169 



county, on the northern margin of the series, these intru- 

 sions are numerous. They vary in thickness from a few 

 inches to 100 feet (30 m.) or more, and nearly all lie in 

 the bedding planes of highly inclined strata. A dyke of 

 rusty weathering diabase, 100 to 900 feet (30 to 275 m.) 

 thick, has been traced along the shore in Queens and 

 Lunenburg counties for over 25 miles (40 km.). This 

 intrusion has altered the sediments and impregnated 

 them with magnetite for a few inches on each side. 



The basic rocks are generally dark greenish, diabase 

 or diorite, and have undergone much alteration and 

 in the case of the narrower bodies, have become quite 

 schistose. Those of Kings county are probably roughly 

 contemporaneous with the folding but older than the faults 

 crossing the series, showing that they are of a great age. 

 Like the granite they are probably Devonian but the 

 relation of the two intrusive rocks has not yet been 

 exactly determined. 



THE GOLD DEPOSITS. 



General Character and Distribution. 



The gold deposits are the only deposits of the area that 

 are of any considerable economic importance. These 

 nearly all occur in quartz veins, but a small amount of 

 gold has been recovered from detritus. The deposits of 

 auriferous antimony ore occurring in cross-country veins 

 in the Halifax formation at West Gore have been worked 

 considerably for antimony and gold. 



The gold-bearing quartz has been reported as occurring 

 in the granite, but the authenticity of the reports may 

 be regarded with suspicion. With this possible exception, 

 all the known veins occur in the sedimentary strata of the 

 Goldbearing series. Although there are a few important 

 veins that cut across the stratification, most of the auri- 

 ferous quartz veins are of the interbedded type. They 

 occur chiefly in the beds of slate which are found inter- 

 stratified with the beds of quartzite throughout the whole 

 thickness of the Goldenville formation, and their distribu- 

 tion and structure are to a great extent the result of 

 the action of dynamic forces to which the enclosing rocks 

 were subjected. The interbedded veins are found in 

 great numbers, aggregated in groups on the domes along 



