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Thursday 29 December 1870
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2 corrections, most recently by veekaye - Show corrections
GREAT NOTTHERX HYDRAULIC ¡GOLD
MINING AND WATER SUPPLY COMPANY (LIMITED )
Tun following report by tho manager has been forwarded to us for publication. :
Sydney, December 23rd, 1870.
To tho shareholders and others desirous of embarking in the above undertaking. Gentlemen,-Your instruc- tion of thc 8rh instant, directing roe to proceed
immediately to tho placo of intended mining opera- [ tiona, Bowling Alley Point, Peel River, to examine tho 1 survey lino of race, together with the various -, characteristics of tho ground through which tho ! channel is to be cut, and further to collect information ( of nil kindsatending to show the extent and diameter | of tho auriferous resources lying parallel between ! the line . of aqueduct and tho river; also to . test tho jirobablo : valuo of tho various areas, ' known . as Long Gully, Price's Gully. KeUy Point, ? Jemmy Creek, and Flanco Gully,-having reached mo, '. I proceeded forthwith, and Immediately on my arrival
at Bowling Alley Point, waited on Captain James, the . gold commissioner of tho estate. The following - moruing wo went to tho sourer, viz., tho head of tho ' proposed race ; fruin thence we traversed the lino to its ! opposite extremity, north namely,- at tho hoad of Long : Gully, a .distance of .thirteen miles. The othor gullies ; and old workings li« botwoen, but moro closely in proximity - to Long Gully. The excavation and com-: pletion of this race was tendered for by parties located
in the vicinity of Bowling-alley Point, for tho sum of -. L300, if-hich included L40 for fluming, &o., and was j j supposed to command-au elevation of 140 feet at the ?
extremo point mentioned, and about ninety feot at j Fiance Gully, some three miles distance towards tho i ! source, at which place new ground ho3 recently ' \ been prospected, and coarse shotty gold found
< more or less disseminated throughout, over an ,
1 area of 100 acres. Tho ground it ia estimated will yield >
enormous returns. I inspected this ground carefully, 1 and thcrcforo cnn safoly assort that this area alono will j pay the - company for all tho outlay required, in less j than 'titree months from tho timo of making tho dis- j bursements thereon. Samples of the gold eau be seen j
at the company's office, 105, Pitt-street. I then, by information received, inspected another new parcel of ground, about u milo in distance, and found it to be highly auriferous, extending over an area of some thirty acres". I may here remark that thero is a race out, three miles in length, to convey tho waters from tho head of Jemmy Oieek. During wet BO.ison3 this ' raco falls into our prospect, as it was cut by tho ';original holders, .ind. can bo - easily sup- plied by a. branch . from tho permanent flow from tho coinpany'sraee. This last mentioned auriferous tract offers every facility for working. It was named by the commissioner Carey's Block. Tho,country in which the company has secured the rights and privileges to work, offers every inducement for carrying on extensively the principles of hydraulic sluicing. Sceiug such favourable facilities and prospects before - us, I proposed to Captain James that I would prefer making a now survey, and, if possible, loy off the raco .so as to cross over ull the saddles of the dividing , ranges intervening between the two points, and thuB gain all the fall and advantages offered by nature. This was agreed to, and with his assistance tho task was accom ; plished most satisfactorily. The length of tho now
race will be fifteen miles ; the elevation ut the place mentioned is 110 feet, in addition to the former line of race, in all 250feet ; estimated cost for completion about L1200 ; sine of first proposed race, 2 feet wide, 18 inches
deep. The nowly proposed race is to bo 4 feet wide at : top, 2 feet wide at bottom, 3 feet deop ; so as to enable the sediments to repoBO and form a retentive lining.
This has been finally arranged and approved of: 1
I next examined the bed of the river, and found Hi to be composed of porous layers of trnppcan gravels, trap rocks, boulder, ko., in places from eight to ten feot in thickness. I then proposed that tholevel.nt thu head:
of the now race should he taken to commence at bottom rock, below tho river bcd-namely, below tho gravel layers, so as to command in time of drought tho under 'currents, and in a manner to guard against all violent floods. And I may hero mention that the bend of the now raco is at tho junction of Peel Bivcr and Wnmbu rainorow Creek. Tho water flowing from this creek would moro than supply the race. " I am told that it receives its uupply chiefly from lagoons, containing numerous springs.. - The creek has nevor been known to bo diy. I thon, in company with several other old residonts, examined the various old workings slovenly rooted over iu bygone days. Sinco tho ground bas lain partly dormant, notwithstanding the numerous discoveries of largo finds and princely fortunes taken therefrom ; hut this is easily accounted for. Tho country is undulating, and-may bo tormed a, chain of mountains' or hills, moro or less conical, gradually sloping to the river, and in places worn down by meteorological action, which has caused its golden materials to be carried to lower levels; thus distri- buting tho gold uniformly ;, and thus , it is that tbe ground ranges iu depth from five to twenty.fcet, but ' everywhere is auriferous, and no matter whero you try
good payable prospects can be obtained. Yet, withal, ,.the ground is so situated that it cannot he worked to
any prolitablo advantage "other than by the method 1 already pointed out.' Hitherto, .before any races were
'cut, I am told the miners used to carry tho dirt in bags j to tho river. I was shown a parcel of gold weighing j 05oz, tho proceeds of two wcekB' labour of four men, and ! Coz, ono weak's labour of one man'; in-fact, overyono I seems to bo doing woll, and of a cheerful disposition.
I was quite captivated with tho hospitality shown to me both at Bowling-Alley Point and Nundle. I now avail myself of this opportunity to express the many obliga-
tions I am under to thoso who aided me with advice and information to bring tho undertaking of the hydraulic ! process moro prominently boforo tho mining capitalists j of Australia ; and I can assure thoso who have, or aro
j about to take up shares in this company that, without
carrying on any mining operations tho company can ] realize, after the completion of the race, L60 per week I by rental. The company has the right ^ind privilege
to work anywhere within a radius of six miles below Nundle. -
After trying tho ground, .1 examined the alluvial wash-tailings, and found them to: contain gold ;
therefore, in all probability/ tho heavy shotty gold lies
embedded in tho rotton slate, resting bolow the bottom gravel on the solid rook. However, I observed sufficient ta seo that very largo profits can be realized from the sluice-tailings.
- We then agreed that instead of letting the tailings go to waste into tho river, » they Bhould bo oaught by being lodged on tho lowest' terrace hythe river, and then crushed by means of a portablo crushing battery, worked by water-power. The extra capital required for the appliances to crush alluvial sluico tailings, can only be regarded ns_ insignificant, compared with thc enormous . profits that must accrue thereby. In reference to the description of tho machinery required for crushing purposes, I would advise tho company to appoint some suitable person to examine Dr. Beer's five-stamp battery, also Mr. Milner Stephen's cradle amalgamator, ns I nm of opinion that botb togothor would bo more suitable to us than any other machinery in UBe ; and any alterations required we could make, if local circumstances required such. In addition, I -wish it to be dearly understood that by leading of water in the -way proposed, some 100 hands could bo constantly kept at work, and at least 300 acres of payable ground utilized. I havo scarcely deemed' it necessary to draw attention to the great'benofit that will arise to the district from the leading in of an abundant J supply of water to and upon elevated lands, as well as for use of water-wheels at lower levels, because tho oharaoterof tho ground proposed to bo supplied ia well known. And although portions of it have been partially worked with insuf ncien t water and clumsy appliances, I am confident thc undertaking-which will require a capital of L400 will yield at tho very lowest 200 per cent, upon tho outlay.
G. N. OAKEY, Manager. Office, 105, Pitt-streot, Sydney.
TäE Wagga Wagga Express states that things ' have been very quiet at Sebastopol lately. Tho Homeward Bound Company hive finished thoir crushing: Their returns amounted to about 13dwt per ton. ' They can get no moro stono", and have seen, I suspect, the last of tho yield. Mr. Wollington is now crushing for the Golden Bar Company, but I cannot yot toll how tho stone will shape. The Little Wonder stone has been crushed at Mr. Kirkpatrick's machine, North Junee. It was expected by the sanguine shareholders, to run at least 3oz to the ton, but did not go quite 1oz to the ton. It is astonishing, notwithstanding all their experience, and the frequency of their disappointments, how often old reefers are deceived in the richness of their stone, and find all their calculations upset by the inexorable Stampers. In'Kos. 1, 2, and 3 South, on the same roof, gold .is being obtained, but as tho reef is .very-thin,'not moro than six or soven inches through, it will require to bo pretty, rich to pay for working. In thu Morning Star, working operations aro being inostvigoroualy pro- ceeded with, tho men day and night being kept con- tinually going. The stone will yield, I believe, about theo quarters of an ounce to tho ton.
Quartz-mining, according to a communication to the Wostèrn Examiner seems almost nt a standstill nt Ironbarks. Tho last crushing from Fitziuunons and Co's reef-whioh looked so well a short timo since- only yielded 15dwt por ton. From Goldeu Gully Beef, R Smith and Co. had a crushing of 53 tons which only gave but lOoz of gold. I um told however they have stone
in their claim which will run fully 2oz to tho ton, \ which cannot at present bo worked in consequence of
the accumulation of water.: Somo excitement appears ] to havo been created by the news from Gulgong, but os Mumble is to be thrown open to thc publie nt thu com-
mencement of tho new year, a good many miners seem j
inclined to try their fortunes there.
[As a satisfactory indication of tho prosperity of tho reefs at Kimo, tho Gundagi Times mentions that about fifty tons of quartz from tho claim of Sitncox and Co., crushed at Woolnoughs machine, returned 170oz 8dwt.