Unexploited Mineral Wealth In

New Hebrides And Solomon Islands

By a Special Correspondent

VILA. N.H., January 15.

IN common with other parts of the Pacific, Melanesia is feeling the ef fects of low copra prices and one hears of planters who have been forced to the wall by depressed markets. Yet in both the Solomon Islands and the New Hebrides are possibilities of great wealth awaiting the man with capital and confidence who is sufficiently far sighted to take full advantage of what nature is offering.

It is pleasing to note that at last two Queensland companies have turned their attention to one of the mineral deposits and that experts have been sent to the large island of Vanualava, in the Banks group, New Hebrides, to prepare a way for the commercial ex ploitation of the large sulphur beds.

Their activities are still shrouded in secrecy, but a reliable source states that specimens of sulphur examined have proved 96 per cent, pure and that a trial shipment will be made shortly.

The sulphur deposits on Vanualava were worked, for some time, many years ago, by a French company. In vestigations have also been made of the beds on Aoba, one of the central islands of the New Hebrides group, but at present they are considered unecon omical to work owing to transport diffi culties. Tanna, Ambrym and Tinakula are very active peaks which may yet yield mineral wealth.

Mountain Of Coal

The New Hebrides group contains a mountain of coal. It is on the island of Malekula, home of the cannibal Nambus tribes. Reports of this remark able outcropping—the deposit is really a mountain a mile in circumference

and several hundred feet high—were considered worth investigation by the British chief of police at Vila, and ac cordingly he made the difficult journey.

Specimens were taken and finally the whole of the hill purchased from the chief of the tribe for a trifling sum.

The British Foreign Office is investi gating the commercial value of the mountain.

A well known trader and one-time planter, Mr. L. Macmillan, recently made the climb to the 2,000-ft. peak of Aoba. He found five tiny lakes, some hot, some ice cold, two pure and the remainder strongly mineral. Silica and sulphur were prominent. Rock speci mens taken from the island and examined at Sydney University have shown all the base metals, also a little silver and some pyrites. Indications are for gold in country similar to New Guinea but infinitely easier of access.

The inland range of Pentecost has yielded promising signs and plans are well ahead for an exhaustive search.

Their Spanish discoverer, de Men dana, named northern Melanesia the ‘Solomon Islands,” from a belief they were as rich in minerals as the land from which King Solomon won gold for his temple. What justification he had for his view we cannot say to-day.

Possibly there were golden ornaments worn then by natives in the island of Ysabel, which first he sighted. This theory is lent weight by the interest of a group, including two government of ficials, in prospecting which is being done there now.

Those to whom the progress of Mel anesia is of vital interest are agreed that minerals alone can bring the group to prosperity and that every as sistance should be given those trained in prospecting who are now investi gating these hidden sources of wealth.