KAWARAU GOLD MINING.

Evening Star, Issue 18978, 27 June 1925, Page 9

KAWARAU GOLD MINING.

TO THE EDITOU. Sir,—Your correspondent, Mr Broniner, conies to the rescue of “ Fro Lorn Publico ” in support of his pavlia statement of glacial activity as_a facto contributing to the presence or gold n the Kawanui. For my information n supplies extracts from two authentic: as follow:—“ One of the impcrlair geological tasks a glacier has to per form is to carry debt is from the moun tains down to tiie lower levels ” ; again “ Whether on the ice, in the ice, « under the ice, a vast quantity of detri tus is continually travelling down to wavis the plains.” I accept these tve authorities with grateful thanks. I dinot deny that “ one of the most in, porta-nt geological tasks of a or that “a vast quantity of detritus i continually travelling,” dc. A\hat ; did deny, and still deny, was the evi dent inference from “ Fro Bono Pub lico’s ” description of glacial actiyit on one portion of the river that siniila conditions existed on other parts, an: that glaciers wore instruments of transportation only. They are also ver, active and aggressive agents of cro sion, and in the region under discus sion this has apparently boon the! chief function. Professor Park's ol; sorvation that “ generally speaking th amount of debris seems relatively snail compared with the evidence of erosion everywhere ” was my void heat ion. Ma; 1 suggest gently to Mr Bremuor tba he analyse thoroughly in luture an; statement he wishes to criticise? ll< may then save himself the futile labo of supporting what ho wishes to controvert.

Mr Bromnor’s experience on tin claim prospected by him gives littb illumination. Ho lays the blame tipnthe poor gold-bearing quality of tb material treated, but in view of tin difficulty which he experienced in sav ing gold the following statement may convey some information. It is by .Mi F. A! Gordon,, F.G.S., and bis mine will probably carry some weight will Mr Bremncr. He says: “ Station:)r; washing and gold-saving appliancewhore the inclination of tables and boxes is completely steady aro fai more effective for saving gold than when they are subjected to Hie vibra tion of a dredge. Dredges aro capabh of lifting lingo quantities of graveldrift. but thev are defective in appli

ances for saving gold. . . . The difficulty lies in "tlx; diameter of the gold found in tiro river beds, being in the most instances in finely divided particles, requiring greater width of tables to a larger percent ago of it thm can be constructed on a dredge.” Yci it is on machines of tins deficient char actor that tbo critics base their csti mate of tho river’s richness. Now, sir, one fact emerges in :d' criticisms of the K.warau scheme with extraordinary frequency and variety o detail. It is tho amount of debris scattered on the bed of the river. "When tho idea of damming tho lake wns first published its opponents estimated this overburden at (50fl. On the absurdity of sueli statements being fully exposed a gradual reduction took place. Indeed it appears to partake- of that accommodating convenience of Mr Sam teller’s name, the sped ling of which depended ‘‘on tho taste and fancy of tie l speller.” The depth of tho ICawarau’s overburden has, ton, that perfect ease of personal variation which renders it peculiarly valuable for eontroversia’ purposes. Its other arresting feature is that it Joes not seem to have existed prior to 1002 or thereabouts—a fact, ol great convenience. Air Hrcmner tells us that in 1002 he reached bottom at from 20ft to 2dft quite easily. M; Bligo says tho river was thorough!; tested by dredges and presented m difficulties. Tho facts aro too evident!; propitious for the crnics. They lea-’ one to be unkindly suspicions. Prior t 1902 no overburden, which allowed thorough examination of the bed of the river in order that critics with kind hearts may prove to a deluded pnbli< no gold exists in tho river; after 1 finsome -25 ft to 30ft of overburden, allow ing some gentlemen to prove th< bottom cannot bo readied. The stage is too obviously set, sir. Now, were tin dredges in 1902 adequate for their job r Hear Mr Sligo in an article written by him in December; “Ouc huge bungle prevailed from first to last, and m effort was made to remedy it. Thai was tho undersized, inefficient dredges . . (He is referring to the, dredging boom on tho river.) 1 presume, 1c suit the case, the stage will again hr sot, tho facts arranged, and wo - shall he told only efficient dredge;; -were employed before our old friend the overburden came to blot things our.

Plainly bald, unverified statements oan bo made indefinitely. But would your correspondents answer a few questions which must be simple to men in possession of such certainty of fact f Why was tho overburden not present prior to 1902 ? What causes have since operated to account for its presence? When were measurements taken, by whom, and in what manner? These last, I take ,it from tho confidence of your correspondents, must be in their possession. In this manner some definite information will bo forthcoming, I may say that I do not deny some overburden," but tho onus is upon them. Finally, let me warn your correspondeuts. They are on a fair way to prove, if their present ct*irse is pursued, and a special range of facts to lie a special theory is manufactured with sufficient abandon and disregard for available evidence, that jgold could never have existed in the Kawarnu at all. Some- unkind person in that event may produce its actual record to their discomfiture.—l am, etc., June 2d, XKi'Eiuismj,