Papua

Richest Mine In

Romance of the Unwanted Umuna Property

From Our Own Correspondent PORT MORESBY, October 28.

WITH the sale of the rich Umuna mine at Misima Island to a company re cently formed in Australia called Cuthbert s Misima Goldmines Ltd., it is interesting to recall the romantic history of this once unwanted property. Fred Cuthbert and G. O. Wilkinson, who made £lOO,OOO (in cash and shares) out of the deal with the new company, purchased the Umuna lease for £2,000; within six years they had re covered over £145,000 worth of gold from it.

Gold was first discovered on Misima Island in 1888 when early prospectors from Cooktown, Queensland, crossed over in schooners on the report of gold in the Louisiade, Archipelago, and worked the island after first prospecting Sud Est and Rossel to the south, without any appre ciable results.

By 1889, 500 miners were attracted to the field, and worked the different creeks and gullies, finding rough gold, sometimes in nuggets weighing several ounces. Up to 1891 traces of gold could, in fact, be found in most places to the west of the island, but no gold bearing reefs had been reported, upon which it appeared, the future of the field depended.

It was not astonishing that alluvial gold became scarce by 1893, and the prospectors becoming discontented crossed over to the mainland to Bartle Bay and further north to the Mambare River. By 1894 only 19 miners remained; a few of the oldest, liv ing principally upon native foods, the gold they secured being insufficient to buy stores.

From 1895 to 1903 interest was entirely ■diverted from Misima, by the rich gold discoveries on the Yodda and at Woodlark Island, and only eight miners persisted in their efforts on the abandoned field. But in 1904 “Bob” Boyd was rewarded, when lie discovered a gold bearing reef on his Umuna claim, with the result that in the following year seven gold mining leases were taken up and recommended for sur

vey. There seemed a prospect of a large mining concern becoming interested and undertaking extensive operations on the island, but nothing came out of the nego tiations and the interest in Misima once more declined.

Hope was not abandoned, however, and several attempts were made to awaken the mining world to the contemplation of hid den wealth on Misima. One reads of a gold mining syndicate in 1911 erecting a mill to deal with any soft lode, but it was not until the end of 1914 that the possi bilities of the island’s resources were fully recognised. The Broken Hill Proprietary Block 10 Company started negotiations, and eventually took over all the interests of the various companies and syndicates, including 13 gold mining leases. Umuna was thus absorbed in the new enterprise.

The company, now known as Block 10 Misima Gold Mines N.L., became activelj' engaged in development work, and by 1917 had erected plants and commenced treat ment of both sand and slime with good recoveries. Over 50 Europeans were em ployed under the charge of Mr. O. B. Ward, and there was a large number of native labourers. As progress continued there seemed every prospect of a rich mining community becoming an established fact in the Territory.

After several years of continued effort in which there seemed to be every possi bility of success, it came as a shock to residents in the Bast to learn that the mortgagees had closed down on Block 10 for huge sums of money and that the com pany was to cease operations in September, 1922.

Again Misima retired into the obscurity from which it seemed impossible to emerge, except for only short periods, A local syndicate, Misima Gold Mining Co., took over several of the abandoned leases shortly afterwards for a small sum of money. These leases included Umuna, and for four and a half years the company carried on their enterprise, but with only comparative success. In October, 1927, they also ceased operations.

It was their intention to refloat, secure new capital, and reorganise, but capitalists proved coy, and the glittering rewards that were offered from Misima left them entirely unmoved. But, becoming impatient, the spirits of Umuna shrieked for recognition, and eventually, in 1928, it was sold with other leases to Mr. Fred Cuthbert, a wsll known Queensland miner, and Mr. G. O.

Wilkinson for £2OOO, and they took posses sion immediately.

In 1928 Messrs. Cuthbert and Wilkinson erected plant to the value of £7OOO and con structed a road from the mine to the anchorage at Bwagaoia. Treatment was commenced in 1929 and the gold yield for the year ending June, 1930, was £6,584, and the prospects of New Misima Gold Mines Ltd. already showed promise.

In 1931 the gold recovery increased to £14,398, and in 1932 £25,293, an increase of over £lO,OOO on the previous year. So marked were the results of the company that in the government’s annual report for the Territory it was stated that “The brightest spot in the gold mining firma

ment was at Misima Island within the Louisiade goldfield. There operations were most successful, enabling the payment of a monthly dividend throughout the year.”

Still further increases followed in 1933 and 1934, when from £28,992 the gold re covery rose to £31,820, and in the last financial year (1935) the returns showed £37,946. The company declared an in creased monthly dividend of 2/- in the pound (equal to 120 per cent. p.a.).

So with justice, untempered by envy, the famous Umuna mine might easily be called the richest gold mine in Papua.