The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1933. MINING ACTIVITY.

Hokitika Guardian, 16 March 1933, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 1933. MINING ACTIVITY.

The County Council has moved quickly in regard t-o the gold prospecting scheme proposed by tli-e Unemployment Board, 'liie first party started work yesterday, and others will be commencing next week. There is a useful proposal in hand to open a proajpecting track in the Taipo district where known reefs exist. The locality was commented on favourably by Dr. Bell in his notes on the -geological formation of encouragement of prospectors to enter the back country. Several applications were received this week for gold mining subsidy, but it was noticeable the majority covered localities close at hand. While this may bo satisfactory to a certain extent-, the great need is for . the qpeim iii.g of .new territory," and it is hoped parties will he sent further afield in tfie.. search for new discoveries. South Westland; is a- location where there must be great- room for active prospecting, and now that the-Committee has the advice of experienced .leaders, attentiommight well be turned .to that locality. It .is known that ,in many of the river beds' fossickers .are winning gold in the south, but the terrace country and flat lands in the neighbourhood of the ."old bearing- . , rivers have never been probed seriously. When we regard the yield of gold from Rimu Flat tbe possibilities in the south. can. he better visualised, for there; are many flats of a similar character; bordering riven? which have been noted .for (yielding' gold. It would be an opportune time to set prospectors to work in such localities; South Westland is highly mineralised and the gold returns from the sea beaches all the way south indicate where Here should he favourable back country localities to prospect':’- The alluvial gold can he traced quicker than the quartz lodes. That is, a larger tract of country can- be gone over in a given time. While this, is .so, the pns.« (Ability of new reefs should hot be overlooked, and because of that it js a step in the right direction to open tip the Taipo hock country for prospectors. ‘The bawl of the Wataroa river i> another location where reefs might he sought for -with the promise of success because .of the free deposit of gold in the river-bed itself where many miners have won gold ‘over many years. These possible.- instances indicate that the measure of success in the present gold mining •scheme should be consider a Me. There -is a wide range of auriferous country to tc«t, a»d doing it on the large scale which the present scheme presents, the reward should be won. It is pleasing to find e» many of the unemployed keen and anxious to take up gold mining in preference to mere relief work.. That shows the old '.spirit is not deed, hut the majority are ready and willing to strike out for themselves if given the opportunity.