A review of the osmiridium mining industry of Tasmania

TN

IC-NRLF

O

OF THE

UNIVERSITY

OF

TASMANIA.

A REVIEW

OF THE

Osmiridium Mining Industry
of Tasmania

BY

CAMPBELL! BROWN, M.A., B.Sc. (Edin.), PHD.

-B

Photographs by the Author

DOCUMENT

Sir 1 u dD^

UNIVERSITY Of CALJ

Casmanta:

JOHN VAIL, GOVERNMENT PRINTER
1919

T

TASMANIA

A REVIEW

OF THE

Osmiridium Mining Industry
of Tasmania

BY

CAMPBELL ) BROWN, M.A., B.Sc. (Edin.), PHD.

Photographs by the Author

(Tasmania:

JOHN VAIL, GOVERNMENT N PRINTER
B88957 1919

CONTENTS

Page

1. A Retrospect 3

2. Tasmania's Output -5

3. Location of Mines 6

4. Seasonal Nature of Mining

5. Mode of Occurrence of Metal

6. Quality of Metal 13

7. Constitution of Metal 1-3

S. Grading of Metal 14

9. The Tasmaniaii Miner 15

10. Welfare of Miners 16

11. Some of their Fallacies 17

12. Outlook for the Future 18

13. Comparison with other Fields 19

14. Where the Metal goes to 20

15. How it is Bought and Sold 21

(X
J

A Review of the Osmiridium Mining
Industry of Tasmania

By CAMPBKI.I. BROWN. M.A.. B.Sc. (Eclin.), PhD.

1 . — Retrospect.

As far back as the year 1804, a British scientist first
announced the existence of the two metallic substances known
as Iridium and Osmium; and exactly one year later, another
discovered that the two substances were habitually found
combined together in a rare metal usually associated with
Platinum, and he named the new metal Iridosmine. By this
latter name the metal in question is universally known in
scientific circles to-day ; though its somewhat uncouth and mis-
leading synonym " osmiridium " persists in mining com-
munities everywhere. The Tasmanian miner calls Iridosmine
" osie," in his familiar way of expressing himself, and " osie "
it is likely to remain.

The Russians at first looked on it as a hard variety of
Platinum, which it resembles somewhat closely, and it was
only after a considerable amount of investigation that the new
metal betrayed distinctive features of its own that Platinum
itself did not have. Some of these very features attracted com-
mercial attention in the process of time, and gradually the
metal obtained an independent market apart altogether from
platinum.

In the early days Tasmanian prospectors operating in the
North-West struck a rich belt of country yielding a variety of
mineral substances of more or less commercial importance. The
prospector after gold, in penetrating the bush, found in " pan-
ning off " an unknown metal with a tin-white colour, which
annoyed him very much, and which obviously had a greater
specific gravity than gold itself. In certain localities this metal

M835603

was so abundant and persistent that steps were taken finally
to have it scientifically identified, and to ascertain its commer-
cial importance. It was soon recognised as Osmiridium, and
the problem then arose to secure a market for it.

There is living to-day on the osmiridium fields in Tasmania
one of these old pioneers, by name James McGinty, who found
the metal as described, and whose first efforts to sell it were

James McGinty, the Veteran Pioneer Osmiridium Miner.

quite abortive. Latterly he started off by obtaining 25s. an
ounce Troy for it, while many a gold miner associated with
him threw the useless., irritating metal away, altogether
oblivious of what the future had in store for him.

Once a market was discovered, the miners systematically
preserved the metal, and as soon as Tasmania became a recog-
nised locality, buyers entered into competition to secure it in
a small way. In consequence, output went up, and an encou-
raging price was obtained, and the industry then took firm root.

It was not till 1910 that the State of Tasmania officially
took notice of osmiridium among its Mineral Resources, and
then efforts were made to ascertain output and values by the
Department of Mines. These have been carefully placed on
record ever since, thus enabling the State to enter the world's
market, and attract attention to its new and promising source
of mineral wealth. Prior to 1910 detailed information about
the rare metal was lacking, and no particular interest was
therefore taken in it. It was known that small parcels went
somehow to London or New York or somewhere else, but what
it was used for, or what became of it, very few knew and less
cared.

2. — Tasmania's Output.

The Department of Mines in 1910 ascertained that 120 ozs.
had been produced, and by its encouragement and assistance
the output in 1911 was more than doubled, viz., 271 ozs. The
next year showed even a more striking increase, the figure
rising to 778 ozs., paving the way to the phenomenal year of
1913, when the figure reached was 1261 ozs. This figure would
have been far surpassed in 1914 if the war had not broken out,
and actually stood at 1018 ozs. in spite of the check the industry
received. Under the influence of war conditions, for the next
three years the figures dropped, right down to 247, 222, and
332 ozs. respectively.

As osmiridium was a precious metal requisite for munitions
of war, manufacturers who used the metal found some of
their usual sources of supply cut off, and then turned
their attention to Tasmania. This resulted in keen buy-
ing in 1918, which sent up the output to its maximum
figure of 1606 ozs. With the close of the war the rush col-
lapsed, and the figures for the first quarter of this year
show only 209 ozs. Right up to the outbreak of war the
development of the industry had been most gratifying, but
received a severe set-back for three years thereafter on account
of diminished markets. The prolongation of the war made
buyers nervous, and produced a rush such as is unlikely ever
to occur again. Stability is, however, now setting in, and
production will doubtless soon settle down to its normal limit,
by the force of circumstances.

3. — Location of Mines.

The precious metal is found in various districts in the West,
all of them more or less remote, and somewhat distant from
each other, yet bound together by a common invariable
feature, viz., the occurrence in the neighbourhood of great
masses of a rock named by petrologists serpentine — a name
acquired on account of its mottled appearance. It is in the
creeks and river beds, and on the hillsides and even on the
plateau itself, of such serpentine country, that the miner gets
his osmiridium.

Quarrying Solid Serpentine Rock for Osmiridium, Bald Hill.

The best known locality is perhaps the Savage Eiver, which
has been sporadically worked for about 16 miles below its con-
fluence with its tributary, called the Nineteen-Mile Creek,
which drains part of the Bald Hill area.

This latter creek has numerous little tributaries, all famous
for metal, and taking off the drainage from the western side
of the Bald Hill, and are, or have been, busy scenes of alluvial
mining activity. Right on the brow of the Bald Hill itself,
facing the Nineteen-Mile Creek, there occurs an osmiridium
mine which is quite unique. Here a well-known miner has
been quarrying solid serpentine rock for over six years, and
by crushing it obtaining a very high-grade class of metal. He

is the first and only miner in the world to find the precious
motal actually occurring in the solid rock.

The above-mentioned Nineteen-Mile Creek, with its tribu-
taries, is undoubtedly the best and most abundant locality for
the metal in Tasmania. It has yielded far more, and a far
higher grade metal, than any place yet discovered in the State,
and even at its top end many a rich nugget has been unearthed.

A Working Party at Mt. Stewart.

Just a few miles distant from here, over a saddle and situ-
ated in another watershed, lies Jones Creek, a locality recently
opened up and not yet fully developed. First-class metal is
being found here, and this field is rapidly coming into import-
ance, though yet small, but promising.

Leaving this area altogether, one naturally proceeds to Mt.
Stewart, which lies some distance away in a region none too
easy to get at. A little over one year ago, when the metal was
discovered here in attractive quantities, a great " rush " took

8

place. The result was that all the clear ground soon became
worked out, and alluvial miners are only to be found at the
present moment either right at the top or further down in the
Castra Valley below. Interesting developments are, however,
expected in the near future in this area.

Practically within sight of Mt. Stewart, yet in the inacces-
sible distance, lie the Wilson River osmiridium fields. The
miner's theory, both at Mt. Stewart and Wilson River, is that
the same mass of serpentine persists as a belt from point to
point, uniting both fields ; but impenetrable bush at present
separates the two, and no man can say what the future may
disclose. Meantime the visitor to Mt. Stewart has to go many a
long mile before he can get at the Wilson River fields from
here. At the latter the miners are mostly working for the
metal in small creeks or in very shallow ground or in loam or
in mud itself, while further down some are obtaining the
metal from cemented bottoms. The origin of some of the
alluvial deposits in this neighbourhood is distinctly puzzling,
and some would seem to be accounted for by transportation
from a distance, probably by glacial agency.

4. — Seasonal Nature of Mining.

In the valley of the Savage River alluvial mining, in the
bed itself, can only be done to any extent in summer time, when
the water is low. As the river rises in winter with each rain-
fall, work becomes very trying and dangerous, and in many
places quite impossible, which causes the miners to suspend
operations entirely, and usually to go somewhere else. On
the Wilson River the position is practically reversed, the fields
being situated in an elevated position, and the very small
streamlets, rivulets, and creeks where the workings are mostly
situated dry up in summer, when work ceases. The top of
Mt. Stewart, and Jones, and the top of the Nineteen-Mile Creek,
are very much in the same position with regard to water-
supply, as well as the workings on the edge of the plateau and
the slopes of the Bald Hill. Plenty of water is necessary for
successful mining, and work is often held up by the pro-
longed absence of rain. In the valley of the Nineteen-Mile
Creek the work goes on all the year round, and here the most
of the permanent camps are to be found, in a long stretch

9

of country reaching practically to the creek's confluence with
the Savage River. The seasonal nature of the mining has a
distinct influence on output, which makes the supplies coming
from Tasmania somewhat erratic and uncertain.

5. — Mode of Occurrence of Metal.

For the most part osmiridium is found in a capricious, erratic-
fashion, distributed in the beds of creeks and rivers in the

" Panning Off " at Nineteen Mile Creek.

serpentine country. Here and there a miner may be seen work-
ing at a higher level on an old flood-plane, or he may be seen
pursuing an old bottom, representing a former course taken
by the stream, and quite different from the present day.
Although the bulk of the metal has been won in this way, the
up-to-date miner is now becoming more and more resourceful,
and searching for and finding metal in quite unexpected places.

10

As already cited, high-grade metal has been successfully mined
for a number of years out of the rock itself. This occurrence
is the keystone to the whole situation. All the metal found
in the river beds and creeks was derived from the solid rock
originally, and has been weathered out by the natural agencies
which cause denudation. On account of the phenomenal rain-
fall and climatic conditions of the western region, erosion has

View of Mine where Metal is found in Rock, Bald Hill.

taken place relatively quickly, and the amount of osmiridium
found in the creeks at the present day must represent the
metallic content of a prodigious amount of serpentine no longer
existing.

When found in the rock the metal is not abundant, and may
either be bright in appearance or coated with a black incrusta-
tion of iron ore; in which latter case it is not easily detected.
It occurs in a curious fitful way, vanishing for a little, then
reappearing, but never in excessive, though payable, quan-

11

titles. In hand specimens the bright crystals are quite con-
spicuous, but when coated recognised with difficulty. Its dis-
tribution in the rockmass may take a definite trend or direc-
tion, which was determined before the solidification of the
parent rock itself took place, and at a time when the crystals
of osmiridium and its associates were floating free in the molten
magma. In nearly all rocks of deep-seated origin the same
phenomenon is quite familiar, the lenticular distribution of
certain substances being brought about by the forces acting
during magmatic movement before solidification.

A Knotty Problem of a Subterranean Occurrence of Metal at
Mt. Stewart.

Once the miner turns his serious attention to the solid rock
itself, new localities will doubtless turn up in Tasmania. He
will also probably abandon the use of the word "lode/' as
applied to such an occurrence, and no one will regret it.
Several of these so-called "lodes" have come into unfortunate
prominence in the past, and some are talked of now.

A few quite exceptional occurrences of the metal may be cited
before we finish consideration of this point. At one place a
group of industrious miners, securing plenty of metal, may be
found working 20 feet underground, following a subterranean
drainage area which Nature made in the master-joints of the
serpentine rock. It is a weird place to look at, and a safe-

12

looking place for Nature to store her treasures. In another
locality men may be seen removing forbidding-looking grey
mud in barrows, and sluicing it readily, thereby securing a
plentiful reward in precious metal. This mud is but a few
inches in thickness., and overlies in places rocks of sedimentary
origin. Many miles away another group of men may be found
working the loam, right on the edge of a plateau. The loam
is full of organic vegetable matter, but uncommonly rich in
osmiridium as well, which is all the digger cares about. Another
quite unexpected locality, where the loam contains payable

Sluicing Mild fo7- Metal at Wilson River.

metal, is right on the plateau itself of the Bald Hill, where
some activity is likely to take place shortly. Other anomalies
could be quoted, but enough has been said to show that
osmiridium can be looked for and found in places altogether
out of variance with commonly accepted ideas, theories, and
traditions — which fact augurs well for the future development
of the industry.

Tt might be noticed, in passing, that osmiridium is found
usually alone or in association with gold, but never with
platinum. Creek and river men look for water-worn nodules
of iron ore, which are regarded by them as the invariable
" index " of the presence of precious metal.

13

6.— Quality of Metal

Osmiridium is known to occur in two distinct varieties, both
of which are found in Tasmania. The variety known as Nevy-
anskite is the familiar tin-white substance with a bright
metallic lustre, and is found in the Savage River, Nineteen-
Mile Creek, Jones Creek, the Castra River, Wilson River,
and the Bald Hill. The variety known as Siserskite has a
much duller lustre, is steel-grey with a bluish tint in colour,
and occurs in fair quantities at the top of Mt. Stewart. From
a commercial standpoint Nevyanskite is much more valuable
than Siserskite, and is eagerly sought after by manufacturers
who use the precious metal. Both varieties occur in Russia,
while Nevyanskite alone occurs in Japan. In the platimim
fields of New South Wales, near Fifield, Nevyanskite alone
occurs, and the same applies to Papua (British New Guinea).
Tasmanian miners recognise and appreciate the difference
between the two varieties, and the creek digger does not like
his parcel mixed with any of the Mt. Stewart metal.

From a commercial point of view the best osmiridium yet
yielded in Tasmania is derived from the Nineteen-Mile Creek,
with its tributaries, as well as the Bald Hill. Here the metal
is found well rounded or " shotty." This granular habit, com-
bined with absence of well-marked cleavage planes, being the
characteristics desired by manufacturers. On the Savage
River much of it is very scaly or flaky, with the basal cleavage
plane well pronounced. This is due, in all probability, to the
severe pounding the metal has been submitted to by erosive
agencies. The same applies generally to much of the Wilson
River metal, though some of the new localities now being
developed there are yielding prime granular metal.

7. — Constitution of Metal.

The feature that attracts the user most to osmiridium, com-
mercially, is its percentage of iridium. Unfortunately, there
has been very little research work done, as yet, with regard
to Tasmanian metal, and very little information is available.
The only two records of detailed analyses which the writer has
access to, show a percentage of 58 and 33 respectively of
iridium. The former was from a sample of the tin-white
variety, above referred to as Nevyanskite, and the latter from

14

a sample of the variety known as Siserskite. Russian metal
from the Ural Mountains shows at times as high a percentage
of iridium as 77, and anything lower than 43 is exceptional.
The Japanese metal is always round about 70 per cent., and
that from Borneo about 60. From all other known localities a
fair average is about 58 per cent., the metal corresponding in
its features very closely with the Tasmanian metal.

8. — Grading of Metal.

The man who controls the situation is the man who uses
lots of crude metal, just as it stands, for the purposes of
manufacture. The smelter, chemist, and others count but
little, as their requirements are easily met from residues
derived mainly from the people who handle crude platinum.
The best friend that the " osie " miner has is the man who
tips his gold nibs for fountain-pens with crude granular metal.
But with the latter the size of the grain is the only thing
that matters, and anything too small or too large is unsuit-
able. These facts are \vell known throughout the osmiridium
world, except in Tasmania. Everywhere else special sieves are
used for grading the metal. Anything that goes through an
aperture of '031 is sold only for smelting or other metallurgical
purposes. Anything up to '042 from '031 is suitable for manu-
facturing purposes. The shrewd miner could reduce his large
metal to ''point" size in a mortar, the small metal which
fails to respond to the sieve test being set aside for the smelter.
The importance of this procedure is made manifest by the fact
that the writer has received, while preparing this review,
cabled advice from New York stating that £20 per ounce is
being paid for "point" metal, while only £15 per ounce is
being paid for the ungraded supplies.

If the metal from Tasmania continues to be sold just as it
is found the result of competition will inevitably drive the
price right down to smelting price only, thus placing the Tas-
manian digger in an unfavourable and false position with
regard to other localities. Another matter which is likely to
prejudice the future development of the industry is the habit
of some of the miners of selling their metal "unclean."
Nothing can bias the mind of a consumer against a locality
so much as receiving parcels of metal containing obvious
impurities.

15

The procuring and handling of corrosive acids in the bush
is no simple .matter, it must be admitted, yet most of
the conscientious men would scorn to sell a parcel unless
satisfied that it is actually clean, and this standard ought to
be maintained by every right-thinking miner. It certainly
involves a little trouble and care, but the result will have an
important effect in the future when competition sets in. It
must be frankly stated that Tasmanian parcels, up to the
present, have been often characterised by the unnecessary

A Typical " Camp " at Bald Hill.

percentage of impurity, and in this respect compare unfavour-
ably with those from other parts.

9. — The Tasmanian Miner.

The average type of man earning his living out of " osie "
is, without doubt, one of the highest type of alluvial miners in
the world. He is clean, hospitable, industrious, and skilful at
his work, though perhaps a little conservative, and lives a
secluded life in the most forsaken spots that ever a human
being got to. He realises that he is not undergoing his hard-
ships for nothing, and wants his " pound of flesh " all the
time, but is fair and straight in a business deal. He is free
from the common vices so prevalent amongst precious metal
miners, and when he has "made a bit" he keeps it. His

16

home in the bush is never one of architectural beauty, but
serviceable though temporary. He gets his letters and food
brought to him from a long distance by carrier or pack-horse,
and his contact with the outside world is slight. It may be a
fascinating life to the man with "bushy" habits, who is fond
of the wild ; but he pays the price for it. His attention is
concentrated on one thing only, viz., the desire to get the
metal, get it quickly, and get it in plenty. Unlike some
miners he makes no revenue from fur-bearing animals, though
wild cats, ringtails, black and grey opossums arc1 around him:
while the black, tiger, and whip snakes are his sworn enemies.
He gets anywhere from one-half to one pennyweight of metal
from his daily digging, on an overhead average. When the
price goes up he simply works less, because money becomes
more plentiful, and the stimulus on output is not proportionate.
It is true it attracts more miners, but the individual overhead
average does not increase, but actually falls. From an indus-
trial standpoint an inflated price is a check on the individual
output of the metal.

|0.— Welfare of Miners.

The sum of £44,833 was paid in Tasmania to miners during
the last twelve months in the purchase of osmiridium, and the
figure may warrant the assumption that the industry is now
becoming important enough to draw increased attention to it
from the State. An observer notices a general concensus of
opinion among the miners that, for example, the mining laws
as applicable to osmiridium might here and there be advan-
tageously amended or amplified. They were obviously framed
with gold in view, and on account of the peculiar differences
and circumstances under which osmiridium is mined some
modifications would doubtless be most helpful. Financial help
from the State, in any shape or form, is altogether unneces-
sary and undesirable; but something could and should be done
for the men by opening up and developing new serpentine
country, making new tracks, improving old ones, repairing dan-
gerous bridges, and other things which are obvious to the
visitor touring the1 fields. The1 country lying around the top of
Mt. Stewart has so far baffled penetration, but is likely to yield
most interesting results when developed. It ought to be linked
up with the Wilson River by dealing effectively with the inter-

17

vening bush. The conditions on the Savage are indescribably
bad, and one cannot help admiring the indomitable pluck and
grit of the men enduring them. Track-cutting and systematic
bush-burning, under skilled direction, would go a long way to
help the fuller development of the fields, and enable the digger
to reap a richer and surer harvest than at present.

1 1 . — Some of Their Fallacies.

A visitor, in chatting with the diggers, soon gets impressed
-with the constant repetition of curious erroneous ideas with

A Miner's Bush Fire at Jones Creek

Tegard to the metal. Its reputed fabulous hardness is one of
ihe things about which they like to talk, and about which
there would appear to be widespread misconception. In the
estimation of some the diamond itself pales into insignificance
in hardness to osmiridium. As a matter of fact, the metal's
hardness is nothing out of the ordinary, and many mineral
substances occurring quite commonly in Nature are much
harder. Another common misconception, arising perhaps out
•of the latter, is that the metal cannot be broken. The fact
that it has one cleavage plane too well developed is one of the
very features of the substance that manufacturers heartily
•dislike it for. To realise how easily it is broken, one requires
•only to put it in a mortar and pound it for a moment. Another

18

mistaken idea is, that it will not respond to metallurgical
treatment, and cannot be smelted, which is quite on a par
with the other misconception that Tasmania is the only country
in the world where the metal is found. It would seem to have
escaped notice altogether that the main and sole commercially
important feature of osmiridinm is its entire and absolute
resistance to all acids.

One of war's results has been a considerable amount of
metallurgical research work in the quest of a metallic-
substance yielding features identical with the metal under
review. It has now been achieved, and a satisfactory
substitute found, and markets are bound to be affected
shortly to a profound degree. For, as soon as the manu-
facturer has his requirements fully met by the synthetic sub-
stitute, he will cease to interest himself in the purchase of
metal at prohibitive prices in remote parts of the world. He
will shift his worries on to the shoulders of the metallurgist,
who can have no difficulty in procuring the strictly limited
quantities of crude1 metal necessary for his purposes.

\2.- — Outlook, for the Future.

After Peace is signed and Reconstruction takes place in
earnest, every metal of commercial importance will be under
better control than in the past, and its destination closely
observed. Of recent years Tasmania has already secured a
place, and firmly established herself, as a producer of osmi-
ridium. The miner may at present be inclined to be pessi-
mistic, but he really has a bright future in store for him.
Let him be more enterprising and less conservative, let him
shut his eyes to abandoned ground, adopt new ideas and seek
new fields, let him " get up and get " and decline to be
despondent; let him have all the help and moral support of
the State, and things will go apace. The resources of Tas-
mania have only begun to be tapped, for no man can say
even the exact location of, far less the full extent of, all the ser-
pentine country in the Island, and a great deal of hard, patient,
and profitable work still remains to be done. The miner must,
however, bear in mind that the inevitable will happen, and
competition will force down the price till a condition of
stabilitv is attained.

19

He will doubtless recall that in 1910 his average price was.
£4 8s. per ounce; in 1911 it was £4 7s.: in 1912 it rose
to £7 7s.; while in 1913 it reached £9 10s.; followed in 1914
by £9 17s. per ounce. After war broke out it was impos-
sible to sell the metal at all, until recovery took place,
and the price fell in 1915 to £6 8s. In 1916 it again
rose, the figure being £8 11s., eclipsed again by 1917, which
reached £14 los. per ounce. The climax, however, was reached
in 1918, when the average rose to the astounding figure of
£27 18s. Some parcels were actually sold as high as £37 10s.
The cessation of hostilities caused a considerable drop in price,
and the figures for the first quarter of the current year show
an average of £16 os. per ounce.

These figures are taken from official records of the Mines
Department, Hobart, and are sufficient to show that the Tas-
manian miner has been singularly fortunate in his earnings of
recent date. During the whole war the price of platinum,
about which the price of osmiridium normally gyrates, never
rose above £20 per ounce, and was commandeered for muni-
tions. Osmiridium never was, though at one time it was pro-
posed to commandeer it, and fix its price. The enormous infla-
tion of the Tasmanian price was due to the anomalous circum-
stances under which metal is bought and sold in this country.
The outlook, as far as price is concerned, is fairly well defined.
It is bound to fall sooner or later, in view of competition, until
equilibrium is established. If it did not, foreign dealers would
soon import metal into Tasmania ; or, far more likely, seek a
direct contact with the buyers who keep Tasmania going, and
secure their business by under-selling.

13. — Comparison with Other Fields.

Within the Commonwealth of Australia osmiridium occurs,
in several places. On the coast of Victoria, at no great dis-
tance from Melbourne, it has been found along with gold, in
a black beach sand, but so far only the crudest methods of
cradling have been employed to recover it. At Byron Bay
vicinity the metal occurs in a highly comminuted condition,
which has baffled efforts to handle it commercially. In New
South Wales the platinum miners find it both in the shallow
ground and deep leads, and their parcels contain as a rule 5
to 10 per cent, of the metal mixed up with platinum. In

20

Papua some splendid parcels have been produced, resembling
those of the Nineteen-Mile Creek metal. So far very little
mining development has taken place in Papua, largely on
account of native difficulties and official indifference, but the
metal is reputed to occur abundantly, and there is a possi-
bility of Papua in the near future out-rivalling Tasmania as
a source of the precious metal. It is stated that German New-
Guinea is another locality for the metal, but reliable information
on the subject is still lacking. In Borneo the natives, while
working platinum, are finding first-class metal, which finds its
way into the hands of dealers in Batavia. The output of
Japan is more than three times that of the Tasmanian, while
the metal has a brighter lustre, being richer in iridium, and
slightly larger in grain and less fissile. The miner there pays
4s. a day for his permit, and has to be content to sell his
parcels at a low figure. The dealer, broker, and exporter
secure the profits. Ever since Russia's collapse in the war the
main supply was cut off from the world. In normal times she
can produce ten times more than Tasmania, and, on account
of cheapness of labour, sell the metal at a price which deter-
mines the dead-level. In North America we find it occur-
ring with platinum in North California and South-West
Oregon, and in Albany County, Wyoming, and in the Yellow
Pine District, and Moapa. in Clark County, Nevada. In
Colorado it turns up at Como, and Clear Creek, and Villa
Grove. Turning now to South America, we find an area of
5000 square miles where alluvial mining takes place, on the
western side of the Andes, in Colombia. Gold, platinum, and
osmiridium are found here together, and many dredges are
kept busy. The control is under American and British hands,
and it may be noted that after Russia's collapse in the war
this field saved the situation, as far as platinoid metals were
concerned, for the purposes of war.

14. — Where the Metal Goes To.

At this juncture it might be well to clear up some points
with regard to the final destination of the metal. Taken
altogether, there are comparatively few people throughout the
world that have any commercial interest in osmiridium. Of
these few some want it for iridium, others for osmium, or other
rare substance combined in its constitution. The big buyer

21

is the manufacturer who uses it in crude form. He needs it
as an essential and important item in the manufacture of the
pen-nibs used in fountain-pens. This latter industry has
already assumed enormous proportions, especially in the
United States of America. One firm alone has five factories,
each of which is a marvel of organisation, and equipped with
cunningly-devised machines. There one can see osmiridium
being handled by highly skilled labour; each individual grain
being sifted out and arranged in its proper place, according
to its suitability; while the delicate operation of attaching it
on to the gold nib is one calling for infinite patience and
deftness. Platinum could almost be used in place of it, but
it is too soft, and has other features which render it less
desirable.

The great bulk of the metal, which has lain for millions of
years in the rivers and creeks of Tasmania, and about which
all the " osie " digger's hopes and aspirations are centred,
finds an ultimate fate in being lodged finally in the breast-
pocket of every business man up-to-date enough to arm him-
self with a fountain-pen.

15. — How it is Bought and Sold.

Each miner has always some metal held in reserve. He keeps
it carefully tied up, somewhere about his person, in a piece
of chamois leather firmly bound together. When his " tucker
bill " comes along, he has to realise on part of it, and receives
either cash or an open cheque from the visiting field buy«r. It
may be mentioned here that many of the miners have grievances
at the hands of the buyers. Quite commonly a buyer in going
his rounds, in the same day will tactlessly buy parcels for
different prices in different localities, or even in the same
locality. Ultimately the miners who carried out the deal find
out what has happened, and dissatisfaction and bitter feeling
arises. Again, several buyers may be on the field at the same
time, and each one offering a different price. The miners will
subsequently compare notes, air their grievances, and be at a
loss to know what to do next. It seems also desirable here to
observe that the delicate operation of weighing small quantities
of osmiridium should be under better control, and the weights
and scales used by the buyers for the purpose should come under
official periodic inspection. It must be admitted that the miner

2-2

has justification in being discontented with the present sys-
tem, which certainly does not exist on any other precious metal
field in the world.

To do the miner full justice the field buyer should have no
power whatever to lower, raise, or otherwise manipulate the
price of the digger's metal, and the field buyer should himself
be debited with all the obvious impurities in the parcels he
buys and sends off. Consumers would insist on both points if
they were only familiar enough with the full facts of the
situation. Most movements in price in the immediate past

A Field Buyer on His Rounds.

have been of trivial origin, and it is credibly related of one
field buyer that he raised the price £2 per ounce for a wager!
While this might be an exaggerated piece of pleasantry, the
situation is undoubtedly wrong at present and needs to be
remedied. It is particularly aggravated by the various mining
localities being so far apart, and out of touch with each other.
Furthermore, in the same locality the individual workings and
camps are either far apart or inaccessible to each other, and
the men come little in contact with one another. There is no
unity of purpose, cohesion, or organisation among the miners
on account of the lives they lead, but something might now be
done officially to get things on a better business footing for
them.

23

The writer has had the privilege of visiting all the mining
fields, and coming in personal contact individually and col-
lectively with nearly all the miners, and, with one exception,
every single man thinks that his welfare might be better cared
for and the industry fostered by more official assistance. They are
most appreciative for what the Mines Department has already
done on their behalf, and on account of the very remoteness
and obscurity, and one might almost say mystery, of the indus-
try, as well as lack of proper organisation, they realise that
nothing more could possibly have been done in the past for
them by the Government.

Let us look at the other side of it. New York and London
are the two controlling centres for metal buyers. The business
men sitting at their desks there are more to blame perhaps
than anyone else for existing irregularities. They have never
beeu^to Tasmania. They instruct a local broker, who instructs
an Australian broker, who in turn instructs a field buyer,
giving him curte 'blanche instructions to procure the metal.

The field buyer is usually a working miner, actually digging
for and selling metal as well as buying it, which is of course
unfortunate from a business standpoint. With one or two
exceptions the Australian brokers know nothing whatever about
the Tasmanian fields from personal experience, and the man in
New York or London keeps on wondering why the Tasmanian
price for metal is so abnormal. No one can blame the hard-
working, industrious " osie " miner for taking the fullest
advantage of the peculiar situation and getting every hard-
earned penny he can out of it as long as it lasts. But the
moment is coming when the man in New York and London will
wake up.

Russian parcels are already filtering their way through
Yladivostock, Harbin, and Shanghai, en route to America and
England. While in the Far East, of very recent date, the
writer had an opportunity of inspecting quite a large
number of parcels of precious metal so derived. Colombia is
exceedingly busy, and Japan is out to capture the market.
Tasmania must therefore take steps to retain her place, and
find out what the rest of the world is doing. By posting the
miner up with information, derived officially, as to what cur-
rent prices are in controlling centres, by regularly publishing

24

same in the press in Tasmania and Melbourne, and by sending
out periodic official circulars by packers and carriers from the
nearest resident Registrar, steps could be effectively taken to
ensure the fullest development of the industry, and maks the
osmiridium miners perfectly satisfied and contented with their
lot.

JOHN VAIL,
GOVERNMENT PRINTER, TASMANIA.

YB 38147