24 
Mines and Mineral Statistics, 
south Yavraugobilly Copper Mining Companies. I inspected 
the lodes of the latter company, and found some very good 
specimens of carbonates, red oxide, and yellow sulphiirets, but 
the terribly broken country in Avhich the lodes are situated is 
verv much against their fair development. 
Making my way through the immense mountain ranges that 
lie between Jviandra and Tumberumba, I reached the new and 
old Maragle diggings, situated about 20 miles east of the latter 
locality. The alluvial wliich at one time gave very ricli returns 
is now worked out, and operations are conlined exclusively to 
sluicing. Some twenty or thirty men find em])loyment here. 
Tiimhcruml)a Creek and gold mining district ai’o also essen- 
tially sluicing localities, the miners being entirely dependent for 
returns upon tlie supply of water to their races. The men are 
scattered over a very large extent of country, almost every 
tributary of the creek heiiig worked by races. In fact the 
whole length of tlie Tiimut with its many feeders gives oniploy- 
inent to the sluicers, the line of auriferous country extending 
all tlie way between Tumberumba and Tumut. It is estimated 
that between MOO and dOO men find employment in this line of 
country, every little gully furnished with a stream of Avater 
having, according to its extent, its four, six, eight, nr nine miners 
at Avork in it. hh’om here the yield of gold is pretty correctly 
showii by the Escort returns, as the metal nearly all passes 
through the hands of the Banks aiul goes down by Escort, and 
there Avouhl be little for me to say about the spot beyond Avhat 
I have already Avritteii respecting the other sluicing grounds, 
Avero it not for the extensive operations Avhich arc being carried 
on bj^ Mr. Critchell at the Burra and the Mamins Creoles. Both 
these creeks are being Avorked upon the same principle, and it 
Avill therefore he necessary to describe one only, and as the 
Avorks at the Burra have been completed, and are uoav in full 
operation, I shall select that. Leases have been taken up of 
1,500 yards of the creek bed. To Avork these an extensive tail- 
race had to he cut, at au expense of £3,100, hcfoi'e a shilling of 
return could he obtained from the ground. The race is dOO 
yards long, one-third of the distance being tunnelled, as the 
granite avus found to be so hard that this was considered the 
cheapest mode of proceeding. The mouth of the tunnel is 
guarded l>y a vaB'e or fiood-gate, so that in the event of a fiood 
so heuA'y as to be likely to carry off the gold the opening can be 
closed, and the Avaters thrown otf into the original creek bed. 
The bed rock lies some IG ieet below the present surface of the 
creek, and the race has been cut down 11 feet into the bed rock, 
giA'ing a fall of 30 feet from tbe surface to the line of the race. 
It is boxed throughout, the boxes being d feet wide by 2 feet 
deep, and laid with a fall of Id in 12. The deposit in the creek 
