The National tribune., 1899-07-13
RICH MINERAL COUNTRY.
unteyeiopcd Resources CT New South Wales Await the
Ad7ance Of Railroads.


Advance of Railroads.
Opal-mining is one of the latest Aus.
| tralian mineral industries, this beautiful
gem being abundant in New South Wales
| and Queensland. In the former it fur
niSheS employment TO a considerable mum
Der OF people in the Wilcannia district, in
the far northwestern portion of the Col
ony, country rarely visited by those moi
having business there, and the mineral
richness of which remains practically un.
known, even i'll Sydney.
The Denovian rocks, in which the gem
is found, are of enormous extent They
occur to the east and northeast Of the older
si1urian metalliferouS formations, and may
in time be found to reach as far north as the
Queensland border.
At the present day the principal opal
mining center is White Cliffs, where the
gem has been found in highly payable
quantities and of the richest quality, within
a radius of 10 miles, and a population of
/ 800 or Whereabouts is settled there.
From the time that the first white man
made his appearance in this part of the
Colony it has remained vast pastoral
district, where one may travel for days
without meeting human being. unless in
the form of stray boundary rider in search
OF missing stock. The absence of railway
communication has closed the district
against the other parts of the Colony, the
when once it becomes opened up there will
be a great rush of population.
In the meantime the iron horse is gradu-
ally approaching, and within the next
decade the immense stores OF wealth await
ing the labor of the miner will be found
worked on an extensive scale. Among the
metals which have already been obtained
are gold, silver. lead. copper. and opal, but
up 10 the present opai-minlng has made
greater strides than the metalliferous in
duStrleS, because no machinery and coal Is
required, while the products of the mines
being sent away through the parcel post;
consequently railway is not so great
necessity as in the case of extensive metal
mining enterprises.
The copper-mining industry promises
TO assume gigantic proportions in the near
future. Many hundreds OF acres of copper
country have been taken up recently, and
are about to be developed on large scale.
The copper specimens occur in highly
mineraiiZed belt Of country on the western
slope of a mountain range. The belt is
about six miles long and three miles wide,
and within the limits OF this belt Is a group
OF mines which present every promise OF
turning out immense wealth, and which
will be the means Of settling a large popu-
lation, and providing employment for thou
sands Of WOrkmen.
At present everything is in a most primi-
tive state, as there has not yet been time to
begin work in earnest but negotiations
are in progress which, when completed,
will mean the erection OF extensive plants
of the most modern machinery and the en-
ployment of large numbers Of men. The
iodes are of great size. both in regard to
length of lode and width, and the ore is
rich and carries gold and silver in addition
to the copper.
Ii should be borne in mind that the
greater portion of the district is virgin
country. Gold has been found distributed
over an area of over 200 miles in length, but
the only attempt at anything like work has
been made in the Mount Browne district,
where 20 years ago aliuvial gold was found
over a large area. This attracted a con-
siderable number Of men to the district but
two or three years later the Barrier silver
fields were opened up, and as these were