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related to them. Auriferous stone seems to have been first found in it as early as 1875, and a small crushing of 12 tons was evidently taken out shortly after that date, which yielded 10 oz. gold. The ground was only worked intermittently, however, for a good many years, such bodies of stone as were found being of no great extent. In 1885 a new company, the Venus Extended, was formed to work the claim, and met with a fair measure of success. The old company had driven an adit, No. 1, into the hill for 800 ft. without finding any reef of value. This adit the new company extended for 22 ft., when a shoot of stone 20in. wide was struck, showing gold freely. This shoot was subsequently stoped from No. 1 adit to the surface, and was traced down to Nos. 2 and 3 adits, the values being maintained throughout; but whereas it was about 350 ft. in length on the two upper adits, it shortened considerably on No. 3. Below No. 3 adit a winze was sunk for 115 ft. It was expected that the shoot would be struck in this at 25 ft. down, but the winze was carried down to 70 ft. without meeting stone. A crosscut was then run out to the east, which met the stone at 28 ft. A winze was then sunk on the stone for 40 ft., after which the first winze was continued to 115 ft., and connection made between the two workings. Below this point the shoot was not seen again. Another adit was started, to come in below the winzes, but no stone was got in it. It seems certain that this shoot was cut off by faulting; but even if it had lived down to No. 4 adit it is somewhat doubtful if the latter was carried in far enough to reach it. About the time the last of the stone in the shoot was being exhausted, another block, about 100 ft. long, was located in No. 1 adit. This was traced down to No. 2 adit, where it was apparently about 150 ft. south and somewhat to the west of the older workings. In the absence of plans it is difficult to tell precisely, but the reports of the Inspectors of Mines seem to indicate that this stone was also got on No. 3 level, but it was evidently irregular and of low grade. About the end of 1894 or early in 1895 the mine ceased operations, and in 1896 it passed into the hands of the Consolidated Goldfields Company, since which time nothing has been done by way of further prospecting it.
During the time the mine worked, 10,871 tons of quartz were crushed, for a yield of 7,043 oz. gold, valued at £27,404 16s. 2d., and dividends amounting to £3,300 were paid.
Dealing generally with this lode series, it may be said that some of the old-time miners who still remain in the district have a firm belief that the stone worked in the Venus Mine would have been found to live at a greater depth than it was traced, but Dr. Henderson’s opinion is that the stone probably formed the original cap of the Royal shoot, from which it was carried by faulting to the position in which it was found. This theory may be, and in all likelihood, is correct, but its reliability as accounting for the disappearance of the shoot in the lower levels can be only definitely proved by further prospecting. This much is known, that when the Inangahua Low-level Tunnel was being driven it entered badly crushed country some 10 chains before the lode country of the Venus was to be expected, and continued for 20 chains through similar material, thus showing that a powerful fault-movement had occurred there, and, as the Geologist says, it will well be that this crushed country represents the fracture-filling of the fault that displaced the Venus lode. Dr. Henderson further points out that the chaotic occurrence of the outcrops in this portion of the Murray Creek area may also be taken as evidence of faulting, the exact nature of which cannot
