50 BALL : GEOLOGY OF AURIJNGA AND HUTAR COAL FIELDS. 



near some of the other routes there may be clearer sections of the scarped 

 sides of the plateau. 



The laterite varies much in character. Sometimes it is pisolitic 



and argillaceous, containing but a small quantity 



of Ste^''^ character ^^ •^^,^^^ Occasionally, it is cellular with a larger 



percentage of ferruginous matter, passing thence 



into a remarkably rich brown ore (limonite),^ which contains 45-5 per 



cent, of iron, and is smelted by the Neturhat Aguriahs. 



The Neturhat plateau is about 4 miles long by 2| broad, but this is. 



likely to give an exaggerated idea of its area, which 



Summit of plateau. , i , « -i mi j i 



does not exceed about 7 square miles. Ihe central 



southern portion forms a basin traversed by a perennial stream, which 



runs from south to north. The laterite within this basin is covered 



by about a foot or so of soil, and the locality has already attracted two 



tea companies, as has already been mentioned. 



Lamtipdt is in close proximity to the Gulgulpat about to be describ- 

 ed. The thicknesses of the trap and laterite respectively have not yet 

 been ascertained, but both are believed to occur there. 



Gulgulpat.— On this hill, which is a long ridge, capped at its centre 



by a steep-sided mass of laterite and trap, gneiss 

 Sections. -inn 



was round exposed up to a point about 260 feet 



below the summit, or in other words at an elevation of 3,563 feet above 

 the sea. Fallen laterite then conceals the section ; but trap boulders 

 were noted at least 90 feet higher, though no trap was seen in situ. 



The crowning layer of laterite is, perhaps, 60 feet thick and is much 

 split and crevassed. The huge blocks so separated have, in some cases, 

 fallen away from the mass and present a strange appearance, which is 

 in some cases intensified by the creepers and luxuriant jungle which 

 in part conceal their Titanic dimensions. Much of the laterite is 

 pisolitic and similar in character to that of Neturhat, but I did not 



=> This I believe to be the ore called dherlur by the natives. 

 ( 50 ) 



