THE GRANITES MIRAGE

Northern Advocate, 19 December 1932, Page 5

THE GRANITES MIRAGE

SAD STORY OF PRIVATION

PROSPECTORS DESTITUTE

(Received 9 a.m.)

MELBOURNE, December IS,

Prospectors who have returned froin The Granites tell a sad story of disillusionment and hardship.

Men on the field live on flour and water, tea and sugar. The drinking water is impregnated with powdered mica. Many prospectors are ill. Others who wore unable to find gold struggled back to Alice Springs destitute. They reached Adelaide on free railway passes.

INVESTMENTS £150,000,

nominal capital about a

MILLION,

SYDNEY, December 12. Whilst the nominal capital of the twelve principal companies hitherto operatin'; in The Granites area oi Central Australia is about £1,000,000, the amount actually invested in shares of these companies, on nominal face value, is variously estimated at from (*120,000 to £130,000 by leading members of the Sydney Stock Exchange. None of the companies is olxicially quoted on the Stock Exchange, so that the actual amount subscribed by the public is doubtful. However, the nominal value of the shares taken up originally, and other money payments has 1 not, Stock Exchange members believe, boe/i more than the amount stated. During the period of the mild boom in these shares at the end or last month and the first week of this month, the public speculation in the issued shares forced them up to a temporary market value of from £350,000 to £500,000.; That, however, was “speculation money.” - Even ,in the rush speculation period verv. little money was invested in these shares 'by ■■Sydney speculators. The major portion of the money was found in Melbourne and Adelaide, with a fair proportion in Brisbane. Further, of the money actually invested in the companies by the public, only a proportion of it has been expended on. the development of The Granites area. Most of it has been used in preliminary investigations and exploratory work. Some of the companies have still capital in hand for further ini estigation work, whilst _ a few'of the smaller companies have indicated '.hat they will shortly convene meetings of shareholders to consider whether the money in i and sliotud oo given back to the owners of shares or spent in furtacr investigation o’ - ! the area.

Principal Companies. Chapman’s Gold Mines (no liability) is the most important of the owning eompanies in The Granites area. It has a nominal capital of £22:1,000, divided into 450,000 shares of 10/each, of which 600,000 have been issued, and are paid to 4/- each. The vendor syndicate which held the leases, Chapman’s Gold Exploration, received 66,000 fully-paid shares and £13,000 in cash. Granites Development N.L., which was promoted by the Granites Gold N.L., has a capital of £150,000 in 10/shares, of which 200,000 issued at 1/a share on application were fully subscribed, .10,000 fully-paid shares were to be allotted to The Granites Gold N.L. for the transfer of certain options, and 70,000 held in reserve, out of which 18,800 shares, together with £11,500, were to go to the original owners and option-holders. Granites West is also a subsidiary of The Granites Gobi N.L., and was fullv subscribed with a capital of £200,000, in 10/- shares, of which 265.000 contributing shares are issued and paid to 1/- each. Of the balance, 55.000 fully-paid shares were to be allotted to Granites Gold and 80,000 held in reserve. Gold Mines of Australia, Ltd., one of the leading mining development companies in Australia, is associated with Granites West, having applied, for 60,000 shares and agreed to direct operations on the field. Granite Consols Gold Mines N.L. has a capital of £75,000, in 10/- shares, of which .100,000 have been issued paid to 1/-, and 50,000 hold in reserve. Various other companies and syndicates, including Australian Mining and Exploration N.L., Newillba Syndicate, Gold Options N.L., and Hie Roma Blocks Oil Co. N.L., hold .options and leases at The Granites.