Quartz Reefs of the West Coast Mining District, New Zealand
QUARTZ REEFS
OF THE
WEST COAST MINING DISTRICT,
NEW ZEALAND.
BY
J. F. DOWNEY,
Member Institution of Mining and Metallurgy (London),
Inspector of Mines.
Author of “The Timbering of Metalliferous Mines.”
WELLINGTON, N.Z.
BY AUTHORITY: W. A. G. SKINNER, GOVERNMENT PRINTER.
1928
CONTENTS.
Waikakaho Field; Wairau River Field; Wakamarina River Field; Mount Patriarch Reef . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
7–16 |
Cedar Creek Reefs; Donnelly's Creek Reefs; Mount Rangitoto Reefs; Gold in Granite at Mount Rangitoto; Wilberforce Reefs; Reefs of the Taipo River Area; Reefs of Jackson's Area; South Westland Reefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
16–30 |
West Wanganui Inlet Reefs; Bedstead Gully Reefs; Waimangaroa River Reefs; Wangapeka Reefs; Reefs of Quartz Ranges; Mokihinui River Reefs; Lyell Reefs; Langdon's Reefs; Owen River Reefs; Reefs of the Paparoa Range; Blackball River Reefs; Moonlight Reefs; Poerua Reefs; Larry's Creek Reefs; Reefs of Globe Hill; Crushington Reefs; Big River Reefs; Merrijigs Reefs; Reefs of Kirwan's Hill; Maori Gully Reefs; Murray Creek Reefs; Waitahu River Reefs; Alexander River Reefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
30–130 |
Tables showing Quartz produced from each Mine, with Yield of Gold, Value of Gold, and Dividends paid, to 31st December, 1926 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
131, 132 |
Table showing Production of each Mining County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
133 |
Depths of Shafts and Levels, Inangahua County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
133, 134 |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
136–144 |
LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS.
Fig.
| 1. | Plan and Section of Dominion Conolidated Mine, Wakamarina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
14 |
| 2. | Plan and Section of Workings on Cedar Creek Reefs, Ross . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
19 |
| 3. | Sketch-map of Part of South Westland, showing Reef-bearing Areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
30 |
| 4. | Sketch-map of Locality of Wangapeka Reefs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
37 |
| 5. | Longitudinal Section of United Alpine Mines, Reefton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
43 |
| 6. | Plan and Section of Murray Creek Mines, Reefton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
61 |
| 7. | Longitudinal Section of Golden Fleece Mine, Reefton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
67 |
| 8. | Plan of Portion of Nos. 1, 3, and 4 Levels, Western Shoot, Keep-it-Dark Mine, Reefton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
81 |
| 9. | Plan of Portions of Nos. 9, 10, and 11 Levels, Progress Mine, Reefton, showing Position of Main and Cross Faults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
86 |
| 10. | Longitudinal Section of Blackwater and North Blackwater Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
105 |
| 11. | Longitudinal Section of Boatman's Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
115 |
| 12. | Plan of 1,000 ft. Level, Fiery Cross Mine, Boatman's . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
116 |
| 13. | Map showing relative position of the various Lode-series of the Inangahua District, and of the Principal Mines on them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . |
135 |
PREFACE.
In preparing the following pages an attempt has been made to collect in a handy form such reliable information as is available regarding the whole of the quartz-prospecting or quartz-mining carried out in the West Coast Inspection District of New Zealand from the earliest days up to the end of 1926.
The compilation was primarily to serve as a convenient book of reference on the subject for the Mines Department, of which the writer has the honour to be an official; but it may well prove of use to a large section of the general mining public, especially to those persons interested in prospecting or inclined to support mining effort by taking up shares in mining companies. As far as the latter are concerned, there can be little doubt that if some such volume had been available in the past it may have prevented them wasting much money put into ill-advised flotations, of which there have been so many during recent years.
A good deal of the information given has been culled from departmental files, and has never previously appeared in print, but by far the greater portion of it has already been published in one form or other. It has, however, been scattered through scores of publications issued during a period of half a century, and hence has not been readily available to the ordinary reader.
In collating the information, much difficulty has been experienced in arriving at anything like accuracy in description, both as regards the work done on the various mining areas and their results. This has been partly owing to the absence of detailed records covering the years prior to, say, 1887, and partly to many inaccuracies and contradictions that appear in existing records dealing both with that and later periods. In practically all cases, however, there has been indirect data at hand to serve as a guide, consequently the writer feels that any statements now made herein may be considered as reliable as it is possible in the circumstances to get them.
Full use has been made of such of the bulletins issued by the Geological Survey Department as have dealt with areas in the district, and particularly of Bulletin No. 18, "Geology of the Reefton Subdivision," by Dr. J. Henderson. The information given in that publication regarding the Reefton mines proved very helpful, but the writer has added to it and has brought it up for a further fourteen years.
Office of the Inspector of Mines, Reefton,
30th November, 1927.
| Mines Reps. | . . | Mines Statement, or Reports on the Mining Industry of New Zealand.
|
| Geol. Reps. | . . | Geological Bulletins of New Zealand, Department of Geological
Survey (New Series).
|
| Reps. Geol. Expl. | . . | Reports on Geological Explorations, issued by Department of Geological Survey, New Zealand.
|
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