GOLD!

Evening Post, Volume CIX, Issue 37, 13 February 1930, Page 9

GOLD!

A STIR^ IN VICTORIA (From "Tho Post's" Representative.) , SYDNEY, 6th February. The discovery of rich specimens of goldbearing quartz at St. Arnaud, in Victoria, near the once-famous Lord Nelson mines, has caused a stir in Victoria, where excitement is running high. Time and the result of the trial crushing alona will prove whether the discovery will mean a revival of gold mining in the southern State. The official Government attitude is wait and see, but it is realised on all sides that a new discovery of gold, in quantities as rich as are being secured in New Guinea, would mean the salvation of Australia in these times of- financial stress. The gold at St. Arnaud is shining in the face, running north and south and undeilfoot, ■ and the further the men go iv the better the gold becomes. One member of the party says that in a week or so they have taken out sufficient gold to enable them to pay a dividend. During the week-end the men went two feet deeper, but tho gold continued to show in the stone. The spot where the latest discovery has been made is on what is known as Wilson's Hill, half a mile from the town. The workings lie to the north of the old Lord Nelson mines, which are now defunct, and the type of ground is identical with that which produced the Lord Nelson dividends every fortnight. The discoverers were Messrs. M. Zeuschner, the two Hancock brothers, and M'Kenzie. All were persevering prospectors, and if they have achieved success none will better deserve it. They have shown their faith in tho district by prospecting in the vicinity for more than a year. They believe that, adjacent to the line of, the reef worked so profitably by the Lord Nelson Company, there must be another reef just as well defined, and just as rich in gold-bearing quartz. The party has been led on by goodlooking stone, and about a month ago they struck what they declare is a definite quartz reef formation. This they followed at a depth of 10 or 12 feet below the surface, and the deeper they have gone the more definite they have proved the formation to be. At a depth of 20 feet last Monday they found large pieces of quartz, each disclosing gold of a coarse, nuggety nature, interwoven in layers of slate. This type of strata is just the sort that makes the heart of the prospector glad. The rumour soon spread, and before long many old-timers had trudged to the spot to make their expert examination. Tho stone will be crushed under the supervision of the Government, and a sympathetic Government will see that nothing stands iv the way of a quick and exhaustive examination. The State docs not forget that the Lord Nelson mine, working on a capital of £38,000, produced 023,402 tons of quartz for a yield of 323,4010z of gold, which, on being sold at approximately £4 an ounce, enabled the company to pay to its shareholders dividends amounting to £2G5,350. The chance of another rich find is not being overlooked.