Section IV, 1891. [ 21 ] Trans. Roy. Sog. Canada. 



III. — llie Gold-heariag Rochs of New Brunsickk, and the possible discovery of 

 remunerative gold deposits in that province. 



By L. W. Bailey, M.A. 



(Read May 28, 1891.) 



The discovery of productive gold-fields is in most countries a matter of accident. It 

 is naturally so, because, though metalliferous veins are not vpithout definite conditions of 

 occurrence and association, these are known to comparatively few, and all veins are sub- 

 ject to irregularities and uncertainties, which make the work of the prospector and miner 

 difficult and often disappointing. Even when a country comes under the examination of 

 a trained geologist, or the scrutiny of a geological survey, it may easily happen that the 

 occurrence of precious metals may for a long time be overlooked. Especially will this be 

 so when, as is usually the case, the auriferous district is rough, unsettled and forest-clad, 

 the exposures being only such as are afforded by the channels of streams and rivers. 

 Such has been the case in connection with the gold development of Nova Scotia and with 

 those of other countries. 



The possible occurrence of gold in New Brunswick w^as a matter of speculation long 

 before its existence in paying quantities in Nova Scotia had been made known. Reports 

 of '■ finds " in different parts of the province were numerous, and though many of them 

 could not be traced to any reliable source, or were due to the mistaking of other minerals, 

 such as pyrite or mica, for gold, yet some came from persons who were at once both com- 

 petent and credible observers. Such were the reported discoveries of this metal made by 

 Prof. C. H. Hitchcock in the vicinity of St. Stephen described in the reports on the 

 Greology of Maine, and those of Prof H. Y. Hind on the Tobique and Serpentine rivers, 

 specimens in the latter case (from stream washings) having been shown in the Provincial 

 Exhibition of 18*70. 



The discovery of gold in Nova Scotia naturally led to a much closer examination and 

 to a better knowledge of the nature of the rocks containing it, and the circumstances of 

 its occurrence. These w^ere described minutely by numerous geologists, including 

 especially Silliman, Hind, Hunt, Grilpiu, Selwyn and others, and comparisons were insti- 

 tuted between the conditions there seen and those of other gold regions, including, in 

 addition to North Carolina, California and Australia, the more recently discovered district 

 in the Eastern Townships of the province of Quebec, notably on the tributaries of the 

 Chaudière river. In the meantime the geological survey of New Brunswick was in pro- 

 gress, and as early as 18*70, the author, in a joint report with G. F. Matthew^ called atten- 

 tion to the close parallelism exhibited by some of the rock formations of New Brunswick 

 to those of the auriferous series in the sister province. At that time the writer had not 

 seen the gold-bearing rocks either of Nova Scotia or Quebec, but struck by the descrip- 



