Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-13
NEW GOLD FIELDS.
African, Asiatic and south american Bo-
nhuZas.

From, he Ys,0 York STIR.
Mr. Z. L. Baker. our Consul General at
Buenos Ayres, has recently reported to
the state Department the discovery of
onld in PATAGONIA. According to the re-
mort of Che Commission appointed by the
ARGENTINE Republic to examine these de-
nosite. they are OF a superior class, and
there Is abundance both of gold and pls-
tinum," Mr.. Baker says the ore is be
iiavod TO be richer than that Of California
ar Australia. Not the least interesting
fact about this discovery is that the new
cold fields are easily accessible. The de-
1osits are said to extend from Cape Nlr-
IN on the northern shore of the straits
Sf Naoellap. through which many yes
sels mass every wear, nOrthward aloug
the Atlantic coast for forty or nifty
miles. ...,,.. o,,.o,,
Among the mining companies organ
izod last wear in London were fourteen
projected TO carry on operations IA tne
gold and diamond fields OF SCUM A'rlcd'
: companies for Asia, l. for South Amerl-
"a for Mexico and Central America,
and for Australia. .,..,,a.t,,4
Among the mountains ana iooIIlIls cuaC
border the southern and western ilohtIeIs
0f the Transyaal, hundreds OF miners are
developing placer diggings, from WuiCn
during the closing week OF lasJ year z'ooU
oupces Of gold we're received at Natal. In
the same region an Englishman is now
furnino ont several tons of lead a day.
The civil engineer, Anderson, reported
fifteen months ago that among these same
ranges of hills west and northwest OF the
Transvaa} there were rich deposits of
gold. He said the natives RS yet would
not allow the country to be properly pros
nected. but that il the region were an
fhnrn vUnlIII
he nodifficulty in developing its resources.
This country is included in the great dis
trict over which Great Britain, by treaty
with the native chiefs, assumed a protec-
tOrate last year.
Sill further north, among the many
southern atfluents of the Zambesi, MIR. w.
MOntagu Kerr recently found rich lndl-
cations OF gold. He brought home from
these sandy river beds numerous speci-
mems. generally free from base metals.
He says the natives wash the alluvial de-
posts in wooden trays, and put the gold
they extract in large quilts, which they
carry great distances to trade for cloth
and ornaments. A part of this go.d-pro-
ducing region had never before been WIS.,
tied BY white man, butin another part
the Portuguese formerly carried on profit
able digging, though their methods of
mining were cumbrOus and expensive. 1t
was these mines. together with the ivory
trade, that made Tette, lar inland on the
Zambesi river, at one time busy and
important town.
Preievalsky, the explorer, is now tell
ing the Russian audiences to whom he is
describing his last great journey that
"gOld is very plentiful throughout north
ern Thibet.7 He saws he saw natives
mining near the sources of the HOang HO
river. They dug only one or two feet be-
bn unA fhnfF nnfhOnG Of
washing were Of the most primitive de-
scrIptiOn. Nevertheless" says Preiey-
alsky, athey showed us whole handfuls
of gold in Jumps as big as peas, and twice
or thrice as. big" MIR. W. Mesny, who
has also visited the diggings of northern
and eastern Thibet, cOrrObOrates Prejev-
alsky's estimate of their great value. He
says he saw gold in nuggets from the
size of a pea to that of hazel nut, almost
perfectly pure and perfectly malleable.
PrejeYalsky expresses the opinion that at
q lower deDth great treasures will be
found on this immensely-elevated plateau.
The deepest and richest diggings observed
by Mr.. Mesny were about sixteen feet be-
low the surface. In his opinion ne metal
will be found below the bed OF rock on
which this surface gold-bearing stratum
rests, and in this respect he appears to
dissent from the opinion expressed by
Prejeyalskv.
The discovery OF gold two years ago in
Manchuria was another of the numerous
sources of unpleasantness between Rus
STA and China. As the diggings were
only twenty miles from the Russian pos
sessions, a number OF Russians joined the
Chinese and Coreans who were there
washing gold. One feature of the result
ing disturbance was a skirmlsh between
Russian and Chinese troops In June
last, and then, it is reported, the intrud-
ing miners, with Russia's consent, were
hustled out of the forbidden territory.
From Madagascar and Honduras recent
reports have been received of new discOv-
cries of gold. An expedition from the
Argentine Republic is now supposed to
be ascending the Chubut river in PatagO-
MIA to see if the reports derived from In
dians that gold is found at its beadwa-
ters among the Cordlleras are true.
Many Of these regions are still practical
~ closed to white men, and the golden
promises of some of them may never be
realized. The big nuggets found in Tas-
mania a few years ago caused rush to
her gold fields Tor awhile, but today, al
though the annual gold product Of that
island amounts to $l,200,000, only two
among 100 mining companies are paying
large dividends.