George Ulrich’s contributions in German on Victorian geology, mining and mineralogy (1859–1864)

Abstract

Translations of four German publications on Victorian geology, mining and mineralogy by George Ulrich are provided. The hitherto unknown 1859 publication is the earliest detailed account of central Victorian geology and includes descriptions of the techniques for separating gold from quartz and comments on the loss of gold in the tailings and the inefficient mining practices of the time. Ulrich also discussed theories on the origin of auriferous quartz reefs and recorded 19 minerals occurring in the quartz reefs, as well as 14 in basalts with detailed descriptions of many of the minerals. The other three publications continue the geological and mineralogical topics raised in the first with new information gathered since the time of its publication.