Record series
Laboratory Register of Assays
VPRS 19304
1882 - 1944
Open
North Melbourne
Agencies
This record series was created by:
Department of Mines and Water Supply ( VA2720 ): 1899 - 1909
Geological Survey of Victoria ( VA4118 ): 1899 - 1944
Agencies responsible for this record series: Geological Survey of Victoria ( VA 4118 ): 2022 - present
Date Range
Series date range: 1882 - 1944
Series in custody:
1899 - 1944
Contents in custody:
1899 - 1944
Function / Content
This series contains the laboratory reports of assaying undertaken by the laboratories of Geological Survey Victoria (VA 4118) and the Mines Department (VA 612).An assay is a chemical analysis used to determine the proportion of metallic (gold, silver, copper, etc.) or non- metallic (sulphur, phosphorus, etc.) elements in a sample. It is also used to determine the quality and purity of the ore or precious metal and identify pollutants or impurities. Geological samples were collected by individuals, businesses, or government departments from sites across Victoria, and included brown and black coal, quartz, tailings, bore water, mine air, rock, silt, and clay.
Each half-page laboratory report is presented in a standardised printed form, which was filled in with the handwritten remarks of the chemist completing the assay treatment. Each entry records the assay number, the date of assay at the laboratory, the character and description of the sample, the chemical test applied (called treatment), and the results (usually the amounts of gold, silver or other ores found in the sample). The entries are then signed and dated by the chemist.
The level of detail in each report varies through the years and the reports become particularly sparse with the commencement of separately maintained assay reports (VPRS 19143 Assay Reports).
How to use the records
The laboratory reports are arranged sequentially by year and assay number.To locate a laboratory report by type of sample, refer to the Classification of Assays in VPRS 19305. Once the sample type has been identified in the volume, the book and folio number will refer to the corresponding page of a Laboratory Register (this series).
To locate a laboratory report by location or name of the person who sent the sample in, refer to the Assay Sample Books in VPRS 19303, which are indexed by locality and name.
Recordkeeping system
This series forms part of a larger departmental recordkeeping system, managing the receipt of samples in and dissemination of assay reports out.Samples were initially sent to the Department (known as the Department of Mines and Water Supply and subsequently the Mines Department) and recorded in the Assay Register (VPRS 19302), where the next assay number was assigned in sequence, re-starting with each new year. The sample was then sent to the Department’s Laboratory where the assay treatment and results were recorded in the Laboratory Register of Assays (this series). A copy of the results was sent back to the Department to be recorded in the Assay Register (VPRS 19302) and sent on the original sample sender. The Laboratory also recorded the assay results in the Classification of Assays (VPRS 19305), which was a control record for the Laboratory Register of Assays indexed by sample type. As of 1908, Assay Sample Books (VPRS 19303) were created by laboratories to record the receiving of samples as well as when the reports were sent back to the Department.
It appears that from 1944 the recordkeeping system changed and the bound volumes of Assay Reports (VPRS 19143) superseded and replaced both VPRS 19304 and VPRS 19302.
Before coming into the custody of Public Record Office Victoria, this series was held at the Geological Survey of Victoria (GSV) Drill Core Library, Werribee.
