RICH GOLD FINDS

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 3, Issue 647, 27 September 1933, Page 3

RICH GOLD FINDS

WESTERN AUSTRALIAN CLAIMS GIYE SOME BIG YIELDS. j In the opinion of Mr. . R. Victor, I a prominent Australian mining engi- ! neer, who is visiting the Dominion l to examine a numbsr of options over claims in the South Island on behalf of the Australian Gold Development Company, Melbourne, the rec. nt gold finds in the Kalgoorlie distriet promise a rosy future for Western Australia if the present priee of gold is maintained. Mr. Yictor said that he had been in Kalgoorlie only nine days ago, and it would have been possible then to buy for £20,000 the elaim naai* Mulline, north of Kalgoorlie, which has now reported to be producing gold in very large quantitics. There had been several rich finds in the distriet recently. For instance, at Ora Banda mine a recent erushing of 300 tons of ore had yielded 1100 ounces of gold, and an adjoining claim had produced 1200 ounces of gold from 500 tons of ore. There had also been very promising finds at Laverton, Mount Magnet, and Mount Jackson, all of them brought about by the rise in the price of the prtcious metal and the depression which had forced people to go out prospecting. The prospeetors received 15s a week each and a free outfit from the Governmcnt, and a man was appointed for each distriet at a special salary in addition to the sustenance grant, his duty being to organise the work in a particular area. | During the nine months that had ! elapsed since the sustenance systc m was brought into operation, great at- ■ tention had been paid to gold-bear-i ing areas that had given good returns in the past, and a considerabls f

amount of gold had been found, said Mr. Yictor. If the present price of gold was maintained, the future of Western Australia would be very •bright for many years to come. Other valuable discoveries were bound to be made. This applied also to a great ext:nt to Queensland, where some very promising finds had been made in the last two years. Victoria and New South Wales were both densely populated in comparison with" the other two States, but although few new finds had been made close attention was being paid to areas which had produced well in the past. Mr. Victor said that at the present time Western Australia was producing nine-tenths of the Commonwealth's gold output. Two years ago the State had produced eleven■twelfths of the total, but the rise in gold prices had brought Queensland into the picture, and there was renewed activity everywhere. Western Australia's ontput had totalled 600,000 ounces, and it was very probable that the amount would be considerably increased in the near future. In the old days when Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie were in full swing, as much as 2,000,000 ounces of gold had been yielded annually, and judging from the present indications it was by no means unlikely that that figure would ' again be reached. Much dependad on the price of gold. To-day's value wias a great incentive to prospeetors, and it was also stimulating the treatment of low-grade ores in which Western Australia was exceedingly rich. As an indication of the tremendous public interest which was being taken in gold development schemes in Australia, Mr. Victor said that lecently 5,000,000 applications had been received by his company for 1,000,000 sharts in the Lancefield Mine, Western Australia.