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[From the Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society for 
 
 AiujvM 1869.J 
 
 s 
 
 ON TEE 
 
 GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY 
 
 OP THE 
 
 COUNTY OF HASTINGS, 
 
 CANADA WEST. 
 
 BY 
 
 T. C. WALLBRIDGE. 
 
CONTSNTS. 
 
 4 
 
 1 
 
 1. Introduction. 
 II. T'.e Geology of Hastings. 
 
 1. Recent Deposits. 
 
 2. Post-Tertiary. 
 .'?. Lower Silurian. 
 
 4. Tiurentian. 
 
 III. On he Occurrence of Gold. 
 
 IV. On the Iron Ores. 
 
 V. On the other Minerals of Has- 
 tings. 
 
 I. Introduction. 
 Within the last two or three years, considerable excitement his 
 been aroused by the discovery of gold in several localities in the 
 North Riding of the County of Hastings. Long previously, attention 
 had been directed to the occurrence of valuable deposits of iron-ore 
 distributed through the northern townships of the county; but al- 
 though attempts have been made from time to time to explore a 
 few of these deposits, no systematic or extensive workings have yet 
 been undertaken, and at the present time these iron-ores remain 
 almost entirely undeveloped. Looking, however, to the extensive 
 mineral resources of North Hastings, and to its favourable geogra- 
 phical position, it can hardly be doubted that many of the town- 
 ships are destined to become important mining-districts ; and the 
 objeci; of the present communication is to lay before the Society an 
 account of the chief mineral deposits, so far at least as they admit 
 of description in their present undeveloped state. 
 
 Before describing these minerals, however, it seems desirable, for 
 the better understanding of their mode of occurrence, to give a 
 general sketch of the geological features of the countrj-. Much 
 information on this subject may be found scattered through the 
 pages of the admirable Reports issued by the Geological Survey of 
 Canada ; but the following description is mainly the result of per- 
 sonal observation and local knowledge derived from a long residence 
 in that part of Canada. 
 
 The County of Hastings is situated on the north shore of the Bay 
 of Quinte in Upper Canada. It was formerly divided into the North 
 and South Ridings, all the minerals of economic value being con- 
 fined to the former division. The geological formations exposed 
 within the limits of the county comprise, in descending order, the 
 Drift, Lower Silurian strata, and certain Laurentian rocks. 
 
202 
 
 PROCEEDINOS OK Till. GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [April 2S, 
 
 II. Geology of Hastings. 
 
 1. Recent Deposits. — liofore doscribinj^ the several {joolofipcal 
 formations of tho county, a fow HU[)erticial de[)()sit8 of local occur- 
 rence and of recent origin merit a brief notice, partly from their 
 {geological interest and partly from their economic value. Thick 
 bods of a white shell-marl, charged with Ci/vla.i, Phinorhls, and 
 other freshwater shells, are scattered here and there over the surface 
 of the county. In many of the small shallow lakes this marl is still 
 in course of d( position. The waters of such lakes often contain 
 carbonate of lime to such an extent that any object exposed to their 
 action is readily coated with a calcareous incrustation. From July 
 to November many of these lakes are more or less com])letely dried 
 up, and the marly deposits covering the bottoms are then exposed. 
 " Lime Lake," a considerable expanse of shallow water in the south- 
 east angle of Hungerford, derives its name from the calcareous de- 
 posit which it thus throws down. Marl-beds of a similar lacustrine 
 origin often attain a thickness of several feet, and sustain a rank 
 vegetation — cedar-swamps {arbor vHcb), for example, commonly 
 standing upon such deposits. The occurrence of this freshwater 
 marl is well exposed on the drift forming tho higher banks ou the 
 west side of the river Moira above Belleville. No attention has 
 hitherto been directed to the utilization of this shell-marl ; but it 
 obviously possesses considerable value to the agriculturist as a 
 fertilizer, and may perhaps be useful to tho metallurgist as a flux, 
 as well as for making the cupels or hearths used in refining auri- 
 ferous and argentiferous lead. 
 
 In a country which possesses no workable quantity of coal, more 
 than ordinary interest attaches ^o the occurrence oi peat. Deposits 
 of this fuel, often of considerable thickness, are extensively distri- 
 buted through the mineral regions of Canada, and must eventually 
 play an important part in the development of its mineral resources. 
 Nearly all the smaller lakes scattered over the Laurentian area 
 contain, either at their outlets or in sheltered coves along their mar- 
 gins, considerable accumulations of vegetable remains, which have 
 partly grown in their present position and partly been drifted 
 thither by winds or by the current of the liver flowing through the 
 lake. Year after year these stagnant accumulations are increased, 
 and eventually become converted into a peaty substance sufficiently 
 compact to admit of a rich vegetable growth upon the surface. 
 
 In connexion with the occurrence of peat, attention may be di- 
 rected to the deposits of hog iron-ore, which are widely distributed 
 over the surface of the country, and in certain localities appear to be 
 still in course of formation. Although bog iron-ore usually contains 
 phosphorus, it yields an iron which from its easy fusibility is highly 
 valued for castings. Bog-ore has been employed with most satis- 
 factory results at the St. Maurice and lladncr forges, both in 
 Canada East. The bog-ore of Hastings is especially abundant 
 in the township of Marmora, but has not hitherto been brought 
 into use. 
 
1809.] 
 
 WALT.BRIDOr. — C VXADA WEST. 
 
 2<5:i 
 
 2. Poat-Tevtiary. — Neglecting the rocent formations, which are 
 of local occurrence only, the surface of the county is for the most 
 I)nrt covered by an extensive acs-umulation of sand, gravel, and clay, 
 with boulders of northern rocks, forming a portion of that general 
 covering of drift which overlies the greater portion of the province, 
 and extends southwards into the United States. The upper part of 
 these dej)osits consists of a series of sands, gravels, and clays, more 
 or less distinctly stratified, and unially resting upon a tenacious 
 rnatratified lioulder-clay. The boulders are derived partly from the 
 sycnitic, gneissoid, schistose, and limestone rocks of the northern 
 Laurentian area, and partly from the wreck of the thick-bedded 
 limestone, which will be subsecjucntly mentioned as forming a 
 part of the Trenton grouj), and which, previously to its denuda- 
 tion, overspread a great portion of the Laurentian rocks of the 
 northern townships of Hastings. Many of the blocks have a volume 
 of several cubic yards each, and are often broken up for road-metal. 
 A sii:glc boulde^ or ice-borne mass of Laurentian rock, at the 
 f^'hi*!! on- ille Station on the Grand Trunk Railway, covers a supcr- 
 A' 'u\ . tvi cf abo'^t r acres, and has a thickuess of 100 feet. Iso- 
 le.ted boulders arc not uiif;oquently found on the tops of hills, where 
 thc^' hav.- probably been Isft by the denudation of the deposit in 
 tvhich they were originall^ i-nhedded, 
 
 TlVi nccumu'tti riis of Ir^.ft are sometimes heaped ap in isolated 
 kiilock*?, ''. in langos of hills, and sometimes spread out over the 
 valleys. A cutting in the Court House Hill, in Belleville, exposes 
 a good section of the drift. Upon a base of Trenton limestone, the 
 surface of which is highly polished and grooved, there is an accu- 
 mulation of deposits attaining an aggregate thickness of about 60 feet, 
 and consisting below of a tenacious Boulder-clay, overlain by a thick 
 bed of blue clay and a series of finely stratified sands and gravels. 
 In the blue cL there frequently occurs the cast of a peculiar or- 
 ganism, supposed to be a plant, which presents either a ramified or 
 a lenticular form and attains a size of from 2 to 3 inches in diameter, 
 and from 1 to 1| inch in thickness. 
 
 A succession of deposits, similar to that exposed at the Court 
 House Hill, may be seen in the Oak Ridge — a range of drift-hills 
 running across the country from East to West, having a width of 
 from 3 to miles, and varying in height from 100 to 500 feet. 
 
 On removing the superficial accumulations, the subjacent rock, 
 whether gneiss, schist, or limestone, usually exhibits distinct traces 
 of having been subjected to glaciation. Many of the rocks are 
 highly polished, whilst others are distinctly striated and grooved, 
 the general directions of the markings being from N. E. by N. 
 to S. W. by S. Some remarkably distinct ice-scratches were ex- 
 hibited in the town of Belleville in the autumn of 1864, when a 
 cutting was made in Pinnacle Street. The section exposed about 
 30 feet of " hard pan," or gra\el, vsdth boulders of calcareous and 
 syenitic rocks, resting on the Trenton limestone. The surface of 
 this limestone, when freshly-exposed, was most distinctly polished 
 and striated, the general bearing of the marks being N, 35° E, and 
 
^^■1 PROCEEDINGS OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [ApHl^B, 
 
 S. li')° W. Other less atrongly-marked btricc varied slightly t'loiu 
 this eonimon direction. 
 
 On the roiid from Ik-llevillo to Shunnonville, on the first eonces- 
 sioM of Thurlow, between Lots 24 und 25, I have observed the 
 direction of ice-marks on tho outcropping Trenton limestone to be 
 E. 8r,° N. and W. 85° S. 
 
 A careful study of the deposits here grouped together as " drift" 
 would apparently lead to the conclusion that their formation is re- 
 ferable to tho action of two distinct agencies — tho one a force 
 similar to that of land-ico pushing before it an accumulation of 
 northern rocks, whilst it rounded, jjolished and grooved the country 
 over which it swept, and the other an action similar to that of ice- 
 bergs scattering their freight of gravel and angular fragments of rock 
 over the bed of tho sea. The eastern half of the township of Hun- 
 gerford, and the northern ranges of Huntingdon and ilawdon, an- 
 thus covered with scattered angular blocks of limestone removed 
 from the Laurentian area, some of the blocks exhibiting distinct 
 glacial markings. Between the period of glacier ice and that of 
 floating ice the stratified sands and clays appear to have been depo- 
 sited in comparatively tranquil water. 
 
 3. Lower Silurian. — In the South ]liding of Hastings is an ex- 
 tensive development of that division of the Lower Silurian formation 
 distinguished as the Trenton grouji, including under that name not 
 only the Trenton Limestone proper, but also the Bird's-eye and 
 Black-lliver Limestones. The upper portion of the Trenton group 
 consists of a series of thin-bedded shaly limestones, occasionally in- 
 terstratified with beds of calcareous clay, and highly charged with 
 the characteristic fossils of the Trenton Limestone. These rocks 
 generally strike in an east and west direction, and are for the most 
 part horizontally bedded, or have only a gentle dip to the south-M'est, 
 with occasional evidence of a slight upheaval. In the shallow 
 valleys of denudation which in many places intersect the county, 
 sections of these limestones are occasionally exposed ; but as a rule 
 they arc almost completely obscured by a covering of drift. 
 
 The thin-bedded fossiliferous Trenton Limestones rest conformably 
 upon a thick-bedded limestone almost destitute of fossils, only three 
 species having hitherto been detected. Probably this thick-bedded 
 limestone represents the Bird's-eye and Black-River series. Sections 
 are exposed along an escarpment, varying from 50 to 100 feet in 
 height, Avhich forms the junction of the Trenton beds with the un- 
 derlying Laurentian rocks. This escarpment gives direction to the 
 drainage from the Laurentian Avatershed of this part of Canada. 
 
 The total thickness of the Trenton Limestone at Belleville may be 
 estimated at about 800 feet. A boring to the depth of 600 feet was 
 sunk about 15 miles S. W. of Belleville, in the County of Prince 
 Edward, without reaching the base of the series; and another 
 boring, 7 miles north of Belleville, 500 feet deep, was attended with 
 a similar result. 
 
 Whilst the Trenton group of rocks is almost confined to the 
 southern part of the county, it is notable that two large outliers of 
 
 ► 
 
iy«9.] 
 
 WALl.DHIDtiE — CANADA WKclT. 
 
 205 
 
 • 
 
 the thick-bedded limestone are found in the Laurentian area of 
 Madoc, at a consideriible distance from the main mass. In a Lec- 
 ture delivered at Madoc in 186(5, 1 called attention to these outlying 
 l)at(hcs. One of them occurs about a mile south of the Kichiirdson 
 gold-mine, and the other at a distiiiice of about 2 miles S.E. of 
 the former mass. The N. and N.E. sides of these outliers present 
 prominent e.scaq)ments, whilst the other sides have a gentle slope. 
 Other Hinuller outliers of limestone are scattered over the Laurentian 
 area ; and all are of interest as attesting the extensive denudation 
 which the country has sutt'ered. 
 
 At the base of the Trenton group there is found in certain locali- 
 ties of the North Hiding a thin band of grey limestone, having so 
 extremely fine a texture as to render it well adapted for use as a 
 lithographic stone. 
 
 In the township of lEungerford the Trenton limestone is occa- 
 sionally underlain by an unfossiliferous calcareous sandstone, sup- 
 posed to represent the Gahiferous Saml-roch and Potsdam Sandstone, 
 which form the base of the Lower Silurian formation. 
 
 4. Laurentian. — The Lower Silurian beds usually rest uncon- 
 forraably upon a very irregular surface formed by the denuded edges 
 of a large group of highly inclined strata of metamorphic rocks, 
 which have been referred provisionally to the Lower Laurentian 
 formation. These rocks are exposed over a large portion of the 
 North Riding, and consist of a very diversified series of mica jeous, 
 hornblendic, and chloritic schists, interstratified with beds of gra- 
 nular and crj-stalline limestone, and penetrated by bosses of syenitic 
 and gneissoid rocks. Bands of conglomerate occur locally, and con- 
 sist of quartzose, felspathic, and calcareous pebbles, imbedded in a 
 matrix of micaceous schist or of dolomitic limestone. Most of the 
 stratified Laurentian rocks exhibit evidence of having been highly 
 disturbed, the dip being extremely irregular, and often at a very 
 high angle. An apparent inversion of the rocks may be seen in the 
 adjoining townships of Tudor and Madoc. Traces of an organic 
 structure referred to Eozoon Canadense have been detected by the 
 Geological Survey of Canada in the limestones of Madoc and Tudor 
 but it is supposed tnat these rocks may be placed on a highei 
 horizon than the Eozoonal limestones of Grenville. Indeed Sir 
 William Logan admits that the stratigraphical position of the crys- 
 talline rocks of Hastings is by no means satisfactorily determined ; 
 but he adds that " it would be premature to remove them from the 
 horizon in which they have been provisionally placed." 
 
 In addition to the extensive development of these so-called Lau- 
 rentian rocks in the northern townships, domes of similar syenitic 
 and gneissoid rocks are exposed in several parts of the Trenton - 
 Limestone area to the south, where the overlying limestone has been 
 planed down or removed by denudation. 
 
 It has been suggested that certain labradorite rocks forming a 
 range in the township of Tudor, known locally as the " Hole in the 
 Wall," may be regarded as outlying masses of the Labrad<*r oi- 
 Ui)per Laurentian scries. 
 
206 
 
 PUuCKLUIAUS CF ..IK OKOLOUICAI. SOCIKXY. [Apiil iJS, 
 
 1 
 
 III. On tiik Oct'U.-iRENCE of Gold. 
 
 All the rocka in which gold has recently been discovered in the 
 County of Hustings :irc comprised within the Luurentiun arei>, known 
 as the Uuinte (Jold-inining District. The iirsi discovery of lao 
 lireciouM metal was made in 1 HtJd, during a > unsuricesaful search for 
 copper ores. Superficial indications of the occurrence of copper in 
 the township of Madoc had previously led to the prosecution of 
 irregular workings in several localities ; but none of the explorations 
 had been characterized by any measure of success. At length, 
 however, a specimen was obtained from one of these so-called mines 
 which, although at first mistaken for native coppe--, was soon found 
 to be native gold. Stimulated by this discovery, fuvther search was 
 prosecuted ; and at the locality which subsequently became famous 
 as the •' Kichardson Mine," a considerable quantity of free gold was 
 discovered in two pockets, or irregular cavities, at a depth of about 
 15 feet below the surfuce. Considerable interest attaches to this 
 mine, not only on account of the large amount of gold which it 
 yielded within a very short space of time, but more espe( ially on 
 account of the pecrJiar conditions of association under which the 
 metal occurred. 
 
 Th -i llicharJson Gold Mine ia situated on the eighteenth let of 
 the fifth 'oncession in the township of Madoc, The suiTounding 
 . ock consists of an epidotic ai.d chloritic gneiss, enclosing a bed of 
 steatitic schist, and associated a certain places with a ferruginous 
 dolomite. A peculiar character is give:: to this dolomite by the 
 local occurrence of a black carbonaceous substance which, in e:;- 
 ternal characters, bears considerable resemblance to a lignite, but 
 which is regarded by Dr. S'erry Hunt as probably an altered form 
 of bitumen. It occurs imbedded in the dolomite, in small irregular 
 fragments, which break with a conchoidd fracture, uud present a 
 pitch-blaclc colour and a resinous lustre. Heated in the open air, 
 it readily ignites, burning with little or no flame, and leaving a 
 residue which, in a specimen examined by Dr. Hunt, consisted of 
 " carbonate of lime, with some siliceous and ferruginous matter, in- 
 cluding a quantity of gold." 
 
 This friable carbonaceous substance, in association with ochrey 
 oxide of iron, incrusted the walls of the gold-bearing pockets of 
 the Richardson Mine, and formed the matrix through which the metal 
 was chiefly disseminated. It would appear that these pockets are merely 
 expansions of a fissure running along the plane of bedding between the 
 highly inclined rocks of the surrounding country. The contents of 
 these cavities have evidently been derived from the decomposition of 
 the surrounding dolomite ; for that rock, as seen by the specimens ex- 
 hibited, contains the disseminated carbonaceous matter, together 
 with free gold, whilst it appears to be sufficiently ferruginous to 
 yield the oxide of iron on decomposition. AVhether the carbona- 
 ceous substance has, by its reducing action, played any part in the 
 genesis of the gold is a chemical question on which the writer is 
 not prepared to enter; but their in amate association in this mine is 
 
 
 
1801».] 
 
 WALLUHIOGfi — CAKADA W4WT. 
 
 2er 
 
 i 
 
 • 4 
 
 
 Ht least hiKlily sU}:gatiNe. Moreover the i.ie.scM -e of the carbo- 
 naceous iimtter, not ia cavities in the dotomite, but iuibed.le.l in 
 the rook itseit, is u point of conHiderabie 8if,'niHeanee to the pak>- 
 ontolog,8t, as indicutinp: the ^xiHtence of organic remai.-.s ni rocks 
 which have been referred to so old a formation as ^he Lower Uv. 
 rentian. 
 
 Tlu. sold yielded by the pockets of the llichardson Mine usually 
 occurred in u hnely divided state, or in the form of .mall scales 
 and dendritic Ini-ments, but never exhibited distinct crysr,ulIino 
 form.. It presented a reddish-yellovv colour, and was rennu-kablv 
 pure. A spec.men assayed in Toronto was between 22 and 2;i carats 
 hno the native metal bein- thus .,uite as pure an the sta. dard gold 
 of this country 1 he auriferous material extracted from tlic pockets 
 (consisting ot the carbonaceous and ochreo-is substmces) yielded from 
 i.3 to £4 worth of gold to the pound. /* much of this gold-stuff 
 the mme actua ly produced it is extrcm,.i. difficult to estimate; for 
 whils the workings were in the hands of Mr. Ilicha,dson, consi- 
 derable quantities were surreptitiously carried off by parties who 
 gained access to the mine, and were disLributed to so large an 
 extent tnat, even at the present time (now more than two years 
 alter the discovery), specimens may readily be purchased in the 
 neighbourhood. Ir is said that upwards of GO lbs. of the auriferouH 
 material were sent to the United States by the first purchasers of 
 the mine and subsequently three barrels of the same material were 
 forwarded to New lork. It is commonly supposed that the total 
 value of the gold yielded by the pockets of the llichardson Minf 
 was not less than i:iO,000. 
 
 When, however, the two dcpocits were exhausted the supply ceased 
 and attention was then directed to working the surrounding -coun- 
 try, where the gold exists either in so finely divided a state as to 
 escape detection by the eye, or in combination with iron-pyrites 
 and other metallic sulphides. 
 
 It has been said that the metal was confined exclusively to the 
 hssurc, and that it could not have been derived from the adiacent 
 rocks, as these, if not entirely destitute of gold, are impregnated 
 with If only to a very hmited extent in the immediate neighbour- 
 hood ot the crevice. Such a stateni^^t however, is, entirely con- 
 tradicted by a chemical examination of rocks broken at a consider- 
 able distance from the pockets. Several assays have been made by 
 Professor T. BeU, of Albert College, ^ho has kindly furnished me 
 with the results. Two specimens of dolomite from tho Tlichardson 
 Mine yielded respectively 9 oz. 11 dwts. 16 grs., and 4 02. 5 dwts 
 17 grs. of gc.d per ton of 2000 lbs. ; whilst the metallic sulphides' 
 chiefly iron-pyntes, washed from these two specimens contained a. 
 much as 88 oz. of gold to the ton. The average value of the gold- 
 stutt at present crushed at the mine is only about £1 per ton • but 
 even this is found to be more than sufficient to cover the workin- 
 expenses. It should be noted, however, that all the gold thus ob- 
 tained is extracted by amalgamation ; and as the rock contains a 
 large percentage of auriferous sui^.hides, it is probable that larger 
 
2G8 
 
 PnOCEEDINOS OF TEE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. [April 28, 
 
 returns would be yielded by a metallurgical treatment better adapted 
 to tbe character of the ore. 
 
 In the same township as the Richardson Mine, {^old-ores have 
 recently been worked at several localities. The Madoc Gold- 
 Mining Company's shaft on lot seventeen in the seventh concession 
 of Madoc was sunk on a quartz lode, coursing through gneiss N. 15° 
 W., and dipping about 60° W. Very httle free gold was visible ; but 
 the iron-pyrites disseminated through the quartz was apparently 
 auriferous. Samples of vein-stuff from near the surface yielded 
 about £12 10s. of gold to the ton, and at a depth of between 30 
 and 40 feet Professor Chapman found the (juurtz to contain 3 dwts. 
 12 grs. of gold, and 1 oz. 11 dwts. 12 grs. of silver per ton ; but at 
 a depth of about 60 feet the vein became entirely barren of gold. 
 
 At tho Empire Mine, also situated in the township of Madoc, 
 both gold and silver have been obtained from a vein-stone contain- 
 ing arsenio-antimonial grey copper-ore, together with mispiekel, 
 iron-pyrites, and bitter-spar. According to Professor Bell's assay, 
 the grey copper-ore contained 8 oz. 4 dwts. of gold, and 331 oz. of 
 silver to the ton of 2000 lbs., the value of which would be £95 ; 
 and this result was confirmed by Dr. Sterry Hunt, who found that 
 the dressed ore, when holding one-fourth its weight of vein-stone, 
 yielded 9-7 oz. of gold, and 120-7 oz. of silver to the ton of 
 2000 lbs. 
 
 In the adjacent township of Marmora auriferous quartz has been 
 worked at the Feigle Mine, opened on lot sixteen in tbe eleventh 
 concession. The gold is here associated, as in so many other gold- 
 bearing localities, with a vitreous quartz more or less stained with 
 hydrous peroxide of iron. Mr. Bell has found that one sample of 
 this quartz yielded, by amalgamation, 3 oz. 13 dwts. 8 grs. per ton, 
 whilst another portion contained 7 oz. 15 dwts. 12| grs. per ton, 
 [A specimen exhibited from the Feigle Mine showed the free gold 
 imbedded in a large prismatic crystal of liver-coloured Eisenkiesel, 
 or quartz charged with hydrous peroxide of iron.] 
 
 At the Barry Mine, in the township of Elzevir, a dark crystal- 
 line limestone is crushed for gold. The mean of four assays of ore, 
 discovered in this township by Mr. Smallfield, yielded gold to the 
 value of nearly £8 per ton of 2000 lbs. 
 
 From the township of Hungerford, quartz containing much iron- 
 pyrites has been found to contain both gold and silver, probably in 
 association with metallic sulphides. 
 
 Nothing would be easier than to considerably extend this list of 
 gold-bea -ing localities. Indeed it appears that the metal is dis- 
 tributed, in greater or less quantity, through most of the schistose 
 rocks of the gold-mining region ; for I have invariably found that 
 these rocks yield, on assay, a notable amount of metallic sul[)lildes 
 more or less auriferous. Probably the most advantageous mode of 
 treating these sulphides would be to smelt them to a rich regulus, 
 whicli might be then exported to England for extraction of the gold. 
 
 Note. — The following assays of gold-bearing rocks, from the 
 Quinte gold-mining district, by Professor Chapman, of University 
 
 i 
 
1869.] 
 
 WALLHUIDOE — CANADA WEST. 
 
 !?6U 
 
 1 
 
 Collogo, Toronto, are of value, as showing tho average quality of 
 the ores found m this locality :— = i j 
 
 No. 1, 
 
 Gold = 3 
 Silver = 7 
 
 No. 2. Ditto. 
 Gold = 7 
 Silvep=18 
 
 No. .'J. Ditto. 
 Gold = 5 
 Silver =14 
 
 No. 4. Ditto. 
 Gold =19 
 Silver = 3 
 
 From Madoc. 
 dwts. gr.s. 
 
 12 per ton. 
 
 14 „ 
 
 20 „ 
 
 7 „ 
 
 21 „ 
 U ,, 
 
 4 .. 
 
 No. 5. 
 
 oz. 
 
 Gold =1 
 
 Silver=U 
 No. (i. Ditto. 
 
 Gold = 1 
 
 Silver = U 
 No. 7. Ditto. 
 
 Gold = 1 1 
 
 Silver=0 3 
 
 No. 8. From Marmora 
 
 Gold =1 I'J 
 
 Silver=0 5 
 
 From Madoc. 
 dwts. 
 17 
 4 
 
 11 
 6 
 
 grs. 
 2 nor ton. 
 
 14 „ 
 
 17 „ 
 
 12 ., 
 
 ,. 
 
 8 „ 
 
 ^ ., 
 
 5 .. 
 
 IV. On the Occurrence oe Iron-ores. 
 It has long been known that extensive deposits of valuable iron- 
 ores occur in the Laurentian rocks of the North llidin^' of Hast 
 ings. These ores rarely, if ever, occur in true veins, but are usuaUv 
 touad in bedded masses, more or loss distinctly interstratified with 
 the adjacent rocks, and in many cases appearing at the iunction of 
 the gneiss with crystalline hmestone. The ore-deposits traverse the 
 townships of Madoc, Marmora, and Belmont in a general east and 
 west direction, thus following to some extent the common trend of 
 the strata. The iron is found sometimes in the form of ma^'netic 
 ore, and sometimes in that of hcematite. '^ 
 
 As many of these beds of magnetic iron-ore havj been ablv de- 
 scribed in the lleports of the Geological Surve; of Canada it is 
 needless to give any detailed notice of them in "the present paper 
 Such IS the famous - big ore bed" of Crow Lake, situated on tho 
 eighth lot of the first concession of Belmont. This is the ore which 
 was formerly smelted at the Marmora Iron Works. Above the 
 surface of the ground, the bed exhibits a width of about 500 feet • 
 but recent excavations at the base show that it att-'ns a stiU jrreater 
 development below. ^ 
 
 The "Seymour ore bed," on the eleventh lot of the fifth ran-o of 
 Madoc has also been described. This, was at one time worked^o a 
 limited extent to supply tho Seymour furnace at Madoc. 
 
 As magnetic iron-ore is very widely distributed throu^^h the 
 county, It would be tedious to note its many places of occurrence • 
 but 1 may perhaps call attention to a new locality in Madoc on tho 
 nineteenth lot of the first concession, which yields a fine m'agnetic 
 ore [of which samples were exhibited] A large deposit of mag 
 netic iron-ore, also hitherto undescribed, is found on lot nine of 
 the sixth range of Madoc. 
 
 Before dismissing tho subject of magnetic iron -ores, it may be 
 mentioned that the deposits of this mineral attain so extensive a 
 development as to form, in many cases, remarkable physical features 
 of the country Indeed the supply of ore which might be obtained 
 by working these deposits would be practically inexhaustible 
 Smelted with wood- charcoal, or with peat, which must neceesarilv 
 
 • v^ 
 
270 ritocLKDiNiis or- lum gkolooical society. [April 28, 
 
 form tlio fuel cniplovcd, and which may be obtp.incd to an almost 
 unliinitod extent from the jioble forests and extensive peat-beds 
 which atill cover a large portion of the coimtry, these ores would 
 yield an iron admirably adapted to the manufacture of steel, and 
 l)r()b;ibly equal in quality to the celebrnted Swedish charcoal-iron 
 which has hitherto been so largely imjjorted into this country. 
 
 In addition to the well-known magnetic ores, the Laurentian 
 rocks of Hastings are rich in deposits of Hajmatite or red oxide of 
 iron. In the discovery and development of these Haimatites I have 
 long felt much interest. The existence of the " Kane ore bed" was 
 ])ointed out by mo several years back, and the bed has already been 
 described l)y the Geological Survey. It is situated on lot twelve of 
 range five in the township of Madoc, and has a superficial develop- 
 ment extending over several acres. Since the last notice published 
 by the Survey, I have caused an excavation to be made in the field 
 where the ore was originally discovered, and after cutting for a 
 distance of 40 feet failed to reach the wall rock. The ore is a fine- 
 grained Hicmatite, converted at the surface into a soft red ore. As 
 races of ancient workings have been foui]d in this deposit, it is 
 probable that the Indians formerly visited the locality for the sake 
 of o})taining the red ochrcous substance for use as war-paint. In 
 an excavation, at a considerable dei)th, I have obtained bone needles 
 and other objects of human workmanship [which were exhibited] ; 
 whilst several shells and stag-antlers that were also found in this 
 excavation have been transmitted to Dr. Dawson, of Montreal. 
 
 The Hajmatite from the Kane ore bed has boon smelted at the 
 lladnor forges in Lower Canada, and has yielded a pig-iron of ex- 
 cellent quality. It has also been treated at the Atlas Works in 
 Glasgow by the Eessemer procesf, with very encouraging results. 
 According to an assay made in the Metallurgical Laboratory of the 
 Royal School of Mines, the ore contains 51-46 per cnt. of iron. • 
 
 In the third lot of the fourteenth range of Hungerford, there 
 occurs a bed of Haematite, to which attention has not hitherto been 
 directed. The ore is a hard fine-grained Hiematite, breaking with 
 a steel-grey fracture and high metallic lustre. In its present un- 
 developed state, it is difficult to estimate the extent of the deposit, 
 but it is undoubtedly considerable. An assay made in the IVCetal- 
 lurgical Laboratory of the Royai School of Mines shows that this 
 ore contains 65-91 per cent, of iron. 
 
 Pyrrhotine, or magnetic pyrites, although not to be regarded 
 strictly as an iron-ore, may be most conveniently noticed in this 
 place. An extensive deposit of this iron-bearing mineral crops out 
 on the face of a hill on the nineteenth lot of the first range in l^fa- 
 doc. As this mineral not unfrequently contains cobalt and nickel, 
 it was considered desirable to examine the Canadian pyrites for 
 these metals ; but no traces of either were detected. 
 
 V. On the other Minerals of Hastings. 
 
 Whilst the gold and iron-ores form the chief mineral wealth of 
 Hastings, the county is by no means destitute of other minerals, 
 
1869.] 
 
 WALLBRIDQE — CANADA WEST. 
 
 271 /5, 
 
 many of which possess considerable value in an economic point of 
 view. The most important of these is Qahna, extensive deposits of 
 which may be traced for a considerable distance through the town- 
 ships of Tudor and Lake. It is notable that the lead-ores thus 
 enjoy a geographical distribution entirely distinct from that of the 
 iron-ores. The Galena usuaUy occurs in a gangue of calcareous spar 
 and forms veins or lodes coursing through the Laurentian Lime- 
 stone or calcareous schists. Copper-ores h vo been found as pre 
 viously stated, but never in sufficient quantity to render their 
 working remunerative. A small and unimportant deposit of anti. 
 ^^onde, or sulphide of antimony, has been found in the township of 
 Sheffield. Plumbago, of greater or less purity, is occasionally met 
 with m the Laurentian limestones of the county, but has not 
 hitherto been worked. 
 
 Finally, attention may be directed to two other mineral^ which 
 although of no economic value, are of mineralogical interest as 
 species that have not hitherto been described from this county. 
 One of these is RutUe, or oxide of tiianhm, which I have found 
 penetrating the quartz of Hog Lake in the form of stout prismatic 
 crystals, striated longitudinally, and presenting a hair- brown colour 
 and a strong lustre. The other mineral is Schorl, or black tourma- 
 hue, which occurs on lot fifteen of range four in Madcc, as a reticu- 
 lated mass of slender prismatic crystals imbedded in quarta. 
 
 Discussion. 
 
 Prof. Ramsat inquired as to the proof of the existence of so large 
 a boulder as one of five acres in extent. Under ordinary circum- 
 stances large boulders fell from higher rocks on to the surface of 
 glaciers beneath, and were by them transported to the places where 
 now found ; but tiie fall of such a mass seemed almost incredible. 
 He suggested that possibly it might be a boss of the Lower Lauren- 
 tian beds standing out through Silurian strata. 
 
 Mr. David Forbes stated that the results of his own examination 
 of some of the specimens from the gold-mines of this district did not 
 quite tally with those recordad in the paper, especially those of the 
 rocks in the neighbourhood of the veins. He considered that the 
 gold in Canada was confined to the veins. 
 
 Mr. Prestwich cited the discovery of a boulder between Grantham 
 and Peterborough, which was at least 400 feet in length, and con- 
 sisted of a mass of Great Oolite. 
 
 Mr. Searlbs Wood mentioned a boulder of marl in the coast- 
 section near Cromer upwards of 300 y; Is in length, and 60 feet in 
 height. 
 
 Mr. Wallbridge, in reply, stated that the rock must have come at 
 the least twenty miles from its original home. The surface of the 
 Trenton limestone rock in the neighbourhood was striated in the 
 r!!:- otion of the boulder. There was no evidence of intrusion. Tho 
 iiiatis was traversed in two or three places by crevices.