SOUTHERN NEW BRUNSWICK. 13 D 



Crossing* the narrow peninsula between Little Lepreau and Bclas Rocks in 

 Basin, in which the coal mine is situated, we find the grey beds again Lepreau mine. 

 in contact with the purple, but this time apparently overlying them. 

 This would indicate a slight overturn of the beds at this point, the dip 

 being nearly vertical, or S. 10° E. < 80°, by which the lower grey 

 beds are brought into an apparently higher position. Crossing the 

 bridge over the Belas Basin, the purple beds are again seen, in their 

 regular position above the grey beds of the Dadoxylon division, and 

 apparently dip towards the syenites and limestones of the pre- 

 Cambrian axis of Mace's Bay. At the south side of Boyle's Beach the 

 grey beds of the Devonian are seen to be unconformably overlaid by 

 the red conglomerates and sandstones of the Perry group at the base 

 of the Lower Carboniferous, the dip of the former being to S. 10° W. 

 < 40°, and of the overlying beds K 70° W. < 30°. Just at the 

 water line, at the contact of the grey and purple beds' on the north 

 side of Belas Basin, the irregular deposit of carbonaceous shale 

 and graphitic anthracite is found, upon which work has been carried 

 on for the last four years. During this time several shafts have been 

 sunk, the deepest of which in 1878 had reached 140 feet. The thick- 

 ness of the seam is stated by the miners to be in places twenty feet, 

 but by far the greater portion of this is carbonaceous shale of no value 

 whatever. The western extension of this seam can be seen in a small character of 

 cove just beyond the entrance to the basin and just south of McPher- coal seam- 

 son's house, where a fault is observed between the grey and purple 

 beds, and a seam of black carbonaceous shale six inches thick is exposed. 

 Another exposure occurs on the south side of the basin, and about one- 

 fourth of a mile inside the head of the sea-wall, where a thin seam of 

 black carbonaceous clay or shale of no value is seen at the contact of 

 the porphyritic felsites and the red conglomerates of Point Lepreau. 



At the mine, two of the shafts were sunk on the main seam ; one of Lepreau mine, 

 these followed the inclination of the beds. In the first 110 feet the 

 inclination was to the north at an angle of eighty degrees, when it 

 bent round to the southward and continued at the same angle. This 

 would tend to confirm the supposed overturn which was noticed in 

 these beds at the surface. The harder portions of this seam, or the 

 coal proper, burn readily with a good draught until the carbonaceous 

 matter is consumed, leaving a large quantity of reddish ash. Ana- 

 lyses of samples from its outcrop, by Dr. Harrington, gave 36.88 

 per cent, of ash, and the quality in going down does not appear to 

 improve. From its position in the Devonian, in connection with its 

 graphitic character and irregular occurrence, it is exceedingly doubtful 

 if coal of sufficient purity for marketable purposes will be obtained. 



This locality was first noted by Dr. Gesner in his reports to the New 



9. 



