The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-11-22
QUICKSILVER IN AUSTRALIA.

Mining the Metal in New South Wales Although quicksilver has not hitherto occupied other than a minor position among the metals of New South Wales there are not wanting indications that in the near future it will be found one of the most valuable of the numerous | metallic products of the colony The presence of native mercury, or quicksil- yer, in New South Wales was ascer- tained so far back as 1S41, when Rev W. B. Clarke, an eminent Australian geologist, received a sample from a creek on the Cudgegong river, an au- riferous stream, rising in the Austra- Han Alps, and flowing through portion | of the western gold fields of the colony. Cinnabar had previously been found in
 the same locality It has also been dis
 covered in few other places but all though MT. Clarke with view to stim- ulating systematic search for the metal,
 published a popular description of the
 ores of mercury, little CT nothing fur ther was done. In later years mercu- ry in the form of cinnabar was found at Bingara, where there are several diamond mines; in the vicinity of the Solferino gold fields: and at Cooma, at the entrance to the New South Wales
 STOW country, where the assays of ore
 yeilded twenty-five per cent. of quick
 silver. The richest deposits have, how
 ever, been dis covered near Yulgilbar in
 the Clarence river district, one of the
 most fertile and beautiful in Australia.
 sugar cultivation being staple indus
 try.
 Some four years ago prospecting was
 carried on in the hope of finding q pay
 able quicksilver deposit. and the New
 South Wales department of mines dis
 patched It's mineralogist, J. E. Carne, to
 inspect and report upon the workings,
 with the result that that gentleman, af-
 ter most careful examination recom-
 mended that portion of the govern
 ment prospecting vote be devoted to as- sisting the prospectors in their search
 for the lode which was suspected to ex
 ist, and, if successful, to ascertain
 whether or not the deposits would even
 tually become payable. Since then con- siderable developments have been made, and six distinct shafts have been put down on three parallel lodes, Several tons of the ore from these lodes have been brought to Sydney, and quantities of 1t distributed among the various government departments for examna- ton and testing purposes The ore Is expected to yield from three to five per cent. of mercury, and 1t has been ascer- tained that the spent" ore contains gold and silver The area of the ground examined by the government geologist Is about one hundred and twenty acres, but 1t Is believed that with the progress of prospecting operations other lodes, more or less rich. will be found. A fur ther examination of the locality is be- ing made by the government geologist, and his report is being anxiously await ed. He has definitely ascertained the existence of three distinct parallel lodes. the first discovered in the colony, and improving as they go down. When the quicksilver mining industry is fairly established, large population will be- come attracted to this part of the colo ny which has been for many years portion of an immense pastoral proper- ty, and but little known Machinery is being erected. and preliminary test ing of about one thousand tons of ore will be made Should the results prove satisfactory the New South Wales quicksilver trade will become revolu- tionized, as the poorest assays show the ore to be richer than those of the Amer jean and Spanish mines. They will also encourage the search for other