Gold Search and Discoveries in Pacific Islands
pp. 5-6 · Read in the full issue
search for gold in some of the Pacific Territories is becoming more intense, and the area of the search is widening.
Because the production of gold on any considerable scale in any country is almost invariably followed by rapid development of all that country’s primary industries, a survey of what has happened, and is happening in the gold industry is of great interest and importance to New Guinea, Papua, Solomon Islands, Fiji, etc.
IN the following short article, we have summarised the information which has been supplied to this journal by its correspondents, and by others, during recent months. Our comments are the result of careful observation, extending over the past two years.
Present indications are that a flood of new gold companies is about to be re leased on the investing public. Of these, we would say that they are all more or less speculative in character —to put one’s money into a company formed to seek gold is necessarily a gamble. The investor’s problem is to distinguish be tween the genuine and the fraudulent enterprise. In the final analysis, the best guide is the character and reputation of the people who are responsible for the flotation. Their history and associations should be very closely scrutinised. The Sydney and Melbourne marts, just now, are crowded with a rather desperate lot of “go-getters,” who are prepared to float anything if thereby they can get their clutching hands on a few shillings.
But, on the other side, there are several
soundly-floated gold-seeking enterprises being offered to the public which provide a genuine opportunity for speculation and are worthy of encouragement be cause, if they succeed, they will do much to assist in the development of the Is lands’ Territories.
NEW GUINEA: The Morobe field, discovered more than six years ago, and with its appalling transport problem solved by aviation, is now reaching the point of big production. There are two main groups of companies, and some smaller concerns.
The Bulolo Gold Dredging Co. has two dredges working now—one which was started several months ago, and one started at the end of October. Here is the latest return, for the four weeks ended November 7;
£24,000 in sterling, and £30,000 in Aus tralian currency. Another calculation shows that the dredges are each produc ing an ounce from every 50 yards; and that the gross return is about 2/3 per yard. This represents a good profit— and the price of the company’s shares on the exchanges suggests that many people take that view. It is calculated that those two dredges have fifteen years’ digging ahead of them in the Bu lolo area, that their average return will be 2/1 per yard, and the production cost sd. per yard. Two more dredges will pre sently commence operations in the Bulo wat area. Their returns will be not so good, but they, nevertheless, will be very profitable. This company’s calculations have been remarkably accurate.
The other big company, New Guinea Goldfields, Ltd., is also very active, but is cruelly handicaped by an enormous capitalisation, exceeding £4,000,000. It has a large area of rich country, and its various recovery operations, in them selves, are highly profitable. But to reach production on a scale which will give an adequate return on £4,000,000, this company will have to provide enorm ously more plant—and that would mean raising more capital. New investors will not buy shares which would rank with the present shares —which means either the writing down of the present share capital, or the creation of a new class of shares. No one knows how the company proposes to solve the problem created by its former policy of lavishly issuing
Value in Ounces.
Yards.
Dollars.
No. 1 Dredge . 4,535 226,400 61,222 No. 2 .. . 836 41,800 11,286 Total 5,371 268,200 72,508 That gold is worth approximately
shares to buy out existing leases. Mean while, we believe that this company’s £1 shares at 6/- to 7/- are good buying.
Other smaller concerns, such as Day Dawn, Ltd., and a few tributers, are do ing very well on the Morobe field; but the day of the individual miner here is past.
Private enterprise, however, is respon sible for the presence in another New Guinea area of a large and growing swarm of prospectors and prospecting companies. This is the district north wards of Morobe, which lies generally in behind the New Guinea ports of Madang and Eitape. The region of the search extends from the watershed between the head waters of the Markham and Ramu Rivers, right across the Ramu Valley and the Bismarck Mountains, into the watershed of the Sepik River. It is a region only partly explored, exceed ingly broken and mountainous in places, with heavy jungle and a large and very primitive native population. The search has been going on here for fully three years, and much good gold has been and is being found; but, in recent months, it has been stimulated and quickened. All these prospectors are very reticent, but there is little doubt that the results of their work have been progressively en couraging, and the general opinion in New Guinea, based on the reports re ceived in Madang, is that a good field, warranting big-scale operations, will be located very soon in the Ramu Valley or in the Bismarck Ranges—perhaps in both places. The majority of the pros pectors are private individuals, mostly Australians: but there are a few expedi tions, one at least American, which have been well equipped and staffed by big companies.
PAPUA. —While Papua has been un lucky in not locating a big, rich field like Morobe (which is just over the Papuan border) there is much gold in Papua, and prospecting is going on actively in two districts —on the southern water sheds of the main dividing range; and along the rivers in the north-east corner, close to the New Guinea border —while production on a distinctly profitable scale is proceeding on Misima Island, eastwards of Samarai, in Eastern Papua.
Again and again, prospectors have re ported rich fields among the inland val leys of the mainland —the Yodda and the Tauri, for instance —but always the good prospects, after investigation, have faded away. Yet these valleys and plateaus all show traces of gold and, somewhere in that wild, inhospitable re gion, there is a rich reward waiting for some lucky prospector. The search goes on, ceaselessly.
The river flats and valleys, along the Gira and other rivers, right up in the north-east corner, suggest a dredging proposition. A recent report stated that Messrs. Arnold and Joubert, well-known on the Morobe field, are at the head of a company which contemplates the early installation of a dredge or dredges in this area.
The position on Misima is interesting.
A small, privately-owned company has been operating a mine and mill there for the past two years, and is said to have had exceedingly rich rewards. A new concern, Misima Options, Ltd., recently commenced test operations in the same area, on what is believed to be the same lode, and is reported to have had satis factory results. At any rate, a new com pany, Eastern Papua Goldfields, Ltd., was registered in October, with a nom inal capital of £ 250,000, to take over Misima Options, Ltd., and undertake production on a big scale. Misima Op tions, Ltd., appears to own an option
over the assets, etc., of the Mount Sisa concern, which went into liquidation some two or three years ago, after a hectic career.
BOUGAINVILLE.— At the back of Kieta, in Bougainville, in the Northern Solomons, a small Adelaide company is opening up what appears to be an en ormous mass of ore —low-grade, but consistently carrying enough gold to make mining practicable and profitable, even under the difficult transport con ditions of this somewhat inaccessible region.
SOLOMON ISLANDS.— There has been much prospecting on most of these great islands, but with poor results until the recent discovery on Guadalcanal — which is described fully elsewhere in this issue.
FIJI. —As recently reported herein, a Sydney-Suva company is now operating a gold mine, with excellent prospects, on the Yanawai River, Savusavu Bay, in the south-west corner of the great is land of Vanua Levu. The mine is situ ated in somewhat wild and broken coun try, but a good recovery of the metal is being made, and the first shipment of high-grade gold was reported in August last.