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the 70 ft. level; the working was on reef about 4 ft. wide but carrying no gold. This rise was started from the face of the north drive on the main Sons of Freedom reef from a west crosscut. On the 70 ft. level a rise was put up on the hanging-wall leader of the main Sons of Freedom reef for 70 ft. on stone averaging 12 in. in width but carrying no gold. This rise was continued to the Whau level, where a crosscut east was driven 31 ft. to meet the Sons of Freedom reef. On the Whau level a good deal of cleaning out and retimbering was done, the level being picked up for 250 ft. south and 50 ft. north of the crosscut. Some stoping was done on three small leaders on the level, and a drive was put in hillward on the dropper from the Sons of Freedom for 14 ft. on reef averaging 15 in. wide but showing no gold. On the Norwegian level a leading stope, starting from a point 80 ft. north of crosscut at winze, was carried along for 108 ft. on reef averaging 3 ft. in width, in which dabs of gold were frequently seen. An underhand stope was also taken along on the main Orlando lode from the crosscut at winze in a northerly direction for 12 ft. on reef averaging about 4 ft., in which colours and dabs of gold were seen. On the hanging-wall branch of the Orlando a stope was also carried for 21 ft. on reef averaging 3 ft., in which a little gold was seen. Caledonia-Kuranui-Moanataiari Gold-mining Co., Ltd., Thames (S. G. Baker, Manager).— For the greater portion of the year work on the property of this company was confined to making a series of tests of a number of small parcels of low-grade material taken from various places on the surface. Altogether some 484 tons of the material were put through the battery, but the return was not satisfactory, only a total of 12 oz. 4 dwts. of gold being recovered. As a number of head samples taken during the period of crushing averaged ss. 6d. per ton for gold, it is clear that only a small portion of the gold was recoverable by amalgamation. From a clean-up of the battery a further 9 oz. 14 dwt. of gold were obtained. The total value of the gold for the year was £65 Bs. Towards the end of the year a start was made to sink an inclined underground shaft from near the end. of the main east crosscut with a view to picking ,up, at a depth about 80 ft. vertically below the level, the downward continuation of the small reef on which some work was done last year in the Cambria section of the mine. At the end of the year this shaft had been sunk 50 ft. On an average four men were employed. Occidental Una United Gold-mining Go. (N.L.), Thames (J. W. O'Sullivan, Manager).—Work at this company's mine was confined during the year to stoping on the No. 2 reef, south of the shaft at No. 5 level. The reef here is a stock-work formation up to from 10 ft. to 12 ft. in width, consisting of quartz stringers intermixed with country rock. In stoping as much as possible of the country rock is picked out before the material is sent to the battery. Some 217 tons were crushed from the reef, and yielded 213 oz. 3 dwt. gold, valued at £523 6s. On an average five men were employed. Lucky Shot Gold-mining Co., Ltd., Thames. —ln the early part of the year the rise from the Half-moon tunnel to the intermediate level was put through. This rise was on a cross-reef which had been intersected by a drive on a branch of the Evening Star reef, about 900 ft. from the portal of the adit. After the completion of the rise the eross-reef was driven on a further 50 ft. to its junction with the Golden Age reef, which was cut through, being 23 ft. in width at ihis spot, but carried no values. The drive was then continued for a further 200 ft. to the Reuben Parr reef, which was found to be split into several branches where intersected and to have no pay values. The work on this level having been unsatisfactory, a return was made to the intermediate level, 90 ft. above, and a good deal of prospecting was done there, mainly on the Golden Age reef and a footwall dropper from it. Somo crushings were taken from this dropper, and treated partly at the Moanataiari battery and partly at the Thames School of Mines. Some 130 tons were crushed for a yield of 221 oz. 8 dwt. gold, valued at £602 12s. 3d. On an average six men were employed. Zcehan Mine, Waiomo (A. McGruer, Manager).—The new company, Waiomo Sulphide Corporation, Ltd., which was formed for the purpose of giving this mine a further trial, started active operations in the early part of the year. The drive on what was known as the No. 1 reef north was continued a short distance at a point about 165 ft. from the main crosscut it was turned easterly, and in another 20 ft. of driving it met a small reef now known as the North reef. The drive was continued along this reef in a north-north-easterly direction for about 158 ft., when the reef disappeared. The drive was extended a further 54 ft. but no stone was seen. At 54 ft. back from the face a crosscut was put out north-westerly for 70 ft., but failed to cut reef. At a point in the drive about 78 ft. from where the North reef was first met with a crosscut was then put out east-south-easterly for 40 ft., where it met another reef, known as the New reef, which was driven on 206 ft. northerly and 118 ft. southerly. Both the North reef and the New reef are comparatively small. They vary much in width but probably average between 2 ft. and 3 ft. Some 40 ft. to 50 ft. of driving was also done on the same level, No. 5, on what is known as the No. 3 reef, but this drive broke into old workings done some years before on No. 4 reef. The old No. 4 level was put in repair for its entire length, but the only new work done on it was the putting out of a crosscut for about 31 ft. westerly from a point about 70 ft. back from the old face. A rise was subsequently put up from near the point where the North reef was met with on No. 5 level, which connected with the end of this crosscut. The old battery was put in repair, and an oil-flotation plant which has been on the mine for several years but has not been erected is being installed. An aerial is also being constructed to connect the mill with the mine. At the end of the year the work on the battery was well advanced, but it was not expected to have the plant ready for treating ore for several months. On an average twenty-one men were employed. Cambria Mine, Thames (A. F. Sawyer, Owner). —The efforts made to float a large company, to be known as Aotearoa Minerals Development Co., Ltd., for the working of this property did not meet with success. The old Mount Pleasant adit was, however, cleaned up and put in repair for about 400 ft. in to the Jupiter reef, as was also about 50 ft. of drive on that reef. Two other small levels, totalling about 150 ft. in length, were also driven higher up the hill, and a small amount of trenching was done on outcrops. Tui Gold-mining Co., Ltd., Thames (W. G. Mouat, Manager).—This company was formed during the year to work a number of claims known as the Nana, King Solomon, and King Solomon Extended. An old adit on the Nana Claim was put in repair for its full length of about 1,400 ft., and an attempt was made to pick up old drives on what are known as the Nos. 1 and 2 reefs. These drives were reopened for several hundred feet each, and on the No. 2 reef a rise was put up for about 35 ft. So far as can be learned, nothing of any value was found. North Star Mine, Thames. —During the latter part of the year a start was made to reopen this old mine, which has been idle for about thirty years, by a small party which had been given to understand some payable stone had been left in it when work last ceased. The old No. 4 level was cleaned up for upwards of 1,000 ft., and No. 3 level was also put in repair, but up to the end of the year nothing of any importance had been located. Luxall Mine, Thames (J. Newdick, Owner). —On this claim, which is in the Upland block at Thames, well up Waiotahi Creek, a drive was put in for 132 ft., with the assistance of subsidy, with a view to picking up, at some depth, a gold-bearing reef said to have been located many years ago at surface. Several small reefs were cut in the drive, but they contained no values. Golden Age Mine, Thames, —A little work in the nature of crosscutting and driving, totalling about 165 ft., was carried out on Fox's leader and another small reef, but nothing of any value was found. Bendigo and Nonpareil, Thames (M. Britt, Owner). —These claims were protected for the best part of the year, but a little work, consisting of about 40 ft. of driving, was done on a small reef in the former mine. About 14 lb. of picked stone was got, which yielded 6 oz. 15 dwt. gold, valued at £17 15s. Little Wonder Mine, Otanui. —During the year a small Thames syndicate took up the old Otanui Consols Mine, which they have renamed the Little Wonder. About 100 ft. of driving was done on the eastern end of the claim, with a view to seeing if the reef formerly worked towards the western end continued through the