120 ZWARTKOPS BORE AND THERMAL SPRING. 



Cape Government Geologists, but, as far as can be gathered, 

 there is still a good deal to be learnt about this subject. 



With the exception of a salt-pan near Pretoria, there is no 

 record of these salt-pans having been tested at depth — at this 

 pan, however, a bore appears to have been put down to a depth 

 of 1 88 feet, and it is on record that 



'" It proved the existence of a considerable body of 'natron,' together 

 with a 2-feet thick layer of pure carbonate of soda at about 14 feet from 

 the surface, and the existence of the pan was attributed to volcanic 

 action." 



Petroleum authorities state that oil is not confined to any 

 special series of rocks ; it is found in the formations of all ages ; 

 some understand it to be a production from vegetable matter, 

 and others that it is derived from the sea weeds and molluscs 

 of the ocean of past ages. It is found at various altitudes, and 

 in California it is pumped from below the sea, and some authori- 

 ties maintain that the chief of the world's supply of petroleum 

 lies below the ocean bed ; indeed there seems to be comparatively 

 few conditions under which it is impossible to find this oil. 



And so this small Company proposed to make an attempt 

 to prove what was below the surface in the vicinity of Port 

 Elizabeth. Some difficulty was experienced in obtaining a salt- 

 pan in the district, as these were already held by companies or 

 corporations. Eventually, however, a small pan was leased from 

 Government, but it was found to be rather out of the way and 

 difficult for the conveyance of fuel and water. It was therefore 

 abandoned in favour of a more suitable site for railway and 

 water facilities, while it was not far removed from the salt-pan 

 that was proposed to be tested. 



The capital of the Company, which was £13,000, was all 

 subscribed locally, and the whole of this sum was expended in 

 actual works. Before any active operations were begun the best 

 information was obtained as to the proper class of tools to 

 employ by a personal inspection of the methods practised in the 

 great oilfields of Galicia, where the wells are from 2,500 to 4,000 

 feet deep, and even deeper, with the result that from this 

 district a complete drilling plant of the most modern pattern was 

 purchased, competent drillers employed, and the tools and men 

 despatched to Port Elizabeth, where they arrived in the early part 

 of February, 1908. 



The first month or six weeks after arrival was chiefly 

 employed in the erection of houses, fencing ground and the 

 erection of the engine, derrick and drilling plant. An electric 

 light installation, forming part of the plant, was also erected, so 

 that the work of drilling was kept going night and day. An 

 endeavour was made to start work by inserting a wooden crib. 

 three feet in diameter, in two lengths of 12 feet each, but 

 immediately below the surface large boulders, water and running 

 sand were met with, and little progress was made until the engine 

 was at work and some special 18-inch iron steel tubing procured, 

 but eventually, after passing through 82 feet of sand, boulders. 



