73 
disposed to undertake the task of deep sinking, which, while involving simi¬ 
lar expenditure to that necessary for similar tasks on other gold-fields, does 
not, in view of the (so far) ascertained nature of Hunt’s line of reef, offer 
similar inducement to hope for the discovery of rich bodies of ore. 
Admitting then, on the one hand, the meagre encouragement to any 
individual company to adopt the role of pioneer, and, on the other hand, the 
national desirability of the continued development of the field, the question 
arises whether the proposed deep-sinking scheme possesses, notwithstanding 
the former fact, sufficiently reasonable chances of success to justify the 
necessary expenditure by the State. In this connexion, I desire to state 
that the opinion I heard expressed by many at Ellesmere, that Hunt’s reef 
would be found to change in depth to a lode of solid quartz, is not supported 
bv the general features of the formation at the surface. That an important 
change in the nature of the lode matter will be noted with the attainment 
of depth is undoubted, but it is just as certain that the portion of the reef 
above present water-level was, in ages gone by, of exactly the same general 
character as that below, and now differs from the latter only in the extent 
to which it has undergone surface decomposition. And while this 
decomposition would chemically alter minerals like pyrites, galena and 
stibnite into an earthy condition, rendering them far less easily recog¬ 
nisable to the eye as metallic ores, a solid body of quartz, on being 
subjected to the action of surface decomposition, would still remain a 
solid body of quartz. The quartz along Hunt’s line of reef, however, 
occurs as small spurs filling innumerable cracks and joints formed in the 
beds of slate and sandstone by the rupturing and grinding of enormous rock 
masses along the line of fissure, and although solid veins of quartz up to 
2 feet in thickness have, to my personal knowledge, been found along 
Hunt’s line, I am not aware that any such vein was sufficiently consistent 
either in strike or underlay to be regarded as constituting a a shoot ” of 
stone of even moderate importance. The natural conclusion to the above is, 
that if bodies of solid quartz are an essential feature of the line of reef, 
this feature would be extremelv likelv to have manifested itself in the 
«/ */ • 
appearance of one or more of such bodies in the numerous workings along 
several miles at the surface ; and, vice versa, that the fact of such non- 
appearance at the surface, though not by any means conclusive proof of the 
non-existence of important quartz formations at greater depths, certainly 
justifies the opinion that any discovery of the latter nature must be hoped 
for as the result of unexpected good fortune rather than a justified anticipa¬ 
tion from any visible character of the line of reef at the surface. 
What we may reasonably expect to find below water level is that the 
sandstones and slates will assume the darker bluish-grey appearance of the 
- country rock of the deep mines of Bendigo and other Victorian gold-fields, 
and the lodestuff, in many portions, a character similar to the “spurry” 
formations frequently profitably worked in Victoria. Stibnite, as well as 
pyrites, has already been found in several mines on Hunt's line, and these 
and other minerals are likely to constitute a considerable portion of the ore 
body. 
That the gold contents for equal areas along the plane of the fissure are 
likely to vary greatly above and below water level, I can see no reason for 
believing, but in the latter portion the valuable mineral contents may 
possibly be confined to a smaller width of formation, and so give a somewhat 
higher value per ton of ore treated. All these matters, however, will have 
to be finally decided by the arbiter so often chosen to judge in mining 
questions—the pick. 
4541. 
F 
