How many New Zealanders are hoping fervently to-day that some new “big strikes” of gold will help the country to regain its old-time buoyancy? Will the history of golden days of yore repeat itself —the days when the rich finds in Otago, the West Coast of the South Island, the Thames and Hauraki in the North, brought millions of money into circulation and quickened the development of the whole country?

Increased Export of Gold.

Better equipment for gold winning, with a corresponding reduction in cost of operation and the substantial increase in price have certainly stimulated this industry. The export figures for 1932 comprised 167,682oz. of new gold (valued at £925,552) and 49,817oz. of old gold (valued at £246,030), an aggregate of £1,171,582. For 1931 the export tally was: New gold, 139,975oz. (£577,617); old gold, 996oz. (£3,420), a total of £581,037. The export value in 1932 was the largest for many years.

The Dominion's best year was in 1866, with £2,800,000, when the fields of Otago and the West Coast were giving their best yields. That sum, too, would be represented by more than £5 millions in to-day's money.

Ninety-six Millions from 1857 to 1932.

From the year 1857 to the end of 1932 the value of gold exported from New Zealand amounted to about £96 millions, from the following districts:—

Cradling

The yields of Wellington and Canterbury are less than £1000 each for the whole of the period.

Although Otago, which held the supremacy in the early years, is still leading in the aggregate, it is being overhauled by Hauraki, for Waihi alone is now credited with about 45 per cent, of the Dominion output.

Prospectors' Rewards.

An indication of the revival of zeal for gold is shown in the big increase in the number of prospectors (apart from relief workers who have become gold-seekers). During December last the number of prospectors who individually sold gold was 1108, and they averaged £13/7/3 each for the month. In December, 1931, the number of men was page 6 only 420, and their average return was much lower. Many of these prospectors are plugging on without subsidies.

The Kawarau Case.

After remarking that some of the big finds in the early days were made by men who had had no previous experience in mining, Mr. A. H. Kimbell (Under-Secretary of Mines) mentioned the case of Messrs. Bell and Kilgour, who drew 156oz. of gold from a bank of the Kawarau River in three months (October, November and December last year). Through no fault of their own they lacked work. They knew nothing much about mining, but they decided to prospect for gold along the banks of the Kawarau, a river which has been under keen scrutiny during the past few years. They had a little help from the Unemployment Board and they had plenty of grit—the real fighting spirit of the old-ttme diggers. They used brain as well as brawn, and their perseverance in testing and tunnelling had a worthy reward.

Others of the “unemployed” have battled on with similar determination in the gold country, with the result that they have developed into employers.

Opportunities for Others.

Plenty of gold-winning scope remains for other prospectors and fossickers, who are assisted by the Unemployment Board and the Mines Department. The Board grants 30/- to a married man and 15/- to a single man provided they are registered and drawing relief pay. In all cases such workers are required to sign a guarantee that they will undertake to refund 10 per cent, of the value of the gold which they win until the amount of their subsidies is repaid to the Board. About 1600 men were working on that basis recently in various gold-bearing districts.

What to Do.

Suppose that a man, unavoidably displaced from his usual employment and now at a “loose end,” perusing this article, feels that he would like to win some of the gold which lurks in beds or banks of streams or on beaches or elsewhere. What is his best course of action?

The right answer to that question is: “Get in touch with the Mines Department.” It has representatives in the principal gold-mining areas, but in any case a letter to the head office in Wellington will open up a trail to a promising locality. The names of leaflets issued recently by the Department indicate the kind of help which it offers to gold-seekers. Here are the titles: “Aids to Prospecting,” “Fossicking and Prospecting for Gold,” “Notes on the Taking of Samples of Mineral Deposits (Procedure under the Mining Act. 1926) and notes for the guidance of miners, and the Valuation of Mining Prospects.” In plain, clean-cut English the Department's experts have set out the case for the “handy man” willing to persevere in the search. Drawings show how simple equipment is made, and the working of it is clearly explained. These publications are obtainable free, and other guidance is gladly given. The activities of “new chums” are supervised by practical miners, and in the principal districts the Department has mining engineers who devote the whole of their time to this gold-winning work.

Various Subsidies.

To encourage prospecting on new ground the Department pays subsidies to parties of not fewer than two men at the rate of 30/- a week for a married man and 15/- for a single man. The total amounts payable are reducible by 10 per cent.

For sinking shafts, tunnelling or driving, the subsidies are on a footage basis, according to the nature of the ground and the labour involved.

Any person engaged in prospecting or pioneer mining may be granted a subsidy not exceeding 5/- for every £ 1 expended by such person on that work during the preceding twelve months. The maximum subsidy for one person in a year is £500.

Drills and other equipment are lent by the Department on a reasonable rental monthly.

Samples from genuine prospectors are assayed free of charge on condition that they are representative of the whole body of material from which they are taken.

Best Areas for Prospecting.

“Experience has shown,” states the Mines Department, “that the gold-bearing areas are practically confined to the Jaraki district in the North Island and to the West Coast and Otago districts in the South Island, the latter districts include parts of Nelson and Marlborough provinces. Even in these districts gold is not to be found everywhere, and in the Hauraki district at least is only to be got in reefs and lodes.

“As most of the men now newly taking on search for it need to get a return quickly from their work, the areas mentioned in the South Island are thus the most suitable for their attention. The development of reefs is a slow process, and usually a lot of expense has to be incurred before any return can be looked for.

“In Western Otago, most of Westland. and parts of Nelson province nearly every creek and beach carries more or less gold, and there are many old high-level watercourses and high-level gravel-beds that contain it, from which it can be won by primitive means; hence the prospector of limited means or limited experience is advised to try these districts in preference to the North Island fields. The exact locality to be investigated must be determined by circumstances. If the men going out have some definite place to go to, well and good; if they do not know of a suitable place their best course is to write to the Inspector of Mines for the district, who will do his best to help them select one.”

Hope for Fossickers.

“For the man not disposed to break new ground or go far from the beaten track, there is still abundance of room to do some good for himself,” states the leaflet on “Fossicking and Prospecting for Gold.” An average reader of that publication is fairly sure to feel the urge to look for “colour” some day in some of the streams indicated. Ponder on this passage:

Panning

“It is wonderful how large boulders in a stream will help in trapping gold. Right up the course of a gold-bearing stream, wherever these are seen, they should be removed. Sometimes a stout sapling lever will turn them over; at others a little explosive may be needed to effect the purpose, but most times the trouble is worth while going to. When a boulder has been shifted, all clay adhering to its lower sides should be carefully scraped off, or washed off. Then the hole from which the boulder has come, which may be several feet in depth, should be cleaned out, every particle of clay being saved and every crevice followed down, when it will be hard luck indeed if a pleasing return is not got.”

Of course the Mines Department does not restrict itself to the helping of the “small man.” Subsidies for prospecting deep levels for gold-quartz lodes down to a depth of not less than 1000ft., and for alluvial drift not less than 250ft., may be granted up to half the estimated cost of the work, but are not to exceed $10.000.