288 TKAXS ACTIONS UF SUCIETIES. 



Chi:mk:\i.. }il]:TALLURGiCAL, AND jNIixixr, Society or Sucth Aj-K;r.\. — 

 Saturday. Octnber i6th : J. E. Thomas, A.T.M.M., M.Am.I.E.E., President, 

 in tlie cliair. — " Clcau-up room praciicc at the Simmer Deep": W. H. 

 Jane and ]•". Davey. A detailed account of the processes for the reco- 

 very of gold and other precious metals and alloys, such as osmiridium, 

 fmm iItc black sand swept from the plates, from the (uue-mill liners, and 

 from such, articles as worn-out amalgam brooms. The clean-up room 

 affords ade(|uate space for all operations. It has a granolithic floor, which 

 slopes to a channel leading to a sump. The sumps arc cleaned out 

 monthly, and yield an amalgam of 36 per cent, fine gold. All wood 

 chips, blocks from tube-mill liners, waste, old launder belting, and other 

 combustible stuff are periodically incinerated, and the ashes sold to the 

 smelting works. 



Saturday, November 20th: J. E. Thomas, A.I.M.M., M.Am.I.E.E., 

 President, in the chair. — " Chief sources of accidents in the JVitzvatcrsraiid 

 Mines": C. E. Hutton. During 1914 the separate accidents reported 

 numbered 1.989. resulting in 608 deaths and i./i.S persons injured. Falls 

 of rock were responsible for the largest number of accidents, namely, 

 451, resulting in 204 deaths and 371 persons injured; 234 of the accidents 

 brought al)Out by falls of rock were due to lianging w;ills, and these 

 resulted in 739 deatlis and 177 persons injured. The sum ))aid as compen- 

 sation, during the year, in respect of deaths and injuries from accidents, 

 was £116,115. 



Gfologicai. Socii'Tv OF .SofTii Afkica. — Monday, Oc.ober i8tl: ; 'Mr. 

 ]). W'^ilkinson in tlic chair. — " On the Zinc and Lead or deposits near Zee- 

 rust, Western 'J'ransvaaL South Africa": the late W. Anderson. Lead 

 and zinc ores have long been known to occur in the Dolomite Series, south 

 of Zcerust. Lead was the first metal to be mined, the zinc being passed 

 over as valueless. The ores occur either in the form of localised areas 

 in the dolomite, or as isolated aggregations of galena, often associated 

 with similar aggregations of zinc blende. — " Descriptinn of a carbonaceous 

 )nincrcil occurring in the IJ'itkop Mine, near Zeerust, Transvaal" : Dr. C. 

 Anderson. The mineral is confined to a zone extending to a depth of 100 

 feet, and occurs as spherical, flask-shaped, or irregular rounded pellets 

 embedded in calcite. The carbon occurs in two forms, one black lustrous, 

 highly polished and brittle, the other duller in appearance and soft enough 

 to mark paper, like grapliite. The former variety is chemically an an- 

 thraxolite of high carbon content (92.74 per cent.), while the latter is 

 more akin to schungite. 



Monday. January 31st: .A. W. Rogers, M.A., Sc.D., F.G.S., Pre-idtnt, 

 in the chair. — " The nature of the copper deposits of Little Namaqualand" 

 (Presidential address): Dr A. W. Rogers. The copper-bearing rocks 

 of Xamaqualand fall into two sharply-defined groups : ( 1 ) those which 

 occur in veins, with a gangue of quartz, carbonates, felspar, and chlorite, 

 and (2) those associated with igneous intrusions in gneiss. The first 

 group is found in the northern portion of the country, and has not resulted 

 in an}' notable output of copper; the second group is the basis of the 

 copper industry, and covers some 2,000 square miles in the middle of the 

 Xamaqualand Division. In every mirie which has paid its way there are 

 patches of rich sulphide rock, the ore from which enables the poor ores 

 to be worked under present conditions. The discovery of the conditions 

 governing tlie occurrence of these rich bodies is the chief economic problem 

 in the Xamaqualand copper field. 



South Africax Associatiox of An.'Vlytical Chemists. — Thursday, 

 January 20th: J. Moir, M.A., D.Sc. President, in the chair. — "Locally- 

 made -Vahler bombs": W. O. Andrews. — "South African Grenades'' : 

 J. ^1. Thorburn. .\n exhibition was given of the different types of 

 bombs that were being made, and a demonstration of their method of 

 working. — "Detection of leater in milk": Dr. J. McCrae. The paper 

 described briefly methods which had been suggested for the detection of 

 extraneous water in milk. 



