X, A, 3 Smith: Geology of Panay 225 



these quartz-mica-hornblende-diorites in various parts of the 

 Philippines, but they are not common. 



As the picrites are still more uncommon, I shall give Abella's 

 own description of them: 



The picrites have a beautiful emerald green color with bronze metallic 

 reflections of a crystalline texture, and in them is seen olivine, augite, and 

 bronze hypersthene, a virhite mass being distinguished among these crystals, 

 semigranular, almost pulverulent, which at some time might have originated 

 from a preexisting feldspar or nepheline, which cannot now be classified 

 as such, nor give, therefore, character to the rock. Under the microscope 

 this white mass resolves itself into a whitish magma, amorphous and 

 decomposed, which in the polarized light emits, notwithstanding, certain pale 

 gray bluish and yellowish colorizations, all of which confirms the supposi- 

 tion attributing to it the feldspathic and nephelinic origin, * * *_ 



Based on these characters and on the almost holocrystalline texture which 

 the three elements of this rock display, we shall classify it as peridotic, and 

 designate it as picrite. 



The western cordillera certainly affords an interesting field for 

 the petrographer, and its thorough exploration may some day 

 reveal deposits of great commercial value. For instance, the 

 "picrites" which Abella mentions are about the most basic rocks 

 known, and in their vicinity it is reasonable to expect that 

 valuable deposits of metals will be found. 



ECONOMIC GEOLOGY 



In the third part of his report Abella discusses the occurrences 

 of various nonmetals and metals. Since Abella's time a slight 

 amount of prospecting has been carried on in Antique Province 

 by Americans, with the result that promising deposits of chro- 

 mic iron and copper have been reported, but nothing of value 

 has been found on the eastern side of the cordillera. The pres- 

 ence of petroleum and coal has also been reported. Specimens 

 of wolframite have been sent to the Bureau of Science by two 

 persons from Antique Province, who, however, gave no definite 

 information with regard to them. If there is any considerable 

 quantity, it will be valuable. Serpentine containing asbestiform 

 minerals has also been noted in the same province. 



The presence of petroleum at Janiuay, Iloilo Province, was 

 reported many years ago, but during a recent reconnaissance 

 of the province, I failed to see any oil. However, at Janiuay 

 I visited a well 537 meters in depth, which was bored nearly 

 two years before by the Bureau of Public Works for artesian 

 water, and which was emitting gas and salt water intermittently. 

 This may be an indication of the presence of petroleum at a lower 



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