Art. LXI.—On a New Mineral (Awaruite) from Barn Bay.

By W. Skey.

[Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 21st October, 1885.]

On the 28th of September two samples, marked Nos. 1 and 2, were transmitted to the laboratory through the Secretary for Mines, as having been obtained by some alluvial miners working near Jackson's Bay, and given by them to the Warden. No. 1 of these parcels, supposed by the contributors to be impure platina, was found not to contain any platina, and to consist entirely of a pure alloy of nickel, iron, and cobalt, in the form of small nuggetty and water-worn grains or scales, perfectly malleable, of a hardness of about 5. and sp. gr. 8.1. Some of these grains have a little lustre, but most of them are dull, owing to a coating of reddish or greenish red oxides. These grains do not reduce copper from its cupreous sulphate, acidulated with muriatic acid. The following is its composition:—

Its formula is 2 N + Fe. It is remarkable for the high pro portion of nickel therein. The richest natural alloy of nicke of which I can find any notice is Oktibehite, from the United States of America; it is Ni + Fe, according to which formula there is 51.22 per cent. of nickel present. This alloy (Oktibehite) is of terrestrial origin. Meteoric iron does not often go more than 10 per cent., with a maximum of 20 per cent.; it generally contains carbon.

The New Zealand alloy is undoubtedly of terrestrial origin, and should be found in some basic rock in the vicinity of Barn Bay. The even size of the grains, and their number, together with their richness in nickel and apparent uniformity of composition, support the “terrestrial” theory. The inability of