This report outlines the geophysical survey work completed in the Peak, Coronation, and Mopone areas, in the period to September, 1949. The results and findings of this work are described in the report.

The present author accompanied Mr. R.W. Coxon, Director, Mines Department, Alice Springs, and Mr. S.M. Sneddon, Mines Inspector, Alice Springs, as geologist on their journey for road survey and inspection in the mining area of "Tom Hanlon's Camp" in the Eastern Jervois Ranges. The author's observations of the metamorphosed formations, the Oorabra Creek and Eastern Jervois Range areas, and the sandstones south of Alice Springs are recorded in this report.

This report describes the results of a micropalaeontological examination of rock samples from Pidinga.

This report gives an overview of the bauxite resources of the Inverell district, New South Wales, including, in particular, those deposits held or examined by the Australian Aluminium Production Commission. A description of each deposit is given, which includes information on the geology of the area, grade of bauxite, and production figures. Figures are given for the proven reserves of economic bauxite in the district.

The Tennant Creek Mining Field occupies an area extending some 70 miles east and west and 40 miles north and south. Over this area are scattered a large number of small mines and prospects and it is sometimes difficult to bring a field such as this into perspective so as to obtain some idea of its true valuation. The following notes are designed to help in this direction. The output and nature of the orebodies, and the respective positions and productivity of the major deposits, are discussed in this report.

In 1946 and 1947 the writer had excellent opportunities to study the effect of lateritisation in the course of geological reconnaissances in Northern Australia. From field evidence which has been collected on several aspects of lateritisation - origin, products and relationship to geomorphological processes - a detailed account of lateritisation in Australia can be given. Lateritisation and the occurrence of opal are discussed in this report.

The occurrence of ferruginous laterite in the vicinity of Moss Vale, Bundanoon and Wingello, County of Camden, has long been known. In order to define any zones enriched in alumina, a subsurface prospecting campaign was undertaken by the Australian Aluminium Production Commission at Wingello during July and August, 1948 and at Ellsmore in the early part of 1949. The results of this investigation and previous work are summarized in this report. Detailed descriptions of the laterite and of the individual deposits are given.

At the end of 1945 the area dredged by the Bulolo Gold Dredging Co. Ltd. was 831 hectares. At that time 307 hectares remained to be dredged and of this 227 hectares contained soil which has been shown by soil analysis to be reasonably good. Resoiling would not be practicable on about 70 hectares of this area, as the Company plans to dredge this section twice, first with shallow and then with deep-digging dredges. Similar soil exists on 3-400 hectares classified previously by the Company as marginal ground, but which, since the increase in the Australian price of gold, is now probably quite profitable. This makes the total area that might be suitable for resoiling about 500 hectares compared to 1,281 hectares that either has been dredged or to which for other reasons resoiling is not applicable. Revenue to the Administration from the gold produced at Bulolo is over £1,000 per hectare from royalty alone and as most of the area has now been worked it seems questionable whether resoiling is worth further consideration at this stage. No provision was made for resoiling in the terms of the original mining tenements, but the Company's officials have expressed willingness to co-operate in carrying out the wishes of the administration. It has been considered impracticable now to resoil the areas that have been dredged or to rebuild the existing dredges for mechanical resoiling, but if the Department of Internal Territories considers that the matter should be pursued further, the Company might be asked to consider removing soil from the dredge path by bulldozer or other mechanical means and replacing the soil on the flattened out tailings after the dredge has passed; also to provide details of the economics of carrying out a similar scheme on the areas in which values were previously considered to be marginal.

The possibilities of finding evaporite deposits in Queensland were investigated by C.L. Knight and E.K. Sturmfels on a reconnaissance trip from 10th July until 5th August, 1949. The localities where indications of evaporite deposits were found or from which they are reported, are classified on the following pages according to the geological formations, and their position is shown on the accompanying map.

This report records the results of a micropalaeontological examination of samples from Eva Downs Station. A detailed description of the samples is given in the report.