ABSTRACT OF PROCEEDINGS. XXI. 



Brown the Government Geologist, at once visited the 

 locality and reported the existence of a large deposit of 

 radioactive ore. Dr. D. Mawson afterwards examined the 

 occurrence and published a paper on it. A few years later 

 the Radium Hill Company was formed in Sydney to work 

 the deposit, and 30 tons of ore was sent to Europe in charge 

 of Dr. Mawson. The European chemists found the ore so 

 difficult to treat that no buyers could be found for it. 

 Mean time the directors of the company commissioned the 

 writer of this paper to investigate the possibility of treat- 

 ing the ore locally, and the process now described is the 

 outcome of his work. The Olary deposit differs from other 

 radium ore occurrences in that it consists of a large well 

 defined lode of low grade ore of very uniform composition. 

 It is characteristic of the rich radium ores that the ore 

 bodies are small and irregular. The essential feature of 

 the process now worked at Woolwich is that it is designed 

 to handle a large tonnage cheaply and simply. The plant 

 is capable of treating 500 tons a year. The process depends 

 on the discovery that it is possible to extract the radium 

 without having to decompose the whole of the ore, thus 

 offecting great economies in chemicals and labour. The 

 concentrates contain 1 part of radium in 214 million parts 

 of ore, and extraction is effected by means of successive 

 concentrations. The radium from 10 tons of concentrates 

 is collected first in one ton of material, then in about 

 25 fibs, of richer product, and finally worked up to a market- 

 able product in the laboratory. 



Remarks were made by Professors Pollock and Pawsitt 

 and Mr. Hamlet. 



2. "Vanilla and a short and simple method for the deter- 

 mination of Vanillin," by W. M. Doherty. 

 The author described this important and interesting 

 plant, which is now used throughout the civilised world, 



