42 ANNIVERSARY ADDRESS. 



Among the branches of technical science, I do not think any- 

 one more important to this colony than that of Mining and 

 Metallurgy, and it is in the latter that much will have yet to be 

 done to reap the full benefits of the vast resources of mineral wealth 

 in which New South Wales abounds. Some of our ores are so 

 complex and refractory that only very skilled treatment will give 

 satisfactory results. The want of the necessary scientific and 

 practical education on the part of many of those, under whose 

 direction certain mining properties have been placed, has hitherto 

 in many instances been the cause of utter failure and disappoint- 

 ment. The Mining Department by the judicious application of 

 the Prospecting Vote is doing good work by encouraging the 

 discovery of new metalliferous lodes, while the Laboratory at- 

 tached to the Mining Department, is kept fully at work in deter- 

 mining the value, or otherwise, of mineral samples submitted 

 for examination from all parts of the colony. Last year several 

 thousands of samples of ores were thus examined by Mr. J. C H. 

 Mingaye, f.c.s., the Government Assayer and his Assistants. It 

 is evident, however, that the finding of a metalliferous lode, or 

 the assaying of small samples of ore is only one step towards the 

 development of a mine, and as regards the assaying of small 

 samples of ores, it cannot be pointed out too strongly and fre- 

 qently that the results of such assays are more often misleading 

 than of real practical value. Another mistake generally made is 

 this, that small samples are desired to be assayed merely for such 

 metals as are expected to be present, viz — gold, silver, lead, &c, 

 while a more complete analysis of a bulk sample, taken from about 

 one or two tons of ore, would often reveal the presence of sub- 

 stances, which greatly interfere with the proper extraction of the 

 desired metals, and would therefore necessitate the adoption of 

 special processes for the successful treatment of the ore on a large 

 scale. 



If the Government, as I understand, are desirous of still further 

 assisting the development of our mineral resources, I would 

 recommend the establishment of works where ores in bulk, say 



