( 534 ) [Oaober 



PROGRESS IN SCIENCE. 



MINING. 



Gold Mining in the Colony of Victoria continues in a healthy state of activity, 

 judging, at least, from the volume of " Mineral Statistics for 1872," which 

 has been prepared as usual by Mr. Brough Smyth, and recently issued 

 under the authority of the Minister of Mines at Melbourne. These statistics 

 do not pretend to offer anything more than approximate figures, for the returns 

 are given voluntarily, and there is therefore no means of obtaining them from 

 those miners who are not sufficiently acute to see that the collection of such 

 statistics must even be of the greatest benefit to the mining community at 

 large, and as individual statements are merged in totals that can never be pre- 

 judicial to the interests of individual miners. But, though the Victoria returns 

 may not state precisely the quantity of gold raised during the year, they 

 evidently merit a considerable measure of confidence. According to the 

 estimates made by the several mining registrars, there was obtained in 

 1872 about 1,331.377 ozs. of gold. The returns furnished by the Commissioner 

 of Trade and Customs give 1,160,554 ozs. 19 dwts. as the quantity of gold 

 exported during the year: whilst the Melbourne Branch of the Royal Mint 

 has received 121.965 ozs. 17 dwts. Again, the returns made by the 

 managers of the several banks showed that they purchased during the year 

 1,218,094 ozs - 9 dwts. 



In studying the detailed statistics and comparing them with those of the 

 previous year, it is satisfactory to note an increase in the average yield of 

 gold from quartz, and also an increase in the quantity of stuff treated ; there 

 is, however, a slight falling off in the quartz tailings, mullock, &c, worked in 

 the past year. Mr. B. Smyth calls attention to a cheap and simple, though 

 slow, process for separating gold from pyrites, tailings, and mullock. By 

 stacking such materials with a due proportion of small coal, gum leaves, and 

 other vegetable matter, the gold would be slowly set free, and could then be 

 readily collected. Appended to the volume of statistics is a report by Mr. J. 

 Cosmo Newbeny on the work done during the past year in the Melbourne 

 laboratory. 



The magnitude and value of the mineral resources of our Australian Colonies 

 are well represented in the Australian Annexe to this year's International 

 Exhibition. South Australia is especially prominent, exhibiting some splendid 

 examples of copper and iron ores; the former including fine samples of native 

 copper, red oxide, copper pyrites, purple ore, malachite, and atacamite from the 

 mines on Yorke's Peninsula ; whilst among the iron ores are some noble 

 specimens of magnetite, haematite,, and limonite. The South Australian 

 copper industry is also represented by a metallurgical series from the Wallaroo 

 smelting works. Bismuth ore from the Balhannah mine, and ingots of 

 metallic bismuth smelted from this ore, are also exhibited ; whilst the gold- 

 fields, of which one has not yet heard much, are represented by some 

 valuable specimens. The interest of this collection is greatly enhanced by 

 the publication of an excellent catalogue. 



New South Wales, in addition to its fine samples of coal, exhibits some 

 splendid specimens of tin ore, illustrating the recent discoveries which were 

 duly chronicled in these columns. Victoria sends some capital collections 

 arranged by Mr. Brough Smyth, and well exhibiting the capabilities of the 

 Colony. In the Queensland Annexe, an excellently arranged department, we 

 note especially the fine specimens of precious opal recently discovered. This 

 opal appears to occur in the form of a thin layer in fissures of ironstone 

 nodules, but though of extremely fine colour with no lack of fire, it seems too 

 thin to be of much value to the jeweller. We have lately seen some samples 

 of opal, discovered under different conditions in the adjacent colony of New 

 South Wales, but these are not yet represented in the Exhibition. 



