DREAMS OF KAWARAU.

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 76, 30 March 1928, Page 8

DREAMS OF KAWARAU.

FAR FROM REALISATION. HO MOBEBI PACTOLUS. ENORMOUS EXPENDITURE TO BE FACED. REPORTS BY ENGINEERS.

ißy Telegraph.—Special to "Star.") DUNEDIN, this day. , The "Star" in . an article dealing with the Kawarau gold scheme prospects, haft ' the following comment based on reports of the engineers engaged to investigate the possibilities: * "Capital • totalling about £400,000 invested in. a gamble to win Kawarau's gold i; lying idle, and immediate prospects of' a return of even £1000 on < that huge sum are indeed remote. Dreams of Kawarau being the modern Pactolus of the world are far from realisation. Will claimholders and the general public be prepared to invest more money in the gamble on perhaps the most ambitious, not to say fanciful goldmining scheme yet propounded, in a final gigantic effort to ...uncover the crevices, or perhaps the bed of that rapid flowing river, surging its way through the ravines of an ancient glacier basin? This much is certain. The original scheme of uncovering the bed of the Kawarau by draining will not be achieved without the -.spending of a further hum sum of money, a Ereater amount than claimholders (who ave not yet had any return from their investments) will prcfoably be prepared toidvance. In fact, many of the claim - fiiv 1 consider themselves lucky #ny return ° f a portion I*? reassure its share? •till actively intom2d?n theV" *** Parent * the Kaw «*» Minina Cnn/S^?'-'Kawarau Gold WW and L?ncaSE? of B, J lcker ' ] «ak« an inspection of «iV 1 the concluding cfeuse a# 1 opinion is that no 'JS? able result wiH — rrtin i *•*». If, however, iwmuhbl that "— ■atSSSi'Snu first submit details of and of the molts they aSri&Tin the way of Wing the also tho price for which they wotild vprepared to carry out this work. iL*! could then be considered for each case and, if approved, a contract eoold' fa entered into,, and payment made onH when the remlte,promised were actually

"Mt. R. S. Cree Brown, of the firm of ' Blair, Mason, Lee, and Brown, was later given instructions to submit a report, and he left for Cromwell on July 21, only three weeks after Mr. Vickerman had written his report in Wellington. Within five days Mr. Brown was back in Dunedin, and on July 28 he handed his expert observations to the Kawarau company. That the effective removal of the in the river can ot .be-under-taken at other than prohibitive cost, in cases where removal would appear to be most beneficial, and that the work would not be permanent, is the substance of both reports, which not yet been handed officially to the Press. The most hopeful cases for removal of obstacles are set down, as a total of four by Mr. Cree Brown, who states, after giving a [ detailed report on every claim in the gorge: It will be seen that the conditions favourable to removal of obstacles at a moderate cost in a way comparable with returns to be expected from the exposure of a limited area of unworked bank, are few and far between. At best, the removal of obstructions would extend the area for hand prospecting by a depth of a few feet. To reach the bulk of the gold, under conditions'prevailing on Kawarau, we believe a, special type of dredging plant would be required, and could be designed. In that case the lowering of the level by a few feet would be of no special advantage, though the general lowering already accomplished would be useful in revealing, the nature of the .bottom and reducing the current/

"In that, clause which concludes his report Mr. Cree Brown has advanced a helpful suggestion for consideration of claimholders. The closing of the gates for the 1928 season is only a month or two aiway, and it is time that claimholders seriously considered the whole position of the Kawarau scheme."