Ilessrs. Chalmers 8f Hatch — ITashonakind 8f Matabeleland. 197 



and the rock is sheared into the highly foliated and unctuous slaty 

 rock known as chlorite schist. 



A similar process of metamorphism acting in acid igneous rocks, 

 gives rise to sericitic (mica) schist, but these are of much rarer 

 occurrence than the basic schists in the gold belts of Mashonaland. 

 It is in the regions of most intense metamorphism that the veins 

 occur. In the great majority of cases, therefore, the country rock 

 of the lode is chlorite schist. In a few cases the veins occur in 

 gneiss, but we are not aware of any instance in Mashonaland or 

 Matabeleland of a lode having been found in the granite. 



We are now in a better position to answer the questions previously 

 stated. 



1. The relation of the schists to the granite is probably one of 

 original intrusion in the form of basic igneous rock, and not of 

 deposition of sedimentary beds on the top of a granite floor. 



2 and 3. The auriferous veins are chiefly found in the schist 

 belts or their immediate neighbourhood, because they owe their 

 origin to a sequence of dynamic phenomena intimately connected 

 with those that gave rise to the schists themselves. 



A corollary of great importance for the future of the Mashonaland 

 gold-fields can be deduced from the foregoing, namely : That the 

 schist belts are continuous in depth, and are not liable to be cut off 

 by the granite, as has been maintained on the assumption that they 

 were sedimentary deposits resting on a granite floor. 



GOLD-BEAKING DISTRICTS. 



There is a rude parallelism in the direction of the schist belts, 

 their trend being roughly east and west across Matabeleland and 

 the southern portion of Mashonaland ; and it is an interesting fact 

 that similar schist belts (also auriferous), occurring in Zoutspanberg, 

 have the same general trend. Travelling up from Tuli to Buluwayo, 

 three belts of schist are traversed. The first is encountered some 

 45 miles north of Tuli; it is a small strip of metamorphic rock 

 three to five miles wide. The next is the newly-discovered Gwanda 

 belt lying 60 to 70 miles south of Buluwayo. This is a fairly broad 

 belt, being 8 to 10 miles in width, while westward it trends towards 

 the Tati gold-fields, and eastward it probably connects with the 

 belt known as the Naka pass. Schists also occur for some 20 miles 

 south of Buluwayo, and it appears probable that belts trending 

 to the coast connect with the Victoria gold-fields. Travelling 

 eastwards from Buluwayo several regions of metamorphic rocks are 

 passed, the most important being those of Bembise, Shangani, 

 Seleukwe, Gwailo, etc. The principal districts visited by us are the 

 Mazoe, the Umfuli, Victoria, Umtali, Mogundi, and the Seleukwe. 



The camp of the Mining Commissioner of the Mazoe district is 

 about 27 miles north of Salisbury. The limits of the metamorphic 

 area round the upper Mazoe are in no direction well defined. 

 Southwards the geological features of the country are to a great 

 extent obscured by a heavy surface wash, but it seems very probable 

 that between the Mazoe and Salisbury there is a continuous schist 



