SILVER-LEAD FIELDS.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 June 1925, Page 1

SILVER-LEAD FIELDS.

WK.U.TII OF J WOKEN HU. 1,. SYDNEY, .May 21. Although it i* over 30 years since liic great silver-lead milling fields were lu'st e.v'.hulo.l at llrnkeu Hill, in the lar "e-t el \Y» South Wales, and although millions of tons of ore have keen extracted in that time, tin.' future el the region as a. mining centre is .still bright. Hrohal.ily no other region in the "orld ol the same size has contributed s>a h enormous wealth as this, fort Hues were built on an original outlay "I a leu pounds. .Romance after romance could he written about the men ulm pioneered tin* held and the money abstracted from it, The New South Wales (Jovermiienl Henlogisf (Mr If. C. Wild rows I recently visited Eroken Mill, siiiM ii.s a result has compiled ;i glowing report, upon the future of the lield. During the period between 1910 and 1100 anxiety was felt respecting the depletion 'ii me iv-ervo.,. l,nt since the former year between Hi and Id million tons of me have been mined. Yet -Mr Andrews now estimates that the reserves are greater to-day than ever before in the history of the lield. He places these reserves at over 1:1.000.(100 lons, to which may lie added approximately 7.1100.000 tons, which there is a high probability cf mining. An idea ol the wealth of Eroken Hill mines i- gained frmn the ollieial figures of ilie Mines .Department. To the end of 1021. the value of the output from the opening of the lield was £120,810.0:13 and dividends, and bonuses totalling C 28.085.571 have been paid by the various companies, of which the nominal capital is at present £7,823,000.

Queenslanders are hopin'*; that, the Mount T.sa field, in the middle of the Stale, will he to Queensland what Broken Hill lias been to New South Wales. Mount Tsa tvas discovered within the, last year or two. and work there i- still more *>r less in the develoiniiontal si aye. As usual with all newly-discovered mining fields there have iieen ren'irt.s and counter-reports as to the value of ihe area. From the conflict of opinion, however. there emerges a certainly that, if Mount Isa will not he a second Broken Hill, it' ui least will return some rich dihidends at some time in the future. One of the main drawbacks to the. cxploitati >!' the field has been its inaccessibility. The Public Works Commission of Queensland is now taking evidence as to the advisability of linking up with it hy railway. If was before this body that the most definite evidence relating to the field's possibilities was given. The witness was Mr p, Dniistaii. chief Covcrnnient geologist in tile northern Slate, who said be estimated that the total ore reserves in the four areas comprising the held amounted to -1.23d,(XX) tons, which, as a vew low estimate, would he worth at least. £10.1)00,000. Tie also stated that there was a great probability that the continuation of the ore deposits would he erenter than the present- observations and that the field would probably “laid, for centuries." Assays oi the ore ranged from 0.3 per cent, to -■> ]x>r rent, of lead and from loz. to I‘Joz. of silver per ton.