IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 121 Z2 2.0 M. 1 1.6 vl e /a /a ■'■f /A &%«*' ■1>^ ,\ ^ ^q\ \ :\ « pb^ s w- CIHM/ICIVIH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. L'Institut a microfilmd le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. 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L'exemplaire film6 fut reproduit grdce d la gdndrositi de I'brablissement prdteur suivant : BibliothdquB, Commissicn Gfologlque du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour dtre reproduites en un seul cllch6 sont filmdes d partir de I'angle sup6rieure gauche, de gaurhe d droite et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images n^cessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la mdthode : 1 2 3 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF CANADA ALFRED R. C. SELWYN, C. M. G., LL. D., F. R. S., DiuBnoH PRELIMINARY REPORT ON TirK mim OF i MM OF CENIRAL ONTARIO SITl'ATKl) IN THE I'OyNTIES OF VICTORIA. I'ETEIIBOROL'GIl AND HASTINGS TOOETHEK WITH THE UKSLLTS OK AN EXAMINATION OF CERTAIN ORE DEPOSITS OCCURRING IN THE REGION BY FRANK D. ADAMS, M.Ap.Sc, Ph.D. OTTAWA PRINTED BY S K DAWSON, PRINTER TO THE QUEEN'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJEriTY 1894 1 1 "III , I.JI UKOLOGY OK A PORTION OF CKNTHAL ONTARIO HITUATKIi IN TIIK COUNTIES OF VICTOHIA. PETEIIIiOllOUfill AND IIASTINHS. Tlie present report t-ontains a hrief suininiiry *>i the rt-sults of a pre- liminary f^eological examination of that portion of Ontral Ontario comprised in sheet 118 of the Ontario series of j,'eolo<;ical maps on a scale of four miles to one inch, nosv in course of i)reparation, together with the results of an examination of certain mineral deposits to which attention has recently been attracted, and which lie to the south of the above mentioned sheet in the townships of Dalton, Digby, Lutterworth, Somerville and Galway. This pre'iminary ex- amination was made in order to ascertain the genera] geological struc- tui'c of the district in (juestion, thus laying a basis for its detailed mapping and study which it is hoped will be commenced next summer. Sheet iiumber 118 embraces about 3,G00 square miles and is situated Ana <les to the north of Lake Oiitai-io and to the south of the River Ottawa, '^'■''"'''• in the counties of Victoria, Peterborough and Hastings. In order to de.scribe its position more accurately it may be stated that th(; four cor- ners of the sheet lie in the townships of Digby, Finlayson, Hagarty and Grimsthorpe, respectively. The district was, geologically speaking, al- most a fprrn incognita, the only geological information extant concern- (j.Milonica'lv ing it, being a few notes on the occurrence of crystalline limestone and ^/)!^,V'",'j.,'l„/^ gneiss at various points, made by Mr. Alex. Murray in connection '"• with two traverses which he carried through this district fis far back as 1853, together with onr; or '. svo general references in scattered papers by other authors. The geology of the district comprised in sl.eet 118 may be briefly summarized as follows : The district is a hilly one, which, leaving out of consideration the superficial or drift deposits, is occupied exclusively by the very ancient crystalline rocks of the Laurentian System with the possible exception of the south-east cornei' of the area in Chando.s, WoUiiston, Limerick, Cashel, Mayo and the adjacent townships, which is underlaid in part by the Hastirgs series of Mr. Vennor, by him and by Mr. Macfarlane in 1869, con.sidered to, in some respects, resemble the Huronian,* and a small outlier of Silurian limestone which was discovered in the township of Lynedoch, just beyond the eastern limit * RejKirt of Progress, Geol. Survey of Can., 180!!, |i|i. ,'>-(). i J n.NTAHIO. of tin- slici't, liut wliieli is liclicvfd to extend over the Ijouiulary of the sheet into th( township of Tiufjlfin. Ill the sontliein iiud eastern portiitns of the shi-et tlie l^iurentiari contains an abundance of crystalline liiuesttine and has ail the tharac. ters of the (Srenville series of Sir William Lo^'aii, in which series as is well known nearly all th(» mineral deposits of economic value occurring in tlu' Laurentian in Queliee and Hastern Ontario aie found. In the north-western portion of the area on the other hami our explorations have so far failed to discover any crystalline limestone, the country being apparently occupied by gneiss alone. As townships in which this crystalline limestone is especially abundant, l^uttoiwdrlh, Minden, Hnowdon, Dysart, (Jlamorgan, Monmout4i, C'ardill'and iJrudenell may be mentioned, as well as the township of (Salway lying to the south of the urea endjraced in sheet 118. Occiinciuf of Xhe discovery of so large an area of the (Jrenville .series in this di.s- sfrips. Lnct IS most encouraging, as indicating the probable occurrence in it of large and valuable mineral deposits. The relation of the (irenville series, in this district, to the rest of the Laurentian which is free from limestone, has not as yet been de- finitely determin'^d, although the limestones and their associated gneiss seem in certain cases to partially inclose areas which contain no lime- stone. Another noteworthy fact is that throughout the area occupied by the.se Laurentian rocks, the d p is uniformly in an easterly direction usually at moderate angles. Only at one or two points have westerly dips been observed and these are (juite local. Hawtiiiffs The relation of the Masting series, occurring in the south-eastcorner of the sheet, to the Laurentian above de.scribed, is also as yet uncertain. Like the relations of the subdivisions of the Laurentian to one another this can be determined only as the area is mapped in detail. One of the most markefl characters of the Hastings series in this district is the great development in it of pyroxenic and horiiblendic rocks, many of which are without doubt of eruptive origin, and which serve to obscure the relation which it beais to the Grenville series. The rocks of the two series as seen in this area are otherwise not very unlike petrogra- phically, but it must be noted that the portion of the Hastings series included in this sheet was supposed by Mr. Vennor to represent only its lower horizons, while the upper portions containing the conglom- erates, shales, &c., which are well developed furt' er south, are here absent. In this south-east corner there are also several large intrusive masses of granite, probably of the same age as those which occur im- mediately to the south. These occurrences augur well for the discovery of gold in this district ; since, as Mr. Coste has shown, the gold deposits ADAMS, J VICTOKI A. l'i;Ti:i{H<>Hnlt(;i| Wli (I ASIIM.N. ft J of tlu' Hiistinjjs (listiift an> nil iiitiiuiitf'ly assofiattMl willi tlicsc soutli- erii j,'r)initos. Til ii(l(litii)ii to tlicsc ;;rciit iiitiusioMs of pyroxciiic r<i<'k.s anil of j^fuiiitc. a \t>ry cxti'iisisc and iiinsi rt'iiiaikalilc mass ut" ii<'|iiu'liiu' syc- LaiK'- nit'ii "f nitp was discuvfrcd in tin tnwnsliips of Karatlav hikI |)uii''aiiiioii. Tho "''',' "IJ"" exact (listril)utii»n of this has not as yot l»«'cn winked out, luit it has boeji ti'ared for a distaiici' rf over si'vi-n iiiilrs in an a))|iioxiiiialfly east and west diirction, fiuiii tlii' ^'o^k |{i\fr. aliuiit the iiiidilli' of tin- towii- Hhip of Dimfjaiiiiiiii, across tiic I liistiiit,'s road to a point some distanci; west of the village of Hanri'oft. in the tuwnsliip of Kaiadav. This is a rare rock, found in l>ut few places in the world and never liefore dis- covered in our Laiirciitian System. The licplieline is very al)undaiit, form- ing in many places an ulmost pure iiejilieline rock. Tlie mass is Hanked on the south aionn a cmisiderahle part of its course l>y crystalline lime- stone and it is also intiiMiitely associated with a fine grained Iilish rock resemhiiiiu: aplite. ft is of a prevailing gray colour and often lias a distinct foliation coinciding with that of the associated rocks. Tile rock in ]>laces Itecomes exceedingly coarse ingrain, indivi- duals of neplu'line as much as two feet and a half in diameter having been observed by the York Kiver on Range XI. of hungannon. near the side line of lots li'and l.'i. Altliougli this mineral is niie which has no great economic \alue, masses such as those referi'cd to would .sell for considerable prices as mineral .specimens. In this nejiheline syenite, in the form of veins and irregular masses, the beautiful blue mineral sodaiite was found in a number of places. A good specimen of it from lot 21). range XTIF. of hungannon. is on exhibition in the museum of the (icological Survey in < )tta\va. On lot 2."), r;<nge XIV. of Dungannon, however, on the property of .Mr. .John Bowers, these veins and masses attain a very onsiderable si/.e and are .somewhat numerous. Some of these, consisting of bright blue sodaiite, ten by ten bv four inches in size were observed, and ])robably larger specimens could l>e obtained by blasting. This mineral could be employed as a sub- .stitute for Lajiis Lmn/i in the manufacture of various ornamental objects, and such large mas.ses would also have a very considerable value as mineral specimens. A specimen of it which was cut and polished for jne l)y INIr. K. Foi'syth of Montreal, shows that the mineral would present a handsome appearance when .so prepared. Heing a surface specimen however, it was found to be tiaver.sed by minute cracks which caused it to crumble .somewhat readily; these would how- ever in all probability not occur in the unweathered specimens obtained some distance below the surface. The occurrence of certain otliei' interesting minerals has also been noted in this rock and a special paper on it is being prepared. ti J ((NTAIMO. Miliinaii 'p|„, ,,ntlier nt' Silmiiin limcstonf i.i the townshit) <if Lviu'diwli is of ciiitliir. ■ innfli interest as [niiviiij;, what was Im/nre cnnjeftured, iiamoly, that tlie flat Siliiiiaii luiiestones of tiie phiins ot' central Canada were once continuous .ivei the uiij^h and hilly liaurontian country to th« north, lit least as far hark is the Pend)roke Imsin, where an isolatoci area ut" thcsi 'ocks has l(tnf.' heen known to exisi. Viiliiiil'li hejMisits of ii'iHi ore, mica, apatite and other valuahle minerals wei-e liiiluTal". .,.,,.. , I'll 1 11 touml in t lie district liMliriicctl m the shci:t, hut as a detuiU'd examin- ation of these and report upon them will lie iniido later on as the maiipin;,' of the area pioyi'esses. they will not here he further referred to. To the south ot the area emliracod in sheet I lf<, there is a narrow strip of Ij)iuientiaii country lyinjj lietween tlie southern limit of IDS and the flat Silurian limestones ahove mentioned. 'Phis striji is under- laid Ity gneisses whicii in many places are associateil with crystal'ine limestones and forms a southerly continuation of thedistrict above des- cribed as occupying sheet lis. [n the western part of this strij) in the county of Victoria the existence of certain mineral deposits sup- posed to be of economic im[>ortance haviiifi; been reported, 1 was in- structeil to examine these with a view to ilet^-rmine their character and value. As this district lies outside of the sheet assigned to ine for Liuii.iitiiui mapping, it will not be included in any subsecjuent report and I have of sii.'ii lis. Ilicrerore considered it liest to state the results ot my examination or these deposits in this place. The assays of the ores I collected have in all cases been made in the laboratory of the Geological Survey under Mr. (J. (". Ilotrmann, the chemist to the Survey, and may there- t\»re be relied upon as of undoubted accuracy. The consideration of the.se de}Josits may be best taken uji niidei' the heads of the several townships in which they occur. Dalfon. -This township is underlaid by reddish orthoclase gneiss with «lark micaceous or hornblendic bands ; it is excellently exposed over a large part of the township, but no crystalline limestone was seen nor could the existence of any be ascertained by incjuiry. Cutting through the gneiss there are a great number of coarse grained granite veins, composed of quartz ami felspar, with black mica or magnetic iron ore or sometimes both. The veins are in some places very abund- ant and of considerable size. They vary somewhat in size of grain and wli.'ii very coarsely crystalline the black mica or magnetite is often in masses of considerable size. The former is not of a colour or size to be of economic importance, but in a number of places the latter has attracted considerable attention. From some of these veins excel- lent hand specimens of iron ore can occasionally 1)6 obtained, but they do not contain ore in anything like sutlicient quantity to be of economic «*»••] VICTORIA, PETERnOROUC II AN l» lIAHTINng. 7.1 value, nor fan they be considered iw imlieatiiig the pre.senco of heavier (lop )sits in this vicinity. Sniiill tiumitities of iitui on* woro <»l),s«'rvpcl iu jx'ilmp.s a huiulred ditlwitnl piactrs in the township ; hut al\vny« occurring in this way. Asa locality whore these masscH of iron ore are larger than usual, attaining a diameter of stnoral inches, lot '26 of range XTT. may he cited. On lot •_'') i»f the same range, gold was reported to have been dis- covtu-ed. ( )n visiting this locality the opening was found to he situated on one of the granite veins above mentioned. The vein was a foot wide and was composed of ({uartz, felspar and black mica, with a little magnetite, chlorite, iron pyrites and allanite. It cuts orthodaso gn«'iss with dark hornblende bands, one of these latter forming the *'oot wall in tlie opening. A .series of specinu ns were taken represent- Allamu-. ing the average of the vein as exposed in the opening. These were assayed in the lal)oratory of the Survey, Ijut were found to contain neither gold nor silver. Tin; small yellow grains of iron pyrite may have been mistaken for gold. The occurienci! of the 8(jmewhat rare mineral allanite in this vein, although in small (juantity, is of interest. This mineral was found last summei at three places in the district examined, and was formerly known to occur in but three localities in the Dominion. It is black in colour, po.ssesses a lustre like jiitch, and contains sevei-al I'are elements. Di(fl)i/. The western portion of this towtishij) m.iy be consirlered TownHhip o< geologically as an eastward extension of the township of Dalton, while in the eastern portion some crystalline limestone appears, causing it in this way rather to resemble the adjacent part of the township of Lutterworth. Granite veins akso occur here in great abundance, holding small quantities of iron ore as in Dalton. A number of locali- ties from which iion ore was reported were visited. Among these may be mentioned one about half a mile .south of .Smudge Lake, where a gianite vein eight leet wide was found, in which magnetic iron oi-e occurs sparingly in strings and patches, the largest of which measuies only seven by two inches. Small ([uantities of iron or(; were also found on lot 15 of range VIII. scattered through the gneiss. This ore contains titanic acid. On lot 1(5 of V'Ji. asmall sti'ingor \ein of moly))denite was ob.served .Nlolylidpni* in the gneiss. It was live inches long and one inch and a half wide, and coincided in direction with the strike of the gn^! s. It was pure and of good quality, and although this vein is not sufficiently large to be worked with profit, yet its occurrence in this district indicates that larger deposits may be discovered on careful .search for them. Molylxle- nite when pure is worth about Hfty cents a pound. 8 .1 ONTAKIO. TiiwiiHliiiM.f Ijiitti-t'ivorth. — III tluN tnwnsliin tli(M"f is hii abuiiclaiicf of cxcHlk'iit crv.stalliii*' Imicstoiu', csiM'cially mi that part ot it whK'h lies to the oast of (lull liakf. Mucli of this is very |im»' ami ronstitutcs a veritulilc iiiai'l)!*', as on lots I'J of ian;,'('s I\'. and \'.. and on lot liO of V'., while t'lst'whi're it contains j,'rains of hornbl«Midi', mica, sorpeniini' and other iniiu'rals scattt'ivd through it. This limestone would yi(Od oxcel- Icnt lime, and could also be employed for buildin;,' pur|ios('s if sutHci- (Mitly acit'ssililc. It is, Iiowcvcm", rather coais" i,'iaiiied for viM-y fine work or for statuary. There is a local tradition that silvei- was formerly mined at Minor's Bay <m the east shore of (iull Like. No workinjjs are known to exist, however, and no ore is ever knov, n to have l)een disi'o';ered in the vicinity. A little molyl)denite in flakes and crystals was found in the ^'iieiss at tliis locality. Tiiis may, on account of its .silvery aj)- pearance, have been mistaken for an ore of silver. Molybdenite dissemintited through crystalline liinestone also occurs on lot 2.'} of ran;.;H V. .Mi)Iyl)(k'iiiti' (iraiihite was observed in sniall ([Uantities ir, the Ljnoiss and lime- gr.vpiii. ^tone at several localities. I am informed that it occurs more abund- antly on lot 15 of ranjfe IV. A dtjiositof iron ore on lot ."i in the northern part of ranf,'e V. and the s(nithern part of ran;;e VI. of this town.sliip, was at one ti»re worked (piite extensively, sevc^-al hundred tons of ore were e.xtrac. ( and shipped, but work was discontinued seven or eij^ht years aj^o. Two laif^e openinj^s and several sn: '|1 holes have been excavated in the deposit, but are now for the most part tilled with water. The country rock is a reddish f^neiss interstiatified with many small am- phibolite bands as well as with a small baud of crystalline limestone. Iruiiijif. The ore body conforms to Mie .strike of the gneiss, but is irregular in width. In one of the main openings it is thirty-five feet wide. Thi.s, however, is not all iron ore, since — as is the case with so many of the iron ' ore deposits in the.se Lanrentian locks — the ore it.self is mixed with a large (piantityof various black ferruginous silicates such as hornblende, pyroxene and garnet. The ore body is also cut by many reticulating veins holding tjuartz, ttalcite, (jrthocla.se, pyroxene, scapolite, allanite and other minerals. The ore is almost free from pyrite and other ' sulphides, and specimens .selected by me and examined in the labora- tory of the Survey were found to be free from titanium, but as above stated, it contains a large proportion of various silicates amounting in the case of a sample examined by Professor Chapman to 23-80 per cent, while other samples would give cftnsiderably higher percentages. The presence of these silicates, however, while lowering the percentage «i>A»i. ] VirTdlUA, l'K.TRHHOIIOL'«lll AVI) IIAHTINflH. 9 .1 of iron, iiioduoos an orp wliicli is civsily siiu-ltcd iind which chtsoly re- Hemblt'H the so-oallfd sfif-tluxinj^ oroH of Swcddi. Tlif tollowin;,' iinalysis of the uvcnijjc ort' fn»iii this " Paxton Mine " i8 j;ivcn l)y Mr. Hamilton Mcriitt : Oxi.lf i.f iron IIT'TT I Mitnllic iiitn 4H-(I4). Silicii H»;«» AUuiiiim «*'24 I-iiii.' :»-8i MiiHiio.siii .'MW Sulphur <••(»:< IMiDHphitrux Noiu'. 'riuiiiic lu'iil O'l.'i I IK) lis (lithnn/ (ii'itli till- iiiljiiri lit I'lirt nj Simifrrillr), Tliis towiisliip is ai- T<iwiiHlii|w <>t' must ontiiflv oc'ciii)ic<l by crystalline limestone and t'HMU'fuliar "'neisses ""^^'i.v and usually associated with it. As a Held for the discovery of mineral deposits it is oiu' of the most promising townships in the whole area. T had lieen especially dii'ected to examine ctMtain deposits, supposed to contain nickel, in this district, and accor(lin;;lv devoted much atten- tion to these, viaitih<{ almost every deposit in the townshij) supj)osed to contain this metal. These (hsposits, consi.sting as they do of pyirhotite with some pyrite, are often conii)ared to the Sudhui'v nickel (h'posits ; an examination of the district, however, sli(»ws that the j^eoloj^ical I'elations of the tw(» sets of deposits are (|uite dilVerent. The ores in the Sudbury district occur in ^'reatdiorite intru'^" ns near their co.itact with granite or with the stratified rocks of the district, which are of Huronian age, while iliose of the townships of (ialway and Sonierville occui' as inijiregna- tions in bands of gneiss belonging to the (iren\ille series. Thc^ tN>>) sets of deposits are <juite difl'erent therefore in mode of occurrence and probably in age, and what has been proved to be true of the former cannot by any means be regaided as indicating what may be expected in the case of the latter. This conclusion, reached from a geologica' examination of the two areas, is borne out by tin; results of Mr. liofi- inann'a .assays. Everywhere throughout the Laurentian System, as far as explora- tions have been carried, where bands of crystalline limestone occur these are accompanierl liy, or associated with bands of a very rusty weathering gneiss. The gneiss oi\ a fresh fracture is light in colour, often nearly white, the j)roi)erty of weathering with a rusty surface being due in most cases to the dissemination through it in largei- oi- smaller amount of sulphides of iron in the form of the yellow minerals 10 .1 ONTARIO. Pyiiliotitc known as pyrrhotite aiul pyrite, whicli i»n exposure to the weather de- aml i>yrit<' HI , , , ., . . mi i i i- tpiBiHu. compose into hydratea '>xku> or i ion or iron rust. These bands ot rusty weathering,' f^neiss iirc <'S|iecially laii,'e and well dcfvclaped in tlie town- ship ot' (ialway and it i.'. in them tliat opcniiif^s have been made in a number of phiees in tlie expectation of fiiuhnj,' nickel or gold and silver. The quantity of the sulphides above mentioned in some of tiie bands is very large. At several p(»ints in the decomposed rusty material (ioMHan hold- form in<' the " yossan "' surface of the bands, pockets of pale green hydrous sulphate of iron or copperas, locally termed ''salt," and ktKJwn to mineralogists as melanterite, often containing several pounds weight of this material, were found. It is also derived from the decom- position of these sulj)hides of iron, and when obtained in sufficient quantity it is employeil in dyeing and tanning iis well as in the manu- facture of ink and Prussian blue. The following are some of the localities where these mineral deposits were examined : — Somervil/e, Lot I, Rtinge XI.'-0\\ this lot which abuts (m the township f)f Galway a very rusty weathering baml of gneiss cros.ses the Bobcaygeon road. Ft is about l.")0 yards wide, striking about N. 10 W. with an east dip and is tlanked on either side by crystalline limestone. Two shallow pits have been opened in it, exposing the rock for a few feet below the surfact;. This is seen to contain pyrite dis- .seminated through it in stiings and in some places to be rich in garnet. The amount of j)yrite contained in th" lUck must be very considerai)le and the strings in which it occurs are often of large size. The rock weathers to a loose porous very rusty mass containing in places, in pockets of considerable size, the hydiated sulphate of iron above refer- red to as a decomposition product of the pyrite. This rock was stated to have been assayed and found to contain a large amount of gold with some nickel. It had also as usual beiMi examined with satisfactory results by a mineral rod man. A number of samples were accordingly taken, those containing as much pyrite as possible being selected, since these would contain the maximum amount of the metals in question. These were assayed in the laboratory of the Survey and 'ound to contain : — < iolil None. Silver None. Nickel Faint trace. Galivay, Lot. l^lidngi' X. Here a hole fourteenfeetdeep has been sunk in a quartz vein in gneiss. The vein was about two feet thick at the surface and contains some calcite and pyrite with a small amount of pyrrhotite. I was informed by the owner of the property that the ore had been assayed by Professor Chapman of Toronto, who found that »D*M9. ] VKTOItIA, PKTKHnOUUlIllll AMI I! ASTINfiS. 11 .1 it fontaiiH'd nothing of value, l)Ut that an aasayer in Oregon had returned it as eontaiiiing .30 o/. of gold to the ton in addition to silvei", nickel and eopfiei'. Seveial specimens were aceoi'dingly selected con- taining more than an average amount of the metallic constituents and these were assayed iti the laboratory of the Sui\ey. Mr. Jtoffmann reports that they contain : — (iold None. Silver None. The proportion <if the metallic constituents in the vein was on an average so small that it was not considered worth while to incur the trouble and expense of assaying it for nickel. (liihrny, Lot li>, Range XV. (north e/tc?^. — Hei'e a pit eight feet deep has been sunk in a tliick band of very rusty weathering gneiss which appears to strike- a little to the east of north and dips to the east at an angle of about 'W. As usual this gneiss is associated with eiystalline limestone which occupies the greater pait of the lot. In this icneiss thei'e are some bands containin<' a yood ileal of garnet as well as some composed of <iuai'tzite. All contain both pyritti and pyrrhcjtite. often in large amount. Masse.s of these sulphides, especially of the latter as much as seven by twelve inches in size, ai'e seen on the walls of the pit. As the band is so liirge and the amount of the sul- phides present so gi-eat, the deposit is well worthy of a thorough exploratory examination. In order to ascertaii- its proiiable value a lai'ge nund)er of fragments wei'e broken from various places on the walls and N)ttom of the pit, selected so as to i-epresent as nearly as pos.sJblt an average of the whole as here exposed. These contained l).|i.).sits of a large amount of both pyrite and pyrrhotite and were assayed in the .',';T,7 "v''t*. i laboratory of the Survey with the following result: gneiss. ( iold None. Silver None. Niokel Fiiint truce. (I'ohntij, Lot Itl, Rdm/c XIV. (.wut/i eml ). A f)it of about the same depth as in the case of the last depo.sit has here been sunk on the lino of contact between the crystalline limestone and the rusty weathering gneiss. The laiter, which where perfectly fresh is light grayi.sh in colour, contains a considerable amount of pyrrhotite, with some pyrite, in strings often .several inches wide. If these minerals contained any valual)le metal in considerable amount, this deposit would also be worthy of a thorough exploratory examination. Some of the pure pyrrhotite wiis accordingly selected and was as.sayed in the laboi-atorj of the Survey. Mr. Hofl'mann reports it to contain : ( i<)l(l None. Silver None. Nickel (w itii sonie cobalt T 'Oi" p.e. I'i.t ONTARIO. 'I'his percenta^'e ol' nickel is of foursc tar tun .mmuII to ;,'ivt' t\\v min- eral any value as an ore. Galivaij, Lot IS, R<tnge IV. (" Ueyiiold's Mine.') This (Ifjiosit was examined by niy assistant, Mr. A. A. Cole, H.A., wlio reports that a pit forty by eij,'ht and twenty three feet dee[i iias been sunk on a bed or vein of wliite (|iiartz. from four to six feet thick, wliich is inter- stratified with fine ijrained dioi-itie <j;neiss. Pyrrhotite mixed with pyrite occurs in bands in the (|uartz. The laryest of these apj)earin<; at the surface is four inches wide, but expands in places .so as to form pockets, wliile elsewhere the metallic niinei-als occur finely di.sseminated throuj,di the (|uartz. A .specimen of the pyrite and pyrrhotite, nearly free from jfanjfue, was assayed in the laljoratory of the Survey, with the foUowinj^ results : - ( iold Xoiic. Silvoi' None. Xickcl (\\itli sonic colialt) "lO p.c. Here again the nickel is entirely ton low for profitable workin:,'. Openings have also been made in search of nickel at the following localities : — Gabva]!. Lof 1], Raugi' XVIJI. — An o])ening has been made at the contact of rusty gneiss and ciystalline limestone ; both hold pyrrhotite in small amount in the form of little grains and strin;,'s. Gahmiij, Lot II, KarKje IV. — Hij,'hly ([uartzose gneis.s, often tjarniti- ferous, containing small quantities of disseminated j)yrrhotite. (laltvaij, Lot I'l, RatKje IV. Two small openings in rusty weathering gneiss overlaid by crystalline limestone. A little pyrite and pyrrhotite seen in places. Oahvay, 1a>I i\ Jidiiiji' A. Two openings, one? in crystalline limestone, carrying a .-^niall quantity of pyrrhotite, .and tlie otlx^r in a fine grained gneiss, carrying .some pyrite and a little pyrrhotite. Fn view of the aUsence of gold and silver and the very low percent- tage of nickel present in the heavily impregnated deposits, it has not been considered necessaiy to assay specimens from these last foui' localities, where the deposits are similar in character, but poorer in metallic minerals. The d»'iK)Hits The examination of these deposits then>fore goes to show, that al- i>t Smilmry. though in some cases the pyrrhotite and pyrite occur in sufficient abun- dance to enable the deposits to be profitably worked if these minerals were rich in nickel, that, unfortunately, unlike the pyrrhotite of the .Sudbury (iistrict, they carry nickel only in very small amount. In this connection it is extremely interesting to compare the jiyrrhotite depo- AMM8. 1 VICTORIA, I'KTKHBOROUtill AMI IIA8TIN(J8. 13 J sits of Norway with those of Canafhi. In Norway, as is well known, there are very large deposits of this mineral, associated with pyrite, which art! rich in nickel and have for many years heen extensively worked foi" this ni«'tal. These oc;cur intiniatcsiy associated with great nia.ises f)f an intrusive rock belonging to the gabbro family, through whicl) the pyrrhotite occurs disseminated, the workable de])osits being apparently parts of the gabbro mass especially rich in this constituent. These Norwegian deposits are the equivalents of the deposits of the Sudbury district in Canada, where similar great pyrrhotite dejiosits, rich in nickel, are related in ])recisely the same way to great intrusive masses of a rock closely allied to the Norwegian gabbro and which in Canmla is called diorite. In Cana<la, as in I "way, the pyrrhotite deposits are pi()V)ably a ('aiuidian and peculiar product of tin- diff'erentiation of the gabbro or diorite magma. ,'|,,,x)!^JtTronj- In Norway there are also bands of gneiss, mica schist, <|uartzite and l"""'''^" other similar rocks heavdy impregnated with pynhotite and f)ther sul- phides. These are called " Kahlbands " and clos(,'ly r'esemble those just described from Galway and Somerville. In the.se the pyrrhotite, al- though often present in largi; (juantity, is so pooi- in nickel that it is valueless. In both countries the geological formations and the mode of occurrence of the two classes of deposits are the same and in each ca.se the ores associattnl with the diorite or gabbro rock are rich in nickel, ■while those impregnating the gnei.ss so far as they have been examined, contain hardly any. I know of no case where the value of geological study as a]iplied to ore deposits is bettc^r illustrat«'d or where the knowledge ol>tained from the study of the ore deposits of one land is seen to be of such practical value when applied to these of another land where the geological conditions are the same. Concerning the.se Norwegian Fahlbamls, Prof. Vogt, of Christiana, in a recent ])a])er* writes as follows, and it will be observed that his re- marks might b(^ apj)lied almost word for word to the Canadian deposits : "The Fahlbands aie bedded or apparently bedded deposits consist- ing of pyritous impregnations in certain schists, as for example mica schist, hornblende schist, quartz schist, garnetiferousgneis,s, hornblende gneiss, etc., and occurring without any connection with gabbro I'ocks. The schist containing the ore, which varies in amount from place to *"Zeitschrift fiir praktisclie (icologit-,'' .Tan. 18!W, p. l.SO. This paper, whiuli is con- tinned in tilt' .\|)iil and July niinilwrM of the same publication, contains an excellent description of tlie Norwegian de|K)sits. A short paper entitled "The Nickel D<!ix>.sitH of Scandinavia " l>y the same author, ilhistrated l)y cuts, showing the mode of occur- rence of the nickel (jre, appeared in the "Canadian Record of Science " for April, 1892. A somewhat extended resume of Prof. Volt's work i.s also given by the present writer in a pajier entitled "On the Igneous Origin of certain Ore J)ei)osits," in the "Cana- dian Mining Review," February, 18!)4. 14 .1 DNTAHIO. place, can often, filtliough <]uite thin, be traced for miles. The gcoio- gioal (liflcrence between these and the nickel deposits assmiated with the gabbro is evidcMit It must also be empiiasized that the pyrrhu- tite and i)vrite of these Fahlbands are invarialjjy characterized by a very small content of nickel and cobalt. Hundreds upon hutulreds of analyses of these minerals from the Fahlbands have been niiide and a very small amount of nickj'l and cobalt ranijjiiig from "1 to ■.") per (-(Mit has always been found. So far' as 1 am aware no pyrrhotite is known for these Norwegian Fahlbands which contains 1 per cent of these metttls." liHjn ore. Deposits of iron ore are also known to occur in Calway. One ,>f these situated near Swamp Lak' on lot 'J.'J of range XII. was visited. The country rock is a reddi'li gneiss, interstratiticd with a dark hornblende gneiss, which latter rock in places, foi- a width of several feet, contains grains and strings of red garnet, yellowish grt^n epidote and magnetic iron ore. Although gocjd specimens of nuignetite can be obtained, this minei'al is too scattered and not present in sutKcient amount at this point to make an ore of much value. If, however, the deposit were traced out on its strike the magnetite might .somewhere be found to come in ni larger amount. A good specimen of iron ore from this lot was analysed by Professor Chapman and found to contain : Metiillic iron (WOO p.c. Oxide Miangane.se I 27 " Phosphonus 001 " Siliceous rock matter I'2' IH " Another deposit occurs on lot 27 of range XIV. of (Jalway. A sam- ple from this was, some years ago, examined by Piofessor Chapman and found to contain : Metallic iron (5*2 ■ 87 p.e. Siliceous rock matter l.S '27 " A deposit of lead o.>e has been opened on lot "20, range A. of (Jal- way. A shaft with lateral drifts has been sunk to a depth oi about 100 feet, but this at the time of my visit was tilled with v.'.iter. Neai' it, however, a short tunnel is driven in the vein from a hill side. In this the vein is seen to vary somewhat in width, but to be fourteen inches wide at its widest part. The vein stone is barite with some calcite, carrj'ing in the tunnel a few grains of iron pyrite, zinc blende and galena. A consideral)le amount of galena has been taken from the shaft where the vein is said to be somewhat wider and contains the galena in pockets. I am informed that about thirty kegs of galena have been shii)ped. A number of specimens of the galena and barite as well as a few of calcite and zinc blende now lie about the mouth of Iif>ad < ♦o**"- ] VICTOUIA, ri:TKUHOROU(;H ANM) HASTINfiS. IT).! the sluift. As the value ut' the <,'iikMiii \sf>ul(l (Ifpfiul lar^'ely on its content of silver, which nictdl in almost iriv.inahly fi/UiuI in galena, but is piesent in very variable (|uantity in the <,'aleMas from (liferent localities, T selected some of the pure galena from the shaft and handed it to Mr. Jlotlmann for examination. It was, however, found to contain neither gold nor silver. Its value will therefore depend on the hij,'h percentage of lead which it contains. The \uin cuts gneiss which is interstratified with crystalline limesto.ie. A veii similar in character to the one just (lescril)cd and Nshich is probably a cnntinua- tion of it, is seen on lot 1 of range VII. of the adjacent t(»\vnship of Somerviile. It is vertical in ixisition ; cuts a highly micaceous gneiss and is exposed in two .shallow pits. It is from five to six inches wide and is composed of barite with some cjdcite, carrying in places a little galena.