132 



QUEENSLAND GOLD DEPOSITS. 



successfully however, although the Sydney Mint assay gave 13 

 ounces of gold to the ton, beside other metals, silver &c., 16 

 tons of ore were taken out and 2 tons sent to the Black Snake 

 machine at Kilkiven to be crushed, yielding only 5 dwts. gold ; 

 1 ton 3 cwt, was sent to Gympie and with similar results, the 

 reef and stone were then adandoned. I visited the reef again 

 4| years afterwards ; meanwhile the stone had disappeared and 

 in its place was a low mound of red ferruginous cement streaked 

 with greenish clay (green earth). This mound was washed up 

 with the result of 11 ounces 7 dwts. of pure gold. 



Example II. — A similar case occurred in the Mount Perry 

 district, on some parties washing the mound of iron " cement," 

 which remained on the surface from the 50 or 60 tons of low 

 class copper ore, which had been taken out during the develop- 

 ment of the Gambia mine. This led to the mine being 

 satisfactorily worked as a gold reef under the name of the " All 

 Nations." This reef payed so long as decomposed mundic 

 was obtained and ceased to pay as soon as the undecomposed 

 ore was penetrated. 



Copper lodes with gold bearing caps occur at Rawbelle, 

 Mount Perry, Mungi, Cania, Dee, Camboon, Boobygan, (good 

 gold was obtained in this mine under the same conditions as 

 previously mentioned) Black Snake, Kilkiven, Ban Ban, Marodin, 

 Trebar, Gooyia, Cressbrook Creek, Charters Towers, Normanby 

 (Cook District), and Cloncurry. 



The occurrence of gold in Felstone Porphyries may be con- 

 sidered in this connection. Gold was obtained at Nanango and 

 Ban Ban from a decomposed rock of this chai*acter, and the 

 gold found in the Kilkiven diggings came from a hill of 

 decomposed felstone porphyrj' which had been setting free its 

 gold for ages, and it was into this hill that the celebrated Long 

 Tunnel was driven, for the purpose of striking a reef which 

 never existed, and the 200 tons procurred from this drive on 

 being crushed only yielded a few pennyweights. 



When gold occurs under these circumstances the most 

 economical and satisfactory way of getting it out, is by imitating 

 nature as nearly as possible by making large mounds of the 

 stone, and assisting decomposition by acids, steam or water, and 

 washing out the result. Such process might occupy 1^ years ; 

 but the gold that could be obtained in this Avay in Queensland 

 is enormous. Low class copper ore and the refuse of copper 

 mines have been made to pay large dividends, by adopting this 

 natural method. 



