53 
railway station, and with most successful results, as sufficient magnesite 
has been disclosed to warrant the inauguration of an industry for its 
utilization. 
Along the north side of the block named, and between it and the railway, 
which is close by, five shafts have been sunk within a length of 5 chains to 
depths ranging from 14 to 62 feet. These have all been sunk along the junction 
of a fine-grained granitic rock on the north side and a rock that has a 
tendency to alter into serpentine on the south side. The junction of these 
two rocks continues for three-quarters of a mile in a south-westerly direction, 
and is well exposed in the large tract of rock that has been bared by sluicing 
operations. So far as exposed there are veins and nodules of magnesite in 
the serpentinous rock along its junction with the granitic rock, and also in 
the decomposed granitic rock for as much as 16 feet away from the 
junction. 
At the shaft-workings there is a thickness of from 1 to 6 feet of magnesite 
along the junction, besides branch veins running into the decomposed granitic 
rock. The junction is almost vertical in parts, but more generally it dips at 
about 80° to the southward. Decomposition of the basic rock on the south 
side of the junction has supplied the magnesite, which was dissolved out and 
re-deposited along the junction, along the joints for several feet back from 
the junction in the granitic rock, and in fissures in the decomposed basic rock 
itself over wide areas. 
In the most north-westerly shaft, which is 62 feet deep, the vein at 32 feet 
from the surface ranges from 2 to 3 feet wide in the level, besides which there 
is a considerable amount of magnesite in the branch veins in the granitic rock. 
In the other shafts the magnesite appears to be continuous along the junction, 
and also to average quite 2 feet in thickness to a depth of 20 feet. 
The vein appeared quite strong, and of average width in the south-eastern 
shaft, and no doubt continues along the junction in that direction, while in 
the opposite direction magnesite is well shown as veins and nodules in the 
basic serpentinous rock. At one place where a little work has been done at 
the junction some promising material was disclosed, but here it does not 
appear to attain as great a thickness as in the shaft workings. 
Already a very considerable tonnage of excellent magnesite is disclosed 
in the workings, and there is promise of a large quantity being obtained from 
this locality. 
The magnesite results from the decomposition of the basic rock, and its 
occurrence in the granitic rock results from the jointed and decomposed con¬ 
dition of that rock, therefore this deposit may be expected to continue as far 
down as alteration has taken place, but where the rocks are in their normal 
condition, and not altered, the magnesite will not be found. Further mining 
is required to ascertain to what depth the mineral continues. 
Much of the mineral consists of nodules, which, when broken through, are 
perfectly white and without any stain of iron. Other portions have a slight 
reddish colour from the presence of a small quantity of iron oxide, but this 
is no detriment in many cases. 
Magnesite is largely used as lining for steel furnaces and for basic fire- 
resisting bricks. Roasted and ground finely it makes a strong cement, and 
is used in this state or mixed with small fragments of wood for making floors, 
as it has the remarkable quality of adhering to the wood. Owing to its 
comparative scarcity, the mineral is a valuable one, and many fields for its 
use are opening up; it is therefore important to have a supply within the 
