The Gold and Silver of the World.

Thames Star, Volume XII, Issue 3957, 3 September 1881, Page 1

The Gold and Silver of the World.

A lecture was delirered on Monday night at the London Institute by Mr'G,.' Phillips Beran, F.G.S., F.S.S., the subject being the " Gold and Silver Mines of ■„ the World.*' It ;was replete with interesting facts and figures. Speaking of the early, discoveries in the Colony: of Victoria, he cited Mr Brough Smith for the facts that three diggers at Forest Creek obtained in 19 days 3600z of gold; a party of five cleared 2|lb in a single day ; another party of four got lloz from sunrise till 3 p.m.; while another of three obtained £1,000 in 14. day's. The same authority mentioned that at Ballarat the bead quarters of the deep mining dis-. trict in that colony, .a party of six got 1,344 ounces of gold for ten weeks' work, while, in\!,four months another gang earned £24,000. The winnings of 42 Ballarat companies up to the date of Mr Smyth's writing were no bss than £4,305,463, one of them—tthe Band of Hope—having washed 14,9750zs in 44 working days. Of colossal nuggets the lecturer mentioned the Welcome Stranger, weighing 2,2800z5,' 21i'n long, and lOin thick, a lump of gold found by the merest chance, yet worth £9,534; the Welcome Nugget, which weighed 2,2170zs and was sold for £10,000; the Blanch 1 Barkley, 1,7430zs in weight, and" sold for ' I £6,905; the |Heron, weighing l,ooßozs, which fetched £4,080. The Victoria , gold fields now covered an . area of 1,241 square" miles, which, in' ' the year 1879 yielded 715,00Q0z8,', valued at £3,000,000. Queensland was, traversed by a chain of gold rocks from north to south, and. at least 4,000 square' miles were being worked with all the experience gained from the failures'of the'sister colony. The yield for 1879 was over a million sterling. South Australia was more a copper than a gold country! but the '; goldfields of Port Darwin were being industriously worked by the Chinese. After mentioning South Australia and New Zealand, the present rage for speculation in Indian gold mines was touched on, with a due caution to perplexed investors. The Russian mines in Mia, Ural range were interesting, both as hay« ing_ been probably referred <to by Hero- , dotus and as hating enabled Murchison to forecast the success of gold mining at the Antipodes. Passing over to the American continent, the lecturer spoke of the goldfields of North Carolina and Virginia, the Californian discoveries and the rich 'silver mines of Nevada and New Mexico. He gave an elaborate description of the Great Comstock lode, the two mines of which had yielded in 20 years 363,671,605 dols. He spoke further of the immense ' wealth' of the ' Arizona: and' • Colorado silver mines, as well as of tlie Bolivian mine long knownj 1 by the name '. Potosi, and of those worked in Peru, Chili, 1 ' and Mexico- The European mines were

the last to pass iv review. It had been computed, Mr Sevan said, that the grand total amojin^ :rwEis!orlc ages w5T13.517,093,500, and that of silver £2,826,250,000, making for both the precious metals together no less than £6,343,343,500. — Home and Colonial Mail- „-■■>.> *^\ _.O ■[":":■;:' "">