The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-01-27
aMzlEsENSeN SGlNI 81

sand feet. The scenery Is among the
grandest In Australia, the precipitous sides
rising to a hight of fully 1000 feet, and
then, I'm rugged slopes, another 200 feet
From one bend of the descent into the
valley" says a visitor "a charming vista
of some fifty miles of mountain and valley
landscape hill and dale, stream and
meadow, Is opened up. Below flows the
Wollondilly, a continuation or feeder of
the Nepean 0he upper portion of the
Hawkesbury)) the course of which can be
traced for many miles, meandering
through green pastures and wooden gull
lies like a sheet of molten silver In the
rays Of the setting sun. Above rise forth
in hardly perceptible progress and then,
with sudden abruptness, the lovely noun
tains which enclose this lovely picture,
while, away down the vista, the course
or the river is lost In the dim perspective,
In which huge mountains are softened
down to the proportions of gentle slopes
and grassy knobs!
The greater portion of this beautiful dis
trict land of dainty ferns and flowers, is
known to be rich in mineral resources, and
some fifteen years ago the existence OF
valuable silver-bearing lodes was asccr-
tanned, but the difficulty of access greatly
retarded the work of prospecting. Re-
Gently, however, a couple of mines have
become opened by local enterprise, one OF
the lodes being three feer In width, and the
ore heavily impregnated with galena and
pyrites. A couple of tons of ore from
this lode after treatment, gave forty-six
ounces Of silver per ton. Al another point
a shaft has been sunk on the underlay Of
the lode for a distance of ninety feet, dis
closing a good and well-tieined ore chan
net, of an average width OF about five
feet throughout, with two good wallis.
The rock seems 90 be felsite, diorite and
granite. The ore shown in the shaft IL
chiefly low grade-that Is, ore that will
yield from % to 100 ounces of silver per
ton, with a certain PERCENTAGE of lead.
AT a point about forty feet deep in the
shaft a crosscut has been put In south or
southwest distance OF twenty-five feet,
and shows an ore body of five feet or more
on the average In thickness. The ores
here are both oxdized and sulphide.
Twelve tons of ore raised from this por-
ton Of the mine yielded 1856 ounces of sill
YER, forty-fve per cent. lead and three
pennyweight of gold per ton. A second
lot of ten tons yielded at about the same
rate
The heavy cost OF haulage, the country
being in an almost primitive condition,
and greatly broken by gullies, ravines and
mountain streams, has prevented more
than some preliminary work being done.
but as the district Is opened up, mining
operations will become more general. AL
ready most OF the available ground in tho
vicinity Of the lodes has been pegged out.
and should fresh discoveries be made.
roads and smelling works will follow as a
matter of course. The surrounding coun-
try has yet to be prospected. 1t Is de-
scrbed as being extremely rough. COM
prising bold hills. topped with sandstone.
and. in some instances. basalt, the debris
from these hills and walls of rock which
surround the valley being widely scatter
ed over the face of the valley. and Gov
ering up the gold-bearing formations.
rendering the surface hard to prospect, al
though alluvial bold has been found In the
beds of several of the mountain stearms.