GOLD AT WAITEKAURI

Waikato Independent, Volume XXI, Issue 2441, 8 September 1921, Page 5

GOLD AT WAITEKAURI

The discovery in the bed of a creek at Waitekauri, near Waihi, of' loose

quartz, in which specks of gold are

visible to the naked eye, and the subsequent finding, by following up the Trail, on tho slope above the banks of the creek, of a number of quartz boub ders of varying' dimensions led the interested party to set to work on a quartz bestrewn patch. As a result of the operations a quantity of loose goldbearing quartz was gathered up, the weights of which is estimated at from four to five tons. From this the finder selected about SOOcwt of stone, in all of which gold in the form of specks and small flakes was visible. The encouraging prospect was followed up by the starting' of a crosscut into the slope some little distance below tho surface quartz. The stone on the surface is said to have all th,c characteristics associated with the quartz that came from the original claim some years ago and which was responsible for the rush To Waitekauri about 30 years back, resulting in the creation of a flourishing mining township, and the subsequent winning of many thousands of j>ounds worth" of gold. For some years afterwards and even after the apparent exhaustion of the bulk of the precious metal in that district, prospectors have from time to time happened on looso quartz, with gold showing, in the creek beds, in tho gullies, and on the slopes, but the source from which the gold-

bearing quartz was secured is said to

have never been discovered. It now x .seems/possible .that the' prospecting cf- • Aforts in hand may lead to the discovery of the source, the importance of which would be appreciated by mining men, and more particularly by those who have had a personal acquaintance with mining in the Waitekauri district.