GOLD AT CROMWELL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21993, 30 June 1933, Page 8

GOLD AT CROMWELL

GREAT RUSH FOR CLAIMS STORY OF DEADMAN’S POINT THE ROMANCE OF LUCK UNDOUBTED RICHNESS OF WASH (From Our Speciai Reporter.) CROMWELL, June 29. Fallowing the announcement yesterday afternoon that Messrs Lomax and party had ( struck what appeared to be a lead punning across from the Cromwell Flat and entering the Clutha at Deadman’s Point the whole of the Cromwell district has been thrown Into a state of the greatest excitement. This morning cars loaded with mining pegs were leaving the town, and throughout the day parties could be seen out pegging further areas in any locality which might come near the line of the lead and which were not yet occupied. For some miles along the CromwellWan aka road new claims have been pegged ont and in some places three and four pega ars driven side by side. /

RUSH TO SECURE OPTIONS Options over the areas already taken np are. being eagerly sought, and the fact that in a number of cases the Minister of Mines has not yet given his consent to the applications does not appear to be affecting the enthusiasm of the claim seekers. It is stated that altogether somewhere about 168 claims on the Cromwell Flat have so far been applied for and that options have been secured over at least half of these by various'syndicates and private individuals, representing capital from London, Australia, and all parts of the Dominion. "BEGINNERS’ LUCK” The success of Messrs Lomax and party provides another instance of the manner in which fortune favours newcomers. Messrs K. G. Lomax, J. Russell and R. G. Duley, all of whom came from the North Island, heard of the sensational returns which were,, being obtained by Messrs Bell and Kilgour and Bel! and. Hooper last November, and, being unemployed, they decided to try their luck at Cromwell. In an interview with a Daily Times reporter to-day, Mr Lomax explained that his party was influenced in the selection of Deadman’s Point as a suitable locality v to start work by the fact that Professor Park had stated that the lead struck by Messrs Bell and Hooper ran across the Cromwell Flat and entered the' Molyneux at this spot. The party commenced operations at the beginning of, December, and at first tried tunnelling. -Three tunnels were driven into the i¥('er bank, two for a distance of 50 feet and one for 70 feet. In each case, however, the rising of the river flooded the tunnels and caused them to collapse. FIRST INDICATIONS OF GOLD It was then decided to work on the open cut system. The party shifted a tremendous amount of material, and during March the first indications were obtained that gold was present. A fortnight ago the party received it first real encouragement when from five dishes of wash one ounce two pennyweights of gold were panned oft. By yesterday the .open cut had reached a depth of about 30 feet, and then it was plainly seen that the bottom was dipping rapidly to one side. Water was soaking through from the river, and baling had to be resorted to. OUNCE FROM HALF A DISH When a crevice in the 1 bottom was bared gold could be seen in jthe wash, and an experienced and independent miner was sent for. He scraped up half a dish, and from this washed exactly one ounce -of gold. Later, in the afternoon a eecond dish yielded a return of half an ounce. Owing to the fact that the ] inflow of •water is fairly heavy and that the party is not equipped with pumping plant it has been decided to cease work at the claim* until the river falls further. Should the river fail to fall a pumping plant will then he installed. OPTION OVER CLAIM In the meantime a syndicate representing London, Australian, and New Zealand capital has secured an option over the claim, which is 67 acres in extent, and for which an application was made in December and recommended to the Minister for consent. The sum of £SO has been paid for the option for one month, and if the option is then exercised Messrs Lomax and party will receive £17,000 in cash and 3000 paid-up £1 shares. The option can be renewed at the end of a month for two further months by the payment of £IOO. Although tins may seem large, some amounts almost as large are being offered for other claims in the district. Negotiations have been completed for the purchase of one area on the Kawarau for £15,000 and several others in that vicinity are being sought at prices on a per with this. MINISTER'S ATTITUDE

A certain amount of apprehension has been aroused by the fact that the Minister of Mines has not yet publicly made known his intention with regard to the number of areas for which applications have been lodged. It would appear, however, that the i Minister has now come to a decision as Mr W. A. Bodkin, M.P., Informed a Daily Times reporter to-night that he had received a telegram from Mr Macmillan as follows; —

If applicants for mining rights will sign satisfactory agreements undertaking—first, to hand over to the Government 5 per cent, of the gold won, in return for which they -will be supplied with geophysical survey plans; secondly, to lodge a reasonable sum by way of deposit in the Warden’s Court as security against surface damage; thirdly, to prospect the land by shafting, boring, or tunnelling, doing as little damage as possible to the surface ; fourthly, to restrict mining below 40 feet from the surface; fifthly, to pay compensation for land resumed —I am prepared to consider granting my consent to the applications. These conditions have been agreed to in several instances already and in such cases I have consented to the granting of mining rights applied for subject to compliance with the provisions of the Mining Act, 1926, and to such other conditions as were considered advisable in the public interest. Mr Bodkin said that he had telegraphed to the Minister to-day stating that a number of rumours regarding the Minister’s attitude were abroad and asking him if he were prepared to stand by his telegram. No reply had been received by this evening. DELAY STRONGLY DEPRECATED The importance of the claims being granted from another ■ aspect than that of benefit to the claim-holders can be gauged from the fact that a representative of one syndicate which has secured options over several claims 1 stated tonight that within a fortnight of the Minister’s consent being obtained he .would provide employment for 50 men who are at present out of work, and he considered that if the whole of-the Cromwell Flat were thrown open for mining 2000 men would be employed by companies with capital running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

ORIGIN OF THE VENTURE

DECIDED BY TOSS C)F COIN FORTUNE FAVOURS NEWCOMERS REWARD OF ARDUOUS EFFORTS Six months ago two men, deprived of all their worldly wealth by the Hawke’s Bay earthquake of February, 1931, after engaging in reconstruction works in the province for some months, decided that they would give gold mining a six months’ try-out. It was a toss-up whether they would go to the Thames field or follow the trek that wag remarked even in the North Island to the Cromwell Flat area. The turn of the coin decided the question for .them, and six months ago two young men, R. G. Duley and R. J. Russell, set out for the Central Otago gold region. On arrival at Cromwell they found that practically every yard of the river from the town to the Shotover River inflow was pegged out. Turning their attention to the Clutha River, they found the same congestion. On every side someone seemed to have “ cashed in ” to the extent of pegging out a ? claim. They almost despaired of finding some place to commence work j when they were told of a spot about a mile up the river from Cromwell where no one was working and where gold was sure to be found. "TIM DULEY'S DIP” Full of hope and confidence they made their way to Deadman’s Point. There they pitched their tents and settled down to the task of seeking out the glittering metal. After a lew weeks hard work the party struck colour. It was only a small corner piece at the actual Deadman’s Point where they commenced work, but on December 31, 1932, they struck gold. They had put in a main drive and were unable to find bottom, so they decided that they would put in side drives, communicating with the main drive. It was during the’cutting of one of these side drives that Mr R. G Duley, known to his friends, as “ Tim ” Duley, struck the pocket which is known to-day as “ Tim Duley b Dip. The first wash from this spot returned two ounces per dish, and it was obvious to the party that the only chance of getting the returns which such a pocket indicated was to get down to the bottom of the seam. There was this difficulty, however, that the main and side drives bad so weakened the surrounding country that it was impossible for them to undertake any further drives. They were, therefore, faced with the problem of removing a whole cliff face, rising to 60 feet. This seemed to be the only means of getting down to the rock bottom which they were sure would return the harvest of gqkl. This meant the removal of over 1000 cubic yards of material; hut, nothing daunted, Messrs Duley and Russell, assisted by Mr K. G. Lomax, whose services had been engaged, set about ’ the task of shifting the whole cliff face. It was a" question of getting rid of all that headland to lay bare the treasury of gold which previous surveys had disclosed. > , It was no small task, and even when it had been finished there was such a struggle with water that frequently the spirits of the party were gravely daunted. It was a case of fighting water all the time, and when at last the first gold was discovered it was only got by reaching down to the armpits through water and scooping up wash which returned as much as two ounces to the dish. STRENUOUS WORK Asked by a Daily Times reporter yesterday why he and his companions selected Deadman’s Point as the centre of their operations, Mr Duley, who is at present in town, said that they really had very little choice. They were recommended to go to this spot by Cromwell residents, and at the same time.

Mr Russell, whose parents were both actively interested in mining in Aiistralia, suggested that Deadman’s Point was as good a spot as any on the Clutha River. During the six months that have elapsed since the discovery of what is now known as “ Tim Duley’s Dip,” the party worked strenuously at the removal of the cliff face in an effort to lay bare what they considered to be the main seam. But once having laid bare the 20 square feet towards which the main drive had been directed, the party had to wait patiently while the river subsided sufficiently to allow of the efficient working of that spot. Old miners and residents in the district told th6m that the river would soon go down, but it was such a long time falling that once or twice the party thought that it was in vain to wait; Finally, however, the level of the river fell, and there they could see the thick enough to be almost “ picked up in teaspoonfuls.” The gold lay perfectly visible in the wash. OPTION TO SYNDICATE Questioned with regard to what had already been done in the matter of sale, Mr Duley said that an option, to be acted upon in two months, had been taken out by a syndicate. The terms were that the party of discoverers should receive £20,000 for the claim, a hundred or two to be paid in deposit, and the remainder at the end of two months. Of this remainder £17,000 was to be paid in cash, while £3OOO worth of shares in the company were to be made available to the discoverers. Mr Duley said that nothing that had yet been claimed for the Deadman’s Point mine was in any way exaggerated. The gpld was there, and in highly profitable quantities. He had no doubts as to the quality of the ‘dirt,” and he was returning to Cromwell the next day for the purpose of carrying on the work for the remainder of the two months that must elapse before the option was taken up. SWING OF THE PENDULUM Both Mr* Duley and Mr Russell come from Hawke’s Bay. Their particular district was Wairoa, where they lost everything in the big earthquake. They worked for some time on the reconstruction of roads and bridges, and finally decided that they would have one “ shot ” at gold mining. The toss of a coin decided the venue of their operations, and they arrived in the south knowing no one and knowing little or nothing about the district. To-day they represent successful prospecting in Central Otago, and have laid bare one of the richest prospects in the province.' Messrs Duley and Russell, are convinced thkt they have found the point of confluence of the old Kawarau River and the present Clutha River, and in this respect at least .they regard their discovery as epoch-making in the history of Central Otago in that they have proved the correctness of Professor Park’s theory. They are confirmed in this matter by the view of the manager of the Bell-Kilgour claim, who says that the gold taken from Deadman’s Point is identical with that being drawn from the Bell-Kilgour claim. This fact, together with the announcement that the Government geophysical survey of the Cromwell Flat is also confirmatory, would indicate a great future for this section of the gold-bearing regions of Central Otago.

THE SHOTOVER DEPOSITS

SCHEME TO DIVERT RIVER FLUMING TO BE EMPLOYED Since the recent revival in mining began considerable attention has been directed to the Shotover River, which has been described as the richest gold-bearing stream in the world. It has been recognised that a great deal of gold has yet to be won from its bed, but the difficulty has been that of finding suitable methods by which it could be ‘recovered. It is now announced that a company known as Skippers, Ltd., is to embark on a scheme for diverting the course of the river so that its bed may be laid bare and worked. The proposal of the com* pany is to carry out tunnelling where necessary and on other portions of the river to divert the flow of water into fluming capable of carrying 1500 heads, though the normal, flow of the river l is estimated to be less than half of that amount. The fluming will be erected in lengths of 1000 feet at a time. The stretch of the river to be so worked extends over three miles down stream from a point just below the junction of the Shotover and Skippers Creek and includes the well-known claim of Mr A. E. Smith as well as other areas held by Messrs L. Murray and T. H. Robertson. Operations will be commenced at Maori Point, where in the early mining days 300 ounces of gold is said to have been won in an afternoon. Near this point also Mr Smith is reported to have obtained last year, .440 ounces from area 60 feet square, 225 ounces from an area 67 feet by 30 feet, and later 197 ounces from a piece of ground half that, size, these returns being among the most sensational in recent mining history in Otago. The region in which the company is to operate is rich in historical interest. The remarkable discoveries there in 1862 were followed by a flood which covered the beaches and drove the miners from the river. Gold was then discovered on the terraces above the river, and these were extensively worked. The tailings, however, were washed into the stream and created an overburden which rendered the deposits more difficult of access. A leading mining authority, in a report to the company which now proposes to work the river, indicated that a return of 38700 z to the acre could be expected. Since the whole area upon which the company proposes to operate comprises 65 acres, the total value of the gold which the bed is estimated to contain in this three miles of its length would, on a basis of. £6 per ounce, be £1,500,000. Whatever the actual position may be, there seems reason to believe that the success of the scheme which it is proposed to adopt would result in very rich returns.