Gold Mining in West Australia.

Feilding Star, Volume XVII, Issue 240, 15 April 1896, Page 2

Gold Mining in West Australia.

Amongst the successful miners m West Australia is Mr L. B. Menzies, j who at one time resided in this district, j where his father, Mr John Menzies, of ! Feilding-Ashurst road, now lives. As | the discovery of gold in West Australia is excifciny a considerable amount of , interest, the following extract from an I interview with Mr Menzies, by a repreI sentative of the West Australian, may be of interest to our readers : —The association with the discovery of gold at North Dandahui, of Mr L. R. Menzies, the prospector of the Star of the East mine at the Murchison, and the discoverer of the Lady Shenton and Florence mines, is generally regarded as indicative of its high value. Mr Menzie is a modest man, but onr representative managed to obtain some information in regard to himself and bis discoveries, which will doubtless be of considerable interest. In the interview Mr Menzie said it was six years ago since he first arrived, and at that time the Southern Cross fields had been made known, and partly prospected. He went to Parker's range, and was fairly successful there considering the times, being more successful than most of those who went up to the new field. He fully believed that Southern Cross would yet come to the front, although it would need a good deal mo ) capital, and plenty of energy to develc? - it. The great drawback there, as elsewhere, was the scarcity of water. Nevertheless, several of the leading mines had given good accounts of them* selves, and on the whole have returned fair dividends to the shareholders, notably the Central and Fraser's. The latter, after six years, remains a firstclass property, and was once more asserting itself. The reefs were largeand of fair average grade, somewhere about half an ounce, but the stone was highly mineralised and needed special treatment. He thought the largest proportion of gold taken from the mines yet remained in the tailings, which should well repay cyanidin^. After he bad prospected the Southern Cross, Mr Meuzie went to the Murchison field, which had just broke out, on behalf of himself and others in Perth. He got on the Star of the East, which was the first mine to pay dividends at the Murchison, and this he managed for about three yeats. He had a hi»h opinion of some of the Murchison mines, and thought that, as things settle down, and leading properties become well equipped with machinery there would be a large output of gold, and shareholders would receive ample gold for their investments. The great advantage it possesses over all other auriferous areas in the colony lies in the fact that not only are there good reefs of fair and even high rverage, but there is also, as a rule ample water for mining purposes. Leaving the Mnrchison Mr Menzie went to Perth, and on behalf of several well-known Perth investors he proceeded to the Coolgardie goldfields on a prospecting tour. He visited nearly every centre of the fields and saw quite enough to convince him that they are undoubtedly the largest in the world. He ultimately reached the Ninety-Mile, the then most northerly explored portion of the fields, and then proceeded in a north -easterly direction where, after a good deal of privation and discomfort, he struck what is known as the Menzie's district. Here he came across a number of rich reefs and mineral characteristics which convinced him that the country was second to none that he had so far seen. Here he struck what are now known as the Lady Shenton and Florence mines. There were quartz outcrops carrying extraordinary rich gold. He hurried back to Coolgardie— leaving Mr J. E. McDonald, his companion on the trip, on the spot — to secure the property he had discovered. News of the find soon got abroad and when he returned he was followed by nearly two thousand men. Amongst these he met miners he had known while mining in Canada, United States, New Zealand and other parts of the world. Returning to the Lady Shenton, he got a quantity of splendid stone out of it, and subsequently this and the Florence were floated into companies in Perth, and are amongst the most promising in West Australia. Mr Menzie has now settled at Perth, but he told the interviewer that when he hears of a new gold find it is hard for him to keep away from it. When he heard of the auriferous indications he went there to see for himself, and was fully satisfied that large, and very possibly rich auriferous reefs existed in the ranges, and Especially in the locality of North Dandalup. He was, ai~o, satisfied that a large gold reef exLted on the freehold property at Nerregin, of which he was a joint owner. He interested himself in having this portion of the Darling range well prospected, and was again successful. He considered the find at North Dandalup the (most important one he had yet associated with attaching more importance to it than the Lady Shenton and Florence mines, wonderfully rich though they have proved themselves to be. His reasons for this are that the reef at Mount-Lovett is an enormous one — no one knows how large at present — and wherever the hill has been tested, on the north, south, or west, they had got very good gold. In the Mount Loyett the reef is one of the best Mr Menzies has seen in the colony, the stone being of a generous, easily-crushable character, carrying gold in the solid body, besides the faces and fissures. Gold has been obtained from the reef wherever tried. There was no telling how wide and how rich the reef was, but the existence of payable gold in the Darling range was proved beyond doubt. On the other side of the hill, on what is know as Menzies-Lovett, there are a couple of reefs out-cropping, and sinking is going on preparatory to driving on the reefs. Stone has been taken from these holes, showing rich, free gold. With an immense supply of water running in the ranges for more than half the year, and the best mining timber in the world on the spot— Jarrah— with ifche railway a couple of miles off. and within forty- five miles of Perth, he believed this would revolutionise things, They intended puttine machinery on the Mi. Lovett and Menzies-Lovett without delay, and within six months expected to have the battery at work. As to the continuity of the reefs, the outcrops can he traced in a north-easterly direction for some miles and there was no reason to believe that they had struck the richest portions of the reefs. He felt convinced Perth would have a rich goldtield at its doors. Mr Menzies, who is undertaking the management of the group of mines in the Mount Lovett and Menzies-Lovett intends devoting time and energy to the development of mining in this locality.