^4 HAYDEN : AURIFEROUS LOCALITIES IN NORTH COIMBATORE. 



existence of rich ore, but this view is in the 



Old workings do not . 



necessarily imply rich majority of cases undoubtedly fallacious, for 

 there are few auriferous areas in India, poor as 

 well as rich, that have not at some period been exploited by the - 

 natives. It is argued, however, that ore that could be made to pay 

 by a native with his primitive methods must yield much richer returns 

 if worked on modern principles : this no doubt is in a sense correct, 

 but we do not yet know what grade of ore was considered by the 

 native as the (l irreducible minimum "; for it must be remembered that 

 many of the reefs were probably mined by forced labour or by slaves, 

 and, in the latter case, provided that more gold was obtained than 

 was sufficient to cover the expense of feeding and clothing the 

 workers, mining could then be carried on at a profit. The Waindd 

 mines indeed furnish a case in point, for local tradition says that 

 many of the old shafts were the work of gangs of slaves, and yet one 

 of the reefs, which was perhaps worked more extensively than any 

 other in Wain^d, has given from nearly two hundred samples an 

 average yield of about two pennyweights of gold to the ton of ore : 

 other similar cases could be cited both from Waindd and elsewhere. 

 It is therefore quite unjustifiable to infer, as is so frequently done, 

 that extensive old native workings must of necessity imply rich reefs. 

 The rocks of this area, which has already been surveyed geologi- 

 cally by Messrs. Middlemiss and Smith, consist 



Country-rock. ,-or i c ., i , • 



chiefly of members of the charnockite series 



and bands supposed to be of Dharwar age, with some biotite gneiss and 



a great complex of basic intrusives, including diorite, felspar-horn- 



blende-epidote rocks and gabbro. These rocks will be noticed in 



connection with the various localities in which they occur. 



Of the numerous old workings, four sets are situated in localities 



in which some further prospecting has recently 



Localities examined. 



been done, and these were examined by me. 

 The localities are — 



(a) Bensibetta, about \2 miles south-east of Bailur. 

 ( 54 ) 



