Gold from Mount Ophir, of Bible Mention

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 60, 8 November 1892, Page 4

Gold from Mount Ophir, of Bible Mention

Oh the identical spot where King Solomon procured " gold dust, peacocks, and monkeys" a syndicate with £1,000,000 capital stock issued, and ten-stamp mill erected, has just pounded out £11 ,000. Mount Ophir, of scriptural renown, is cloße by. The old rocks, which were too low grade for King Solomon's reduction processes, are being ground up, and they average half an ounce to the ton. This jioldfield of Solomon's, which has been idle all of the centuries till now, is in the Malay peninsula. The people who have gone in to develop it have had to cut seven miles of road through the jungle and clear sixty miles of river. They are just beginning; to realise on their investment. The company with the big capital has a concession on twenty square miles of this goldfield. The formation is black slate. A shaft sunk one hundred feet on the lode uncovered enough ore to keep the mill going a year. The ore will yield two ounces to the ton. In one place on the concession there is a hill two hnndred and fifty feet high and hall a mile long. 'Ihe company has tunnelled into this hill about half-way from the the bottom and found ore ranging from seven pennyweights to seven ounces ot gold. The reef varies in width from two to nine feet. Even the loose rocks scattered about on the hillside yield halt an ounce t>f of gold to the ton. The superintendent said to the American Consul recently : " I did not think there was anything of this kind co extensive in the world. Wherever you try you find gold.'' haubis the modern name ox the ancient El Dorado.