44 



THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST. 



[July 2, 1883. 



INDIAN GOLD MINING AND ITS 



PROSPECTS.* 

 QUAKTZ OUXOKOPS OF TRAVANOORE. 



First then, in point of time, we have the report of 

 the committee appointed hy the Indian Government on 

 December 14th, 1S32, to examine the gold mines in tlie 

 Zillah ot Malabar. They allude as follows to the geological 

 featm-es of the country:— "Nearly the whole of the pro- 

 vince of Malabar except that p.irt immediately along the 

 coast consists of lofty mountains covered with dense forest 

 or thick jungle. The principal chain more immediately 

 connected with the present subject is formed of the Koou- 

 dah and Jloor Koorty Hills to the south-east of Cali- 

 cut, the ISeilgiris to the east, and the Wynaad mountains 

 to the north-east. These send off numerous lateral ranges, 

 between whicii are deep valleys, in most places closely 

 covered with forest. The most extensive of these is that 

 of Nellamboor, including nearly the whole of the Ernaad 

 Taluk, bounded on the east by the Neilgiris, on the north 

 by AVyuaad, on the north-west by a lateral range running 

 south from the Ghauts called the Wawoot hills, and on 

 the south by the Koondah and Moor Koorty mountains. 

 From these on all sides innumerable mountain streams 

 descend, and meetmg near Nellamboor form the Beypore 

 river of considerable magnitude, which falls into the sea 

 about eight miles to the southward of Calicut. In the 

 mountainous districts of Wynaad, streams in the same 

 manner descend through every valley, and unite into larger 

 rivers which fall into the Cauvery in the Mysore and 

 Coimbatore countries. The whole of the mountains above 

 mentioned seem to be of primitive formation. In the 

 Nellaniboor valley, so far as the observations of the cona- 

 mitteo went, the prevailing rock is gneiss, a kind of strati- 

 fied granite. Above this in most places is a species of 

 clay-ironstone, which from its softness enabling it to be 

 cut into the form of brick for building purposes, received 

 from Dr. Buchanan the name of laterite. It is what 

 geologists call the over-lying rock of the whole country, 

 between the Ghauts and the sea to the westward, and m.any 

 of the smaller hills are formed of it. When first dug it is 

 perfectly sextile, but on exposure to the heat of the sun and 

 to the weather it becomes of considerable hardness. So far 

 as the gold mines are concerned it may be considered to 

 be a deposit formed in the lapse of ages, from the grad- 

 ual disintegrations of the immense mountain masses in 

 the neighbourhood, in which process part ot the precious 

 ore may be supposed to have been worked over along 

 with the earthy particles. However this may bo it is 

 certain that gold' exists more or less abundantly in the 

 whole of the country on the western side of the Ghauts 

 in every stream which lakes its rise from tho Koondah, 

 Nuilgiri, ami AVyna;ul mountains, and in the sands of the 

 sea-shore along the whole of south Malabar it is tluoughout 

 in the form of minute grains." 



Fm-ther on in the same report the committee in allud- 

 ing to the geological formation ot the country in the 

 neighbourhood of the Bejpure rher, near iVr.inlboot, say — 

 " the superstratum consist ot sand and gravel, below which 

 are hirge nodules of quartz and gneiss." 



BIr. Brough Wmytli, in his report on Wynaad gold Gelds, 

 alludes to the litholugy of the gold district as follows ;— 

 "The granatolil schists or the gneissoid rocks of the 

 south-east Wynaad are, it is probable as will be shown 

 hereatter, only comepletely metamorphosed sedimentary 

 strata. The minerals observalile are felspar, (juartz, horn- 

 blende, mica, talc, chlorite, pholerite, auol magnetic iron. 

 The ordinary foliated rock usually massive or composed 

 of thin impact layers of quartz and felspar or of quartz 

 and hornblende. Blagnetic iron takes the place of one or 

 other of these constituents or accompanies them in some 

 places ; and at, and in the neighbourhood of Marpanmadi, 

 North peak, magnetic u-ou is largely present iu tin; rock, 

 the decomposed surface stone exhibitnig layers and rcni- 

 form, and nodular masses of sesquioxide of iron. Some 

 specimens are coDipo.scd almost entirely of quartz and 

 magnetic iron, and iu others the iron occurs with quartz 



* By J. Blacdonald Cameron, Fel. lust. Chem., F. c. s., 

 etc. (late assistant iu the Chemical Laboratories of the 

 Royal School of Mines). 



and felspjir, and again there is a variety composed of 

 translucent quartz, magnetic iron, and an asbcstiform miner- 

 al resembling irou amphibole." 



Again, Mr. Oliver Pegler, in his report on the Wynaad 

 gold fields, alludes to the geologic characteristics of tho 

 district as follows: — "The range of mountains, on which 

 is situated the Wynaad district, is of very ancient 

 d.ate, belonging to the Falreozoic period, more especially to 

 the Silurian formation. The highest peaks of the range, 

 as iu the neighboiurhood of Otakamunde, are formed of ■ 

 hard dense dark crystalline rocks of the metamorphic 

 series of granites and syenites, the more fissile varieties 

 of which are also here present, and are softer, and, 

 having thus yielded to the disintegration .and denudation 

 of time, have formed the valleys and dells adjacent to tho 

 peaks. These softer rocks are of a nmch higher colour 

 than the harder granitic crystalline formations, and give 

 a reddish brown .appearance to m.any portions of the 

 surface of the country. Before leaving this portion of 

 the Nilgiris for the more auriferous districts of the 

 Wynaad, I may observe that the whole of the formations 

 are impregnated witli black m.agnetic oxide of iron, which 

 after a shower appears as black s.and on surfaces where 

 the rain runs over in streams of water, and this is very 

 noticeable along tho roadsides." 



I have now, I tliink, quoted sufficient from the reports 

 of these several authorities to show what are the geol- 

 ogical and lithological features ot that gold zone of which 

 in view of recent discoveries, the Wynaad may be con- 

 siilered as forming the centre. The commission of ISS2 

 and Mr. Brough Smith agree that the leading rocks ot 

 tho Wynaad ami Neilgiri districts are composed of granat- 

 oid, schists, and gneiss rocks, and as a consequence there 

 can be no divergence of opinion as to the mineralogical 

 constituents and industrial products of these rock out- 

 crops, but Mr. Pegler says the range of mountains upon 

 which the Wynaad is situated belong to the Silurian 

 fornuation of "the Pakeozoic period, though he admits that 

 the highest peaks ot the r.ange are formed of hard, dense, 

 dark crystalline rocks of the metamorphic series of gran- 

 ites and syenites. This is somewhat conflicting, but the 

 weight of evidence as regards tlie lithological characters 

 of the AVynaad places it in the metamorphic .system, 

 and hy])ozoie period. We shall now see how far the 

 characteristics of the Wynaad district agree with those 

 of Travancore. The Cthauts as they pass southwards 

 through the latter country send out, as iu the 

 Wynaad, numerous lateral spurs or side branches between 

 which there are deep valleys or gorges covered with dense 

 jungle, and in a regdon with such .an abnormally high 

 rainfall there are consequently numerous stx'eams which 

 have cut through the country rock in some places to 

 considerable depths, laying bare its structure for the eye 

 of the geologist, and, gathering strength from their innu- 

 merable tributaries, every yard traversed, they form rivers 

 of no mean dimeusious ere they lose themselves in the 

 bosinn of the Indian Ocean. The height of these Ghauts 

 varies from 1,500 to 5,000 ft., occasionally forming com- 

 paratively gentle declivities, but as a rule they stanil out 

 in bold escarpments perpendicular to tho horizon. The 

 escarpments usually face the west and south-west, the 

 points from whence come the annual monsoon rain-storms, 

 'llie most prominent are the Ibex Hills which are p:issed 

 on the left of the ilistrict ro:id proceeding .southwards 

 fro m Augustier estate to where the river,is crossed at the 

 foot of Auldbar estate, and also on the opposite siile of 

 tho same river to the left front of the superintendcnl's 

 bungalow. A still bolder and more prominent escarpment, 

 however, is to bo seen in the southern portion of Assam- 

 boo ilistrict below Eetrcat bungalow. It is almost per- 

 pendicular and several hundreds of feet in height, antl the 

 river which now washes its base has doubtless been an 

 iniport:int factor in giving rise, .at any rate, to a portion 

 of it s present contour, for, here a deep gully has been 

 for med, and the rocks on the opposite side of tho stream, 

 which are of the same series, show evidences ot having 

 once been part ot this precipitous mountain mass. 



A.S tho geology of Travancore has up to the present, 

 1^1, been very little studied, and, so far as I am aware, 

 its pal.-eontolo>;y less so, few. if any, fo.ssils ha\o been 

 found, especially iu those strata which Hauk the upjxr 

 portions of the Ghauts, oonseqaeutlj considerable cUtbo- 



