Following a request by the Premier of South Australia an inspection of the Leigh Creek Coalfield was made on December 5th to December 8th, 1941. My opinion was sought chiefly on the probability of there being a considerable tonnage of coal available which could be won by open cut mining, preferably from one section of the field, near Telford Siding.

In company with Mr. L.A. Richardson an inspection was made of this deposit on Friday, December 4th. The workings were plotted and examined, though these sections off the main drives could not be inspected very thoroughly owing to having no lighting available except matches.

King Island is situated at the western end of Bass Strait. The scheelite deposits at Grassy were discovered by Mr. T. Farrell about 1913. A new Company - King Island Scheelite N.L. was formed and commenced operations during 1938 and results of their operations to the 31st October, 1941 show: [see record for complete table]. The present production (based on 1941 figures) is 30,000 tons of ore per annum from which 200 tons of scheelite concentrate is obtained. Geology, mining operations, milling practice, and recommendations for testing and development are discussed.

The following eleven holes have been drilled: holes Nos. 22-33. Ongoing drilling operations, and the results and conclusions that can be drawn to date are outlined in this report.

A point has been reached in the prospecting of this field where it is necessary to review results and consider future actions. The bore on site A has been completed and Mr. Knight has concluded his preliminary geological survey of the area. The information now available modifies some of our earlier views. The following statement summarises the position.

The overburden (or non-scheelite bearing rocks overlying the ore-bearing rocks) at the mine of the King Scheelite N.L. at Grassy include: 1) A layer of windblown sand ranging in thickness up to 30 feet; 2) An irregular layer of non-mineralised rocks occurring in the north-western part of the present workings; 3) Non-mineralised rocks conformably overlying the lode in the southern part of the workings; 4) Overburden dumped on the southern side of the open cut. The problem of the dumping of the overburden is involved in that of the selection of a suitable site for the treatment plant. Under the proposed scheme to increase production a new site will have to be found for the treatment plant that is to be erected.

Car traverses were made in several directions over an area of 30 miles square with Coorabin as a centre, with the object of delimiting, if possible, the margins of the coal basin. The results of the geological survey are summarised herein.

The Wallaroo-Moonta copper field offers a challenge to modern geological and geophysical ore-finding methods. After the production of some 338,066 tons of copper valued at over 20 million pounds, large scale mining ceased in 1923. In spite of the present urgent need for copper, investigators have agreed that no good purpose can be served by re-opening the old mines and that any further substantial production from the field depends upon the discovery of new ore-bodies. Since the ore-bearing rocks are almost completely covered by superficial deposits, it is not unreasonable to suppose that there are still undiscovered ore-bodies in the field. Nevertheless some 30,000 feet of diamond drilling have been carried out in the past and the results, generally speaking, have been very poor. This is not surprising, perhaps, when the local nature of ore occurrences and the vast extent of barren country rock is contemplated. It appears that there is a clear task for geological and geophysical methods to select sites where diamond drilling will have the maximum chance of intersecting ore. The masking of the surface geology immediately suggests the application of geophysical methods and in 1929 some work was carried out at Moonta by the Imperial Geophysical experimental Survey. After a limited amount of work this Survey was forced to the conclusion that the field presented greater difficulties to electrical prospecting, owing principally to the screening effect of the saline overburden. Since 1929, however, geophysical technique has progressed considerably, and more is known concerning the physical conditions of the field. In view of the possible prize at stake it was therefore decided early this year to re-open and carry out further geophysical surveys. The work was carried out in close co-operation with the South Australian Mines Department, which had previously made extensive investigations of the structural geology, and had recommended the use of the geophysical methods.

The Pink Lakes, also known as Linga Lakes, lie in the Parish of Mamengoroock, Country of Weeah, in north-western Victoria, about 10 miles north-north-east of the small town of Underbool on the Ouyen to Pinnaroo railway (See Fig. 1). The three lakes known as the Pink Lakes that are being worked for salt are Sailor Lake, Lake Crosby and Crescent or Home Lake. The areas of the salt leases are: Sailor Lake leases, 206 acres; Lake Crosby leases, 395 acres; Crescent Lake leases, 311 acres. Portions of the above areas are occupied by the beaches and fore-shores of the lakes, and the total potential salt-bearing surface of the three lakes is actually about 700 acres. In addition to the Pink Lakes above-mentioned there are in the vicinity two other salt lakes viz: (a) Lake Poulton, about 70 acres in area, and two miles west of Lake Crosby, and (b) an un-named lake, here referred to as 'School' Lake, probably rather less than 50 acres in area and situated one mile south of the west end of Crescent Lake. Salt is formed on both these lakes, but Lake Poulton is somewhat difficult of access on the north-east and north, and School Lake is in a Government Reserve and is not available for leasing. The geology and salt resources of the Lakes are outlined. Several proposals, put forward with a view to increasing the yield of salt from Pink Lakes, are discussed herein.

The principal heavy mineral deposits occur along the stretch of beaches from Ballina to Tweed Heads, in northern New South Wales, though lesser, but still commercial, accumulations are known at least as far south as Coff's Harbour, and north to Southport in Queensland. Beaches at Yamba, Wooli, and at Fingal have been worked out by Porter and Derrick, the principal producers. This report gives an overview of mineral occurrence, and the formation, composition, and origin of the deposits.