520 



BEPORT — 1887. 



In the early days of gold-mining in Victoria almost the whole yield 

 was from placers. The relative proportions of quartz and placer gold 

 is not known before 1868 ; in that year the amounts raised were 

 1,087,502 oz. of placer gold, and 597,416 oz. of quartz gold. From this 

 date the yield of alluvial gold steadily fell to 1878, when only 264,453 oz. 

 were raised, or one-fourth of that raised in 1868. 



Alluvial and vein gold were about equal in 1871. The maximum 

 quantity of vein gold was raised in 1872 ; the minimum quantity in 1879. 

 For the last four years the average proportions have been about 40 per 

 cent, alluvial gold and 60 per cent, vein gold, and these figures fairly 

 represent the ^proportions for the whole of Australasia in 1883 ; but the 

 rapid increase of vein gold in Queensland is now increasing the per- 

 centage from that source. From the great importance of Victoria it may 

 be as well more fully to tabulate the facts just given : — 



The Ballarat district makes the greatest return, producing about one- 

 third of the total yield of Victoria, 64 per cent, of its gold being alluvial ; 

 the Sandhurst district comes next, producing one-fourth of the total gold, 

 but only 3 per cent, of its yield is alluvial. The other districts stand 

 thus in relative importance (the percentage of alluvial gold in each being 

 also roughly stated) : — Castlemaine (34) ; Maryborough (75) ; Beech- 

 worth (62) ; Ararat (61). 



The rapid development of gold-mining in Victoria and its sustained 

 importance were due to working the shallow and rich alluvial deposits ; 

 but these became exhausted, and the produce had to be raised from the 

 deep placers, often underlying a great thickness of basalt. Many of these 

 ' deep leads ' are now being worked at 400 and 500 feet below the surface. 



' Tens of thousands of pounds are frequently expended before the deep 

 alluvial mines become remunerative, and sometimes after all failure is 

 encoimtered ; but, nevertheless, successes have, in the main, counter- 

 balanced the failures, and increasing experience tends to lessen the risk 

 of the latter. There are still hundreds of miles in length of unworked 

 leads which are likely to reward future enterprise, No great discovery 

 in shallow ground has been made for the last ten years, nor can such be 

 now expected, as no large area of possibly auriferous shallow country 

 remains untried.' ' 



Queensland is, next to Victoria, the most important British gold-pro- 

 ducing colony, and it is of especial interest, because the yield of gold is 

 now increasing. In 1867 the yield was under 50,000 oz., in 1868 it rose 

 to 165,000 oz., varied till 1873 (195,000 oz.), and then suddenly rose 



' Illustrated Handhwli of Victoria, Col. and Ind. Exliib. 18SG, pp. 80, 81. 



