Mines and Mineral Statistics, 
“ It is reported from Bingera, in the Tamicorih JSftws of Septem- 
ber 26, that Mr. Grardiner has obtained 115 diamonds, and that 
the Gwydir Company are progressing vigorously. The Giant’s 
Knob is rich in gems, the yield averaging about 110 to the machine 
full, when the dirt is taken from the diamond drift. 
“A correspondent of the Tamivortli ]i^xaminei\orL the 12 th instant, 
states that there have lately been large liuds of diamonds in the 
district of Bingera. The Gwydir Diamond Company have pro- 
spected now twenty-one pieces of land, nineteen of which have 
proved to be more or less diamond-producing soil, containing 
Grupiara or alluvial deposit, whose surface shows it to bo the un- 
used bed of a stream or river : Burgalhas, small angular fragments 
of rocks, bestrewing the surface of the ground ; Cuscalht>, frag- 
ments of rocks and sand mixed up with clay and forming the bed 
of a river ; andTakoa Carza, which are the ahove materials cement- 
ed together into a conglomerate mass. All the altove, however, 
arc known by the generic name of Cascalho. The masses of 
stones themselves, which rarely exceed a cvibic foot in size, contain 
itacolumute jasper, and perdots and granite. These are the 
known indications of the whereabouts of diamonds as trusted to 
and found to be correct both in tlic Eiist Indies and the lirazils. 
The nineteen successful prospects of the Gw\dir Company have 
produced each on an average thirty-five (lamnnds to every six: 
loads (of one ton) of wash dirt, and they ha\ e now by them 
some 11,000* glistering pebbles, ready to transmit to xVmsterdam, 
Paris, or some other European continental market; and n re at 
present making extensive arrangements for the formation of three 
more dams and puddling apparatus on other parts of their land 
where good supplies of water are to bo found, lie also gives the 
following as the find of Messrs. M‘Caw and Wcstcott ; — Dp to the 
Aveek ending July 12, 100 diamonds ; up to the week ending July 
19, 118 diamonds; up to the week ending July 26, 119 diamonds 
■ — total 822” — llerahl, August 21, 1878. 
The only minerals found at INIudgce whicli have not yet been 
discovered at Bingera are cinnabar and vesicular pleonaste. Bin- 
gera in turn seems to possess one or two characteristics, such as 
the magnesite containing the nodules of lliiionite — these are per- 
fectly spherical at times — and the “morlops” form of jasper. As 
these arc nothing more than small jasper pebbles, careiul search 
Avould probably prove their presence in most ilvev drifts con- 
taining rolled jasper. 
Prom the foregoing we see tliat the diamond in Australia is. 
associated with sandstones, shales, conglomerates, and trap-rocks: 
and, perhaps it would not be amiss just to see if this be the case 
in other countries. Thus, in the Brazils, in Bahia, the matrix 
E 
(1,100 Query ‘r) 
