98 PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF QUEENSLAND. 
oil shale, which yielded approximately 30 gallons of crude oil per ton 
was passed through ; while, in the latter case, the general appearance of 
the shale submitted by O. A. Jones indicates a probable yield of about 
20 gallons per ton. 
Some time ago a shaft, known as Neill’s Shaft, was put down on 
portion 256, parish of Warner, about one and a-half miles S.E. of the 
old well on portion 190, to test the oil shale deposit in that area. Oil 
shale associated with a minor amount of brown coal was met with at 
approximately 70 feet and sinking was stopped at 75 feet. The shales 
here again are steeply dipping and very slickensided. 
The oil shale from Neill’s shaft is, unfortunately, low grade, picked 
samples yielding only 12 gallons of crude oil to the ton. I am indebted 
to M. H. Gabriel, of the Government Chemical Laboratory, for the 
following proximate analysis : — 
Per cent. 
Moisture . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-3 
Volatile Matter . . . . . . . . . . 18-2 
Fixed Carbon . . . . . . . . . . 5-2 
Ash 70-3 
Nitrogen . . . . . . . . . . . . 042 
This compares very closely with such other Queensland Tertiary oil 
shales as those of The Narrows near Gladstone. 
According to Gabriel the specific gravity of the water-free oil from 
this oil shale is *948 at 22 degrees C. Moreover, the oil has a low gasoline 
content, the distillate to 200 degrees C., which is the naphtha and gaso- 
line content, being only 7 per cent. It might be mentioned that the 
gasoline content of a typical shale oil varies between 16 and 26 per cent. 
On the other hand the kerosene content, which distills at between 200 
and 275 degrees C., is 21 per cent., which is slightly higher than that 
of a typical shale oil which gives from -16 to 20 per cent, kerosene. It 
might also be said that the high specific gravity of the crude oil suggests 
an asphaltic base, which is sometimes taken as being indicative of a 
partial animal origin for the oil. 
The oil shale, itself, is a fine-grained, even-textured, laminated rock, 
greenish- grey in colour, with a dull lustre, greasy brown streak, hacklev 
fracture, and a specific gravity of 148. The presence of numerous mud 
infillings of the internal cavity of fossil sedges protruding upwards across 
the laminations of the shale, points to shallow water conditions of 
sedimentation for the oil shale. 
4 
Low grade oil shale has also been met in several bores, sunk for 
water, in other parts of the Petrie Series. According to R. C. Abbott, 
the drilling contractor (1943), shale yielding approximately 10 gallons 
of crude oil was passed through, in putting down a bore for water, on 
portion 11, parish of Warner, near Four Mile Creek. Low grade oil 
shale has also been noticed by the writer on the spoil heap of Brecknell’s 
bore in portion 222, parish of Warner, while the light grey, greasy shale 
brought up in sinking Francis’ well on the Cornflour Facto ry property 
certainly would yield a few gallons of crude oil to the ton. L. C. Ball, 
moreover, has reported (1932, p. 384) “paper shales yielding on 
destructive distillation about 3 gallons of brown, limpid oil per ton” 
from Simpson’s well in portion 186, parish of Nundah, near Bracken 
Ridge. 
