Milling Industry.

Hokitika Guardian, 24 March 1922, Page 4

Milling Industry.

STATEMENT BY THE MINISTER. DUNEDIN. March 21. The Hon. G. J. Anderson, referring to the activities of the Department of Mines, said: There arc good indication.o! gold at Thames, the scene of the big sensational rush in tho sixties. Men arc there prospecting for new reel's, and endeavouring to discover the continuations of old ones. There exists a well-founded belief that the payable gold is not all taken out there. Allot her old goldfield on the same peninsula, Coromandel, is also attracting attention again. One of tho mines that was supposed to he worked out is being reopened, and the prospects are very good. Coromandel was one of tine wry first goldfields to he worked in New / aland. About To Puke, in the Hay of Plenty, it is fully expected that prospecting will result in the finding of more quartz reefs. The enterprise of the American party at Rimu Flat, near Hokitika, is being rewarded. The dredging there is turning out all right. The Americans are operating on a field that was tested by Government drills some years ago. Tho results of that testing were published at the time in a Departmental report, which was available to anybody and everybody, but it was left to tho Americans to make practical use of that report. They brought' over their own dredge, set it up at Rimu Flat, and have done so well with it during a trial of three or four months, that they are talking of placing a second dredge in the vicinity. . Since T came to Dunedin a project has been put before me with I lie view

of further prospecting for gold i' l Otago, but as the details are not yet formulated, I cannot say anything about tlije proposals. As to coal prospecting, parties ai'e out in various parts of the W est t oast of the South Island. The Heciton people are hopefully turning their attention to coal, being now assured that huge unworked beds are at their service, and that a good market can be found for the coal, if satisfactory arrangements can be made lor railing and shipping. At Onakaka, in the Nelson district, a company is just about ready to start smelting iron ore. 1 regard I +ln* c ns n nrnmisiutr enterprise.