The Ashburton Guardian. The Ashburton Guardian. MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1883. Our Mineral Resources.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 1014, 6 August 1883, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. The Ashburton Guardian. MONDAY, AUGUST 6, 1883. Our Mineral Resources.

Looking at the enormous benefits which this district would derive if the Alford Forest “ diamonds” should turn out to be the genuine article, and not merely pieces of pretty but valueless crystal, the Ashburtonians have viewed the prospect of the discovery of a diamond field in this part of the country with remarkable coolness. In Christchurch, a section of the population seems to be in fits of excitement over the matter; the Land Office has been stormed by an immense body of applicants for mining leases of land at Alford Forest; and shares in the already formed diamond companies are quoted at preposterous prices. In Ashburton, on the other hand, the diamond field simply furnishes the subject matter for a little street gossip. We cannot pretend to account for the difference. Possibly the Christchurch folk are gifted with livelier imaginations than the Ashburton people; perhaps it is that “ distance lends enchantment to the view or it may be that Christchurch enthusiasm is evoked by the presence of a “ mining exchange ” in the Cathedral City. Ashburton, as yet does not rejoice in a “ mining ex changehence that powerful stimulus to faith in the probabilities of wealth which lie hidden in the boulders of Taylor’s Stream is lacking in our midst, and we refuse to let our fancy run away with our reason. We might, however, well be pardoned a little display of excitement. A diamond- field means a social revolution in the district. The town of Ashburton would quickly spring into a city; property throughout ,the county would rise in value; and industry of every kind be stimulated to the highest degree. For it must be borne in mind that if Mr Jacobsen’s diamonds are really diamonds, nature has strewn them about here with unexampled generosity. They are to be collected with ease, rot as isolated specimens, but by the bushel; and not at Alford Forest alone, but if rumor speaks the truth, close by the town itself. As soon as the English and Dutch experts see their way to pronounce the crystals in Mr Kelsey’s charge to be marketable diamonds, we shall have half the population of this town paddling about the bed of the river Ashburton in the full expectation of finding there a very superior Tom Tiddler’s ground indeed. There would, nevertheless, be a little bitter in our cup of joy. If diamonds could be got so easily and so plentifully, their market price would assuredly fall. The lustre of the Kohinoor would not be dimmed, but its cash value would diminish. On the whole, therefore, while we should rejoice exceedingly to know from reliable anthority that the Alford Forest diamonds are what their discoverer claims them to be, we should have much preferred their being less numerous. It would be a queer embarras des richesses. A short time will, we suppose, ease people’s minds on the subject. Mr Kelsey’s enigmatical telegrams only serve to whet curiosity, but it is pretty clear from them, at all events, that the stones which bad been

subjected to examination are not gems of the first water. It is not generally known, but we find from a paper by Mr Cox, F.G.S. Inspector of Mines, which is published in the last volume of Transactions of the New Zealand Institute, that small rock crystals which “ enter into the composition of the quartz porphyries of Mount Somers and the Clent Hills ” have frequently been forwarded to the Geological Department for examination “ on the supposition that they were diamonds.” It would be very unlucky for the Christchurch speculators if the Alford Forest diamonds turned out to be rock crystals, however beautiful. But whether the supposed diamond field turn-out a Golconda or a “ duffer,” its supposed existence may lead to a most useful examination of the Mount Somers and Alford Forest regions with the view of testing their mineral and metalliferous resources. The mountain ranges in this county, to a large extent, belong to geological formations which might, judging from experience elsewhere, be expected to yield such treasures. On more than one occasion it has been alleged that gold-bearing quartz has been discovered there; and the gold lately found «n the Ninety Mile Beach in all probability had its matrix in the neighborhood of the Rakaia Gorge. That extensive deposits of coal exist in these mountain regions is known to all the world, but it is quite possible that a stricter scrutiny would reveal other and perhaps more valuable coal seams. Two or three years ago an excellent sample of manganese, alleged to have been obtained somewhere in the vicinity of Mount Somers, was brought into this town and exposed to view at the shop of one of our local tradesmen. The finder, unless he quietly secured the freehold of the land, took no steps to prosecute his discovery; but there was no reason to doubt his bona fides. What is needed is the despatch to the hills of two or three organised prospecting parties, composed of experienced miners and backed with sufficient funds to enable them to test all likely looking spots thoroughly. It is a work which might well be assisted by the County Council, were that body in funds, but a paternal General Government having practically absorbed all the revenues of the country, we may fairly ask that Government to make a grant in aid of prospecting. Large sums have at different times been given by the Government for similar purposes on the West Coast and elsewhere; and we see no reason why Ashburton should not receive a little help in this way. The Government need not be asked to bear the whole of the expense; if they will grant a reasonable sum we dare say the public spirit of the inhabitants of the county will supply the remainder.