GOLD: Free State Fiasco

On Erfdeel farm in the Orange Free State three weeks ago, a mining engineer hauled up a drill-core laden with ore from a 6,000-ft. test borehole. In Johannesburg Essayists announced that on the basis of the sample, the gold ore under Erfdeel ("Inheritance") farm might be worth as much as $18,000 a ton. It was the richest strike in South Africa's golden history, and on South African and London exchanges it touched off the wildest boom in gold shares in years.

No shares soared as fast as those of Free State Gold Areas, Ltd.,...

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