The Daily Telegraph. TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1888.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 5108, 3 January 1888, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. TUESDAY, JANUARY 3, 1888.

The recent discovery of copper ore in tho Seventy-mile Eusli promises to open up a now industry, and to vastly accelerate the progress and prosperity of that district. The Ruahine Ranges, on the spurs of w'lich this discovery has been made, has for many years attracted the attention of "fossiekors" for the precious metal, but no systematic search has been made under the guidance of scientific and practical men. Tho consequence has been that there have been many false alarms, and reported finds of gold on investigation have pro ted to ■be "duffeiy. But however fruitless in their original intent these searches have been, they have not been entirely without result. They at least have taught us that these mountain ranges are rich in mineral ilepunitii, the vnltia vi wLiuh -hu-. yet to be ascertained. In »1>" cnrly days of the colony. ento»'i»-ii!ng men who "hasted ta i"- rlcli, , followed up the crooks and rivers that had their sources in tho Euahino in tho hope of finding gold, and from time to time reports have been published leading to the hope that a payable auriferous field I had been found. Disappointment, however, has been the only reward, though undoubtedly the " color " has been got. We, oui'selvesj have beeu shown a small spec of gold said to have been picked np on the shingle bed of the Waipawu river; and other specimens, it has been reported, have been obtaiaed from the tributaries of tho Mauawatu-river, that riso in tho eastern slopes of the lluahine. These reports, added to thefaottlutan almost untrodden mountain range is sure to excite the curiosity of men whose minds have been inflamed by gold discoverie.-i in these colonies, have induced a certain amount of unsystematic research which led in pist years to the formation of the Hawke's Bay Gold Prospecting Company, and more lately to tho " rash " to the Pohaugiua river where it was believed silver had beenfound in any quantity. It was, in fact, with a, view to' the finding of silver that tho discovery of the copper ore reef wa.s made, aiid it may bo accepted as a happy omen that vheu the first sample was sent to the Government Geologist he expressed tho opinion that it was too. rich in metal to have been found in the Seventymile Bush, and that the sender had probably been hoaxed. All doubts as to the genuineness of tho discovery haves been set at rest, for a considerable quantity of tho stono has been sent into Napier, from whence it will be forwarded U the Thames iv bo smelted. In addition ti this tho Government Geologist has hatisrfii-d lamself with regard to its locality and also is to its value, tho .specimens analysed by Hm giving a return of over -iO per cent of pi.re copper. In the development of the mine a largo amount of capital will bo required, us well us tho employment of tho service; of skilled professional men. It is now '.-ertuiu that there is a considerable extent of •■ouutiy containing mineral wealth that only demands enterprise, moucy, and .sciti.ee, to develop, and wo hope to be able to clronicle ere long that practical steps have jeen taken to secure that desirable end. I:i tho meantime the discoverers arc to be congratulated on their prospects.