“LOOKING” INTO EARTH FOR GOLD

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXVI, Issue 12332, 22 April 1938, Page 4 (Supplement)

“LOOKING” INTO EARTH FOR GOLD

Many a prospector, trudging his way across mountain and desert, abandoning one fruitless digging after another, has dreamed that a time might come when, by some magic, he could peer through rocks and sand, through the surface of the inhospitable earth, and see with certainty the places where he should sink shafts to find the hidden treas-

That time has arrived in some degree, for newly devised apparatus makes it possible for a lone searcher after gold or other metal to spare himself the labour of digging where nothing is to be found, and even to locate with precision any concentrated deposits which may lie within 25 feet of the earth’s surface. The device is a radio beam finder for the location of metallic mineral deposits, which can be operated by a single individual. Search for Oil This small portable one-man equipment is similar to, but much less powerful than, the elaborate plants being used by mining and oil companies to explore new fields and locate new mines or wells. These large and more complicated ’‘induction” types, such as are used in locating oil structures or “domes” likely to carry oil, require a crew of about 20 men, and trucks to haul the heavy equipment. Large areas in the Western United States where oil is thought to exist, suoh as the Red Desert in Wyoming, are being explored by this means. First, a hole is drilled to a depth of about 90 feet. Then a charge of explosive is set off in the hole and the resulting “earthquake” waves are recorded by the operators, stationed at a distance. It is known how long would be required for the “echo” to bound back through solid structures; any variation from this norm enables the trained investigator to predict very accurately the presence or absence of possible oil structures. The presence of oil itself cannot be determined, but the presence or absence of probably oil-bearing structures can be determined with reasonable certainty. The mere discovery that suitable structures are not present usually means a saving of many thousands of dollars because the sinking of a well perhaps a mile deep has been shown in advance to be unnecessary. Poccible underground bodies of water can also be reached for in this manner, and the process is useful in determining the presence of good or poor bases for the foundations of large dams or other structures. Hours of Search But it is not only in these largescale operations that the beam finder can be used. The lone prospector now can obtain equipment which is as easy to handle as a wheelbarrow, and which will save him hours of fruitless digging, and perhaps guide him to his goal.