THE OCCURREXCE O? r;OLD IN NR^V BRUNSWICK. 19 



not 3'et liecn iouud ii' paying; ijuantitie^ neverthelo.~s, judging 

 from the .specimens o])taincfl and from the character of the de- 

 posits, it is not unreasonable to suppose that in some syiots at 

 ieast, it has l)ecn suflHciently concentrated to be [>r(ifitably mined. 



In regard to the original source of the gold which occurs in 

 thi- part of the province, it seems probable that it is in that por- 

 tion of tlie wide band of pre-Candu'ian rocks that lies lietween 

 Campbell River on the south and the NeY)isiguit on the north. 

 These rocks consist chiefly of sclrists and slates, often chloritic 

 or talcose. witli (luartzites, intrusi-ve granites, etc., and are tra- 

 versed by numerous quartz veins. Though gold has not yet been 

 discovered in the matrix, nevertheless, grains or small nuggets 

 with (puirts jittached have have Ijeen met with in the alluvnnns. 

 Tlie small three-stamp crusher referred to, it is hoped, will be 

 }iut to furtlier u>e in testing tliese quartz veins. 



Ijlack magnetic sands are quite aliund.ant in some parts of 

 the Serpentine valley. Tliese when found in the auriferous al- 

 luviums contain some fine gold. 



The Sert^entine. wliich drains a lake system, has an abund- 

 ant water {'owcr. sufiicioMt for sluicing and washing the allu- 

 viums througliout the wiiojc summer, and fo: hydraulic work 

 shoubl it ever be de:^irablr to undertake this. The average 

 gradient of this river l)elow the "dead waters" is not less than 

 forty-tive or fifty feet per mile, audit has several water-falls in 

 that part of its course, the highest, called "liig Falls."' having a 

 descent of about twenty-eight feet. 



After examining the Serpentine alluviums I visited the 

 Nasbwaak and Cross Creek district where gold was reported to 

 occur in quartz veins, and where a large numl)er of mining areas 

 were sold in the winter of 18'JS-D9 and located on top of the snow, 

 so eager were people to secure them. During the summer of 1899 

 some prospecting Avas done, but T could not definitely ascertain 

 whether anv gold had been found. While examining this dis- 

 trict I was fortunate in meeting Mr. Charles Welch of Boiestown, 

 N. 15., a Klondyke miner, and we carried (Uit the exploration to- 

 gether. No gold was discovered by us at Cross Creek, either in 

 the gravels or the rocks, but in the Nashwaak vallev. in the vi- 



