GOLD POTENTIALITIES

Evening Star, Issue 21628, 25 January 1934, Page 8

GOLD POTENTIALITIES

IMPORTANT NEW DEVELOPMENTS PROMISING INDICATIONS IN WAIKAIA AREA ANOTHER LEAD ACROSS CROMWELL FLAT [Special to the Star.] INVERCARGILL, January 24. Further gold developments of an outstanding nature are likely to take place in the Otago and Southland gold-bear-ing country. Within the last few days an area of about eight miles in length has been exempted from the operations of the Mining Act because a promising goldfield is believed to exist under the land, and it is intended to prove it before making it available for mining. It is also understood that another lead has been discovered running across Cromwell Flat, to which there was a rush last winter when the Bell-Hooper and Bell-Kilgour parties made spectacular strikes. During his tour of the goldfields of Central Otago (from which gold worth £30,000,000 was won in the early days) the Prime Minister (Mr Forbes) saw on the ground the latest developments and had explained to him by Dr Marsden (the Director of Scientific and Industrial Research) the methods employed for detecting gold-bearing wash. The Prime Minister was greatly impressed with the potentialities of gold mining as a means of assisting New Zealand through its present difficulties, and has publicly acknowledged the value of the application of science to assist the practical knowledge of the miner. When the Bell-Hooper and Bell-Kil-gour strikes were made at Cromwell Flat it was correctly presumed that an old river-bed had been located, but it was not known until the Prime Minister went there that there are two old river-beds on the flat. It is understood that the Prime Minister was told that a geophysical survey had revealed two leads across the flat, which will prove of value to those who have proved their claims. The additional lead is believed to lie an older river-bed than the one found last year, and is on a slightly higher level than that mined on the Bell-Kilgour and Bell-Hooper properties. It is understood that a party of miners has obtained highly payable values at the back of the lead, and that the gold is less angular and less waterworn than that in the present Bell-Kil-gour lead or Kawarau. The new lead does not run through land at present under irrigation. Interviewed to-night concerning the exemption of a large area of land southwest of Waikaia, the Prime Minister said that this action had been taken because tbo Geological Department had indicated the possibility of a goldfield existing under this land, and it was desired to confirm this opinion by a geophysical survey. The action of exempting the land from the Mining Act was intended to prevent a repetition of the conditions which arose at Sromwell last year, when iii many cases small areas, which were difficult to work on account of the depth of. the lead and the trouble involved in obtaining water, had been pegged out. If the Waikaia area was shown to be genuine it could be subdivided into sections suitable for economic working, and could then bo offered by tender. This matter rested with the Minister of Mines, although the results which had been determining the Government’s attitude had arisen from the activities of the Scientific and Industrial Research Department, which was under the control of the Prime Minister. Speaking of the future development of geophysical survey, Mr Forbes said that the present intention was to use this as an adjunct to, and part of, the geological survey branch of the Research Department for assisting in determining the geological structure of the country, including those parts likely to be gold-bearing. Private work would be undertaken for outside companies at cost, provided that this work fitted in with the general geological programme, and would be carried on until the establishment of private, genuine, and sufficiently-equipped geophysical survey companies. When work was to be carried out for private companies the geophysical survey officer would be considered to be the servant of the company concerned, and .the information obtained while. working for the company and on its own area would be the property of the company concerned.