FIJI GOLDFIELDS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22179, 5 August 1935, Page 5

FIJI GOLDFIELDS

VISITOR'S IMPRESSIONS "LIKE A JEWELLER'S SHOP" "A jeweller's shop" is the description of the newly-discovered Fiji goldfields applied by Mr. H. P. Hopkins, manager for New Zealand of the Royal Insurance Company, who has returned to Wellington after a three weeks' visit to Fiji. "I found Suva very prosperous, and while the copra market was not ad- \ ancing much in numbers, the sugarcane industry was very flourishing, and the advent of the mining industry is likewise going to prove of very great benefit to Fiji, ' said Mr Hopkins. "The towns of Ba and Latoka are very prosperous, and the same difficulty regarding hotel accommodation that exists in Suva obtains there. This ' is further accentuated by the advent i of many mining men from Australia I who are visiting the goldfields at. j Tavua. These goldmines are adding | greatly to the prosperity of Fiji. "To my mind the goldfields can be described as a jeweller's shop, and the particular mine working is the Emperor Gold Mining Company, Limited, which has been floated with a nominal capital of £1.000,000. 1 understand that already close on £IOO.OOO has been spent on machinery, development, etc. "The other mines, such as Loloma and Aloha Central, are now in process of investigation. The Aloha Central is a 30-acre block retained by Mr. Costello, and is situated roughly in the centre of the other mining blocks, and it is needless to say that the greatest expectations are held in respect of the richness of the Aloha Central mine, which was under option to a Melbourne syndicate. "The bankers and merchants of Suva are not very enthusiastic about the mines, as they remain to be proved; but in my opinion there was no doubt as to the wealth to be produced from these mines, particularly the Aloha Central. Naturally, the principals of the mine do not enthuse themselves, as mining is always an uncertainty, and a mine has been described as a hole in the ground with a layer on the top; but after summing up the position from all points we do feel that Fiji is going to produce a very large gold yield."