HIDDEN TREASURE.

Auckland Star, Volume XLI, Issue 269, 12 November 1910, Page 4

HIDDEN TREASURE.

It is one of the most commonplace of truisms that a large proportion of New Zealand's wealth has been derived in the past from her mineral resources. Itis an equally indisputable fact that this country, deeprte its small area, possesses extremely valuable mineral deposits of various kinds -which hitherto have been examined: and worked only in the most superficial way. Yet, dn spite of the splendid success that has attended mining ventures here in the past, and the great possibilities that mineralogical reports and geological surveys suggest foi- the future, it is a remarkable fact that very few systematic attempts have been made to prospect the known mineral-bearing areas, and still less has been done to examine the rough, unbroken country which in New Zealand

lies on every hand close to the borders of settlement and civilisation. To some extent this apathy and inactivity may be ascribed to. the comparative dearth of capital, raihick is almost inevitable in a young country, and a remarkable illustration of its consequences is to. he found in the Thames Goldfields, where some of the richest auriferous country in. the world which has. ia the past praducM phenomenal returns, has been left practically unworked, except on the surface, for many years. Whether the Deep Levels scheme prove a success or not, our failure to explore, the lower strata in this wonderfully rich goldfield remains a standing proof of our lack of imagination and initiative; and if it succeeds Ui,e gain.3 that will tb,en be secured will be an exact measure of the losses we have sustained through our want of energy and enterpxiseBut our present purpose is rather to draw attention to the great potentialities of this country in regard tq the. districts th,at bave never yet been systematically examined by properly-qualified prospectors or mineralogists; and we need, not go far to get- appropriate instances for our argument To take Auckland dist trict alone, there is no doubt that there is ample scope for prospecting in the iCoromandel Peninsula (behind the deposits that have been successfully worked on the shores "of ""the HaTir-aki.. in the Tapu district again there has been practically no prospecting in the extensive ranges of, 'Mils, behind the old JJtahara Royal property, in the Ure.ive.ra country, which is still to Europeans almost a trackiess wilderness, there is a wide field for" th&prospector. Between Karangiahake" and Te' Aroha there is a large area practicably untouched which is knotoi country.. And the "to extensive districts' in Nelson, Westland and Gtago, where comparatively little ihas-been done to locate or to. exploit mineral deposits. Even, a gla"nce &fr the bulletins that have been issued during the past thTee years •by the Geological Survey Department is enough to suggest- that not only with reference to' gold bat in regard to coal, iron and. copper, asbestos, shaje, and many other valuable forms of natural wealth, an immense amount of work remains to be done in locating outcrops and tracing lades arid opening up our mineral resources.

It might be imagined <that a<s all men practically familiar with miming here know something about our nninera.l wealtfli, there would always be a large number of prospectors actively engaged in searching fox new deposits and pegging out new claims. But as a matter of fact "the prospector nowadays gets very little encouragement. The life is hard and often dangerous, and when a man makes a 'lucky "strike" he can do nothing without, capital, for which ■he has to offer a. considerable pant of his "lied." Then •when the syndicate that takes up his ground floats a company, •the prospector usually finds that the Stock Exchange will not list the shares, unless <the money is to go, not into hi? pockets, tout into the development of .the property; and as a rule the vendors are precluded from getting a little cash return out of their shares by a proyisipn that ties them up for six months or more. All this certainly tenda to discourage prospectors and we believe that the refula,tions now enforced by the btoek Exchange have a great deal to do with the comparative lack of. enterprise tba* has marked the course of our mining history •within recent years. Another point that occurs to us. in this connection is the fact that many of the companies which hold large areas pi auriferous o-vound have confined themselvca to proving and working email seditions of their claims. Thus the Waiot*hi Company, which has teen so successful in the- past, ■has spent something like 40 years' work ■over less than five acres of ground, and this is not a unique instance. The largo areas thus locked up, are «f. course barred to prospecting except by the holders, and if they will not trouble to examine their own ground carefully it is practically -useless. However, our chief object is to draw attention once more to the treat possibilities of New Zealand as a. mining field. Our records show that an immense amount of mineral wealth haa already been extracted from the earth here; and it is quite conceivable that, a new Mt. Morgan or Mt. Lyell, or a second Broken Hill or Bullfinch may be concealed in our 'bad-r country awaiting only the advent of the prospector to. bpcome a source of wealth and prosperity to the whole Dominion.