,

CONDITIONS UNDER WIIICH TRUE PLACER IS FORMED 3

ri,

cnly a few hundreci feet above the surrounding flat country,

with the resqlt,,that the top of tfe hill is nearly bare, and the
lei,rital mateirld.'eollqstq at or ii-ear the base in a zone much
wider tb$ that bf tf,elgolO;iiireff-ing rock or r.ein, This layer,
s ,sort d mu$rroomea migrdtion of the or:tcrop, is locally
('maqti" or blanket. During
calied a
the siow migr:rtion of the
l-nat,erial down the sides of the hill there was nol enough water
for antrr. sorting action to take place, so the gold is found
pretty, well distributed throughout the manta-in n'hlch respect it differs markedly from a true placer delosrt. The
particles of gold are rough and jagged with no evrdence of
being ir-aterrvorn, indicating nearness to the ori:inal 1ode.
Ilnlike the saprolitic deposits of the southern siares where
much refractory clay is mixed with the gravel, this nrrerial is
friable and can be broken up without much dlf c.rir1' by
water"
Such conditions are generally rare with this

ir re of placer

deposit, and because of the small amount ci crrcentration,

the limited depth, and the difficult working cc.:1:r:cns, it generaily proves disappointing when more th:.r ._.:erfrcial pros-

is employed.-Where it occurs in .:.u. :i-e concentrated

raterial rests on the outcrop; and ii r:-: ir.-etaliic particles
.re closel-v packed, they form a proteciii: clanket which re'rrds ol prevents entirely any furlher srotrlil of i,he enriched

pec+"ing

qt

,yeI.

tndltions under which a true placer is formed,

T'r the forrnation of a irue piacer deposit, the second step
lr'es the transpcrtation of the eroded material by running
:r. If the original vein or veins were on a hillside draining
' to a swiftly running strearn, a powerful factor is added.