11 
■or other mechanical appliances, the sand could be loaded into the trucks at 
a trifling cost. The cheapness with which such material can be handled in 
quantity may be gauged from the results obtained by gold dredges, which 
can raise to a considerable height, wash and redeposit a cubic yard of sand 
and gravel weighing about 1 ton, at a cost of 2d. Before any operations of 
this nature are undertaken experiments should be made with the sand, and 
the dunes should be thoroughly examined and sampled to determine the 
relative values of the various parts. 
[18.4.12.] 
PYRENEES PROPRIETARY MINE, REDBANK. 
By W. Baragwanath, Senior Field Geologist. 
The Pyrenees Proprietary mine is situated at Redbank, a small hamlet 
about fifteen miles north-west of Avoca. In the'early sixties, Redbank, 
which now comprises about a score of houses, was a busy mining centre, from 
which large gold escorts were weekly despatched. 
The alluvial gullies trending easterly from the Pyrenees Range through 
Redbank towards the Avoca River provided numerous nuggets. Endeavours 
to locate the source of these nuggets resulted in the discovery of several 
quartz reefs, one of which, the Pyrenees, now embraced within the lease of 
the mine under review, proved highly profitable. 
Records of the earlier workings, while not complete, are fortunately 
preserved in the Departmental reports on Neglected Gold-fields (1894), and also 
in the reports of the Mining Surveyors and Registrars (see Appendix A). The 
earlier returns from the prospecting and adjacent claims in 1861 show that 
they were highly payable to water-level. A few extracts taken from the 
above-mentioned reports may be cited :—“ From the prospecting claim 
1,200 oz. were quickly taken . . . ; in No. 1 south 600 oz. were 
obtained . . . ; in No. 2 south the gold was struck at 10 feet from 
the surface, and when the water was reached at 140 feet 700 oz. had 
been obtained . . . ; in No. 3 the owners took out 600 oz. . . . ; 
in No. 4 claim 1,600 oz. were obtained between a depth of 80 and 175 feet; 
at the latter depth, owing to heavy water, the claim was abandoned 
. . . ; in No. 5 claim at 100 feet they struck a well-defined reef 3 feet 
thick which averaged 5 oz. to the ton, and winch they carried down another 
75 feet, when the water stopped further operations . . . ; they won 1,700 
oz. from this little claim, the last shot put in enabling them to get 150 oz. of 
gold . . . ; in four claims still further south a total of 7,000 oz. were 
obtained, the greatest depth on the reef being 210 feet in No. 7 ; very rich 
stone was obtained in places in the shallow workings on the reef.” From the 
report mentioned above the following is taken 75 lb. of quartz gave 
124 oz. . . . ; 15 cwt. of stone yielded 500 oz., while from the tailings 
another 88 oz. were obtained.” 
In 1862 a quartz specimen found in the Pyrenees reef yielded 36 oz. A 
single ton from No. 2 south gave 193 oz. From No. 5 claim one ton gave 
201 oz. Averages of 3 oz. to 5 oz. to the ton for parcels of 50 and 60 tons were 
common in 1862 and 1863. In 1865 the Pyrenees as well as adjacent reefs 
were abandoned, and notwithstanding the rich yields and the prospects of 
further developments no work was carried out until late in the nineties, when 
the New Pyrenees Gold Mining Company started work, sank the present main 
shaft to a depth of 333 feet, and at 250 ft. and 325 ft. drove levels. No. 13 
