GOLDMINING

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21147, 24 April 1934, Page 18

GOLDMINING

! VALUE TO COUNTRY | AN IMPORTANT INDUSTRY Goldmining was an industry that h A been of great value to New Zealani in the past, was helping the countrv towards prosperity at the present tim and would be important in the fut Ur !' Mr Alan G. Familton, chairman of directors of New Zealand Mining Invest" ments, Ltd., said when addressing yes j terday the Christchurch Business Men - * ! Club on "Gold Mining in New Ze land." After referring to the some" what haphazard methods of th^ ; p as t* Mr Familton outlined modern inetbixf of prospecting claims. Keen interest was shown in Mr Familton's address, the business men's luncheon, where it was delivered, being attended by sj members. The president (Mr H. B. Duckworth) introduced Mr Familton to club mem bers. Mr Familton would' give them an interesting talk on gold mining he said, and as he had made an in tensive study of gold mining over a period of years, his remarks would hj« authoritative. Mr Familton referred to the discov ery of gold in Nelson in 1857 and in Otago in 1861. The discovery of gold had led to a great increase in the Eu ropean population. Up to 1905 morp than £67,000,000 worth of gold had been exported so that it was obvious that gold mining had always been an important industry in New Zealand. Dredging Gold mining could be divided inta three main classes; reef mining, sluicing, and dredging. Dredging wa , probably the most popular form ot mining. The first essentials for a good mine were a reasonable prospect and I a good water supply. Gold mining could not be practised without water. I Continuing, Mr Familton referred' I briefly to the prospecting of areas by I boring. Dredging was popular because | the capacity of a dredge was known. Therefore, the life of a claim wag I known and the approximate income : was easily estimated. In the past it had been claimed that dredging ruined the land dredge, but sluice-box dredges in the Waikaka Valley had left some of the best agricultural land in Southland behind them. They had worked on swampy land and had actually improved it. Dredges that had failed in the past had failed through inadequate prospecting. At the present time prospecting was carefully controlled and any company attempting to falsify reports would get into serious trouble with the Mines Department. The slump in tin-mining had led to the diversion of overseas capital to New Zealand. Unfortunately the returns from the operations of overseas companies were going out of the Do. minign. Sluicing- and Deep-Lead Milling Sluicing was a somewhat different proposition from dredging, Mr Familton continued. The value of a claim was largely governed by overburden and the type of country to be sluiced. In prospecting a sluicing claim great care had to be taken because stones in the ground, which were often dis- ! carded in prospecting, could upset the I calculations of the miners. Mr FamilI ton described a case where a company jhad been misled because the stones in the ground were not calculated in the yardage. Deep-lead mining was next referred to, Mr Familton explaining the liminary work that had to be to open up a claim. Great care wy s taken to make conditions safe lor the men working in the shafts and the Government would not allow i any number of men to work underground withoiit a competent foreman or manager. Development work was slow. It was like putting down the foundations of a building. A great deal of work had to be done before any results were shown. In conclusion, Mr Familton touched briefly on the formation of mining companies and the investigations that I should be made by investors before jutting money into gold mining. ; On the motion of Mr W. F. Tait, Mr [Familton was accorded a vote of thanks by acclamation.