NEW GUINEA GOLD

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 70, 24 March 1931, Page 11

NEW GUINEA GOLD

FRESHLY-FOUND FIELDS

ACCESS DIFFICULTIES

Although individual prospectors had previously.worked their claims with a considerable amount of success, it was- not until.. 1025 that it was discovered that New' Guinea was- rich in deposits of alluvial gold, ai/d since, then hitherto unexplored .country-.has been penetrated and it has been ascertained that the main island is almost wholly auriferous. An interesting account of the conditions in NeW Guinea and the steps" that have' been and are being, taken to work the ;gold, was given -to a "Post, reporter by1 'Mr. H. T. Castaing, who arrived from, Auckland yesterday, and who has spent two years in the area, during which time he has accompanied and. led expeditions on behalf of Australian interests. Mr. . Castaing hails from Tauranga,- where he spent several years with a well-known legal firm before transferring to a firm of solicitors iil!Auckland. '• " ; ;': "•' ■■ ' ' ■ "Up" to the period'of the Great War," said Mr. Castaing^"individual prospectors in British New Guinea alone won over one and a half million pounds' worth of gold, and since the German .colony came under British mandate, hundreds of thousands of-pounds'worth have been, won from the territory. The most . recent ■ discoveries of importance are the Edie Creek and Bulolo fields, which have 'produced nearly £1,000,000. Canadian, and .Australian companies, witli capitals amounting to over' £7,000,000, aye operating oil these fields alone." " ■ \':. .■ ■■ ' Typical tropical conditions prevail in the'low-lying area in New Guinea, and malaria and other diseases have to-, be combated, Mr. Castaing,having taken some time-, to regain his normal health after returning from the island,.. Despite this drawback, -the lure- of hidden. wealth has drawn hundreds of prospectors from many ■parts'" of the world,'.most 'pi . them from Australia and some from New Zealand. Mr. Castaing was emphatic, however, that no one should think-of going ■. prospecting in New. Guinea -.unless -ho . has at- least £500' of capital. -.;' .". \" .. .' , '..' Since 'the discovery :of the rich . fields at Edio. Creek, big companies had taken over much of the area;'and most of the work that has since been done has been of a developmental nature. With-the' setting up of the 'hecessarj' machinery and the completion of the other-arrangements, Mr. Castaing anticipated that there' will be a big rush-.next year.. Communication with .the rich Ediq .Creek-Bulolo-Wau • district inithe-interior is ;at present .by aero.plane, .all.-stores and. other supplies, for tljo few.hundred people being carried by air, and when engineers have solved the difficulty; of connecting the district with the coast by Toad or'rail rapid deV'elo'p.ment is expected.'to take place.