Report on Big Bay and Red Hill Districts, Wellington, August 30.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 168, 4 September 1886, Page 1

Report on Big Bay and Red Hill Districts, Wellington, August 30.

An 'interesting report on the prospecting tour in the Big Bay and Red Hill district, reference to which was made in the House last session, has just been received by the Government, having been sent by Mr J. Durward, the manager of the .Red Hill Mineral Company~(Limited) to the Chairman of that.Compahy. He states that the colour of gold can be found in the branches of Pyke'a River, which runs through the Bed Hill range, but the gold is not in payable quantities. The range is quite destitute of soil or vegetation of any kind, and has- a scorched, copper-coloured appearance. On'the western side of the range he traced 16 . lodes and took specimens from the earth, and on the eastern side he obtained specimens from 15 welldefined lodes, ; several of which are doable and of different kinds of stone. On the western side of the Cascade River, where the supposed rich find of gold was { made some 40 years ago, there were no traces of the drive then put in, but that' might ba accounted for by the natural changes in the formation of the country. A considerable quantity of quartz can be seen in the river bed brought down from the Barrier ranges, but no gold was found in it. Prospects were also tried in the bed of the river and creeks, but with the same result. The country passed through appeared to be more of a mineral than an auriferous nature. The timber on the route between Red Hill and Jackson Bay consists of red birch, red, white, and silver pine, and cedar and rata ; but with the exception of one or two small patches the quality -seemed to be rather inferior. At present the only part of. this district suitable for grazing purposes lies between the Cascade and Martyrs' Rivers. A track is now' in course of construction from Jackson's Bay to Lake Wakatipu. From December 19 to July 16 there were 80 wet days. Thus it will be seen that the climate is very moist, and* consequently prospecting must be carried on - under this disadvantage. With respect to future work, .the most likely district for. good prospects is, in Mr Durwards opinion, that situated on the west side of the Gorge River Plateau. The terrace on the northern sbore of Big, Bay has also a promising appearance for minerals other than gold. The Red Hill and Oliver Ranges certainly offer the most encouragement. Mr Durward concludes his report as follows : — "From the foregoing, you will gather that the expedition has not been productive of anything very definite &a regard* discovery, and I should impress upon any party proceeding to the district the fact that gold and other minerals, if they do exist in payable quantities, can only be secured by the expenditure of considerable capital. It is also imperative that a properly qualified mineralogist should accompany the party prospecting for minerals in order to save time and possibly vexation. In our case the gentleman who was mineralogist of our party unfortunately had to leave us in the early part of our journey, so that in selecting specimens we were placed at a disadvantage. In conclusion, while unable to state that payable gold was found by us, I am decidedly of opinion that the field is a moat promising one for those who go prepared to put up with the hardships incidental to its climate and rugged nature." Dr. Hector's report on the 36 specimens cent to him states that the samples were altogether too small for satisfactory examination, so that only quantitative tests could be applied with the view of determining the minerals present. The character and pros pacts of the district were analogous to the Dunn Mountain belt, being to the east of Blind Bay. Professor Black, in his report to the Minister of Mines says : " The collection is a disappointing one. It does not contain anything to indicate gold or silver, tin or mercury. Qne specimen contains a trace of copper, and this galena, which, like all galena, contains a little silver „ Two samples are good chrome ore ; three contain nickel alloy. It is a thousand pities that the Prospecting Association do'not see the necessity of including <& qualified mineralogist^ in every exploring party, one that wouldon<the spot be able to say what valuable ingredientß 'a' Btoti e contains. A* 'few weeks in one of our. collage 'laboratories— with Professor Browir, of Auckland j Professor Bickerton, of Ghrietehureh 1 } or myself here, or with Mr Montgomery J at the Thames; or indeed with any of the goldfields staff of miners, would go a, 'long way to qualify an intelligent man' for such work. Young people 'such as. those who comprise pro9pecting associations do not realise the necessity of special knowledge on the part of their working prospectors." ;