A RICH STRIKE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21784, 25 October 1932, Page 8

A RICH STRIKE

YOUNG PROSPECTORS' SUCCESS GOLD IN CROMWELL FLAT NEW LEAD DISCOVERED The oarly reports of the rich find Bade by two young men who have been prospecting on the Cromwell Flat in the vicinity of the old Ranfurly claim have proved to be by ho means exaggerated, •a further developments have shown that one of the richest washes of recent years has been disclosed by the prospectors. The almost mythical Scotland's tunnel, for which miners have searched for many years, was the original objective of the young men, who were determined to conduct a thorough search of the old claims in an endeavour to find traces of that fabulously rich strike. Two parties, after some indifferent luck in small tunnels where they found a few traces of heavy gold, decided to open up drives at what is known in the district as "Clay Point,'' some 400 yards below the -wreck of the old Lady Ranfurly dredge. One party, consisting of Messrs Percy Bell and William Kilgour, decided to pierce a huge deposit of sandstone bot- - torn with a tunnel, and set to work. Two others, Messrs Ritchie Bell and Neville Hooper, selected a spot a short distance down stream in a more or less alluvial formation. Messrs Bell and Kilgour were the first to be rewarded, as after driving some 180 feet in six weeks, through the sandstone, the bottom dipped ahead, and a promising alluvial formation came in. They continued driving on, and it was not long before some heavy gold was struck, one of the first finds being a 15dwt nugget among a small parcel of rough gold. That was just on three weeks ago, and the tunnel is still being continued. Prospects have improved daily, until to-day results exceed anything known in alluvial mining for very many years. Early last week rumours were freely heard of an ounce and better to the dish, yields of up to eight ounces per day, and prospects of weekly yields m the vicinity of £IOO worth of gold. That these rumours are not without a sound foundation of fact is borne out by a bottle of gold, valued at about £2OO, which represents the young men's returns for three weeks' work, and since that gold was won the tunnel prospects have improved to a remarkable extent. On more than one occasion during last week's drive the daily yield was in the vicinity of eight ounces. . The gold is freely distributed on the bottom and through the wash. Half a kerosene tin of picked wash yielded three ounces. High up on the side where the sandstone bottom rises out of the tunnel handsome prospects can be washed. For the moment the party is discarding anything in the way of side drives, but is pushing ahead with the main tunnel until the width of the lead is clearly defined. So far there is no apparent limit to the , extent of this modern The deposit is 20 feet above the "level of the Kawarau River and offers no obstacle in working. Water is absent and the tunnel has an up-grade of- 1 in 60 from the river to the extreme point, now some 300 feet ahead. An oil engine and pump supply water from the river to wash the dirt. A gratifying result of this sensational discovery is that the lead is not confined to one claim. In the adjoining claim, Messrs Bell and Hooper have driven something like> 400 feet, and early last week ran into what promises to be a continuation of the lead. So far prospects are not so rich as in the first claim, but as yet these two are only on the fringe of it. They •re busy at the moment installing a pumping plant to wash the dirt, and when they get into full swing again in the face can be expected to lend added interest to the latest find. They can wash very promising prospects.

RUSH FOR CLAIMS GOLD FEVER SPREADS (From Our Own Correspondent.) CROMWELL, October 24. "The richest alluvial find I have personally seen in New Zealand," was the opinion of Mr James Horn, when he returned to Cromwell on Saturday after a day on the claims at Kawarau. His association with the early mining activities of the district and later as a founder and director of the famous Lady Ranfuriy dredge and other noted gold winners gives him some authority to speak. Summarised, bis opinions are in the direction of predicting a great mining revival in the vicinity of Crftnwell Flat. News of the find had the inevitable result—a stampede of pegging in the vicinity of the find. At the end of the week the whole river frontage from Kawarau Gorge downstream for a distance of some four miles had been pegged. This is also the case on the flat on tho supposed line of the lead, but at the moment its actual extent and direction cannot be definitely determined. There is nevertheless quite a boom and many prospectors have the mining fever. Of the actual operations the first party to strike the lead is still driving ahead with the rich ground continuing. So far they have penetrated it some 30 feet, with a deep formation enrrying great gold over the full depth. Once they determine the width they will have a large areu of rich ground in sight. For a short week last week's yield was in the vicinity of £l5O. The party in the next tunnel down•trcam is operating on steadily improving prospects and rich yields from this area also seem at band.

It is easily the richest find known to the present generation, and must be attended with interesting results. The area so far proved skirts the richest part of the old Ranfurly claim, from which record returns were won.