DREDGING FOR GOLD

Hokitika Guardian, 21 June 1932, Page 8

DREDGING FOR GOLD

REVIVAL IN NEW ZEALAND

VISITOR’S CONCLUSIONS

AUCKLAND, Jun e 17.

“A successful era of gofd dredging could be inaugurated in New Zealand by the application of modern methods,” said Mr F. W. Payne, an English mining engineer, who left by the Aorangi for Sydney after spending six moulds inspecting the golcffie'.ds of the Dominion. %• f

“With the general world-wide shortage of gold, it bcomes increasingly important that New .Zealand, as a' rich mineral country, should mobilise her forces o? gold recovery to assist in the economic salvation of thg Empire and the world,” said Mr Payne. “When one reads of the old digging days and the amount of gold secured by handworking, it is evident that where so much * sur face values have been obtained, there must still exist va.°t wealth in localities which could not be worked by primitive methods.”

THE CHIEF REQUISITE

Early experimental mistake's, ‘ said Mr Payne, could now be remedied. The cfhief requisite to success in regard to dredging proper prospecting, the lack of which had caused so much trouhle in the past. Since the dredgng boom in New Zealand about 30 year" ago, prospecting methods had ndv°iioed in .important directions. In the Malay ■States, for instance, testing by boring had developed in the tin areas into almost an exact science, so much so -as to put the success of any dredging venture there beyond doubt. It had to be admitted that in that country and in iSiam the ground was easy to bore by hand, so permitting investigation at comparatively- small expense, whereas in New Zealand the deposits were very often of heavy, compacted boulder wash.

“It will thus be seen that to prove an area of dredging ground in this country is unavoidably more . expensive,” said Mr Payne, “and'this fact makes it more difficult to secure the capital for the initial work. With the successful introduction of a few dredging ventures, properly tested and then equipped with modern machinery, increasing confidence will b e engendered, and development will become rapid, until within the next few yeans it’ seems saf 6 to assume that gold dredging in New Zealand will become one of tlb e mast prosperous forms of mining. much in she same way as tin-min- 1 ing !has been in the Malay States up to within a year or 18 months ago. Of course, the decline of tin-mining is due: entirely to' the disastrous drop in the price of the metal. With gold there are all th e elements of the success ':hat • t,tended tin-dredging, but without the one week spot of a possible slump in the market value. The standard value of gold must always be reckoned on, anything over this oeTng in the nature of an. unexpected bonus.”

REMOTE SPECULATIVE ELEMENT

As 'to initial expense, that would be overcome when patience and persistence accomplished actual results which woufd inspire confidence. Once the expense of testing the ground was over the speculative element was probably less' with regard to gold than in any form of business enterprise in which varying markets, trade competition changes in tariffs, strikes, and the many ills to which ordinary business industry was liable, placed the existent* of such concerns in constant danger.

“It would thue appear that frjm being a more or less perilous enterprise, gold-dredging may now become the safest of all investments,” concluded Mr Payne. “I should add a word of waning. AvjOlid fjecond-hafid dredging piants. Out-of-date plan's puts a constant drag on the success of any enterprise.” 'lmprovements were constantly being made in dredging machinery, all tending to bring down tllie cost per yard of ■working. In th e Malay .States dredges had advanced from comparatively small affairs, many of which were still running to huge vessels equipped wi:h improved appliances. Some of them could now dig to a depth of 130 ft. below water-line, th e largest having a displacement of over 4000 tons. These latest dredge,s could make a handsome profit out of the working expenses of the earlier and now obsolete type of machine.