to prosecute their 'searches: ' The utter want of capital in this district renders it totally impossible for the miners tp test the discoveries they may make; ':' , " ',' ' ,-' "J " """", ', •• "'" _'As regards alluvial mining, Stockman ahd ~Com'pany some time ago'applied for 'a lease of 100 acres, near the llead of the Big Riyer. There was a temporary 'and 'slight rnsh·to,thi~ -locality, but the results, proving very unsatisfactory it speedily eollapsed. ,'The ground is 'very 'wet',' the sinking about 18 feet. '.One party or three worked a paddock of about 30 feet by 18 feet, and only. obtained 2 dwts. To '~ake this ground payable. owing to its being so'wet~ 5 ozs. to a paddock wo.uld be required. Stock~ man'~ party have abandoned the ground, but some' of them are prb'specting' about one lnile lower down the flver. ' ' _, . . ' On most o'f the creeks in this subdivision 'there is no.t but little'doing/and"owing'to'tlie winter rains the Bi~ River has been too high to allow of work being carried on in its bed. A few spurs are, however, still being worked.. Several parties are now- out prospecting on various" creeks, but' no results have yet com!'l to my lmowledge worthy 6f being reported. ' ,. ' , .: Frier's' Creek' has' drawn off the principal 'portion' qf the men 'engaged 'in' alluvial' digging. This creek is now, for the most part, being worked in its entire·length, supposed to'he aoout 10 miles. As a general rule, I can safely assert that ,the majority of the miners are doing well, and in many instances ve.r:y favorable returns have been obtained. One nugget was found 'about three weeks ago, weighing 28 oZS.' 1 dwt. 5 grs., Last week another'nugget was discoverea,'which ';;eigned:h;t t~e ~Ollgp. 16 ozs. 1 dwt., and after being retorted 14,ozs. 15 dwts. Besides these, various nuggets of from 8' to 9 ozs. have been found.,' , " , " .. -', ' , There are numerous creeks in this subdivision 'which I have little, doubt will be weU.',pros'pe«te'd I during: the approaching sumJrter,' and which there is reason to believe would prove remunerative, unless New Zealand should draw off the population, which is' alreaay the case to a very considerable' extent, and which appears day by day,' to the 'people here; to present increasing attractions. It wilIue seen that there, is a 'considera?le diminution in, tl~e population." ,To ~he above cause? and th~ disappointment oceaslOned by the faIlure of the reefs, th19' may be attrIbuted. The great expenses attendant 'upon' living in these mquntains; and the inability to obtain emploYPlent, must necessarily produce this, result; which is much to be regretted, as, after very eareful investigation; I'am satisfied that with good and effieient management, which is, a.hsolutely essential, and the ei;ercise of' the most niinute and careful economy, the quartz reefs in this subdivision may still be rendered remunerative, and that there are yet various. creeks whic4·.will for ,a' considerable, time prove payable. ' , '. , '. ' : , . '. '. ", '.:: I" ,.,.« "..1 ...... f ' ,-. " , I MATLOCK SUBDIVISION. ,:, . I, (Part, of Jordan South.) ,Mr~ A. l!., !1i{nswOTtk, Mining B,urveyor anrJ Reilistra~. THE TOTAL 'NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- , , , , ,- ToW for the ; Europeans. Chinese. S.ubdivision. RemM'kIl. " " . -~- Large emigration of Chinese has Alluvial Miners ...... 334 70 " ' 404 taken place. Quartz Miners ...... 172 ... '172 .. " , , - , " ", Totals ... 506 70" 576 <, , , ; 'THE T~TAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:"':'" Matiock, Thackeray, Alabama: AlI;lIimbra, &c. 30 " Moonlight and New Chum Reefs .. , 8 Loch Fyne' .. , . ' .:: 12 A~erfCldy,River, ,.... , .. : 80 :B. B. Creek and Spurs ... ":200 THompson River ," . 20 Jericho and the Jordan.I, 140 M~~irig population " 52 Garibaldi· , 8 Blue Jacket 16 l '.' "Total . 576 Red Jacket ";.~ .. , ': 10 85 ALLUVIAL MINING. QUAltTZ MnnXG. c· -L~::"':_,- __ ~~ ___ Desct\ption of Machinery. A e t I Numb." Aggregate At Work. Idle. HO":;;.!~~: of At Work. Idle. !of Stemp I.Hol:ll&-power of j Steam Engllles. : Head.. :Steam Engines. ____~ ______..:._'_-_. i. ']{): :.... t' _:. ','" , '.' ' ,.. ·::.,,\~.~"t=-'-.1---1---- Steam Engines :- 'J "'.)'. - .~~, . ·t...... 1;:·,..... 12 12 The Loch Eyne G.Qmpl,l.ny's Crush- .~:.~.~, i J .J .. , ..•- •. ~ • ing Mill - .. The Alabama ditto ditto ... -12 Hi ,.- 12 . 25 The Blue Jacket ditto ditto '''j 1 Water-power Engines :- Mason's OrushingMill, water·wheel ... --.:...... 4 Dry Creek Crushing Mill, water- 10 , wheel Blackwall Crushing Mill, ditto ... r 10 Aberfeldy Gold Mining Company's 1 10 ditto, turbine ; ~I C' Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £20,000., '. Number of square miles of auriferous ground wh~ch is being, or may have been, act¥~ll:1 'Wi:lr~ed: upon, 25. ' , .," - . ,.. . . Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time,26. -' "i:' '.' .'. '" ',~ ;." The price of gold during the quartflr, in,thesubdivision, has been from £3 to £3 19s. per oz. . ,~'f ,l ~. . THli: FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTIT:Y,.9F .,QUABT.Z CRUSHED , -D~~ING'THE :QU'ARTER;'A~b~~~'E GOLD OBTAINBD' THEREFROM:- .. ~...' " '" !: '" ';{ .L .... '. y • llemnrk. relative to the Name of Compan,y. Where Quartz was Quartz crushed. Yietd~ta~ld Total Yield Depth ..t wbich, the ohtained. per Ton. of Gold. Quartz was obtained. , , '1:'.' " , , tons c~. qr, oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. United Miners Gold· Biue Jacket Reef ... .. 2 0 0 10 0 0 20 0 0 100 feet! Mining Company Blue Jacket Gold Min- Ditto ...... 500 0 0 010 0 250 0 0 50 feet to 120 feet ing Company' ... ~""~. - ' .. ------Totals, Quartz ... ' ; 502 0 0 ,010 IS'17 ' 270 0 0 The'tonnage given abov'ef is' ~ppro'ximate only. The cfushiugs are all' that have"(so far as I am able to ascertain) taken place in the subdivision during the quarter. I 'have the' hono~ to' report that in this, subdivision quartz mining has almost reached a stand still; it will be seen that·ofseven mills the'Blue Jacket alone has been crushing. This mill also is now stopped, owing to the heavy amount of surface-water in the workings. As a most valuable counterpoise to this state of things, alluvial mining has shown itself largely on the increase, and though for the most part old ground.; is beingfworlred for the i;~cond and third time; The, 'average wage is >:ery gOQd and above the current rate of laBour. As "a 'consequence; Jericho and' its'- vicinity is in a more healthy monetary state than any other part-of-what-is termed the ,Wood:s-Point district,and·the'quartz miner, unable to get his ~uesJr.?l!:l the various,compap.,ies, hi1s.~aken up his ,hea4-quarters on the B. B. Creek, where he meets WIth a better reward'for his ex~rtions., A .large emIgratIOn has taken place, both to New Zealand and Ballarat; and Matlock and 't.he·towDships on the main Dividing Range s'eem almost deserted. A number of Chinese have also left Jericho and the neighborhood. I estimate the quantity of alluvial gold obtained in the suhdivision during the past quarter at considerably over 2,000 ozs. The I;tumber of alluvial claims registered for the quarter (single men's claims under the new bye-laws) is 14; the number of' prospecting quartz' claims, 1; two water-races and. 24transfers, residence sites, or suspensions; in all 41 registrations for this quarter. ., , t " ,,, 36 DONNELLY'S CREEK SUBDIVISION. (Part of Jordan South.) Mr. John Grimes Peers, 1l!ining 8'11;rveyor Cllnd Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- , EuropeaJlJl. Total for Obiuese. tho Subdivision. I llemarks. Alluvial Miners ...... 60 ... 60 I Quartz Miners ...... 169 ... 169 1--;9-- Totals H. 229 I ... .. THE TOTAL NUMBER, OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Edwards' Re~f 50 Aberfeldy, Donnelly's Creek, and Crinoline Reef 70 tributaries 80 . Boys' Reef ... :3 Independent 20 Fulton's Creek 6 Total 229 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL l\!INING. _c~_~,~~ ~_~ ~ ______,~ Desc.ription of Maclrlnery. Aggregate Number Al!gregate At Work. Idle. Horse-power of At Work. Idle. of Stamp Steam Engines. Heads. r~:-~= ------~- --~.-~- Crinoline Prospecting (steam and ...... 1 ... 16 46 water power) Buctouche (steam) '" ...... H, ... I 10 12 Concord (steam) • H ...... H. ... H, I 10 20 Mountain Queen (steam) ...... '" 1 10 15 Golden Wall (water) ...... H...... 1 12 .. . Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £30,000. Number /of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actul).lly worked upon, 2. , { , N umber of distinct quartz reefs which have been 'aCtually proved to be auriferous to the present time"10. . The price ofgold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from £315s. to £3 17s. per oz. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION H'AS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- Aver e . IRemarks relative to the Name of Company... Where QUartz was Qua.rtz- crushed. IYield o!f::,ld Total Y laId of Depfuat which the Quartz I obtained. per Ton. G<>Id. i was obtained. --~--.~ tons cwt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. awt. gr. Crinoline Prospecting Tunnel ...... 1,179 0 0 o 18 4'03 1,071 0 0 About 230 feet f I have the honor to report that, owing to a want of capital, the majority of the machines in this subdivision have been idle. The companies most worthy of note are as follows, viz.!- ' , The Crinoline (prospecting) still continue to obtain very fair returns. They have been prevented from crushing for about a month during this quarter, in consequence of having to make several repairs to thl;lir machinery. ' The South Crinoline have all their machinery nearly erected, and will, as I am informed by the manager, commence crushing in about a fortnight. I am also informed by the manager that they have found a new reef within their lease. A large quantity qf stone is now stacked ready for crushing. The Independent machinery is now erected, and will be formally opened and commence crushing on the 2nd of October. The new proprietors (Messrs. Cherry and Perkyns) of the Concord lease are at present busily engaged repairing their machinery, tramroads, &c., and expect to commence operations very shortly. The Harp of Erin Company have applied for a leas.e of their claim. They have been crushing at their mill (Buctouche) for a portion of this quarter, and have obtained about 64 ozs. of gold. I was unable to find out from what quantity of stone this gold was obtained. 37 I am of opinion that were more capital introduced into this subdivision mining operations would be more successfully carried on, as there are a number of auriferous reefs which, if opened out, would, I think, remunerate the investors, and benefit the subdivision generally. There are comparatively no alluvial workings in the subdivision. SALE SUBDIVISION. (Part of Jordan South.) Mr. Oharles R. Geoghegan, Mining Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS,FOLLOWS:- Total for European •. Ohlnese. the Subdivision. RemArks. ---.-~------~--- Alluvial Miners ...... 1S0 ... ISO Quartz ~1iners ...... 20 ... 20 \ ------_... - Totals ... 150 ... 150 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTBD: Crossover Creek 50 Russell's Oreek ... '" 80 Overland, Pheasant Creek, and Gumsucker Reefs 20 Total 150 Mining plant in the Bubdivision, nil. . , Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 3. Number of distinct quartz reefs which have :been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 3. The price of gold during the' quarter in the Ilubdivision has been from £3 lOs. to £3 15s. per oz. Most of the quartz claims in the immediate neighborhood of Orossover Creek ha.ve been sus pended, the holders being occupied in sluicing in Live·horse and Dead·horse Gullies. Of the miners working in the locality of Russell's Oreek, about 20 are engaged in vrospecting the reefs known as the Overland, Gumsucker, and Pheasant Oreek, in all of which gold has been ob. tained, but not in quantity sufficient to warrant the large outlay necessary for the erection of machinery. .' The yield of the alluvial gold workings has been very fluctuati~, and!J.S there is neither a bank nor gold brokers in the neighborhood the quantity of gold obtained therefrom cannot be estimated with any degree of certainty. The workings on the rivers Latrobe and Tangil are the chief support of the alluvial miners, but at this season of the year, the rivers being high, the miners are obliged to resort to the tributary creeks and gullies. STRINGER'S CREEK SUBDIVISION. (Part of Jorda.n South.) MT. John, S. Patter8on, Minvnu Registrar. THB TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Total. for the Europei;ne, CIiliiese. I SubdiviBion. :Remarks. I .----,------,~--,~ Alluvial Miners ...... 151 .. . 151 Laborers, storekeepers, tradesmen, Quartz Miners ...... 317 .. . 317 and others, about 140. Totals ... 468 ... I 468 8S TIutToT~L':N.~~~EB·'·~~ MIN;~;'\~:~"-Ru~ ;is·TinBu~E~·:-. ".":- '\'" .. " ". J Stringer's Creek...... ::':"" ':.. ',' ~09':' Thd~pso~ River", ...... , ...... , "S5': Happy-go-Lucky ... ~. . . 105 .' Copper Milie ...... ,...... ' ,.... 6 Girls'Reef and Tubal Cain 16 Russell's Creek 36 Britannia Reef .30 Hawthorn Creek 31 Longfellow's ----.- 20 Aberfeldy' 9 , Black Diamond 8 Red Hill ... 34 Shamrock ... 14 Scra;t-a.bit 15 • . Total 468 ." " i ALLUVIAL ':MINING. Description of Ma.chine1'l'.·-' . Stringer's Creek : Steam Engines ...... r 3 ,40 55 Water-wheels ... " . *2 5 , " ... Happy-go-Lucky ! ••• , ~ ..... 1 15 20 Britannia Reef ... 10 25 Tunal Cain .u; 10 25 i •• •. Water-wheel. engaged pumping only: Total value of mining plant· in the subdivi8ion~£37,OOO .. ';' .,'.1 "' Number,of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon; 7. .(...... N umber of distinct quartz reefs which have' been actually proved ,to'be'IIUHferouB to the present time, 13. ' The price o!-gold during the quarter in ihe's~bdivision has been £3178, 6a.-per,oz. • . t' ,.-' " . ' • r' ~ .... ,'" . : ~ ." , " THE FOLLOWING .INFORMATION ,HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUAN'J.'ITY OF QUARTZ.CRUSREl> DURING ~HE Q~~RT~~ 'AND ~HE GOLD OB~A~~ED ;Hi~EFR'Or:r':~ '" "-'I-~" _ .' " Average Remark•. relative to' the .. I ., Where Quartz was ' ,' I ,Total Yield of, Name of Company, ,- 0 btairied. " QuartZ Cl'Ushed. Yield of Gold Depth at" 'whioh the per Ton. 'Gold. ' Quartz was obtained, ", -_.. - ~--~~--- tons ewt. qr, ,oz. dwt. gr. oz. ,dwt. ,gr. " ' .. ";'-956 "0" 0' Walhailli' ... ••• < No: 7 North,C6hen's' 2 1 20'18 72 'feet ilbove creek :?~Q~~ "0 J!: ,';> Reef ' .. ' '" - '. < " . '~'iever 'l, _,Ir,y .. Idahoe ...... No.2' South, Long- 25 ,0 0 2; I 6'72 51 12 "0 ' 70 feet below surface , , i ' . : .... I ('"~. ~dti\,! .:: ,', t .... " .' .. fellow's ·Reef'" '..... "c' '. .t " .. Golden Fleece ;' .. ... NO,.5 North, Cohen's 109 0 0 3 9 .,S·59 .378.'0 ·0 90 feet above :5JreeJ{ ~--.~--~ .... ---- level . ,. . .,... - Totals,'QUI~rtz ... 1,090 "0' 0 2 4'13'9'1 2,429 12 0 ; I ) . . ~ . . .. ' . .. ., "'.'. I.,' I . ;' .... l·,' I'. .! : Severallof'the originaI-claims in·this'subdivision 'ha,ve beeh obliged to';suspena~w6fk'for various reasons, and a,!4ood many miners have been paid off, The fact of so many mEm (who were 'contributing from their weekly wages towards the opening up of new ground) having been thrown out of-employ ment has stopped the development of the reefs reported by me as having been discovered during the last quarter. ,_._.~ ____ ._ ----.----- . Since the 1st of July 6 prospecting elaims have been registered, and since the 1st of the present month 14 claims have been suspended from work for a period of 3 months . . ',:r,l ... On Longfellow's, Black j)iamond, and Slwrifellow's Line of Reefs. 'The prospectors of'the Longfellow's' Reef are driving a tunnel to meet their shaft where the main ree(has been discovered, and have made arrangements for machinery to be erected on their ground by the 1st January, 1867. . The Idahoe Company, No.2 South, have had a trial crushing of 20 tons of quartz, which yielded 51 ozs. 12 dwts. of gold. . , The other claims on this line are at work. Black Diamond Prospecting claim.-The men have found several rich leaders, but have not yet come upon the main reef. . The S~ortfellow's Reef Company, which is supposed to be on a continuation of the Longfellow's and Black DIamond reefs, have found gold-bearing quartz at a depth of 100 feet, but from want of money have been obliged to suspend operations •. Britannia Line of Reif. The prospectors have got theil: battery of 10 stamps completed, and employ six men sinking for the reef at a lower level. ' " , The Palmerston Company have been obliged to suspend work, on account of the influx of water and want of machinery. " '. .,Tubal (Jain and Vulcan Ree,fo. ' The engine of the Tubal Cain Company is nearly completed. Two hundred tons of good stone have 'been got out. ' The Vulcan Company are, at a standstilll from want of immediate funds. The claims on the Fulton's Creek are suspended. . The Shamrock and Scrat-a-bit Reifs are being vigorously worked; arrangements for machinery have been made • .' Happy-go-Lucky. The prospecting ciaim is the only one in this locality at work; all the others have been sus· pended. . . The drawback to this subdivision is too little capital• .. "",' OMEO CE~TRAL SUBDIVISION. M1'. W. -Phipp8, Mining Regi8t1'ar. THE TqTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Total for the .. Europeans. Cblnestl. Subdivision • ReIDa.rkll. Alluvial Miners ...... 300 250 550 Quartz Miners ...... 45. ... 45 " , , .. Totals 845 250 595 ... ,' .. " • = I TEE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS.. THUS DISTRIBUTED:- New Rush Creek, Upper Livingstone 15 River Tambo ... 30 Livingstone Creek .. : ... .•. 65 Swift's Creek ... 225 Cobungara and Upper Mitta-mitta River... .10 Cudgewah Creek, Upper Murray 25 Mitta-mitta· River, below Cobungara to Wombat Creek 25 Total 595 Wombat Creek 200 . ; THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:~ ALLt1VU.L MINING. " QUABTZ Mnl"ING. Description of MMbinery. .. , f" nt 1 . .' ~ Aggr'ega.te Number Aggregate At Work. Idle. Hors... ~wer of At Work. Idle. of Stamp Horse.power of Steam gilles. Heads. Steam Engine .. ----- Californian Pumps and Wheels ••• 20 5 ... '" ...... • : 1 .. Sluice-boxes ...... 500 50 ...... 1.\ ... '" I .. , Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £1,050. " Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 5. . NUlllber of distinct quartz reefs which have ,been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 15. J ' ... t,.·· 'I.' , " .-" ...... ' , The pride of gold dUring ilie quarter in the subdiVision has been from £8 7s. 6d. to £3178. 6d. per oz. 40 Since Jast quarter sev.en more quartz leases have been applied for at Swift's Creek, and are now unde~ survey .. The uncertam state of the entrance of the Gipps Land Lakes has delayed the arrival of C~UShl?~ J?Jachmery~ but all, or nearly all, the gear for a mill carrying .15 head of stamps to crush for SIX adJOlmng lenses IS no~' on the ground, and will be at work in a few weeks; arrangements are being made for two other machmes to follow for other leases, so that the value of the reefs in this remote and little known gold field will soon be proved. I ?~ve nothing new ~o report of an~ ~ther part of this subdivision; and except a slight decrease on the LIVIngstone, and an mcrease at SWIft s Creek, there is no change in the popUlation. SNOWY CREEK SUBDIVISION. Mr. Andrew Trench, MVning Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Total for the I Europeans. Chinese. SubdiviaiQn. Remarks. -~---~-----:----~ ------1------Alluvial Miners 337 110 447 . Quartz Miners ... # -I Totals 337 no. 447 I -.,...... -"" .... ,.-,...:~,~--..,....".,..~,,------.... _------ THE TOTAL NUMBER OF ,MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED!- Junction of Snowy Creek and NEtta- Thunder-and.Lightning Creek ... 295 mitta River to Sandy Cre,ek __ _ 30 Mitta.mitta River, from Snowy Creek Granite Flat 90 to Womba~ Creek 32 Total 447 TilE MACHINERY 18 AS FOLLOWS :- .. .ALLUVIAL lIiINDIG. QUARTZ MINING. Description of lIfachinery. I . i Number of Aggregate Horse- Aggregate Horee· At Work. Idle. Stamp Heads.I' powero! Steam At Work. Idle. s=~:fs. power of Stea.m . Engine•• Engines. • __ ~ __ o --.--~-----~---~--~ ------~--- Californian Pumps and Wheels 10- 1 ...... , ... I Sluice-boxes ... ••. ,2,000 ! ...... I ...... Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £2,100. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or 'may have been, actually, worked upon,2!. - Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually pl,'oved to be auriferous to the present time, 3. The price of gold during the quarter in ,the subdivision has been from £3 5s. to £3 128. per oz. I hav~ the honor to report that very little alteration has taken place in the general aspect of mining affairs in this subdivision since the qa,te of my last report. There was a small rush to a branch of Snowy Creek, and although payable prospe~ts were obtained on first trial, still when the prosrectors got into the bed of the creek they found that It would not pay, so I believe they have abandoned it. . On Granite Flat there is a slight improvement. Claims have been taken up on the hills and are paying very good wages. . There is a slight improvement on Thunder.and-Lightning Creek, owing to the few fine days we have had lately, and parties are getting into their claims in the bed of the creek again. On the Mitta.mitta River portion of this B~bdivision mining affairs are not looking so bright as at the date of my last report. 41 SANDHURST MINING DISTRICT. . KA:NGAROO FLAT DIVISION. Mr. N. G. Stephens, Mining RegistTaro THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Total for the Remarks. Europeans. ohmese. Division. ----~"- --~---.-- --~- Alluvial Miners ...... 750 560 1,310 Quartz Miners ...... I,'''' ... I 1,340 ----,.--~- Totals , ... 2,090 I 560 2,650 THE TOl'AL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED: Bendigo Flat, including Sand hurst and Irishtown 920 lronbll.l'k 200. Long Gully...... 290 Victoria Reef and New Chum .. . 240 Crusoe Gully and neighborhood .... 100 Lockwood and Shelbourne ... 100 Kangaroo Flat 100 Golden Square 120 Golden GUlly 200 Sheepshead ... 130 Spring Gully 60 Back Creek...... 80 Milkmaid's Flat and Axe Creek 110 Total 2,650 TnE MAOHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ! ALLUVIAL lIrDrDro. I QUARTZ lIrDrDro. DeB Total value of mining plant in the division, £163,900. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,7. . Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 80. - The price of gold during the quarter in the divi~ion has been £3' 17s. 6d. per oz. No. 14, e. 42 THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTUNED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURiNG THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM :- Name of Compa.ny. Where Quartz was I I Average Total Yield of Remarks relative to the Depth obtained. , Quartz crushed, Yield of Gold at whieh the Quartz w.s , per Ton. Gold. obtained, &e. " '" tons cwt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Hustler's Reef, ... Hustler's Reef ... 393_0.,0. _.1 ,0 20'94 410 3 0 320'feet Comet ... Ditto ...... 2,794 0 0 0 9 8'36 ,1,306 0 0 Various depths Denmark ... Various reefs ... 203 0 0 0 2 O'll 20 7 . 0 All near surface Hercules ... Hercules line, Vic- 400 0 O. 0 6 21'60 138 0 0 350 feet toria Reef Rae and Co. ... Various t:eefs (prin- 4,030 0 0 1 2 2'71 -4,456 0 0 Various depths cipaIIy Victoria) Indefatigable ... Specimen Hill prin- -1,940 0 0 ' 0' 2 15'77 2'57 15 12 Ditto cipally Union ...... Sheep shead princi- 249 0 0 0 4 4'91 52 7 0 Ditto paHy Metropolitan Various reefs 1,800 0 0 I 0 o ' 1,800 0 0 Ditto ...... ! Alliance' ... 'Ditto ... . < ~ - •• 380 0.,0 0 8 15'15 .164 0 0 Ditto F,razer and Co. ... Ditto ...... 1,523 0 0 o 16 6'68 ' 1,239 12 10 Ditto Glasgow Reef ... Ditto '" '" 1,S81 0 0 0 4 20'27 455 13 0 Ditto Ramrod Reef ... Ramrod,N ankin, and 225 0 0 ~ I 0 9'97 229 13 12 Surface to 35 feet Kelso Reefs , Adelaide Gully ... Various reefs ... i 644 :0 0 o 10 22'01 . 351 10 15. Various depths Bird's Reef ... Ditto (principally- 1,659 0 0 0 3 13'44 . 295 6 12 Ditto Bird's Reef) - , , , Break-o'-Day ... Brown's Reef ... .66 0 0 1 1 6'54 70 4 0 160 feet level' Alexander Reef ... Alexander and Wal- 165, 0 0 o 13 IS'15 1)3 9 IS Various depths laby reefs '. Great Extended ... Axe Creek ... 273 0 0 0 3 12'39 4S 0 0 Ditto H.- Koch (Pioneer Various reefs ... 6,972 0 0 0 S 8'90 2,91S 2 IS Ditto engine) ----- I Totals, Qnartz ... 25,597 0 0 ,0 tl 4'64114,326 ~ Pnv,.t~ com:panies are estimated to have' crushed say 8,000 tons, from Which they oh~ined about 7,000 ozs. of gold. They object • to give retmrns. _, I have the honor to report that during the quarter the saI\le activity in quartz mining whieh 1 menti other m,merals as seriously interferes with amalgamation, and are believed to cause the escape of a. great deal of fine gold. In the Garibaldi Oompany's claim, the farthest south, the tributors have lately found some good stone. N(frth Whip Reef. The claimholders on 1.b.i.s ~e a~ actively ~t work, excellent' yields having been obtained, Don Juan Reef. On this reef the prospectors have come on some very payable.looking quartz, and the whole line is, i,n consequence, expected soon to be in full work. ' , ' '. . • Sal'nia Reef. Rich stone was found in one of the claims on this line a few days since. Wallaby Reef. . The prospects of miners on this reef are' improving, one lot of quartz, about 30 tons, having averaged about 3 ozs. of gold per ton, ALLUVIAL MINING. Generally there is no change worth reporting. One :(lrospecting claim has been applied for at the Upper Sheepwash, the applicants stating their stuff Ylelded about 1 oz. to the lda~, In 14 feet pinking. A small rush also took place in Adelaide Gully last week. EAGLERAWE: DIVISION. M'l'. Go W. Doni, Mim,1tng.Burveyor ana, Registrar. I THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- !I Europeans. , Chinese. TotalDivision. for the I Remarks. A-n-uVl-'-al-M-in-e-rs-'.- ..---.- ..---.- .. 1 3,170 500 3,670 :------ Quartz Miners...... 1,188... 1,188 I__ ~- ~,~_~~ _,__ , Totals ... I 4,358 500' 4,8!l8 I . . THE TOTAL NmmER OF MINERS· IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- St. Mungo and ::b~vonshire 91 Nelson '" 59 Windmill Hill Reef 120 Lightning Reef 2 Johnson's Reef 140 American Reef 17 Robert Burns Reef 30 Jackass Reef 2 Eagle Reef ... 30 Sophia Reef ". 42 Comet Reef ,'. 28 Agnew Reef , ... 8 Red Hill Reef 12 Peter the Great Reef 2 East Johnson's Reef ... 18 Albion Reef ...... 4 • Catherine Reef 93 Eaglehawk 900 Star Reef 48 Myers' Flat ... 350 Specimen Hill Reef ... 80 Dead Horse Flat '200 Moon Reef ...... 36 California Gully 300 Clarence Reef 41 Pottery Flat ... 250 Dead Horse Roeef, Napoleon Gully 19 Bendigo Flat ... 230 Dead Horse Reef, Peg.leg ' ... ·30, White Hills ...... 240 Prince of Wales Reef 13 Whipstick 140 Moonlight Reef 8 Huntly 380 Bignall's Reef 2 Epsom '" 300 Snob's IIill , .. 56 Ironstone Hm 200 Wetherall Reef 48 Sydney Flat ... 60 Black Forest Reef 10 Red Jacket Flat 30 Shellback Reef 16 Telegraph Lead 90 Red Jacket Reef 2 ~edan 81 'fotal ••• 4,858 44 THE MAOHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS :-'- ALLUVIAL M1.N:INa. QUARTZ M1.N:INo. Deseription of MlIllhinery, . INumber Aggregate I Number! Aggregate AtWork,! Idle. lofStamP Horae-power'of At Work. Idle. of Stamp I Horse·c of Heads, Steam Engines" Heads, i Steam 'os. .. ----~ ~-.-.- -_ ----- Crushing and Pumping ... 3 ... 24 - 36 2 ... 30 58 Pumping,Winding, and Crushing 4 ... 49 70 I ... 24 45 Crushing ... .•. .. . 15 2 172 211 9 I 162 206 Crushing and Winding ... . I ... 8 10 I I 21 ' 22 ~ump~ng and Winding .. . 2 ...... 17 8 2 154 ~ lumpmg...... I ...... 10 ...... , h • Baling and Winding... '" I .. , ... 14 ... I ... 7 B3:lin~, Winding, and Crushing 2 ... 12 22 ...... I ...... I Wmdmg ...... '" ...... 2 ...... 17 Horse Puddling Machines ... 165 I 26 .,...... I ...... Total value of mining plant in the division; £150,000. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,6t. . Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 67. The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been £3 17s. 6d. per oz. THE FOL'LOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELA.TIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND CEMENT CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- . Remarks relative to th• I Where ~UArtz, &e., were \ Averafi:, Tolal Yield of Depili ..t which the Name of Company. I 0 lained. Quartz crushed. Yield of Id Gold. QUl>ftz, &e., were ob per Ton. tained. , tons cwt. qr. oz.dwt. gr, oz. dwt. gr. Wellington ...... Dead Horse Reef ... 949 0 0 0 418'93 .227 4 16 Various depths; pub· lie crushings in- cluded Peg-leg ...... Prince of Wales 217 0 0 0 I 9'99 15 7 9 Ditto Pease and Company ... Devonshire Reef ... 1,985 0 0 0 3 3'91 313 19 0 Ditto Ditto Clarence Reef .:. Clarence Reef '" 655 0 0 0 8 9'52 275 0 0 Johnson's Reef Gold Johnson's Reef .... - 3,034 0 0 0 8 14'34 1,304 6 0 Ditto Mines Eagle ...... Specimen Hill Reef 4,596 0 0 0 5 111'21 1,294 J4 12 Ditto McNair and Company Various reefs ... 1,110 0 0 011 1'08 613 0 o· Ditto Wetherall Reef .. , Sundry reefs ... 1,737 0,0 0 7 2'61 617 8 9 Ditto European' ...... Various reefs .,. 1,385 {) 0 0 723'30 552 0 O. Ditto Star Reef .. , .. , Star Reef ... 1,698 0 0 0 I 14'36 135 14 0 Ditto . _~ _____t- .. - .. " ._.-- Totals, Quartz 17,366 0 0 0 6 3'83 5,348 13 22 , Quartz ,Tailings and Cement cMI.8hed. Guy and Company Epsom ...... 2,224 0 0 0 1 19'26 200 9 0 Cement; from surface to 30 feet Felix ...... Epsom ... , .. 3,300 0 0 0 3 9'30 559 0 0 Cement Shenandoah ...... Epsom ...... 1,680 0 0 0 3 0 252 0 / 0' Cement Sampson Brothers ... Epsom ...... 900 0 0 0 216 120 0 0 Cement RQyalOak ...... Pottery ...... 150 0 0 0 4 0 30 0 0 Alluvilfl, 100 feet Lewis and Company ... Epsom ...... 780 0 0 O' 4 0 156 0 0 Cement; 60 feet Bon Accord ... Ironstone 1,950 0 0 0 5 0 487 10 0 Cement, various .,. ." depths Caledonian ...... Pottery ... , .. 400 0 0 0 5 Q 100 0 0 Cement; 100 feet 0 4 .1'52 447 0 0 Cement Huntly Deep Lead ... Huntly n' ... 2,200 0 0 450 0 0 0 6 8'53 143 0 0 Alluvial, 100 feet RisingSun ... '" Pottery ...... Mitchell and Company Epsom ...... 1,400 0 0 0 5 17'14 400 0 0 Cement Hardie and Company ... Pottery ...... 750 0 0 0 312 131 5 0 Cement and gravel Cambridge ... Huntly ...... 1,440 0 0 0 2 13'33 184 0 0 Alluvial, 120 feet ... Alluvial, 120 feet True Briton ... ; .. Huntly ... .., 1,444 0 0 0 2 11'73 179 14 0 Ballarat and Bendigo ... Huntly ...... 500 0 0 0 822'32 223 5 0 Alluvial, 120 feet North Star ...... Pottery ." ... 1,045 0 0 0 3 13'98 187 4 3 Alluvial, 11 0 feet All England ••. ... Pottery ••• ... 504 0 0 0 522'85 150 0 0 Alluvial, 110 feet Undaunted ...... Pottery ...... 900 0 0 0 1 15 73 2 12 Alluvial, 100 feet .. / -"--- Totals,QuartzTail' } 22,017 0 0 0 3 15'71 4,023 ings and Cement 9 IS\ Since TflY last report quartz mining may be, said to. have improved but little, the iner,ease in some companies bemg almost counterbalanced by a falling oft'In others. Reefs, however, are liable to have breaks, certll.in blooks in Bome mines being non. gold bearing; but it is II matter of satisfaction, that on most ,of the linea tbe returns obtained from the greatestdepth8 fully equal lWything got nearer the surface. . 45 The Perseverauce liue may be meutioued as a paying Olle ; all the claims are in full work. Betts and Company, on this reef, reported 231ft ozs. from their last crushing. American Re~f.-Success on this line seems chequered; many claims at present are not paying, while from Collman and Tacchi's claim magnificent returns are received. The adjoining claimholders hope to reach the stone when a greater depth is attained. The Nelson Reef has improved, the last returns from the Nelson Reef Company being very satisfactory • The Eagle Company is still unsuccessful in discovering n payable lode in their deep shaft, which is down upwards of 500 feet on the underlie. A fine looking reef is being driven along at that depth. 'I'he Great Extended Eagle Company, on the same line of reef, but south of the former com pany, have given, returns of late fully equal to anything ever obtained in this district; the last ctushing gave 9321- ozs. of gold from 177 tons of stone. , In Sailor's Gully; many private claims are paying well; but the Sailor's Gully, Clarence Reef, and Star Companies, at present are anything but profitable mines. . The Catherine Reef Company's mine, after a temporary falling off, hOB again taken a favorable position, the late yields being payable. _ " The Prince of Wales and Peg-leg Companies' mines seem unable to meet with payabJe stone at present, this line of reef being ofa patchy naturc. The St. Mungo line of reef is also patchy. The Lady Barkly Company on this line have again struck rich stonf', the first crushing from which gave 150 02:8. of gold. ' On the Robert .Burns Reef, Walker and Company, after years .of unavailing search, have been rewltrded with success, having lately found. It reef 14 feet wide, 70 tons of which yielded 144 ozs. of gold. The Johnson's Reef has much improved, the Johnson's Reef Company having had of late satisfactory returns. . On the Windmill Hill Line, Brennan and Company, and the other claimholders at work, are doing well; but I regret to state that many of the richest claims on this line (or in fact in the division) are unworked in consequence of want of drainage. 'I'he stoppage of such claims as the Anglo-German, Kent, Cinderella, and others, operates most unfavorably on the returns from this division. A good deal of dead work, in the shape of sinking shafts and other permanent works, is being done by many of the companies, and necessarily aff'ects unfavorably the present quarter's returns. In the alluvial mines; the Huntly wqrkings are'still successful, as the returns wi1l show, amollg others the newly established Deep Lead Company holds a prominent position; the result of the ~uccess is quite obviolls on visiting the Jocality, as It settled and thriving population is now seen on the ground only lately covered with bush. " KILMORE DIVISION . . Mr. Martiln Meagher, Milnitng Registrar. \ THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Europeans. ToW for the Chinese. Divillion. B.e!nMka. .------Alluvial Miners ...... 210 24-0 510 Qua.rtz Miners ... '" 324- ... 324- Totals ... 594- 240 834 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Alluvial. Flat Lead ... 16 Reedy Creek... 210 Tea-tree Creek Ranges and Junction 36 Cattle Range, King Parrot ... 8 S un d ay Cree k ... 20 8 da C k Snobb and Dry Creeks 40 L un y ree 40 6 Reedy Creek (Chinese) 240 ~~:~~:lgld'Diggings' 20 Quartz. Murrendindie ... 20 Providence, Yea 32 Reedy Creek 50 Strath Creek ... 36 Total 834 Welcome Reef and Tea-tree 60 THE MACIfINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL lIfiNINa. I QuA.l!/rz lIfiNINa. Description of lII.a.cbinel7. ---~------,----- Aglll'egate Number Aggregate Idle. HO"'.·l'..0 ..er of At Work. Idl•• of Stamp Hor... 1!!''''' of St.am JIlngi.... Heads. Steam JIlngine .. Steam Engines 6 80 1116 46 I Total value of mining plant in the division, £9,000. ' . . N UIilber of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, aotually worked upon, 40. ' .' , ' Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be a.uriferous to the present time,.4/). " , . The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £3 15s. to £3 16s. 6d. ~a . THE FOL.LOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND CEMENT CRUSHED DUllING THE QUARTEll, AND THE GoLD OBTAINED THEREFllOM;- Remarks relative to Average the Name of Oompany. Where ~uartz, &0 .. were Quartz Cl'IlSbed. IYield of O<>ld Total Yield of Depth at which the o tained. per Ton. O<>ld. Qne.rtz, &0., we~ ob- tained. '; ---.------'-- , ' tons cwt. q.r. o~ dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Providence Mining Asso- Muddy Creek, near 120 0 0 2 10 0 800 0 0 25 feet to i 52 feet ciation Yea Rising Sun ...... Ditto, ditto ... IS. 0 0 4 0 0 72 0 0 70 feet Welcome Reef ... Tea- tree Creek 60 0 0 810 0 210 0 0 160 feet Ranges Tbe Sons of Freedom ... Flat Lead ... 9 0 0 1 3 0 10 7 0 20 feet to 50 feet S/illor Jack's' Reef ... Stratb Creek '" 112 0 0 3 0 0 336 0 0 95 feet Totals, Quartz ... --319 0 0 2 18 4'S9 92S 7 0 Quartz Tailingll and Cement crushed. Providence Mining Asso- Muddy Creek, near 500 0 0 0 5 0 125 0 0 Surface to 25 feet ciation ;Yea Kilmore, Maranding ... Near Mount William 60 10 0 .010 0 SO '0 0 Surface to 40 feet Ranges. Totals, Quartz TaU- } ings and Cement- -;;;-0710-5-12-80 155 '0 0 , . Better results may be expected. PrepGnltions 80re more general, IIIId show more eonJIdenoe and determinat.lon than 1lSUIIJ. Reedy Creek. . On the Leviathan and Wallaby R~~fs there has been no ~uartz crushed during the quarter. 'The princifJal works done are sinking a .. main shan, raising quarti, erecting a battery and engine, and other fiXtures. RlJefs from'12 to 18 inches thick. Depth of main shaft, 130 feet. , The Reedy Creek Quartz Mining Company have been putting in ncw. stamp-boxes, repairing the engine and gear, sinking and cleaning the reservoir, repairing the dam, and raising quartz. Shana, from 50 to 180 feet deep. Reeffrom 12 to 18.inehes. Quartz raised, about 60 tons; none crushed. Magenta and Solferino Reefs.7.:No, quar~ crushed. Tunneling by contract progressing very slowly, as the rock is very hard; only 60 feet have been made during the quarter. Reef about 12 inches thick. . Shepherd's Reef.-About 10 tons of quartz raised, one ton of which was crushed in Melbourne, and produced 5 OZS.; cost of raisipg £5, per ~on, an~ £3 cartage. ~he company are well satisfied, it being still payable. The w shaft on the hill 25 feet deep, the sandstone reef from the surface. It is intended to apply better pumps to dry the deep shaft, and also to sink it 100 feet deeper immediately. The Rising Sun, adjoining, raised and crushed, during the quarter, 18 tons, averaging 4 ozs. to the ton. Depth of shaft, 70 feet. Reef from 6 to 12 inches thick. Not working at present, the shaft being full of-water.' A munber of miners have driven a tunnel 300 feet long through their three amalgamated claims. Reef,'l0 inches thick. They raised only 10 tons this quarter; none crushed. They are now sinking a. shaft 60 feet deep in the tuunel, but which has been temporarily stopped, as they struck water. Pumping apparatus will be procured. ' . Bunday Creek Ranges. Three prospectin~ q~artz claims Were taken up 'during the quarter. The ground and qu8.).'tz have been prospected, and satISfactory evidence obtained. Several. tons of quartz have been raised, ready for the mill, which has 8 head of stamps, and is to be driven by a water· wheel 30 feet in diameter. It is expected to be in w~rking order shortly, and capable of considerable execution. Kilmore Old Diggings, Moranding. \ About 100 tons of picked rubble quartz have been raised ready for the mill, 60 tons lately crushed produced 10 dwts. to the ton. The mill and gear have been undergoing repairs and improvements during most of this quarter. By the assistance of an amalgamator, which has been set up, it is expected the claim will pay better than before. The reef is a kind of rubbly sandstone, intermixed with small leaders. . On the Cattle Range, near King Parrot, Twenty-five acres, lately abandoned, part of Hamilton's run, has been again applied for under lease, to be called the Research. ParisI. of Goldie, Moranding West. The Harp of Erin Reef, on the Lancefield-road side, about midway between Kilmore and Lancefield, has been prospected, and good reefing indications having. been found, 25 acres have been applied for under the leasmg regulations. . I am informed that' a new rush has taken place between Tallarook and Seymour, near the junction of the Sugarloaf and Sunday· Creeks, about one mile on Rilmore side of Sunday Creek , bridge; one shaft has been bottomed at a depth of 30 feet, and a fine prospect obtained. Four or five other holes were also rapidly put down. The washdirt is described as 4 feet thick. Hopes are entertained, from the indications, that this field will be payable. Received, during the quarter, by the banks in Kilmore :- Bank of Victoria. I Colonial Bank•. ozs. dwts. grs. 0Zll. dwts. grs. Quartz gold ... 179 11 1 I Quartz gold ... 160 0 0 Alluvial gold 420 5 13 Alluvial gold 41 6 4 Total:.. 599 16 14 I Total ... 201 6 4 HEATHCOTE DIVISION AND W ARANGA SOUTH SUBDIVISION. Mr: .J. T. Strong, Minftng Swr'IJ6'lJO'l' and Registrar. THE TOTA.L NUMBER OF MINERS IS .A.l! FOLLOWS;- .. Total for the Europea.Il1l. Chinese. Division and Remarks. Subdivision. --~~ Alluvial Miners .. " , ... 300 200 500 Quartz Miners ... '" 640 ... 640 Totals ... 940 200 1,14(P .\ THE T01'A.L NUMBER OF MINERS IS TlIUS DISTRIBUTED;- Heathcote, Golden Gully, Red Hill, Com- Black Swan 7 missioner's Flat, Caledonia Gully, Long Coliban River 12 Gully, Argyle, Victoria Flat, N uggety Campaspe River 50 Gully, &c. 509 Mundy Gully, &c. ... 71 Wild Duck 296 Costerfield and Redcastle 100 American Hill 80 Hard Hill ... 15 Total 1,140 48 THE MAOHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS :- ALLUVIAL Mrm:NO. I QUARTZ Mrm:No. Description of Machinery. Horse-power of , Numher Aggregate. At Work, Idle. At Work, Idle. of Stamp Rorse..~(J-f Steam Engine. Head•• .Steam . ea. _._- ---_. ---~~------Steam Engines ...... 1 8 13 3 107· 352 Puddling Machines 52 9 ...... '" ...... Chilian Wheels ...... 2 2 ...... Horse Whims , ...... " 2 ... 6 ...... Horse Whips ...... '" 6 ...... Tailings Machine 1" ,. , , ...... '" Sluice Heads (water) ...... 6 ...... " ...... • Set of amalgamating pan•. Total value of mining plant in the division and subdivision, £42,650. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, SO. Number of distinct quar~z reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 9S. . The price o~ gold du~ing the qnarter in the division and suhdivision has been from '£3 15s. to £4 Os. 6d. per oz. _ THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS liE EN OBTAINED BELATIVE TO 'rHE QUAN'l'ITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- ,Average Ttl Y' ld f Remarks relative to the Name of Company. Where Quartz was Quartz crushed. I.Y,eld of Gold 0 a ld.,e 0 Depth at whieh the obtained. ; per Ton. 6iJ Quartz W38 obtained• .. ~,~ I-~~- --.-~.~ ":'~----" tons cwt. qr.1 oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Alabama ,.. ... I Caledon~a Gully ... 508 n ° ,0181i1'03 471 0 0 360 feet to 410 feet 599 0 0 260 Costedleld ...... lJ pper Costerficld ... 849 0 () I· ° 14 2'65. feet . Schwartz and C°tnpany ICorinth Heef .. . 98 0 ° I 0 19'59 I 102 0 0 160 feet T. J. Stephenson ... Result Ueef .. . 13 0 0 3 0 0 ' 39 0 0 Surface Kirby and Company .... Scandinavian Reef .. . 46 0 0 : 0 1020'86: 25 ° 0: 180 feet Riley and Company... Swede's Gully 61 0 0 151617'31 356 0 0 40 feet to 80 feet Campbell and Company Fo'rd's Gully 31 ,0 0 I 0 17 \0'06 27 0 0 Ditto Kastania Rnd Company Victol"ia Reef 140 0 0 11 1810'28 269 ° 0 J20 feet Smith and Company... Golden Gully 23 0" 0 : 3 6 2'08 76 ° 0 20 feet Hanson and Company i Norris' Reef 30 0 0 0 10 0 15 '0 0, 180 feet Steadman and Company I Swede's GI11ly 14 0 ° 0 14 6'85 10 0 0 40 feet to 80 feet Sundry crushings at 'Iii 0 0 1 1018'46 20 0 0 1 Vonderluft's machine V ariouA depths Ditto at Stephenson's 100 0 ° o 5 (. 2 500 machine I ( , Totals, Quartz ... ! 1;26'0-;;- ~-2'91 : 2,034, ~I ' I have the honor to forward my usual quarterly report on the mining operations carried on in this division within the past quarter. ' . In alluvial mining there has occurred no change of sufficient importance to warrant special remark. .. ' , '. In quartz mining considerable activity is beginning to manifest itself, and the superior prospects which this branch of mining holds forth has induced nearly all the alluvial miners to glveup their old calling, and concentrate their attention on quartz prospecting. Prospecting has, thercfore, during the quarter, been carried on with considerable energy. and in many (lases with marked success. . It is ~ra~ifying to be able i~ report that the various public mining eompanies established through this division still retain' their prosperity, and that well sustained scientific efforts always seem to be attended with success. I regret my inability to gi'l"e a detailed report of the result and workings of the Californian quartz tailings amalgamating pans recently introduced iuto this district, as a very decided reticence is maintained on the subject by the manager; I trust, however, t·hut the experiment may be successful, and I shall take the earliest opportunity of fnrnishing you with all the information obtainable.. The machinerv of the Red HiUl\lining Company is (now erected,· and the stampers in constant work. The company have tunnelled into the side of the hill, and propose cr'Q.shing everything taken out without any selection. . The Costerfield Company are in full work. Some ,"cry interesting experiments have been carried on at these works by the manager, relative to t,he amount of gold contained in the refuse quartz 49 tailings; the conclusion' he arrives at is,-that in every ton of these tailings is lost from three ounces to half an ounce of gold, which it is impossible to save, in consequence of its combination with the sulphilret of antimony.' - The Argyle Reef Company report having again cut the reef, and obtained'stone of very excellent quality. The McIvor Hydraulic Company report having cut their water-race as far as Hayes' Gully, a distance (along the contour) of ten miles. They have taken up areas in this gully, by virtue of miners' rights, and are now engaged in carrying on sluicing operations. but I cannot state with what result. W ARANGA NORTH SUBDIVISION. Mr. H. B. Nicholas, Mining Surveyor and Registrar. THE'TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- I Total for the Europeans. Chinese. Subdivision. Remarks. ---" -. Alluvial Mine:t:s ...... 7J 91 168 Quart!/: Miners ...... 512 .. . 512 , • ----- Totals ... 5S9 91 680 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Rushwortb- Coys- Old Lead and adjacent gullies 48 Chinaman's Flat, ditto ditto '46 London' and parallel reefs 127 N uggety and parallel reefs 121 Byron, ditto ditto ... 67 Mongohan, ditto ditto ... 47 Cherry-tree, ditto ditto ... 45 SpririgCreek 14 Whroo- Buffalo Ranges 12 Main Gully_ and adjacent gullies 48 Mary Taylor's Creek 9 Balaclava Hill '" '" 41 Albert and parallel reefs .. ' 36 Total 680 White HillS and Fontainbleau 19 THE MAOHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- --~·~--L-"~~·-·-i - Description of Ma.cbJnery. I : Aggregate Number Aggregate At Work. Idle. I Horse-pOWer of At Work. Idle. I • Horse-~f _ Steam Engine.. I,Oji!=P Steam ' • -~ _'0' -"-~--- Stea.m Engines- Quart!/: Crushing ..• '" ... .., ... 6 ... 82 80 I I Pumping,Crushing, and Winding I ...... \ ... 12 16 Horse Puddling Mills '" '" 33 22 ...... '" ... Horse Whims a.ndWhips ... 22 , ...... '" ...... I I - I Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £20,500. N umber of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,9. . Number of. distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the pres~nt tIme, 83. The price of gold during tJ:te quarter in the subdivision has been from £3 158. 6d. to £4 Os. 9d,. -' per oz. ' , No. 14,f, 50 TilE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS llEEN OllTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUA,~TZ AND QUARTZ TAILING~ 'AN~ CEMENT CRUSHED' DUllTNG THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OllTAINED THEREFROM: :- ,. , I Remarks rcla.. ". to the Name of Company. I Wbere Quart•• &c., were Total Yield of ,Depth at which I the obtained. ! Gold. Quartz, &e., 'were ob- tained. ". ~ ••j-~' 'n "\:.i. "' • ," . ,"", tons cwt. qr. I oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. .. ';;... .._" i A' I:~ \~, .~.'"- Angiide and' Co ..•• '} 'Albert Reef and} i . Surface to 200 feet Crago and others ... Great Eastern , 76 0 0 ' 1 2 14'S4 S5 19 0 Geyle and Co. ... } South Devon and} Scott and others ... Mongolian reefs 276 0 0 I 0 12 8'40 170 8 16 40 feet to 220 feet Le Roy and Co. ... } Guernsey, HiCks',} 60 feet to 160 feet Hicks and others ... an9 other reefs . . .. 49 0 0 1 17 20'OS 92 14 0 Mason and Co. ...} Cra wford and others Cherry-tree Reefs ... 290 0 0 o 6 0'82 87 10 , 0 40 feet to 120.feet Murray and Co. ...} Murray,' WelCome,} 91 0 0 1 II 18'19 144 10 0 70 feet to 110 feet Jones and others .. . and other reefs I Pollon and,others .. . Byron and other reefs,' 970 0 0 o S 4'85 397 16 0 100 feet to 150 feet Ditto ditto , .. . London ditto' ditto ... 130 0 0,. 3 19 14'95 517 11 0 100 feet to 175 feet Lewis and Menzies .. . Balaclava' ... 1,675 . 0"'0' O"'S 6 690 18 IS 150 feet ------1---- Totals, Quartz ... 3,557 0 .. 9, 0 i2 7'17 2,1S7 7 10 .~-.:' ( ~ .. -. -. . . Quartz Tailings and ------1·--·------; Cement crushed. Law and Darroch .. : Chinaman's Reef .,. 558 0 0 0 o 19'62 22 16 6 } Tailings, cement, Ditto •.. ... Carr's Reef ... 176 0 0 0 2 10'63 2110 0 and mullock, from Robert Law ... I Gr9wle~'s and Scrub 1,038 0 0 ., 0 2 4'29 U3·l 8 old workings . reefs ,;{,otals,Quartz Tail- } ------~- ---.-- I 1,772 0 0 0 I IS'63 157 7 '14 ., ings and Cement I , . ~ . • L I In allU~ai mining'; on the old parts oi', the field, there is nothing to report worthy of record. ' The prospectors at the Buffalo Ranges, and in' the couI,itry between Tait and Hamilton's alid Coys Diggings are obtaining payable gold. I-believe a large population will ultimately be settle4 .. cm ~ho~e, portions of Waranga.,,' , ' The only fa~orable cha,nges in quartz mining .have b~enat Bal~clava Hill and the London Reef. In each case the ~nes ,are bemg developed very satlsfacto;-ily. , , \ ' .. ' - ._, \ , I· MARYBOROUG:H MINING DISTRICT. II . r" 4. i· . ~. " ,~ MARYBOROUGH DIVISION. Mr. D. O'Leary, Mining S'llll'tI.Jfiyor and Registrar. THE Tc;tTAL NUMBBR OF MINns IS AS FOLLOWS:- - Total for the Europeans. OhineBe.' . _.Divlsion. Remarks. ---_. alluvial :Miners ,...... 2,400 1,500 3,900 750 " Quartz Miners ... '" 750 ... .. 4,650 Tot81s ' .. 3,150 1,500 : ; THE TOTAL NUMBER, OF MINERS IS. TRUS DISTRIBUTED:- , ". M aryborough, Ma~n Le~d! ~nd Blackman's 140 ; Chinaman's Flat and. adjacent reefs, 550 Waterloo and gullIes ad]ommg ...... 70 Adelaide Lead and reefs adjoining 280 Mosquito Flat and adjacent r:efs. ' 600 Alma and Balaclava 170 Old Man's Gully and reefs adJolmng 200 Iii different gullies 325 Golden Point and adjacent reefs ... 215 Havelock Flat and reefs adjoining • Total ... 4,650 Majorca, including Gil;lralte.:r- ' ., :.:: 'l,~~g. 51 TR:m' MlcB:1irtERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- . " ALLUVIAL ~G. - QU..um: MINnra-. I>esoription of Machinery •. I ... I , Aggrega.te' I Number Aggregate At Work. Idle. f At Work. Idle. I of Iltamp Horse-Puwer of I SteamHorse'C ' .. Heads. IlteaJn&gines. ".j. --.. -~ .. .-.~ .. -~.- , ,. --- , Steam Engines, employed in 17 2 299 ...... pumping, winding, &c. t . ' I;" I .." Puddling Machines ... .225 95 ...... 120 : , Whims ... '" ...... ,-- I ... Steam Engines, employed ...... 9 1 I 170 '170 in pumping, winding, crushing, &c. " '\ .. ' '~~'--, ,,~otal value of mining plant in the division, £51,600. Number of square miles of auriferous ground whioh is beipg, or may have been, actually worked upon, 4~. ' . - I Number of distinct quartz .reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 119. ,' .. -. ,.. .' .. The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £3 18s., 6d•. to £4 Is. -6d. per oz. ,. ;-,i' "", ' THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS llEEN OllT.A.INED'R1!ILATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QU..!..RTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND CEMENT CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD,OllTAINED THEREFROM:- I ~ i!temarks relative to tbe Where Quartz. &c.. were erushed, Avera~ I Total Yield Name of Company. obtained. Quart. Yield of Id, ofGOld.- Depth at which the porTon. Quartz ",:as obtained. tons ewt. qT. oz.dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. - -. ~ . Mariner's Reef ... Mariner's Reef ' -.. 30 0 0 1 1 8 32 0 0 570 feet Ditto ...... Ditto ...... 35 0 0 5 8 0* 189 0 0 590 feet Ballarat ...... Leviathan Reef, &c ... 2,750 0 0 0 6 0 825 0 0 130 feet Penny and Company ... Alexander, White 1,750 0 0 01412 1,268 15 0 Surface to 300 feet Horse, &c. , ., ._. Greenaway and Wallace Sydney and Blucher 450 0 0 012 0 270 0 0 200 feet Johnston and Company White Horse, &c. 538 0 0 017 18'02 477 10 0 Perseverance ... Great Western, &c .... 2,160 0 0 0 412 486 0 0 80 feet to 120 feet Watkins and Company Oxfo~dshire, &c. ... 520 0' 0 0',4' 0 104 0 0 About 65 feet , ------" ~ . . Totals, Quartz .•. ' 8,233 0 0 0 820'93 3,652 5 0 Quartz Tailings and .. ..- - Cement crushed. -r , " " .. 1".H . " •• \r'., Greenaway and Wa.llace Cockatoo .~'. ... " . 400 0 0 0 7 0 140 0 0 Johnston and Company Majorca,8!;y. 265 o "0 0 6 3'82 . 81 12 0 _-_I --- '~L~,~ ~ Totals, Quktz Tail- } . . , ,665 o ~O 221 12 0 ~ ings and' Cement , 06.15'~51 • The return given by tho manager of the Mariner'. !teer Conipa.ny, though SInAIl in quantity, deserves,specJ&l mention. ,in consequence of the riolUless of the stone at the great depth of 5W feet b, e.l. 5 oz •• 8 dwt•• per ton. ' Though mining operations generally in the 'division have much of the appearance of a settled character, yet the lack of energy and promptness, and the consequent failure of ,many of the recently formed mining companies, have principally been the cause oBhe-dullness which at present· manifestly prevails. This, however, does not extend to quartz mining, as the main lines of reef are being constantly worked with the usual favorable results •. A new reef·has been discovered on the western boundary of the borough of Maryborough; it has been traced to a depth of 80 feet, about 1 foot thick, I!-nd the first crushing!realized about 1 oz. to the ton.: ," _t:.' ' The alluvial claims of the Hit·or-Miss and-United Companies, on the Chinaman's Flat, have been worked out, and the system of working the claim of the Magnum Bonum is about being altered • . .:. The next'favored grouncfon the flat, a~d!extending stilrnortherly, has been secured under the local bye-laws by 90 miners, who have. arranged to work it oll.the co.operative .principle. , . Majorca exhi~it8 a dull appearance in mining matters at presellt, but Bt:ron~ ho:pes !U'e enter. tamed of a Ilhange fC!r the better shortly. . 'f" . , 52 AMHERST' DIVISION. " Mr; Joseph Smith, Mining Surveyor and Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Europeans. Chinese. I Total for the I Divillion. , ------1------1------1------Alluvial Miners 1,359 490 1.849 Quartz Miners 81 87 Totals --~-.446 --I 490 /-;-:;;-- I THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- EUROPEANS. LoCALITY. I CHINEBE. TOTAL. Alluvla.l. Quartz. Long Gully and Flat H' ...... 10 H • ... 10 Grub Gully H' '" H. ... 6 ...... 6 Red Hill ... n' H. .. . 13 ...... 13 Rocky Flat ...... 20 , .. . 2 22 Scandinavian Lead ...... 28 H. • 16 44 Chapel and Star Hills ...... 10 n. 6 16 Good-Woman's Hill' ...... 16 ... 4 20 "31 Ballarat Hill H. '" ...... 10 41 Kangaroo Flat ...... 250 ... 110 360 j Nuggety Gully H. • ...... 12 ...... 12 Mysterious Lead and Hard Hill ...... 24 ... 2 26 Black Lead ...... H' 11 ... 6 17 Mia-Mia and White Hill ...... n • .48 ... 6 54 Daisy Hill and Flat ... H' ... 40 H. 16 56 Moore's Flat ...... 30 H, 8 38 . . Adelaide Lead ...... 250 .0. 80 330' Opossum Gully ••...... , ... 16 ... 6 22 .Blacksmith's Gully ...... 60 ...... 60 Liverpool Hill ...... 20 .., ... 20 Emu ...... 70 .. . 120 190 Cockatoo ...... '" 100 .. . 65 165 Hong Kong, Emu ...... '0. 8 .. . 3 11 12 Battery Point ...... , ...... H. 12 German Gully H. ." ... '" 10 ...... 10 McCallum's Creek and Flat ...... '" 18 ... 10 28 Talbot Flat ...... 9 ... 8 17 Kangaroo Gully, Amherst ...... H • 14 ... H' 14 Rambler's Gully, Kangaroo ...... 7 ... 4 11 Mount Greenock ...... 70 ...... 70 Miscellaneous places • 0. ... '" 30 ... 8 38 Churchhill Reef ...... 6 ... 6 Laura Reef ...... 20 ... 20 Dana Reef.:...... 6 ... 6 Whitehorse Reef ... H' OO. ... 25 25 Fincbe's Reef ...... 6 ... 6 Welcomc Reef, Amherst ...... 6 ... 6 Crump's Reef, Adelaide Lead ...... 10 ... 10 Hamsom's Beef, Bung-Bong ...... 2 ... 2 Private paddocks ...... 6 ... . 122 116 I --~------Totals ... '" ...... 1,359 87 490 ' 1,936 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS!- N . - , ALLUVIAL MnrlNG. I QUABTZ MnrlNG. Description of M&ehinery. Aggregate Number Aggregate At Work. Idle. HO"",,~of At Work. Idle. of Stamp Horse.cof .. Steam "ea• Hea.ds. Steam . "'" --.~-~ -~.- .--.. ---.~ Steam Engines- Crushing ...... 3 1 40 68' Pumping, winding, &c. ... , 10 II 195 ...... I ... Puddling Machines oo. ... 146 36 ...... Whims ...... 34 9 ...... Whips ...... , 6 , 6 ...... Quicksilver Cradles ...... 28 3 ...... '" ...... Hydraulic Hose (sets of) ... 3 ...... , ., ", -- 53 Total value of mining plant in the division, £30,000. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, aetually wor1wd upon, 5. Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 45. The price of ~old during the quarter in the division has been from £3 18s. 6d. to £4 per oz. Ta:s FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM::- i Remarks relative to the N ..me of Company. Where Quartz was. Quartz crushed. Yietd:r~ld Total Yield of Depth at which the obtained. per Ton • Gold. Quartz WlIS obta.ined. &0. -----_... _- .. t"ns owt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. ·oz. dwt. gr. Cosstick and Co. ." i Laura Reef, Amherst 1,400 0 0 0 G 21'16 481 14 12 90 feet to 135 feet Archy and Co. ... Ch urGlhhill Heef, ditto 42 0 0 0 G 17'71 14 3 O. 52 feet, 1 foot thick JUlian and Co. ... Ditto, ditto n. 49 0 0 015 0 36 15 0 25 feet to 75 feet, 1 foot thick Duncan and Campbell 'Welcome Reef, ditto 34- 0 0 0 6 0 10 4 0 70 feet. 4 feet thick Kehlet and Pattison ... Dana Reef, ditto 48 0 0 018 IS 45 0 0 110 feet, 3 feet thiek Vietoria (trial crushing) Whi tehorse Reef, ditto 7 0 0 0 7 0 2 9 0 30 feet. 3 feet to 5 i feet thick Bartlemore's, TalbotFJat Various reefs .. , 152 0 0 o 7 15'15 \ 68 0 () ~' .. ---~~~-'--.. --! , Totals, Quartz .•. 1;732 0 0 0 7 n·ss . 648 5 12 1 The large decrease in the mining population which has taken place in this division during the past year appears now to be stayed, the numbers now employed being the same as in the preceding quarter. 'More attention appears to be paid to quartz mining, which I trust ~ill steadily improve. The Victoria Company, at Whitehorse Reef, near Amherst, has erected a steam crushing machine, of 30 horse-power, at an outlay of about £3,000. The stampers (10 in number) commenced operations on 26th ultimo. The results are not yet known; but the trial crushings previous to the erection of the ma.chine gave 7 dwts. per ton. The crushing machine at Bung-Bong has been doing little or nothing' during the last quarter, owing to the poorness of the stone in that neighborhood. . , . The alluvial mining about Mount Greenock continues to be in a depressed state, owing to the want of sufficient capital to work the main lead, which is so heavily char~ed with water. The Hoff nung Company, at Mount Greenock south, has had a12 horse-power engine, with 6-inch pipes and a 70-foot lift, employed for some months past almost cxclusively in pumping, but have had to snspend operations to place in lO-inch pipes, which it is thought will clear thc lead so as to enable the miners toproeeed. The leads about Cockatoo and Emu appear to be attracting more than ordinary attention. Several nu~£{ets of unuBuaJ size have been found during the last quarter; on~ of 35 ozs. was found near Adeltude Lead. AVOCA SUBDIVISION. Mr. Willialm Byrne, Mining SW1'1Jeyor and Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Jji!ll'()pea.na. Chinese. Total for the Subdivision. Remarks. -· .. ·I----I-·-~ .. -- ~------.. --_.-.--.. --- Alluvial Miners 1,232 800 2,032 Quartz Miners 22 22 1--'- Totals 1,254 800 2.054 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINllRS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Avoca, 870 Lamplough 156 Homebush ... 201 No. LCreek ... 84 Amphitheatre 412 Fiddler's Creek 200 Mountain Hut 106 Green Hill Creek 25 Total 2,054 o - .64 THE MA.O:qINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALL1TVLI.L Mni:rNG. QuaT~ Mni:rNG: , Desoription of Machinery. I Aggregate ,N Horse-power of At Work. I Idle. Hors"'~::n of AtWork~ Idle. of Steam ' eS, H steam Engine. ------, Steam Engines, engaged in pump· 8 ... "165 .1 ? •• 12 \ 15 iug, puddling, and crushing: \ ~ , '., . \ , :If • Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, ;£12,300. , .' Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been: actually worked upon, 8. Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 7., ; , . ; The price of gold during the quarter in the 'subdivision has been from £3 198. to £4' per oz. Tl1E FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN,OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARi'Z TAILINGS CRUSHED DURING THE 'QUARTER, AND TJ;IE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM :-' i I I relative to the Where Quartz, &0., Total Yield of Na.meof ComprulY. obtained. Quartz crushed. IYIJd';,"f~ld I at which the were pcr Ton. . of Gold. was obtained• . ," - ---,_.. __.. _-. . tons cwt. '11'. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Bosanko . and Party ... Vilie's Reef ... 96 0 0 0 722'50 38 2 0 , From surface to 50 feet Ditto ...... Maryborough Road 15 0 0 0 3 0 2 5 0 Surface Reef - - Ditto ...... Ironbark Reef, Four- 10 0 ,0 0 , 2 0', 1 0 0 Surface mile Flat . .. Totals, Quart~ ... 121 0 0 O. 620'03 '41 7 0 : Quartz Tailings crushed. . , Bosanko and Party ... Tailings from A,voc.a 840. 0 0 0 I 12, 63 0.. 0 River , The yield from the claim of the Avoca Gold Mining Association has been for the last quarter 2,331ozs., and that from the Golden, Lake Company, Homebush, 400 ozs. The greater'portion,of.the latter has been obtained within the last few days, one machine alone yielding 36 ozs. There is nothing new to report/in quartz mining. • . , :':": , .,,; .. \. " DUNO~Y DIVISION. Mr. R. J: McN~ll~'.yM~ir0. Swrv~¥or ,~-/¢eg~trar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Total for the EuropeaJls. Chinese. Divi&on.. Remarks. ~-.-- --.. ~-- .. , Alluvial Miners ...... 1,820 520 2,340. Quartz Miners ...... 480 ... 480 - Totals ... 2,300 ,I 520 2,820 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTllD: Dunolly:-,, Bealiba 240 Gooseberrv ... 240 Cay's...... ' ... '.. . 50 PoundRush ... 360 Tarnagulla ...... '" 400 Old Lead p. ... 400 Llaneley, lIard lIillB, and lIalfway 200 Burnt Creek and Bet-bet 260 Jones' Oreek ". , ... 160 Inkermann and Wattle Flat 260 250 Total ...'- 2,820 Moliagul - 55 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL ~-mG. QUAllTZ Mnrnm. I DeseripMon of Maohinery. I Aggregate •-. ! Number I Aggregate IAtWork. Idle. Idle. I of Stamp . Horse-power of :~=C::'l At Work. . Heads. i Steam Engines. ------Steam Engines, employed pump- 5 3 98 15 5 184 322 ing, winding, and crushing ,. Whims .•...... 26 '" ...... Puddling Machines ... '" S5 ... • n '" ...... , Total v~u~-of ~ining plant in th~ division, £48,000. Number ofsquare miles.ofauriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 13!. Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferouB to the present time, 160. ,The price of gold during the quarter in the division has. been from £3 19B. 6d. to £4 Is. per oz. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND OEMENT CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM :- Average Name of Company. Where ~artz, &c .. were Quartz erushed. Yield of Gold . TotalO:;;:;:ld of '. 0 tamed. per Ton. til ',; . - tons ewt. qrs. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. R. W. Hammond ... Poverty Reef ...... 417 0 0 o 10 2'36 210 11 0 -70 0 Greek's Hill ... '" 0 0 9 3'43 , 32 0 0 Frazer. and Williams... { Phantom Reef ... 19 0 0 o 10 1'26 911 0 Growler's Reef ... 30 0 0 0 S 0 12 0 0 Cambrian ...... New Chum Reef .. . 1,004 0 0 1 3 0 1,154 12 0 Sandstone Reef ... 31S 0 0 0 4 lS'26 75 14 0 Bousfield's Watts'Reef ... S 0 0 2 0 6 16 2 0 ...... {Various small parcels, 42 0 0 011 8 23 16 0 from several reefs Queen Reef ... 204 0 0 0 9 9'S8 96' 0 0 Patterson's Reef ... 29 '0 0 0 7 15·72 11 2 0 McCoy and Co. Stewart's Reef ... 48 0 0 I 3 22'50 57 9 0 Walker's Reef I ••• 47 0 0 3 10 21'96 166 13 0 Arton Reef, n. ... 24 '0 0 1 14 4 '41 0 0 ···r March Reef ... 6 0 0 o 14 16 4 8 0 Totals, Quartz ... 2,266 0 0 o 16 20'78 1,910 18 0 Quartz Tailings, and I Cement crushed. Glamorganshire ...... Bealiba , ...... 1,700 0 0 0 3 0 r 255 0 0 Knight's machine ... Ditto ...... 780 0 0 0 3 3 121 17 12 Totals, Quartz Tailings} , and Cement ' ... :2,480 0 0 0 3 0'90 376 17 12 KORONG DIVISION. Mr. W. O. Couchman, Minilng Swrve'!JO'l' and Registrar. THE, TOTAL N UMBBR' OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS :-' Total for the Europeans. Chinese. I Division. :Remarks. Alluvial Miners ...... 600 260 860 Quartz Miners ...... 555 .. . .. 555 Totals ... 1,1,55 260 1,415 56 \ THE TOTAL NUMBER OF lYIINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:-- New Inglewood , .. '510 Sinnott's 60 Old Inglewood ... 45 Bourke's Flat ... 40 Thompson's Gully - 20 Commissioner's Flat 10 . Korong ... 430 Loddon aud Kingan'a 70 . Jericho 75 Kinuower 120 'fotal 1,415 Mcfntyre's ll5 TilE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- , ALLUVIAL MnlING. QUAMZ MINING. Description of Ma.oi:!lnery. I Aggregate • - • Number Aggregate , At work.j· Idle. Horae·Jlower Of. At Work. Idle. of Stamp Horse-~er of \ Steam Engine. , Heads. Steam ginea. I ! - .. ---~ -'"~~-- - I --- Steam Engines, employed pumping, i winding and crushing I ." 20 18 6 143 300 Whims ...... I ... I ... 12 12 ...... Whips ... ~ ... I ...... I ... 18 II ...... Puddling Machines ...... 33 39 ...... I I --...... ,,~ Total value of mining plant in the division, £34,200. Number of square miles of auriferous grouud which is being, or may have been; actually worked upon, 30. . \ Number of distinct quar,tz reefs which havc been actually provr.d to be auriferous to the present time, 143.' ,', . The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £3178.. 6d. to £3 18s. per,oz. THE FOLLOWING lNFOR1IATHlN HAS BEE"! OllTAINED RELM'IVE 'ro THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILLlIGS AND OEMENT CRUSHED DURING l'HE QUAllTER, AND THE GOLD OllTAINED TIlEREFROM:- , Average . Totel Yield of Name of Company. Quartz crushed. f Yield of Gold I' I Where Quartz, &c., were obtained, per Ton. ' Gold. -----.-----'----.1 ___. __ . ______... ------.- tons ewt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. TJ'\dy ·Darliug ." March Reef, Inglewood ...... 58 (l 0 o 2 16'19·; 7 1'5 3 Leicester Reef, do...... 107 0 0 0 520 31 4 4 Welcome Reef, do. ... 34 0 0- 0 7 4'4] 12 4 6 Old Inglewood Reef, Inglewood ... 65 0 0 11421'78 lI3 9 0 Cainbrian Reef, do.' , '" 43 0 0 o II 11'90 24 14 8 European Reef, do, ... 403 0 O. I 2'20'36 460 8 0 Jersey Reef, do, .. , 88 () 0 all 9'54 50' 3 0 Morning Star Reef, do. ... 208 0 0 0 9 1'18 ' 94 2 6 ,-May Reef, do. ... 8 0 0 0 2 9 o 19 0 Oolumbian Reef, do. ', .. 13 0 0 0 I 0 o 13 0 Manchester Reef, do. ... 28 0 0 0 2 12'85 3 11 0 Dreadnought Reef, do. .;. 10 '0 0 0 315'6 I 16 12 Garibaldi Reef, do. ... 21 0 0 0 2 0 2 .2 0 Rising Sun Hecf, do, ... 7 0 0 0 4 16'28 I 12 18 Catherine Reef, do, ... 6 0 0 0 5 4 I II 0' Greek's Reef, do. ... 10 0 0 0 012 0 5 0 ]'rince Albert ... Maxwell's Reef, do. ... 126 0 0 0 6 4'19 38 18 0 City of Bath Reef, do. ... 149 0 0 0 721'84 58 18 14 Odin Heef, do, ... 12' 0 0 0 5 6 3 3 0 - Comiskey Reef, do. ... 4 0 0 0 I 18 0 7 0 March Hcef, do. .. , 80 0 () 01016 42 10 0 Morning St·ar Reef, do. ... 120 0 0 011 4'40 67 2 0 'Daly Reiff,. do. ... 36 0 0 0 3 9',33 6 2 0 Victoria ... , .. Morning Star, do. ... 95 0 0, 0.7 4'85 34 4 5 Dreadnought Reef, do. , .. 62 () 0 0 321'29 12 I () Odin Reef, do, .. , 162 0 0 0 4 10'93 36 I 20 Poverty Reef, do. ... 71 0 0 I ole 16'90 87 14 0 American Reef~ do. ... 17 0 0 0 6 12'1l 5 10 14 Duke of Cornwall ... Nelson Reef, do. .. , 22 0 () () 2 18'54 3 I 0 }~uropean Reef, ao, ' .. 124 0 0 0 5 1l'22 33 18 0 Eureka Heef" do. ... 10 0 0 0 021'6 0 9 0 Jersey Reef, do. , .. 36 0 0 0 3 1'33 5 10 0 MftY Reef, do. ... 21 () 0 0 4 4 4 7 12 Rising Sun Heef, do, .. , 144 0 0 04 13'26 32 15 14 do, ... 60 0 o i 0 1 !l'6 4 4 0 Manchester Reef, 1 IWdoom, Re,f, do, ... 16 0 0 0 I 21 , I 10 0 Permanent Strata Reef, do, ... 37 0 0 0 10 19 0 Leicester Reef; do. ... 117 () () 0 7 5'74 42 7 0 , Glasgow Reef, do. ... 26 0 0 0 5""11 7'85 I 14 12 , , .THE FOLLOWING, INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATlVE TO THE QUANTIT~ OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS, MULLOCK, AND OEMENT CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM-continued;- I I Average Total yo Id f \ Bemarks relative to the Name of Company. Where Quartz. Itc., were I Quartz crushed. Yield of Gold obtained. I peri'on. Gold~ 0 ~~~z ~a. ~~:,,~~ -----~------~~------ton. ewt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Prince of Wales ... German Reef, Jericho 1,340 0 0 o 11 10'53 766 8 0 Catto's ...... Ditto do . 62 0 0 0 920'90 30 12 0 Adelaide Reef do. 20 0 0 0 2 8'40 2 7 0 Phillips Reef dO'j 2 0 0 013 0 I 6 0 Morning S~r Reefdo. 40 0 0 1 1610'2 72 17 0 Thompson's Gully ... Welcome Reef dO'1 50 0 0 0 I 17'52 4 6 12 Totals, Quartz ... ~ 4,170 0 0 o 10 15'27 2,217 14 16 Quartz Tailings,MulltJck, ~ and Cement crushed. ~ I I 0 523'08' 11 12 12 La.dy Darling '" Daly Lead ... 39 0 0 Old Inglewood ... 19 0 o . 0 1022'42 10 7 18 Prince Albert '" Deep Lead ... 19 0 0 0 419 411 0 Sundry Lots ... 25 0 0 0 2 16'32· 3 7 0 Victoria '" ... Daly Lead '" 69 0 0 0 5 1'80 17 10 4 Commissioner's Flat 129 O. 0 0 4 4'08 26 17 23 Potter's Hill .. , 23 0 0 0 .. 10-26 5 1 20 Caledonian :Inat .. 0 0 0 2 9'00 0 9 14 023'21 0 Catto's ... '" German Reef Mullock 122 0 0 0 5 18 Tailings ...... 190 0 0 0 1 0'28 9 12 6 0 0 013'20 13 15 0 Ditto '" ... 500 0 ~.-~----- Total, Quartz Tail- } ings, Mullock, and 1,139 0 0 0 I 22 109 3 I Cement ... , The improvement in mining interests, noticed in my last report, has been generally_ sustained during the present quarter, more especially about Inglewood and Korong. The returns of the crushings from the various Inglewood machines show a considerable increase in the general average, chiefly attributable to the resumption of. work by some important reefing com· panies, and to the plentiful supply of water for the machines, At Inglewood, the March Reef, from its proximity to the focus of business, always engages the anxious attention of the public, and I am pleased to report that it more than maintains its past reputa. tion. The Prospectors Oompany' have resumed work energetically, valuable interests have changed hands, infusing new blood into their operations. Their machine has just now finished crushing from a new and rich lode to the westward, lately discovered by the Independent Company, and the stone con· tinues to increase in richness; splendid results are speedily anticipated. The Independent Company's 'claim was, about seven weeks since, let on tribute, and after diligently prospecting the mine above water, and obtaining a crushing averaging 5~ dwts., the tributors discovered the aforesaid lode near their southern boundary; it narrows towards the Prospectors' (adjoining) claim, and they have not yet obtained results as brilliant as those of their neighbors, although about 60 tons at grass is expected to average i oz. The Unity Company's extensive plant is rapidly- advancing to completion, The machine of 24 stampers is eJcl'ected to be ready for work in a fortnight. The entire line of reef shows a marked change for the better, as do also the neighboring Cambrian and Exhibition Reefs, in the latter of which the ] . At Kingower there'is nothing of any moment noticeable. '" . In ,reefing operations. generally at Inglewood an increasing, ()()nfidence is perceptihle, chiefly omng to the improved position of some of the older lines, which are slowly, but gradually, attracting the attention of extraneous capitalists. ., , ALLUVIAL }\'1INING. .' The Inglewood Alluvial (Deep L~ad) Company hav,e commenced work. In the drive, at 90 feet, lt was ~ound that the bottom had dipped 4 feet, with a'ratio of lin, 7" They have not yet, struck the wash·dIrt. The' public interest is strongly manifested in the career of this company, 'whose success would undoubtedly open up a new bran~h of mining industry at Inglewood. REDBANK AND ST. ARNAUD SOUTH SUBDIVISIONS. , . ~' . Mr. William Byrne; ...'MilnVng Suiveyor and Registrar:" ~' Total for the \ Europ...... Ohinese,. Subdirillions., ,. t, ---,------1'='--- -~'--' - -,------~.------, Alluvial Miners ... :i , '1" 260.. ill ,:,'( ,., " 27~" "- , .. , " -Miner~ Quartz ; .... ,. '.:."' .. 190 190 .._-.,. -----. Totals, 450 10 460 ' .~ l. " ~. , ; HI .., ... Redbank 200 Forest Hut '" 20 Hines "20' Stuart Mill .. ," .• 50 Donkey Hill ... , 40 Darling Flat 40 Moonambel ...... '" 40' Vic¥>ria, ~d ~dj~ining·gullies "~, .50' Total, 460 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- '. i Description of Machinery. Numbat' Aggregate Idle. of Stamp Horse-power of Heads, Stca,IIl,Engines. ---~ Puddliug·Machines ':.. " ••. , .. 7' ...... Whims' ... ,...... 2 .. ' '" ... Steam Engines, employed in crush- 3 26~ " 65 , ing, pumping, &c:' 'i:,: " ;' " "-<--' " • t • .. ;.. ' . ~'i , TotiJ.l.,v~Iue ~~.mini.ng pl~t,i.q. t~c:: subdivision~, £2,000. '.,'," , ,.. , N:umber of square miles of.auriferous gr~iund which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,9t· I Number of distinct quartz 'reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the prescnt time, 26. ", , Th~ price of gold during the' quarter in the subdivisions has been from £3 18s. 6d. to £4 1a. per oz. ' , '. . , I THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION ms BEE~ 'OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ CRUSHED .: "DURING THE QU.A:RTER, AND,THE GOLD OETAINED THlm.EFIIoM:- .,' ',. I Average ' Total Yield of Where Quartz WIIS' , 'QuArtz crushed. , Yield of Gold I Name "f OOIllp&ny. obtained. Gold. I' per TOll, '. ~a~g-'o~r-R-e-ef-'~~-"-"-'~Ii-- ;;7~~~-' -'I-~~-Z.-I~-wt-.l''''''3gr-'7·-1-1 oz; ~~.~. Lancashire, , Reef Crushing Ditto .... 12 10 '60 1814'40 8' 10 0 Stuart Mill , '! ' 0__ , __' __ _9 __ 0_, . :' ,Eureka Reef i,c :';,1'_'_' _~7__ '-o~ _,'_0_,.7_0_~ 2 Totals, Quartz ... ,1, 33 10 0 o 12 5'02 20 9 0, 59 The late rains have given a considerable impetus to operations in alluvial mining, particularly in the neighborhood of Victoria and other gullies near Stuart Mill. The, North, British Company, Red bank, having obtained payable prospects, have purcltased two engines, which are now on the road .from Ballarat. Great expectations are formed as to the success of this company. I~ quartz mining there is nothing to report, the claims on the Pyrenees Reef being unable to work, pending arrangements for drainage with the Pyrenees Company. ,At tlie mill of this company no crushing has taken place during the last quarter. , ! ST. ARNAUD NORTH SUBDIVISION...... 1ffr: .. __.Joh'iJ .. Phillips, Mining Surveyor and Registrar• . THE TO'UL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:.!- . Chinese. Total for the lIemarlm. E!'!.ope~~ ~, .' I _.,,-*, .- "' Subdivision. Alluvial Miners 165 206 371 . '.' ...... " Quartz Miners .n H. 215 215 -'---.-~---~ , T~taIs ... 380 206 586 ... .T~E TOTAL ifUM~ER OF 'MINEiS I~ THUS DISTRIBUTED:- - , ~, Wilson's Hill 12 Chrysolite: Hill. '...... 25 McCredie's, Chapman's, Edelsten's, and Williams'. engines 1 16 Inglewood Road ...... '...'...... 4 Unexpected, ~ete~~, l\nd Ros~rons' Diggings 14 aaledo~ia~rR!l~! ...."'."-.,, . '" ... 6 Jerejaw Reef " "...... 22 Royal Kent...... , 2 Tunnel Hill, Carney's, Carrapooee 39 Sawpit Gully ... .. 6 Gap Gully ... 6 Armenian Gully 6 Emu and vicinity ...... 8 Banshee, Dogbury, and Sbe.Oak 22 Malakoff, Vanus, Hopeful, and Association Reefs 18 Bell Rock Reef .. , ...... 11 Greenock and Spinster Reefs ... 11 Bristol Reef '" 24 New Bendigo and vicinity ... 270 Silver Mines and Stuart's Rill... . 48 Blink ,Bonny !Uld Strathalbyn Reefs. 16 Total ... 586 THE MACRINER"f IS AS FOLLOWS:- i ALLUVIAL Mni1:NG. QUlltTZ MINING. -.----~-.. ----- Description of Maohinery. .Aggregate Number Aggregate .At Work. Idle. Horse.power of At Work. Idle• of Stamp IHorse-power of , I Heads. Steam Engines. Steam Engin"':'1 I ~---.. --~-- ,,---'-- Steam Engines ...... 2 .. . 16 4 2 70 106 Balfour's Pulverizer ...... , ... 1 ...... Appleton's Breaker ...... 1 ... 'H Whims ...... '" S 6 '" H. Chilian Mills ...... --'I ... .5 ...... Puddling Machines H' 13 3 , H • ...... , ... '" ... i I Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £15,000. Number of square miles of auriferoUll ground which is being. or may have been, actually worked upon, 6. Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time,50. The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from £4 to £4 Is. per oz. ". , 60 TaE FOLLOWING INFOR~IATION HAS BEEN oll'rAiNED RELATIVE TO 'fHE QUAN'rl'fV OF QUART;;' AND QUARTZ TAiLlNGS AND CEMENT CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- I I : Remarks relative to the Average I Depth at which the Name of Company. Where ~rtz, &0., were Qua.rtz crushed. Yield of Gold I Total Y,eld. of '. 0 tzined. . Quartz, &0., were 0b- per Ton. , Gold. tn.ined. tons ewt. qr. oz. dwt~ gr. oz. dwt. gr. Chapman and Co. ... St. Arnaud Reef, 811 0 0 014 8'12 581 8 12 public cruship.g . Lees and Co_ ... Greenock Reef, &c., 65 0 0 1 4 !l'08 79 10 0 ditto -. to 200 feet Chrysolite ...... Own and others' 855 1'0 0 01714-68 753 7 0 quartz' Edelsten and Co. ... Ditto ditto 17 0 0 o I~ 22'58 9 6 0 1-'Near surface ,Totals, Quarf.z ... 1,748 10 I) '016 6'80 1,423 II 12 Quartz Tailings and Cement Crushed. : McCredie's eugine ... Public crushin/i, tail- 150 0 0 0 4 19'20 36 0 0 ings Williams' machine ..... Alluvial, tailings ... 480 0 0 0 212 60 0 0 I I 630 0 0 0 3 1'14 96 0 0 ICement from- , New Bendigo , .. 77 0 0 o 13 2g'75 53 14 0: Carapooee ... 100 0 0 : 0 6 0 30 0 0 10 fi 177 0 0 9 10'981 83 14 0 Totals, Quartz Tail- } tngs !lnd Cement 807 0 0 0 410'88 179 14 0 Silver Ores with Gold Mixed MetaL Crushed. . SilverMiningAssociation Stuart's Hill ... 1,727 0 0 ... i 1,940 0 0" 1'50 feet Masters and Prs. ... Ditto ...... 52 0 0 ... I 135 10 ot 20 feet to 45 feet Totals, Silver Ores} ----- with Gold ... 1,779 0 0 ... 12,075 10 0 * Value of alloy not given_ t Alloy worth over £1 per oz. I have the honor to state that the western slopes from New Bendigo are now presenting a new item in my report, viz., a quantity of cement of good yield; and at Peters' Diggings alluvial tailings are yielding to the crusher a payable amount of gold, and inducing new enterprise. It is strange that New Bendigo, so remarkable for the steady yield of its reefs (now generally over an.ouuce per ton), should, after eight or nine years, continue to, be taxed by a cartage of two .or three miles. 'rhere are large masses of inferior quartz untouched, which would pay a machine in place. The alluvial ground alone demands a machine, as much of it is cemented and will not puddle. . The wrought reefs of this subdivision are paying well, and there are other reefs, being as good to look at, but requiring to be laid open. . I have registered 8Il alluvial prospecting claim; depth of sinking, 3 or 4 feet; yield, not less that 1 oz. to the load; locality,:at miles south-west of St. Arnaud township, taking westward into th.e . plains. ; 61 CASTLEMAINE MINING DISTRICT. CASTLEMAINE DIVISION. Mr.,Thorna,s L. Brown, Mining Surveyor and Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- , ! Total for EurollelloIlll. Chine.e. the Division. Remarks. ------~-~-- .Alluvial Miners ...... 8t.O 1,420 2,230 Quartz Miners ...... 548 12 • 560 Totals ... l,35S 1,432 2,790 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTisn:- Castlemaine 240 Campbell's Creek 370 Diamond Gully 320 Gnildford ... 255 Barker's Creek 300 Muckleford ' 45 Moonlight 215 Pennyweight 230 Chewton 519 Golden ~oint 280 Cobaw 16 Total. ... 12,790 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL lIlrNlNo. QUAll.TZ lIlrNlNG. Description of Machiner7. Number of Aggregate Numbero! Aggregate At work.l Idle. Stamp Heads. IIIorSe'~er of At Work. Idle, stu,mp Heads. HorS&-power 0 Ste_ gines. Steam Enginea. .-~-~- ---- fr.J.-; Steam Engines ...... / 5 ... 16 97 16 8 258 395. Horse Puddling Machines ... 0 168 32 ...... '" ...... Horse Whims and Pulleys .•. 10 ...... 35 .. . .. , .. . , 63 Sluices and Toms ...... '" ... I I I Total value of mining plant in the division, £64,000. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, I?r may have been, actually worked upon, 9. . Number of distinot quartz reefs which have been aotually proved to be auriferous to the present time,90. o The prioe of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £3 158. 9d. to £8 17s. 3d. :per oz. 62 THE .FOLLOWING IN.FORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE-' QUANTITY, OF QUARTZ C1mSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- I Remarks relative to the Name of Company. Where Quartz was Quartz crushed. YieldAvera~ of Id I Totlll Yield Depth' at which the obtained. per Ton. of Gold. Quartz was obtained. ~---~--~------tons em. qr. oz.dwt. gr. oz, dwt. gr. Ajax ...... Bolivia Reef .,. 975 0 0 010 1'77 491 2 0 140 feet to 196 feet Walker '" ... Manchester Reef .•. 424 0 0 016 9'55 34712 18 ~O feet Harvey ...... Ditto ...... 35 0 0 0 6 3'71 10 15 10 Walker ...... Wattle Gully .1 I 229 0 0 0 4 5'82 48 11 13 Fairbairn ...... Ditto .... ~ ... 780 0 0 0 5 17'25 223 o 16 Lloyd ...... Ditto ... 117 0 0 01'4 '4'41 82 19 12 Kent and Others ... Ditto ... ." lSi 0 0 0 1 2 48 ·10 12 James' ...... Town Reef ... 142 !) 0 012 4 86 7 17 ISO fe.;t Myers ...... Shanks Reef ... S25 o· 0 '0 '7 0 llS- 150 0 0 0 6 5'93 - 34 13 10 McIntosh and Others .•• Vineyard neef '" III . Salmon ... '" Burns' Reef ... 46 0.0 016 4'69 S7 5 0 McWaters ...... , Ditto ... -,- 35 0 0 0 4 13-03 7 19 0 Lewis ...... Sebastopol Reef .. . 166 0 0 018 1'73 150 0 0 170 Straede '" - ... Ditto .. : ... 829 0 6 0 4 2'66 8 0 Ditto ... Luck~o.'Y ~!lef ... 86 0 0 0 6 12'55 28 I 0 .. • !'-~ Gregory , .. ... Dead-Cat Reef 88 0 0 0 418'82 21 I O' Bennetts ... South American Reef 211 : 0 0 o 6 5'30 65 12 15 Logan and 6¥hers ... Argus Hill Reef .. , - 365 0 0 6 13 19'26 251 1,7 22' J!'lint and Co. ... Chewtoh Reef ... 149 0 0 0 5 13'69 '41 10 0 Jackson. , .. ... Victoria Reef ... 120 0 0 o 5 18'70 34 13 12 , Martin and Others ... Horseshoe Reef -"::', 27 -0 0 0-: 5 16'66 7.13 18 James ", ... Sheepshead '" 33 0 0 011 14'54 19 3 0 Matthews '" ... Lady Sutton Reef... 32 0 0, 010 4'12 16 5 12 ,Curnow .. , ... Garibaldi Reef ... 42 0 0 0 621'71 14 10 Q Evans ...... London Reef ... 33 0 0 0 320 6 6 12 Opie and Others Post Office Reef .,. n 0 0 0 6 8'45 22 11 0 40 feet Lewis and Others '" Nimrod Reef ... 606 0 0 0 9 6'82 281 6 6 Jones and Others ... Various Reefs ... 167 0 0 0 3 19'10, 31 13 22 Stephens and Co, ... Cumberland reef '" 15 0 0 010 0 7 10 0 .. : ._--- -, Totals, Quartz ... 6,396 0 0 0 810'84 2,702 16 11 ." , The quarter has been exceedingly' dull, alluvial mining, with our present :applianees and water supply, daily becoming more precarious; many miners now employ themselves re-washing old tailings. TIle only exc(lption is at Barker's Creek and.Harcourt, where 74'men are sluicing, making good wages. after paying for ,the water. , Many miners are again on the move, _preparing for departure to New Zealanll. Our mechanical appliances are also on the decrease, two steam-engines, the Aberdeen Company's and the White Horse Company's plants, having been sold and removed. . Quartz l!1inin,g in Chewton continues prosperoua. Two ,continuations of reefs~have been opened, and named Ganbaidl and Lady Sutton; upon each several claims have been taken up. N early all the' returns are from Forest Creek, there being no payable reef at work at Barker's Oreek, and only the Ajax Company upon Oampbell's Creek, consequently the crushing machiIles in those localities are unemployed. '•. " ' " • ~ > ... . FRYER's': CREEK SUBDIVISION. Mr. R .. L. M. Kitto, Mv-ning Surveyor and Registrq,r~ THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS':- Total fur the l!."uropeans. I Chinese, Subdivillio.n. . Remarks, - --- , . AlluviaLMiners ...... 1,375 1,481 2,856 Quartz Miners .• , ...... 140 ... 140 ~-~-~-~"- I ... Totals .. , 1,515 I 1,481 2,996 I I 63 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED;- Spllcimen Hill 43 Glenluce 157 :Blacksmith's Gully 10 Hard Hills 120 Spring Gully 189 Sailor's Gully ... 67 Church's Flat . 47 . Pickpocket and Loddon 375 Deadman's Gully 60 Holcombe '" 164 Chapel Hill 54 Fryerstown , .... 223 New Year's Flat ... 120 Vaughan ... 346 German Gully and Mopoke 177 Strathloddon and Guildford 449 Total 2,996 Tarilta ... 128 Loddon and Valley ... 267 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWs ;- 1____ .~ALL __-mn~AL--~-----G-·~·~·-----I------~-Q-U-AA~T-Z-~--~~- ..------Description of Maebinery. ! Number Aggregate Number Aggregate : At Work. Idle. of Stamp Horse-power of At Work. Idle. of Stamp Horae-power of Head.. Bteam Engine •. Heads. Steam Engines. ---~------Steam Engines, washing ,pump- 10 2 108 260 ing, and crushing cement Horse Puddling Machines ... 210 20 Whims •.• .~. 12 .... Whips... -.. , 40 5 Horse Pumps ... 60 13 Sluices and Toms ••• 100 7 Water-wheels .. . 8 Steam Engines .. . 8 70 117 Whims ••• 8 Whips '... •.. 14 4, THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION, HAS BEEN OB'l:A.INED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND CEMENT CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED .THEREFROM ;- • Average. Remarks relative to th Name of Company.. Where 2t,UJUtz. &0., were Quartz crushed. Yield of G<>ld TotaJ Yield of o tained. G<>ld. Depth at which th per ton. QUJUtz was obtaloed • .. tons owt. qr. oz. dwt.81". oz. dwt. 81". Rowe Brothers ... Ferron's Reef ... .. 75 0 0 0 6 16 \ 25 0 0 50 feet Rowe Brothers ... Clark's Reef ... 60 O' 0 0 8 8 10 0 ,0 60 feet 0 0 o 19 1'94 159 6 12 Rowe Brothers ... Cattle's Reef '" 167 110 feet Stephens and Company Ferron's Reef ... 266 0 0 o 15 8'59 204 5 6 40 feet Gattle and Company." Cattle's Reef ... 126 0 0 1 0 0 126 0 0 Cattle and Company ••• Cattle's Reef ... 107 0 0 o 10 0 53 10 0 } 60 feet 'Rowland and Company Bristol Reef ... 17 0 0 1 0 0 i7 '0 0 120 feet Rowland and Company Bristol Reef ... 14 0 0 0 7 0 4 18 0 Rowland and Company Bristol Reef ... 6 0 0 0 9 0 2 14 0 } 60 feet Birmingham ... Specimen Hill Reef 12 0 0 o 10 0 6 0 0 40 feet Hicks and Company ... Bindon's Reef ... 14 0 0 2 0- 0 28 0 0 20 feet Hicks and Company ••• Bindon's Reef ... 4- 0 0 1 10 0 6 0 0 20 feet 10 Duke of Cornwall .. ~, Cattle's Reef ... 1'12 0 0 o 0 86 0 0 60 feet " Totals, Quartz ... 1,040 0 0 o I~ 0'30 728 13 18 Quartz Tailings and ----- Cement crushed. Table Hill ...... Table Hill ... 780 0 0 0 4 0 156 0 0 "'Eldorado ... Guildford Hill ... 1,000 0 0 0 3 0 150 0 0 Francisco and Company Mein's Hill .. , '" 130 0 0 o 10 0 65 0 0 William Tell ... Mein's Hill ...... 455 0 0 0 3 12 79 12 12 Alpha ...... Alpha Paddock ... 300 0 0 0 6 16 100 0 0 Ditto (public crushing) Various places ... 1,620 0 0 o 10 0 810 0 0 Sir H. Barldy ... Company's ground 650 0 0 010 0 325 0 0 . Ditto (public crushing) Various ...... 780 0 0 015 O. 585 0 '0 Totals, Quartz Till- } I ings and Cement 5,715 0 0 0 7 22'7012,270 12 12 .. This oomPImY will be reducing fully 5,000 tons of eement quarterly in future. 64 I have the honor to report the discovery of a new reef at the head of Golden Gully, to the west of and parallel with Clark's, Cattle's, and Heron's Reefs. The proprietors have' named it Bindon's Reef. The 4rst crushing gave 28 ozs. from 14 tons of stone; and a subsequent one, 6 OZB. from 4 tons of stone. ' The average yield from the quartz crushed in this subdivision' during the past quarter is con- siderably above .any 'previous return. . . I mentioned in my last report the fact of the Hand of Friendship Oompany, on the Emu Reef, r~moving their engine. They commenced working last week; I hope to be able to report regular returns from' this mine in future. In ordinary alluvial mining there is no visible chanffe. The puddlers are gradually but surely exhausting the various gullies and flats, while no new discoveries of this class of mines are being made. ,- ...... In reference to the deep leads, I 'think; we shall be enabled to show in a very short time that' they are highly remunerative. ' . The Eldorado, the first large alluvial company in this subdivision that has fairly Bet to work, gave for the last three weeks 83 ozs., 101 OZS., and 87 ozs. respectively. . The Alpha Mine, one of those started about a year and a half ago, ,was managed in such a way as to cause the shares to be comparatively worthless, but the mine having been. taken on tribute, a few months has brought the company out of debt, and a considerable Bum is beginning to accumulate towards paying a dividend, which is expected at Ohristmas. The Gtrildford Gold Mining Company have a val~lable mine. HEl'BURN DIVISION. Mr. A'mbrose Johnson, Mining Sz!rveyor and Registrar. - THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Europeans. '. Chin_. Total for the DirtsiOll. Rema.:rks. ---..---- Alluvial Miners 1,772 576 2,348 Quartz l'rfiners 604 604 Totals 2,37~ 576 2,952 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THt'S DISTRIBUTED Brandy.hot ." 98 Wombat 316 Boots 63 Oonnell's Gully 93 Blind Creek ... 52 reek 435 Wombat Creek 166 P cket." 114 Stony Oreek '" 240 Forty.foot ... 30 Spring Creek 215 Doctor's Gully 188 Sailor's Creek 349 D'ry Diggings "_ 148 Total 2,952 Daylesford and Oomoora 445 • J THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- QUARTZ MINING. Descriptien of Ma.chinery. ! Aggregate Number Aggregate At Work. I At Work. Idle. of Stamp :=~~~!e~~ Head•. ~~=-lFn~e~~ --- ~ ..... Steam Engines, empl in pump- ll. 9 500 ... ing, winding, pud • &0. Steam Engines, employ in pump- 16 10 246 466 ing. winding, crushing. Crushing Mills (water-power) 3 22 Whims 14 22 14 25 Horse Puddling Machines 93 1"-_=> Total value of mining plant in t.he division, £69,000. , N umber of square miles of auriferous ground w4ich is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 47. . Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 83.. ' I The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £3 178. to £4 Os, Sd. per oz. 65 THE FoLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND CEMENT ORUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM :- Average Rell1llrks rel&tive to the Name of Oompa.IlY. Where Quartz, &;C., were Quartz orushed. Yield of Gold IToml Ywld. of Depth at which the obmilled. per Ton. Gold. Quartz was obta.ined. ~ ... --~~ .. -- tOilS owt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Prince of Wales ... Glamorganshire Reef 1,200 0 0 0 1 12 90 0 0 80 feet to 100 feet Chance ...... Chance Reef ... 700 0 0 0 7 0 245 0 0 50 feet to 100 feet C. Morrison and Co. ... Christmas Reef ... 46 0 0 010 0 23 0 0 100 feet Dannevirke ...... Adelaide Reef .,. 258 0 0 1 10 0 387 0 0 232 feet to 355 feet Ditto, for hire ... Adam's Reef ... 6 0 0 2 0 0 12 0 0 Surface Ditto, ditto .• , ... Iveson's Reef ... 10 0 0 217 0 28 10 0 11 feet Wonderful ... Wonderful Reef ... 0600 0 0 010 0 300 0 0 150 feet 150 0 0 0 9 0 67 10 0 175 feet Specimen Hill '" Specimen Hill '" North Crown ... Wombat Reef ... 400 0 0 0 4 0 80 0 0 140 feet Havelock ...... Ditto .., .. . 1,000 0 ,0 0 7 12 -375 0 0 350 feet Cornish ...... Ditto ...... 1,600 0 0 0 812 680 0 0 265 feet Cornish and French ... Collier's Reef .... , l,lOO 0-0 (} 3 (} 165 0 0 ! 25 feet Geo. Howe's Mill ... Various reefs ... I 520 0 0 0 6 0 156 0 0 Nuggety ... ." Nug@3ty Reef ... 358 0 0 0 4 0 71 12 o /40 feet to 50 feet Spring Creek ... 150 0 0 011 12 86 5 o 55 feet Barckly's Mill Ditto ...... 45 ,0 0 0 9 0 20 .5 0 ... j Pitcher's Reef ... 122 0 0 0 2 0 12 4 (} Surface Ditto '" , .". , 60 0 0 0 2 6 6 15 0 50 feet Crown ...... Wombat Hill ... 1,162 0 0 010 0 581 0 o , 240 feet Jenkins' Mill Bray and Co. ... 650 0 0 0 812 276 5 0 70 feet .... { Various -reefs 555 0 0 0 416'60 130 4 0 ---- Totals, Quartz '" 10,692 0 0 0 7 2'30 3,793 10 0 Quartz Tailings and , Oemlmt crushed. Prince of Wales ... Daylesford Extension 50 0 0 0 4 0 10 0 0 claim Howe's Mill ...... Varioua claims ... 780 0 0 (} 4 0 156 0 0 Barekly's Mill . I Doctor's Gully ... 100 0 0 0 3 0 15 0 0 ... 1 Spring Creek ... 150 0 0 0 Ii 0 37 10 '0 Totals, Quartz Tail- } 1,080 0 0 .0 4 1'11 218 10 0 jngs and' Cement ! No marked improyements haye taken. place in mining matters during the quarter, and as a. consequence the mining population is materitilly decreasing. The supply of wawr has' apparently been sufficient in the greater part of the district to keep the sluices busy, but the number of claims yielding sufficiently good returns to pay, at the rate of £3 or £4 for water per week, is gradually diminishing, and hired labor is scarcely being employed in any claim of this description. ' In quartz mining some slight improvement is yjsible, and attention is gradually being directed into this channel. The returns obtained from the different quartz crushing machines are more than usually complete, and show a slight increase in the aYe rage yield oyer that for the preceding quarter. Tunneling continues in much the same condition as before, the working being, with a few exceptions, confined to re-working old ground, and generally, both in the- old and new ground, the return is just about ordinary wages. I may, howeyer, mention that the Ballarat Tunnel Company haye again got their claim in working order, and anticipate washing up from 120 to 140 ozs. per week. The Smeaton Estate Company, in the same locality, are calling for tenders to haYe additional puddlinO' machinery erected by the time the ground is fairly opened up, and I understand the inwrvening gronna will shortly be brought before the public. No new ground has been opened in any part of the division, and with the exception of the find of two nuggets, one of about 60 ozs. and one of about 28 OZS., nothing worthy of remark has occurred. TARADALE SUBDIVISION_, Mr. ThomaB Orwin, Mining Registrar. TIIE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Europoollil. Total for the Chin.... Subdivision. Remarks. -~~~--~-- Mlu vial Miners 470 134 604 Quartz Miners 120 120 Totals 590 134 724 No. 14, h. 66 Taradale '(scattered) 150 Wattle Flat ... 150 , Yankee Point 45 Barfold ... 55 Park Lead ... 40 Redesdale (scattered) ':. 84 Bell's Lea'd' .,t , 80 \ Malmsbury"(riorth) ... ! 85 Total' 724 Belltopper : '" ' 35' :, ... ' " , "'ALLI1VIAL MJ:NIN9. QUARTZ MINmG. " " . De~cription of M\'iiJw.lei-y, H' i Aggregate " Number Aggregate , f " ,I. of Stamp Horse'power of '. , ,,' At Work;' Idle. Horse'power of 4twor~;' Idle. , ! Steam Engines. , Heads. Stea.mEngin~S. --, . ' " " !.~,,- :' --- .. " Steam Engines, ,for puddling~d pumping 9 4, 251 ' ...... ' ...... 1 46 " Ditto, for crushing .•. ... •.. " ...... 6 64 Horse):~uddljng, Machines ...... 10 1 , ...... ',. I Horse Whims ' ' .. ... ,... 11 5 ...... , ...... 'I "1 j'::!' Total vl! THE FOLLOWING :I~FORMATION HAS, D!ilEN OBTAINED RELATIVE ;.TO 'THlp QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND-CEMENT' CRUSHED"DUnING"THlil QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED I '. l' r - ~ THEREFROM :-" • "', , , . " ' Quart..': Cl'Ullhed,'I Yield,Average of ~ld TotaJ Yield of , , " 'C per, TO~. "',Gold. ",,', . , tons em; qr,r 1Z~'dwt. i ,oz. dwt. gr. , , Alpha , . ':" .. 1" ,Taradale ,"••• t i,\. .,. ' "250 'o~' 0 I. 0 12 '0" 150 0 0 Prince Albert ' Ditto . 50, ,0 0 iI, 2', 2:' 55'" 4 4 Bellt~Pller ... ,Ditto, ":- . ••. n'~'- ••• , ,32, ,0" 0 'I: O:Ui 0, ,',24,,0 ,0,,------,------Quartz Tailings -and Cement - ,. ,Totals, Quart'z ''', , .332 0 0 ,'0,13 19'38 1 229 4 4 crushed, ,~~. , ----,------.-,-.. - 1 ' , London and Melbourne, io 0 0 010,0 500 • '" ..., .... _ • "- J -'., ., ". +0 •• ~ •• " : I , In my last report I alluded to the evil effects of over speculation in this subdivision; which, I regret to,say,'lis stilIoperatmg inj~ouslyonthe mih~g inteJ,'estshere,,,asisobyious from, the' want of energy dIsplayed ,by several companIes "on whose chllm~ thousands of pounds have been:;expended1; nevertheless there are a few claims which have been continued, and are bidding fair to be dividend paying claims. The prospects of the London and Melbourne are of highly encouraging character. They will shortly commence to block out ground where the wash·dirt is 4 feet thick, having the lead of gold one hundred feet wide by several hundred feet long f the company have enlarged their claim considerably. ' , The Nil Desperandum Company have let the claim to tributors, who are doing well; last week they obtained over 30 ozs. of gold D:om two m;l.Chines. The ,London have good prospects. The Union claim is also let to tributors and lYieJW!J.g'Fell, ;., Tp.!'l.;(JaJ;Qbrian have suspended operati9ns for a while, in order that the manager' may communicate with the shareholders of the company i and have their opinion, concerning a sudde~ dip in the~r,main, drive, supposed, t MALnON DIVISION• • Mr. Robt. Nanlcivel~,MVning SUTVfJyoT'ana Registrar. '." t. # . THE, ,TOTAL N,UMBEB OF MINERS IS AS FOLLO-WS,i- I Toto.l for the Europeans. Chlnese, ' DiviSion. I,' " Bemarks. .. .Alluvial Miners ...... 515 1,200 1,715 , 650 .. , Quartz Miners . ", ...... 6lio ... 1,200 2,365 t Totals ...... 1,165 " .. " I " ,THE Tout NUMBER OF MINERS IS TRUS DISTRIBUTED :~ . . -,)' Mou~t Tarrangower ... '210 Eaglehawk " .:.. 180 Growler's Gully 33 Pegleg Gully I 63 Beehive Hill 117 Porcupirfe ':';: " :, 50 ' .~. l. td! Nuggety .. : ' 60 Sandy Creek , 219 Newstead ... 22 Pickpocket ... 1,200 Gardner's Gully' , .... 12 Long Gully 45 Ironbark Gully . 20 Armstro.ng's Gully 2 j~. - , Hard Hill .'.. •• .'1" > , .... 8 Hunter's Rush:' 8 Back Creek 13, Fryingpan Gully' ... ,14 Long Gully, Muckleford .... ," 30 Green Valley ... , 49 Frenchman's 10 Total 2,365 TIIE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- >~ , " " ' . . " ALLUVIAL l\1n.'TItG. QUARTZ M1:NING. I " Description of ~iuner,.. , . " ... I Aggregate Number Aggrege.te At Work. Idle. Horse-power of At Work. Idle• ., of Stamp Hor"'·poW I .Total value of minillg plant in the division, £73;44.3; , Number of square'miles of auriferous grou!ld ~hich is 'beir!.g, or may have' been~ actually worked upon, 9!. ,,' . '.. • ., ,.' Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present ~~ , The JlriOI.l of ,10.9. j;\1.lrillg thf1 qUlU'ier ~)l fuedivillicm hall b!"~n, from £~ 1:8: ad: t? ~3 Wr;· ffill' ojlr 68 THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED 'RELATIVE ~O THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND' CEMENT CRUSHED. DURING T:E[E QUARTER, AND TIlE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROM:- Re1Il&rks relative to the "Where Quartz, &0., were Average Total Yield of Depth at which the Name of Compl\IlY. obtained. , Quart" Cl'Ilshed. Yield of Gold Gold. Quartz, &e., were ob· I parTon. tained. tons ewt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. 'lrz. dwt. gr. Beehive ...... Beehive Reef ... .2,102 0 0 011 9'89 1,199 8 12 50 feet, 210 feet, and 300 feet Eaglehawk " ... Beehive and Eaglebawk 994 0 0 o 18 5'46 905 18 6 260 feet Wellington ... Linscott's Reef ... 150 0 0' 0 8 l4'08 64 8,0 240 feet PhOlUix .-;.. Wilson's, German; Vic- 1,239 0 0 1 11 '22'74 1,979 3 0' 300 feet '" toria, &c. North British' ... Eaglehawk, Wilson's, 1,272 0 0 1 7 8'85 1,740 13 0 Parkin's, .&c. Oswald's ...... Eaglehawk, Wilson'S, 1,151 0' 0 ! 5 12'47 ' 1,46813 0 &c., '&c. Great Western ... Beehive Reef ... 1,320 0 0 1 4 10'72 1,613 10 0 160 feet to 260 feet Welsh and English .. : Excelsior and Teetotal 74 O' 0 I 6 17'51 98 18 0 SO feet Reefs Brittingham's ... Thornhill's Reef, 90 0 0 o 16 12'SO 74 8 0 Muckleford Linscott's ...... Linscott's Reef '" 1,300 0 0 o 19 7'47 1,255 5 0 280 feet average Young Hope, Muckle- Omega Reef ... 910 0 0 0 7 0 31S 10 0 90 feet ford , Nuggety ." ... Nuggety and Linscott's i 606 0 0 0 S 10'14 255 4 0 240 feet 1------TotaU;, Quartz .... 11,208 0 0 o 19 13'97 W,973 18 18 Quartz Tailings and ---- Cement crushed. Prince of Wales ... ~Cement '" .. ,-1 2,000 0 0 0 1 16'32 168 0 0 Surface I ,., ALLUVIAL. It will be' seen by the accompanying 'return that a large number of Chinese are employed in this division, the greater 'portion of th~m being located on Jim Crow Creek, where they have built villages, consisting of substantial weatherboard buildings. The whole of the diggings are on private . property. ; As much as £300 per acre has been paid for the privilege of mining the land for two years, and a further sum of £100' per acre deposited for making good the surface. The ground is worked by paddocking from the surface, and drained by pumping with small water. wheels. The, depth of sinking is from 10 to 15 feet. In this locality about 1,000 men are employed, and, besides the Chinese, there are 100 Europeans working on the old leads. . At Sandy C~eek about the usual number of miners, say 250, are employed. Here the old system of washing with the tub and cradle }S still adhercd to. About a fortnight ago a nugget weighing 70 ozs. was found, which caused a small rush, but nothing else of importance has been discovered. , ..; ,In the locality of Muckleford the numbers employed are about the same as usual, and there, as well as at Porcupine Flat,a general complaint prevails on the part of the miners that the diggings have become very poor.' : QUARTZ. Nilggety Reef.-This reef has been nearly all taken up under leases from the Crown. The claims (which wcre formerly very small)" owing to the depth and hardness of the rock, became too expensive to work by private par#es, and these, in order to induce capitalists to assist them in erccting machinery, considered it best to, amalgamate, Several claims have therefore been united, and leases obtained. Somc of the richest claims on this reef are now merged into the Alliance Company. 'I'hey have a 25 horse-power engine on the reef for pumping and hauling the dirt. The depth of the shaft is about 450 feet; for the last 150 feet the lode is very large, over 30 feet in thickness, but very poor. The Speculation Company, adjoining the Alliance on the south, is the only company at present on the , reef paying dividends. The last crushing of 88 tons from this claim yieldcd 365 ozs. 7 dwts. t'. , The best paying reefs at present in this division are the Old Beehive, Victoria, and Wilson's. The enginc shaft of the Beehive Company is 360 feet in depth, at the bottom of which a cross-cut has been driven, and a reef struck 54 fect to, the west. Th.e lode here is 2 feet in thickness, and is supposed to be a new formation, as in the cross-cut 70 feet above the bottom there was nothing more than a face or division in the rock, and it was not until they had driven 50 feet south on this face that quartz was found. Tlie new lode at the bottom speaks well for the future of the mine. • The Mount Tarrengower Tunneling Company havc suspended operationsdurnlg the absence of the manager, who has proceeded to England for the purpose of purchasing one of the new patented drilling machines. The South Eaglehawk Company's new engine' shaft is down 230 feet; when 'they reached this level the influx of water was so great that'sinking was suspended and must continuc to be so until the pU~PB are taken ?ut of the o~d~haft and. fix!ld in the new ont!o This shaft is cllfculated to strike the lode at a 'depth of 400 feet, whlch will dram It 170 feet below the present workmgs, and enable the tributorB in the south part of the mine to resume operations. The average yield from this part of the mine is about It ozs. per ton. , 69 , ST•. ANDREW'S EAST SUBDIVISION. Mr. Alfred Armstrong, Mining Suroeyor and Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER Oli' MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- EUl'opeans. Chinese. Total for the Subdivision. B.emfll'ks. • Alluvial Miners ... 97 ... 97 Quartz Miners ... 10 ... 10 Totals ... 107 ... 107 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Christmas Reef 13 Roddle's Creek 43 Cumberland Oreek 6 W orri-yallock 7 'McMahon's Creek 28 Warburton's ... 10 ,Total 107 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- ALLUVIAL MINING. QUAll,TZ J\UNIl;:a. Description of Machinery. Horse-power of At Work. Idle. At Work. Idle. o~Wt'~ IHorse-powerof Steam Engine. Heads. Steam Engine. -----~.~.. ,- Water-wheels ...... '" ...... 2 ... 14 ., . Steam Engine, employed in pump- I ... 4 ...... jug, &c. i . Steam Crushing Mill ... .. , ...... I 10 I 9 I Total value of minin~ plant in the subdivision, £1,900. . Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, 9. Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 6. The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from. £3 15s. to £3 16s. per oz. I have the honor to report that mining affairs in this subdivision are in much the same state as reported for the quarter endiJ:!g the 30th June last. At Rich Rill thero is now a reef 12 inches in thickness fairly developed. The owner of. the steam quartz mill has substituted water-power instead of steam-power for the same. I Two small rushes are reported to have taken place recently, one near McMahon's Creek and the other at RoddIe's Creek. As the summer season is the most favorable. for mining operations in this Bubdivision, it is highly probable that this gold field, which is comparatively l:mt little known, will become further developed, and there seems to me no reason to doubt that a considerably larger population might find remunerative and permanent employment upon the same. ST•. ANDREW'S CENTRAL SUBDIVISION; Mr. Alfred Armstrong, Mining Surveyor and Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- : Total for EUl'OpeIlllS'[ Chinese. tl).e Subdivision. ------~------i Alluvial Miners 170 150 320 Quartz Miners 249 249 Totals 419 150 569 70 TxE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Black Calf and Wild Dog .. ~ ". '. ... IS- Queenstown, 86 llack Creek ...... 24 Mountain Rush 2S Ironbri.rk Gully ' ...... 28 Queenstown Hilt ... 20 Yow-yow, QueenstoWn ... 82 ' Panton's Hill.:: 22 Smyth's Gully, Queenstown 33. . ,Research and Wet Gully 20 Long Gully, St. Andrews 80 Rocky and Scrubby Creek 14 Red Shirt Gulla: ...... 16 Anderson's Creek' .,_ 115 First Watery ully ... " IS Pioneer Reefs ... " ... 29 Second Watery Gully ... 17 " Cherry.tree Gully ... IS Total 569 Whisk Gully , .. " ."., 12 Old C3'edonia. ?9 \ .;: ;- ~ . Tim MACHINIUlY"IS, AS FOLLOWS:- Description of Me.ohinery. Aggregate Aggregate At Work. Idle. Number of; Horsa-poWllr of At Work. Idle. NUlll, ber of Hor• .,..Ij&,~::£ 8ta'?p Heads,' Stealll Engines. ~p, ,IIe~~~ Steam ' , , ,;, " , ' -'. ~ .. 40 Steam Engines, Queenstown 3 44' .. \, 4 14 .. Anderson's Creek .w. , ... , .. ' Total ~a1ue of,mining plant in the subdiviaipn, £5,900. ' " Number ofsquare miles of. auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,4i· , J """,',. ", , ~umber 6f distinct quartz reefs which' have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 40: " , : . , ' . ". . ' , ,The price of gold during the qua:rJ;er in the subdivision has. been from £8 18s. to £3 198. per oz. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATIO~ HAS B~EN OBTAINED RBLATIVE ~o THE QU+JFITY 91' QUA!'.TZ! .M;u,L. LOCK, AND CEMENT CRUSHBD DURING THE QUARTER;' AND THE GOLD OBTAINED'THEREFROM :-:- Nam. of Compa.ny. Where Quartz, &c.. were QuartzOrushed.1 Total ::: obtained• , Yi~de;~ldper ton. Gold.Yiel~~i ~'::~Quartz was::'a:~fc:O obtained. • ·-'~~----,------~------I---~~~.«----- tons ewt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr; Eureka Reef...... St. Andrew's ... 26 0 0 5 5 5.~58 136 16 0 Boomer's Reef ...Ditto ••• ••. 20 0 0 0 18 7'75 IS 6 II Comet Reef, No.1... Ditto ... ••• ,3 10 0 4 14 20'57 16 12 0 Ditto, No., 2 ... :... Ditto ... ' ... " 11 0'0 0 16 0 8 16' 0 Ditto, No.8...... Ditto...... 7 0 0 1 2 10'28 7 17 0 Ditto, NO.4...... Ditto ...... 10 0 0 0 18 16'SO 970 Ditto ... ••. Ditto...... 18 10 0 1 18 10-14 22 11 5 Ditto ' ...... Ditto ... ••. 17 0 0 8 1 9-88 52 4 0 Eureka Reef, No.1 ••. 'Ditto .•• •.. 8 0 0 4'8 4 13 4 12 Ditto, No.2... ..• Ditto ••• •.. 800 180 940 Ditto, (prospecting) ... Ditto...... 11 10 0 2 11 12-26 29'12 J 9 Mountaineer(prospecting) Ditto...... 6 0 0 018 0', 818 0 Ditto, No.1 North ... Ditto... •.. 18 0 0 4 18 1l-07 60 15 0 Oram's Reef, No.1 North Ditto...... I 10 0 0 9 5'82 o 13 20 Ditto, No.8 Sonth ... Ditto... •.. 4100130 5 3 12 200 feet t~ 215 .. Ditto, No.4 North ... Ditto ...... 16 0 0 1 8 18 23 0 0 } feet , Oram's Reef...... Ditto ... ••• 2 10 0 8 5 16 844 Moonlight Reef ... Queenstown .. . 4 0 0 0 14 0 2 '16 0 North Star Reef ... Ditto...... 2 10 0 0 6 16-S0 o 16 18 Gillman's Reef ... Ditto...... 1 10 0 0 14 0 1 1 0: GermanlReef ... Yow·yow... - - '.-::- ---6- 8 '0- '15-0-0 92 5 0 I 15 feet Millar's Reef...... Ditto ...... 132 0 0 0 12 20'36 84 16 0 30 feet to 45 feet Golden Point Reef ... Queenstown ••• 3 15 O. 0 16 16 3 2 12 llO feet Jenny Lind Reef ... Ditto •.. 4 5 0 0 3 16 o 15 14 Antimony Reef ... Ditto:.. . .. 20 0 1 3 I ' 262 Band of Hope Reef ... Ditto ...... 4 17 0 0 13 4'70 340 Barker's Reef ... St. Andrew's .. . 10 0 0 2 5 7 22:1222 Early Bird Heaf ... Anderson's Creek ... '8 0 0 1 10 21 12 7 O' Pioneer Reef...... Diamond Creek ... 3 0 0 3 14.0 II 2 6 Ditto, No.2 North ... Ditto...... 2 0 0 0 16 0 1 12 0 Pi~to, No.8 North ... Ditto...... 6000110 ~ 6 0 -----1---·---·1------Totals, Quartz ... 364 0 0 1 16 17'39 668 7 21 Mullock and Oement ------1--'--.-:-. -;-..,...1----- crushed, ~ullockfrom Comet Reef -St. Andrew's ... 65 0 0 '0 1 13:10: ,5 0 12, Ditto, from Minnie Reef Wet Gnlly .... 20 0 0 0 0 4'20 o 3 12 Cement ...... Anderson's Creek ... 16 0 0 0 10 1'50 810 1dullock ••• Ditto ...... 33 0 0 0 4 IS'18 7 17 0 .. Totals. 1t11f\lOCk}' 134 0 I) f) a /!':)S nnd Cemont • Bl a 0 71 No attempt having been made during the quarter to discover any fresh alluvial ground, I am unable to report any improvement in the prospects of the alluvial miners near Queenstown. The Chinese continue in ,equal force, and scem perfectly satisfied with their earnings. 'On the south side of the Yarra, at Anderson's Creek, some very good patches have been discovered, yielding in some cases as much as an ounce to the tub; they are worked by parties of four men, in about 17 feet sinking; this has given employment to the usual number of miners located thcre, who are generally emplOyed in river workings, at present discontinued owing to the winter's rain. There appears a very great reduction in the returns of gold crushed during the quarter, which may be accounted for from the fact of one of the best claims on Allan's Reef having been suspended, owing to the proprietors being engaged in sinking a new shaft required fo'r the proper development of the, claim; also froIh the fact of Messrs. Oram, Stewart, and Mickinson having met with a Jault in their claim mentioned in my'last report, and from the discontinuance of nearly all the quartz workings at Anderson's Creek. The Minnie Company, near Eltham, crushed 20 tons of conglomerate, consisting, of sandstone, quartz, :md otlier substa!lces, for the pUrpose of testhtg t~e same, which' yielded 3 dwts'.12 grs. from the entire mass. As thIS was not supposed to have 'been taken from the' reef only, It cannot be considered as any criterion of the ultimate yield of the claim. ' A new reef, named by the prospectors the Pioneer, has been discovered, about three miles from the Diamond Cre!lk Reef. The prospectors' experimentali crushing yielded·g ozs.14 dwts. to the ton; the claim No.1 North, '16 dw,ts,; No.2, If dwts. These results having been obtained from stone taken from a little below the surface, I am unable to give any opinion as to the probable permanency of the same. The vein varies in thickness from 1 foot to 2 feet 6 inches. . . I think it very probable that some good alluvial gUllies ,might be discovered in the neighborhood, if ~he miners would but take the trouble to prospect for, t4em. . KYNETON SlmDrVISioN. Mr. Jarne8 M(J,(fJwell, MilnVng Swrveyor and Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- , Total for the Europeans. Chinese. Subdivision. Remarks. .. _-- Alluviallfiners ...... 20 5 25 Quartz Miners ••• ...... 185 ... 185 Totals ...... 205 I 5 210 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS -DIsTRIBUTED :- Lauriston ... 155 Kangaroo Creek ~5 Total 210 j" }. TlIE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- .. -, ALLlJVIAL lIIINING. I QUARTZ lIIINING. Description of Maeh.inery. I Aggregate Number Aggregate At Work. Idle. At Idle. of Stamp Horse-power of -- ft~!:-t,~:e~~ Wo~k.: Heads. steam Enginea. --- ! --- Steam Engines, for pumping and 1 1 30 4 2 58 95 crushing Horse Whims ... 2 1 4 , 0 ...... o· ...... o Total value of minin~ plant in ~he subdivision, £;to!~. . - , Number of square miles of' auriferous ground w~1C1i IS bemg, Or may have been, actually worked upon,7. ,- Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present tim!:', 10. . The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision has been from £3 16s. 9d. to £3 18s. per oz. 72 THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ _ CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND '.tHE GOLD. OBTAINED THEREFROM:- , I Ii , ! . Average Remarks relative to the Name of Company. Where Qua.rtz was Total Yield of , obtaiued, : Quartz crushed. Yield of Gold Gold. Depth at which the per Ton. Quartz was obtained. ~---~ tons cwt. '1.f. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Frenchman's ... Kangaroo Creek ... 1,400 0 0 0 4 6'86 300 0 0 Tunnel North Wyndham ... Glass's Paddock ... 119 0 0 0 4 15'98 27 15, 6 80 feet Glengonner .. , ... 'McCracken's ... 98 0 0 011 5'39 55 0 0 Hanagan's ...... Lauriston ... 55 0 0 0 9 0 24 15 0 40 feet Lonergan's .,. Ditto ... , ... 60 0 0 0 1 10'98 4 17 11 80 feet Ditto 39 14 45 Job Barr and Co: ...... 0 0 0 .7 4'31 ! 0 0 feet Pullen and Co. ... Ditto ...... 46 0 OJ o 11 22'70 27 9 12 48 feet General Wyndham .,. Glass's Paddock ... 2,400 0 0 0 8 10'95 i 1,014 15 0 180 feet Totals, Quartz ... 4,217 0 0 0 6 23'11 1,510 13 5 , A number of the miners in this subdivision have been prospecting their ground by sinking new shafts. The Nelson and Wellington claims have not been crushing, waiting the completion of their new machine, which consists of a 25 horse· power' engine and 10 head of stamps, and a self-acting inclined plane railway for conveying the quartz from the shafts to tho crushing machine, which is placed about 400 yards from the shafts, on the east bank of the river Coliban. The Abraham Lincoln are down about 80 feet with their shaft, and have obtained very good prospects. The Sir Charles . Darling are busy sinking; they are down about 40 feet; and two neyv quartz claims have been applied for, but have not yet broke ground. The falling off in the yield of gold for the quarter is principally attributable to the principal claims not crushing. BLUE MOUNTAIN NORTH SUBDIVISION. Mr. R. H. Horne, Mining Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- Europeans. Chinese. Total for the Subdivision. Remarks. Alluvial Miners ... 450 40 490 The other populatipn ... amounts to about Quartz. Miners ...... 60 ... 60 400. Totals ... '0' 510 40 550 / THB TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED; 'l'rentham, inclup.ing Rocky Lead, Stony Creek, Trentham Creek, &c. 85 Dry Diggings - . ..' . . . .•...... , .. . .. , 20 Newbury, including Main Flat, Dover Oastle Creek, Old Camp Ground (north), &0. 50 Amelia Reef 35 Alma Reef ... 50 Garlick's, The Glue Pot, &c. 240 Mudlark...... 15 Doctor's Hill, Canadian Hill, Blue Creek, &c. l\5 . Total 550 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- QUA.RTZ MmING. ALLUVl.U MTh"lNG. ~\. DeSCription of Machl:ne'lil" Aggregate ! Number Aggregate At Work. Idle, HorBe''li:er of At Work. ldie. ofSta.mp Horse·Power of Steam gines, i Heads. Steam Eogiuea. ------Steam Engines, for crushing ...... 3 ... 16 74 and pumping • ,. 73 Total value of mining plant in the subdivision, £7,500. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon, n. . Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time,5. • The price of gold during the quarter in the subdivision haa been £3 17s. per oz. THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION IIA8 BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE QU'ANTITY OF QUARTZ ORUSHED ~ DURING THE QUARTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED TIIEREFROll1:- Average . - Remarks relative to the Name of Company. Where Quartz was :Yield of Gold Total Y,eld of Depth at which the . obtained. Quartz crullhed. . I' i per ton. Gold. Quartz was obtained. i tons ewl;: qr. oz. <1wt. gr. oz. <1 wI;. gr. Alma Reef Quartz Alma Reef Prospect- 247 0 0 o 12 )4'31 155 11 8 160 feet to 180 feet Mining ing Claim· Amelia Reef Quartz Amelia Reef ... 523 0 0 0 7 9'31 193 4 0 140 feet to 180 feet Mining ------Totals, Quartz ... 770 0 0 0 9 \'41 348 15 8 During the last quarter the winter has been so severe in its ice and snow, hail storms, or cold winds and rains, that many of the alluvial miners were often obliged to suspend operations. With regard to the large alluvial claims, for from 30 to, 150 men's ground, they have nearly all been abandoned for want of funds, and from other causes not referrible to the character of the ground, auriferous or otherwise. Nevertheless, the gold from alluvial claims of small parties on this gold field purchased by one banking firm has amounted, for the last quarter, to 227 ozs. 1 dwt. 7 grs., and from the Alma and Amelia quartz reefs 303 ozs. 17 dwts. 12 grs., making a total of 5300zs. 18 dwts. 19 grs. More than this has, no doubt, been obtained, but I have no means of estimating it. The above returns seem to indicate that good hopes may still be entertained of the ultimate value of this gold field. ARARAT MINING DISTRICT. ARARAT DIVISION. Mr. Oharles J. W Russell, Mining Surveyor and Registrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- • Total for the Europeans. Ohln ••", Division. Rema.!'ks. ------Alluvial Miners ...... 530 1,040 1,570 The increase in the number of Quartz Miners ...... 194 ... 194 alluvial miners is clliefly due to ---- n great influx of Chinese, which occurred in July last. Totals ... 724 1,040 1,764 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUll DISTRIllUTED: Ararat, including the White Lead, Canton Lead,Oommissioner's Hm, Old Korns, Old and New Deep Leads, Hopkins, and :Black Lead...... 424 Armstrong's, including Dutten's Gully, Long Gull Napoleon Gully 186 Philip's Flat, Nil Desperandum, and Slaughteryard ...' ... 150 Cathcart, with Spring Lead, :Bowman's, Gibson's Flat, and :Blaok Hill Lead ...... 280 Shea's Flat, McNab's and Swamp Gullies, Opossum and Wattle Gullies, and Port Curtis ...... 470 Moyston, with Campbell's reefs and alluvial lead, Camp Lead, Jonathan and Shepherd's Gullies ...... , 25.1L Total ...... 1,764 No. 14. i. 74 TIlE MACIlINERY, IS 'AS' FOLLOWS :.:... !" Qu... .il.'l:Z MIl!1ING. , 1 ~ , " Description of Machinery. . Aggreg~te Number , Aggregate . .A,t Work. Idle. Horse-Power of At Work. • Idle. of Stamp Horse·Power of Steam Engines. Heads. Steam Engines. Steam Engine~;-::- , , _ _ . . " ..! • ., . Pumping, hauling, and crnsh- 2 14- 36 ing Pumping and hanling ... 85 .. .. , 20 2 ... ,9ruslli,ng, <'.. • •• " .. 5 34- 4-3 .Hauling l.",'43" Pumping 60 Pumping, hauling, and ~ud- 12 dling .:,' ." 01':. Puddling Machines •••. ., ,'...... H .. • Toms ... '" ... '. .... , Total value of mining plant'in the division,,£19,400. ." '. NS.rmber of square IP,~les o(a!J,ri,ferous ground which is being, C!r may J!.av~ 'Peen, JtC,t:ually .wdr~!"d upon, 3 4' '. , N um~er of distinct quartz reefs which have bee!). actually proved to be auriferous to the present tIme, 14. . . " , ' , The price of gold during 'the quarter in 'the'di,vision has been from £316s; 9d. to £317s. 9d. pero'z.· ! I \''- " • :" • I, • '. THE " F,oLLOWING INFORMAT~ON n;:a~ B~E~ • OBTAINED RELATIVE TO ~HE QUANTITY OF QU,IJiTZ CRUSHED DuRiNG THE QUARTER, AND THE ~O~D OBTAlNED THEREFROM:- , ' , -,' .' . I AVerage Total Yield of Remark. relative to the Name of Company...... w.~;;~~"'1.i~ ~§ r.' Quartz crUShe(t.1 Yield of Gold " Gold. ' , Deptb at which the Quartz - parTon. wasobtilined. ! 'tOlll! owt. qr. oz.dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. North Star ••• ... Campbell's Reef ... 881 0 0 016 0'11 705 0 0 181 feet Southern Cross .,. Ditto ... ---..- 650,: 0 ,0 017 0'37 553 0 0 330 feet Kangaroo ...... Ditto ...... ,-507····0 if r'2'i9:22 578 0 0 450 feet Burke's ... Burke's Reef, Port 130 0 0'016 0 104 0 0 20 feet '" Curtis " Totals, Quartz ... 2,168.0 0 01121'52 1,940 0 0 " :It r' - "I , , ' " f , " .. - " NOTE.-Total amount of Gold purchased by the Banks during tile quarter 5,918 ozs.14 dwts. 13 grs, The' alluvial miners generally have been more active since the rains; and although the number of European workers has been little increased, there 'has been an apparent addition to the Chinese population, who are distributed throughout the old workings. Fifteen alluvial prospecting claims, on abandoned or lost leads, have been registpred. during .the ,quarter, four of these have been for Chinamen. .,' ' . " ' , The extended alluvial block claims have, from various causes, been suspended during the last month, and are.still idle;:with the exception of that of the ' Black Lead' Company.· " h' , The Black Lead Gold Mining Company have been engaged sinking a working shaft through trap rock, and are down about 82 feet. Their works have' been 'stopped, tliree or four weeks, by the breaking of a part of their machinery; this has been repaired, and they have resumed worjr. The water makes in their shaft at the rate of 40,000 gallons' per hour, a quantity their fine steam engine and large pumps,easily"dispose of... ,,,.. r', ',,' .~,,' ~ ",,' '.," ,,'~ ".' ".'... " ' • • .' ,.' •.•'" .~- , The Ararat Gold Mining Company have sunk their shaft 34 feet,16 feet is through clay, the remaining portion through trap rock; ~furtlier progress is suspended.. The company have recently completed a trial.boring, 192 feet through trap rock, then.through clay and gravel to 196 feet, on to a pipeclay bottom, Water is abundant from 70 feet from the surface. " .. . The Canton Gold 'Mi4ing Company have Bunk their working shaft 87 feet through clay, cement,' and detached fragments 'of 'rock. ,]he sinking was dry till the water suddenly broke in, and stoppedc further progress' of the work. The company will now erect pumps to be worked by their steam engme, already on the ground. • :. . \ ',' . , , The Cathcart Gold Mining Company have also been sinking a working shaft, but the influx of water having be'come, too great for their pU:rriping power~ they will have to ercct additional pumps before they can proceed. .,' . The MOystoll Grand Junction COnllJany (Moys'ton) have discontinued, or rather abandoned their alluvial works, and have recently been prospecting for a quartz reef within the bounds of their claim. Quartz reefing ~as latterly received' considerable ·attention in this division, and promises to become very iml?ortant; Sonie old workmgs on the Kangaroo Range, Ararat, have recently been taken up under lease, WIth the title of the United Albion Quartz Mining Company. Work has been commenced from the bottom of an old ,shaft 41 feet deep, and. a,,:vein or reader, three to, four inches in thickness, followed' at an inclination of 45 degrees. The stone has a good show of gold. " , .The reefs at Moyston are'lo,oking, generally, .v.ery. satisfactory, although.comparatively little gold has been procur;ed dUl,'ing the quarter. . ' '" The N orth S~ar: ,.Gold -;Mining, 80mpany have, recently ,erected a fine battery of. ten head of revolving stampers, and a large. extra 'qoiler and. additional pumps. Their working shaft is 181 feet' deep. From a level at that depth they are raising stone from a reef two feet in thickness, of which 1,663 tons have been brought ~o,(the surface, and 881 tons have been crushed, yielding 16 dwts. of gold per ton. 75 The SO!1thern Cross Oompany h~ve a. ,,:or~ing shaft 330 feet in depth, where they are working a. level from whIch 650 tons have been raIsed, )'leldmg 17 dwts;'per ton." " The Kangaroo Gold Mining Company are actively working, and have recently struck a large reef, seven feet in thickness, in their 481 feet level; from a level at 450 feet they have raised and crushed 1507 tons, yielding 578 oz, Their working shaft is now down 510 feet. . The Perseverance Gold Mining Oompany have partially suspended their mining operations, in consequence of negotiations pending with the purpose of amalgamating their claim with that of the Kangaroo Gold Mining Company, with the object of arranging a combined and more economical mode of working. They have recently increased the depth of their shaft from 420 to 480 feet. The Koh-i-noor and the Northern Light are both suspended. The Burke's Reef, Port Curtis, is a distinct formation from tlie Campbell's Reefs at Moyston. It varies from 3 to 18 inches in.thickness, deposited in partially decomposed granite, with a granite bottom. The stone haS varied from 15 dwts. to 5 oz. to the ton. At present, a arnaUlD-horse steam engine, with a. Berdan basin, are the only appliances for crushing. . . Several small quartz claims are being worked at Armstrong's, but only recently, and the results are not known. A company, caUed the Cathcart Freehold Gold Mining Oompany, has recently: been formed for working an alluvial lead in some freehold land at Cath,cart. The ground was partially worked seven years ago, but abandoned in consequence of the large supply of water. Many of the early claims were rich in gold, and some large nuggets were found. The absolute and sudden withdrawal of all accommodation hitherto afforded to the mining interests by the local banks-even to proprietors of undoubtedly valuablelroperty-has been attended with ,very embarrassing and injurious consequences, and seriously retarde the progress 0'£ mining. PLEASANT CREEK DIVISION. Mr. John D'Alton, Mining Swrveyor wni BegiBtrOl¥'. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- .. " I· TOtal for the l!. \ Alluvial Miners ...... 260 150 ~10 ~uartz Miners '" ... 676 ... 676 Totals ... 936 150 1,086 THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS THUS DISTBIBUTED: Deep Lead .... 200 Commercial Street 150 preat Western 50 Church Hill ... 10 Quartz Reefs 600 Elizabeth Creek 8 Manners Sutton Reef 46 Durham Reef 4 Ross-shire Reef 10 Columbine Reef 4 Bolangam Reef 4 Total 1,086 THE MACHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- • . ALI;UVIAL Mnmi'G• QUARTZ Mnmi'a. DeOlCription,of Machinery. Number Aglll'egate Number Aglll'egate At Work. Idle, of Sta.mp HOl'lle-power of A~Work. Idle. of stamp Head•. Steam Engines. Hil!'ds. ~~:~:;i,ect -_...... _------Steam Engines ...... 5 , .. 60 76 10 4 1.88 350 Whims ...... o. 3 ...... 9 10 ...... Whips ...... 2 ...... 3 ...... Sluice' Boxes ...... 12 34 '" ...... Toms ...... 10 20 ...... Compound Cradles, worked 8 ...... ' ...... , .. by horBe-~wer ... . ChiIian Ro rs, crushing 14 ...... Quartz tailings 76 Total value ,of mining plant in the division, £63,200. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, aotually worked upon, 12. . Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to bc auriferous to the present tune, 19. The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £3 158.6d. to £4 Os. 6d. per oz. I THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN OBTAINED RELATIVE TO THE Q"GANTITY OF QUAR'l'Z AND QUARTZ TAILINGS ANI? CEnnlNT CRUSHED DURING THE QUA.RTER, AND THE GOLD OBTAINED THEREFRO~[ :- Average Remarks relative to the Name of Compa.ny. Where QUllrlz, &c., were Quartz crushed. Yield of Gold I'Total Yield. of , Depth at which the opta.ined. per Ton. I .Gold. Quartzwaaobtained,&c. tons cwt. qr. oz. dwt. gr. oz. dwt. gr. Lamont and Company ,North, Cross, and 3,657 0 0 o 15 0 2,742 15 0 285 to 460 feet ! Scotchman's Reefs I> Pleasant Creek ". Cross Reef 1,260 0 0 0 19 0 1,197 0 0 400 feet Moonlight ...... Sloan's and Scotch- 1,892 0 0 0 15 17'20 1,486 16 0 150 feet to 280 feet man's Wimmera } Davidson and Company Various reefs 1,659 0 0 0 8 7'34, 689 0 0 Victoria .•. ,.. : Cross, Sloan's, and 200 0 0 1 3 12 235 0 0 300 feet ! Scotchman's St George's ... ' Scotch~an's Reef ... 650 0 0 1 15 0 1,137 10 0 285 feet Rose of Denmark ... Scotchman's 1,120 0 0 0 10 0 560 0 0 270 feet Cato and Company ... New Chum 160 0 0 0 5 0 40 0 0 130 feet !---~--' Quartz Tailings and Totals, Quartz ... 10,598 0 0 o 15 6'3418,088 1 0 Oement crushed. -~,-~~-' --_.. _; ... - Cambrian .,. Cooper's }'lat ... 600 0 0 0 3 12 105 () 0 weight estim ated N. and S, Wales ... Deep Lead ... 1,460 0 0 0 3 2 225 1 IIi ditto ditto I.i ttle Wea tern .. , Great 'Vestern .. , 300 0 0'0 4 () 60 0 0 Old Hill, Great Western Hit or Miss '" .•. Deep Lead ... 67 0 0 0 5.12'89 18 II 0 Tregea and Company Deep Lead ,., 320 0 o i 0 4 :! 65 6 17 St. George's...... Quartz Heefs .,. 1,000 0 0 10 2 0 foo 0 0 estimated only Totals, Quartz TaH- } ings and Cement 3,747 0 o IO~3-1'52: 573 19 9 QUARTZ. The statistics for this quarter show a considerable increase in the number of quartz miners; this is in a great measure owing to the uninterrupted success with which the new deep reefs are being traced from claim to claim along the lines of the Scotchman's and Cross Reefs. This has also given a very great incentive to prospecting for new reefs, so that within the last two months three new reefs have been opened along tlie Ironbark Range (to the north-west of the Quartz Reefs), named respec tively the Ross;shire, the Durham, and the Manners Su:tton Reefs; the latter has attracted special atten tion, and about twenty claims have been taken up. Amongst the old reefs, the Golden Point, the Caledonian, the Wexford, and Doyle's Reefs have been again taken up, so that about sixty claims are now working in excess ofthose occkpied during last quarter. The Bolangam country, between thc Dogtrap Creek and the Richardson River, is also attracting attention, and more than one party are at present engaged prospecting in .that locality. On the old. Scotchman's Reef a new pumping and hauling engine has been erected, on the northern end ~ this has enabled six claims, whICh have for a length of time remained idle, to resume work. Four claims have also commenced work on the Perthshire Reef; and all those on the Hampshire and Nowhere lines, having effected temporary amalgamation, are engaged sinking shafts, or otherwise prospecting for t1;1.C deep reefs. 6- The Pleasant Creek Quartz Mining Company have for·the present suspended operations, pending the putting in ofa drive by the adjoiningclaimowners, for the purpose of testing the reef at a lower level. The North Cross Quartz ]\tlining Company are about commencing a main shaft, intended to cut the Cross R,eef at a depth of 600 feet from the surface. ' . On the outlying reefs at Elizabeth Creek a good deal of work has been done, and the abandoned ground is now all occupied. The prospectors are now eugaged erecting machinery to enable their ground being worked below the water level. - ALLUVIAL. • With reference to alluvial mining, I regret to say that in this division it exhibits anything but a prosperous appearance. Only one prospecting claim has been registered during the quarter, and Ii considerable diminution has taken place in the number of miners, both European a.nd Chinese. The Fourposts is altogether abandoned, and the new ground opened at Concongella proved a failure. The decrease in the alluvial mining population, however, admits of another explanation, namely, the settle ment on the land in the surrounding' agricultural areas having for the present attracted a number, who are engaged in fencing, making dams, or sinking wells. Many of these will doubtless return to the gold fields when the season is over. Owing to the lateness of the rain, the sluicing claims on the Seventy-foot Hill, Commercial.Street, have remained idle. A lease of twenty acres has been applied for on the Welshman's Hat; but that granted to Oppy and party at Stawell has been abandoned after the sinking of two shafts, each of which bottomed on shal low ~ound. On the Church Hill, near Stawell, some very remunerative results have been obtained by I sluicmg the old ground; and at the Deep Lead a few patches of payable cement have been worked. 'The old Commercial street diggings have been extended slightly in the direction of the Silver Shilling. . ' Mining matters are very quiet at the Great Western, where the old hill still ~ives employment to miners. 77 RAGLAN DIVISION. Mr. John T~mpleton, JJ[1tn1tng Begisflra'r. " THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- • Total for the Europeans. Chinese. Division. 1le!:narks. - Alluvial Miners ...... 401 694 1,095 Quartz Miners ...... Totals .... 401 I ~;'- . 1,095 THB TOTA.L N UMBBR OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED:- Beaufort and Yam Hills 76 Sulky Lead 80 Jock's Lead, &c. 130 Tributary Gullies ... 55 Old Main Lead 330 Waterloo and tributaries 194 Tributary Gullies 90 Sailor's Gully and tributaries 120 Old King Charlie's 16 Long Gully 4 Total 1,095 THE MA.OHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- , ALLUVIAL M:nmIa. QUARTZ M:nmIa. Description of Maciilnery. I .Aggrega.te I ~ta AtWell<. Idle. e f At Work. Idle. H()r"","~ef Stea.mHors$oljg,~~ • ea. Stea.m • ell. - ---- Steam Engines, employed in pumping, wind- S , 6 1'15 ' ...... ing, &c. . Steam Cement Crusher ...... 1 10 ...... Puddling Machines ...... 40 7 ... " ...... Whims ...... '" ... 9 4 ...... Whip ...... _ .. 1 ...... flluices ...... 3 ...... Total value of mining plant in the division, £10,000. Number of square miles of auriferous ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,5!. ' \ Number of distinct quartz reefs which have been actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 4. The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been £3 ]88. 6d. per oz. I have the honor to make the following report on the condition of mining affairs in this division during the quarter. From my own observation, and as far as I can learn by inquiry; there has been no sensible increase or diminution of the mining population during the period. During the greater part of the quarter the rain-fall, although continuous, has not been very heavy, still there has been enough to fill the various dams in the gullies. During the latter part of the previous quarter enough rain had fallen to set going many of the puddling machines which had previously been idle, so that there is not much difference in the number at work now and then. The races irom Mount 9010 and the head of the Wimmera appear to have plenty of water in them, as also one leading from the vr aterloo Swamp, so that there is no scarcity of water for mining purposes. Since my last report the Hope Company, in the Police Paddock, have been working steadily, and 'the shareholders appear to be very well satisfied with their prospects. ' In Wingfield's-Gully, the Perseverance Oompany have strnck gold, and. are doing moderately well. The Burke Company, in Musical Gully, have also obtained gold, and the same remark applies to them. In Shicers' Gully, O'Hara's party report that they have been doing very well during the quarter. At Sulky Flat, the Charlton Company have finished the erection of their machinery, but have not commenced washing, having been occupIed getting the water out of the shaft and clearing the drives, &c. At the same place the Crinoline Oompany's second shaft has been giving fair returns, and they are now sinking a third, which they have got down 50 feet. The Prince of Wales Company, adjoining, report that their returns have been very good during the last quarter. . tu°ver the range towards Raglan the Da~ghters' Company have stnl~k Rol4 ~t()ly. and report f:all' ra me. _', 78 . At Sailor's Gully, the Helmsdale Company have 'been doing very well. The Royal Saxon Company, adjoining, have sunk a new shaft since my last ~ report, and have bottomed at 40 feet on the 'dip, and purpose sinking another shaft a little further to the westward. . The Defiance Company have had.fair re'turns during the quarter. The Grcat Victoria Oompany; to the south of the last-mentioned, have been driving, but have not"hitherto been very successful. In the Wal'atah Company's lease the shaft has been sunk to the depth of 40 feet, and the slabbing, &c., is being' gone o~ wit~. \ . BARKLY DIVISION. Mr. John D'Alton, Mining SU'l"IJeyor. and Regisfrar. THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MINERS IS AS FOLLOWS:- I TotMfortbe EuroPeans. , Ohinese. Division. lWna.rks. I ..... ------~- .- Alluvial Miners ...... 1,130 180 1,310 1 . Quartz Miners ...... 16 ... 16 - Totals ... ) 1,146 I 180 1,826 THE TOTA.L NUMBER .OF MINERS IS THUS DISTRIBUTED 1- Ray's Rush ... 200 Barkly ... 80 Burwood Lead 6 Frenchman's ". ,..':- 40 Paul~s ~.ad ... 350 .Glenpatrick and Nowhere Creek 100 Emerald Hill 150 Emu Flat .... t50 " Total .... 1,326 Glasgow Lead 100 ·J·).II.~, \.~ Malakhofl' .... 150 THE MA.CHINERY IS AS FOLLOWS:- : . ALLUVI.Ai. 'MIm:Na. QU'AltTZ MIm:NG• I Desoription of Maohinery. I Number Aggregate . Aggregate , At Work. Idle. of Stamp Horse-Power of At Work. Idle. Horse·Power of Heads. SteamEngine. St()'~1't Engin..... ; ; , .. , H Steam Engine ...... I .. . 12 12' ... '" ... Puddling Machines : .. ... 24 ...... Whips '" ... '" Ii '" ...... Toms ...... 70 . 23 ...... Sluice-boxes . ... '" 26 ...... 1'otal value of minin~ plant in the division, £3,360. N umber of square miles of auriferous. ground which is being, or may have been, actually worked upon,13i. '. .. . .' Number of distinct qUartz reefs which have be~n actually proved to be auriferous to the present time, 7. _ .' . The price of gold during the quarter in the division has been from £3 18s. ,to £4 Is. per oz. THE FOLLownio INFoRMATION' HAS BEEN OBTAINED' RlllLATIVE TO THE QUANTITY OF QUARTZ AND QUARTZ TAILINGS AND CEMENT CRUSHED DURING THE QUARTER, AND TH'E GOLD OBTAINED THEREFROl[;- I------f------..,.---.,--~--_..,..----- Average I Total Yield of Name of Compa,n,y. Yield per Gold ..nd Remarks. ron. Silver. tons ewt. qr. dwt. gr. oz.' dwt. gr 1 0 17 0 0 GOld} Depth Landsborough Crushing Montgomery Reef... 17 0 0 o { 0 17 15'53 i 15 0 0 Silver 25 feet Quartz Tailings and I Cement Crushed. -3-2-4-' -0---0-1 ' Landsborough ... >!> Ray's Rush 360 0 It ~!lle of fJI~ P{)JILent obtained a.t Ray's Rush averaged 2 OZB~ to the ton, 79 QUARTZ. The only reef at present being worked in this division is :t.'lontgomery's Reef, Landsborough. The prospect obtained was most favorable; a large proportion of silver is found associated with gold in this reef. The chief drawback in Jlrospecting is the comparative shallowness at which water is struck. The claims have amalgamated for the purpose of sinking a deep shaft to test the reef below the water leveL • ALLUVIAL. Ray's Lead, near Landsborough, has proved the most remunerative diggings that have been opened since the first Landsborough rush; the returns varying from 6 dwtB. to 3 ozs. to the load. Paul's rush is a new lead discovered about three miles to the north.west of the township of Landsborough, the sinking beinlJ about 65 feet. It is not so payable as Ray's Lead, but gives very fair returns, the washdirt averagIng·S dwts. to the load. Emerald lIill is another new patch, adjoining Paul's rusli, on which a number of miners are now at work. The older workings in the neighborhood of Landsborough are comparatively neglected, with the exception of the Upper Malakhoff, where Chinamen are now busily employed. At Barkly nothing new has been struck, beyond the old workings, for the last three months. The' few miners employed there are contented with working out the old ground. . Glenpatrick is attracting unusual attention, the Co. operative Company having bottomed their shaft with ease, the water being easily kept down without any unusual exertion; the prospect obtained from the bottom of the shaft gave 17 dwts. to the load, with washdirt 4 feet high. The Midland Sluieing Company, on the same lead, are also doing rentarkably well, being able to clear about £6 per man per week. The above mentioned companies purpose at once erecting steam machinery for more efficiently working their ground. The higher portion of the gull:y is occupied by Johnson and Co's. sluicing claims, also Blane and party's extended claim, both o(whICh companies are paying fairly. The Glenpatrick Gold Mining Company, on the lower portion of the gully, have also got good prospects, but have found their whim totally inadequate to work that part of the lead. In various parts of the division parties are out prospecting, and although the number of miners has decreased, the general healthy appearance of alluvial mining has not undergone any unfavorabl .. . change; the reason for the diminution being that many have relinquished mining for the present for the purpose of fencing and tilling ~nd taken up under various sections of the Land Act. o By Authority: JOHN FElmES, Government Printer, Melbourne. Q