THE TROPICAL AGRICULTURIST . [April j, 1882. 
SPECIMENS OF GOLD-BEARING QUARTZ 
FROM VICTORIA AND THF GOLD PROSPECTS 
IN CEYLON. 
Apart from the fact that prospecting for gold is going 
on in our island, the Ceylon Commissioner to the Mel- 
bourne Exhibition would have considered it part of his 
duty to have obtained for the colony he represented 
representative specimens of gold-bearing quartz and 
pyrites. As mere geological and minerological illust- 
rations, as indications of the prevailing characters and 
constituents of gold-bearing strata, the collection would 
be interesting to scientific men. But the possibility of 
a paying gold-field occurring in Ceylon adds a fresh 
interest to the contents of the little box, which the 
Com missior er owed to the courtesy of Mr. Barnard, 
F. G. S., Registrar of the Ballarat School of Mines, a 
most valuable institution, where, for very moderate 
fees, pupils, including working miners, are taught the 
whole circle of the sciences, ranging from Mathematics, 
Drawing and Surveying, Geology and Botany, Magnet- 
ism and Telegraphy (female pupils taught) down to 
Chemistry, Engine-driving, and under-ground mining. 
As the latter pursuit involves constant liability to ac- 
cident, the pupils who are qualifying themselves for 
taking charge of shafts and mines receive a thorough 
and practical training, not only in Materia Medica and 
Physiology, but in the treatment of wounds and fract- 
ures. We are not likely to forget our night visit 
to the School at Ballarat, when the enthusiastic surgi 
cal lecturer, Dr. Ussher, imprisoned us in his class-room- 
until we had seen a tall, strong young fellow bound 
and bandaged and pinioned, so that he resembled a 
mummy ! No language of ours can be too strong to 
express the sense we feel of the advantages enjoyed 
by the youth of Victoria, in being able, after com- 
mon school age (15) to receive at slight expense a 
very high scientific and praatical training at either 
the Mining School at Ballarat or the sister institu- 
tion at Sandhurst. The life and soul of the latter 
is Mr. Alex. Bayne, to whom, as to Mr. Barnard, 
and also Mr. Cosmo Newberry of the Melbourne 
Technological Museum, the Ceylon Commissioner was 
indebted for great courtesy and much information of 
a very valuable kind. We heard and discussed many 
theories, as probable solutions of the questions we 
were ever asking. "How came the gold to form in 
the rocks and especially how came the particles to 
aggregate?" Our inclination is to believe that gold, 
like quartz, was deposited from water, but that goes 
but a small way to clear up the mystery. Before 
handing over the collection of auriferous quartz 
from tbe Ballarat Museum to Mr. Bruce, to 
bo by him placed at the disposal of Government, 
wc sought and obtained permission to place the 
box at I he disposal of our local geologist and 
mineralogist, Mr. Alex. Dixon, for inspection a;.d 
report, the report to be published in the Observer. 
We at the same time sent Mr. Dixon our private 
collection of specimens, of rocks, metals and roasted 
and crushed pyrites. On the latter Mr. Dixon will 
have something to say in due time. His report on 
the collection intended for Government, and which 
collection we think it probable Government will place 
in the Economic Museum, we now append : — 
Notes on Auriverous Quartz Specimens from 
Ballarat. 
This is a representative collection of quartz, more 
or less auriferous, presented b> the Ballarat School of 
Mines to the representative of the Ceylon Court These 
specimens show the mode of occurrence of gold and 
its associated minerals from the district around Ballarat. 
They are well worthy the attention of all in- 
terested in gold in Ceylon. Ballarat is situated in 
the colony of Victoria., one of the richest gold-pro- 
ducing districts of Australia. The geological formation 
is chiefly metamorphie schist or slates of silurian age. 
Our Ceylon rocks are metamorphie, in several parts 
chistose and no doubt of Palaeozoic age. 
In Victoria gold was first obtained from alluvium 
and then followed its extraction from the quartz 
rock. From this colony from 1851-65, no less than 
30,422,591,oz,were exported to the value of£l2l,690,363. 
This passed through the Custom house, and it has been 
estimated that nearly 4,000,000 oz. were sent away 
otherwise. 
From 1868-78 the gold extracted from alluvium was 
over 6 million ounces, while that from quartz was 
over million oz. There has been a steady decrease 
from the alluvial deposits ; and from the quartz, the 
amount has not increased since 1877. 
One nugget found at Ballarat weighed 184 lb and 
was valued at £8,376 10s 6d. 
SPECIMENS. 
No. 1, 2, 3. — This is a milky white quartz veined 
over with mispickel (arseno-pyrites). Free gold is visible 
as granules and as plates amongst mispickel. This 
quartz contains 7 oz, to the ton. The reef is in meta- 
morphie schist 200 feet from the surface and 1,400 feet 
above the sea level. Locality, Owen's river. In No. 2, 
the gold is more distinctly visible than in No. 1, and 
in 2 and 3 it is visible but sparingly. 
[Mispickel (arsenical-iron-pyrites) is of a tin or silver 
white colour inclining to steel grey, crystallizing in 
rhombic prisms. Its composition is bisulphide and 
arsenide of iron. Generally from 30 to 36 % iron ; 41 
to 45 % arsenic and 18 to 21 % sulphur.] 
No. 4. — This is a milky white quartz very com- 
pact and less veined with mispickel than the preced- 
ing. Gold is distinctly visible. The yield of this is 
1 oz. to the ton and the reef occurs in metamorphie 
schist. Depth 1,120 feet at 293 feet below sea level. 
Locality, Stawell. 
No. 5. — Dirty white quartz of great specific gravity, 
full of iron pyrites which crystallizes in cubic form 
and faces often striated and of a pale brass yellow 
color. Note the difference between this pyrite and the 
former mispickel. No gold is visible. It yields 15 dwt. 
to the ton taken from a depth of 300 feet at an eleva- 
tion of 1,600 feet above sea level. Locality Gordon. 
No. 6. — A quartz of very loose texture, somewhat 
resembling a breccia of a reddish colour, due to iron. 
It is highly ferruginous with most brilliant irrides- 
cent hues, due to the films of iron oxide. One or 
two specks of gold are visible with a magnifying 
glass. It has a felspathic external surface. It yields 
lOdwt. to the ton. Depth 250 feet ; above sea-level 
1,140 ft; locality, Sebastopol, Ballarat. 
No. 7. — A dense flaky quartz, somewhat ferruginous 
with a considerable quantity of metal viz. argen- 
tiferous galena and aur.ferous pyrites. Note the peculiar 
shade of pyrite differing from the brassy iron one. 
This specimen was taken from a depth of 60 feet at 
90 ft. above sea-level. Locality St. Arnand. 
[Galena crystallizes in the cubic form with a per- 
fect cleavage. Its color is a lead grey with metallic 
lustre. Composition is sulphide of lead and a little 
