12 The N.Z. Journal of Science and Technology, [Jan. 
to these proofs that the land at one time stood at a higher level than at 
present, there is evidence that it was once more deeply submerged. In 
many places along the sides of the Wakamarina Valley terraces appear 
marking the position occupied by the valley - floor at different times. 
Remnants of the highest of these terrace sets, 600 ft. to 700 ft. above the 
stream, may be seen in the neighbourhood of Deep Creek and at several - 
points farther down the valley. 
History of Mining in Wakamarina Valley. 
Alluvial gold was discovered in the Wakamarina Valley in 1864. The 
best of it was found on the beaches and shallow bars of the stream, sources! 
which were exhausted in a few years. Water to command the terraces 
was difficult to obtain, and it was not until 1877 that the higher gravels 
were seriously attacked. Although these were worked for many years 
they did not as a whole repay the capital expended. In 1878 an attempt 
was made to work the river-bed by means of an air-lock ; and in the years 
that followed the “bottom” was reached on several occasions, but with-i 
out the discovery of the rich pockets hoped for. By damming and diverting 
the stream other portions of the river-bed were laid bare, but the gold 
obtained did not nearly repay the expense of the long-continued operations. 
In the late “ nineties” dredging began in the lower valley of the Waka¬ 
marina, and work was carried on with fair results till 1907. 
The coarse nature of the alluvial gold in the creeks, and the fact that 
many of the “ specks ” had fragments of quartz attached, early induced 
prospectors to seek for lodes. Since only the streams draining the eastern 
side of the valley contained gold in payable quantities, search was naturally 
made in the rough hilly country lying between the Wakamarina and Wairau 
Rivers. In 1874 a lode was discovered near Deep Creek, and a year later 
another outcrop was found two miles to the southward. In 1881 a quartz 
vein 10 ft. to 12 ft. in width was exposed in the valley of Dead Horse Creek, 
and from this a few hundred tons of ore were mined. The claim, known 
as the Golden Bar, was abandoned in 1885. The gold occurring in the 
quartz was very fine, and it was considered that the coarse alluvial gold 
found in the creek-beds could not have been shed from the lodes discovered. 
In 1889 an adit at a lower level cut the ore-body in the Golden Bar Claim ; 
and in 1893 and 1894 the same lode was explored in the Empire City, a 
■claim just to the northward. An Otis crusher was erected to crush ore 
from the latter claim, but the yield of gold was insufficient and operations 
ceased. In 1900 another attempt was made to work the ore-body in the 
Golden Bar ; an eight-head mill was built, but after a few tons had been 
crushed the claim was abandoned. Work began again in 1907 and con¬ 
tinued desultorily till 1909, when a twelve-head battery driven by water 
was erected, and crushing recommenced. Later a group of claims along 
the line of strike of the lode was acquired by the Dominion Consolidated 
Developing Company. This company, registered on the 18th January, 
1911, has actively developed its property and increased the battery to 
twenty-five stamps. The mill is equipped with WilfLey tables that save a 
concentrate containing from 65 to 70 per cent, of scheelite. The presence 
of this mineral in the quartz of the lodes of the Wakamarina Valley was 
detected by the Colonial Analyst in 1888.* At present it is as important 
a constituent of the ore as the gold. 
* Col. Museum and Lab., 23rd Ann. Rep., 1889, p. 59. 
