NEW LAND OF GOLD

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 190, 1 November 1927, Page 1

NEW LAND OF GOLD

Great Wealth ©f New Guinea Field

“RICHER THAN KALGOORLIE”

A REEF, thought by prospectors to contain £12,000,000 worth of gold, has been discovered in New Guinea. Some believe that the field is richer than Kalgoorlie, and the warden of the goldfields expresses the opinion that tremendous mineral wealth will be obtained. He points out, also, that he found millions of acres of upland, suitable for sheep-raising. By Cable. — Press Association. — Copyright.

Reed. 9.30 a.m. SYDNEY, To-day. fpHE warden of the New Guinea goldfields, as a result of the adventurous visits to many parts of the gold area, expresses the opinion that tremendous mineral wealth will be obtained from the fields. He says that, the alluvial miners have hardly touched their claims yet,. No underground work has been attempted, but a line of reef 30ft wide has been uncovered and traced by an outcrop for five miles. Prospectors expressed the belief, although he did not identify himself with the opinion, that the reef contained £12,000,000 worth of gold. He had made what he considered a very conservative estimate of the value of the reef, and had reached the conclusion that it would pay 20oz to the ton at a value of £2 4s an ounce. The stone was easily worked. In the Edie Creek, specimens had been found giving 70 per cent, of gold, but they were of an earlier age than the newly-discovered reef. Some prospectors believed that the field was richer than Kalgoorlie.

New Guinea was a country of enormous wealth. Almost every every mineral had been discovered. Prospectors were obtaining platinum in addition to gold and other valuable minerals. There were also many indications that the country was oil-hearing. He had been astonished to discover at an altitude of 3,000 feet millions of acres of wonderful country, similar to that of Northern and Western Australia, and admirably suitable for sheep-raising. It was land where there were no droughts, flies, wilddogs or pests of any kind, and it was well drained, with a dry climate. TRANSPORT BY AIRPLANE Discussing difficulties of prospectors, the warden said the absence of machinery made anything but the most primitive methods impossible. Six airplanes were at present carrying passengers, mails and gold between the fields and the sea, but they were unsuitable except for comparatively light loading. One company was obtaining a larger type of plane from England, which would be capable of carrying heavier loads. The future of the fields to a great extent depended upon transportation by airplane.—A. and N.Z.