Morobe Gold Production

Increased

THE Warden of the Morobe Goldfield A at Wau, New Guinea, submitted the following report to the Secretary for Mines at Rabaul on March 19: Gold and silver exported during February was 30,554 oz. valued at £A165,424. This is a con siderable increase over the last two months.

On February 3, the Warden and Mines Inspector visited Edie Creek, the former returning on the sth and latter on the 6th. Inspections were made of the alluvial workings and of the Edie Creek mine underground. Minor court cases were settled on the ground. The Inspector made other visits to Koranga and Lower Edie and works in the vicinity of Wau.

For the first week of the month, the dry weather continued, but since then rain has been heavy and continuous. Floods have interfered with boxing, and have caused some slips in water race, but road transport has not been interfered with to any great extent.

Bulolo Gold Deposits Ltd: Sluicing operations have been carried on continuously night and day.

The paddock is completely finished and the clean up is in progress. This completes operations in the Flat Creek area. The race to Koranga Junc tion is completed and the plant will now be moved down to this locality. A fair amount of prepara tory work has been done in the way of bush clear ing, erection of native quarters, etc. Two staff dwellings are completed and the site prepared for a third. The number of employees is 3 whites and 77 natives.

Bulolo Gold Dredging Ltd: 86 trips were made by the Co’s aeroplanes from the coast, approxi mately 248 tons of freight being delivered at Bulwa and Bulolo ’dromes. The four dredges mined 895,000 cubic yards, yielding 13,313 un refined ozs. of gold. The hydraulic elevator and boxing operations at the upper end of the pro perty handled 11,443 yards of material which yielded 555 unrefined ozs. of gold. Three power drills operated two shifts testing deep gravels at Bulolo. One power drill operated two shifts on Minerals Exploration leases at Wau, where shaft ing and pitting is also being done. Two hand drills operated near Wau on the Stafford leases, which are under option. Number of employees was: 243 whites, 5 Chinese, 1,168 natives.

Koranga Gold Sluicing Ltd: —Lower Koranga Tribute: Two shifts were worked daily from Ist to 28th inclusive, operating one nozzle, and sluic ing approximately 4,500 cubic yards, extending the tail-race a distance of 100 feet. Three Europeans and 64 natives were employed. Koranga No. 1 Race: Two shifts were worked on overburden, sluicing approximately 14,000 cubic yards, seven Europeans and 122 natives being employed.

Mr. Eric Ramsden, the well-known Sydney journalist, delivered an interest ing lecture on “French Oceania—Past and Present” before the Anthropological Society of New South Wales at the Aus tralian Museum on April 21. A vote of thanks proposed by Dr. Reo Fortune, the American scientist who has been working in New Guinea, was seconded by Profes sor A. P, Elkin, of the Sydney University.