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Appendix 10.
Reefs of the Rough Ridge.

In visiting this district we were accompanied by Mr. James Hazlett, M.P.C., who kindly afforded me some information about the drift workings of Tinker’s and Drybread, passed on the road. At the Rough Ridge we found only one enterprising man, Mr. Withers, employing labour in reopening a reef, once worked by the old Ida Valley Company, though over twenty other auriferous reefs are said to have at one time been worked in the district. The reef Mr. Withers is engaged reopening, and about the history of which, and a number of others—the principal ones formerly worked—he kindly afforded me the subsequently given particulars, is the Homeward Bound Reef. The old main openings, from which exploitation has been carried on, consist of an adit 770 feet in length, driven from a gully in the strike of the reef; and of a shaft sunk from the hill slope a depth of 110 feet, passing the adit at about 50 feet from the surface. The reef is not a solid and defined one, but consists of a series of quartz leaders, of varying length and thickness, running close together in a defined line of strike, viz., E. 30[gap — reason: illegible] S., and dipping steeply towards each other. Some join also in strike, and, whilst one ceases, another generally commences sideways, or a few feet further on. This band of leaders, which is traceable for a considerable distance S.E. up the range, traverses a fine blue phyllite, which dips slightly westward, and looks much disturbed by joints and faults, which also affect the leaders. A fault of several feet in one of the strongest of the latter is, for instance, observable in the vertical shaft, where this passes the adit. It is not at all unlikely that the country becomes more settled, and some of the main leaders join and form a defined reef in depth. This seems to be indicated by a body of fine looking quartz- -4 feet thick and carrying payable gold—having been struck and left at the bottom of the shaft. Mr. Withers, who is at present engaged in taking out some payable stone from what appears to be the main leader, left by the old company underfoot of the adit, intends soon to try his chance—and it is, I think, a very good one—in depth by sinking a main shaft near the mouth of the adit. For, irrespective of the probability of finding there a strong, defined reef, from what he observed about the run of the gold, it seems to dip in shoots north-westward, i.e., from the hill towards the gully, where the adit commences. The quartz of the leader worked, which is but slightly mixed with mullock, shows a fine seamy structure and is abundantly impregnated with iron and arsenical pyrites, whilst the richer gold-bearing stone is characterised by additional impregnated particles of zincblende and bournonite. The old Ida Valley Company had a fine crushing machine—the one bought by the Alta Company, Bendigo, noticed at another place—but they worked it very badly, and lose, besides page 230gold, a large quantity of quicksilver, some say nearly a ton weight in a short time. Mr. Withers’ crushing machine consists of a battery of five heads of revolving stamps of 5¾ cwts. each, fed by hand, and driven by a small steam engine. He uses gratings with 122 and 144 holes per square inch, but generally the former. The crushed material, on leaving the battery, passes first through three shallow quicksilver ripples, then over a common copperplate table, and ultimately over three blanket strakes, about 16 feet long, and laid at an inclination of 1½ inches per foot. For the treatment of the blanket sand are used a revolving barrel and a shaking table. As Mr. Withers knows from small experiments, that the pyrites, which forms a large percentage of the sand, is richly auriferous, he preserves the latter for future re-treatment. The Clunes system of appliances, which I described to him, seemed much to please him, and he may likely give it a trial.

Lloyd’s Reef.—This runs at a distance of about 100 feet south-westward from, and parellel to, the Homewardbound Reef. Besides having been worked also by the Old Ida Valley Company—by small shafts here and there along the surface, it was opened by a crosscut from near the southern end of the adit on the above reef, and proved, where struck, to be about six feet thick. On driving on it, a fault was found to cut it off close to this point north-westward in strike, and the faulted portion was not recovered; south-eastward it continued, however, well-defined, though gradually thinning to about one foot, and was followed a distance of about 300 feet, and stoped out from the level to very near the surface—the quartz paying very satisfactorily. Mr. Withers intends prospecting for this reef—the above-noted faulted portion—by a crosscut from his contemplated new main shaft, and is not at all unlikely to discover it, judging from indications of the reef on the surface abreast of the mouth of the adit.

Great Eastern Reef.—This lies about ¼ mile north abreast of the Homewardbound Reef, and strikes S E. with a dip at an angle of 85° traversing very flat-bedded phyllite, and showing well-defined walls. It has been worked for several hundred feet in length, and 40 to 60 feet in depth, partly by open cutting, partly by and from an adit about 200 feet long. At the mouth of the adit a shaft was sunk on it a depth of 70 feet, when a strong pressure of water prevented further sinking without pumping machinery. At the bottom of this shaft the reef is said to be left 18 inches thick, and carrying better gold than found in the main workings. In these, its thickness ranged from a few inches to three feet—average, about 1½ feet —and it consisted of quartz and mullock, the former much predominating. The gold occurred in shoots, dipping north-westward in strike, similar as in the Homewardbound reef. There have been several 100 tons of stone crushed with an average yield of about 1 oz. of gold per ton—the yields having ranged from 7 dwts. to 2 oz., page 231and, from some narrow parts of the reefs, even to 3 ozs. of gold per ton. About three chains N.W. from the mouth of the adit, on a low rise, bounding the gully which runs up to the above workings, some open workings have been carried on, and small shafts sunk on what appears to be the continuation of this reef, and from these also some good gold is said to be obtained. The cause of the desertion of the reef by the Great Eastern party, who worked it first, and by the Energetic Company, who worked it subsequently, is said to have been partly bad management, partly want of enterprise in erecting the necessary pumping machinery for opening it in depth—a trial which it, in my opinion, certainly deserves.

West of England Reef.—This was formerly worked by the Sons of Temperance Company by an adit, open cuttings and shafts, about eight chains northward from the mouth of the adit on the Homewardbound Reef. It strikes E. 15° S. and dips northward at an angle of 56°. Its thickness ranged in the old workings from 6 inches to 18 inches, and it pinched and expanded at very short distances. The gold occurred in a shoot that dipped westward in a strike. A considerable quantity of stone was crushed, which yielded from 6 dwts. to 1½ ounces of gold per ton. The reef has been traced by shafts several chains westward under the alluvial of a flat adjoining the workings; and as the gold struck was found to dip in that direction, it might not turn out a bad speculation to prospect it there, though on account of the water, no doubt to be met with, a horse-whim would likely be required in sinking below a shallow depth.

Surprise Reef.—This is a small reef only about one foot thick, and has not been much opened. 60 to 80 tons of stone crushed, yielded from 14 dwts. to 1¼ oz of gold per ton—a return which did not pay, as the expenses were too high at the time.

Queen of the Isles Reef.—It lies between the Great Eastern and the Homewardbound reef, near the line of the former, and was worked several years ago by the Ida Valley Company to a depth of about 40 feet. Its thickness ranged from 1 to 2½ feet, and about 100 tons crushed from it paid from 10 to 17 dwts. of gold per ton. There has been nothing done on it since the company broke up.

New Reef.—This has lately been discovered by Mr. Withers, who is sinking a shaft on it. Its position is about ¾ mile northward from the Homeward Bound Reef. Whilst dipping nearly vertical it runs N.E., a course crossing the lines of all the other reefs. It consists of coarsely crystalline quartz, is about 7 inches thick, and has one good wall. A crushing of 28 tons gave the handsome return of 1½ ozs of gold per ton. This reef crops out within a zone of country perhaps over a mile in width, which is full of a number of small reefs or spurs, 40ft. and less apart, running more or less parallel, of which many have been opened and proved auriferous.

Before leaving this district, I may mention what Mr. H. J. page 232Cope informed me of, namely, that at Sutton, Strath Taieri, a large reef has some time ago been worked by McIvor and Co., called the Recassoli Reef. This was about 7½ft. thick, and consisted of 6ft. of white quartz, with 18 inches of mullock running alongside. The first crushing paid 2 oz 9 dwts, the second 1 oz 13 dwts, and a third of twenty tons, 13 dwts of gold per ton, which latter did not cover expenses. The crushing machine used consisted of an atmospheric two stamp battery, driven by steam. The mullock vein, which was the gold-bearing portion, ran out in depth; of the white quartz, none was tried. From the fact that the gold, after retorting, turned out black, it is, no doubt with truth, surmised that some bad metal was in the stone, which caused a loss of gold during crushing.