The Panama (late Belltopper) Mine.
The
Panama lode was worked from the surface on the south-west side of
Belltopper Hill. The strike of the lode, where it is worked on the
surface for about 100 feet along a pavable shoot, is N. 28 degrees W.
It underlies at 64 degrees E., and pitches S., narrowing downwards. The
strata here strike N. 7 degrees W., and dip W. at 75 degrees, with a
pitch of 18 degrees to N.
No. 1 Level is
connected with an adit from near Back Creek, and is 67 feet below the
sill of the shaft, which is 1,483.21 feet above sea-level. This level
at 90 feet along the lode is 85 feet lower than where the payable shoot
of ore, 8 to 9 inches thick, was worked on the surface. The water level
is 10 feet below this level, and immediately under it the antimony lode
begins.
No. 2 (770 ft. 8 in.) Level.—The payable shoot of stone is 80 feet along the level, and is from 5 to 8 inches thick.
No. 3 (247 ft.) Level.—The lode is here about 4 feet to the north of the shaft, and the payable shoot is about 30 feet along the level. At
6 feet
from the shiaft there is a winze 18 feet deep in the lode. The lode,
which consists of quartz and stibnite, is 9 inches thick, and thickens
downward and northward. The winze was very wet, as it was below the
bottom of the shaft. Mr. Brown, the mine manager, told me that 10 tons
of lode stuff would yield 1 ton of antimony sulphide ore. He expected
the stibnite to carry 36' ounces of gold to the ton. When treated it
yielded about
7 ounces of gold per ton, and the mine was closed down.
The
total amount of gold from the mine to 4th July, 1903, according to the
Mint returns, is 1,726 ozs. 18 dwts. 16 grs., from 551-1/3 tons of ore.
The present company has crushed 61 2/3 tons of ore for 244 ozs. 1 dwt.
of gold, the last crushing on 29th January, 1905 yielding 8-1/4 ozs. to
the ton.
The Egyptian Mine.
This
mine adjoins the O'Connor's United on the south, but was not working at
the time of the survey. The value of gold won from it is stated to be
.£32,949 2s. 9d.
The Queen's Birthday Mine.
This
mine adjoins the Egyptian on the south, and is also closed down. The
returns of gold from May, 1883, to December, 1891, are said to have
totalled 38,863 oz. 15 dwt., valued at £149,101 is. 8d. I think this
line of reef should be searched for in the O'Connor's lease. Between
the western workings from O'Connor's shaft, and the eastern face of the
adit on the Back Creek, which lies to the west of O'Connor's shaft,
there is a strip of ground 700 feet wide, which is un worked. This is
just on the line of strike of the reef in the Queen's Birthday mine.
Though not able to examine the underground workings of the Queen's
Birthday mine, I have r.c different times had the supposed
course of the reef pointed out to me on the surface. It was said that
the adit and the workings of the O'Connor's United mine overlapped, but
my survey shows a gap between them of 700 feet, in an east and west
line.
Drummond North Adits.
There are five aclits, which I have surveyed in the North Drummond district.
