MINING BUSINESS

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 129, 3 June 1935, Page 11

MINING BUSINESS

THAT LURE OF GOLD

"WILD-CAT" COMPANIES

The view that faulty engineering reports were in many instances responsible for the flotation of "wild-cat" gold-mining schemes was expressed by Mr. H. Kitson, chairman. of the Christchurch Stock Exchange, last week. Mining engineers, said Mr. Kitson, were supposed to be men of knowledge, but in many cases the provisional directors and the promoters of such a company, were misled entirely by incorrect reports, and hadgone;to the public in good faith. The promoters had in many cases shpwn their faith in the reports by subscribing their own money to the venture.

■ "No one deplores more than the members of the Stock Exchanges that the public1 are deceived in the prospectuses of these 'wild-cat' ventures,"-said Mr. Kitson. "The Stock. Exchange Association has, as far. as is humanly possible, brought in rules and regulations to prevent such schemes from being foisted on the • public, by insisting that, before any prospectus is passed, an independent engineer's report ia submitted. . The Stock Exchanges have been just as much, deceived by these' engineering reports, when we believed that a man calling himself a mining engineer, and with letters after his name, was competent to report. However, where the results have proved that a mining engineer's report is not reliable, we have refused to accept his report on any proposition that has been subsequently referred to us."

Mr. Kitson added that in very many cases the results given by the engineers were' the outcome of:'faulty; boring, which denoted inefficiency rather than a deliberate desire to mislead.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE STOEY.

A mining engineer, commenting on Mr. Kitson's statement, said that the success of a mine depended upon whether those in charge were practical men. Some of the worst mistakes and failures were due to engineers, often with the highest credentials, not knowing the practical side of their job. Book learning was not of the same value as practical experience. Mining engineers were required to go through a course of study to obtain certificates, but the best recommendation was practical knowledge. Some of the most reliable gold miners who had been successful had acquired their experience as they went along. "To my mind there is no better investment today than a mining claim that has been well tested and set out," declared the engineer. "It is only the unscrupulous persons who deserve to be flogged, and they are in every; avenue of-business." :<