Notes on a small collection of opalized shells, bone fragment and specimen of precious opal from White Cliffs.

Bauxite deposits on Rosedale, Meadowbank and Riccarton Estates at Campbell Town were tested by shaft-sinking and boring during November and December 1946. Earlier than this the Tasmanian Mines Department had sunk a number of shafts on the deposits, mainly at widely spaced intervals. The work undertaken chiefly consisted of testing between the shafts sunk by the Mines Department so that the interval between the points tested was reduced to 200 feet or less. A few of the old shafts were cleaned out and resampled. The results of the tests at each estate are discussed in this report.

Approximately fifteen shafts were sunk near the eastern end of the Portion to depths of about 30 feet or more. The shafts were sunk from positions along the boundaries of a right-angled triangle with the east-west zero line for base, the 200E meridian for perpendicular, and the hypotenuse formed by the diagonal from 00/600W to 800N/200E. Two or three shafts have been sunk outside the triangle and none near the centre. This work has served to test thoroughly an area of not less than 400,000 square feet, equivalent to about 25,000 tons per vertical foot. The results of the work to date are discussed in this report.

Overview of general work, staff involvement, drafting, field work and laboratory work carried out for the month of October, 1947.

Shortly after I took up the appointment of Mineral Economist, the high quality of the mica from the Harts Range came to my notice. Accordingly, I paid a visit to Harts Range between the 22nd September and 4th October. In judging the possibilities of developing the mica deposits of the Harts Range, the difficulty is the almost complete lack of reliable detailed mining data in the past - production data for the later war years only are available. However, by comparing the degree of areal concentration of the pegmatites, the type of deposits and the quality and sizes of the mica so far produced with those in India, a reasonable picture can be obtained of comparative possibilities. The method of approach throughout this report, therefore, will be comparison of the Harts Range with India mica. This report gives an account of the present state of the Australian mica industry, including descriptions of current trade terms, the grading and classification of mica, and the Harts Range Mica Belt deposits. Suggestions and recommendations for the development of the industry are discussed.

Overview of staff involvement and the general tasks, field work, and drafting carried out during November, 1947.

Results of a micropalaeontological examination of samples taken from the depth of 3 feet down to 770 feet.

Results of a micropalaeontological examination of samples taken from 1460 feet down to 1619 feet. This series is in continuation of that reported upon on 19/3/46.

Results of a micropalaeontological examination of samples taken from between the depths of 1450 and 1800 feet.

Results of a micropalaeontological examination of samples from a depth of 2 feet down to 1185 feet.