KAWARAU GOLD.

Otago Witness, Issue 3823, 21 June 1927, Page 28

KAWARAU GOLD.

; HOLDING BACK THE ; U. WATERS. < J - DAM GATES CLOSED. . — .... ■ — 1 (THE CONDITIONS FAVOURABLE ? i CROMWELL, June 15. , For the second time the gates of the Kawarau dam have been closed, and with ’ the holding 'back of the waters of Lake 1 Wakatipu the way is opened up for winning the golden treasure which, it is hoped, will be placed within the reach of man by a reduction of the volume of water traversing the winding and rock-bound bed of the Kawarau River. The advice received in Cromwell this morning was that the closing of the gates was accomplished in about 20 minutes. This information was accompanied by a statement that the Shotover River was much lower than it was when the gates were closed last August, and that the Arrow River was very low, these facts leading to the deduction that it could reasonably be expected that the Kawarau would be much lower as a result of the closing of the gates than it was in 1926. Recent conditions have been in favour of the river being a good deal lower than it was last winter. The weather has been cold with heavy frosts, the result being that the volume of water coming down the Kawarau has been gradually diminishing.’ Even before the gates were closed the gauge at Cromwell showed that it was about 18 inches lower than it was when the first closing of the gates took place. The conditions associated with the closing of the gates are very different this year from what they were last year. In 1926 excitement and speculation were very keen as to the ultimate result of the venture, which was generally believed to hold immense possibilities in the way oi success, and also great possibilities of being just as complete a failure as many other gold-winning schemes have been. Claimholders looked forward anxiously to the falling of the river so that they might get an idea of the nature of the areas held by them, and form plans for extracting the gold which they doubtless fondly hoped would eventually be theirs, and recoup them many times over for their expenditure and enterprise._ The conditions then, however, were not very favourable, and only a small amount of actual work was done; but it was generally anticipated that when the opportunity for carrying on operations was presented this year the river bed would be a scene of great activity, reminding one of some of the boom periods of the past, when the gold fever was highly infectious. The keenness of last year has apparently disappeared completely, and a visitor lo Cromwell to-day sees no indication that another opportunity has been afforded of wresting the gold from its

hiding places. The ordinary activities of the little township are being carried on quietly, and with the exception of a few local claimholders who have made arrangements for trying out the value of their .holdings, nobody seems to be particularly interested in the possibilities ahead. There are very few visitors here at present, but some of the people interested, including shareholders from Auckland, are expected to reach Cromwell to-night, and-there is the possibility that when the effects of the closing of the gates are more apparent the scene will be changed, and that those who have interests in the river will be anxious to know what their prospects are. It appears improbable, however, that a great deal of work will be carried out in the immediate future, and possibly only a very limited amount will be done this winter.

THE CLOSING CEREMONY. AN ABSENCE OF EXCITEMENT. LITTLE ACTIVITY BY CLAIMHOLDERS. QUEENSTOWN, June 15. Kawarau dam 'gates were closed at 9 o’clock this morning for the second time but without any particular ceremony. Anout 25 people were present, including Mr W. Annan, director of the parent company, and a few shareholders in the claims. The gates were lowered in 20 minutes. After the closing the water backed up to 2ft 2in on the sill. For the week ended to-day the lake water has reached 3in, the gauge standing at 3ft 2in. On the river side of the dam the gauge showed 2ft 4in, a drop of sin in a week. At 11 o’clock the gauge on the river side had dropped to the 6in mark, and at noon a further drop to three-quar-ters of an inch'above the zero mark was recorded. The lowest river reading last year was B£in above zero. The lake reading now shows 3ft 3in. As far as ca.n be gathered the Shotover • is one foot lower than it was when the i gates were closed last year. All the other tributaries show much less water than at the last closing. There is little activity on the river yet. The Kawarau Consolidated intends concentrating on claims 100, 76, and 34—purely prospecting operations. A few men on .Vogel’s Vision and the Natural Bridge claims are ready to start. With a continuance of the present frost a gradual drop in the streams is considered certain. KAWARAU STILL FALLING. J- CROMWELL, June 16. The weather this morning was fine, peing calm, with no rain. The indications

were favourable for all those interested in the different claims on the river. During the night there was a light fall of snow in Cromwell, but not enough to interfere with mining operations. It. would not make any difference to the fall in the river. The gauge at Cromwell showed that during the 2< hours after the closing of the gates at the dam the river had fallen 2ft Bin in comparison with last year’s drop of Ift. This year the indications point that in view of the favourable weather prevailing at present a much further’ drop is anticipated. ■ The most noticeable fall in the river ?s shown at the Cromwell Development Company’s weir. Yesterday the -water was running over the sill, whereas to-day a number of people were able to walk dry-footed over the sill and the water was running about 10ft below. The company’s race, which is not required for irrigation at this time of, the year, wis dry.

So far little work has been done, the only concern operating to-day being the Natural Bridge Syndicate, which has four men employed. These men were engaged working on a shelf of rock and obtained 3oz 13Sdwt for about five hours’ work. This was only a preliminary effort,'and much better results are looked for when the river falls. This syndicate is looked upon as holding one of the best stretches of the gorge claims, and the results of its -operations are awaited with much interest. Mr Robieson, representative of Vogel’s Vision, and of other claims, is at present making investigations with a view to determining the best methods of working these claims. It is understood that the Consolidated Kawarau Company will not make a start for the next 10 or 12 days. In the course of an interview with Messrs Ramsay and Macdonald, representing the Lady Ranfurly Gold Mining Company (Ltd.), I was informed that, the prospects of this company are bright, and they are anticipating that the various owners of the dredging claims below the gorge —22 in number —will join in placing on the river an up-to-date prospecting dredge. The Roaring Meg is still discharging a fair quantity of water, but under prevailing conditions the discharge is expected to diminish very shortly. It is evident that the majority of claim-holders are adopting a “wait-and-see” policy, the idea apparently being to await the result of the falling of the river before making up tlieir minds as to the best methods to be adopted to work the claims.

FALL AT BALCLUTHA. BALCLUTHA, June 16. The effect of the closing of the Kawarau dam gates yesterday morning was noticeable in the Molyneux River at Balciutha this morning, when the river fell several inches. The river has been very low for weeks, and the drop was quite visible to anyone taking note of the gauge on a cylinder of the traffic bridge. At the same time the wate. has not dropped to the figure “1” at the bottom of the gauge, which was made many years ago, before the river bed began to silt up. Local residents who take note of these things are convinced that though the river is still falling gradually it will not go down more than a foot below normal winter level.

PROSPECTING BY CLAIMHOLDERS. QUEENSTOWN, June 17. The elosing of Kawarau dam gates has so far not helped to lower the river much below the. level reached when the gates were closed last year. The drop is scarcely perceptible in the wider portions, and is, perhaps, up to Ift in the gorges. The ponding in the river still exists, and until the obstructions are removed little can be done. The parent company is sending an engineer up to investigate the matter of the removal of obstructions, which consists of rocks or slides, which cause bars to be formed. Kawarau Conolidated Claims propose wing-damming at claim 94, where men .will be concentrated. Prospecting will be carried on at claims 34 (near Cromwell) and 100 (near the Arrow River outlet). The Natural Bridge Company reports having secured 3oz 13dwt of nice coarse gold._ It is also stated that the Pikomanu Syndicate secured loz yesterday.. Preparations arc in progress to work other claims. Operations at present are confined to prospecting works. FURTHER FALL IN RIVER. CROMWELL, June 18. The weather lately has been somewhat broken, and hard frosts are still being experienced. The river has fallen a good deal. Reliable figures from the bridge gauge show that the river has fallen 15in since Friday, and is still falling. During the last two day’s some shareholders of the Natural Bridge Company secured two and a-half ounces, of which one and three-quarter ounces were obtained to-day. Representatives of other’ companies have also obtained fair prospects, but they will not start to work in earnest until there is a further drop in the river. It 4s confidently expected that the falling of the river will continue if the weather does_jiot changs