WILD-CAT GOLD SCHEMES.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 207, 2 September 1936, Page 6

WILD-CAT GOLD SCHEMES.

In his first report on mining the Minister has commented on the unsatisfactory position of the gold industry from an investment point of view. Of 203 gold companies listed to-day only 34, he says, have ever paid a dividend. What loss of capital this represents is not known. Possibly it is not as large as the number of companies would suggest, but the fact that only one company in every six has reached the dividend list is sufficiently revealing of the tragic record. Why has such a high proportion of companies been the burial ground of investors' hopes? There are various reasons, but probably the chief is the great inherent uncertainty of gold mining or dredging. Wild-cat promoting and unscrupulous tactics have also a part in this dismal record. Gold mining propositions are to-day repugnant to large numbers of people, and not until those responsible for the failure of so many of these concerns are either eliminated or prove themselves more worthy of public trust will the present stigma be removed. The Minister sees a promising outlook for the gold industry, but public support will depend upon the security offered. This will have to be much greater than in the past.