Abstract
The following report is based on the petrological study of a series of rocks collected from the Tavua Goldfield during a two months investigation of that region under the direction of Dr. Loftus Hills, Consulting Geologist to the majority of the prospecting and development companies operating in that field. While the writer has traversed the whole of the region discussed, only a portion of the accompanying geological map, namely that shown in figure , is based entirely upon his own detailed mapping.
The goldfield comprises an area of some 40 square miles situated about 8 miles inland from the central portion of the north coast of Viti Levu, the largest and most important island of the Fiji group. Access to the port and capital, Suva, is obtained by a recently constructed, largely coastal, motor road 135 miles long. The airline distance from Suva to the field is about 60 miles in a north-westerly direction.
The field was discovered in 1932 by a prospector, W. Borthwick, who had been employed by several Suva business men for some years. Following further favourable reports by several Australian, geologists and mining engineers, Australasian capital was interested in the field, and by the end of 1935 some ten or twelve companies were carrying out prospecting and development work in the area. [Introduction]