THE RESOURCES OF THE DUNSTAN.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 672, 12 February 1864, Page 6

THE RESOURCES OF THE DUNSTAN.

(From the "Dunstan Times.")

The following letter from Mr MiningSurveyor Coates appears in the " Dunstan Times ":—

g lß _Having ever since we became acquainted regarded you as one who considered the mechanism of the human frame imperfect where a compartment of it was not devoted to philanthrophy, I have, in consequence, believing the following to be closely allied to that worthy subject, ventured to trespass upon your valuable space. A theme upon the industrial resources of a new colony, whether descriptive of its mineralogical, agricultural, commercial, or manufacturing capabilities, has at all times been considered by colonists one of the most readable and essential literary compositions emanating from the land of their adoption, touching as it does to a greater or less extent every member of o»r colonising society, and therefore rendering it reasonable to consider that the introduction of fact, coupled with the particularising of localities, with a view to the substantiation of statements put forward as to the permanency and extent of those resources contained within our Province, would severally or combined attract the attention of a portion or the whole of our population. It has long been my wish to place before our mining community a lucid description of locality and extent known, or reasonably supposed to be occupied by auriferous deposits, which are proved by practical experience to be eminently or feebly remunerative in exact accordance with the system adapted by or general character of the indh iduals embarked in the undertaking. In endeavoring to lay clearly before my readers my ideas upon thi3 latter subject, I am obliged to base my deduction geologically, but in doing so I shall as much as possible avoid the technicalities which so adorn and at the same time obscure the written science as to render the perusal of the most scientific pages unpalatable to others than direct students of the most youthful yet beautiful of the natural sciences. Being myself nothing more than a reader of the geological page of the book of nature as it lies open before us, I consequently put forward but few assertions unless built upon the strongest points ofcircumstance or the true philosophy of practice. The keen observer of nature soon learns that the existence ol everything inside its pall is due to action and re-action, and this continual energy is daily, nay momentarily, before our eyes. If we stand upon a ridge and look down into one of our extensive vallies, we are generally struck with admiration at its magnitude, but do not always consider that this vast abyss is now being, and, thus far, has been eroded or excavated by the stream or river on its bottom, assisted by a few minor agents. Neither .do we thoroughly understand that all such streams in our Province are now actively engaged disentegrating and re-arranging the component parts of which our rock is composed, and, in all probability have continued so employed during lengths of time corresponding with the depth of valley formed, or the perishable nature of the rock constituting its sides, nor is the circumstance thoroughly understood that this same watery agent has been the prime mover in the machine which called into existence and arranged the gold of our gullies and lake basins. Amongst the most remarkable of the changes attributable, it is true in some instances to volcanic, but in my opinion more generally to the wearing agency of rivers and streams, are the formation and drying up of lakes, the margins of the basins of which now bear in the form of gradatory contour lines, showing the recession of the lake wave, singularly clear evidence of their origin and former state, and their beds which now exist, covered with vast accumulation of gravel such a3 at once to indicate their being the grand receptacle for the river drift of ages; during which time we have ample evidence that gold was being trans • ported in common with the detached pieces of rock, which are thus rendered familiar to the eye, as boulders, gravel, &c. With regard to the reliability of our items of proof as to the existence of gold in the immense drift accumulations which now cover our lake beds, or as they are more familiarly termed flats. I direct the attention of my readers to the extremely rich gully sources in the most elevated portions of the Wakatipu, Nokomai, and Dunstan gold fields, from which we learn that even though our gigantic ranges may have been thrown to their elevation (of which we hive but slight evidence) by violent volcanic upheaval, we nevertheless find, forming saddles and extending for great distances over our province, portions of ancient river beds which still retain the boulders* and gravel composed of the harder portions of the fluviatile (river) drift, which is also found in every instance to be more or less auriferous, and from this we may deduce that though gold may have existed only sparingly in our rocks, yet time has done its wo) k in forming rich deposits from which its extraction has found by the systematic and diligent, not to be attended with the uncertainty and physical exertion so constantly before the mental view of the fastidious who, not being able to see au ultimate balance to]their credit, must in solving the problem as to futurity, have neglected to introduce in its solution quantity and permanency of water supply, regularity of the distribution of gold throughout our drifts, and the success' of those who were first to enter ground sluicing speculation with the indispensable of contentment, with slender remuneration at the commencement, assisted by diligence and temperance, so apparent among the successful pioneers in this description of hydraulic mining. As it is my intention to enter more fully into this subject at some future date, I will not now further trespass upon your columns.