MINING

Te Aroha News, Volume XLI, Issue 6599, 14 May 1925, Page 8

MINING

GOLDEN CREVICE KAWARAU CLAIM LIMITED -

A good deal of interest is being taken locally in the above Company. In a nutshell the scheme is to erect a dam so that the waters of Lake Wakatipu, which form the source of the Kawarau River, will be periodically shut out and released. The The Shotover River, a tributary which feeds the Kawarau River, will also be dammed. Stony sluice gates similar to those used in the Assuan dam will be used. These dams will shut off the supply of water and thus render the bed of the river accessible for mining by the most primitive methods. As the river is lowered so will it give scope for mining operations.

The claim was selected by an experienced miner who had one of the first choices of all the claims as being in the best position. The claim is situated only two claims below those taken over by “The Lucky Chance Kawarau Claims Ltd.,” a company recently floated in Auckland with such success that it was more than 10,000 shares over-subscribed in a few days. It is situated immediately below the junction of the famous Arrow River with the Kawarau. For countless ages enormous quantities of sand and gravel and the debris from the upper reaches of the Kawarau, Arrow and Shotover Rivers have passed over the crevices of this great natural tail race, and old experienced miners say - that if only the bed of the Kawarau can be laid bare tons of gold will be gathei’ed. The bed of the Kawarau is not suited to dredging and it is thought that the primitive methods of pick and shovel and hopper sluicing will be sufficient for some time.