Auriferous Sandstones of Chiltern. 291 



country rock containing the lodes ate found to carry some 

 proportion of the same minerals as abound in the lode itself, may 

 these not have been derived from the lode, instead of the other 

 way about? In very many cases it has been noticed that country 

 rock close to unusually rich portions of a reef is also auriferous. At 

 the Mystery Reef, Elaine, this was the case ; the soft, yellow, 

 decomposed slate carrying several dwts. of gold to the ton. 



Where gold occurs in sandstone and in slate in these States 

 it may generally be considered as of secondary origin ; it is 

 usually not constant for any great distance. 



The crystallized gold, often found where indicators of slate 

 are crossed by quartz veins and generally at the site of some 

 displacement of the strata, is certainly of secondary character, and 

 has accreted at these particular sites from solutions that have 

 leached the gold out at some higher level. To such origin, also, 

 must be attributed the rich leaders at Elaine and elsewhere. 



It is evident that the percolation of surface waters through 

 auriferous lodes that dissolve gold, and carry it away in solution 

 through other parts of these lodes, and that also' drain into the 

 channels of alluvial leads and flow down them, is still in action, 

 and has to be considered as an agency at work both in the lodes 

 and in alluvial leads. 



If such waters could deposit gold in the planes of a slate 

 pebble, and in the small cavities of sandstone pebbles, there 

 seems no valid reason why some should not be deposited on the 

 particles of gold in the leads also. Examples showing such to be 

 the case have not been met with by the writer, though the 

 possibility was demonstrated long ago by the late Mr. C. S. 

 Wilkinson. For the data concerning work done, etc., my 

 acknowledgments are due to Mr. Barrass, Senr., one of our 

 veteran miners, and also to Messrs. Snow and H. William.s, of 

 Mount Pleasant. 



