RICH GOLD STRIKE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 87, Issue 200, 25 August 1943, Page 5

RICH GOLD STRIKE

AMERICAN SOLDIER FINDS NEW LODE Recd. 6 p.m. Sydney, Aug. 23. An American soldier at a northern batt ?, station claims to have discovered what may prove one of the richest lodes ever found in Australia. He spent his leaxe searching for gold, and, accoiding to an American Army publication ‘‘Yank Down Under,” found ore worth 20,000 dollars a ton. Tiie soldier who made the find is a private, “Bonanza Bill” Houghton, a former hard rock and sluice miner of California, now serving with the medical unit. Two American Army officers who formerly were assayers, estimated the value of the samples won from the undisclosed location. Private Houghton says he is keeping the site of his discovery a secret until after the war, when he intends to stake up his claim. He travelled several hundred miles in his search, carrying all his mining gear and other equipment on a pack horse. Metallurgists are amazed at the estimated richness of the deposits, which would mean that the ore must bear 625 ounces of ."nifl to the ton.