450 Geology of 



CHAPTER XVIII. 



Economic Geology. 



Is several chapters of this publication mention has already been 

 made of various rocks, minerals, and ores of economic value found in 

 the two provinces under review, such as gold, coal, limestone, and 

 several others. It will, however, be useful to offer, in a more con- 

 nected form, an account of all the mineral substances, known to us at 

 present, which are either already being extracted from the earth, or 

 may be used, in the future for manufacturing or agricultural purposes. 

 An examination of the Geological Map of both Provinces will disclose 

 the fact, that whilst the country on the north-western side of the Alps 

 is rich in gold and coal, the eastern side has not been so- favoured. 

 At the same time it may be safely expected that payable mines of other 

 ores will be opened all along that western slope. On the eastern side, 

 by far the greatest portion, consisting of rocks of young palaeozoic 

 origin, with a few unimportant exceptions, is devoid of any of the more 

 valuable materials for the use of man. This is the more striking and 

 disappointing, as rocks with the same fossils contain the rich and 

 extensive Coalfields of Xew South Wales. However, in the younger 

 rocks, fringing this older sedimentary series or forming small outliers 

 in it, some valuable brown coal-beds have been preserved to us, 

 thus making up in some respects for the want of the older coal 

 measures. 



Coal. 

 All the coalfields situated on both sides of the central chain, belong 

 to the AVaipara and Oamaru formations, those in the former being 

 most valuable and extensive. Beginning with the Waipara formation 



