From information obtained by the same officers respecting the amount of gold obtained from a considerable proportion of the quartz crushed, the average yield per ton is estimated to have been 11 dwts. 10.55 grs. in 1873, and 11 dwts. 20.51 grs. in 1874.
Gold-mining in Australia, instead of being, as formerly, practiced by the individual miner, is now almost entirely in the hands of companies. In a single year, the dividends paid by these companies exceeded ten millions of dollars.
Following are some of the most famous Australian nuggets whose fac-similes were exhibited at Philadelphia:
FAMOUS NUGGETS.
The “Beauty” Nnugget weighed 242 ozs. It was discovered at a depth of nine feet from the surface, in Kangaroo Gully, Bendigo, in the year 1858. The gold was 22.2-7/8 carats fine.
The “Platypus” nugget weighed 377 ozs. 6 dwts. It was found in Robinson Crusoe Gully, Bendigo, in a pillar of earth of a deserted claim. The claim was situated in shallow alluvium, and the nugget was discovered in March, 1861. The gold was 22.1-1/8 carats fine.
The “Viscount Canterbury” nugget was found in John’s Paddock, Berlin Diggings, at a depth of fifteen feet from the surface, on the 31st of May, 1870. It weighed 1,105 ozs. The gold was 23.3 carats fine.
The “Schlemn” nugget was found at Dunolly on the 11th of July, 1872, at a depth of three feet beneath the surface. It weighed 538 ozs., and is estimated to contain 60 ozs. of quartz.
Nugget [not named] found in Broomfield’s Gully, Creswick, on the 8th of August, 1872. It weighed 24 ozs. 3 dwts., and was got at a depth of one hundred feet below the surface.
The “Kum Tow” nugget weighed 718 ozs. 5 dwts. It was found on the 17th of April, 1871, in Catto’s Paddock, Berlin Diggings, at a depth of twelve feet six inches below the surface. It was found by a party of Chinamen. The gold was 23.3 carats fine.