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THE BRITISH AND AUSTRALIAN GOLD MINING COMPANY, 
STONY CREEK. 
By John Easton. 
The British and Australian. 
This company's property is situated on Stony Creek, a small branch of 
Sandy Creek, which is a tributary of the Mitta Mitta River, and is about 
12 miles distant from Huon Lane, the nearest railway station, and has a 
good main road to within about 2 miles of the workings. 
The locality is within the large area of metamorphic rocks which exist 
in the north-eastern portion of Victoria, and this company's workings are 
confined to pegmatite dykes intruded into a mass of granite rocks. The 
dykes are very little removed in lithological character from the surrounding 
granite, and are somewhat perplexing to any one unfamiliar with such 
occurrences. The chief distinguishing features of the pegmatite are the 
absence of mica and the abundance of metallic minerals, chiefly arsenical 
pyrites, disseminated throughout. 
Three of these dyke formations have been worked to a more or less 
degree within this lease; they are known as the Grasshopper, the Honey¬ 
suckle, and the Happy Day or Scheimaster's lines, and are shown on the 
accompanying surface plan. 
The Grasshopper dyke has been the chief line of workings. It strikes 
a few degrees to the east of north on the surface and gradually trends more 
easterly in depth, with an average dip of about 65 deg. E. The lode 
is very irregular in width, varying from as much as 8 or 10 feet 
in the surface slopes down to about 4 feet in the lower portions of the 
workings, with an average width of a little over 4 feet. 
This lode has been worked up to the present time by means of two adit 
levels and an underlay shaft, and the lower portions by means of an 
additional winze some distance to the south of the shaft. Haulage has 
been done by a whip with pulleys to guide the rope around the various 
angles in its ascent from the winze to the shaft. 
The present company when they secured the property undertook the 
sinking of a new vertical shaft, and have devoted almost the whole of their 
capital and energy to this purpose. The shaft is now 160 feet deep, and 
still has 10 be sunk about 70 feet before it gets below the old workings. 
The sinking is very hard, and Mr. Sheppard, the manager, informed me 
that the last 60 feet or so cost him about U5 per foot. Any further sinking 
will in all probability cost at the same rate. It is desirable that this shaft 
should be continued as it is in a good position to> command the future 
working of the auriferous shoot and would intersect the lode somewhere 
about the bottom of the present workings as near as I could judge from 
my compass survey. 
The auriferous shoot pitches to the south at an angle of about 66 deg., 
and appears to pinch and make in length. It averaged about 50 feet in 
length and a little over 4 feet in width. I have taken the following infor¬ 
mation concerning the history of the mine and the gold yields from a report 
by Mr. Peter Wright, which the manager informs me is the most reliable 
record obtainable :—According to* this report, the original discoverers of the 
Grasshopper lode, Messrs. Conness and Gibson, crushed 350 tons for 
871 oz. of gold, and then as the lode became poor they abandoned it. It 
was again taken up by Messrs. Gathergood and Nankervis, who opened out 
northward and found the northern portion of the shoot shown in accom¬ 
panying longitudinal section. From it they obtained 150 tons of ore which 
