STORY OF DISCOVERY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21315, 17 October 1932, Page 10

STORY OF DISCOVERY

REWARD FOR PROSPECTORS "NOT ALTOGETHER LUCK" EXPERIENCE OF THE COUNTRY "It was not altogether luck that led to our discovery," said Mr. J. J. Chapman, who, with his son, Mr. S. K. Chapman, made the rich ore find on the Tiki Range, at Coromandel, when discussing their good fortune on Saturday. " Both of us have had a lot of experience at prospecting and we did not go about it blindly. Wo knew there was a good thing somewhere about here, and it was only a caso of searching until wc got it." Encouraging traces of gold were found by the two men in the creek known as the Pukewhai or Emily, about half-a-milc from the main Coromandel road, and they followed it up until the gold tailed out. It was then clear that a leader from which the gold had been washed down must be close in the neighbourhood. Running horizontally across the bed of tho creek a little further down was an exposed reef which gave poor results, and sonic distance further up was a goldbearing leader, which tliey found two years ago, but which did not appear to bo tlio origin of the gold in the, creekbed. Somewhere between these two points, they were confident, must lie a very rich leader, if they could only discover it. Intensive prospecting opened up quite a dozen leaders, all showing gold, but iu unpayable quantities. Thon a blow from a pick in the bed of the creek brought to light a lino of andesite rock heavily impregnated with gold. The two men immediately scrambled about 50ft. up the bank and cut away the turf in an effort to locate the same leader higher up. Their efforts were rewarded, for again the picks struck into gold-bearing rock. A site half-way down the bank was then selected for a drive and as soon as the leader was caught a few feet under the soil tlio men feverishly commenced to tunnel, following the vein and finding rich specimens of ore all the way. " I have no idea how far we are from a reef," said Mr. Chapman, senr., " but the hill goes up another 400 ft. or 500 ft., so we have plenty of country to work in." Mr. Chapman, senr., has been mining all his life, but this is the first promising find to his credit. He lias vivid memories of the first gold boom in Coromandel. and there is no part of the Coromandel Range which is unknown to him. He worked for 40 years in the Coromandel mines, some, of them being the Pride, Royal Oak, West, Success, Karaka, Sootty's and Bremner's Freehold. He now has a small farm in Coromandel and has to leave his new claim early every afternoon to milk his foijr cows. The son is engaged as a blacksmith by the Mount Tokatea Mineral Fertiliser Company and he spends all his spare time prospecting. He was a very keen student at the Coromandel School of Mines before it was closed.