THE SEARCH FOR GOLD

Taranaki Daily News, 18 July 1933, Page 14

THE SEARCH FOR GOLD

ACTIVITY AT CROMWELL spread to Alexandra. WORK ON MOLYNEUX RIVER. If : the extensive pegging which continues can be taken as a guide, then Cromwell is still in the grip of a boom, says the Otago Daily Times. At Cardrona pegging still goes on, much of it in large areas, and some of those interested are said to be acting-on behalf of overseas capital. Some idea of the recent activity in ragging is contained in the official figures from the local court For the quarter ended June 30 no fewer than 223 applications were filed. For the first ten days S fte next 1 to 10-153 ; fresh applications have been filed, and the number is certain to be increased the week-end many representatives of capital and company interests were in Cromwell. Some were out at Bendigo considering proposals for testing some of the reefing areas there. In the absence of -grants of the many areas applied for nothing on the practical side in connection with the boom is being attempted. Once these are forthcoming a large number of men will soon be at work. The weather is now settled, with hard frosts. . The gold fever has now gripped Alexandra with a firm hold, and the past week has seen a considerable amount of activity in the way of the pegging out ctf claims. Practically eveiy available section has. been pegged; in fact, the goldmining enthusiasm has reached the stage where. it borders. on the ludicrous. The Bendigo Hotel, Hesson’s store and boarding-house, the recreation ground and two private residences have been pegged out. The reason for this is not altogether clear, as it is only conjecture that gold exists in any of these localities, and no shafting or tunnelling has been carried out recently. The Bendigo Hotel, however, has always been looked upon by the early miners as a rich spot, the dredge having obtained good returns as near to the hotel as it was able to go. BUSY PERIOD AHEAD. From the present time until September or October the Molyneux River will be the scene of fairly extensive gold prospecting activities on the part of the subsidised unemployed and others. Last winter proved' beyond all doubt that there was still gold to be won by cradling the beaches from Beaumont up, and several parties secured some handsome returns for their season’s work. In the vicinity of Elbow Creek, a few, miles above Roxburgh, and also below the Fourteen Mile Beach, the river yielded gold in such quantity that it puzzled > a good many people as to how it was missed by the thorough-going pioneers, to say nothing of the Chinese who followed them and swept the reef with brooms to make certain that nothing was overlooked. Still, the fact remains that even when the river is not running abnormally low the unemployed have been winning a few pennyweights a week to supplement their allowances from the Unemployment Board, and it is understood that up to a month ago the average return per man per month was half an ounce. This, of course, includes the summer and autumn months when the river ran at a discouragingly high level and the gold output was comparatively poor. THE KAWARAU DAM. The closing of the Kawarau dam on June 26 caused a three-foot drop in the Molyneux River, laying bare a little more beach, but from the prospectors’ pojpt of view the river had not fallen to a low, enough level to disclose any highly profitable returns. The dam was, of course, closed ,in the interests of the company, and not to enable .the prospectors to secure more'scope. It is confidently hoped, however, that the dam will •be closed to lower the river later in the season, when a few more feet may make a vast difference to the miners. .As an indication of the improved condition of the river, it is reported that two ■miners on the Fourteen Mile Beach secured nine pennyweights one day last week, and another at Elbow Creek, after ■yonrling a few horns in shifting a boulder, won six pennyweights. Quite a number working in pairs are securing three, four and five‘pennyweights a day, ’ but at the present level the wash and B the black sand deposits are inclined to 3 .peter out and time is lost in prospecting f for new places. Many (miners amving * on the river, just now are lacking in - equipment, and it may be worth while r mentioning that when the river; is low • miners must be equipped, with cradle, I suitable mats, a sharp pick, shovel, crow- - bar, dish; hammer and gads in order to r work successfully on. virgin ground.