1919.] 
Departmental Reports. 
113 
rous spots of iron oxide, and if opened up would probably be found to be 
pyritic. Apart from this it is of fair quality, and some is comparatively 
free from the defect mentioned. 
Many miles south-westward a band of talc rock about 30 ft. thick is 
exposed in the Whakarira Gorge of the Kokatahi River. This is somewhat 
impure, and passes into talc-serpentine rock. High on the slopes of Mounts 
Jumbletop and Bowen there are long bands or lenses of talc, most of which 
is contaminated by quartz and oxide of iron. A 20 ft. lens of talc rock 
associated with the serpentine a quarter of a mile east of the summit of 
Jumbletop is of dark colour, but appears to be tolerably pure. Crystal¬ 
lized talc of great purity is found in small pockets here and there in 
association with the talc and serpentine rocks of north Westland. Bands 
of green talc schist are common in the neighbourhood of the talc and 
serpentine outcrops. These have no economic value at the present time. 
Bands of talc-actinolite rock which furnish beautiful hand-specimens are 
also not uncommon. 
Owing to the difficulty of access none of the talcose rocks in the water¬ 
sheds of the Kokatahi and Hokitika Rivers can be said to have any value 
at the present time. A fairly full account, with analyses, is given in N.Z. 
Geol. Surv. Bull. No. 6, 1908, pages 147-49. 
Prices of Talc. 
Prior to the war crude talc and steatite in the United States were worth 
from £1 to £2 per ton at the factory. Since 1915 the prices have risen, but 
no definite data have been obtained. In 1914 British prices of “ French 
chalk ” were from £3 to £7 per ton, according to quality, the higher price 
being paid for material from Italy. At the present time prices range from 
£9 to £16 per ton. The very highest grades of talc, used for toilet-powder, 
electric insulators, gas-tips, pencils, &c., are worth from £20 per ton up¬ 
wards. At the present time coloured French chalk for tailors’ use is being 
sold in New Zealand at something like 10s. per pound, and the manufac¬ 
ture of crayons, &c., in New Zealand from local talc appears to be a feasible 
undertaking for any person acquainted with the technical details. 
MANGANESE-ORE. 
Manganese-ores—or, rather, mineral substances containing a large per¬ 
centage of manganese—have been found in many parts of New Zealand. 
In the first place a list of such localities will be given, followed by such 
further information about the more noteworthy occurrences as is available.* 
Rhodonite, the silicate of manganese, occurs in the following localities :— 
1. Coromandel. Bull. No. 4, 1907, p. 104. 
2. Thames. Bull. No. 10, 1910, pp. 36, 41, 72. 
3. Waiheke Island. Skey, according to Park, 1910. 
4. Makara, near Wellington. Lab., No. 20, 1886, p. 45, and No. 47, 
1914, p. 54. 
* The abbreviated reference Lab. refers to the annual reports of the Colonial 
Museum and Laboratory, or, in later years, the Colonial Laboratory and Dominion 
Laboratory annual reports. The Reports of Geological Explorations issued under the 
direction of Sir James Hector are referred to by number and date of publication, and 
New Zealand Geological Survey Bulletins (new series) in the same way. Transactions of 
the New Zealand Institute is abbreviated to Trans. Authors are generally referred to 
by surname and date of publication of their report, paper, or book. 
8—Science. 
