844 Second Report on the Tin of Mergui. [No. 129. 



entire depth of the pit consist of decomposed granite full of small 

 bunches and strings of tin ore, of varying length and thickness, com- 

 posed of crystals of the pure peroxide of tin, aggregated loosely toge- 

 ther, and easily separable from the matrix in which it is imbedded. 

 This is extremely soft and friable, and I was able with the sharp edge of 

 a Burman daw, to cut down the sides of a pit, and expose fresh bunches 

 of ore at every stroke. It is also remarkable for the large scales and 

 crystals of mica it contains, the plates of which are readily separated, 

 and for the abundance and whiteness of the kaolin or decomposed 

 felspar of which the mass is chiefly composed, and to which the quartz 

 appears to bear but a small proportion. Red sandstone touches this 

 decomposed granite, and in the pit alluded to, looks like the enclosing 

 rock of a vein, which is only slightly inclined from the vertical. A 

 good sample of the ore had been collected here, and some rich speci- 

 mens, shewing it in the matrix as taken from the pit. 



6. The convicts had also been occupied in sinking pits near the base 

 of the hill in other places, and had succeeded in obtaining at the north- 

 east extremity, at the point C, some very rich specimens of the ore 

 imbedded in material similar to that above-mentioned, angular as 

 before, and apparently from another part of the vein, or very near it. 

 This was afterwards placed beyond much question, for at the point B 

 at the south-west extremity of the hill, and 280 feet from A, but on the 

 reverse slope, the vein was again exposed to the day by a few hours' 

 digging, and tin collected while we were there. This point is 43 feet 

 above the level of the new fields on the west, at 550 feet horizontal 

 distance from them, and the Burmese had worked there about 20 years 

 ago, as was apparent by the washing tank situated on the level ground 

 near it. It will be observed on the plan, that the points A, B, C, turn 

 out to be in a direct line ; A and B correspond very closely, both in 

 substance and in elevation, and are doubtless part of the same vein, or 

 mass of tin-bearing rock ; and it seems probable, that this will be 

 found to extend near the surface along the whole length of the 

 hill, or 600 yards, accessible by mere pit digging, or by a straight 

 gallery throughout its whole extent. It has been seen in thickness 

 three and half feet, and in depth twelve feet ; but its entire breadth and 

 depth is, in the present stage of the workings, involved in some uncer- 

 tainty, and can only be ascertained by mining operations systemati- 



