Page 10 - aruba-today-20230725

Tuesday 25 July 2023 locAl
A10

Episode 28

Yes! Aruba had its own gold rush

Geological exploration royos and put to dry in the that ruins thereof at the
was officially conducted in sun. Then the hardened North coast are still quite
1725. The search for min- parts were beaten into impressive.
eral ores was funded by small pieces. If there was
The Amsterdam Chamber, any gold, the bigger pieces A next concession-holder,
Head Office of the Dutch would naturally come free Aruba Gold Concessions
West India Company. and when this happened, Ltd., worked principally in
These gentlemen sent a one knew that there were the center of the island
certain Mr. Paulus Printz to possibly smaller pieces as and had a smelting works
the island, who had to per- well. To find these, the finely built at Balashi in 1899, of
form soil research under beaten clay was ground which not only crumbling
the title of director moun- on a large piece of sail- walls, but even kettles and
tain worker. started searching the ar- Fluit), Wacobana, Arikok en cloth, after which the wind ovens are still left.
royos (dry beds of rivulets). Hadicurari were the most blew off the sand, leaving
After searching in vain on Soon an Indian girl found important places where behind the small pieces of A last attempt
Curaçao and on Bonaire, a piece of gold at Rooi gold was found. Most of gold. In 1916 gold-mining in
he headed to Aruba and Daimari. it was alluvial, that came Aruba had to be ceased;
searched on the Cristal- to the surface as native Another system was to di- due to the First World War
berg, dug a subterranean Understandably, On July gold. When systematical lute the clay with water in the materials required for
passage in Sero Colorado 1824 J. Thielen who was research was introduced large vessels, so that the the purification of the ores
and sent barrels of stone the islands Commander at later on, gold-ore was also gold sank to the bottom. could no longer be had.
containing ore as samples the time, immediately took found in the western part of During the 92 years since
to Amsterdam. Only a mini- measures by informing the Aruba, especially at Tibushi. When commercial firms the discovery of gold in
mal amount of gold and Governor P.R. Cantz`laar came in 1854, machin- 1824, 2962.50 pounds of
silver was found, so the de- at Curacao, that gold has At first everyone was al- ery was imported, among gold have been exported.
cision was taken to discon- been found on Aruba. Two lowed to look for gold, pro- which crushing mills. An attempt made in 1946
tinue the efforts by Printz. lumps of gold -ore was send viding the gold was hand- to resume gold-mining in a
After three years of trudg- as proof. The legend of the ed over to the government Smelting Works modern way, proved how-
ing through the rock-hard Aruba gold turned out to against a set price. In 1854 In 1872 the Aruba Island ever not to be profitable.
Aruban soil, he left Aruba be reality. For the boot- this system was abandoned Gold Mining Company Ltd.
again. less blows of Printz`s sledge and gold-mining was grant- Built a large smelting works Yet there still is gold in the
hammer a century ago. ed to a concession-holder. at Bushiribana on the North Aruba`s soil, even though
One hundred years later coast, for the ore that was you would have to be very
in March 1824 a gold rock The regions where gold Primitive gold- mining being mined at Cero Plat lucky to find some on your
was discovered in Rooi Fluit was found were declared In looking for gold one and in its surroundings. This excursions on the island.q
on the North coast, as one “not free”. Soldiers came went about in a very primi- smelting works was in use
told by a 12-year old boy, to guard these terrains. tive way. Everywhere clay for only ten years, but its Source; Island Insight column
Willem Rasmijn, who was Daimari, Lagabai ( Rooi was dug out from the ar- construction was so solid, by Etnia Nativa.
looking after his father’s
sheep there. Willem saw
something sparkling on a
spot washed out by the
rain. His father not knowing
what it was showed it to a
merchant in Oranjestad.
The latter realized that it
was gold and offered the
man $ 17.00 Rasmijn ac-
cepted and the merchant
later sold it for $ 70.00.

The rumor spread very rap-
idly, of course, and every
boy and girl who tended
sheep, as was the custom,