MINES 291 



And, finally, in the coal-basin is a stratum of red fossiliforous ore, beginning in a 

 comparatively thin seam in the state of New York, and terminating in the state of 

 Alabama in a bed 15 feet in thickness, over which the horseman may ride for more 

 than 100 miles. Westward, in Arkansas and Missouri, is- reached that wonderful 

 range of red oxide of iron, which, in mountains rising hundreds of feet above the sur- 

 face, or in beds beneath the soil, culminates at Lake Superior in deposits of ore which 

 excite the wonder of all beholders ; and returning thenco to the Atlantic slope, in the 

 Adirondacks of New York, is a vast, undeveloped region, watered by rivers whose 

 beds are of iron, and traversed by mountains whose foundations are laid upon the 

 same material. In and among the coal-beds themselves are found scattered deposits 

 of haematite and fossiliferous ores, which, by their proximity to the coal, have in- 

 augurated the iron industry of our day." 



MINES OF AUSTRALIA. 



Victoria is essentially a gold-producing colony, extensive mining operations having 

 for many years been systematically carried on not only in the alluvial drifts and deep 

 ' leads,' but also in the auriferous quartz-reefs which course through lower Silurian rocks. 

 Silver ores have been worked by the St. Arnaud Silver Mines Company. Stream-tin, 

 in the form of ' black-sand,' is frequently found in connection with the alluvial gold, 

 and veins of tin ore have also been discovered. Copper and lead, though found in 

 the colony, are not abundant ; nor is the iron worked, although in the form of 

 titaniferous iron-sand it enjoys a wide distribution. Mining for coal has been 

 attempted at Western Port, Cape Otway, and at some other localities ; but a Board 

 recently appointed to enquire into the coal-producing resources of the colony have 

 reported unfavourably. A thick deposit of lignite has been worked at Lai Lai. 



South Australia is remarkably rich in copper, the Burra Burra mines being cele- 

 brated for their production of malachite, or green carbonate. Several copper mines 

 are also established on Yorke's Peninsula, and are notable for yielding the oxychloride 

 of copper, or atacamite. Among the principal copper mines may be mentioned the 

 Wallaroo, the Kapunda and Moonta mines. The colony also possesses magnificent 

 iron ores in the form of magnetite and red and brown haematite, but they are not yet 

 worked to any extent. Gold, silver, and bismuth, are to be mentioned among the 

 useful minerals of South Australia. 



In New South Wales coal-measures are worked at Newcastle, Wollongang, and 

 Hartley. Oil-shales are also wrought at some of these localities, and distilled for 

 sake of the kerosine oil which they yield. The iron of the colony is not yet largely 

 worked. Copper mines are opened up to a limited extent, and gold mining is not 

 neglected. Valuable deposits of tin ore were discovered in the Northern districts of 

 the colony in 1870, and are being actively developed. The tin extends into the ad- 

 jacent colony of Queensland. 



Queensland is rich in coal, some of which appears to be of palaeozoic and some of 

 mesozoic age. Gold is worked both in reefs and in alluvial deposits. Copper ores 

 are mined at Peaks Down and Mount Perry ; and the iron ores have recently received 

 attention, whilst the discovery of tin is being eagerly followed up by the miner. 

 Agates, chrysoprase, and opal must also be enumerated among the mineral products 

 of this colony, 



In Tasmania tin ore has recently been worked in the neighbourhood of Mount 

 Bischoff. Coal occurs on the Mersey river and elsewhere ; some of the Tasmanian 

 coal is bituminous, and some anthracitic, whilst other varieties are merely lignite. 

 A peculiar bituminous substance, known as Tasmanite, occurs on the Mersey. 



New Zealand is rich in mineral wealth. Gold has been successfully worked in 

 some parts of the colony, as at the Thames gold-fields. Bituminous coal occurs in 

 the Pukawan coal-field, whilst lignite is widely distributed in the North and Middle 

 Islands, and is often associated with a fossil gum or retinite. Copper ores occur in 

 the serpentine of the Dunn Mountain, and titaniferous iron-sand skirts the shore of 

 Taranaki. Among the other mineral products may bo mentioned chrome iron ore, 

 arsenic, graphite, and jade. 



ON SOME OTHER LESS KNOWN MlNE COUNTRIES. 



The islands of Cyprus and Negropont, in the Mediterranean, were celebrated, in 

 former times, for their copper mines ; and several islands of the Archipelago presented 

 gold mines, now abandoned. The same thing may be said of Macedonia and Thrace. 

 The mountains of Servia and Albania contain iron mines ; and lead mines occur in 

 Servia, and the adjacent provinces of European Turkey. The silver mines of Laurium, 

 in Attica, used in early times to form a most important source of revenue to Athens. 

 Theso are now being partially reworked. Mines of silver ore, with galena, are still 



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