, 1898-01-05
RuODESIA.
(Daiiy Telegraph, l4th Dec.) :

to the mlliInS exhibits ana ID some TatheI
remarkable displays of visible gold. Since
then, however, we have had 1t ielegrapled
from London, on the authority of n j"urnal
which has almost II monopoly of erroneous
Information about South Africn, that no pay.
able gold has yet been found in this country.
AS there is no single mine crushing it Is
impossible to contradict the statement, but
it has produced amnzement among the sx-
perts to know how his wonderful prescfence
was arrived at. | inquired of the oldest
mining engineer in the land, Mr.. Wrsy,
manager and consulting engineer OF the
Moshonaland Agency, and all he could say
was this "No man can intelligentiy make
such q statement. Our gold reefs are exact.
~ of the same order as those OF Alaska,
California, Texas, Brl ISL Columbia, and
Australia. We have he , an enormous ex-
tent of reef. I should sa. if you ask Inc to
estimate these reefs, that "Obably 20 per
cent. are utterly worthless : ate2O Per cont.
more will be found to ed tain q certain
am uni of gold, but not III payable qnant'-
ties: that IL per cent. more will oscillate
between paying and non-paying, while | look
plon the remaining 8 per cent. as absolute
crriaintics 10 pay, and many of them to pay
well, and as promising a healthy existence
II from thirty to sixty years. These figures
have loen found to hold in similar order
Of mining in all parts of the world, and
there is no reason TO doubt they will hold
here, and if 3 per cent. Of our claims turn
out we'll, this will rank high as q gold pro-
ducing country" Mr.. Wrey gave me a num-
Der of reports made officially with regard TO
several Of the leading names, showing the
amount Of work done. the yield per 'oA, aud
similar details. These include the Telekwe,
near Gwelo, with 1880 yards Of reef Aafts
down to 254 feet, an average value OF many
assays of 17.73Gwts per ton, and prepara-
tions to begin crushing in October next;
the Nelly, with 200 yards along the reef,
and assays ranging from 5dwts to over Boz;
and the Moonie, with an average of over
1oz. Then l have very full de,a;ls regard
ing the Bonsor, which is expected to start
crushing with a forty stamp battery before
the end of next year; the Dunr0ven and other
mines, with regard to which it would be said
in any part of the world that the prospects
were extremely hopeful. Only actual crush
ing can determine the output and remunera-
tiveness of these mines, bit 1T is beyond
human power to say that they will not yield
IL return.
Two varieties of quartz are common in
Rhodesia, the nearly pure white often show
ing visible gold, but as a rule poor in yield;
and the darker aud more coloured sorts
in which little if any of the precious metal
is to be seen, but a good deal more is of.
ten prccurable. Many surprising results
have been produced at the quartz exhibit
ton. In order to get q general idea
because isolated samples aHe Of no earth
ly value, / consulted Mr.. Il d!ow, the
assayer of the STANDARD Bank OF South
Africa. He is of opinion that an enormous
amount of gold was taken out by tile ancient
workers, who, however, stopped at the water
level having no adequate pumping machinery.
For unknown depths below these levels
there were rich deposits, many OF them ex-
traordinarily rich. Some Of the large houses
send ore to be assayed from every three feet
of the workings. For one mine not far from
Buiawayo, a property which [ had visited,
Mr.. Ludlow had been making forty to fifty
assays monthly aud the average closely APP
preached two ounces per ton, notwithstand-
ing hat much Of this was obtained from
white quartz. Il know" he said, 'several
mines that have gone Down .over 100 feet,
and averaged over 30lwts. On the whole
there is in thisc country q wider distribution
of gold than is to be found in any other
in the world, and u sufficient amount of rich
Ell ore to pay for much that is of low grade"
Captain Lawley, the Acting Administrator,
holds to the belief that the principal danger
to Rhodesia is not the failure 10 find gold,