PROSPECTING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXIII, Issue 4457, 23 August 1922, Page 2

PROSPECTING.

Sir,—l notice in your report of the Chamber of Commerce meeting in your Friday’s issue that my old friend W. H. Taylor brought forward the subject of prospecting. It is between twenty and thirty years ago that we met in the backblocks of Wliangamata when building the battery for the old Luck at Last claim.

I have often wondered why a prospecting syndicate has never been formed tp thoroughly prospect the district Perhaps the Paeroa people are frightened of more silt; but, let me assure them that there are thousands of acres of Crown lands which have never been properly prospected, the tailings from which would pever enter the Ohinemuri River. We will take from Komata to Karangahake, right back over Grayden’s clearing to Wsitekauri; Waitekauri to Golden Cross ; Golden Cross to Te Whariki Te Whariki to Whangamata; Whangamata to Tairua, and from Whangamata to Neavesville. Each of the places mentioned have shown payable mines, yet between these points, covering thousands of acres, practically no systematic prospecting has been done. Each of these mines had their lodes outcropping and were therefore easily dropped upon. What must Share be not showing on the surface 1 I could mention several places around Waitekauri where I am confident payable lodes could be found, and I may mention that in my opinion one of the best mines in the district has only been half worked. I mean the old Jubilee, at Waitekauri. The outcrop of this mine will be remembered by some of the older Paeroa resit dents. It was from her# that Messrs Goonan and Butler got thein rich patch. In the lowest level of this mine (which has never been taken below water level) the lode is in a perfect state, without a fault for abr.nt 2000 feet, but ofl foor value, having changed from gold to silver, practically the same as the Talisman ; and how often the Waihi and the Talisman have struck IoW-grad? ore, and right below very rich values again. No one can say what awaits the company who will find the money to sink on. this .lode—in my opinion a second Talisman, perhaps better! Surface scratching is no good. A proper system should be planned out and levels driven' to crosscut any likely lodes in a selected district. Then you know where your men are working, and how much they are doing f and you have the satisfaction of knowing that they are not wandering all over the country doing nothing. I could write upon this subject for hours, and could give some interesting figures from samples sent me from all over the district, but will not take up your valuable space at present. Perhaps at some future date I may do so. B. GWILLIAM, Metallurgist. Paeroa. August 21, 1922.