H.—34.

BARITE, BATON SADDLE, NELSON. By E. 0. Macpherson. Two days were spent in this locality during December, 1939, and a deposit of barytes previously described by Professor Park (Rep. Geol. Explor., No. 20, 1890), was relocated. The deposit is 70 chains from the road at Baton Saddle on a bearing from the saddle of 198° and 1,800 ft. above sea-level. The outcrop is not conspicuous, being almost covered by fern and second growth. This deposit had previously been described as fluorspar, but at the outcrop the main bulk of the material is barite, with occasional crystals of pale, greenish fluorspar scattered through the ore. The outcrop stands out slightly on the slope as a narrow ridge 60 ft. long, trending about 130°. The width is about 35 ft. at its widest part, but appears to taper away at both ends. Several exposures indicate that the deposit is 20 ft. thick, and there is about 500 tons of the material showing on the surface. SULPHUR AT ROTOKAUA. By J. Heai,y. Between November and March the sulphur deposits at Rotokaua were examined in detail and prospected by boring. Patches of sulphur occur over an area of 480 acres. In all, 424 bores were sunk to an aggregate depth of 4,404 ft. and forty-two representative samples were prepared. This work showed that the deposits are superficial, being of recent origin and still in process of formation. The total estimated sulphur is about 4,800 tons, of which perhaps 3,000 tons is reasonably accessible.

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