18

18 feet thick, and in places contains 16 feet of coal. The seam
is of much better appearance than the one at Camp Robertson,
and the quality of the coal is also superior to the other, although
it is rather high in ash.

Lignite occurs in numerous seams at Skonun point, and at
other places on the north and east coasts. It is very tough and
woody, and its value at present is very low; but it may prove
to be a useful fuel in the future.

The clay deposits of Graham island are extensive, particularly
in the northeastern part; but, so far as they have been examined,
they are of low grade and suitable only for common brick and
the cheaper varieties of plastic ware.

Stone suitable for building, should a demand for it arise,
could probably be found in some of the more massive bands of
the Haida formation on Maude island. Good limestone is
found in abundance at the southeast end of South island.

The bituminous rocks of Graham island have attracted
considerable attention of late years, and hopes have been en-
tertained that extensive petroleum deposits would be eventually
discovered. These hopes are not justified by the nature of
the occurrences found and later in this report will appear the
reasons for believing that, in spite of apparently favourable
indications, Graham island can scarcely be looked to as a future
petroleum producer.

The source of the bituminous matter is the organic matter
of the fossils found in the Maude formation, of lower Jurassic age.
Black, tarry material is also found in Tertiary dykes and basalt
flows, usually in the form of amygdules. It also leaks into seams
and veins in the basalt, giving rise to tar seepages. There is
no reason to suppose that these occurrences indicate a body of
liquid petroleum at depth and, furthermore, the structure of
the rocks is against such a possibility.

It is possible that some of the finer bands of the Maude
formation will prove to be oil-shales of value.

Gold is found on the Southeaster and Beaconsfield claims
near Skidegate Indian village, associated with sulphides, in a
quartz gangue. It is also found on the east coast of the island
in beach placers.