CAPTAIN BUTTON'S REPORT.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VI, Issue 324, 21 May 1875, Page 2

CAPTAIN BUTTON'S REPORT.

The Provincial Geologist, Captain EpW. Huttoh, in his report for 1874-5y tlius writes on, the subject 'of deep leads':— "'"'" ' " ",'.•■ ■ ■; ,'".f •"■'..'*" Our deep leads are confined to the, neighborhood of the.. present rivers and "streams, and must be always more or less parallel to them, as both the ;old river channel and the present one are but different cuts in the same great valley. Owing also to the last elevation of the land having been longer continued than the one preceding it. The rivers now run at lower levels than they did in their old chan? nels, and therefore our deep leads are at higher elevations than the surface workings in the neighboring streams. I am of opinion that no deep leads exists at the bottom of the' Maniototo, Idaburn, and Manuherikia plains, as they have been formed by the filling up of old lake basins: that were originally hollowed out by glaciers. " Consequentlv.no river ever ran along the bottom of them, but all the lower parts will consist.' of clay. The auriferous gravels are confined to those parts of the margin of the old lakes.immediately adjoining, the mouths of the.streams that run on to them. It must, however, be remembered that in many cases these streams did not fall into the lake at right angles to it, but. often very obliquely, and the. gravels would therefore be carried in the direction of the streams,- and not; straight across the lake. ; I think, therefore, that the whole of these Plains, withthe exception of a strip of about a mile and half in breadth round the margins, may be safely considered as non-auriferous. Of course Ido not mean that this breadth should be strictly adhered to as a boundary, ■for it must be increased or decreased according to circumstances. Where • the neighboring area,of auriferous schist rocks,from.which the gold was originally derived,, is large as at. ETaseby, the boundary line -will have to., be drawn farther from the hills j but where, this area is narrow, as on both sides of the, Raggedy Range and Rough Ridge, it may.be considerably narrowed. I think that the miners in < each district are in possession of quite suffici-; erit information to enable the boundary line ; to be drawn without difficulty. . ,t. ;' :