THE KIMBERLEY GOLDFIELD.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1522, 7 December 1886, Page 3

THE KIMBERLEY GOLDFIELD.

MrJabex Lukey, of Timaru, recently received a letter from his brother, Mr Joseph Lukey, an experienced miner, who lately proceeded to Kimberley, from which the following is extracted;— “Now, then, for my epinion of the goldfields. The principal part of the gullies worked up to the present time have turned out very good. The old hands are just working out the bottom the second and third time everywhere near water, just to make about a pennyweight a day, as water is very scarce now, and they are just making tucker to keep them going until the wet season sets in, so that they can get plenty of water. The wet season commences about the middle ef November, and they are looking forward to it to have a good trial, and see if there is much gold here or not. I have seen gullies with as good indication of gold as tboso that have been tried, but for want of water they cannot be fully worked unless men carry the washdirt six or seven miles on their backs, which some are doing at present, and if you ask them how they are getting on, they simply tell you they have only got a color: and that’s true in some cases. I might say that for the thirty miles of country I have been through since I came here the color is to be got anywhere, but not in payable quantities at present, Seven miles from here they are sinking on a reef, and are down seven feet, and getting gold all the way. 1 heard to-day that they refused £IOO for a share at the present time. Twenty-five miles further on another reef was struck running in the same direction, and they are down seven or eight feet, and after talking with them for a few minutes, they handed me up a stone with gold all through it. This gold is in s&ndstone alongside the reef, within about four inches of the reef, and between that and the sandstone is a casing carrying very fine gold. I saw a man wash a dish while I was there, and get a very fair prospect, but the gold was too fine to be saved by dish. I have come to the conclusion that there is gold about here in payable quantities, and I intend to stay till the wet season. It would be impossible for anyone here to give the slightest idea of what gold has been found. One reason is that there is no bank here to buy the gold. The men who have much gold are too cute to let on, as it might cause too great a rush and they only part with just what they want to buy tucker with. One thing is cvrlain ; there is a good deal of gold here among the storekeepers, and to-day the butcher had some splendid pieces of gold from a pennyweight up to half-ounce, that men had sold him to buy mutton. All business transactions here are with gold on the scales, and yet they say there is no gold in the country !”