LURE OF GOLD

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Volume 58, Issue 142, 18 July 1929, Page 12

LURE OF GOLD

NEW GUINEA'S GREAT WEALTH. MINING SUPREMACY. NAT1VE MENACE OVERCOME. Confident of Britain's financjal stability, there arrived in Auckland by tbe Niagara a few days ago Mr Leslie Urquhart, a mining cngineer of England. IMr TTrquhart, wlio is accompanied bv his son, said ho considercd that the" Old Country stilL led the world finaneially notwithstanding the talk oue lieard of tlie United States of America's strength in this connection. Since the war, he explained that England had invested £3,000,000 in tlie Doniinions, whereas America had invested onlv £2,000,000 in the same pcriod. Money was at call at Home at 5 per cont and 6 per cent, wliile in New York it cost from 15 to 20 per cent. Speaking of the political situatioxl, Mr Urquhart. who is a Conservative, said that husinessmen should he snfficiently hroad-minded to recognise that al] the parties in England were sincere in their desires to advance the welfare of the Empire. He regarded Mr Ramsav MacDonald, the present liead of the Government, as an able leadcr. and said that the Labour party had many men nf ability and capacity in its ranks. He had confidence in Great Bvitain as being capable o'f winning hor way hack to the status slie occupied prior to the war and of "being able to sway tbe world finaneially and commercially. Mr Urquhart is connected with the "Mount Tsa (Queensland) and New Guinea goldfiekls. He states that Mount Isa must be regarded at the present as tbe principal asset of tbe Mining Trust, whicli he represented. The trust wa-s in a position to acquire /•; per cent of the mterest in the Mount Isa business, _ and at the same time act as consulting engineers to ihe IMouut Tsa company, and the metal brokers. The Black Star lode was oue of the greatest led-zinc-silver ore bodies in t'lie world, and he thought tbe drillmg and development in the future wcukl place Mount Isa mines in tbe supreme position among tbe _ workl's kad-silver-zinc deposits. Dealing with tlie New Guinea goldfield, Mr Urquhart said it would probably prove to be one of the biggest gokbmining entorprises in tlie Empire. The field was only about 30 miles in a direct line iicin the coast. Dense tropical vegetation had to be traversed, liowever, nnd there was danger from unfriendly m.tives. Porterage of 501b loads had tc he undertaken over 100 miles of firest tracks talcing seven days. Tliis made the work of the early pioneers one of incredihle danger and difficulty. The lure of vich alluvial gold finds, and ti e fortunes made by some of the early prospeetors were mcentives whicli spurred strong, adventurous men to brave and gradually overcome all dangers and difficulties. To-day transport was carried on — and this only after two years — mainly by aeroplane, the ionrney taking now only 50 minutes. The danger from natives was a thing of the past, and native labour had been gradually increased. Speaking of alluvial gold, Mr Urquhart said tliat iq the field now being vorked in tlie space of two years, more than £580,000 had been recovered by piimitive methods. The widtli of tlie reefs, and the character of the topography of the fields, promised rapid development of tonnage. The Commonwealth Government of Australia had shown in the most practical way the greatest interest in forwarding the development of the new goldfiekls, wliile the administration of tlie manclated territory had assisted in every vav possihle. Questioned olt the subject, hfr Urquhart thought it quite feasible that gold dtpcsits would be revealed hy the recfnt earthquakes in tbe South Islaud of New Zealand. Mr Urquhart will visit SycTney, Brishane and New Guinea Fjtfore returning to England.