Df.CEMBKR I, 1091.] 
‘ -F. T HO 
> 'ICUl f UH'S ' 
439 
are obtainable 01 or clo'e to tbc fiebl, the mines, s'* 
far, have been working under serious dissdvautas'e® 
in regard to onmmnnicatious with the port. Owing to 
the heavy rainfall of tho district (nearly 100 inobcs 
per snnumj and tho spongy obarsoter of the soil, it 
has been fouud impo>bible to niakb roads capable of 
bearing heavy lostls of mining inachincry and ore, 
Tho Government of Tasmania, recognizing this fact 
and also tho vast importance of the field, are construct- 
ing a line of railway to connect Zeehan with the 
nearest suitable seaport — Strahan, Macquarie Harbour. 
This liue, which is 20 miles in length, was commenced 
in January, lti90, and is now so near ooinplotion that 
before the end of tho year it will bo possible to convey, 
at comparatively si gilt cost, mining machinery, smelt- 
ing furnaces, building material, &o., from the port to 
the field, and (pending the erection of local smelting 
works) tho ore, now Ij ing at tho mouths of the mines, 
from the field to the port, where it may bo shipped 
to tho smelters at Adelaide or Sjdnov. 
With two exceptions, the mining oompanlos have 
stacked their ore on tho field, preferriugto swaittho 
completion of the railway to tiixing their ore to the 
extent of £7 to per ton, tho cost of road carriage. 
It is satisfactory, however, to know that in tho case 
of one of the=o (tho Silver ()a on Ooinpauy), the 
oompany have been enabled to doolaro regular monthly 
diviilonds of 2s on their 12.r shsres, in the face, of 
heavy transit expenses (llio toss being equal to ij oz, 
of gold per ton). 
This oompauy]s oro, when smelted yielded an aver- 
age of 95J oz. silver and 4 cwt. lead per ton, and the 
other oompyny referred to (the English Mount Eeehan 
Silver Mining Company) have made a very bandrome 
profit out of somo 501) Iona of ore which have been 
shipped to Eoglaud from their mine, and yielded 
over 100 oz. of silver per ton. 
Tho silver-bearing country extends from Mount 
Meehan northward to tboPjemBii river, and eastward 
to Monut Ouiidas and Mount Murchison. Explora- 
tions to tho northward of the Pieman river have re- 
cently resulted in tho discovery of further silvor- 
boating land, which extends to Heiizlowood, then 
eastward to tho Whyte river, and westward to the 
Savago rivor. By following ont tbeso disooveries 
on the map it will bo scon how widely tho sliver 
deposits oro distributed, and when it ia remeniberod 
that the great extension of the fields has taken place 
during the last two years, and that the oounlry, cov- 
ered as it ia with dense scrub is most dillioult to 
prospect, it ia closr that what has yet been found 
can only be regarded as indicating tha great mineral 
wealth to bo brought to liglit iu the course of time.* 
The silver orns found on the west coast are without 
exception smelting ores, being associated with so much 
lead that no other treatment can deal with them as 
advantageously ns smelting. Native silver bss been 
found ^ freely s^ciated with gntins. Ohlorido of 
silver is found in tho mines near Mouot Eeohan, gene- 
rally ill tho oxidized upper portion of tho lodes, with 
oxide carbonate, and pbospliatc of lead as assnoiatee. 
The mam quantity of silver is, however, not to be 
found as definite vidiblo compounds of tho metal, 
but impregiiatiKl invisibly ns sulphide through 
galena. This mineral is found throughout tho 
Zeehau fields, of great imrity and high silver 
value, assays of it rouging between 30oz. and 250oz. 
of silver to the tun. 
Large qu.mtities of ore fit for inimodiato smelting, 
with no other previous treatment than rough hand- 
sorting in the mine, can he readily obtained, and the 
more impure ore is easy of concentration. Tho oxi- 
dized ‘TGS ol load, carbonate, siilpliate, oxide, and 
pho photo, found som times in large quantities, may 
all b" oa-ily amoood They aie generally much richer 
in silver thao the galeiis. Wi h iliom kaolin, rich in 
* And yi t, with suoii prospects, a man in America 
talks of artificially proservo g tin parity of silver to 
gold. Tho [iroporiioii is now 22 oz. ol silver to 1 of gold, 
instead of tho old rato of 16 t'.» 1 j and we suspeot 
the downward process, in the case of silver, has not 
yet oeased. Ed, A- 
silver but poor in load, has bi-e'i fouud in oonsider- 
able qmititilies iu the Silver Qui oii Mii.o 
Highly argentiferous fahl ore (let ahodiite) has also 
been obtained, though somewhat sparingly. 
The country rock is of the Silurian age, and the 
lodes in which the ores occur are of Ihe true fissure 
type, aud have every indioation of permanenoy and 
deplh, Eor inatauco, the banded atrooturo, so oharao- 
teristio of many lead loads in Eurnpo that have been 
proved to a great depth is, frequently seen at Zeohao. 
Soma ot the lodes havo boon aystematlcslly trace 1 for 
over two miles, and it ia believod that somo ot them 
extend a greater length than this, although, owing to 
the dense scrub, tracing on the surface ia diffionlt. 
Tbc fine flsauru lode, locally known as the King 
Lode, has boon cut at vatioua distances extending over 
two miles, on tho Silver Kiug, the Silver Bell, the 
Silver Grown, and Dispatch Mines. A tnnnol, 0 ft. by 
4 ft. and out 500 ft- in length, has yielded ore valued 
at over £30,000 on the Silver Boll property. 
In a recent report on tho Tasmanian silver-flold 
Mr. Montgomery, Ills Tasmaninn Govoriimeut Qeole- 
gist, says:— 
Taking everything int-i conaidoration, tho proximity 
ot tho seaboard, tho railway oommunioatioD ibortly to 
be completed, I lie large number and general riebness 
of the already proved lodes, tho preseuoo of suitable 
fluxes for sraoltiug, the water power available, the 
abundance of mining timber, and the groat extent of 
country which may bo rejicd upon to produoe ore, it 
may bo regarded as a certainty that the silver-fields of 
Ihe west coast of Tssmauia will support a large 
population for many years aud an extensive and re- 
munerative mining and metallurgical industry. 
There seems to be sound fouudation for this belief, 
and the Tasmanian silver-field should materially 
augment the local wealth and the value of that oolODy's 
exports, — Loudon Times. 
“A VISIT TO AMSTEKUAM.” 
INSPECTION OP A DIAMOND-CUTTING 
ESTABLISHMENT. 
I felt greatly indebted to Mr. de Bussy lor 
BQonting me tho privilege ot going over the largest 
diamond-catting fnotory in the city, my immediate 
predecessor in this inspection being the Prince ol 
Naples. Amsterdam is noted as the principal seat 
of the diamond-cutting industry, and tho numerous 
factories with the large number of employees make 
it quite an important matter for the Dutch capital 
that the diamond fields in South Africa and 
Brazil, if not in other parts, should oontinuo in 
abundance. Indeed, tho past year has been a 
trying one to a largo proportion of the Jewish 
population who form nearly all the diamond- 
outters, through a groat falling-oS in the receipt 
ot the precious stones from South Africa.* We 
found, however, no lack of business and 
activity in the large house we visited. Tho 
first cause of surprise was at the size of the 
building, the many spaoioua rooms and the 
extent to which machinery was required. It 
seemed at first glance as if we were entering 
sotno cloth or metal factory, rather than one in 
which such small, though prooions, items as 
“ diamonds " were manipulated. The building was, 
as might be expected, a thoroughly strong, sub- 
stantial one, iron being used freely in the oonstruoiion 
for tho stairs, beams and oven flooring in somo 
parts. Preoautions against fire are no doubt in- 
dispensable. On the basement, apart from neoesBary 
entrance ofliaea, we found the steam-engine and 
boiler room-power being transmitted up three or 
tour stories by belting. We began our formal 
inspootion, however, ot tho top of the house, whore 
* The effect of Mr. Cecil Rhodes’s policy. Eo, T. A. 
