332 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTIOX B. 



sulphur will be seen to condense at first, on the inner watch, glass, 

 but slowly disappears. The whole is allowed to cool to about 100° 

 in a current of carbon dioxide ; tlie crucible is then transferred to 

 tbe desiccator and weighed when cool. In the papers of Clark and 

 Paul many experimental resulis are given showing, the accuracy of 

 their separate processes. To test the determination of the 

 antimony by the above combined method the following experiments 

 were made — Two samples of pyrites were analysed by the method 

 of Fresenius (Quant. Anal., p. 48Sj, the arsenic being precipitated 

 with magnesia mixture and the antimony weighed as oxide o£ 

 antimony, and also bv the ab ive-described method. 



No. 1. No. 2. 



Eesults by method of Fresenius z: Antimony 19-34 Antimony 4-fi6 

 Results by above combined method = Antimony 19- 12 Antimony 4-60 



18.— REMARKS ON THE FINE.NESS AND DISTRIBU- 

 TION OF GOLD IN NORTH GIPPSLAND. 



Bit DOXALD CLARK, B.C.E., Director North Gippsland School of Mines. 



Perhaps there is no other district in the colony where the 

 fineness of gold differs so much within small areas as North 

 Gippsland. From the almost chemically pure sott yellow gold of 

 the Nicholsin River one has not to go many miles to find the 

 greenish yellow alloy, electruin, in Swift's Creek. 



The main geological features of the country have been so well 

 mapped out by Mr. ilowitt, F.G.S.. the present Secretary for 

 Mines, that special comment is almost unnecessary. 



In many of his papers Mr. Howitt endeavored to trace the 

 relationship of the strata to the fineness of the gold within certain 

 areas ; and though I think the occurrence of alluvial gold on any 

 strata is accidental, yet valuable \vork could be done by determin- 

 ing how the fineness of the gold is influenced by associated rocks 

 and minerals. 



The fineness of gold, no doubt, depends originally on the 

 solvents which held it in solution, and also on the amount of 

 silver and baser metals present at the same time. 



In auriferous belts in this di^strict gold is distributed through 

 the slates and sandstones, and sometimes in sufficient quantities 

 to be remuneratively worked, but by far the largest proportion of 

 gold obtained comes from the quartz reefs. In some cases, as at 

 Yahoo Creek, the gold is on one side of the reef in slate, not a 

 color being present in the quartz alongside ; in other cases it is 

 in small reefs which cross large barren ones, the latter being 

 enriched wliere the contact plane is. 



