NOTES ON SOME MINERALS. 81 



At Nundle, near the old flour mill in Oaken vale Creek, and 

 extending thence in a northerly direction into Happy Valley. 

 This lode has been prospected and deserted. The vein is small, 

 and very irregular in width, from two to twelve inches, and the 

 ore appears to be of inferior quality. This vein is in hard, jointed, 

 argillaceous slates, which are much tilted. 



On road Bendemeer to Walcha, seven miles from Bendemeer, 

 in hard micaceous schists. The vein of ore appears to be about 

 eight inches in thickness. No prospecting has been done in 

 connection with this deposit beyond sinking two or three feet on 

 the outcrop. 



Molybdenite. 



At Wilson's Downfall, thirty miles north from Tenterfield, and 

 one and a half miles westerly from Wilson's Downfall Post Office, 

 in thin leafy forms in vein of milky quartz, traversing granitic 

 rock j not common. 



At Hogue's Creek, twelve miles north from Glen Innes (N.E.), 

 near road to Tenterfield, in large quartz lode, associated with 

 wolframite, chlorite, tin ore, and native bismuth. In thin brilliant 

 plates, often inserted between crystals of quartz in geodes in the 

 rock ; not very abundant. 



At Kingsgate Bismuth Mines, twenty miles east from Glen 

 Innes (N.E.). Often accompanying wolframite and ores of bismuth, 

 but in greatest quantity in large deposit of bluish-grey crystalline 

 quartz, which, like that of the Hogue's Creek locality, has a 

 coarsely granular appearance, and is easily broken or crushed. 

 Crystals of molybdenite are not uncommon in this locality. They 

 occur as low hexagonal prisms, rarely more than J inch in length 

 by \ to 1 inch across, rarely 2 or 3 inches broad. These prisms 

 or plates are composed of very thin horizontal laminse, which are 

 easily separated from each other. The lamina?, often contracted 

 in size, successively, from the lower ones upward ; thus forming 

 a bevelled edge, which in turn would ultimately form a hexagonal 

 pyramid, were the process continued far enough. No such 

 terminations to crystals were, however, observed. The molybdenite 

 crystals are almost invariably depressed in the centres, as shewn in 

 section (figure 13). Molybdenite in leafy and fan-like aggregations 

 and deposits occurs in large quantities in this locality. Colour, 

 lead-grey, brilliant metallic lustre on fresh cleavages. Soft, 

 easily scratched by the finger nail ; marks paper like graphite ; 

 opaque. Thin laminse, by transmitted light, blood-red. The deposits 

 of molybdenite, bismuth, and other minerals, at Kingsgate, occur 

 principally in pipe veins, and in irregular masses of quartz rock, 

 in coarsely granular feldspathic granites. 



F— June 6, 1888. 



