Allusion has been made to the probable continuation of the Rand formation beyond its present area; but, as a matter of fact, the Witwatersrand series of reefs, or an amplification of them, has been more or less proved for a distance of nearly one hundred miles to the north and south. The strike of the reefs is not uniformly continuous--in fact, the reefs are intersected by quite a numerous series of faults, and in many places they have been subjected to extensive denudation, to the extent of complete obliteration of the outcrop in places. Nevertheless at various points very remunerative mines have been established, and although, on the whole, the character of possessing a low-grade ore is attributed to these reefs, this is probably due more to the very incomplete prospecting to which the area has been subjected than to any actual lack contrasted with the better known central section of the Rand. On this subject Mr. Bleloch makes the apposite observation that "it is not reasonable to think that only the richest portions of the Witwatersrand zones have been laid open on the surface, and that the sections which remain covered are poor. It is probable that many portions of these hidden areas contain reefs, if not rich at least payable, and this may especially be hoped for in that region where the reefs are completely hidden, and at the two ends of which, where they are exposed, they are found to be payable." [Illustration: GENERAL VIEW OF SURFACE WORKS. WITWATERSRAND GOLD-MINING CO. (Photo by Horace W. Nicholls, Johannesburg)] The eastern section of this greater Rand is about 30 miles in extent, or 140 miles if the contours of the outcrops be followed. In the western section the conglomerate may be followed for 90 miles as far as Klerksdorp, when the formation swerves back to the Vaal River. So far back as 1890 gold-bearing reefs on the banks of the Vaal River were known, and identified by experts as the south-western rim of the Witwatersrand basin; but lack of railway facilities and cheap coal then precluded their profitable working. This district is now surrounded by railways, and the circumstances are so improved that the possibility of creating a new Rand in the locality is regarded as feasible by both experts and capitalists, as, albeit only low-grade ore has as yet been met with, this is properly held to be hardly a fair index of what lies below, for experience in the Central Rand has shown that the reefs often improve lower down. The recently reported "new discoveries" of reefs actually refer to this particular district.