NUGGET WORTH £80

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 302, 17 September 1936, Page 10

NUGGET WORTH £80

Subsidised Gold Miner’s Discovery FIND ON VIRGIN GROUND Dominion Special Service. Blenheim, September 16. A nugget weighing 12oz. 3dwt. was discovered yesterday afternoon in the Wakamarina district by Mr. W. G. Watson, one of the miners working there under the subsidised scheme. With gold at present fetching just short of £7 an ounce, the nugget should be worth about £BO. Mr. Watson also discovered a few smaller pieces, including one nugget weighing 14dwt, . ' Wakamarina Valley and its offshoots have been prospected and mined extensively for many years, particularly since the subsidised scheme came into operation. At present there are between 50 and 60 men working in the district. Mr. Watson’s find is the largest that has been made under the scheme in Marlborough, and a s it was recovered on virgin ground hopes are held that it will lead to further success. The nugget was obtained through ground sluicing operations. About a year ago a 9oz. nugget was found at Mahakipawa by an assisted prospector, Mr. F. Sutton, and some time previously a 4Joz. nugget was discovered in Wakamarina by a subsidy man. There have also been one or two nuggets of about 4oz. found by men working under the scheme at Onamalutu In recent years.