Page:Downey•Quartz·Reefs·West·Coast•1928.pdf/42

 Regarding the Break of Day little is known except that it crushed 872 tons of quartz for a yielded 4,610 oz. gold, equal to 5 oz. 5 dwt. per ton, and paid in dividends £10,000.

The Croesus Company was formed about 1885 to work a claim facing Lyell Creek, to the north of the United Alpine Claim, in which a reef was found that for a time promised good returns. A battery was erected and crushing was carried on for some time, but the values recovered were not up to expectations, and the company soon suspended operations. The ground lay idle till about 1892, when the claim and battery were purchased by the Tyrconnel Company. Work was continued in the Croesus, however, by a party of tributors, who carried on for about eight years, during which period they crushed 2,818 tons of stone, which yielded 1,890 oz. 2 dwt. 16 gr. gold, valued at £7,785 11s. 8d. There are no records dealing with the earlier crushings by the original company.

The Tyrconnel Company was formed in 1882 to work the ground previously held by the Break of Day Company, and up till 1887 had won a fair amount of gold, one crushing alone of 46 tons yielding 685 oz. In 1893 the mine was let to tributers, who worked it till 1898. As far as is now known, the total stone crushed from the mine, exclusive of the old Break of Day figures, amounted to 198 tons, which yielded 1,658 oz. 14 dwt. gold, valued at £6,346 18s.

The United Italy Company was formed in March, 1882, to work a reef from which great things were expected, but the results did not come up to expectations, and after struggling along till 1889 the claim was let to tributers, who worked it until 1897. During its working-life this company’s claim produced approximately 505 tons of stone, which yielded 2,230 oz. gold, valued at £8,655, and dividends to the amount of £1,200 are believed to have been paid.

It may be mentioned that the Lyell Creek Extended Company, before amalgamation with the United Alpine, crushed 133 tons of stone for 454 oz. 6 dwt. gold, valued at £1,787 1s. 2d.

About 1915 a new company known as the Lyell Consols was formed to take up most of the ground formerly held by the various small companies just previously referred to, north of the United Alpine claims, and, with the help of Government subsidy, a crosscut was driven for about 553 ft. with the intention of intersecting the line of the Alpine reef about 1,500 ft. north of the old workings of the Alpine Mine. In the first 200 ft. this crosscut is said to have intersected five gold-bearing leaders, and at about 406 ft. in the reef-line sought for was intersected and driven on for 147 ft. Such quartz as was found along the line was, however, very broken. It contained gold, but only occurred in small boulders which would not pay to work. A start was then made to put another tunnel 250 ft. lower than the other, with a view to seeing if at this depth the reef would prove more solid and continuous. This second adit had its portal about 1,200 ft. north of the old tunnel, and was driven on what was believed to be the reef-line, only a short crosscut of 112 ft. being necessary to reach the line from the portal. Almost from the time the reef-line was met, small bunches of quartz were met with, and these continued for many feet. At 241 ft. in a solid block of stone was encountered and was driven on for 62 ft. It was evidently only the cap of a large block, for it did not at any point reach up to the back of the drive. Underfoot the stone was the width of the drive, but it was not of much value, the best result of several assays only showing 6 dwt. gold per ton. The tunnel was eventually