KAWARAU'S GOLD.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 205, 30 August 1926, Page 5

KAWARAU'S GOLD.

BARRAGING OF THE RIVER. GATES SUCCESSFULLY CLOSED. NEW ERA BEGINS TO-DAY. (By Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") QUEENSTOWX, this day. After nearly four years of effort, the Kawarau goldmining scheme came into being to-day, when the gates of the stupendous dam across the egress of Lake Wakatipu at Frankton Falls were closed at 10.20 this morning. With the sounding of the whistle, the ten winches on the bridge were set in gear, the gates slowly closed to block off the waters of the lake, and flags were unfurled above the dais on the left bank. That was how the great quest for gold in the Kawarau River was commenced. August 30, 1926, will go down in nining annals as the opening of a olossal venture to disclose the bed of he turbulent Kawarau, one of Xature's reat sluice channels, and one of the ichest gold rivers in the world. Reords show that from the Kawarau. by .redging and workings on the slopes. lineteen million pounds of gold have leen obtained. Will Kawarau's banks nd bed be another Klondike? It is .n all-absorbing question, highly specuative certainly, but mining has always >een an uncertain factor, giving that lenient of chance which so pleases the nan who seeks for the royal metal. Where are the Pockets? Thousands of pounds have been invested in the damming of the Kawarau it her source. But take Kawarau from my angle, and it is, as are all mining rentures, a speculative one without a ioubt. Geology proves that the Kawarau :s a gold-carrying stream. Gold is in the river, but who are going to be the lucky holders of the rich claims? Where the i walls of the trench of the Kawarau — formed in the ancient past by water md ice action in the saucer-shaped basin nf the boulder-depositing glaciers—are almost perpendicular, lodgments of gold could not be reasonably hoped for, as conditions are against the formation of crevices in which gold could safely lie. But in the creviced claims, reasonable chances can be held out for the prospectors. Another uncertain factor is the amount of over-burden, as gravel drift is known by miners, which will be found in the bed of the Kawarau above the ?old wash, and, again, the steepness of the bed will be a factor in the possible success of the claims. Steep-bedded claims over which the river has rushed will probably reveal bare rocks, but where the river has been flowing at reduced speed, accumulations of gold wash are likely. A reasonable conclusion is that crevices will be found in the river bed, as portions of the gold which existed on the ancient saucer-shaped valley floor must have dropped to the goro-'e trench cut by the river. Sir Julius Vogel, in his book, "Anno Domini, 2000." painted a vivid picture of prophecy in which miners were depicted as shovelling the gold from the crevices into boxes. This is 1926. and. although the once famous Prime Minister and novelist's imaginative conjectures may prove to have been too colourful, New Zeajand may be startled before the Kawarau is worked out. How far will the Kawarau drop when the gates are closed? Again, the answer would be nothing short of a prophecy. Three and a half miles below Frankton Falls, where W. B. Rees claimed the honour of being the first white man to discover Lake Wakatipu. the Shotover. a river famous in gold mining and dredging, joins the Kawarau. The Shotover is a river which discharges an immense volume of water at flood times. To-day, the river is low. but a sudden thawning of the snow on the Coronet Peaks, away up to her source, could not bo handled by the Kawarau miners, because the dam on the Shotover, a license for which has been granted, has not been started on yet. Below the Shotover are the Arrow, another fair sized river; the Xevis, another raging flood steam; and the Roaring Meg and the Gentle Annie. Waiting for the Fall. The Kawarau dam, without doubt, will hold back Wakatipu's water. But what of these tributary waters? Only the experiences of the"next ten days' toil will give an indication of their effect on the successful working of the gorge bed. It is certain, though, that, given a continuation of the present favourable frosty weather, the tributaries will not rise, and at least three-quarters of the present average water trench will be i revealed. But, again, one can only speculate, for even more of the banks j and bed might be disclosed. J Nearly all the claim-holders are ready Ito start work to-day. They believe that j the river's fall will be sufficient to allow of them making a start. But to-morrow would appear to be more probable. How ever, all the miners will be sitting on the rocky bank, from 40 to 50ft below the road nearly straight above, waiting foi the first falling in the river's volume. As soon as the fall commences, they will be fossicking round in among the exposed rocks.

Consolidated Kawaraus. with sixty claims, have shown by far the most activity in preparations. All their miners went into the splendidly-equipped camps on Saturday night. * Modern machinery is ready, and on the claims electric lighting generators are on hand. If rich finds are made, the company will work its men in three shifts of eight hours. For this first period of mining

on the Kawarau, Consolidated are working only a few of the more likely claims, prospecting being the main work. The next most forward company is Vogel's Vision, of Wellington, which has eleven claims also in various parts of the river. Their camps have been long ready, and like Consolidated, they will be hard at work on the first falling of the river. A Yukon and West Australian miner has charge of the eleven men •vho will j be working the six claims held !.;. lie Golden Bed, Golden River ami i.jiden . Gorge Companies, which have their head- % quarters in Auckland. p The Wairarapa Company, with four cl claims, two being in the uppermost a dredging area of the Kawarau, just D below the Shotover, is also ready. \ Those companies have been the only claim-holders to lltave shown any * tangible effort to work the river, and, r , ( with a few exceptions, the others seem to have adopted a "wait and see policy. However, yesterday saw the " arrival on the claims of most of the ° holders, and tents were pitched, but n they cannot possibly have the same s ' preparations made for mining as the ° more energetic and better-financed con- n ' cerns. 1( Thousands of people gathered at the If dam this morning, and gave their good « wishes for the opening of a new era ci in mining in New Zealand. Speeches ! ">' were made by Mr. A. C. Hanlon (chair- |h man of directors of the Kawarau j•> Company, the parent company), Mr. G. M Cruickshank (the Warden),' Mr. E. E. t< Grimwade, of Auckland (on behalf of ! b the claimholders), and Mr. J. R. Marks !a (Public Works Department engineer, ami 0 chairman of the Dam Control Board). h Then, with the closing of the gates, n Kawarua entered on a new stage in its romantic life. Time alone will tell n of the success, great or small, of the a big venture. The dam gates will be closed c for about ten days or a fortnight, all S depending on the weather conditions g and the rising pf the lake level. This S closing is only to give the claimholders c a trial prospect, as in future years of v working the gate would be opened at s this time after being closed from early n in May. t i ' j ALL FORMALITIES COMPLETED. | c | AUCKLAXDERS - CLIFF CLAIMS. | l r (By Telegraph-—l'ress Association.) r DUXEDIN, this day. During the week-end all claim-holders l arrived at Queenstown for the closing. ' of the gates of the Kawarau dam to-day. I Three Auckland companies have a ! Yukon miner in charge, who is going to : work their precipitous claims by a novel ■ and ingenious device. In line with the gorge he has erected standards, and i ' along the cliff edge is a wire rope, hung i ' with block and tackle and a chair, so : that the miners may move along the cliff •' face at any height. This is the only ' elevating chair on the whole length of ■ the river. ; Insurance necessary to indemnify the ' Government against claims as grantor of the license (£30.000 sterling) has been arranged to the Minister's satisfaction. < and the £10.000 collateral deposit required of the company is now lodged with the Public Trustee. Men were working on the dam this morning right up to the moment of closing the sluice gates. | The approximate weight of the dam I structure is twelve thousand tons. ' SPECIAL BOARD APPOINTED. j A Government gazette dated August 23, 1026. notifies the appointment of a special board for the purpose of controlliner the jrates of the Kawarau Falls dam. The following are thp member? of the board: Messrs. John Reuben Marks (district engineer of the Public Works Department. Dunedin). A. F. Hanlon (representing the licensed. Joseph Mosley (Clutha County Council). Leo Lee (Lake County Council i. James R. Copland (Balclutha Borough Council i. Andrew ; Simpson (Queenstown Borough Council). A. C. Leary I Clutha River Board), and ' Alexander Renton (Inch Clutha River and Drainage Board). Power is given tbe board to collect reasonable expenses , and also, in a case of emergency, to . direct the licensee to operate the pates > | in a particular manner.