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VI.— OIT THE POSSIBILITY OF GOLD BEING FOUND IN 

 QUANTITY IN THE CO. WICKLOW. Bx GEOEGE HENRY 

 KINAHAN, M.E.I. A., &c. 



[Read, February 19, 1883.] 



In a Paper read some little time since before tlie Society, " On the 

 Mode of Occurrence and Winning of Grold in Ireland,"^ the writer 

 gives a very exhaustive account of the Wicklow Placer mines, 

 while since then our Honorary Secretary, in his admirable report 

 on the Economic Greology of India,^ seems to suggest " that very 

 little more gold is to be found in the Grold-mine Yalley" ; and the 

 object of this Paper is to lay before the Society the general facts 

 of the case. 



From the explorations in different portions of the world, it 

 has been learned that in connexion with a Placer mine, gold may 

 be found — first, in the mother-rock [reefs or veins) ; second, in the 

 higher shallow alluvium of the valley [shalloiv placers) ; third, in 

 the lower deep alluvium of the valley [deep placers) ; fourth, in the 

 alluvium of the beds of the high, now dry, supplementary streams 

 of the ancient or primary valley {dry gulch placers) ; and fifth, in 

 the shelves, . or high level flats, on the sides of valleys [shelf, reef 

 or har placers) y^ the latter being the relics or records left of the floor 

 of the ancient primary valley — they proving that prior to the pre- 

 sent time the gold was in the first instance deposited in a compa- 

 ratively wide shallow valley ; while the alluvium of the present 

 stream is the rewashed drift of the ancient valley mixed with newer 

 detritus. Now in modern times, in none of the valleys of the Co. 

 Wicklow has gold been found, or even looked for, except in the 

 first, second, and fourth cases. 



1 Gerrard A. Kinahan, Scientific Proceedings, Eoyal Dublin Society, vol. iii. 



2 Geology of India, Part iii., "Economic Geology," by V. Ball, m.a., f. g.s. 



^ The term reef is, in part, confusing, as "reef mining," as used in some countries, 

 refers to the crushing up of the quartz veins or reefs — while in other places the same 

 term " reef " is applied to the high level flats. 



