The Coolgardie Goldfield: Western Australia

Front matter

Price One Shilling. The Coolgardie Goldfield: Western Australia BY . Albert F. Calvert, F.R.G.S., F.G.S.E., 4c. WORKS BY ALBERT F. CALVERT The Discovery of Australia. i Western Australia and its Goldfields The Aborigines of Western Australia The Mineral Resources ok Western Australia Pearls: Their Origin and Formation The Forest Resources of Western Australia. Hints on Gold Prospecting. Recent Explorations in Australia, THE COOLGARDIE GOLDFIELD WESTERN AUSTRALIA. BY ALBERT F. CALVERT, MINING ENGINEER, FELLOW GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, FELLOW GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY, EDINBURGH, FELLOW SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY, FELLOW GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA, FELLOW ROYAL SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA, FELLOW COLONIAL INSTITUTE, FELLOW IMPERIAL INSTITUTE, MEMBER NEWCASTLE INSTITUTE OF MINING AND MECHANICAL ENGINEERS, MEMBER BRITISH ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF SCIENCE, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR OF " THE WEST AUSTRALIAN REVIEW," ETC.

LONDON : SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, HAMILTON, KENT & Co., LIMITED 1894. Taunton : E. Goodman & Son, Printers. :s To the Honourable SIR MALCOLM FRASER, K.C.M.G., FORMERLY SURVEYOR GENERAL, COMMISSIONER OF CROWN LANDS, AND LATE COLONIAL SECRETARY, AND MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE AND LEGISLATIVE COUNCILS FOR TWENTY YEAS OF THE MOST INTERESTING AND PROMISING COLONY OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE AND THE FIRST AGENT-GENERAL FOR THAT COLONY IN ENGLAND SINCE RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN ESTABLISHED, ribis Xittle J&ook IS respectfully dedicated.

Preface

. Since the publication of " The Mineral Resources of Western Australia," a few months ago, the attention of capitalists and miners has been more and more directed to the Coolgardie Goldfield ; not by reason of anything I said in its favour, but because of the ever increasing flood of news regarding its ex traordinary auriferous wealth. Having dealt very briefly with this important area in my handbook, I have thought it advisable to devote a small volume to Coolgardie itself. Much misapprehension exists in connection with the subject. Exaggeration has swung back to de preciation, and they have together produced distrust. A few days ago a leading London daily newspaper said, " At present, alluvial washings only have rewarded the toil of the discoverers ; but before long, there is every reason to believe that great gold bearing reefs will be laid bare."

This is not the case, as the succeeding pages abundantly demonstrate. preface. My object is to give plain, unvarnished facts concerning the results already attained on the Gold field ; setting forth its advantages, prospects and drawbacks. It will be noted that I have let the warden, the geologist, the explorer, the mining engineer, the metallurgist, the water-supply superintendent, the capitalist, the miner, the amateur — each tell his own tale. No work of this kind can possibly be altogether original, except in arrangement ; and only the other day I read a press notice to the following effect: — "The author has adopted the best method of telling his story, viz. : by giving the actual letters, diaries, and personal statements of the parties concerned." This plan I have followed. I have included reproductions of the superb gold trophies from Bayley's Claim.

Occasional repetition is unavoidable, and must be regarded as corroboration ; because a solid mass of trustworthy evidence is needed to refute mis-state ments, and dispel illusions. Albert F. Calvert. Piccadilly Club, W. THE LATEST TROPHY FROM COOLGARDIE. CONTENTS. PAGE Introduction ...... ... i Coolgardie Goldfields 7 Cashman's . . 22 Hannan's .26 Water Supply 3° Roads — 45 Mr. Thomas Haddleton's Track 46 Holland's Track ........ 48 Mr. David Lindsay's Experience 50 Mr. Pearson's Tribulations 53 Overland Route from Adelaide .... 55 Route via Northam 58 Letter to Lord Percy Douglas ...... 59 Letters from Lord Percy Douglas . ... 61 An Interview with Lord Percy Douglas .... 69 A Coolgardie Letter 74 A Sceptic almost Converted by Coolgardie . . .80 Hampton Land Railway Syndicate ..... 82 Benner's Rush • • 85 Mr. George Gorrie's Opinion ...... 86 A Big Reef at the Roaring Gimlet 91 Mr. James McCulloch's Opinion 93 Dr. Peter's Opinion 95 Report of Professor Victor Streich 98 Coolgardie Gold on View in Adelaide .... 99 Report by Mr. James McCulloch, on Coolgardie ioi Mr. John Ebbott's Opinion of Coolgardie .... 103 Interview with Arthur Bayley 104 Interview with Bayley and Ford ...... 106 The Story of a Daylight Robbery . .110 The Future . .... ... 112 Conclusion

Introduction

. From time to time since 1885, when the Kimberley Goldfield was proclaimed, tidings of gold discoveries in Western Australia have reached this country. Kimberley was the object of a feverish rush. Small capitalists flung away their money in rash speculations. Skill, common sense, all the conditions of success were lacking, and at last debt, mortgage and bankruptcy blighted the entire territory. Yet this immense field is well supplied with timber and water, and gold is there ; so that a day may come when, with restored confidence, brains and money, hand in hand, will open up her mines, and populate her broad acres. Two years afterwards, in 1887, gold was found by H. E. Anstey on the Yilgarn Hills, and this led to the region being prospected, when a belt of country eighty miles long proved rich in auriferous quartz reefs.

This has proved a permanent field, and the township of Southern Cross — in which there are several stores, hotels, a miners' institute, and an episcopal church — has been declared a municipality. In 18S8 a large gold reef was found about one hundred miles east of Roebourne on the north-west coast, and

INTRODUCTION.

. further prospecting revealed many reefs of great richness, nearly all containing, in combination, a considerable quantity of antimony. Soon afterwards gold was found at Pilbarra, Egina, Mallina, and also in the Nullagine, De Grey, Ashburton, Bamboo Creek, and Marble Bar Districts. Then in July, 1891, gold was discovered on the Murchison River, three hundred miles east of Geraldton, and after the discover}' of a very rich line of reef, the field was proclaimed in the following September. A certain amount of interest has always been taken in these goldfields, by investors and miners, both in the United Kingdom and the other Colonies. Still there has been very little enthusiasm shown until recently, when the news of Coolgardie's immense riches arrested the attention of the mining world. Western Australia has at present three great obstacles to her progress.

The first is physical — her lack of water, which can only be combatted by science. The second, her scantiness of population, is being slowly removed. The third can readily be surmounted, if confidence in her great mineral resources is once inspired. I refer to her lack of capital. When capital flows into Western Australia, population will follow. Her huge area of a million and sixty thousand square miles, which now constitutes a drawback, will furnish a noble field for engineering triumphs. Money

INTRODUCTION.

3 will cure the ills from which she suffers, and for this money she can offer ample security. It has been truly said that in the great Australian Continent there is no ferocious animal save Man. The native bear is a wretched specimen of the ursine species, and perfectly harmless ; and perhaps the only creature by which the hunter could be hurt would be an old man kangaroo driven to bay. Nevertheless, there is a terror in the Australian desert far more real and more deadly in its nature than either beast or savage. I refer to water famine, that terrible guardian of her golden stores. Listen to Eyre, who with his faithful servant Baxter, two natives, and the boy Wylie, started in January, 1841, along the weary twelve months' trip from Adelaide to Perth. "No water, no water!" is the constant cry.

After an interval of some thirty years, through the weary wilderness went John Forrest. Thus runs his journal : — " This is the third day without a drop of water for the horses, which are in a frightful state." And again : — " The land of Eucla to the head of the bight is entirely destitute of water." Thirst has been the terror of the Australian explorer, and the deterrent of the gold miner. In this respect Yilgarn is the greatest sufferer among the goldfields, and no portion of this district is more scantily supplied with this necessary of life than far-famed Coolgardie, which is within the proclaimed area of Yilgarn. Just as in Grecian mythology a dragon guarded

INTRODUCTION.

. 4 the garden in which grew the golden apples of the Hesperides ; so the thirst demon seems to keep watch and ward over the golden treasures of Coolgardie. But as Hercules slew the dragon and got the apples (which may have been oranges, by the way) ; so will science overcome this terror of the Australian desert. Queensland and New South Wales have demonstrated that plenty of water may be obtained by artesian boring. Day by day fresh reports come in of the striking of water in one or other of the many bores now being drilled all over the dry belt of Western Queensland and New South Wales. Ai> enormous area of that arid territory has been found to be water-bearing, and drought is fast losing its terrors for the farmer and squatter. As yet there is no indication of a diminution in the vast supply of under-ground water, owing to the number of vents which the hand of man has opened for its escape.

Just as irrigation has proved the salvation of many a rancher on the prairies of Colorado, so has artesian water rescued from ruin many a pastoral property in Queensland and New South Wales. From the Transvaal in South Africa — where the mines are largely under American management, and where the gold is won for the most part with American machinery — 150,000 ounces are exported every month. But a com parison between the progress of the Western Australian Goldfields and the early results from the South African Goldfields, reveals that whilst seventeen years elapsed

INTRODUCTION.

. before the South African Fields produced of gold, the Fields of Western Australia exceeded that sum in the seventh year. It also shows that the out-put for the first seven years of the West Australian Fields has been more than double the African out-put for the first seven years. Moreover, Western Australia has exceeded by nearly the out-put for the first fourteen years from South Africa. These results have been attained, notwithstanding the fact that hardly any of the mines in Western Australia have (owing to lack of capital) as yet been efficiently worked, and that a very small portion of the gold-bearing area has as yet been prospected. His Excellency, Sir William C. F. Robinson, g.cm.g., Governor of Western Australia, on the opening of Parlia ment, the 5th day of July, 1893, said : — "The discoveries of gold in so many parts of the Colony seem to strengthen the general opinion that Western Australia is to become one of the great gold producing parts of the world."

In the Legislative Assembly, 26th August, 1893, Sir John Forrest, Premier of Western Australia, said : — " I am very glad to say that our anticipations as to the presence of the precious metal in the Colony, are likely, so far as I can judge, not only to be realized, but to be far exceeded. The export of gold from the Colony during the twelve months ending 30th June last, amounted to 72,844 ounces, valued at ... an increase an increase

INTRODUCTION.

. during the past year of ,£"105,408. . . . There is no doubt that gold does exist here in great quantities, and over an extensive area. . . . "We intend to continue to do all we can to assist in developing our mineral resources, especially our goldfields to the eastward, because we feel that the great future which we are looking forward to for this Colony, is considerably wrapped up in the development of these fields." a No two men have contributed more largely to the progress and prosperity of the Colony than Sir William Robinson and Sir John Forrest. They are eminently qualified to speak with authority, and time will eventually demonstrate the accuracy of their predictions. THE COOLGARDIE GOLDFIELDS: Western Australia. ~V\TE are told by physiologists that the entire human system is renewed every seven years, and that our very bones, tissues, and muscles are replaced during that period.

In fact, that we begin life under new conditions so far as our material composition is concerned. In a sense this may be said of the gold-mining industry of Western Australia. Seven years after the Kimberley Goldfields were proclaimed, in consequence of the late Mr. Edward T. Hardman's report, Mr. Arthur Bayley, and his partner Mr. Ford, discovered the Coolgardie Goldfields, and assuredly the unprecedented richness of their find has given new life and impetus to gold-mining. It was in October, 1892, that this fortunate prospector and his partner Mr. Ford, " struck it rich " at Coolgardie, having left Southern Cross three months previously. The news speedily found its way to Perth, and in November, Mr. Sylvester Browne of Melbourne, travelled to Coolgardie, and after making examination of the property, bought Bayley's Reward Claim from its original holder for ,£"6,000, and a sixth share in the mine.

It is stated by a Perth correspondent, in a letter to the Pall Mall Gazette, that Mr. Browne was able to pay down only /ioo of the price agreed upon. In this there was nothing unusual, but when we learn that he actually extracted from the mine itself the balance of the money, we can form some B estimate of its extraordinary auriferous capacity. Be that as it may, on the 8th of April, 1893, a parcel of 2,500 ounces, worth about arrrived at Perth, and was lodged in the Union Bank of Australia ; on the 7th of June, a further consignment of 3,185 ounces was received by the Bank and exhibited; on the 6th of September a third lot of 3,605 ounces was deposited by Mr. Everard Browne on behalf of Bayley's Reward Company ; and finally, during the late Christmas holidays — the parcel having arrived in Perth on the 24th December — an attractive trophy valued at some was gazed upon by admiring crowds at the office of the Bank.

Of the last-named collection the special correspondent of The Mining Journal of February 10th, 1894, writing from Perth under date of January 8th, says, "An exhibition of the Union Bank has done much towards keeping up the public spirits. There is now to be seen there — and everybody from the Governor downwards has been to see it — another most mouth-watering collection of specimens from Bayley's, estimated to be worth some This is the fourth big lot which has come from the pit, and has been taken only from a depth of some 40 feet, while some of the biggest nuggets in Ballarat were found more than a thousand feet below the surface. It is now placed beyond all doubt that our golden reefs are what are termed " permanent," a fact which pessimists both in and out of the colony have up to now been very loth to admit.

The " trophy," which, as a show, is said to be not quite so striking as was the first one on exhibition — which I did not see — is, nevertheless, quite stirring enough for most folk with a weakness for the precious metal. It consists of 7,000 ounces of smelted gold, and 600 or 700 ounces of rich quartz " specimens," in which the gold is as thickly studded as are the plums in that indigestible globe with which we (like the imitative mortals we are) have just tried to make ourselves ill, just as if it were winter here instead of summer ! The trophy is to be bought by the Government, and forwarded for public exhibition to the Imperial Institute, so that you Londoners will by-and-bye have an oppor tunity of seeing what is, up to the present, the second best specimen of what Western Australia has done in the gold-producing way."

In the West Australian Mining Register of November 1 6th, 1893, and on February 15th, 1894, illustrations appeared from photographs of the last-named lot of bullion ; and we venture to say that more superb trophies never were presented before a camera. Reproductions are given in this volume. "Facts are stubborn things;" they cannot be gain sayed, and it has been said that an ounce of experience is worth a ton of theory. Here is one single mine on the extensive Coolgardie field yielding already over ,£"80,000 ! Are we not justified in the face of this to anticipate grand results from this area. The photographs we have just referred to, were taken in the presence of Mr. Willis, the able and respected manager of the Union Bank, and certificates to the following effect accompanied them : — " I have pleasure in testifying that gold bars and quartz specimens stated to be, and beyond doubt from the mine known as Bayley's Claim at Coolgardie, the property of Bayley's Reward Claim Company, were received by me from Mr. Everard Browne, a member of the Company, on the 6th inst., having been brought from the mine by him under escort.

They were exhibited in this Bank on the following day, during which large numbers of people inspected them. They were also photographed in my presence. The quartz specimens weighed in gross 80 lbs., and are estimated to contain 600 ounces of gold. The gold bars, twenty-two in number, consisting of practically pure smelted gold, weighed in all 3,605 oz. 15 dwt. 8 gr.( as follows :— ozs. dwt. grs. No. I ... ... ... 193 II o ,, 2 ... ... ... 157 16 O » 3 151 o 12 ,, 4 ... ... ... 156 6 12 ,, 5 163 18 12 ,, 6 162 6 0 » 7 164 5 12 » 8 155 14 o ,, 9 ... ... ... 161 O o ,, 10 ... 156 5 o ,, 11 162 8 6 ,, 12 ... ... ... 161 11 o ii 13 164 5 o ,, 14 ••• ••• ... 156 13 O ,, 15 165 18 o ,, l6 ... ... ... 163 19 12 ,, 17 ••• 158 IO 12 ,, 18 157 16 O ,, 19 197 8 0 ,, 20 167 I 12 ,, 21 I99 8 O ,, 22 128 14 O 3,605 15 Previous similar consignments were received by me from the same mine and exhibited, as follows : — Received on April gth, 1893, and exhibited on 10th, nth, and 12th idem : — OZS.

Gold bars and Cakes of Retorted Gold, containing ... ... 1,867 Quartz Specimens, estimated to contain 633 In all 2,500 Received on 17th June, and exhibited on 19th and 20th idem : — ozs. dwt. grs. Gold Bars ... ... ... 1,603 J7 22 Retorted Cakes ... ... 506 8 o Dollied and Alluvial Gold ... 449 5 o Quartz Specimens, estimated to contain ... ... 626 o o Received on December 23rd, 41 Gold Bars... ... ... 6886 o 12 Quartz specimens, estimated to contain ... ... ... 760 o o 7646 o 12 Total ... 17.537 6 18 The Union Bank of Australia, Limited, Perth, W.A. ARTHUR C. WILLIS, Manager." Mr. Everard Browne, during the exhibition of the third and finest of the trophies, was interviewed by a representative of the West Australian, and in answer to the queries put to him, stated that there were about thirty-five men employed on the claim, but only some six were engaged in the mining and treatment of gold.

The yield was the result of three months' work. The appliances that were at that time available were such that only 2 cwt. of stone could be treated in a day, from which the average return was about 150 ozs. of amalgam or 50 ozs. of gold. This lot makes 10,000 ozs. taken out of the claim since it was sold by Bayley, and he took out about 2,500 ozs. " We have," says Mr. Browne, " been taking a cutting along for about 150 ft., the full width of the reef, which is from three feet to nine feet, and we have been on rich gold, specimen gold, all the time. We have never been off it for a day together. When I left there was gold showing at each end of the cutting, yet Mr. Woodward, the Government geologist, speaks of the reef as being small. When he was up there he would not be shewn how the gold occurred, which is in streaks in the reef either on one side or the other, sometimes in the middle, and sometimes in both walls."

The following is a highly characteristic paragraph from a Melbourne exchange, on the fortunate purchaser of Bayley's Claim. It has a true Colonial ring, and is perhaps worth printing : — "Sylvester Browne, of Toorak, miner," says the writer, " looks very well amongst Upper House members, etc., as advertised in the share list of Bayley's Reward No. 1 South. Good times would soon come round again if more men threw up the boiled rag for the jumper, and took the spirit of Rolf Bolderwood's Miner's Right more to heart. Mr. Sylvester Browne, who is the brother of the world-famed author, made a big rise once before in Junctions ; that time it was on the market, but now, unless they are considerably out in their reckoning, he stands to make a bigger one out of the mine. It is quite a sight to see the way Sylvester Browne is now stared on the ' Block,' and is pointed out as being the lucky man of the day.

The £iy, 000 of gold and the golden specimens shown last week in Drummond's window, Collins Street, is likely to infect more people with the gold fever for W. A." Those who have read the Western Australian Mining Register, since it started last September, cannot fail to have noticed numerous references to this remarkable goldfield; not that the editor has any partiality for the locality, but simply because its extraordinarily rapid development has forced it into conspicuous prominence. For the information of those who have not taken The Register from the first, and those of the public who are interested in the welfare of Western Australia, or in the progress of gold-mining generally, I have thought it advisable to recapitulate shortly what has been already stated regarding Coolgardie, and supplementing or curtailing as may be most expedient.

Although Coolgardie is usually spoken of as if it were a separate goldfield, the latest Government map shows it to be included within the proclaimed area of Yilgarn, where gold was discovered by Mr. H. E. Anstey, at the end of 1887. It lies about 120 miles to the South-East of Southern Cross, and as already stated, Mr. Bayley and his partner discovered the rich reef which bears the former's name, in October, 1S92. Some months previously, however, it is said that a rich patch of alluvial was found in this neighbourhood, but the amount of gold won from the surface will never be accurately known, since the great bulk was not reported. According to the report of the Government geologist, Bayley's Reward Claim shews a reef which consists of a small blow, running in a North-Westerly direction, and underlying to the North-Eastward, striking across the line of country which here runs nearly North and South.

This reef is about 9 ft. in width at its widest, but pinches towards either end of the claim, where it is entirely lost. At the North end there is another blow of quartz, which strikes North and South, following the line of the strike of the country. This blow then dips under the alluvial flat, but the reef on exactly the same line is met with in a shaft in the gully, after which it appears to be lost. I should mention that the Government geologist's visit to the field occurred after a long period of drought, and just before some splendid rains filled the dams, and raised the spirits of the miners. He seems to have taken a somewhat low estimate of Coolgardie's prospects, and speaks ver}' guardedly as to the likelihood of the reefs proving rich and payable. In fact, his report seems to have given considerable dissatisfaction.

Mr. Everard Browne says, that when the Government geologist was up there, " he would not be shewn," and a correspondent of the West Australian says that his report is about " good enough for a 2 oz. reef." Mr. Finnerty, the warden of the Coolgardie Goldfield, likewise sent in a long report to the Government. From this we take the following. After describing an ineffectual attempt to reach the Dundas Hills through lack of know ledge of the country, the warden thus speaks of the Coolgardie : — "Alluvial Mining. In consequence of several new finds, the alluvial workings around the township were almost deserted. Some men, however, who had been unfortunate at these rushes, had returned and were working on the old ground. These men appear at least to be making sufficient to keep them in rations.

The principal alluvial workings at present are — the Ninety Mile or " Roaring Gimlet," and the Thirty Mile or Hannan's Rush. The Ninety Mile is about 70 miles northward from Coolgardie. On account of the impossi bility of obtaining at Coolgardie rations in quantities sufficient to take men to this place, and keep them there for any length of time, the Ninety Mile has been almost deserted. A limited number who had pack horses, and who had brought supplies with them from York to Southern Cross, are still working there, with, as far as I could learn, fairly satisfactory results. At Hannan's Rush, which is situated about 90 miles to the eastward of Coolgardie township, there are upwards of 1,000 men, working with various degrees of success. A number are doing well, the majority making fair wages, and the remainder from wages to nothing.

The extent of country here, over which gold has been obtained, amounts to several square miles. At present alluvial men are working under very disadvantageous conditions. There is no water to wash the dirt, and the ground is so moist that, before dry blowing, the dirt has to be dried with large fires, thus taking three days to do what could in the dry season be done in one day. Notwithstanding these difficulties, some men are doing well. Hannan and his mate, the prospectors, showed me about one hundred and fifty ounces of nuggety gold, which they had obtained in under three weeks' time. At Lake Lefroy, there are still some men prospecting, but those, as far as I could learn, are doing very little. Small patches of alluvial have also been found in various directions, but have soon been worked out or deserted for the above rushes.

There are also, somewhere on the field, parties known to be good miners, but whose where abouts cannot be ascertained. All alluvial workings so far are surface workings." Reefing. — After describing the conditions of each reefing claim, he says : — " In all 49 leases and 34 reefing claims have been applied for. Several of these, however, have been abandoned. At present the reefing outlook is satisfactory, as far as can be seen, but in almost all cases, the shows so far are only surface shows. The population of the Coolgardie Goldfield, I estimated, when there, at about 1,700 men, and on my way back to Southern Cross, I passed upwards of 100 men on their way to the field. Many of those on the field were in a state of semi-starvation. Not from want of money to buy supplies, but because there was nothing in the shape of flour, rice or oatmeal to be bought.

Flour, during my stay, when obtainable, reached as high as one shilling and sixpence per pound. Just before I left, some teams loaded partly with flour arrived, but the supply would last a very short time among the large population of diggers. To supply an adequate amount, upwards of a ton of flour would be requisite daily. Should the number of arrivals continue as large as at present, there will be serious danger of starvation for many. Considering the large and increasing number of men, • it is absolutely necessary that vigorous and prompt effort should be made to prepare for the summer. In conclusion, I beg to state that the prospects of the field are very good, and that for some considerable time to come, men in limited numbers will be able to at least make good wages at the alluvial. After dry blowing becomes unpayable, par ties will form together, and conserve water so as to work."

Again our Perth correspondent, under date August 10th, 1893, writes as follows : — " The cry from Coolgardie is still of astounding discoveries of such rich gold-bearing rock as mankind has never known before. There is actually being exhibited at Counsel's store a lump of gold and stone, weighing a little over two hundred weight, in which it was estimated by experts there was nearly a hundred weight and a half of the precious metal. If our Southern Cross friends go on at this rate, it looks as if the time were within reasonable distance when Punch's old prophecy would be realised, and the Cheapside hawkers be seen going about with gold snuff-boxes and a ha'porth o' snuff for a penny." Mr. Sylvester Browne, about the same time, gives us some authentic information regarding his claim, and alluding especially to a trench 64 feet long, 8 feet wide, and 8 feet deep, following the reef about 75 feet distant from the main shaft, he says : — " From that trench, we have taken a third of a ton of gold, including what Bayley got out, which netted us £l 18s. 6d. per oz., considerably higher than the standard value."