Pacific Commerce and Produce

Search Increases

ticipation In

j news of the month was he Oil Search announcement it would make a four-for-five at par (5/-) and raise 35.000 from its shareholders

nance increased participation

jarch for oil in Papua. [S is the outcome of a promise trade by the major partners in Lustralasian Petroleum Corn last November that it would >ably give Australian investors ance for greater participation e company”’. that time the big partners, sh Petroleum and Vacuum Oil. just reconsidered their decision ill out of Papua (following a of oil at Puri No. 1), and Oil )h had just rescinded a >ectus for a new company uan Oil Search) to carry on the new Oil Search funds. 3.000 will be used to increase Search’s holding in APC from resent 10 per cent, to 15 per The remaining £1,100,000 will eld by Oil Search for future opment—in particular, for the station, if possible, of the huge voir of gas discovered several i ago when drilling was in pro at Kuru and Barikewa.

April 1, when the announce was made, Oil Search shares 8/8. By April 9 they were 10/3. ci on the price on April 9, the ghts price would be 7 11, giv i theoretical value to the rights 11.

"Interesting Zone"

shareholders at April 14 will ble to participate. However, it ilikely that all will be able to cipate to the extent of ling their holdings, and in the lal course of events there would tless be heavy selling of rights, sver, it is expected that around t April 14, the deviated drill, h is being made from the nal Puri hole, will be reaching interesting zone. There have .dy been hints of oil —and if it Id flow again, there would un tedly be another boom, eculators therefore, early April, presented with the interest ;onundrum—whether to buy Oil ch now, or to wait for the ,ng in rights to take up the new es. Enough of them followed first course to raise the price

of Oil Search shares by a couple of shillings in the first week in April.

Subscribers to shares in the new Oil Search issue will get full Aus tralian taxation benefits. Under existing legislation, taxpayers will be able to deduct the whole 5 - a share from taxable income—and profits derived from any oil discovery are also tax deductable up to the total amount expended by the oil prospec ing company—getting close to £30,000.000. in this case.

The issue is being underwritten by Messrs. lan Potter & Co., of Mel bourne Stock Exchange, and Messrs.

Hordern. Utz and Bode, of Sydney Stock Exchange.

Fiji Raises fl Million

Developinenl Loan

Fiji’s £F1,000,000 "local” develop ment loan opened on March 16 and closed on April 13. fully subscribed.

Price of issue is £F9B 10 - for £lOO stock and interest is payable at 5 per cent, for a currency of 5-7 years; and 5 2 3 per cent, for 11 to 13 years.

To attract small investors in the Colony, a minimum subscription ot £5O was accepted.

The loan has been underwritten by Australian Stockbrokers, Messrs. lan Potter and Co., and the stock was listed on the Melbourne and Sydney Stock Exchanges.

In 1957 and 1958. Fiji.raised loans locally and in Australia and New Zealand, to a total, of £2.250,000 Fijian. It has not raised a loan in London since before the war, but it is anticipated that a d a loan of £2.000.000 will be issued in London shortly.

Proceeds of the London and the local loan will be use J,|° th fina S Fiji development up till the end of 1960.

Kerema Rubber in

Strong Position

Af fheir seventh annual general meeting changed from the , p f v ‘°f p y r e „m ' (or the o? £15.546 after prodding lor

fcr rubber was. at 27.75 d per lb, 5.72 d less than for 1957. (Since the closing of the company’s books, there has been a Blight increase in the Singapore rubber market, i In spite of difficulties during 1958. this company is in an exceedingly strong position. Total shareholders’ funds are shown at £ 166,240 (including £48.000 in accumulated profit and loss, and £45,000 in general reservei. At the same time, the liquid assets of the company (shown as “Current Assets’’) are £172.682—0f which £6.100 is actual cash; £9,384 in rubber on hand and in transit; and £40.000 on interest-bearing loans at call.

Assay Office Will

Aid PNG Prospectors

Late—considering the present state of the gold industry in Papua-New Guinea— but probably better than never, is the plan to build and equip an assay office in Port Moresby. The Department of Lands, Mines and Surveys, which will build and staff the office, calculates that it will cost about £B.OOO.

At present no assay service is available to the private individual in the Terri tory. Specimens sent to the Department are forwarded on to Government depart ments or private firms in Australia, and the prospector has usually got tired of waiting by the time the result has come back.

Bulolo's Gold

Is Petering Out

The Bulolo River flats, in New Guinea, from which fabulous profits were gathered by Bulolo Gold Dredging, Ltd., in the years after 1929, now are slowly petering out. One dredge now operates, where once there were eight.

In the six months ended November 30 1958, a total of 2,784.000 yards were dredged, compared with 3.075,000 in the corresponding period of the previous year: mm the ounces of fine gold obtained were 11.168. compared with 17,315 in the pre vious period.

With gold worth S3SUS per ounce, the company earned $390,880 in the six months, compared with $606,025 in the similar period of the previous year.

Later figures for nine months show: Nine Months Ended February 28 1959 1958 'fardage dredged and sluiced .. 3.702,005 4.273,900 Ounces fine gold . 15,442 20 524 Value at $35 US per ounce . . . . $540,470 $718,340 Value per yard in US cents .. 14.59 c 16.81 c Est. net profit . . $325,000 $345,000

Sandy Creek

Production Falls

Advice has been received that during the month of March. 1959. approximately 75 oz 10 dwt of gold were recovered from 3,564 cubic yards of material treated at jSandy Creek, NG. (February production (JO6 oz from 2.825 yards.)

Steamships Trading

Anticipates Good Year

Prevailing high prices for copra are expected to be reflected in the balance sheet of Stamships Trading Co., of Papua Directors report that sales for first half of their current financial year (to January 31), compared favourably with the same period in the previous year.

An interim ordinary dividend of 6V 4 per

cent, for ordinary shares was declared the same as for the same period last year.

Enterprise Works Hard

For Small Returns

The mine manager of Enterprise of New Guinea Gold and Petroleum Development reported mid-March that No. 1 mine level had been extended to 164 feet on an 18 inch lode and was showing fair values on the hanging-wall side. A west cross cut from this level had been extended to 54 feet but at that stage no parallel lode had been encountered, which was not as had been hoped a month previously A sub-level between Nos. 1 and 2 levels was extended to 78 feet, in lode 20 inches wide showing good values. On the production side, 81 tons of ore were crushed in the four weeks ended March 19 for a recovery of 52% oz; in the same period 24 3 4 oz were recovered from alluvial workings.

Papuan Apinaipi's

Upper Purari Survey

The underwater gravity survey of the Gulf of Papua for Papuan Apinaipi was temporarily interrupted in early March bv cyclonic weather.

The company has announced that a geo logical survey in the Upper Purari River area (where the company’s permit area adjoins that of APC near the Puri well! :s well advanced.

Mr. E. N. Avery, managing director of both Associated Australian Oilfields. NL and Associated Freney Oil Fields, NL, has joined the board of directors of Papuan Apinaipi as a nominated director for Associated Australian Oilfields He re places Mr. R. R. Sanderson.