Fiji’S Gold Boom
p. 20 · Read in the full issue
£10 Shares Go To £430!
IN spite of what the Government of Fiji has done to discourage speculation in connection with Fiji’s new gold industry, the good work goes on—particularly in Melbourne, where most of the new Fiji gold companies have been formed.
The most spectacular development of the month has been the rise in the value of shares in Aloha Syndicate N.L. This con cern sent Mr. R. M. Boyd, an engineer, to Fiji to examine two areas over which it held options. He reported favourably on a 30-acres block, held by the Costello in terests, in the centre of the Tavua field, Fiji. This was the site of the original gold strike which led to the development of the Tavua field.
Messrs. P. and G. Costello, in the mean time, had arrived in Melbourne, and the
Syndicate early in April exercised its option and bought the block; and then proceeded to form a prospecting company for this lease, and two other companies, one for each of its other two properties.
This started something. It was reported on April 4 that Aloha Syndicate shares, paid only to £10, made a spectacular leap from £170 to £300 on the Melbourne Stock Exchange, two shares only changing hands. Later, on April 10, Aloha shares gained another £130, reaching the record high level of £430!
There are 120 shares in the company, 20 being fully-paid vendors, and 20 (contri buting) were taken by Wiluna Extended Gold Co. The first prospecting company will be Aloha Central Gold Mining, N.L.
Mr. Pat Costello told the Melbourne newspapers that the Tavua goldfield in Fiji was “the find of the century.” He said that the former Federal Treasurer (Mr. E.
G. Theodore) and certain associates would amass a fortune out of the rich returns from the field.
“It is my wish that Mr. Theodore and his business associates should make for tunes out of the field,” he said, “as they had the courage to risk from £75,000 to £80,000 of their own money in developing the area.”
Three times—in 1915, 1924 and 1928 Mr. Costello lost considerable sums in searching for gold in Fiji. In 1932 the tide turned.
“It is not exaggerating to say that this is the gold find of the century,” he said.
“One assay yielded 37 ounces of gold from 15 cwt. of ore. Here is a rich field that was rejected by several mining engineers who based their disapproval on Australian geological conditions. The geology of this part of Fiji, however, approximates more closely to that of New Zealand.”