SEEKING FOR GOLD

Hokitika Guardian, 4 December 1931, Page 5

SEEKING FOR GOLD

TASK FOR UNEMPLOYED. “ ■ DECISION OF BOARD. WELLINGTON, December 1. Preparations' are being made on the West Coast for experienced men to take up the search for gold and. a thorough test of ground will be made during the next few weeks, according to a statement made on Monday by the deputy-chairman of the Unemployment Board, Mr J, S. Jessep. Mr Jessep said the board" considered that where there was at '• ieast a reasonable chance' of (success ,it would be better to concentrate efforts on searching for payable reefs, or on testing a reputed one, than to* spend the board’s funds on. work which, .though perhaps. meeting.the needs of. the 1 .moment, would, have little, productive value. “Should .the effort 1 result .in the uncovering of a valuable reef,”.h.e said, “the. benefits would be instant and incalculable. Indeed,, it is diffi-. cult to imagine any happening which \vould as 'readily fire the; imagination oi the people and dissipate...the fog of j depression that has for many months . been, choking all business enterprise. Thousands of men now on relief work would .almost certainly be reabsorbed | in secondary industries, and hundreds of small', businesses now existing precariously would become the beneficiaries of the consequent increased spendof the people. * “This may be regarded as visionary, but without vision there can be no achievement • and the Unemployment Board is determined that no effort shall be (Spared to most thoroughly exploit 'the (possibilities of, .discovering payable mineral deposits fin New Zealand, and at the same time .providing an opportunity for many unemployed man to obtain employment that may result in them becoming self-supporting; Mr Jessep said that a beginning K«d been made in the Thames and. Uproman del districts, where, with the' cooperation of the Mines Department, fourteen prospectors were , engaged, under competent supervision, ;>0 prospecting . the back country of .the Thames. Borough and at the head of the Taivru Creek. In the mines adjacent fco the town of Thames more.men' were at work. The work in these districts was .being supervised and controlled by a skilled technical staff under the supervision of the Mines Department. The direct effect of these activities had been a remarkable increase in the number of mining privileges and miners’ rights Of the former the increase was 53 per cent,, and the miners’ rights increased 99.5 per cent., the totals being 636 and 1T)23. These figures, - said the . deputy-chair-man, were significant indications o the possibilities of .the campaign, an thev warranted a feeling of optimism, because the production of considerable quantities of gold at the present price of that metal would l naturally be an important faciei in the rehabilitation Of the industries and the commerce of the Dominion. . The financial assistance given to the mining industry by the Unemployment Board, combined with the practical c operation of the Mines Department said Mr Jessep, had already given a substantial impetus to that industry, at a most opportune time. The board h simultaneously been enabled to fulfil the main purpose tor which at was formed— namely, the re-absorption of number of men in an occupation that had distinct potential advantages themselves and for the Dominion.