171 
Turquoise from thin films up to i inch veins has been obtained from the 
surface downwards in black slate which is weathered grey near the surface. 
Much of the turquoise is of green colour, and some of it has perished, 
and is soft and pulverulent. Thin veins of very good colour were obtained, 
the best at some distance from the surface. 
The istrike of the black slate with the narrow sandstone bands is 
N. 35 deg. W., and it dips 85 deg. S.E. The veins of turquoise do not 
conform to the bedding planes but some of them run irregularly with the 
strike also diagonally across it. In the lower part of the open workings - 
very little turquoise was observed, and none is said to have been found in 
sinking .the shaft. The slate from the shaft is black and contains iron 
pyrites, and the rock is in an unaltered condition. 
• 
Excellent tip ground exists at this site both on the east and west side of 
the ridge. So far the workings have been confined to the west side only. 
What the return has been for the large quantity of rock removed could not 
be ascertained. 
No. 2 locality is on the line of strike in a north-westerly direction, 
4^ chains from No. 1 locality. It is known as the “ New Discovery ’’ 
(Lease 927), and is the point at which the first workings were opened. It 
is 1,550 feet above sea-level and on the south side of a small gully. The 
rock here consists of slate, black where protected from atmospheric 
influences, and faded to a light grey nearer the surface. The strike is 
N. 35 deg. W. and the dip 85 deg. N. A cutting has been made along the- 
strike for about 100 feet in length, and to a depth of 35 feet in the deepest 
part. Near the east end of the opening a shaft has been sunk 30 feet. 
The best turquoise veins are within a belt of slate about 3 feet wide, and 
the stone was obtained from the surface downward. In the deepest part 
of the workings the veins become very scarce; although the best coloured 
stone* is found furthest from the surface, it appears to run out in depth 
and below the present floor may not continue for more than a few feet. An 
excellent section can be seen in a deep barrow-road that has been cut across 
the slates. 
In the slates are many small lenticular black bodies which weather to 
light grey on exposure, and have a texture greatly resembling the turquoise. 
Where the rocks in the deepest part of the cutting are least altered, iron 
pyrites occurs in them. As at the previous site the slates have a “ creased ’’ 
and crushed appearance. Mr. P. Gascoigne is working this lease and the 
debris from the workings forms a large tip, but what the result has been in 
monetary return is unknown. 
No. 3 locality is 2J miles on the line of strike from No. 1 locality in 
the same direction as No. 2. This lease (No. 1.697) is known as the 
il Mount Avis Extended ; it is 1,800 feet above sea level, and is situate on 
the northern slope of a spur. The strike of the rocks is N. 35 deg. W. and 
their dip 5 deg. S.W. Along the strike there is an excavation for 60 feet 
in length, 20 feet wide, and 35 feet deep at the deepest part. Black slate, 
weathering grey near the surface, is the rock the turquoise occurs in. On 
the south-westerly side of the slate band a light-grey sandstone belt occurs. 
There is much evidence of faulting, crushing, &c., and slickensides are 
stronglv marked. Just below the deepest face a tunnel has been driven in ; 
the rock from this tunnel is black slate with iron pyrites, and no veins of 
turquoise are observable in it, although they were common nearer the 
surface. It is reported that no veins were found in the tunnel and none of 
the tip stuff showed any. In the open workings on the north-east side 
