COLONIAL ORES, 
89 
COLONIAL PRODUCTIONS. 
Wall Cases ST to 42 on E. side. 
Australasia. 
Case 37 . — Passing over a few specimens from New Zealand, 
placed on the upper shelves, we find the greater part of this Case 
devoted to the copper-ores of Australia. Here the eye is 
attracted by the fine masses of the green and blue carbonates of 
copper, known respectively as malachite and azurite, and by the 
brilliant dark-green crystals of atacamite, or oxychloride of 
copper. The carbonates are principally from the once-famous 
mines of Burra Burra, situated about 90 miles N.E. of Adelaide. 
The rich deposits of carbonate of copper in the earlier workings 
at these mines resembled in many respects the malachite forma- 
tions of Russia, already described. The Burra Burra mines 
were started on the 5th September 1845, and in spite of ijhe 
rudeness of the early workings, their distance from the shipping 
port, and the disadvantage of unmade roads, they yielded during 
the first five years a profit of nearly half a million sterling. En 
Case 21 (p. 65), are some fine specimens of the red oxide and blue 
and green carbonates from the same mines ; and in the Lower 
Hall is another large mass <3f the ore (No. 89). The discovery of 
copper-ore at Wallaroo, on Yorke peninsula, in South Australia, 
was made by a shepherd in 1860, and the Wallaroo mines were 
at once started. Another discovery was soon afterwards made 
about 10 miles south of Wallaroo, which resulted in the 
formation of the celebrated Moonta mines. 
Case 38 . — The series of Australian copper ores is continued 
in the upper part of this Case, and is followed by samples of 
the ores of iron, lead, antimony, &c. Stream-tin was found 
long ago in association with alluvial gold in the black sand ” 
of Victoria ; but the Victorian deposits have yielded in impor- 
tance to those of New South Wales and Queensland. Here the 
ore occurs not only as detrital tin-stone, in the beds of many 
streams and in alluvial fiats, but also in veins or lodes coursing 
through granitic rocks. A large series of Australian tin-ores, 
including some fine samples from Vegetable Creek in New South 
Wales, will be found in this Case ; whilst in the lower part of 
Case 37 are some larger masses of tin ore illustrating the impor- 
tant occurrence of this mineral at Mount Bischoff in Tasmania. 
Specimens of many of the precious stones found in the alluvial 
deposits of New South Wales are exhibited in Case 38 , including 
a series from the Bingera diamond fields, presented (with many 
others) by Prof. Liversidge, F.R.S., of Sydney. An interesting- 
suite of specimens, from the remarkable mines at Broken Hills, 
in New South Wales, shows the occurrence of silver in the form 
of chloro- bromide and iodide ; whilst a small group of specimens 
on one of the lower shelves illustrates the occurrence of gold in 
a rather exceptional form at the famous Mount Morgan in 
e 87039. P 
