Mines and Mineral Statistics. 
^3 
deposits being all found in the hills from the southern face of 
the main range ; the Eour-inile, Nine-mile, and olher diggings 
being all on the same sequence of hills which forms the^north 
boundary of the Eucumbene Eiver. All the tributaries of this 
river coining in from the north have also been found to be more 
or less auriferous. The work is the same as that carried on in 
ail old alluvial diggings, viz., washing the river bed in summer 
when the water is low, and sluicing the banks and hill sides 
in the wet season w'hen the races are supplied with water. The 
greater part of the gold obtained here is coarse and nuggety, 
that from tlie Nine-mile being peculiarly so, the nuggets being 
much mixed Avith quartz and having a beautifully elilorescent 
form. They are very little water-ivoru, and the edges are some- 
times so sharp as to have the appearance of being fresh from the 
reef. Prom the Eour-mile the gold is more scaly, but is heavy 
and of good quality. In the main river again it is coarse, 
nuggety, and of a high standard. It is next to impossible to get 
at anything like an approximation of the amount of gold raised 
in any given term, as very little of it reaches the Cooma Escort. 
The groat hulk of it is sent aAvay by post to Hydney direct. 
Some idea of the quantity may however he gathered from the 
fact that Mr. Lett, J.P., a storekeeper here, assured me that 
during ISTT lie purchased something oA’cr 1,500 ozs. There are 
two other huyers in the town Avho he says obtained nearly the 
same quantity, so that we may fairly assume that some 4.000 ozs. 
have passed through the post, and this amount would be altogether 
independent of that sent by the Chinese to their countrymen in 
Sydney. Some guide to the amount of gold posted may be 
obtained by ascertaining the amount of percentage ])aid to the^ 
postmaster here on the sale of postage stamps. I have heard 
that that percentage reached £40 last year, owing to the number 
of stamps required on parcels of gold posted. 
Quartz reefs haA O been opened up here in several localities ; 
but though some have given good returns, they have all been 
dropped, and none are being worked at present. There is a four- 
stamper crtishing battery at tlie junction of Eullock Head Creek 
and the rNer, but it has lain idle for many months. The 
number of miners Avorking on this held is computed at 60 
Europeans and 100 Chinese, and there is little prosjiect of any 
increase in this number unless the tunnelling operations proA^e 
successful. Tin has been found some 12 miles distant from 
Kiandra in the granite country, and several leases have been 
taken up. The ground has been fairly tested, and lodes of grey 
streak tin haA^e been opened, but none of the ground is being 
worked at present. Copper lodes haA'e been o])ened at Tarran-^ 
gobilly, better knoAvn as Ijob’s Hole, about 15 miles from 
Kiandra, on the road to Tumberumba, by the north and the 
