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CAPLESTON GROUP.—GAFFNEY’S LODE-SERIES.
According to Dr. Henderson’s classification, another lode-series lies a little to the east of Topfer’s line. On this he placed such mines as the Specimen Hill, Pactolus, Lady of the Lake, and Argus. Regarding the three last-mentioned of these comparatively little is known. Some auriferous quartz was got in each of them. The Pactolus, which lay to the east of the South Hopeful, had in 1878 a crushing of 88 tons, which gave the handsome return of 436 oz. gold, and enabled £1,000 to be distributed amongst the owners. The Lady of the Lake had a crushing of 10 tons in the same year, which yielded 3 oz. gold, and the Argus had two small crushings in 1889 and 1893, totalling 82 tons, which yielded 90 oz. The claims never passed the prospecting stage, and such information regarding them as is at hand serves to show that in each of them the country was very wet and broken, clearly indicating that they had been traversed by a powerful fault.
Specimen Hill Mine.—The claim was on the east of the Homeward Bound. A large amount of prospecting was done on it, no less than five adits, several of them of considerable length, having been driven. Quantities of richly auriferous quartz were found scattered on the hillside forming the surface. The first discovery was made on it in 1872, and prospecting was carried on for many years. A number of reef-tracks were located in the workings, in which boulders and small bunches of good stone were frequently found, but no extent of solid reef was ever located. In 1881 it was thought a strong reef had been picked up and a battery was erected, but when development was pushed on the reef soon cut out, and after struggling along for some few more years the claim was eventually abandoned in 1893. In 1896 the claim, together with several others adjoining, was taken up by the Cadman Syndicate, but this party did little if any work in it, and the ground was soon abandoned again. About 1906 a small party of working-miners did some further driving on it, with the aid of Government subsidy, but found nothing of any value. This party gave up its effort in the following year, and since then no work of any kind has been done on the area.
As nearly as can now be estimated, 2,265 tons of quartz were crushed from the claim for a recovery of 1,205 oz. gold, valued at approximately £4,412 15s. 9d.
Regarding these two lode-series, there is still a strong belief among old hands who have worked more or less in the various mines along them that they yet have possibilities, but there seems little on which to base it. As far as Topfer’s line is concerned, it is evident that all the principal shoots on it were cut off at a comparatively shallow depth, below which all effort to trace them has failed. There can be no doubt that the disappearance of the shoots was due to faulting, but, owing to lack of data, nothing definite is known as to the exact nature of the movements. Dr. Henderson has pointed out (Geol. Bull. No. 18, p. 139) that to the northward of the old workings an important fault occurs, which brought about the crushing of the Specimen Hill ore-shoot. This fault had a north-north-easterly strike and a south-south-westerly dip; but as far as the Welcome, Fiery Cross, and Just-in-Time eastern shoots are concerned, the belief may be said to have been unanimous among all mining-men who have had occasion to study the position that they were cut off by a fault (or series of faults) having an easterly or north-easterly dip, which has thrown the lost portions of the
