RICH RETURNS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXVI, 21 April 1934, Page 11

RICH RETURNS

MAHAKIPAWA FIELD ROMANCE,OF THE OLD KING SOLOMON * Returning 250 ounces of gold in a “ fortnight—close on £2OOO worth—a new record has been made by Maliaki--1 pawn Goldfields, Ltd., for Marlborough, (says tile Christchurch “Times”), i After being time after time on the • point of closing down, the deep lead - alluvial mine operated by Maliakipawa : Goldfields, Ltd., on the one-time fams ous diggings in Cullen’s Valley, near - Havelock, Marlborough, has again i struck it rich. Marked improvement in i the richness of the wash in the southern end of the Maliakipawa mine’s underground workings was noted over a brief period before Easter. Returns increased until in the short week following the holidays, the wash-up vieldj ed 141 ounces—a record for the company and also, it is believed, for Marlborough. This was followed in the j week ended last Sunday with another return of well over 100 ounces, and the . 250 ounce bar deposited in the Bank of New Zealand, Picton, on Monday, is believed to represent the biggest bar of gold ever taken from the field in an equivalent period. J KING SOLOMON WASH Valuable information relating to the ) old King Solomon workings has recently been made available to Mr J. D. ) Renton, who has been acting as resident director pending the appointment of a new manager following the death of Air K. M. Barra nee. So far, the information gleaned about the King . Solomon workings lias tallied with what Mahikapawa Goldfields, Ltd., have encountered underground. They are at present following a well-defined gutter with high walls and the new type of wash carries heavy gold three 1 and four feet up the face. This is in I marked contrast with the previous type of wash which carried gold only in the first inch or two against tiie rock bottom of the gutter. A FAMOUS MINE As the present mine will almost certainly work a considerable part of the ground formerly available for the King Solomon, the main points in the history of that mine deserve consideration. In spite of the inadequacy of its pumping machinery and the generally inefficient plant compared with modern times, the King Solomon yet succeeded in tapping one of the richest deep level alluvial leads in mining history. So rich was the wash and so easy was it for anyone working in the mine to pick out from the face many of the large nuggets, that there is probably good reason to accept the current story that a large amount of the gold in the mine did not figure in the returns. In spite of that, however, the King Solomon in fine year paid a dividend of 500 per cent., which must i go close to being a record. The pumping machinery in use fifty years ago was unable to cope with the large inflow of water encountered on the rock floor of the valley, but so rich was the wash that the men went on working long after the safetv point had been passed. They were still in the I thick of astonishingly rich wash when j the history of the mine was concluded i with deadly swiftness. The timbering ’ of the main drive, which had already | shown signs of instability, at last caved in and the men below at the time barely escaped with their lives. ABORTIVE ATTEMPTS The wealth still known to lie below the surface was a spur to further efforts, but they were doomed to failure. Reopening of the King Solomon-work-ings being deemed impracticable, apart from the dangerous nature of the ground, it was decided to sink the Golden Gate shaft in an attempt to pick ii]) the lead. However, the present . findings underground of Maliakipawa Goldfields, Ltd., indicate that the Golden Gate shaft, the Alice Fell and ! other shafts put down about that time were so placed that it was impossible, with the then available pumping machinery, to reach the rich ground. The faliure of these several mines dis- ' couraged further ell'orts to find the rest of the King Solomon hoard and no more large-scale projects were entered 1 into until Maliakipawa Goldfields Ltd., 1 came upon the scene. ' The mine head gear, half a dozen lints and a cookhouse are now the only buildings oil the site of Cullcnsville, ( one of the best-known mining town- 1 ships of the ’sixties. At one time Cul- p lensville contained 10,000 people, three hotels, a bank and a police station. Although a return to this grand state ' is not anticipated, Mr Renton believes J that the Maliakipawa mine is destined • to become one of the major alluvial ‘ projects in the Dominion. 1 As with all mines, unfounded rumours are continually afloat coil- ] corning Maliakipawa Goldfields, Ltd. 1 The latest one is to the effect that the new workings are approaching dan- 1 gerously near the old King Solomon drives, arid that when they are reached a disastrous inflow of water will be encountered. As a matter of fact, the new drive is 950 feet away from the King Solomon and about 400 feet from the nearest point of any old workings, and in any event, if a close , approach to them becomes advisable v the company Ims planned adequate precautionary measures that will ahsolutely do away with any possible > j risk. ‘ ‘ ' c — o