8 LAKE: GEOLOGY OF SOUTH MALABAR. 



The gold of Malabar first attracted the attention of the East 

 India Company in 1792-93, and since then 

 various reports and papers have been written 

 on the subject, 1 but it is only necessary to refer to those of Lieuten- 

 ant Nicolson, 2 who examined the country in 1831. His report 

 is accompanied by a map in which he marks gold mines in the 

 valley north of Ariakod, at Canpul (Kapeel of the Atlas sheet) near 

 Nilambur, and near PandikaM. Other mines lying outside the area 

 included in the present report are also marked on Lieutenant Nicol- 

 son's map. 



Most of the later reports on the gold of Malabar confine their 

 observations to the Wynaad and the Ghats and do not refer to the 

 area surveyed. 



The native iron works were noticed by Dr. Buchanan, and since 

 his time attempts have been made to establish 



Iron. . r 



iron works on a large scale at Beypore. 3 But 

 these attempts failed, chiefly from want of fuel. 



Geology of the area. 



The rocks found in the area, whose physical features have just 

 been described, may be grouped as follows (in ascending order) : — 



(1) Gneiss — (a) Quartzose gneiss. 



(6) Garnetiferous gneiss. 

 (c) Quartzo-felspathic gneiss. 

 Intrusive dykes and sheets. 



(2) Laterite — (a) Plateau laterite. 



(5) Terrace laterite. 

 (c) Valley laterite. 



(3) Recent deposits. 



1 References to these will be found in Mr. Brough-Smyth's "Report on the Gold 

 Mines of the South-eastern portion of the Wynaad and the Carcoor Ghat," Madras, 

 1880 ; and in the Manual of the Geology of India, Vol. Ill, pp. 180 et seq. 



2 Brough-Smyth loc. cit. Appendix ; also Madras Journ. of Lit. and Sci. XIV, pp. 

 154—187. 



8 Manual of the Geology of India, Vol. Ill, p. 351. 



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