GOLD!

Hokitika Guardian, 22 February 1930, Page 2

GOLD!

A STIR IN VICTORIA. RICH DISCOVERY REPORTED. SYDNEY, Feb. 6. The discovery of rich specimens of gold-bearing quartz at St. Ainaud, in Victoria, near the once-famous Lord Nelson, mines, has caused a stir in Victoria, where excitement is running high. Time, and the result of the trial crushing alone, will prove whether the discovery will mean a revival of goldmining in the southern State. rhe official government attitude is wait and s°e, but it is realised on all sides that a new discovery of gold, in quantities as rich as are being secured in New Guinea, would mean the salvation of Australia in these times of financial stress The gold at St. Arnaud is shining in tne face, running north and south, and underfoot, and the further the men go in the .better the gold becomes. One member of the party says that in a week or so they have taken out sufficient gold to enable them to pay a dividend. During the week-end the men went 2 feet deeper, but the gold continued io show in the stone. The spot w.iere the latest discovery lias been made is on what is known as Wilson’s Hill, a mile from the town. The workings lie to the north of the old Lord Nelson mines, which are now defunct, and the tv.po of ground is identical with that which produced the- Lord Nelson dividends every fortnight. Tlio discoverers were Messrs M. Zeuschner, the two Hancock brothers, and McKenzie. All have been perserving prospectors, and if they have achieved success none will better deserve- it. They have shown' their faith ,in the district by prospecting in. the vicinity for more than a year. They believe that, adjacent to the line of the reef worked so profitably by the Lord Nelson Co., there must be another reef just as well defined, and just as rich in gold-hearing quartz. The party has been led on by goodlooking stone, and about a month ago they struck what they declare is a denite quartz reef formation. This they followed at a depth of 10 or 12ft below tlie surface, and the deeper they have gone the more definite they have, pf'oved the formation to be. At a depth of 20 feet last Monday they found large pieces of quartz, each disclosing gold of a coarse, nuggety nature, interwoven in layers of slate. This type of stratum is just the sort that makes the heart of the prospector glad. The rumour soon spread, and before long many old-timers had trudged to the spot to make their expert examination. The stone will he crushed under the supervision of the Government, ami a sympathetic Government will see that nothing stands in the way of a quick and exhaustive examination.

The State does not forget that the Lord Nelson mine, working on a capital of C‘lß.o'o. produced 623.462 tons of quartz tor a yield of 323,401 ounces of gold, which, oil being sold at approximately £4 an oupcc, enabled the company to pay to its shareholders dividends amounting to £265.350. The chance of another rich find is not being overlooked.