Notes on granite and structural features following an examination of the granite outcrop at Balladonia Station. A sketch plan of the outcrop is included this report.

In the search for oil in Queensland, Drillers Limited, a subsidiary of Oil Search Limited, Sydney, put down a deep bore at Hutton Creek near Injune, in the parish of Simmie, county of Westgrove and 60 miles north of Roma. Drilling operations, which began in 1935 and ceased in 1938 when the depth of the bore was 4,688 feet, were carried out with a Commonwealth Government plant. The major part of the drilling was done by the percussion method, but cores were taken at various depths down to 4,678 feet. No samples were received for microscopic examination until the bore reached the depth of 650 feet, but from this depth to the bottom of the bore-hole, 638 samples of cuttings and cores were examined. Findings from a study of these samples are recorded in this report.

The Sydney Harbour Degaussing Range is situated opposite Bradley Head. The purpose of the survey was twofold. First, to determine the average normal values of the vertical (Z) and Horizontal (H) force components of the Earth's magnetic field in that part of the harbour which would be occupied by a ship passing over the coils. Secondly, to measure the magnetic elements, i.e. the Declination, Inclination and Horizontal Intensity of the Earth's field at a base station conveniently situated for use by naval personnel for the purpose of calibrating Pot Magnetometers, etc. The particulars of this survey work and given in this report.

This report deals with an investigation of the electrical resistivities of a variety of wet surface soils, gravels and sands. The work may be regarded as preliminary to an investigation by Mr. R.F. Thyer into the detection of electrically resistive bodies buried in wet soils at shallow depths. It was required to determine the range over which the resistivities of surface soils vary, and also the changes that may be expected in any one type of soil between measurements made within any 1 foot of each other. Measurements were made in four localities, three being in the bed or on the banks of the Molonglo River, where the surface materials are sand, gravel, silts, and in some places, clay. The fourth locality was near the head of Sullivan's Creek, where the soil is a heavy black clay.

These investigations were carried out at the request of the Secretary for the Navy. The following report is intended to confirm provisional information made available to naval personnel during and at the conclusion of the surveys. The Fremantle Degaussing Range is situated in Gage Roads near Fremantle Harbour. The position of the coils forming shallow and deep ranges is shown in Fig. 1. Deperming operations were carried out in Careening Cove, Garden Island. The objects of the investigation were twofold. First, to determine the average normal values of the vertical (Z) and horizontal (H) force components of the Earth's magnetic field in that part of the harbour which would be occupied by a ship in passing over the coils, and second, to determine the average normal values of Z and H in the vicinity of Careening Cove, Garden Island.

Red ochre of high quality has been produced from deposits in Ophthalmia Range since 1937. The bulk of the production has been derived from one lease, No. 37OH, the deposits on which are the subject of this report. The locality was visited in June, 1944. This reports comprises notes on access, topography, geology, economic geology, and production. A geological plan of the vicinty of the ochre deposits accompanies this report.

In the years immediately preceding the present war, 75 per cent of the world's production of tungsten concentrates came from southeast Asia; approximately 50 per cent came from China. This production consisted almost wholly of wolfram. With the entry of Japan into the war in 1941 and its occupation of Indo-China, Thailand and Burma, these supplies were cut off from the United Nations. This cessation of supplies made it necessary that all countries amongst the United Nations should make intensive efforts to increase their production of tungsten ores and concentrates. In Australia, the effort was necessary in order that as much tungsten concentrate as possible could, after domestic requirements were satisfied, be exported to Great Britain and the United States of America. As the King Island Scheelite Mine was (and still is) the largest producer of tungsten concentrates in Australia, the possibilities of increased production from the that mine were among the first to be considered.

Results of a microscopic examination of cores from bores Nos. 153, 155, 169, and 171, parish of Maryvale, Nos. 99, 103, and 109, parish of Loy Yang and No. 31, parish of Hazelwood.

As a preliminary step in the investigation of the problem of detecting a non-metallic body buried in soil at a shallow depth, a critical study was made of the various ways in which such a body might vary physically from its surroundings. One way in which such a body might differ from the enclosing soil was in such thermal properties as heat conductivity and heat capacity. The possibility of turning such differences to account in the problem of detection, however, seemed a very remote one. As it was desirable that no possibility, however remote, should be ignored it was decided to make a brief investigation of the thermal properties of soil and non-metallic materials such as might be used in the construction of the body in question. The following notes give the salient features of this investigation and show that detection of the buried object by virtue of its difference in thermal properties from the soil cannot be considered feasible. As a working hypothesis, it was assumed that the processes of heat exchange in the cycle of solar energy absorption and re-radiation would be changed in the vicinity of the buried object. The notes, therefore, deal briefly with this cycle, and the factors which influence the amount of solar energy absorbed and re-radiated.

At least as early as 1940, it was realised by the Department of the Interior that the reserves of suitable rock (shale or slate) in the pit adjacent to the Canberra Brickworks were limited. A decision was made to find a temporary site to provide sufficient material to supply the brickworks for two years. A site at Deakin, 1700 yards by road east from the existing brickworks was selected and was recommended by Dr. W.G. Woolnough in 1940 as suitable, subject to testing by costeans and pits. A survey of the area in the subdivision of Deakin, Canberra City Area, was then arranged and was made during March and April, 1944, the object being to determine if there were sufficient reserves of suitable material to supply the Canberra brickworks for a period of not less than two years. This report describes the results of this survey.