Tae Report of the Department of Mines in New South Wales for 1885, which has just been published, gives much interesting information on the mineral wealth of the colony. Beginning with the most precious metal, it anys that "the weight of gold obtained to.the end of 1884 wns 9,596,653-z,, of the value of £35,724,179 5s, Except in acme few localities quartz veins huve not been worked tou great depth, The deepest mine in the colony is ut Adelong, where payable quartz hus been raised from a depth of 1,080 feet. Alluyinl Innds have in some instances been worked to depth of 200 feet, and there are the strongest indications of doup lends in various parts where no attempt has been made to work them. Gold-mining, hitherto carried on, hus been pri cipally confined to the working of river beds and shallow allayial claims and deep leads, but extensive arcus of coun. try are known to be auriferous. The approximate aren included within the proclaimed goldfield is 91,800 equate miles; but, from the geological furmation of the country, it is believed that the area in which payable gold-deposits will be found will be grenter than that. now stated, From some of the reefs at Hill End, crushings gave from the rate of from 30 to 2100 ounces of gold por ton." Lhe Reports of silver mining ure generally satisfactory to those en. gaged in the euterprizes. Daring 1883 the value of the silver produced in the colony was £18,563; but in 1884 the argentiferous tend lodes of the Silverton district, in the Barrier Ranges, near the western boundary of the colony, were opened, and from them, during 1885, silver and silver-lend ore to the value of £108,281 wore exported, During 1885 the quantity of ore fur. naeed at the Sauny Corner mine, in the Bathurst district, was 24,547 tons, producing 634,016vz. of silver and 641302, of gold. The value of the silver and silver-lead ore produced in New South Wales during the 10 years ending December 81st, 1885, amounted to £400,500, Much of the silver-lend nised in the Silverton district wae shipped to Europe for treatment; but latterly, in important mining places, smelting-works lave been established, Several loder, one of which extends for one mile in length, containing rich silver ore, chiefly fuklerz, associated with galena and blende, are now being opened in the Vegetable Creek district.
In addition to these evidences of an increasing output of silver the reports in the Herald of the 2ud April state that £14,000 of bar silver had been. sent from six mines in the tro last weeks of March, besides other shipments the value of which is not given. This shows @ great inccenge in silver produc. tion, quite recently, The ores were idding from 200 to 670 ounces of ver to the ton, besides good quantities of lead. Bat these argentiferona richnesses are thrown into the shade by some discoveries Intely reported at Silverton. In the Lubra mine there, telegram, dated in the middle of March, ange that in the 310 feet underlie hing 12,000 ounces to the ton for the silver market this rich " bunch" is estimated to contain only 20 tons; Int where such n pocket las been found mining will be vigorously pro-secured in the hope that others as profitable may be hit upon; and this will all tend to lower the market value of the metal, Diamond gz was also be. coming an important industry, 12,000 been found ap to the end of Inst your, Iron is being mined, and verted into pig and malleable iron to an inerensing extent. OF coal it in proximate aren of the ferous strata is estimated at 23,950 square miles, The principal conl-beds exist along the const to the north and south of Sydney. The wines first opened are situated in the immediate vicinity of Newcastle, and it is from there that the colony obtains itx largest supply." Of the upper conlmeasures in the Western d the Government Geologist sny: are 480 feet thick, resting conformably on the marine beds of the lower coal-measures, and ovorluid by more than 500 fect ut Hawkesbury sandstone. Eleven seams vf cunl have been counted in them; the lowest, which ix 10 feet thick, lies about 25 feet above the murine beds. Ow seam, worked by several companies, pruses under the vast extent of mountain ranges to the north and enst; it will be exhaustible for generations to come," The production of con! line inerensed very rapidly of Into years. In 1883 (probably this is " misprint for 1863) 328 tons were raised, and in 1884 2,749,109 tons, Several senms of petroleum conl have been found, and the coal from two of them is retorted for the manufacture of " ketose Their thickness vari in 2 to 5 feet. The Hartley ebule yields 160 gallons of crude oil, or 18,000 cubic feet of gua per (on, with an illuminating power equal lo 40 candles. 'The total produc. tion of coal to December Bist, 1884, was 31,261,327 tone, of the value of £15,709,291 19s, 2d. and of petroleum coal' 870,217 tous, of the value of £828,198 5s.
Judging from the market quotations the enterprises are not generally pro. fitable, only a few of the stocks being above par. Probably many of the best paying concerns are in private lands; and we gather from exhaustive reports on the mines which have appeared in the Sydney Mail that not one mine in fifty in the rich Barrier Runge iv properly worked, Not one in twenty of the people who rushed to these hills bwo years ago knew anything of silver mining; they bought "good things," and in many enses there are now
Esher, however, have turned out weill; and much more systemntio methods of working have been introduced where operations are being continued, Lhe scarcity of water hus groutly hindered operations, but water is now being conversed; transport was also dificult, but the tnilway is being rapidly pushed on, What the Geld for silver mining is muy be seen in the following extract from the reports in our contemporary, which appear to be honestly drawn ap:
Aw to the ores, &e., on this field, by nearly nil experienced men they ave pronounced, for quantity and quality, to be richer Un are fond in any other country. But this only spanks for surface ore, us nothing really deep has set been raised in quantition, and it iv generally thought that the big poor ores will eventually be the mnine sty of the Geld. As the we on, nul the field grows older, general prospects improve, nnd the pros ity in thal, ere many youre, the Barrier Ranges will by prominent amongst the Inrger mining centres of the world
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.