KAWARAU GOLD

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 317, 30 March 1928, Page 13

KAWARAU GOLD

ORGANISATION CHANGES HUGE AMALGAMATION SCHEME ATTEMPT TO SAVE POSITION Private advice received in Auckland indicates the probability of a very extensive recasting of the organisations interested in the search for gold in the Kawarau River in Central Otago. A move has been made, and Is perhaps evert now completed, to organise the Kawarau Company, generally called the parent company, and all the companies interested in the 126 claims into one company. The capital would be £141,000, divided Into fully-paid shares £15,000, and contributing shares £126,000. On the amalgamation being completed it was proposed to engage the best engineering advice obtainable in England, America or Australia, and to place the engineer selected in sole charge of the proposition when the gates close nest season, with the object of securing a report. “If the report is favourable the necessary capital can be obtained easily locally or abroad; if unfavourable the proposition can be abandoned without further expense,” stated Mr. A. P. Harper recently. A hundred and four claim-holders were represented at a conference to consider the position in October last, when the advisability of amalgamating was almost unanimously supported. Following this the consent of the shareholders in the parent company was secured, and committees were set up to forward the proposal. The proposed basis of voting in the amalgamated company was one vote for the first 1,000 shares and one vote for every 10 shares over the first 1,000. The reasons set out for this conference were the unsatisfactory results, and the enormous capital expenditure above the estimated cost of the dam. It was admitted that the dam had entirely failed to open virgin ground, that on the results there was no reasonable hope of raising new finance, and that unless some new policy was adopted the whole proposition must fail, taking huge sums with it. The parent company had paid £15,000 into the venture, of which £IO,OOO remained on deposit with the Public Trustee. Claims were paid up to approximately £B4O each out of a total liability of £I,OOO, representing £105,840, and leaving an uncalled liability by claim-holders of £20,160. The 15,000 fully-paid shares provided for in the proposal are to be paid to the parent company, in consideration of all Its rights, including the £IO,OOO on deposit, against which there is a liability of £6,000. At the conference a statement of the receipts and payments of the parent company was available. The receipts stood at £103,984 18s 4d. with the addition of an advance of £430 18s 6d. The payments side included £12,648 for sluice gates, £31,880 wages and insurance, plant £6,110, cement, timber, etc., engineers, overseers and divers £80,173, general expenses £11,044 and other amounts which finally left a balance of £2OB 0s Sd cash on deposit.