428
it, but I think this work should be fairly charged to capital account.
My object in carrying the line in the first in- stance to Bukit Malacca is that it will enable me to open up three additional mines, the pros. pects of which, I consider, quite equal to Bukit Koman. Eventually, I should advise the exten- sion of the railway at least as far as Sungei Argos, about a mile further, where the prospects are very promising. The trace is a very favour- able one, there being no serions engineering difficulty to overcome, and the cost of construc- will be very light. The advantages of carrying out this work will be very great, as it will enable us to bring ten times as much ore to the mill as we can possibly do with our present system of transport, and at a fraction of the cost; besides, if the mine is ever to be worked on a scale in proportion to its nominal capital, this work is an absolute necessity. The share- holders must also bear in mind that it is not a gold mine we are engaged in developing, but a gold field, and, if this is to be developed out of the proceeds of the mine, the work of doing so will be slow. Already by the small way we have been working, over £50,000 worth of gold has been won from the mine, worth, at present rate of exchange, over half a million dollars, Out of this one dividend of £1,750 has been declared, but I hope before the annual meeting to recom- mend paying another of equal amount.
The following is a detailed statement of the work done on the different sections of the mine during the year :—
Raub Hole Section, No. 1 Level.-The main north drive has been extended 98 feet, making the total distance in from the crosscut 282 feet. A very narrow vein of rich ore was followed for a considerable distance, with occasional bunches of ore carrying gold alongside of it. This has all been stoped up to the old native workings, In the face of the level the formation has been very broken for a number of feet, and the small vein we were following has cut out. Crosscuts were put in to the east and west, but nothing payable was discovered. All work in this end, with the exception of some stoping being done near the main crosscut, has been discontinued for the present, owing to the beary surface water coming through the old workings.
[June 6, 1895.
gold could be seen in breaking. This drive was continued north for 204 feet at 163 feet. The lode began to pinch and bear away east. This was followed for some feet, but got gradually poorer. I have stopped this drive for the pro- sent, but will continue it at some future date.
The drive going south has been extended 150 feet, most of the distance in very hard slate and diorite, intermixed with quartz leaders. Gold has been more or less in these leaders all along this drive, but I do not cousider them payable. At about 40 feet in, the great lode that we had pinched to a small formation was about 2 to 6 inches wide. This has continued all along the drive, carrying a clean, well-defined wall all the way in. This drive has also been stopped for the present. So far as I can judge, the lode is a great shoot of ore dipping to the north with the fall of the bill, about 1 in 4. Should this prove to be correct, there will be many hundred feet of this to work, as the hill rises to a height of about 200 feet, going south. This will give many thousand tons of ore to stope above the back of our present level. An air shaft has been suak from the surface 76 feet north of the crossout. This broke into the lode at 115 to the mine. feet, giving good ventilation Stoping has been started at this shaft.
Only a small amount of work has been done here, and the lode appears as good and strong as ever in the back. There is about 80 feet of baoks to work above the level, which will give a very large quantity of crushing stuff from these stopes.
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND
face going north the lode is not so good. For about 30 feet it pinches to a formation only, but in the last few feet it has opened out to about a foot, in which a little gold can be seen. I have strong hopes of this making another shoot of ore under the main one. I shall continue this drive to connect with the main south drive from the No. 2 level in the main engine shaft. There is still a distance of about 140 feet to connect them. There has been a good deal of stoping done between the No. 1 south level Raub hole and over the back of the main level in the No. 2 shaft, but there still remains a large extent of good payable ground to take out; and as soon as the shaft is sunk for the next level, this will be added to immensely.
Main Engine Shaft No. 2 Level.-I regret to say that nothing payable has yet been found in this level, although a great deal of prospecting work has been done. At the date of my last re- port the main crosscut had been driven west 261 feet. This has since been extended 59 feet, mak- ing the total distance 320 feet) The object of driving this crosscut was to out the west lode and any leaders that might exist under the old Raub hole workings. Nothing of a payable na- ture was found; in fact, nothing to induce me to do further work. This was a costly piece of work, as the ground was very hard and wet. At 65 feet in, a drive was opened on a small for mation, which has since proved to be a con- tinuation of the lode formation from the No. 1 level. The drive north on this was carried in 27 feet to meet a winzo sunk from the No. 1 level above. In sinking this winze some very good ore was gone through, which has, since proved only to be a patch which did not extend down to the bottom level. The drive going south on the lode formation has been extended a total At 52 feet south a winze distance of 194 feet. was sunk from the No. 1 level above, and con-payable, nected with this No. 2 level; good ore was cut also in sinking this winze. The patch of good ore appears to lie between these two winzes and the No. 1 and 2 levels; at least, we have not been able to trace it in the No. 2 level beyond this yet. There is still a good deal of ore of good quality to stope out between these winzes and the top and bottom levels, which we have not been able to work of late, owing to the heavy water coming through the old workings. The weather appears to have now broken up, and the work will be resumed at once.
1
South Main Drive. This has been extended 92 feet, making total distance from crosscut 492 feet. All the main shoot of ore above this level has been taken out. We are now working In driving the main drive south at about 100 several of the small cross leaders, some of which feet from the crosscut, several small leaders were show very good gold. There are still a number out, carrying very good gold, and although this of these leaders to work. A good deal of under-discovery is not commercially of much value, still hand stoping has been done on the main ore it is important as showing that gold lives in the shoot below this level. I may say that this deeper ground. No work has yet been done on main ore shoot is a body of quartz which crops these leaders to prove the extent of them, as it is out at the surface north of the main engine shaft, my intention to push on this drive to connect and dips south at a uniform rate of one in five. with the drive going north from the No. 2 shaft. About the No. 1 level it did not average more Another advantage of having these two drives than 30 feet in depth, but, as it goes south into connected is that we shall be able to crosscut the deep ground, the bottom edge of the shoot of from any part of this level under the rich leaders ore dips at a greater augle, making the shoot of left underfoot in the old Raub hole workings ore of much greater width as it gets deeper. We when we were flooded ont and had these work- have now followed it for about 600 feet without ings destroyed. There is a large extent of these a fault or break, and as it is now in hard, settled leaders, from which a good deal of gold was got country, there is every reason to believe that it in the early period of our working.
A drive has been driven north 97 feet on the will continue for hundreds of feet. There is no deterioration in the richness of the ore in the course of a lode cut at the plat in sinking the deep ground, and the lode is getting stronger engine shaft. There is a well defined lode all the deeper it is followed. To enable us to work along this drive, with fully two feet of solid this shoot of ore, the No. 2 south engine shaft good-looking stone showing in the face, but has been sunk to the same level as the main en- no gold could be found in it. At some future gine shaft (120), and one of the ropes from the time I intend to extend this drive further, às I main engine shaft, a distance of 500 feet, bas can hardly believe that it does not carry gold been brought to it, so that the one winding somewhere. engine hauls the stuff from both shafts. A small prospecting shaft has been sunk about The shaft is 7 feet by feet clear of tim-00 yards north of the engine shaft to a depth ber, and a small steam pump is put in it of 40 feet, where there are indications of another to take out the water. Preparations are about outcrop of ore. I intend to continue it to water to be completed for putting in larger level, and then crossent to see whether I can pump to enable us to sink the shaft 80 to find a lode. Work had to be stopped in this 100 feet deeper, to follow the shoot of ore at a shaft owing to the surface water during the late deeper level. At 120 feet a crosscut was driven rain. 24 feet west and the lode cut. A wiuze was also sunk from the No 1 south level Raub bole and connected with the No. 2 main level going in on the lode, so as to ventilate the workings. The main drive on the course of the lode has been extended a total distance north and south of 225 feet. For a distance ot 180 feet along the bottom of this level there is a good payable lode from 18 inches to 2 feet thick; it is to work this that I propose sinking the shaft. In the face of the drive going south there is still a lode of good payable ore about 3 feet wide. In the
#
|
Bukit Koman.-At the date of my last report we were driving the crosscut east and west at a depth of 140 feet-that to the west to cut the main lode, and to the east to prospect the country in that direction. The crosscut west out the lode at 45 feet, and went through it at 55 feet, there being 7 to 8 feet of solid quartz and 2 to 3 feet of leader formation. Very fair gold was got in both leaders and lode. A main drive was In that then started both north and south. going north the lode steadily increased in size to 20 feet of crushing stuff, in the whole of which
|
I
The crosscut going east was carried in 136 feet from the shaft, but nothing payable was found in this direction. Drives were started north and south on the quartz cat in the east The drive north was carried in 36 feet, plat. and the one south 27 feet. Gold was seen in the quartz when breaking, but I did not consider it I then opened out 20 feet above the plat on the gold-bearing leaders cut in A chamber was cut 12 feet by sinking the shaft. 7 feet in the clear, and a drive put in 84 foot (equal distance north and south) from the shaft. Good specimen stone was got in the leaders the whole distance, but they are very irregular and bunchy. A winze was sunk 20 feet to connect this level with the drive going in from the plat at a distance of 3 feet in from the shaft, and good gold got in the leaders all the way down. There appears to be a large quantity of crushing stuff bere, but its value is greatly reduced owing to having to take so much mallock with it. The ground is very hard blasting, which makes the development slow and expensive. I believe this is the top of another make of ore which will be got at a lower level in the shaft. So far as I can see, this section of the mine has a great future, situated as it is almost in the centre of the concession, and three miles from our nearest boundary.
Surface Workings,—A small amount of work has been done in these, and about a thousand toos of ore raised has been crushed; but as we do not require this to supplement our supply to keep the mill fully employed, work has been discontinued. There is a large quantity of low grade ore to be got here at a small cost, but as we do not require it at present it will do as a reserve. A new 10 feet pump has been ordered for this shaft, the present one being barely sufficient to As soon as it arrives, I keep down the water. intend sinking the shaft another 100 feet.
Western Lode.At the date of my last report, this mine was idle, with 120 feet of water in it. A winding and pumping plant (the same as at Bukit Koman) has been erected at the shaft, water pumped out, drives cleaned out and re- The latter paired, and workings put in order. bad all closed in and winzes crushed toge- Great difficulty was experienced in ther. opening the latter owing to the heat in the ground and foul air. The whole has been repaired and stopes opened afresh, and all is now in first-class working order. The stopes have been opened for over 200 fest on the course of the lode, which varies from one to three feet wide, and shows There is fair gold in places the whole distance. 70 feet of backs to stops, the whole length of the workings. The ore is not rich, but it is easy and inexpensive to get, close to the battery, and will pay well to work. Ore is now being regularly raised from these workings.
Battery. Since the date of my last report, the battery has been doubled by the erection of an additional ten head of stamps. The old battery of ten head was kept steadily at work to
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.