74 mallet: geology of darjiling and western duars. 



west at from 30° to 40°. The main cupriferous stratum seems to be about 

 2 feet thick, throughout which the ore, with mundic and traces of blende, 

 is disseminated, as in the Rani mine, in little strings or clustered par- 

 ticles and in specks. Several openings have been made into this stratum; 

 and 6 or 8 feet above it, where the rock is also slightly cupriferous, 

 there is a trial opening, which, however, was not carried beyond a yard 

 or two. 



It will be observed that the last three copper-bearing localities are 

 situated a little south of the gneiss in the transition beds between it 

 and the Dalings, and that the rock is all quartzose hornblende- 

 schist, on the same horizon. It is not improbable that all belong to 

 one cupriferous stratum extending at least from north of Rani Hat to 

 the Mahanaddi, and it is along this line that any further search for 

 copper in the neighbourhood should be made. 



No one with me in the field knew of any mine in the Mahanaddi 

 valley but the above. It would appear, however, from Mr. Taylor's 

 report, given in the appendix, that more than one mine was worked 

 there some twenty years ago. The mine he examined was probably 

 different from the above, as he says the ' lode' dips north at 30° ; it was 

 very probably in the same stratum however, as his description agrees 

 closely with my observations in other respects. 



Mr. H. F. Rlanford also visited one of these mines about the same 

 time as Mr. Taylor; he describes the cupriferous stratum as small, 

 and the ore as very poor with a large admixture of mundic* 



Mr. Piddington mentions iron pyrites with a trace of copper from 

 Mangwa, a village near the next mentioned 

 locality,f but no mine appears to have ever existed 

 there. 



* Percy's Metallurgy, Vol. I, p. 388. 



f Journal, Asiatic Society, Bengal, Vol. XXIII, p. 479. 



74 ) 



