and telegraph with Wyndham and Derby, the northern and western ports respectively. The line of gold-bearing country so far explored is about 100 miles in length; but as the same geological formation continues along the Ord River up to the Burt Ranges, it is still possible that prospecting may yet reveal a goldfield in this neighbourhood, of a more permanent and profitable character than any yet opened up. At the Panton River a considerable quantity of alluvial gold was found, and a great number of small quartz reefs, most of which are fairly rich. There are also a large number of huge quartz blows intersecting the auriferous belt from east to west, and usually barren. The country rock consists of clay slates and schists, and there exist at intervals massive formations of calcite. As these are almost precisely the geological conditions which prevail at Kalgoorlie, it is quite possible that scientific prospecting, which would deal with the matrices by assay, and leave the reefs almost entirely out of consideration, would result in the discovery of forms of tellurium which might prove of as great value as any yet found in the colony. The Hall's Creek diggings yielded well for alluvial, but the reefs in the vicinity are for the most part merely gash veins, which do not afford much promise of ever paying for developmental enterprise. The Brockman district contains a series of very good reefs, many of which are still being worked with profitable results. The like also applies to the Ruby, the Mary River, Mount Dockrell, and other centres of the field, all of which are being worked in a more or less irregular fashion, operations being much hindered by lack of capital, the difficulties of transit, and the remoteness of the region generally. Wood and water are both abundant, and the field has much to recommend it to the world's attention; for, although the oldest of Westralia's important fields, it is still the least prospected and the least known. The Kimberley was proclaimed a goldfield in 1886, and its present inhabitants do not number above 200.
THE PILBARRA GOLDFIELD
was proclaimed in 1889, and is situated on the north-west coast of Australia. It has lately been divided, for administrative purposes, into East and West Pilbarra, the latter of which follows the coast-line to the west, while East Pilbarra is bounded on the north by the ocean. The general features of the Pilbarra region are low-lying plains of great extent following the coast-line and running a considerable distance inland, there to be met by low rocky ranges forming the escarpment of the great tableland of the interior. Several large rivers, which run but seldom have their sources in these plateaux, and flow north and west to the sea, cut their way through the ranges in a series of deep gorges, the sides of which afford a useful clue to the geological character of the country. Marble Bar is the principal centre of this field, and is possessed of several large and rich reefs. Mallina, Peewah, Egina, Coongan, Pilbarra Proper, and Nullagine, are all promising centres, all of which have rich reefs, and seem to offer excellent prospects, but which are much hindered for want of capital and machinery. Of late a little investment has taken place, and progress has been very considerably accelerated in consequence. Of
THE ASHBURTON
it is not necessary to say very much. A large quantity of alluvial gold has been obtained from the gullies running into the Ashburton River, and there are a number of quartz reefs concerning which little is known. There has been practically no systematic development, and the Ashburton is substantially an almost untried field. Some thousands of ounces of alluvial gold have been raised and exported, but the ore resources have been almost entirely neglected.
THE MURCHISON
field was proclaimed in 1891, and contains a portion of the main auriferous belt of the colony. The area over which prospecting and mining has been carried on is about 200 miles long, stretching from Mount Magnet on the south to the Gascoyne River on the north. The first place at which gold was discovered on the Murchison was at Yuin, a spot long since abandoned, but the first find of real importance took place at Nannine, which is still a flourishing centre with several crushing plants and producing mines. The principal line of reef at Nannine strikes north from Lake Annean and forms a high ridge, along which the Nannine, Mount Hall, Murchison Consolidated, Champion, and other mines are situated. The gold occurs for the most part in rich chutes, which, taken by themselves, would yield some thousands of ounces to the ton, but which, when crushed in company with the large quantity of poor matrix by which they are surrounded, keep the average yield down to less than one ounce to the ton. As the reef has every appearance of permanence, and the rich patches, though irregular, appear to persist with depth, it is probable that with economical management the mines will be worked at small profits for many a year to come. Other auriferous patches in the vicinity are Gardner's, Mount Yagahong, Star of the East, Quinn's Mount Vranizan, Garden Gully, and Peak Hill, the last of which being a separate goldfield, and possessing surprisingly rich veins, deserves a brief description under a separate heading. The others, although often written of in the most commendatory terms, have not as yet created any great sensation, nor, with the exception of the Star of the East, paid any dividends, although many of the reefs have been turned to profitable account by co-operative parties of working miners. Cue is the administrative centre of the Murchison field, and was for some time after its discovery celebrated for the vast quantity of surface alluvial gold, nearly all of which was found either lying upon the ground in nuggets resembling so many pebbles, or at a depth of at most six inches below the surface. The reefs about this line are numerous, and some have proved very rich, among which may be mentioned the Victory United, the Lily, Light of Asia, Cue Cue, and a few others. The reefs for the most part are large, well-defined, and undoubtedly true fissure-veins. As a rule, which so far has not even an exception to prove it, the rich gold is found in chutes of short lengths and irregular occurrence, and the bulk of the quartz is of a low grade character. On two occasions, at an interval of nearly two years, the writer has had opportunities of thoroughly investigating the mines in the vicinity of Cue, and despite their occasional wealth, considers that they may be regarded as likely to average under rather than over one ounce to the ton. The Day Dawn, Cuddingwarra, and Mainland are practically replications of Cue, with the difference that at Mainland and Cuddingwarra the rich patches appear to occur with greater frequency. In the midst of Lake Austin is situated the island, a bold ridge of metamorphic rock, the axis of which consists of a huge lode of silicious limestone. There are several excellent reefs on this island from which a large quantity of gold has been from time to time obtained, although it has all the patchy characteristics of the rest of the Murchison. The island, however, appears to have one resource which in the rest of the field, Mount Magnet
