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carried in for about 600 ft., but owing to lack of funds the company had then to suspend work in it for several years. It was, however, eventually extended to about 1,800 ft. Small quartz veins were cut in it at 300 ft. and 360 ft. respectively from the portal, but they did not carry payable values. At 1,400 ft. the adit is reported to have entered good reefing-country, and followed it for about 300 ft., but there was evidently no encouraging show of quartz in it. Some small amount of stone was crushed from the adit, but it was not found rich enough to pay expenses. The No. 2 adit was therefore the lowest point to which any formation approaching a payable character was traced, and on this level the ground worked consisted of two very narrow stockwork bands separated by about 12 ft. of hard sandstone, which converged as they neared the surface till they were 30 ft. apart.
During the whole time the Golden Lead property was worked the total material mined and treated, as far as can now be estimated, amounted to 11,379 tons, which yielded 2,645 oz. 7 dwt. 22 gr. gold, valued at £10,602 11s. 8d., the average recovery per ton being about 4·6 dwt. gold.
A1 Mine.—This claim adjoined the O.K. on the south. The formation was traced into it, but such work as was done on it was mainly confined to following a small foot-wall leader which was only from ½ in. to 1 in. wide, but carried values up to 20 oz. gold per ton. Two adits were driven on this, and for about fourteen years the mine was worked in a small way, chiefly by tributers. Up till 1905, when the claim was finally abandoned, 1,361 tons of quartz were crushed for a yield of 2,497 oz. 10 dwt. 12 gr. gold, valued at £8,770. For some years towards the end Messrs. Morris and Fleming worked part of the A1 Claim as the Last Chance, and won a good deal of gold, the figures being included in the foregoing totals.
Merrijigs Mine.— This claim lay on the west of the O.K. and A1 Claims. Much work was done on it without satisfactory result. Two winzes were sunk to 45 ft. and 84 ft. respectively, and an adit was driven for 700 ft., which cut the formation 280 ft. below the outcrop. Where met with in the tunnel the formation is said to have been 38 ft. wide, but only the foot-wall leader was mined, and this, though larger than in the A1, was much poorer. As far as can be learned, only 259 tons in all were crushed from the property, which only yielded 84 oz. gold, valued at £325 10s.
BIG RIVER GROUP.—SUNDERLAND’S LODE-SERIES.
This series occurs between the Big River and Blackwater groups, and a number of claims, chief of which were the St. George and the South Big River, were taken up along it.
St. George Mine.—Auriferous stone was first found on the line in this claim by James Sunderland in 1891, and for several years following the discovery the ground was fairly well prospected. A five-stamp battery was erected, and from an adit driven at a depth of 50 ft. below the first-located outcrop 30 tons of quartz were taken out, which on being crushed yielded 70 oz. gold. Three lines of reef, known as the eastern, central, and western, were found on the claim, but although one formation was up to 12 ft. in width, and a small crushing of 16 tons from another gave a return of 2 oz. 7 dwt. gold per ton, development on all the reefs proved so disappoint-
