Mines and Mineral Statistics. 
49 
Eepoet of Mr. Mining-Surveyor Phillips, on the Nuudle and 
Denison localities, the Upper Peel, and Hunter Eivers, New 
Soutii AVales. 
Geology and lithology. 
The practical and scientific miner, however protracted and 
extensive his experience, may come here with edification in 
things strange. Over a Avide range in Victoria “pipeclay/’ 
“ cement,” and “sandstone,” Avith common quartz veins, exhaust 
the miner’s vocabulary, or we may add the volcanic “ bluestone” 
of recent occurrence. The name of either conveys to his mind 
a definite idea of a stone or mass of uninteresting and usual 
aspect, but in writing of the lithology of some parts of this side 
of XeAV South A\rales, and mountain sources of tlie river l^eel 
especially, I feel at a loss for adequate expression, liaving 
omitted no opportunity of inspecting museums in furtherance of 
my Amcation, and I can say that a day’s inspection of tho drifted 
matter of the river Peel bed presents more in variety than I can 
call to mind through life — porphyries, granites, slates, trachites, 
dolomites, silicates, calcites, steatites, serpentines, (juartzites, 
jaspers, common quartz being of rarest occurrence — each of these 
in great variety, spotted, streaked, mottled, and of highly 
coloured aspects ; some haixlcr than steel, and tough withal, so 
that a hammer will not break them AvithoAit extreme exertion ; 
others exfoliating spheroidally, others soft and eruinhling on 
exposure to air. Mottled soaps of different colours very strictly 
resemble the serpentine rock, and there is a A’eined serpentine of 
fiery beauty, not steatitic but opaline. 
Poley's Polly Easin is a highly interesting glen for the 
lithologist. 
There is a regular granite somewhere about the head of the 
Peel, hut I did not come on it. The hill cone of columnar basalt 
hereabout is the most surprising specimen I haA'e seen, as sug- 
gesting queries and inciting contemplation as to the hoAV and 
Avherefore- — a high peak composed of columns piled like bricks 
one on another, wdthont any broken or earthy matter between. 
Gold hahiiat. 
"When it is observed that, in the absence of the ordinary quartz 
of auriferous rocks, this locality has been yielding gold for some 
sixteen or tAventy years, there is an important inference that 
gold has no specific habitat. It is, moreover, seen here that the 
auriferous Axius are composed as much of calcareous as silicious 
spar. 
Fayable gold. 
The cements of this district clothing the ridge peaks have little 
or no quartz, but they promise payable gold for years to come. 
