230 NEW SOUTH WALES. 



The Adelong quartz reefs are lieavily cliarged witli pyrites, niis- 

 pickel, galena, zinc blende, and copper ; hence more attention has been 

 given to the saving of gold than has been done in districts where free 

 gold in quartz veins predominates. 



In the Gundagai district large quantities of gold have been obtained 

 both in quartz and alluvial, and only recently very rich discoveries 

 have been made. Prospecting is very extensively carried on. There 

 are several crushing plants in the district ; the deepest quartz mine is 

 only 300 feet in depth. 



Temora, in the Bland district, where gold was first discovered in 

 1880, is again coming to the front. Some very rich reefs have been 

 discovered lately at a place known as Scrubyards, where one party has 

 just finished crushing 286 tons of quartz, yielding 1,788 oz. 12 dwts. of 

 gold, or about 6 oz. 5 dwts. of gold per ton^ with a quartz vein from 3 

 to 12 inches in thickness, the country rock being soft. This reef has 

 now reached the depth of 100 feet, and has so far been traced over 

 400 feet along the surface. There is an extensive tract of auriferous 

 country between Scrubyards, Temora, Reefton, Barmedman, Wyalong, 

 and Yalgogrin, which is well worthy of r, thorough prospecting. 



Reefton, Barmedman, and Wyalong ai.\ so far, essentially quartz- 

 reefing districts, no payable auriferous alluvial discoveries have been 

 made. But there is no reason why aurifei'ous alluvial discoveries should 

 not be made in those localities. Only very recently several new gold 

 discoveries have been added to our already known mineral wealth. 

 Foremost are those at Wyalong in the Bland district. The first dis- 

 covery of the Wyalong Gold-field was made in October, 1893, Avhen the 

 locality was a wilderness and mere sheepwalk. In March, 1894, the 

 first actual rush set in, and in a few weeks the population reached about 

 10,000. But the present number is about 3,000, and the latter number 

 is likely to be settled on the field for some years to come. Nearly 

 20,000 tons of quartz have been crushed from this field, yielding, with 

 the gold from the concentrates, about 29,500 oz. of gold. The gold is 

 valued at nearly £4 per oz. 



Wyalong is a poor man's gold-field ; the reefs occur in decomposed 

 hornblendic granite and diorite ; can be easily worked without explo- 

 sives, and have been tested to about 200 feet, or water level. The yield 

 of gold has varied from a few pennyweights to 10 oz. per ton. Up to 

 date no gold leases have been gi-anted on the Wyalong Gold-field. This 

 course has been adopted by the Hon. Sydney Smith, M.P., Minister 

 for Mines and Agriculture, for the purpose of preventing monopoly, 

 and encouraging a systematic and thorough prospecting of the field. 

 When an application for lease has been made for any particular area, 

 no other person can interfere with same, and no labour need be 

 employed until the lease is granted, and then fewer persons are 

 required to comply with the labour conditions than would be if the 

 same area were held as a quartz claim by vii-tue of the miner's right. 

 Hence it will be seen that the course adopted by the Hon. Sydney 

 Smith, M.P., Minister for Mines and Agriculture, was a far-seeing, 

 prudent, and wise one, whereby great encouragement has been given 

 to the individual miner to follow his avocation of prospecting unmo- 

 lested, and without fear of trespassing on some area held under ajipli- 

 cation for lease. 



