DREAMS OF KAWARAU

Hokitika Guardian, 4 April 1928, Page 4

DREAMS OF KAWARAU

FAR FROAI REALISATION

DUNEDIN, March 31. The “Star” in an article dealing with the Kavvarau gold scheme prospects, has the following comment based on reports of the engineers engaged to investigate the possibilities: “Capital totalling about £400,000 invested in a gamble to win Ivawarau’s gold is lying idle, and immediate prospects of a return of even £LOOO on that huge sum are indeed remote. Dreams of Kawarau being the modern Paetolus ot the world are far from realisation. AYiil claimliolders and the general public he prepared to invest more money in the gamble on perhaps the most ambitious, not to say fanciful goldmining scheme yet propounded, in a final gigantic effort to uncover the crevices, or perhaps the bed of that rapid flowing river, surging its way through the ravines of an ancient glacier basin? This much is certain. The original scheme of uncovering the bed of the Kawarau by draining will not be achieved without the spending of a further huge sum of money, a greater amount than elaimholders (who have not yet had any return from their investments) will probably he. prepared to advance. In fact, many of the elaimholdoes will consider themselves lucky if they receive any return of a portion of the capital.

“In an effort to reassure its shareholders and elaimholders that it was still actively interested in the Kawarau Parent Company, the Kawarau Gold Mining Company requested, on June 20, the consulting engineers, Alessrs Yickerman and Lancaster, of Wellington, to make an inspection <il the river. Here is the concluding clause of their report: ‘Our opinion is that no eommeiisurately valuable result will follow removal of tbe bars. If. however, prospectors wish to give the method a trial and the company is prepared to lace the expenditure, we recommend that those interested should first, submit details of their proposals and of the results they win achieve in the way of lowering the voter, and also tbe price for which they would lie preoared to carry out this work. Those could then be considered l'or each case, and, if approved, a contract could be entered into, and payment made only when the results promised were actually achieved.'

“Air R. S. (free Brown, ot the firm of Blair, Mason, Lee, and Brown, was

later given instructions to submit a report, and he lelt lor Cromwell on July 21, only three weeks after Mr Yickerman had written his report in Wellington. Within live days Mr Brown was hack . in Dunedin, and on July 28 he handed his expert observations to the Kawarau company. Thai the effective removal of the bars in the river cannot ho undertaken at other than prohibitive cost, in eases where removal would appear to be most beneficial, and that the work would not he permanent, is the substance of both reports, which have not yet. been banded officially to the Press. The most hopeful eases for removal of obstacles are set down as a total of four by Air Croc Brown, who stales, after giving a detailed report on every claim in the gorge: ‘lt will he seen that the conditions favourable to removal of obstacles at a moderate cost in a way comparable with returns to be expected from the exposure of a limited area cl unworked bank, are few and far between. \t, best, ilie removal of obstructions would extend the area for hand prospecting by a depth of a .few feet, lo reach the hulk of the gold. under conditions prevailing on Kawarau. we believe a special type of dredging plant would he required, and could he designed. In that ease the lowering of the level by a few ieet would he of no special advantage, though the general lowering already accomplished would he useful in revealing the nature of the bottom and reducing the current.’

“In that clause which concludes his report AH Cree Brown has advanced a helpful suggestion for consideration of elaimholders. The closing ol the gates for the 1928 season is only a month or two away, and it is time that elaimholders seriously considered the whole position of the Kawarau scheme.”