138 iV. R. Junner: 



intersects the porpliyry above described, and the Buck reef occurs, 

 at the contact of this rock with the Silurian sandstones, and dip& 

 very steeply to the west. -The reef is here composed of compact 

 milky quartz, slightly mineralised. Pyrites is the dominant sul- 

 phide, and stibnite is relatively rare, as compared with its abund- 

 ance in the reefs at Yow Yow. Native lead has been recorded 

 from the Homeward Bound reef,^ pointing to the presence of a 

 fairly easily reduced lead mineral. It is interesting to note that 

 native lead has also been recorded from the quartz reefs at Warran- 

 dyte,2 and from the Ringwood antimony mine.3 According to the 

 Mining Surveyor for the division, the Buck reef was the widest and 

 poorest reef at One Tree Hill. Its average width was about three 

 feet although it was as much as six feet wide in places. The Reports 

 of the Mining Surveyors show that from this reef 2126 ozs. of 

 gold were obtained from .3.31.3 tons of quartz crushed, between the 

 years 1866 and 1873. This practically represents the total yield 

 recorded from tlie Buck reef, although not the total gold won, as 

 the records are undoubtedly incomplete, and the Reports mention 

 it as being reworked in 1866, after having been abandoned. 



The Swedish reef was one of the earliest developed in this field. 

 It is well defined on the surface, and strikes N. 25o E. to N. 30o E.. 

 and dips to the south-west, at about 60o. Numerous shafts have- 

 been sunk on its outcrop, but practically none of them descend to- 

 greater depths than 200 ft., and the majority are less than 100 ft. 

 deep. The Swedish reef gained notoriety in 18.59 and 1860, owing 

 to the discovery of some very rich patches of gold near the surface. 

 A few of the earliest recorded yields, undoubtedly from picked 

 spec-imens, may Ije (junted to illustrate the extraordinary richness of 

 the quartz, and the nuggety character of the gold. 



The early records are far from complete, and, according to the- 

 Mining Sniveyoi-, many of the miners were unAvilling to divulge 

 the retuiMis. Tlie discrepancy between recorded and actual yields 

 is well illustrated by the Mining Surveyor's Report for January, 

 1861. He says, speaking of the Swedish reef : " The former owners 

 were al)Out to abandon No. 2 South, on tlie eve of their finding 

 quartz, yielding, from a few patches. al)nut £8000 worth of gold." 

 At £4 an ounce tliis gives 2000 ozs. of gold, yet the recorded yield 

 amounted to only 620 ozs. Apart from these very rich patches. 



1 Annual Report, Sec. Mines, Victoria, 1911. 



2 Vide, J. Atkinson : A locality list of all the niineials liitliei-to leconled from Victoria, 

 Proc. Hoy. Soc. Victoria, \ol. ix. (n.s.), p. 96, 1896. 



;; Vi.le, Mineral .Statistics of Victoria, 1877. 



