Pond, — On the Presence of Nickel in the Auckland District. 455 



uow made a careful researcli iu all specimens to hand in which there were 

 indications of this metal, and having made a quantitative examination, I 

 herewith apjpend it. The amount obtained is small, in no instance realizing 

 one per cent., but* the consciousness of its presence in the district will 

 perhaps induce some of the settlers to more carefully note the mineral lodes 

 in their neighbourhood, probably with the result of the discovery of larger 

 quantities of the metal in question. The following are the localities where 

 found, and the percentage in which it is present. 



1. Loose stones obtained at Mahurangi, apparently of serpentine rock, 

 and composed of silicate of magnesia, in which nickel is present in small 

 and variable amounts. 



2. Portions of a large rock-mass of serpentine outcropping in the 

 direction of the Hotea from Mahurangi ; in this I have found the largest 

 amount of nickel, it being present to the extent of -49 per cent. 



3. Serpentine obtained from a small stream near the North Manukau, 

 Head in which nickel realized -47 per cent. 



4. Calcite from Matakohe, stained in a peculiar manner with the 

 hydrated silicate of nickel ; the stone attached to the calcite is of the char- 

 acter mentioned in No. 1. 



5. Hard greenstone from Papakura Valley, giving a trace of copper and 

 nickel to the extent of '26 per cent. 



6. Green unctuous clay from Waipu of a very peculiar character. In 

 this I anticipated a larger proportion of nickel, but was disappointed, it 

 being present only to the amount of •!! per cent. The colour of this clay 

 is due, as in most of the other instances named, to protoxide of h'on. 



7. Foliated serpentine from Coromandel, in which there is a trace of 

 nickel present. 



The probability of this metal existing in larger quantities is, I think, 

 very great, as but little time or attention has been devoted to the work of 

 prospecting for other than the precious metals, and it is only through a 

 careful examination of all minerals found that we can hope to have any 

 success in the research. Eespecting the probabilities of nickel being 

 found in payable amounts, I would note that the deposits in New Caledonia 

 of a silicate of this metal which have lately come into such notoriety are 

 found in crevices in the serpentine rocks, and, as I have already remarked, 

 my two largest results have been from serpentine ; nor is it peculiar to this 

 part of the world that it should be so situated, as Dana mentions several 

 instances in which nickel is found in this rock. The efforts of a thorough 

 research in the district between Mahurangi and Whangarei, through to the 

 West Coast, may be well repaid should a body of stone containing a low 

 percentage even be found, as in America ore containing only three per 



