GOLD MINING ON THE SHOTOVER RIVER

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22022, 3 August 1933, Page 15

GOLD MINING ON THE SHOTOVER RIVER

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —Last December a letter appeared in your paper signed " Old Timer ” concerning gold mining on the Shotover River. It impressed me by its sincerity. The writer seemed to know the Shotover River pretty well, and he predicted what would happen to the claim belonging to Mr A. E. Smith —described in the preliminary prospectus of Skippers, Ltd., as “ worldfamed ” —no doubt because about £SOOO worth of gold has been taken out of it during the last three or more years. As predicted by “Old Timer,” reports, and photographs of the gold and of the claim, were published in the papers throughout the Dominion, with the looked-for result, a .large number of people investing their money in this scheme, called Skippers, Ltd. This proposition was investigated by Industries, Ltd., and was “ turned down ” for reasons best known to that company. A company in Christchurch, named Mining House, eventually took it up, and it is now on the market. The price the vendors, Messrs Smith, Murray and Robertson, are getting is £12,500 in cash, £17,000 of shilling shares, and per cent, of the gold won. The costs of organising, travelling and brokerage are set down at £6soo—surely a big sum—and the total capital of the company is £75,000. This stretch of river, including the worked-out portion of the claim of Mr A. E. Smith, is about throe miles long, parts being very narrow and “ gorgey.” I understand that Sir Smith admitted in court a short time ago, when defending a suit for forfeiture, that this narrow portion had no gold in it. ,

This claim has been working since Christmas till hard frost set in, but the returns, if any, could _ not have been worth while, else publicity would have been given them in large letters, especially at a critical time like this. The seepage is always a big trouble in the Shotover. The available water does not allow ®Mr Smith to work his claim. If people would only stop and think, they might well ask how the shareholders are to get even their money back. Mr Smith is very lucky indeed to get someone to buy his shares. He has been on this river all, his life, I am told, and if it is such a good thing, why does he want to sell? The opinion of experienced miners is that there is not £75,000 worth of gold left in the whole stretch of the Snotover.

I suggest that this is a case in which the Government should intervene. The present Government stopped the goodwill of its leasehold lands; why not the mining lands, too? Mining seems to be taking hold of the people, and. with the inducement offering in Is shares, “wildcat ” schemes are likely to go off like hot cakes. Despite all the talk of gold mining, comparatively little gold ia being got from supposedly good things. Fluming the Shotover is only an experiment. The weirs, of which the Mining House engineers talk, will be useless and impractical* in the fast-running Shotover. and no one knows this better than Mr A. E. Smith. My advice to would-be shareholders, if it is not too late, ia to get in touch with their friends on the spot and ask their opinion of this ambitious scheme. You will surely see that there will be no local shareholders —a matter which will speak for itself. I repeat that it is time the Government looked into the matter, and told the public why Messrs Smith. Murray, and Robertson can apply for a stretch of river with apparently no intention of ever working it themselves. But what do we see? When opportunity offers, they sell out at a big price to a public which, caught in the present mining vortex, is more gullible than ever. — I am, etc., Old Miner.

[The above letter was referred to the .Mining House (N.Z.), Ltd., for its comments. It states, that the bank receipts in its possession show that over £IO,OOO worth of gold has been won from Mr A. E. Smith’s claim in the past three years, most of it during the past 18 months.' It is denied that Industries. Ltd., ever investigated the proposition. With reference to the price that is being paid to the vendors, the actual figures, we are informed, are £9OOO in cash and £13.500 in fully-paid shilling shares. It is denied that Mr Smith ever admitted in-court that the narrow portion of the claim had no gold in it. The Mining House says that the statements that t this claim has been working since Christmas till hard frost set in” and that the available water does not allow Mr Smith 1 to work his claim ” are both untrue. Work on Mr Smith’s claim has, the Mining House says, been intermittent since Christmas, as this year the river has on more days than usual been above normal; but when conditions were lavDurable Mr Smith has had ample water to work his claim, and has obtained satisfactory > returns from the small area he has worked. Indeed, during the whole time Mr Smith has held the claim he. has worked barely an acre, and has obtained approximately £II,OOO. Upon the statement that “comparatively little gold is being got from supposedly good things, the Mining House makes the comment: “The first good thing sponsored by the Mining House (N.Z.), Ltd., is now returning shareholders dividends at the rate of 5 per cent, per month, and we venture the opinion that the other propositions we have asked the public to support including Skippers, Ltd., will be equally successful in the near future, _ This is pot a reckless assertion, but is a considered opinion arrived at after careful preliminary investigations and thorough tests. It may interest Old Miner to learn that Messrs Murray and Robertson s claim has been bored by Mr J. M. Stewart with entirely satisfactory results. Ed. O.D.T.]