PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION ¢. 437 
first between the Saxon mine and Shellback Creek, and again 
between the former and Hape Creek; or, in other words, the 
gold-bearing veins being worked at Kurunui Hill are the same as 
those at Una Hill, while those between the Saxon mine and the 
Waiotahi find their equivalents on the opposite side of the anti- 
cline, the great dome of which has been cut down almost to 
sea-level by the Karaka stream, | 
Besides these gold-bearing veins, the auriferous series contains 
what are locally termed duck reefs. These consist, of great 
segregated bodies of flinty quartz, which sometimes run parallel 
with the country, sometimes across it, but are not continuous 
either in length or depth for any distance. In his report on this 
goldfield, in 1882, Mr. Cox speaks of these deposits as cross-courses, 
but their character and behaviour are altogether different from 
those of cross-courses, and they certainly do not deserve the name. 
Tests of samples from a number of these reefs at the School of 
Mines in all cases proved the presence of gold and silver, the 
bullion, in a few instances, being worth as much as £11 per ton, 
largely made up of silver. When the richer parts of the field 
become worked out these will, no doubt, form a valuable asset. 
The Great Moanatairi Fault. 
This fault is of more than usual interest and importance. In 
the first place it is of recent date, a fact which is satisfactorily 
proved by its having drawn down the old floor of the harbour, 
with its accumulations of recent shells, sands and gravels, a 
distance of several hundreds of feet. On the other hand, its 
course is as plainly marked on the surface as that of the great 
Kaikoura fault, a slight displacement of which, it will be remem- 
bered, last year caused the alarming earthquakes at Christchurch 
and the Hanmer Plains. Where it crosses compact rocks on the 
surface the striations and slickensides are as fresh as if the faulting 
or sliding had only taken place yesterday. 
This fault is an important factor with regard to the distribution 
of the gold. It runs almost at right angles across the general 
trend of the gold-bearing strata. It crosses Hape Creek, as 
shown on the accompanying geological sketch map, immediately 
below the gorge, and thence follows along the foot of Una Hill to 
Karaka stream, whence it passes across the ridge to the Waiotahi, 
and then onward to Moanatairi Hill, beyond which it bends 
slightly to the north-west, and enters the sea a little beyond the 
mouth of Shellback Creek. The course of this fault is marked on 
the surface by a line of depression, which can easily be traced by 
theeye. Its adeis towards the harbour, that is, to the westward, 
thus indicating this as the downthrow side. A moment’s 
consideration will show that the country at the sea level is the 
same, or corresponds with that at a height of about 300 feet above 
