622
THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.
[No. 16

20. Labour under Mineral Leases.—The lessee shall, within six months after the date of the mineral lease, commence and thereafter during the term of the lease continually prosecute mining operations on the demised land for the specified mineral, and for that purpose shall at all times during the first two years of the term keep employed upon or in connection with the demised land and his said mining operations thereon at least one workman for every full area of 50 acres or less therein contained, and thereafter during the term at least two workmen for every such area, provided as follows :—

(a.) For the purpose of compliance with the aforesaid labour conditions there shall be included all work done in the construction or erection of machinery or in preparations indispensable to the actual commencement of mining operations.

(b.) To the extent of one-half of the number of workmen which should otherwise be employed the expenditure of capital shall be equivalent to the employment of workmen in the proportion of one man for every £1,000 of capital which shall be expended by the lessee in plant or permanent works for the purpose of mining for the specified mineral.

21. Refunds of Deposits.—Refunds of the amount deposited by an applicant for a mineral prospecting warrant or mineral lease shall from time to time be made in sums of not less than £50 on the certificate of an Inspector of Mines that at least £100 has been expended in prospecting the lands comprised in the mineral prospecting warrant or the development and working of the lands comprised in the mineral lease, as the case may be, for every £50 applied for as a refund.

22. Should gold be discovered within the area comprised in either a mineral prospecting warrant or a mineral lease, the discoverer shall, if the land is within a mining district, have the prior right to take up a special claim under the provisions of the Mining Act, but if the land is not within a mining district, the locality must be brought under the operations of the Mining Act, when the discoverer will have a prior right to take up a special claim.

23. Should any mineral other than the mineral specified in a mineral prospecting warrant or mineral lease be discovered, the discoverer shall, on giving an undertaking in writing that he will not interfere with the operations of the holder of the original warrant, have the right to acquire a warrant to prospect for the mineral he may have discovered upon the same terms and conditions as are prescribed for the original warrant, and at the end of the term of the second warrant the holder shall have the prior right to acquire a mineral license to the extent and under the conditions prescribed by section 103 of the Mining Act.

CLAIMS.

Classes and Subdivisions.

24. Claims are divided into the following classes, according to size :—

(1.) Ordinary claims.

(2.) Extended claims.

(3.) Special claims.

25. Each class of claims is subdivided as follows, according to the nature of the ground and of the operations :—

(1.) Alluvial claims : meaning thereby claims worked in alluvial ground, not being dredging or river claims as hereinafter defined.

(2.) Dredging claims : meaning thereby claims worked by means of dredges.

(3.) River claims : meaning thereby claims worked in the beds or on the banks of watercourses, not being alluvial or dredging claims as hereinbefore defined.

(4.) Quartz claims : meaning thereby claims worked on quartz or other reefs, or cement or other deposits, by means of crushing, roasting, or chemical process.

(5.) Sea-beach claims : meaning thereby claims on the sea-beach and extending seawards.

Form, Area, and Dimensions.

26. Subject to the specific provisions hereinafter contained relating to specific claims, the form of every claim shall as far as practicable be four-sided, each side being as far as practicable measured in a straight line, and no one side exceeding twice the length of any other side :

Provided that, within the limits prescribed by section 88 of the Mining Act, the form and dimensions as specified by this clause may be varied to such extent as, having regard to the circumstances of the case, the Warden thinks reasonable.

27. Subject to the provisions of section 2 of “The Mining Act Amendment Act, 1905,” the area of alluvial claims shall not exceed—

(1.) For an ordinary claim, 1 acre if held under license, and 10,000 square feet if held otherwise than under license.

(2.) For an extended claim, 5 acres.

(3.) For a special claim, 100 acres.

28. The form of dredging or river claims may have relation to the course of the stream in or on the bed or bank of which they are worked, and with respect to such claims the following provisions shall apply :—

(1.) For an ordinary claim the area shall not exceed 1 acre, and not more than 3 chains of the course of the stream shall be comprised therein.

(2.) For an extended claim the area shall not exceed 5 acres, and not more than 15 chains of the course of the stream shall be comprised therein.

(3.) For a special claim the area shall not exceed 75 acres, and not more than three miles of the course of the stream shall be comprised therein.

(4.) The course of the stream shall in each case be measured along the centre of the bed of the stream.

29. With respect to the area and dimensions of quartz claims the following provisions shall apply :—

(1.) For an ordinary claim the area shall not exceed 1 acre, and not more than 200 ft. of the length of any supposed reef shall be comprised therein.

(2.) For an extended claim the area shall not exceed 5 acres, and not more than 500 ft. of the length of any supposed reef shall be comprised therein.

(3.) For a special claim the area shall not exceed 100 acres.

30. With respect to the area, form, and dimensions of sea-beach claims, the following provisions shall apply :—

(1.) The claim shall be bounded on the shoreward side by a straight line parallel, as near as may be, to the mean frontage-line of the shore at high-water mark, within the boundaries, but at no point distant more than 500 ft. above high-