6. Kantoor or Table-Lands.-The table-lands rise high above the valley and afford a magnificent view over the country above described (Plate II.). There is a township, Kaapsche Hope or Devil's Kantoor, which at present has few inhabitants. The formation consists of coarse sandstone and shale, with the interbedded conglomerate reef, which W. H. Penning assigns to the Devonian or Old Red Sandstone-that is, to a later period than the beds already noticed.

The pebbles, which are rounded and of moderate size, are mostly quartz, but occasionally dark blue slate, set in a finelypowdered and auriferous talcose schist and sandstone, abounding in pyrites. The beds occur in gentle folds, and the gold is mostly found in the lower portion (Fig. 47).

b.

Fig. 47. The conglomerate and sandstone on table-lands.
a, Conglomerate; b, sandstone; c, granite.

The rocks in the higher districts are much exposed to the weather, so that even the hard granite and diorite boulders have a weathered crust, which in time scales off and is taken away by floods (Fig. 48). This action is especially well seen in these table-lands where cut up by ravines.

The

There are indications of the former presence of still higher formations, comprising (1) a thin limestone series, and (2) a group formed of conglomerate, sandstone, and shale. uppermost one was apparently highly auriferous, judging from the numerous tabular blocks and water-worn cavernous boulders which now represent it, and from the nuggets which have been found in these cavities.

Limestone is excavated near God waan river station. In several

parts, as near the valley of the Crocodile river, on the Godwaan plateau, and in the Elands-spruit, all the table beds thin out or have been removed by denudation, and a shale formation with quartzite seams, resembling that in the main belt, now lies upon the granite. This abounds in auriferous quartz veins, the gold being both coarse and fine.

The rich gold-bearing reefs worked on the Godwaan plateau have a general north or south strike, a width in places of several feet, and more or less oxide of iron. There are in many parts large patches of auriferous surface soil. Gold-bearing quartz stringers, running in all directions, are widely distributed over the plateaus.

Fig. 48.-Oxidised or weathered rocks.-.4, (a) crust, (b) granite
boulder; B, (a) oxidised sandstone, (b) sandstone layers.

Thick alluvial deposits occur in many of the ravines, terraces, and even on the plateaus to the south-west, as also in the valleys of the rivers flowing towards the Komati, the De Kaap Valley, and Poverty Creek. The origin of this alluvial gold can be traced to the conglomerate and quartz veins on the table-lands. Unluckily transport is difficult. At Barretts Berlin the bare sandstone is covered with several inches of earth, which, even between the grass roots, was found auriferous throughout, and fair-sized nuggets were discovered there.

The table-land beds must have existed above the main belt, and perhaps even over the whole De Kaap Valley, as a horizontal decomposed sandstone formation, similar to that seen on the Kantoor, occurs on a hill at Moodies concession, where it has yielded much alluvial gold.

7. Gold Output.-The reports of the Chamber of Mines, Barberton, give the following outputs of gold derived from this table-land formation :

8. Granite Basin or the De Kaap Valley. Taking into consideration all the gold derived from the beds previously mentioned and from the surrounding rich fissures, great quantities of auriferous alluvial must have accumulated in this valley.

Judging from the form of the basin, the strongest floods must have rushed from west to east, broken their current near Jamestown. and turned into a narrow pass towards the Crocodile River. The finer gold would be dropped at this turn, while the coarser grains would be buried more to the north or west, at the commencement of the valley, and be found in the deeper parts near the bed rock.

Fig. 49. The De Kaap Basin with its alluvial deposits.-a, Deposits highly mineralised; b, coarse gravel with auriferous patches; c. boulders and fertile soil.

Fig. 50.-Cracks or pipes in granite filled with alluvial matter.

In the western part of the basin the granite forms conical and flat-topped hills, which are traversed by many diorite dykes, now appearing as small ranges. The valley floor is much covered with fertile soil, which probably overlies the mineral deposits (Fig. 49).

The flat-lying granite has numerous pipes, filled with gravel and hardened sedimentary material, which have the appearance of small veins. Some of them are auriferous, and the inexperienced unpractised prospector mistakes them for true veins (Fig. 50).