Rurnbalara railway siding is 831 miles by rail north of Adelaide, South Australia, and 120 miles by rail south of Alice Springs, Northern Territory. The ochre deposits (Plate 1) are situated in desert country, 15-20 miles northeast of the siding. No permanent water supply has been developed in the vicinity of the mines. Numerous mesas in the district are capped by siliceous laterite (grey billy), and are composed of approximately 150 feet of horizontally-bedded, leached shales and sandstone containing numerous fossils of Lower Cretaceous age. These beds, for which the name Rumbalara Shale is proposed, rest unconformably on the eroded surface of flat-lying, current-bedded sandstones of which the age has not been determined; it is proposed that the sandstone beds be called the De Souza Sandstone. .The ochre occurs in beds 1 to 4 feet thick; the best grade consists of soft, friable, golden-yellow material, free from grit and with good paint-making properties. Throughout the deposits the ochre occurs at the same stratigraphic horizon- at the base of the Lower Cretaceous-and appears to be of sedimentary origin. Excluding 1943 and 1944, annual production during 1940-1948 averaged 500 tons; in 1943 and 1944 production was 1,345 and 1,439 tons respectively. The deposits are very extensive, but prospecting carried out to date indicates that only some of them contain ochre equal in grade to that being mined. However, although there are virtually no proved reserves, the field is probably capable of supplying Australia's requirements of yellow ochre for many years.

Legacy product - no abstract available

No abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

This statement, supplemented by graphic bore logs, sets out the results of a drilling campaign conducted at Cocked Hat Creek immediately west of the village of Young Wallsend, Newcastle district, by the Bureau in accordance with an agreement between the Mines Department of New South Wales, the Joint Coal Board and the Bureau. The area covered by the drilling grids totals about 200 acres, and includes parts of Portions 55, 69, 73 and 79, Parish of Teralba, County of Northumberland. It is known that this area, and a large extension to the north amounting to at least 4 square miles, is underlain by the Australasian seam which had been intersected at 50 feet from the surface in Portion 60 where it is approximately coincident with sea-level. Also the seam is exposed at various points along the northern margin to the larger area at elevations ranging from 170 to 220 feet. The purpose of the drilling was to test the thickness and quality of this seam, hitherto almost unknown factors, and to determine whether a potential open-cut site worthy of more exhaustive investigation exists.

Legacy product - no abstract available

Ore reserves in the Geiger-Main and Whip Lodes at Radium Hill have been calculated from up-to-date plans and assay data provided by the South Australian Mines Department and results obtained agree closely with estimates made by the Mines Department. Tonnage of ore (not including dilution) to 600 feet depth on Geiger-Main and Whip Lodes and to 400 feet in Main Lode South block is estimated at 337,500 tons containing 938 tons U3O8, corresponding to an approximate average of 160 tons U3O8 per 100 feet of vertical depth. The data used, method of calculation, and results, are discussed at length in this report.

A seismic reflection traverse on portion of the Giralia anticline was conducted by the Bereau of Mineral Resources (BMR). This work constitutes a part of a general programme of investigation which the BMR, Geology and Geophysics, has been carrying out on Permit areas held by Ampol Petroleum Ltd. in this area. The purpose of the survey is to idenfy the proposed geology structure in this region based on the previous geology surveys.

This report provides a summary of volcanic activity in the volcanic centres of New Guinea for the year 1951. Extended descriptions are given of ongoing investigations and the volcanological observations made at Rabaul, Mt. Lamington, and other significant volcanoes.

On May 3rd, and again on June 1st, the author visited the Cotter dam to investigate a reported loss of water from the fault on the northern side of the wall. This report gives an account of these visits, together with the author's observations and conclusions in relation to the reported water loss.