ClIAP. XXXTV."| CHHINDWABA : GAIMTTKH. 
783 
lenticle, only about 20 yards long and 7 yards broad, is composed chiefly 
of ore formed by the alteration of rhodonite and rhodochrosite, while 
the external part is not only less altered, but is composed of a diflferent 
rock, namely rhodonite-spessartite.rock, and in fact is more siliceous. 
This probably means that the original manganiferous sediments were 
more impure in the outside layers than in the layers forming the central 
portions of the deposit. 
The presence of carbonate suggests that the centre of the deposit 
has been the pathway of subterranean waters, which have partly altered 
the rhodonite to ore and also formed the manganese carbonate ; on the 
other hand the carbonate may be an original mineral. 
On the continuation of the ore-deposit to the east of the small nala 
shown on the sketch-map, there were seen a good number of fragments 
of white quartz containing dark reddish brown spessartite trapczohedra. 
Similarly, to the west the quartz was also often seen to contain these 
trapezohedral crystals. 
None of the ' country ' could be seen at the time of my first 
^ ^ ^ , visit. North of the white quartz hillocks the 
ground is obscured by heavy jungle-covered soil, 
while to the south occurs a reddish quartzose soil separating the ore- 
deposit from some hills of crystalline limestone. 
By December 1907, however, a little work had been done on the 
deposit. A cross-cut trench revealed a ' country ' of soft micaceous 
and extremely schistose gneisses (almost schists) with decomposed 
pegmatite. The dip seen was steep to the south side. The work further 
showed that at least a portion of the larger shaded area in figure 47 
does not correspond to rock in situ, but to huge masses of manganiferous 
rock detached from the ore-body in situ. The work done did not 
indicate the existence of an ore-body of more than moderate size. 
As already mentioned, the ore in the central portion of the deposit 
^ , ,. consists of a black ore, probablv braunite. 
Nature and quality . , . , . ^ 
of the ores. mixed With a certain proportion of rho- 
donite and rhorlochrosite. A sample taken by 
