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hands of Mr. F. Hamilton. For some years following a party of tributers who had taken the whole mine over worked certain parts of it, but mainly directed their attention to the working-out of a large block of the Ajax shoot the company had left as unpayable over No. 5 level. This block the party stoped up for 120 ft. above the level. It was only about 18 in. wide, and averaged from 6 dwt. to 8 dwt. gold per ton; but the men were satisfied with the return, although they paid a 10-per-cent. royalty on the gross yield in addition to the working-expenses of crushing and 6d. per ton for the use of the battery. During the time the tributers worked the mine they appear to have crushed 1,426 tons of quartz, for a return of 1,271 oz. gold.
In 1895 the property was purchased by the Consolidated Goldfields of New Zealand, together with the Royal Mint, Venus, and Royal claims. At the same time this company also took over the ownership of the Inangahua Low-level Tunnel, which had originally been started with a view to cutting the whole of the country in which Anderson’s, Walshe’s, and Kelly’s lode-series occurred. The new owners began vigorously to prospect and exploit the claims from a number of points. Connection was made by rises and winzes between No. 4 level of the Royal and No. 6 level of the Golden Fleece, and the stoping of such stone as was left in the Royal shoot was pushed on with. Simultaneously a winze was started from No. 6 level on the Royal shoot, which was subsequently connected with No. 9 level. The driving of the Low-level Tunnel towards the Golden Fleece ground was also resumed, and this long adit, which later became No. 10 level of the
