Skey and McKay. — On Minerals from Stewart Island. 419 



they were formed of fine-grained slaty breccia, sandstones, 

 and slates. These rocks are also much intersected by dykes 

 of a syenitic character. They also contain numerous irregular 

 reefs of quartz, some of which are of very considerable size. 

 On the coast-line east of Little Glory Harbour, and thence to 

 Big Glory Harbour, I collected the rocks of this formation ; 

 and since my return Mr. James Thomson, of Half-moon 

 Bay, forwarded a box of specimens collected further west, on 

 the same side of the Inlet. I crushed a sample of the quartz 

 from the sea-coast, but, though gold proved present, it was in 

 quantities too small to pay. Strong traces of copper are 

 found in a large quartz reef on the east side of Big Glory 

 Harbour, and Mr. Thomson's collection included quartz con- 

 taining galena, but this also in quantities too little to pay. 

 The manganese-ore containing traces of cobalt was forwarded 

 by Mr. Thomson, while the iron and kaolin clay were part of 

 my collection from Little Glory Harbour and the coast- 

 line. 



x\t the time of my visit there was some excitement in Half- 

 moon Bay on account of the supposed discovery of silver-ore 

 in the rocks of the south side of Paterson's Inlet ; and as I 

 passed on my way to Port Pegasus I was shown a substance 

 resembling kaolin clay which was supposed to be silver- 

 bearing. I recommended that the samples should be sent to 

 Sir James Hector, with the request that they should be tested 

 for silver ; but they have not yet arrived at the Colonial 

 Laboratory. Mr. Eussa, of Invercargill, just before my 

 leaving, showed me some of the same or a similar material, 

 resembling kaolin, and from him I obtained the small piece 

 which Mr. Skey has proved to be argentiferous. Mr. Eussa 

 told me the specimen came from Paterson's Inlet. I have 

 since written to Mr. Thomson to forward a sufficient sample 

 of this clay, but it has not yet arrived. 



The same formation as that from which these ores have 

 been collected stretches along the west coast of the north j)art 

 of the island, and along the coast of this part forms what is 

 called the Euggedy Eanges. These, from samples of the rock 

 shown to me, contain similar reefs of quartz to those south of 

 Paterson's Inlet, and at one place a copper-lode has been 

 found, from which samples were sent to Melbourne some years 

 ago, and w^ere assayed at the Bank of Australia assay-office, 

 and gave returns as high as 25 per cent, of copper, which was 

 considered a good and encouraging result from specimens taken 

 from the surface outcrop. I give the assayer's report below. 



When I was last in Half-moon Bay a party was there on 

 their way to give the reef a further trial, but had been wind- 

 bound for several days, and at the time I left there was little 

 probability of their getting away for some time. 



