THE LURE OF GOLD

Hokitika Guardian, 29 August 1929, Page 3

THE LURE OF GOLD

(Christchurch Times:) The gold prospector is perhaps the most sanguine man in the world, and there used to be a saying'on the goldfields that once a man had caught- the gold fever he could never get himself rid .of it. Up and down this country, as probably in {ill gold-bearing countries, there are vetersfiis : in age and An experience who still search, and hope, and dream of one'* day “ striking ;it rich.” The recent earth movements on the ‘West Coast have revived hopes, and some of the old 'miners are making back to see if ; .places where they confidently believed they, would find .pay dirt or rich auriferous reefs havd, been made more accessible by the convulsions of nature. New Zealand strata are probably the most broken and >djstorted that can be found in any country, and the history of gold mining contains many accounts of, payable lodes that were suddenly Most. Perhaps the great s)ide at .the Thames Ms the best known, in mining circles of all those geological faults, and enormous sums of money .have been spent -an efforts to locate the lost reefs,. but without results. Many of the old miners have their own theories concerning reefs that suddenly come‘/to an end, and for the most part tare confident ■ that they, know just where a ifurther search would.prove profitable,; ;Anyone who has spent some, time on a- goldfield has heard not only stirring tales of ithe good old days,:but’also Alluring stories of untold wealth awaiting themecessary enterprise. And, to some extent,' it fis possible to- agree with these veterans .in • the belief that our mineral wealth ;has by no' means been fully explored. But the work -will entail the aid of science and the instruments that have been devised for -testing - likely fields, and it is to be hoped that, at no distant date, these scientific, aids, will be employed in prospecting likely places with a view to restoring activity. in mining enterprises.’ • ;