GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION.. 55 



southward trespass of Gangetic alluvium. In addition to the similarity 

 in the schists there is a considerable development of schorlaceous 

 pegmatites in the Singrauli area, but whether these are provided with 

 mica crystals of sufficient size or not is a point to be determined by 

 prospecting, which would, judging by the superficial geology, be a 

 reasonable venture. The village of Bardghatta is within a mile to the 

 south-east of Pipra, which is famous for its great corundum bed. 



CENTRAL PROVINCES. 



Bastar. 



Mr. P. N. Bose, Deputy Superintendent, Geological Survey of 

 India, found in 1899 muscovite plates measuring 4 to 5 inches across 

 in a coarsely crystallized, granitoid rock, exposed in the Baordhig river, 

 south of Jugani, four miles north of Lanjura Thana. The mica obtained 

 was damaged by gliding-planes, but the specimens were from a 

 weathered outcrop, and the vein would possibly yield better results on 

 excavation. 1 



Bilaspur. 



A certain amount of prospecting has been undertaken at Komo- 

 choki, and although the pegmatite-veins are numerous in this area, the 

 mica so far yielded has not exceeded 2 inches square, and is of second- 

 rate quality. 2 



Balaghat. 

 At Chitadongri and Bamni an experimental lease for mica-mining 

 was granted in 1869, but the material raised does not appear to have 

 given plates exceeding 2" x 4". There are still old workings to be 

 seen in the Baihar subdivision of this district. 3 



COORG. 



The central portion of Coorg is occupied by a complex group of 



schists, named provisionally by the writer the Mercara group, and 



1 Private communication with specimens. 

 5 Private communication with specimens. 

 3 C. Grant, Gazetteer of Central Provinces, 1870, p. 18. 



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