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.

This report deals with the problem of detecting electrically resistive bodies of small size buried at shallow depths in wet soils. Detection was attempted by means of measurements made on the surface of the soil using the electrical resistivity method. The present report can be regarded as an extension of an earlier one (No. 1943/64B). The purpose of the new tests was twofold. Firstly it was proposed to make tests of 'normal' resistivity effects using a constant electrode arrangement and measuring the resistivity at closely spaced points on water saturated soils. The second part of the testing programme was contingent on the first part proving that under saturated conditions soil resistivities were sufficiently constant to warrent an attempt being made at detection. If this condition of constancy existed, it was proposed to extend the work of the tests, reviewed in the previous report, to actual field conditions. This has been done and the present report deals with the results obtained.

The mine is situated on Black Andrew Mountain about 4 miles south of the wall of Burrinjuck Dam and in the parishes of Goodradigbee and Childowla. Surface features were mapped by C.H. Zelman and H.B. Owen in November, 1942 by stadia alidade and planetable, and underground mapping was brought up to date by F. Canavan and H.B. Owen on 20th March, 1944 using tape, alidade and clinometer. This report details the production history, general geology, and economic geology of the Black Andrew mine.

The presence of foraminifera in the Permian sediments of Australia was recorded as early as 1882. Some systematic work was done up to 1905, but there was no further investigation into these micro-fossils until 1937. A considerable amount of research is still necessary before it can be stated whether or not a definite system of zoning, based on micro-faunas, can be applied to the Permian rocks of Australia. It seems possible, however, that certain species may be characteristic of the Upper and Middle Permian deposits. In the extensive collections of Permian rocks examined from the Hunter River District in New South Wales, assemblages of foraminifera rather than restricted species have proved useful for zonal purposes and this method of zoning should prove valuable when more material is examined from the Permian deposits of other States.

In a memorandum dated 28th February, the Superintending Civil Engineer of the Department of the Interior stated that cracks were showing in the Cotter dam, and that these were serious enough to warrant an investigation as to whether there were minerals in the aggregate likely to cause expansion on decomposition. Visits were made to the Cotter dam and the adjacent rock quarries, and this report embodies the results of those visits and subsequent investigations. All possible geological factors likely to affect the stability and strength of the dam were investigated and, even though it was subsequently found that some of them could have little or no effect on the dam, they are discussed in this report.

This report deals with the results obtained in tests with the electrical resistivity method on the brown coalfields at Morwell and Traralgon, Victoria, in an attempt to develop a rapid method of determining the presence of the coal and its depth below the surface. These tests were carried out in the latter part of 1943 by the Geophysical Section of the Mineral Resources Survey at the request of the Victorian Electricity Commission. Thirty-four resistivity-electrode separation tests were made over a wide variety of geological sections in the parishes of Maryvale, Hazelwood and Loy Yang. These tests were preceded by a number of tests by specific resistivity made on various types of overburden and on coal exposed in the open cuts at Yallourn. This report discusses the results of these tests although verbal information concerning them has already been made available to the Commission's officers. It will be shown that under certain conditions, the predictions of the depth to coal are reliable within fairly narrow limits while under other conditions the predictions are misleading. It is proposed in the first instance to outline the method and apparatus used in these tests. In addition, it is considered advisable to outline the methods of interpretation employed in order that the conclusions reached will by fully appreciated. In addition to discussing the resistivity results, the report deals briefly with the possibility of using gravity methods on the same prospecting problem. Calculations have been made of gravity anomalies to be expected from certain coal sections and it is shown that under favourable conditions this might prove of value in determining the presence and position of the coal.

The samples of chalk examined for a micro-fauna came from two localities in the Dandaragan district: "Kayanaba" Station and "Chelsea" Station. The material yielded numerous fairly well preserved tests of foraminifera and ostracoda referable to Upper Cretaceous species. The results of the examination are recorded in this report.

Report on the possibilities of underground water on Piney Creek pastoral lease. This report follows a visit to the lease conducted in response to a request for advice regarding water supply.

Palaeontological notes on four rock samples from the Northern Territory.

In 1935 Mr. F. Blake of the Geological Survey of Tasmania visited Cape Barren Island in connection with the underground water supply at Franklin Village which is situated on Sanford Bay in the northwest part of the island. He collected a small sample of fossiliferous limestone which he forwarded to the late Mr. F. Chapman who was then Commonwealth Palaeontologist. No examination of the material was made at the time. Recently it came under the notice of the writer who has made a detailed microscopic examination of it. The results of the examination are recorded in this report.