ORIGIN AND MODE OF OCCURRENCE OF GOLD-BEARING VEINS. 1 35 



which is cavernous in places, and this again passes insensibly 

 into skeletons of silica the evident result of the complete 

 extraction of the iron. The lode formation has been greatly 

 denuded along the greater part of its course, the country being 

 cut into deep gullies, and steep ridges which cross it at about 

 right angles to its strike and head from the mountains capped 

 with " desert sandstone," which bound the auriferous belt to the 

 west. 



Most of these gullies have been worked for alluvial deposits, 

 and yielded rich returns many years ago, the gold which was 

 obtained in them having doubtless been principally derived from 

 the wearing away of this auriferous belt of country, some of the 

 richest finds occurring just about where the line of the lode 

 formation crossed the gullies worked. 



Mount Morgan, standing as it does some five hundred feet 

 above these gullies, is evidently a portion of the lode bearing 

 formation that has not been so much denuded, as the surrounding 

 country, but on the same line and at a distance of four miles 

 away a similar undenuded area is found which also carries gold 

 but not so far as yet proved in the same quantities, and other 

 smaller patches also exist. 



The gold obtained from the Mt. Morgan mine is of a purer 

 quality than any ever known to have been found before in 

 nature, and the yields from the ore consisting of the ironstone 

 and porous quartz is something enormous. The hill is being 

 worked from the top like a quarry, and to the width of over two 

 hundred feet, some of the ore giving as high as from 4 to 10 

 ounces of gold to the ton. Tunnels have also been put in to test 

 lower levels. 



The laminated layers of quartz in some parts of the workings 

 have the appearance of having been cracked and fractured into 

 minute irregular fissures, and these fissures filled in with silica 

 from solution giving the quartz the appearance shewn in Fig. 24. 



The process at present used to treat the ore is that of 

 chlorination, the gold being of too fine a quality to save 

 successfully by the ordinary methods of treating auriferous ores. 



No metals are known to occur in the ore excepting the iron 

 and gold, and a small quantity of manganese. 



A sketch section across the Mount Morgan lode is given in 

 Fig. 23. 



Gold Veins of New South Wales. 



The gold fields of New South Wales have in many places a 

 great similarity to those of Victoria, but not in all, and there are 

 certain distinctive features which are worth mentioning. 



Whereas, the geological formations that contain the auriferous 

 veins in Victoria are principally upper and lower silurian, those 



