232 NEW SOUTH WALES. 



gold per torij witli reefs from 3 to 6 feet in width. In only one 

 instance tlie workings have been carried down to the depth of 720 

 feet. But the remainder of the reefs, of which there is a large number, 

 have not been worked below the depth of 400 feet. Lately an impetus 

 has been given owing to the payable yields from the Young O'Brien^s, 

 the Homeward Bound, the Enterprise, and other reefs. Extensive 

 prospecting operations are also carried on all over the field, on which 

 there are two quartz-crushing batteries ; but the gold-saving appliances 

 are rather primitive. 



The Hillgrove Gold-field in the Armidalo district may be considered 

 as being at present the greatest gold-producing field in the northern 

 districts, employing the largest number of men and most extensive 

 machinery both for crushing and gold-saving purposes. At the Eleanora 

 Company a 30-stamp battery has been erected, and as antimony is 

 associated with the auriferous quartz, furnaces and other machinery 

 have been erected for special treatment. The yield of the gold from 

 some of the Hillgrove mines has been extraordinary. The Baker's 

 Creek Mine is on payable gold 772 feet below the surface, or 600 feet 

 below the creek. This mine has a 40-stamp battery in full work with 

 all the most improved gold-saving appliances. Over £210,000 has 

 been paid in dividends out of this mine. There are a large number of 

 mines in the district, all more or less payable, and indications are not 

 wanting to prove that these quartz reefs may be profitably worked at 

 a very great depth. 



The auriferous area extends in all directions around Armidale. 



At Nundle and Hanging Rock c[uartz-mining has been successfully 

 carried on, and sluicing on a large scale has been carried on for some 

 considerable time. 



Mining operations, both quartz and alluvial, are also in full swing in 

 the districts of Uralla,Walcha, Swamp Oak, Niangala, Tamworth, and 

 Bendemeer. At Barraba rich gold discoveries have very recently been 

 made in calcite veins, and at Stewart^s Brook and Bingara the gold- 

 mining industry is making satisfactory progress. The same may be 

 said of Tenterfield, Grafton, Nana Creek, and Dalmorton. 



The beach-mining industry in the Ballina and Maclean districts have 

 lately largely contributed to the annual yield of gold. 



In the Fairfield or Drake district there is a large area of auriferous 

 country still improspected, and a number of persons are obtaining a 

 living by working in the numerous creeks and gullies for alluvial gold. 

 Some of the quartz reefs are yielding highly payable returns. 



Silver. 



Notwithstanding the low price of silver, there are still several mines 

 in the Colony paying highly satisfactory dividends to the shareholders. 



The most extensive and important (silvei*) argentiferous deposits 

 are being mined upon in the Barrier or Broken Hill district, near the 

 borders of South Australia. Here the ore deposits are \evj rich. They 

 contain all the different species of silver ore, some of the chlorides or 

 horn silver have been of very high quality, and it is generally admitted 

 by mining experts that the deposits in the Proprietary Mine, Broken 

 Hill, cannot be surpassed in quantity or quality by any of the present 

 known argentiferous deposits in the world. 



