31 
right angles across the “country”; or that, filling other lines of faults, 
cut diagonally across the bedding of the “country,” though conforming 
more or less with the strike, there are irregular quartz veins. They occur 
in a most erratic manner, cutting across the sandstones and slates, and 
are known as “spurs,” Where they occur the mixture of quartz veins 
and country-rock is known as “ spurry country.” As a factor in con¬ 
tributing to the gold yield, they are of great importance. A very large 
proportion of the mining on this field is conducted on “ spurs.” Johnson’s 
Reef, Eaglehawk, the Moon group of mines, the New Red, White, and 
Blue, Comet, and many others have obtained most of their gold from spurs. 
In some of these mines operations are almost or entirelv confined to mining 
the “ spurs,” and centre-country is neglected. In other mines centre- 
country and saddle-reefs appear to engross all attention, and no effort ap¬ 
pears to be made to determine whether, besides the saddle-reefs and their 
“legs,” there may not be also “spurry country” well worth working. 
Correct mining principles would suggest that, while the one class of gold 
occurrences is carefully attended to the other should not be neglected, 
ff here are mines which have been worked to great depths after saddle- 
reefs, and in which practically’ nothing has been done to prove whether 
auriferous spurs are, or are not, existent within their boundaries. From 
a personal knowledge of the field, it appears highlv probable that, where 
one class of mining has been specially followed to the exclusion of the 
other, great advantage might accrue from a thorough consideration of this 
question, and where spurs only have been worked a winze in centre-country 
nnght result in valuable discoveries. Where saddle-reefs only have hitherto 
been worked, the putting out of cross-cuts and prospecting along levels 
in search of “ spurs ” might also be attended to. 
It is a remarkable fact that spurs are worked for the most part on 
the east side of the anticlines. 
The general principles that govern the occurrence of saddle-reefs are 
very well understood, but conditions under which auriferous spurs occur are 
not yet worked out. There are certain lines of investigation that require 
to be followed up. The existence of zones in the great mass of stratified 
Ordovician rocks, some of which are barren as regards gold, and some of 
which are productive wherever quartz veins intersect, or come in contact 
with them, appears to be the principle which explains the presence of gold 
where it is found. In the case of the Comet mine, Mr. H. S. Whitelaw’s 
survey shows that there are four zones or beds which appear favorable to 
the occurrence of auriferous spurs. The influence of certain beds on the 
presence of gold requires to be worked out on this field. Another line 
of inquiry, bearing on the occurrence of spurs, is in respect to the reasons 
why the spurs are found at considerable distances from centre-country. A 
possible reason might be the strains exerted on the beds while thev were 
being folded over into a series of corrugations. Just as at centre-country, 
and all along the axial lines, much compression and crushing have taken 
place, so, between the anticlines and synclines, probably a dragging may 
have had the effect of Assuring the beds, and thus allowing the formation 
of quartz veins and gold in them. If this effect took place, where the beds 
of rock were favorable to the occurrence of gold, or in other words, in beds 
resembling the Indicators at Ballarat, then quartz veins carrying gold re¬ 
sulted. If the effect took place in beds of a barren character, then quartz 
veins, without gold, were formed. It is very - probable that mechanical 
causes are, at any rate, partly accountable for the formation of spurs, 
auriferous and non-auriferous. 
[Report sent in jth July , iyoyJ\ 
B 
11120. 
