"MOUNTAIN OF QUARTZ"

Evening Post, Volume CXVI, Issue 104, 30 October 1933, Page 11

"MOUNTAIN OF QUARTZ"

NEW ZEALANDER'S INTEREST

On au island off tlie coast of Now Guinea, an. old prospector, who has been in that part of the world for over twenty years, discovered great quantities of gold-bearing quartz. Owing to lack of capital he was unable to work the ground, but a New Zealander who became interested has now made this possible. The New Zealander is Mr.. J. W. Thomson, a barrister and solicitor, of DujiediiL, who returned today by. the Maiinganui after a visit to Sydney in connection ...with -the. claim.'.'.

•• Mtl Thomson, told .a f'Post" represenfetivo that the island, . which' Is called. Slisima,-is. 150 miles from Samarai, New Guinea." It is twenty-one miles long and nine miles wide. There are huge quartz deposits on the island, he stated, and three other men—ono his brother,1 who had spent nine months altogether on the island—besides the old prospector and himself, had shares in the'mining leases taken out. 'The partners had acquired what might be called a mountain of quartz, all of which contained gold and was workable. The field for the most part was covered with virgin jungle, but there wero open quarries containing botween 300,000 and 400,000 tons of ore available for crushing. • This ore assayed an. average valuo of six ' pennyweights. Twenty bags of samples^—about Bcwt altogether—had been assayed as payable by the Otago School of Mines. There were other claims in the vicinity, and one was paying regularly every month aidividend of Is 6d per £ share.

There were thirty Europeans;on 'the island and about 2500 blacks, said Mr. Thomson. Native labour was used to work the claims, and this could be obtained at 10s per head per weekj including keep and tobacco rations. ; Mr. Thomson said that he and- Ms partners controlled all the leases- in this locality on the mountain. Consideration was being given to the ques-. ■tion of floating a public company, but in the meantime the claim, would be .worked privately. ..- .