THE COOLGARDIE GOLD FIELD.

West Coast Times, Issue 10339, 31 July 1896, Page 2

THE COOLGARDIE GOLD FIELD.

[Pek XJnite.d Pkess Association] Sydney, July 30. The Sydney Telegraph, in conjunction with the Melbourne Age and the Adelaide Adveria&ei;, is publishing a series of articles f rom, a, mining expert [ who has been, specially^ commissioned, visit and report' udou i,he Wes^lian goldfields. So far" the investigations have been confined to the Coolgardie district. The writer's conclusions in regard t<7 the present and future prospects of the western Eldorado are distinctly gloomy; He says :— " I fear the future fortunes of Coolgar^jfi <fa not rest with. th& gold output of its mines. During the boom some 200 compames with, a share <]apj^l of about £10,000,000 wej;e ; flx^tedj During the two years which have since elapsed £2,200,600 has been spent in wages and machineiy in prospecting and developing, tbese.mines, \ritkfche amazing result that 98 per ceni^ of them. have, proved white elephants." With the exception of Bayley's Reward, not onp company, has- e,vep, paid, a, dividend, and oi? the^wjiele. mass of 200 only the Lady Lock and the Burbands Birthday Gift hjiv.e anj^ grosn^ts, o.r any worthy of being considered as mines of some value. Up to' w^n^the last three or four months the whole group averaged an output not exceeding 400oz per week. Coolgardie, he asserts, is destined to become a wayside township, because its present prosperity is' built on the shifting quicksands of English capital, *which is certain to, be witbdrawn i when the British speculators find their brilliant ex.pectations of- dividends met by demands for more money to develop 'worthless mines. The over-capitalisation has been extravagant in some cases. Incompetent' management is killing Coolgarclie, aa; well as other Westralian goldfields, where the golden prospects are more promising. One cannot get away from the fact that a great many, if not the majority, of tHe~ mines are doomed to an inglorious- end; Companies scattered throughout th"c, fields are managed by Englishmen, assisted by costly staffs, whose only occupation appears to be reading novel* and drinking whisky and champagne. London directors and shareholders will bitterly rue the day they lavish expenditure.