Page:EB1911 - Volume 02.djvu/1002

 successful operation. Over 70,000 men are employed in the gold-mining industry, more than two-thirds of them being engaged in quartz mining.

Silver has been discovered in all the states, either alone or in the form of sulphides, antimonial and arsenical ores, chloride, bromide, iodide and chloro-bromide of silver, and argentiferous lead ores, the largest deposits of the metal being found in the last-mentioned form. The leading silver mines are in New South Wales, the returns from the other states being comparatively insignificant. The fields of New South Wales have proved to be of immense value, the yield of silver and lead during 1905 being £2,500,000, and the total output to the end of the year named over £40,000,000. The Broken Hill field, which was discovered in 1883, extends over 2500 sq. m. of country, and has developed into one of the principal mining centres of the world. It is situated beyond the river Darling, and close to the boundary between New South Wales and South Australia. The lodes occur in Silurian metamorphic micaceous schists, intruded by granite, porphyry and diorite, and traversed by numerous quartz reefs, some of which are gold-bearing. The Broken Hill lode is the largest yet discovered. It varies in width from 10 ft. to 200 ft., and may be traced for several miles. Although indications of silver abound in all the other states, no fields of great importance have yet been discovered. Up to the end of 1904 Australia had produced silver to the value of £45,000,000. At Broken Hill mines about 11,000 miners are employed.

Copper is known to exist in all the states, and has been mined extensively in South Australia, New South Wales, Queensland and Tasmania. The low quotations which ruled for a number of years had a depressing effect upon the industry, and many mines once profitably worked were temporarily closed, but in 1906 there was a general revival. The discovery of copper had a marked effect on the fortunes of South Australia at a time when the young colony was surrounded by difficulties. The first important mine, the Kapunda, was opened up in 1842. It is estimated that at one time 2000 tons were produced annually, but the mine was closed in 1879. In 1845 the celebrated Burra Burra mine was discovered. This mine proved to be very rich, and paid £800,000 in dividends to the original owners. For a number of years, however, the mine has been suffered to remain untouched, as the deposits originally worked were found to be depicted. For many years the average output was from 10,000 to 13,000 tons of ore, yielding from 22 to 23% of copper. For the period of thirty years during which the mine was worked the production of ore amounted to 234,648 tons, equal to 51,622 tons of copper, valued at £4,749,924. The Wallaroo and Moonta mines, discovered in 1860 and 1861, proved to be even more valuable than the Burra Burra, the Moonta mines employing at one time upwards of 1600 hands. The dividends paid by these mines amounted to about £1,750,000 sterling. The satisfactory price obtained during recent years has enabled renewed attention to be paid to copper mining in South Australia, and the production of the metal in 1905 was valued at £470,324. The principal deposits of copper in New South Wales are found in the central part of the state between the Macquarie, Darling and Bogan rivers. Deposits have also been found in the New England and southern districts, as well as at Broken Hill, showing that the mineral is widely distributed throughout the state. The more important mines are those of Cobar, where the Great Cobar mine produces annually nearly 4000 tons of refined copper. In northern Queensland copper is found throughout the Cloncurry district, in the upper basin of the Star river, and the Herberton district. The returns from the copper fields in the state are at present a little over half a million sterling per annum, and would be still greater if it were not for the lack of suitable fuel for smelting purposes, which renders the economical treatment of the ore difficult; the development of the mines is also retarded by the want of easy and cheaper communication with the coast. In Western Australia copper deposits have been worked for some years. Very rich lodes of the metal have been found in the Northampton, Murchison and Champion Bay districts, and also in the country to the south of these districts on the Irwin river. Tasmania is now the largest copper-producing state of the Commonwealth; in 1905 the output was over £672,010 and in earlier years even larger. The chief mines belong to the Mount Lyell Mining & Railway Co., and are situated on the west side of the island with an outlet by rail to Strahan on the west coast. The total value of copper produced in Australia up to the end of 1905 was £42,500,000 sterling, £24,500,000 having been obtained in South Australia, £7,500,000 in New South Wales, £6,400,000 in Tasmania and over £3,500,000 in Queensland.

Tin was known to exist in Australia from the first years of colonization. The wealth of Queensland and the Northern Territory in this mineral, according to the reports of Dr Jack, late Government geologist of the former state, and the late Rev. J. E. Tenison-Woods, appears to be very great. The most important tin-mines in Queensland are in the Herberton district, south-west of Cairns; at Cooktown, on the Annan and Bloomfield rivers; and at Stanthorpe, on the border of New South Wales. Herberton and Stanthorpe have produced more than three-fourths of the total production of the state. Towards the close of the 19th century the production greatly decreased in consequence of the low price of the metal, but in 1899 a stimulus was given to the industry, and since then the production has increased very considerably, the output for 1905 being valued at £989,627. In New South Wales lode tin occurs principally in the granite and stream tin under the basaltic country in the extreme north of the state, at Tenterfield, Emmaville, Tingha, and in other districts of New England. The metal has also been discovered in the Barrier ranges, and many other places. The value of the output in 1905 was £226,110. The yield of tin in Victoria is very small, and until lately no fields of importance have been discovered; but towards the latter end of 1899 extensive deposits were reported to exist in the Gippsland district—at Omeo and Tarwin. In South Australia tin-mining is unimportant. In Western Australia the production from the tin-fields at Greenbushes and elsewhere was valued at £87,000. Tasmania during the last few years has attained the foremost position in the production of tin, the annual output now being about £363,000. The total value of tin produced in Australia is nearly a million sterling per annum, and the total production to the end of 1905 was £22,500,000, of which Tasmania produced about 40%, New South Wales one-third, Queensland a little more than a fourth.

Iron is distributed throughput Australia, but for want of capital for developing the fields this industry has not progressed. In New South Wales there are, together with coal and limestone in unlimited supply, important deposits of rich iron ores suitable for smelting purposes; and for the manufacture of steel of certain descriptions abundance of manganese, chrome and tungsten ores are available. The most extensive fields are in the Mittagong, Wallerawang and Rylstone districts, which are roughly estimated to contain in the aggregate 12,944,000 tons of ore, containing 5,853,000 tons of metallic iron. Extensive deposits, which are being developed successfully, occur in Tasmania, it being estimated that there are, within easy shipping facilities, 17,000,000 tons of ore. Magnetite, or magnetic iron, the richest of all iron ores, is found in abundance near Wallerawang in New South Wales. The proximity of coal-beds now being worked should accelerate the development of the iron deposits, which, on an average, contain 41% of metal. Magnetite occurs in great abundance in Western Australia, together with haematite, which would be of enormous value if cheap labour were available. Goethite, limonite and haematite are found in New South Wales, at the junction of the Hawkesbury sandstone formation and the Wianamatta shale, near Nattai, and are enhanced in their value by their proximity to coal-beds. Near Lithgow extensive deposits of limonite, or clay-band ore, are interbedded with coal. Some samples of ore, coal and limestone, obtained in the Mittagong district, with pig-iron and castings manufactured therefrom, were exhibited at the Mining Exhibition in London and obtained a first award.

Antimony is widely diffused throughout Australia, and is sometimes found associated with gold. In New South Wales the principal centre of this industry is Hillgrove, near Armidale, where the Eleanora Mine, one of the richest in the state, is situated. The ore is also worked for gold. In Victoria the production of antimony gave employment in 1890 to 238 miners, but owing to the low price of the metal, production has almost ceased. In Queensland the fields were all showing development in 1891, when the output exhibited a very large increase compared with that of former years; but, as in the case of Victoria, the production of the metal seems to have ceased. Good lodes of stibnite (sulphide of antimony) have been found near Roebourne in Western Australia, but no attempt has yet been made to work them.

Bismuth is known to exist in all the Australian states, but up to the present time it has been mined for only in three states, viz. New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia and Tasmania. It is usually found in association with tin and other minerals. The principal mine in New South Wales is situated at Kingsgate, in the New England district, where the mineral is generally associated with molybdenum and gold.

Manganese probably exists in all the states, deposits having been found in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia, the richest specimens being found in New South Wales. Little, however, has been done to utilize the deposits, the demands of the colonial markets being extremely limited. The ore generally occurs in the form of oxides, manganite and pyrolusite, and contains a high percentage of sesquioxide of manganese.

Platinum and the allied compound metal iridosmine have been found in New South Wales, but so far in inconsiderable quantities. Iridosmine occurs commonly with gold or tin in alluvial drifts.

The rare element tellurium has been discovered in New South Wales at Bingara and other parts of the northern districts, as well as at Tarana, on the western line, though at present in such minute quantities as would not repay the cost of working. At many of the mines at Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, large quantities of ores of telluride of gold have been found in the lode formations.

Lead is found in all the Australian states, but is worked only when associated with silver. In Western Australia the lead occurs in the form of sulphides and carbonates of great richness, but the quantity of silver mixed with it is very small. The lodes are most frequently of great size, containing huge masses of galena, and so little gangue that the ore can very easily be dressed to 83 or 84%. The association of this metal with silver in the Broken Hill mines of New South Wales adds very greatly to the value of the product.

Mercury is found in New South Wales and Queensland. In New