Golden Harvest For Miners In New Guinea Fields

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 237, 6 October 1945, Page 8

Golden Harvest For Miners In New Guinea Fields

By G. MILLS RODGER

WHEN Army construction foresight. Following the opening of in Npw minea were buildine a Edie Creek, Levien saw the tremenin New Guinea were ounaing a doug potentialities of air transport. certain section of road they just Aeria , transport in New Guinea seized any old rocks they could lay was unique. Perhaps it is not reatheir hands on and threw them into lised generally that it was the largthe rock crushers and concrete fa^*%gg r 3^v£g^ " nixers - . of the enormous dredges was carrieci

Their surprise can be imagined when the road dried out and they found that it positively glittered in the sun. Closer investigation proved

that they had used 45,000 ounces of pure gold in the construction.

That seems a believe or not story but it certainly made good copy for a U.S. Navy newspaper. At the same time it brings to our notice a very important section of our territory which is back into our hands—the goldfields of New Guinea. It has been said that since the opening of the South African Rand no goldfield has been discovered which exhibited such potentialities as that in New Guinea. The huge New Guinea organisation known as the Bulclo Gold Dredging Company has filed war "damage claims for assets totally or partially destroyed, (aeroplanes, plant, buildings, stores and requisitions made by armed forces) total being £1,074,800. This is now receiving the attention of the Australian Government. Fascinating Story After the Japanese had been ousted from the goldfields area it was found that damage to plant had not been as severe as was anticipated. The company hopes that the dredges will soon be operating at capacity. All goldfields have their atmosphere of romantic adventure, and New Guinea is no exception. It is fascinating history. The famous Edie Creek was discovered in 1926 at an altitude of 6500 ft, with rich auriferous gravel in places running £200 per yard. The original discoverers were called the "Big Six," and they pulled out with fortunes. The discovery of gold in the district known as Morobe was made by C. J. Levien, who combined his gold • seeking with remarkable business

in by aeroplanes. In fact, every item was brought into the goldfields by plane, from pianos to plates, radios to razors, stoves to studs. The World's Worst In 1941 the amount of freight carried was 8913 tons. In one year over 12,000 passengers were carried. The airways had an enviable record. Ih 'the first four years, when landing strips were not good and much was in the experimental stage, there was only one fatal crash. The area is eonsidered by experienced airmen to possess the world's worst flying conditions. It was a remarkable air service and really made possible the establishment of the gold mining industry in New Guinea. Quite a number of New Zealand mining men will now be standing by to return to the New Guinea goldfields. New Zealanders were in demand as they were considered good metallurgists, assayers and mining engineers. Mostly they came from the South Island, and several had

previous tin dredging experience in Malaya. ' New Zealanders were often engaged by gold companies because of their reputation for initiative, resource and skill at improvisation when things went wrong, and spares or supplies were impossible to obtain. Now that mining is possible again in New Guinea it is rumoured that greater attention will be paid to other minerals which are known to be in that country, but have lacked thorough investigation. Among these minerals are tin, copper, manganese, lead, mica, osmiridium and platinum. For those who like the conclusive evidence of figures here is the gold production of the New Guinea goldfields for 1941—256,0350z valued at £2,733.881. Is it any wonder that the mining community is clamouring for shipping and a speedy return to their rich claims?