  THE history of mining in Spain would fill a dozen books, each twelve times as large as the present volume, and even then only the half, if so much of the story, would be told. It would form a narrative that would combine tragedy and romance, and present a moral as stern as humanity has ever been asked to peruse. The mineral wealth of the Peninsula was responsible for the origination of the African slave trade, for the demolition of Carthage, for the decline of Rome, for the sacrifice of lives innumerable, for tortures unspeakable, for crimes that are without parallel in the annals of the world. In ancient times Spain was ravaged, plundered, and depopulated to provide Carthage with the spoils that were to make her the prey of the Romans, who, in their turn, were to be lulled by wealth and luxury into the deadly sleep of degeneracy that precedes decay. It is probable that the beginning of the history of precious metals may be traced back to India, although it is commonly assigned to Greece about 900 B.C.; but the earliest specific mention of gold or silver mining in European history is derived from the story of Cadmus, a Phoenician, who mined for copper and gold in Thrace in 1594 B.C., or thereabouts. Jason, another Phoenician, journeyed as far west as Sardinia in search of precious metals in 1263 B.C.; and it is known that the Phoenicians were working the gold placers of the Guadalquiver previous to 1100 B.C. The means of winning the gold—the only mineral that was exploited in those days—were both limited and arduous, and some time between 1200 and 500 [Image unavailable.] THE UNION MINE, BILBAO. Spain did not benefit in the slightest degree by the earliest discovery of her auriferous riches; and when her silver resources were disclosed, they provided the Carthaginians with a further incentive to pillage and plunder the country which was cursed by the possession of her coveted mineral wealth. Between 480 and 206 B.C. the silver mines were worked by the Carthaginians, who stored their spoil at Carthage against the coming, in B.C. 146, of the plundering Romans who captured the city, rifled its treasure houses, and either sold its myriad inhabitants in the slave markets of Rome, or condemned [Image unavailable.] TERMINUS OF THE MINE RAILWAY, RIO TINTO. “These people,” says Didorus, “though by their labour they enriched their masters to an almost incredible extent, did it by toiling night and day in their golden prisons. They were compelled, by the lash, to work so incessantly that they died of their hardships in the caverns they had dug. Such as by great vigour of body continued to live, were in a state of misery which rendered death a preferable fate.” Again Didorus, in [Image unavailable.] THE CANAL SYSTEM, RIO TINTO. The mortality among the workers in the mines of Spain at this period must have been appalling, and the conditions were calculated to decimate the entire race. Soon it became necessary to recruit the fast thinning ranks of native labourers with imported workers, and these were brought in thousands from Africa. Negro slaves had previously been introduced, to a small extent, into Etruria; but the traffic had not hitherto [Image unavailable.] MINING MAP OF SPAIN. attained the gigantic proportion that it was then to assume. Jacob, in his History of the Precious Metals, says: “This oppression and exhaustion of the native labourers led to a trade in human beings which was carried on by the Carthaginians with the interior of Africa, and supplied to Andalusia the place of those native workmen who had been destroyed by the excessive toil imposed on them by their Asiatic intruders. This horrid traffic was extended and continued, and it augmented the produce of the mines of Spain in such a degree as to have an influence on the whole commerce of the world at that period. That influence was continued for upwards of seven hundred years, until the Government of the Romans, who succeeded the Carthaginians in the mastery of Spain, had fallen into the hands of the Gothic monarchs.” The spoils which Phoenicia had won from Spain led to her spoilation by Darius of Persia, in the fifth century before the Christian era; three hundred years later the silver hoards of Carthage excited the cupidity and envy of Rome, and Spain, which provided the booty, was wrested from the Carthaginians by the armies of the Commonwealth. Up to B.C. 400, when mining in Spain was reduced to a regular system, and the output was enormously increased, Carthage was able to utilise her silver in her Indian trade; but with increasing returns the necessity arose for establishing other markets for her precious metals. In Carthage and in Rome the numerary money system still obtained, but about this date the Carthaginians adopted silver currency and endeavoured, but with little success, to dispose of their surplus supplies of silver by offering them in the markets of Rome. But Rome still held to her copper tokens, and was as yet free from the fatal influence of the mines. “Rome trusted to itself and its sword,” says Heeren in his Researches, African Nations, “Carthage to its gold and its [Image unavailable.] PORTION OF WORKS, AND SAN FERNANDO VILLAGE, HUELVA. But the increasing volume of the trade of Carthage with the Orient did not keep pace with her ever-multiplying returns of silver. Carthaginian silver made its appearance in Italy, and the jealous eye of Rome was led from Carthaginian silver to Carthage and its hugely profitable Indian trade. In B.C. 264 began the first Punic War, which cost Carthage the islands of Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica—all of them mining countries—and an indemnity of 1,200 talents of silver. Three years after Hamilcar Barca, on the plea that the extension of the Carthaginians’ arms into the interior was necessary in order to make good the loss of the mineral-producing islands ceded to Italy, conducted a marauding expedition through Spain. This campaign of conquest and slaughter culminated in B.C. 219 in the sacking of Saguntum (the modern Murviedro), a Greek colonial city and furnished Rome with the pretext for another war against Carthage. In B.C. 269, prior to the first Punic War, Rome had formally adopted silver as a portion of her monetary system; and the [Image unavailable.] CEMENTATION VATS, HUELVA. Carthage built her greatness on the spoils wrung from the mines of Spain, and her fall is directly traceable to the same cause. As Alexander del Mar says: “They corrupted the Government of Carthage, and led to the neglect of military discipline and precautions; they introduced a mercenary and gambling spirit into all enterprises; they created monopolies of wealth; they impoverished the masses; they occasioned the abandonment of those industries which had built up the State, and they eventually so crippled its power, that in the memorable [Image unavailable.] ORCONERA IRON ORE COMPANY, BILBAO. There is abundant evidence to show that although the Carthaginians were driven out by the all-conquering Romans, they left with the full determination to return at some future time, and they took the most careful precautions to hide their treasures from the eyes of the invaders. The ancient workings that are attributed to Roman miners are, in many cases, of Carthaginian origin; for it appears certain that numbers of these well-developed mines were never discovered by the Romans. The site of a mine at CÓrdova, for instance, was indicated by a series of seven abandoned and rubbish-filled shafts, forming an irregular row of workings. One or two of these shafts at either end of the row had been tested without yielding any satisfactory results, and when the property passed, at a nominal figure, into the hands of English capitalists the manager received instructions to empty these shafts. He started at one end and cleared three of the seven holes, only to find that they stopped suddenly at a few yards from the surface. Then, following the course that had been taken by the Romans and the more recent Spanish In the majority of these ancient workings in the copper mines that I have inspected, tools of Carthaginian make had been found lying scattered in the tunnels where the workmen had thrown them when they made their hurried departure. One has only to glance from those enormous catacombs to the implements with which the excavations were made to realise the terrific difficulties of the task and the misery and almost super-human labour that was involved in its accomplishment. Human blood was spilt like water to gratify the mineral greed of the Carthaginian conquerors. When the younger Scipio, carrying the war into the enemy’s country, sacked and afterwards burned Carthage to the ground, 60,000 of its citizens were sent to labour as slaves in the Spanish mines of which they had so recently been the opulent masters. Before the conclusion of the second Punic war Scipio returned to Rome with so great a quantity of the precious metals captured by his forces, that the Roman numerary system was finally abolished, and the complete establishment of silver currency was effected. But the triumph of Rome was the beginning of her end. She had crushed her great Carthaginian When the impairment of the stock of silver coins by export to India and the surrounding countries necessitated larger and regular supplies of the metal, Rome applied herself to the exploitation of her Spanish mines with a vigour as great as it was pitiless. The native races and their erstwhile Carthaginian masters worked side by side, and their ranks were subsequently swelled by condemned criminals from Italy, and in later times even by legionary soldiers. Jacob tells us that “the silver procured by the Romans by these operations must have cost more than its current worth; and, according to Polybius, the 40,000 workmen who were constantly employed in the silver mines at New Carthage in Spain produced only 25,000 drachmas (valued at under £1,000) per diem—a sum that could scarcely have purchased more than sufficient to keep alive the miserable beings who were immolated in them. Another reason why these mines were worked at a loss at this time, if indeed they were, is supplied by Del Mar, who points out that “when these mines were worked by the Romans there already existed in their own markets a mass of the precious metals that had been obtained at a cost which, reckoned in blood and cruelty, was immeasurable; but which in mere pecuniary outlay of labour, in killing and sacking, was as nothing. It was against the competition of this mass of metals, which pecuniarily cost [Image unavailable.] ORCONERA COMPANY’S WORKINGS, BILBAO. The Romans also worked for gold the sands of the Guadalquiver, Darro and Duero rivers, but with what results is not known. They also mined for copper on a large scale, with, it is evident, the most gratifying success. The mechanical resources at their command were limited, and there seems no doubt that many rich mines were abandoned for want of knowledge and the proper appliances with which to treat the ores. In one instance, that of the Escurial Mines at Escurial, a huge lode carrying rich copper was broken by a fault, and the Romans made no effort to pick up the lode again. The present English owners penetrated the fault, and found the lode of the original dimensions on the other side. During the eight hundred years that Spain was under Arab domination, the mines of Sardinia are believed to have been It is curious to note that when Spain was at the zenith of her greatness the wealth in which she abounded was not the result of the exploitation of her own vast stores of precious metals, but the fruits of conquest, bloodshed, and cruelties, similar to those which she had herself suffered at the hands successively of the Phoenicians, the Carthaginians, the Romans, and the Arabs. She had seen each succeeding nation of her despoilers crumble into decay, but she failed to learn the lesson that their disastrous endings had for her. In her turn Spain crushed Mexico and Peru, and grew rich and powerful by tribute and plunder to the neglect of her own resources and her ultimate temporary ruin and submersion among the nations of Europe. Her own metallic hoards were passed over—the treasure for which Carthage, and Rome, and Morroco had fought and bled was neglected; while the methods of the Roman and the Carthaginian conquerors were being practised upon the people of the New World. The result is, that while Spain is to-day recognised as the richest mineral country in Europe, her mineral assets are in a more backward state of development than those of any other European country. THE RAILWAY SYSTEM, BILBAO. In the production of copper ore, lead, and quicksilver Spain heads the list; she is second only to Austria-Hungary in the production of salt and silver; her tin mines are at present almost untouched; while among the less important minerals distributed over the Peninsula are manganese, antimony, cobalt, soda sulphate, sulphate of barium (barytes), phosphorite, alum, magnesia sulphate, sulphur, kaolin, lignite. Gold is also found there in payable quantities; coal and cement of good quality Yet with all this mineral wealth to hand, only waiting to be systematically developed to yield immense returns, less than ten per cent. of the population of Spain are engaged in its mining industries; and between sixty and seventy per cent. are occupied in various branches of agriculture, or in pastoral pursuits. The reason is not far to seek. In many parts the country realises Mr. Stephen Phillips’s dream of that fair land where “Trees without care shall blossom, and the fields Shall without labour unto harvest come.” The Spanish peasant can tend his land to produce sufficient for his needs, and allow him to be independent of his fellows. He is more contented and happier, and his best qualities are more strikingly evident when he is “on his own” than in the mass. [Image unavailable.] TRANSPORT OF ORE, ARCOCHA, BILBAO. But, although since the days of the Ancients the minerals of Spain have not been worked on the same enormous scale that was then adopted, the industry has never been neglected to the extent that is generally supposed. The majority of people cherish the delusion that since the times of the Moors the metallic resources of the Peninsula have not been exploited, and that the revival of activity that is now being witnessed is a development of recent months. Nothing could be Before the discovery of America thousands of mines were being energetically exploited in Spain; new mineral discoveries were of daily occurrence, and Royal Charters were granted by tens of thousands. But the astounding richness of the mines of Peru and Central America enticed whole armies of Spanish miners to the new Eldorado, and for a while the home industry languished. Spain has never since re-attained its commanding position as a mineral country in the eyes of the world; but hundreds and hundreds of mines have been and are being worked by small companies and private individuals, and the returns have been buried from sight in official statistics and unpublished records. While the general public were being kept out of the country as the result of this carefully cultivated policy of suppression of facts, it was inevitable that the plums should fall into the hands of a few wealthy monopolists. The small local owners did not stand a chance. If they mined for copper there was no market for their ore; the fall in the price of tin rendered that industry for a while unprofitable, and the development of iron properties necessitated the expenditure of more capital than the Spanish proprietors could command. And the agents of the mammoth firms, who form a close corporation for the exploitation of Spain’s mineral resources, have been up and down the country, inspecting, and acquiring for ready cash all the most promising properties. There has been no fuss, [Image unavailable.] LOS ALTOS HORNOS DEL DISIERTO, BILBAO. This condition of affairs has obtained very largely in the iron industry of Northern Spain—an industry that is so widely known that it is unnecessary here to make more than passing reference to it; but in the Southern Provinces (principally) of Almeria, Granada, and Murcia, the iron mines are being developed in the interests of a far larger number of persons. Both foreign and Spanish capital is invested in the enterprise, and many of the mines are fully equipped with wire tramways and American waggons, and the promise of the future of the Southern iron fields is well on its way to being realised. [Image unavailable.] RIO TINTO MINES. mines, like those of Tharsis, were extensively developed by the Romans, and so perfect was the smelting process they adopted, that in the heap of ancient slag on the surface hardly a trace of copper remains. The Phoenicians and Carthaginians both worked the Rio Tinto property prior to the advent of the Romans, and their galleries and shafts are found in every direction and at every depth explored by the Moderns. Especially on the North lode are found innumerable shafts and vast slag heaps, the latter testifying to the great extent of their smelting operations. On this lode are also to be seen the traces, now [Image unavailable.] THE LAGO CUTTING, RIO TINTO. Ultimately they were leased to a Swede named Liebert Wolters in 1725, and the property reverted to the Crown in 1783. The Government at first leased the mines, but the wretchedly unsatisfactory result of this arrangement prompted them for a while to undertake the management. The loss to the Government was so great that they disposed of the mines in 1872 for £4,000,000 to a group of capitalists, who formed the present Rio Tinto Company. This company has developed the property on a vast scale, and in accordance with the dictates of modern science. A railway line has been constructed to Huelva, a distance of fifty-three miles, terminating in a pier nearly half-a-mile long in the River Odiel. This pier consists of two floors, used respectively for loading and At the Rio Tinto mines there are nearly fifty miles of railway above ground and over ten miles underground, all of which are available for locomotive traffic. The underground workings are all reached by adits or galleries running in from the hill-side on different levels. Nearly fifty locomotives are daily employed in these workings, besides those used for the traffic to Huelva. The original town has been greatly enlarged, and three or four separate villages have been built by the company for the housing of their army of workmen, which numbers between 10,000 and 11,000 persons. Stores have been opened to supply the needs of the workmen, schools have been founded and hospitals built, both at Huelva and the mines, and forty armed guards, recruited out of the Civil Guard, are maintained to preserve order and protect property. The company has also constructed several reservoirs for the storage of water, which is of such importance in copper mining. The largest of these, which is about twice the area of the Serpentine, has a depth of seventy feet, and a capacity of 2,570,000 tons, or [Image unavailable.] THE FRAMES, RIO TINTO. The Tharsis mines, though not such a remarkable proposition as the Rio Tinto, form a notable property. They appear to have been practically abandoned from the time of the Roman occupation until 1865, and were not worked at a profit until they were acquired by the present Scotch company. Since then, however, an enormous quantity of ore has been extracted, and last year a total output of some 400,000 tons of metal returned a profit of over £320,000. The mines are connected by a railway twenty-eight miles in length with the pier station at Corrales, a short distance from Huelva, on the opposite bank of the river Odiel. A fine iron pier, 765 yards long, allows the ore for export to be carried direct to the ships. The Tharsis mines and the Lagunazo mines are now yielding considerably smaller returns of copper ore; but at the Calanas mines the output is steadily increasing, and vigorous exploration work in [Image unavailable.] THE LAGO CUTTING, RIO TINTO. The Rio Tinto and the Tharsis have been rightly regarded as the show mines of Spain, and the former can, of course, hold its own among the leading mines of the world; and, if it is unlikely that any other Spanish property will rival this cupiferous wonder, there are many that, under proper scientific management, will be found to be as relatively rich and profitable. What is required in Spain is money for development and brains to direct the operations. The existence of minerals, and of copper particularly, has been demonstrated; and now that English capital is slowly but in steadily increasing amount being invested in these mines, a tremendous reaction in the industry may confidently be looked for in this quarter of the globe. Within the past year or two quite a number of promising properties have been acquired for the English markets, and in every instance the results of the opening-up work have more than realised the expectations of the proprietors. The company, which was formed a short time ago to acquire an extensive [Image unavailable.] THE CUTTINGS, RIO TINTO. Among the other Spanish mines in which English capital has been invested—and attention will be mainly confined to these in this chapter—tin and silver-lead play a prominent part. Although tin was smelted more than two thousand years ago, [Image unavailable.] AGUILAS, THE PORT OF ALMERIA. The tiniferous areas of Spain are enormous; and the alluvial tin-bearing deposits, which extend for miles, are practically virgin ground. The Ancients, who worked the tin lodes of Galicia, entirely neglected these alluvials, and, more remarkable still, they have been neglected by every succeeding generation ever since. The quartz mining, which entails an enormous initial outlay in crushing and concentration plant, machinery, and explosives, was prosecuted to a limited extent until the slump, and the consequent fall in the price of tin, which caused the operations to be conducted at a loss. Immediately every tin mine in the country was shut down—the owners could only afford to work for quick cash profits. Small private companies are now making large profits from quartz mining—one company, of which nothing is heard by the general public, is shipping from thirty to forty tons of tin per month—but alluvial tin mining in Spain is only in its infancy. There are vast fields of tin-bearing alluvials that can be treated hydraulically at a cost of 2d. per ton, and yet there is not a single hydraulic plant, or a solitary dredger in operation in the country. When these districts are in full operation, when the tin fields of Beariz, of Arnoya, and Pontevedra and of Salamanca are being washed on a large scale, as they will be very shortly now, Spain will be near the head of the list in the production of tin. There are two important reasons why tin stands so low in the table of Spain’s mineral output. In the first place the tiniferous areas are, comparatively speaking, so few that, although they may yield fortunes to their exploiters, the country can never compare with Australia and the United States in the aggregate output. And in the second place, although the tin is found in such exceeding richness that SeÑor Alfred Lasala, the eminent mining authority, reported on the Beariz mines, “It is almost impossible to cubicate the quantity of tin ore in these conces [Image unavailable.] WASHING FOR ALLUVIAL TIN. The silver mines in the neighbourhood of Jadraque, in the province of Guadalajara, have supplied all the Spanish silver that has been coined for generations, and the supply of the metal would appear to be almost inexhaustible. The principal property in the district, called the HiendelÆncina, was at one time in the hands of an English company, who worked it for Silver-lead, although not so widely distributed over Spain as are some other minerals, is found in no fewer than half-a-dozen provinces; and the industry is, generally speaking, in a healthy condition. In the case of the mines of Granada, transport difficulties have had to be overcome; and in Guadalajara, Murcia and Navarra, the want of capital and the absence of scientific methods have militated against their progress. The most favourable conditions for lead mining exist in the provinces of Badajoz, JaÉn, CÓrdova and Ciudad-Real, where foreign capital has been more freely invested, and very large profits have already been obtained. Such astute investors as the Rothschilds are heavily interested in these latter districts, and of recent months several concessions have been acquired for the English market and are now being developed with English capital. The number of Spanish mines that, having been abandoned by one set of owners, have been taken over by other persons and profitably exploited, is extraordinarily large—in fact, it might almost be said that there are few important properties in the Peninsula that have not changed hands at least once before enriching their proprietors. The Triumfo Silver-lead Mine at CÓrdova is an interesting case in point. So much fruitless exploration work was done on this mine that the French owners had come to the conclusion that further In lead mining, the element of speculation is reduced to a minimum. In other branches of mining, 60 per cent. of the properties are failures; in silver-lead mining, 60 per cent. of the properties are successful. And, in the case of the 40 per cent. of the silver-lead mines that turn out badly, the explanation is that sufficient preliminary care has not been bestowed on proving the existence of the lodes before commencing operations. What may appear to be a lode may prove only a pocket; but where proper precautions are taken, this risk may be eliminated. The French engineers largely failed in their mining ventures in Spain for this very reason. They made haste too quickly, as the Americans say, and they were not expert economists. Then there is another favourable element in lead mining—it can be conducted with only a shaft and a winch—and as soon [Image unavailable.] A TRENCH IN TIN ORE. Amongst the important properties may be mentioned the San Antonio, Maria del Pilar and San Teodoro (situated at Agudo in the Almaden district) and the San Luis at Piedrabuena in the province of Ciudad-Real, and the silver-lead mines of Santa Maria, in the province of Badajoz. These latter mines, There are extensive coal and cement stone mines at Almatret, in the province of Lerida. The coal or lignite, which is of good quality, is at present worked, and about eighty tons per day are being shipped. This will, it is anticipated, be shortly increased to 200 tons per day. The cement is suitable for constructive work; and experts who have reported upon the properties have expressed their belief that it will be found to approximate very closely to the composition required for true Portland cement. The quantity of cement stones is said to be practically inexhaustible. One department of mining enterprise, which has remained unexploited from the time of the Romans until the last few years, is that of alluvial gold washing. The Romans washed for gold over a larger area, and on a much larger scale, than the chroniclers of the times were aware of. Even Jacob (1831) confessed himself unaware of the extent on which their operations were conducted, for modern investigation had disclosed that in the provinces of Lugo, and Orense, and LÉon many of the rivers were washed by them on a scale of almost incomprehensible magnitude. So profitable must the operations have been that, in one case, the river Sil was diverged out of its course by means of a cutting made through a mountain spur in order that the river bed might be exposed for the precious metal. Considering the primitive means that the Romans possessed, this must be regarded as a gigantic engineering feat; and it has been estimated that if 10,000 men had been engaged on the work it would have taken many years to complete. Before 1100 B.C. the banks of the Guadalquivir were worked for alluvial gold, and sometime before 500 B.C. the auriferous [Image unavailable.] MAP SHOWING ALLUVIAL GOLD DISTRICT IN NORTH-WEST SPAIN. Parts marked ^ and solid = Alluvial. Parts marked by dots = Diluvial. deposits of Spain were believed to be exhausted. But Pliny records that in 207 B.C., when the second Punic war ended in the Roman conquest of Spain, “the Asturias, Galicia and Lusitania furnished 2,000 lbs. weight of gold (4,427 lbs. English weight) annually; but Asturias supplies the most, nor in any other part of the world during so many ages has so great a quantity been obtained.” [Image unavailable.] THE OLD GOLD WORKINGS, PARAMO. In the case of other alluvial properties, water was brought in by the Ancients from great distances by canals; and at PÁramo, in LÉon, the ancient water channels are now used as country roads. Many of these water-races are so substantially constructed that they could be repaired at a comparatively small cost. Where these indications of previous workings are observed, gold has always been found; and in the summer, when the river channels narrow under the influence of the sun, the banks of the Ouria, the Navia, the Sil and their tributaries, and all the considerable rivers of these North-west provinces, are panned by the country people, who get a very good return on their labours. Yet the fact remains that while the existence of gold in highly-paying quantities has been definitely proved, no In Spain, the conditions are immensely more favourable to profitable working, while the gold-bearing alluvial is very much richer than that of Australasia or America. The concessions are held direct from the Spanish Government in perpetuity at a nominal yearly rental. The most important properties that have as yet been acquired in Spain are situated in the provinces of Lugo, Orense and LÉon; and the nature, value and depths of the alluvial is practically common to all. The Romans, with the primitive apparatus that was employed in those days, could only wash the sands down to the water level; but below the water level in the rivers is a vast stretch of the rich deposits which have not yet been touched. Of the thirty-three groups of properties that have been secured by English capitalists, four are in the province of LÉon, and have a total area of 541 English acres. Of these, the Crones (153½ acres), and the Retorno (129 acres), are situated on the river Sil; and the FlÓrez (180 acres), and the Bostarga (79 acres), are both on the left bank of the river Cabrera. The twelve concessions in the province of Orense comprise the BaÑo (190 acres), the Disco (160 acres), the Alameiro (158½ acres), the Otero (148½ acres), the Casayo (272½ acres), the Carvalleda (50 [Image unavailable.] HEAD OF THE SAINTE-BARBE SHAFT, HUELVA. tributaries. The Lugo groups include the Arenas (203 acres), the Subieros (121 acres), the Peuadolo (54½ acres), the Coba (74 acres), the Corrego (74 acres), the Lor (101½ acres), the Lodeiras (196 acres), the Reineite (79 acres), the Rosio (69 acres), the Baicela (76½ acres), the Libedo (101½ acres), the Pesquiera (111½ acres), the Alban (116½ acres), the Lis (109 acres), the Blanca (282½ acres), the Lloris (188 acres), and the Ramamo (190½ acres). The PÁramo Alluvial Gold Mines, in the province of LÉon, on which gold-washing machines are [Image unavailable.] SAN DIONISIO SHAFT, RIO TINTO. The geological features of all the foregoing groups present an almost remarkable uniformity. The gold-bearing alluvial deposits cover practically the whole of the entire area of each concession, and the depth of the alluvial varies from ten feet, which is the minimum depth on any of the properties, to twenty-five feet. In cubicating the alluvial ground available for treatment, one-half may be deducted (although that is a very high proportion, and one not likely to be attained), on account of the stones and boulders which may be present in the earth and sand. The average of the assays made of the alluvial deposits of all these concessions give a minimum of five dwts. of gold per cubic yard; but if the return is estimated at only one and a-half dwts., the facilities for economically working and handling the ore are so favourable that the profits will be seen to be enormous. The cost of working the deposits varies from 3½d. to 6d. per cubic yard. The working of these When the alluvial is exhausted, by means of these machines, down to water level, the beds of the rivers will have to be dredged. Up to the present time these river deposits have not been touched, and they will, of course, be found to be considerably richer in gold than the exposed alluvials. By many mining men the result of the dredging operations are looked to, to complete the revival in Spanish mining that has been so long coming. It is impossible to contemplate the probable—one might almost say the assured—return from this dredger mining without a feeling of amazement that such a source of wealth should have lain so long untapped. Want of capital in Spain, and want of confidence in the Spaniards, have hitherto been the chief obstacles to her progress; and the fact that the country has never become a fashionable mining venue has also to be taken into consideration in reviewing the causes that have contributed to its backward position. It is, however, evident to those who have been much in the country in recent times, that the long-delayed interest in its mineral resources has set in; and it is with considerable confidence that one predicts an enormous revival in the industry as soon as some of these alluvial gold-bearing districts are systematically exploited, and regular returns are forthcoming. But the gold quartz mines of Spain are still almost entirely neglected, as they have been since the days of the Romans; and despite the fact that there are numberless prospects containing reefs that yield from half-an-ounce to 1½ ozs. of gold per ton, only The Copper Mines of Escurial.Some of the most prominent and promising of the newly-acquired copper properties in Spain are those of the Escurial district, of which mention has been made. Here, at a spot situated within thirty miles of Madrid, at the end of an hour-and-a-quarter’s train journey, is a district which promises to take rank among the leading copper-producing areas. Yet until some two years ago the properties were practically being ruined by the starvation policy of the Spanish owners, who obtained excellent results by following the richest of the leaders until a little expenditure was required to further prosecute the work, and then abandoned them. The Romans, who would appear from the evidences of their workings to have been the original miners at Escurial, carried out their developments on a large scale; and judging from the immensity and richness of the dumps of ore which they discarded as being too poor to pay for treatment by the primitive methods at their commands, they must have won enormous quantities of very high-grade copper ore. These huge mounds of refuse ore have been assayed to yield about 4 per cent. of copper; and with the modern system of concentration will all give profitable returns. Some of the outhouses and walls on the property are constructed of rich copper ore, and the purplish colour of the loose stones of the road from Galapagar, [Image unavailable.] PORTION OF BUILDINGS, ESCURIAL. The Romans undoubtedly meant, at a more convenient season, to return to the scene of their labours, as did the Carthaginians and Phoenicians before them; but the fates which govern nations ruled it otherwise. The Visigoths succeeded the Romans; and they in their turn were driven out by the Moors, who dominated the Peninsula for over 800 years. The Moors have left the marks of their greatness, their industry, and their love of art over the entire face of the land; but they have contributed comparatively little to the history of its mining. They certainly did not undertake systematic re [Image unavailable.] A CUTTING, ESCURIAL. The present proprietary, upon taking possession of the property, immediately set to work to have the mine cleared, and all the old workings explored. These operations were attended with many remarkable discoveries, and it seemed as if everything was revealed which had been done by the original proprietors. But SeÑor BÁrris, the modern discoverer of this remarkable property, and a gentleman who combines the erudition of the scholar with an unsurpassed practical knowledge of Spanish mining, was not satisfied. He was convinced that there remained further traces of more recent exploitation to be revealed; so the research was resumed, with the result that during my visit I paid to the property in 1902, some additional deeper workings of Spanish origin were discovered. Only then was SeÑor BÁrris convinced that the end was reached; but even later, I have since learned, a falling-in in one of the levels disclosed the existence of further large ancient workings, and the presence of a mass of magnificent copper ore. The Spaniards, whoever they were, who had worked the mine for a short period some (approximately) 300 years ago, had been interrupted in their labours by the lack of proper machinery, and had abandoned the pursuit. The walls of the gallery they had excavated had fallen in, rubbish had blocked up the entrance, and the mine had returned to the condition in which it had been left by the Roman discoverers. And, curiously enough, not a single document or record has come to light to reveal the identity of these disappointed adventurers. [Image unavailable.] “DOLORES,” “JAIME,” AND MAIN SHAFT, ESCURIAL. The Escurial district is a network of copper lodes, which curve, and zig-zag, and bisect one another in an extraordinary fashion, and would appear to have their origin, or their ending, in a concession known as the Antigua Pilar—one of four concessions which constitutes the property of the Escurial Copper Mines, Limited, the principal company in the neighbourhood. The mines are chiefly in the hands of three companies—which are known as the Escurial, the Escurial Extended, and the Georgia Mines and Development Company. The properties owned by the premier company consists of the The mines are equi-distant from three railway stations, but Torrelodones is the most convenient, as it is connected with Galapagar by a good cart road. From this place, where are situated the Galapagar concentration works, one travels over an excellent high-road built of stone, all of which shows traces of copper. The weather is cool, clear, and invigorating; and the manager of the Escurial Copper Mines, Limited, informs me that the climate, though hot in summer and very cold in winter (the mines are about 2,850 feet above the sea level), is wonderfully healthy. I remarked upon the solidity of the buildings which serve to protect the openings of the various shafts, and was informed that such substantial structures were necessary as affording a shade from the sun in the hot weather and a shelter from the snows in winter. The Escurial Mines, unlike some others in Spain, are worked all the year round; and, as many of the miners live on the property, a small barrack has been constructed of masonry for their accommodation. These buildings, which are of the most durable kind, having masonry walls three feet thick and tiled roofs, include, in addition to the men’s quarters and the manager’s dwelling, offices, &c., a small metallurgical establishment, large stores for the storage of minerals, for coal, and wood, and blasting powder, engine houses, and other buildings. “The mine is our home,” explains one of the old watchmen—a phrase which I take to be equivalent to the Englishman’s expression: “We’ve come to stay!” If you happen to entertain any doubts as to the capacity [Image unavailable.] “JAIME,” “DOLORES,” AND MAIN SHAFTS, ESCURIAL COPPER MINES. [Image unavailable.] GALAPAGAR SMELTING WORKS, ESCURIAL. and general excellence of the Spanish miner, I would advise you not to ventilate your opinion of the subject in the presence of the manager of the Escurial Mines, or of SeÑor BÁrris, the Company’s local director. Nor indeed can one be long among these men without recognising their sterling good qualities. They work well, and they lighten their labours with an enthusiasm which I have not remarked in any miners outside Spain. Every man and boy has a personal interest in the mine and its development; his talk is about its progress and prospects: his joy is a rich strike or a satisfactory return; his sorrow is a blank day. And with the characteristic independence of the Spaniard, each man keeps to his own drive, or shaft, or gallery, which he is convinced is the best, and richest, and most promising portion of the whole property. ENGINE HOUSE AND BLACKSMITH’S SHOP, ESCURIAL. It will be seen from a glance at the accompanying plan that the northernmost claim, the Ramon, is situated at a little distance from the rest of the group, and it is here that the principal buildings and concentration works are located. Two lodes have been proved on this property. No development work had been done on the Ramon at the time of my last visit, The Antigua Pilar claim has been exploited in a masterly manner, and the results reflect the greatest credit upon the management. All the work proceeds under the unremitting personal supervision of the manager, and his very full and luminous reports reveal his intimate knowledge of every detail. “It is a pleasure,” he said to me, “to work such a mine. Every week brings its work, and the work brings its recompense in the consistently and thoroughly satisfactory nature of the progress made. The property has never, as mothers say of good children, given me an uneasy moment, and I am only too delighted to show visitors over it.” As we proceed, he explains to me his theory of the property and of its prospects. The Antigua Pilar he believes to be the centre of a network of reefs, and the eight lodes he has already proved are only a few that he expects to discover as the work progresses. “It is a large property,” he says, “and it must be developed by degrees. I have proved to my entire satisfaction that the lodes in the Ramon and the Jaime leases will pay handsomely when we get to work on them. I have also traced two of the Antigua Pilar reefs into the Gloria lease, and six others are also making in that direction. This naturally led me to make a special study of the lodes in Antigua Pilar, and I am convinced that in formation and structure the reefs are the same in all. Everything pointed to satisfactory results, and, indeed, the results have exceeded our expectations. [Image unavailable.] A CUTTING, ESCURIAL. In the manager’s office I was permitted to examine the figures and measurements on which he had based his estimates of the value of the mine, and they are calculated on so moderate a scale that he is convinced the net profits will be much greater. To give an idea of the value and sizes of the lodes on the property, I may mention that by cubing the lodes of Nos. 2, 3, and 4 on Antigua Pilar alone, and calculating the yield of copper at the very low return of 5 per cent. per ton, he estimates the value of the ore at £155,532. By the present methods of exploitation, the daily output of ore will shortly be twenty tons per day; and this ore, with proper plant for concentration, could be brought up to 33 per cent. of copper, worth £16 10s. per ton. The carbonates of copper which the ore carries could, by proper treatment, be made to yield from sixty per cent. to eighty per cent. of copper suitable for smelting. But there is an alternative scheme for the complete exploitation of the property, by which 100 tons of copper ore, of a value of £550, could be raised and treated per diem. This plan would, of course, involve a larger outlay, but it has [Image unavailable.] SNAPSHOT SHOWING CUTTING, ESCURIAL. When I was at Escurial I visited two other groups of properties in the neighbourhood which had been acquired by British capitalists. The successful developments in the Escurial property proper—especially on the Jaime and Antigua Pilar leases—attracted a good deal of attention to the district, which subsequent prospecting work shows to have been thoroughly warranted. One of these groups comprises the Recompensa, the Pepitanga, and the San Antonio leases, which have a combined area of 437 acres. The local theory is that the nature of the country and the constitution of the lodes is the same throughout the district, and the work done on these mines bears out that belief. The lodes and veins are numerous, varying in thickness from seven inches to three feet; and the ores have yielded, as the result of assays, from eleven per cent. to thirty per cent. of copper. Seven lodes, which are distinct and well defined, have been followed for a distance of over 6,000 feet The Huercal Copper Cobalt Mines.A railway journey of 20 hours’ duration, over three railroad systems, transports the visitor from Madrid to the little mining town of Huercal (pronounced Whercal) Overa. We leave the capital by the express train for Alicante, and travel via AlcÁzar and Albacete to Chinchilla, which is reached at some unearthly hour in the middle of the night. From Chinchilla the line runs through the beautiful province of Murcia to Lorca, where we change onto a small English railroad which takes us to Huercal. We had left Madrid in our winter overcoats and rugs; when we stepped out into the soft sunshine of Almeria we could have dispensed with our under coats and waistcoats. We are in the land of the spring roses and early oranges, and the nipping and eager air of the capital is forgotten. Our visit is regarded by the community with general interest, for the townsfolk look to El Monte Minado, as the copper mines are known locally, to make the fortunes of Huercal-Overa. Many of the leading people here are shareholders in the mines, and all the labour employed on the property is drawn from the town. There is not [Image unavailable.] BÁRRIS CUTTING, HUERCAL. with an array of valuable specimens taken from the mine. Here is copper in practically every form—green carbonate of copper (malachite), blue carbonate of copper (azurite), red oxide of copper (cuprite), copper pyrites (yellow sulphuret of copper), and native copper. Added to this, the abundant association of cobalt—cobalt steel-gray, and pinkish purple, like the hue of peach-blossom in colour—and of bright emerald green tinted nickel, give the specimens an extremely beautiful appearance. The Monte Minado property comprises a copper hill not unlike the celebrated Mount Morgan in conformation, and has an area of 111½ acres. There are indications that point to Phoenician industry in the Huercal Mine, but the traces of later workmanship demonstrate conclusively that the Romans were the last of the Ancients who exploited this copper [Image unavailable.] AGUILAS—THE RAILWAY. The composition of the mountain, being of volcanic creation, it is a crumbling conglomerate mass; and unless the galleries are substantially timbered, the chances of their falling in present an instant danger to the miners. The men who are employed in the work of clearing the ancient galleries and putting in new levels have had many narrow escapes from falling earth. The Spanish mining regulations impose a very high rate of compensation in the case of accidents which occur in the mines; and as a doctor, whose duty it is to report on all casualties to the Department of Mines at Madrid, is attached to every working property, mine owners are exceptionally careful for the safety of their employÉes. On one occasion, when the Spanish representative of the present proprietary was being conducted by the manager through some new workings, a huge piece of the country rock fell upon his guide. His head was very luckily protected by one of the hard pot hats which the underground hands always wear; and although this helmet was badly dented, it probably saved the wearer’s life. The visitor The labour of fortifying all the drives, as the work advanced, rendered exploitation both slow and expensive, while not entirely eliminating the element of danger from the operations. It was at one time intended to cut the lode by driving an adit into the mountain at a level of 150 feet below the ancient workings; but as it was discovered that this adit would have had to be shored up and cemented like an electric railway tube, the proposal was abandoned as impracticable. Since then, the difficulty has been successfully overcome by the adoption of another policy. [Image unavailable.] THE CHURCH AT HUERCAL. The present leaseholders opened their negotiations for the purchase of the Huercal Mines on the strength of the mammoth dumps which from a number of assays made by different firms [Image unavailable.] THE CASTLE AND HARBOUR, AGUILAS. As I follow SeÑor JosÉ Perez, the mine manager, through the old Napoleon and Esperanza galleries, it is impossible to resist the contagious enthusiasm with which he describes and exhibits the property. Certainly there is excuse on every side for their eulogiums. The copper in the lodes is very plentiful, while in the hanging-wall of the lodes important veins of pink and black cobalt are frequently to be found, and at all points where work had been done abundance of ore has been exposed. I was shown a large caverture, the roof of which is supported by a single column of ore, which had been left for that purpose by the Roman excavators. The miners who were clearing the drives at first took this circular chamber to be a break in the lode; but it is really a cavern in the walls, and roof of which nearly every variety of copper ore is to be seen. The spectacle is strikingly beautiful, and to the geologist it presents a feature of unusual interest. I have examined many caverns in mines, but this particular example, which has been [Image unavailable.] HEAPS OF COPPER ORE, HUERCAL. A considerable amount of useful development had been accomplished by clearings and surface cuttings on both sides of the mountain, and these have been of the greatest importance in the adoption of the latest scheme for working the mine. In one clearing the outcrop had been stripped over about 1,100 feet, and by this means the copper and cobalt lode had been exposed for a distance of 70 feet, and similar work had been done on the opposite side of the hill. As the result of much anxious consideration and many discussions it was decided to undertake the opening up of the mines on a scale which, it is safe to presume, the Romans never dreamed of, viz., by removing the top of the hill to a depth of thirty feet, as one scalps an egg. The ancient workings, situated at a depth of 180 feet from the summit, having been located, and their dimensions ascertained, the over-burden, which had been found to be only 30 feet in thickness, will be removed, and from that point down The Rio Rimal Copper Mines.The Rio Rimal Mines, in the province of Gerona, are situated close to the quaint old-world village of San Lorenzo, which stands, surrounded by its mediÆval fortifications, at the foot of a high mountain. Far above it an ancient watch-tower still looks out over the wide expanse of plain and valley. It is broken and weather-beaten, but is otherwise as it was left by the old Moorish warriors who built it. Within a mile or two, on the east and west, are the comparatively modern fortified places of Figueras and Rosas. In the municipality of San Lorenzo, at the beginning of the last century, was a huge Government Arsenal and Smelting Works, where the metals won from the neighbouring mountains were cast into cannon, and made into shot and shell. Among the hills are still to be seen the remains of busy mining camps where hundreds of men were once engaged in working the mineral deposits. Before Napoleon’s all-conquering marshals marched across the frontier the Spanish Government blew up the arsenal, destroyed the smelting The Government factories were never re-constructed. The proximity to the border, and the exposed nature of the country, combined with the experience of the then recent events, rendered the situation too insecure for the purpose, and the arsenals of San Lorenzo were re-built on more powerfully-protected spots at Ferrol and Carthagena. Even the massive stone bridge over the river Muga, which was blown up to impede the passage of the French troops, has never been rebuilt. The interesting point about all this is the fact that somewhere, close at hand in the hills, must exist the mineral deposits which fed the factories before the Peninsula War. The tunnels and workings have been very effectually concealed—by no means a difficult matter. A few barrels of gunpowder would have brought down hundreds of tons of rock and dÉbris over the mouth of the shafts and galleries, and left no trace of human handiwork. But that these mines are still there, and waiting only to be re-discovered, is an indisputable fact. The operations of the Spanish owners on the Rio Rimal property commenced, as modern engineering science counselled, near the bottom of the hill, and they put in their galleries and levels to tap at lower depth the richest portion of the reserves of copper. But work had only been in progress for about years when the Carlist war broke out. For seven years operations had to be suspended, and during the whole of that period the mine was abandoned. When the owners again turned their attention to the property, it was to find that many parts of their galleries had caved in, and the mine had become flooded. After a considerable interval, the worst parts of the galleries It was then decided that the most profitable course to be adopted was to concentrate all labour upon the work of repairing and unwatering the second level, and of driving a further level some ninety or 100 feet lower down the mountain side. This work was at once put in hand, and the north-west gallery was driven a distance of 185 feet on the line of the lode, cutting entirely through the same for the whole distance. In many places the lode is mineralised for a width of fifteen inches, the ore assaying thirty-three per cent. copper. In driving this gallery some splendid copper was obtained. Work on the level has in the meantime been progressing steadily, although the workmen experienced great difficulty on account of the hardness of the rock. At the beginning of this drive a very hard conglomerate was encountered, which resisted all tools. For a time the formation defied dynamite, and small progress was made until the sandstone ground was reached. Thereafter work became easier, and consequently more rapid. The Buena Presa property, which adjoins the Rio Rimal Mine on the north, was subsequently acquired, thus increasing the original area by 141 acres. The Rio Rimal lode traverses the adjoining concession for a distance of about 2,100 feet. It is a strongly-defined masterly lode, and has every appearance of producing large quantities of mineral when developed. Judging The Coruna Copper Mines.The Coruna Copper Company’s property, which covers an area of 2,540 acres—a tract of country more than six times as large as Hyde Park—is situated in the mining district of Santiago, and is connected with the railway, which is about eight miles distant, by a first-class road. The country in which the concession is situated, consists of a series of low rolling hills, and the character of the ore, so far as it has yet been explored by the prospecting operations, is very similar to that produced by the Rio Tinto and Tharsis Mines. It is a low grade copper ore, carrying on the average twenty-three per cent. of sulphur, and from two to three per cent. of copper. No attempt was made by the late owners to determine by a systematic series of borings the extent over which the mineral actually exists, or the depth and character of the ore; but the prospecting work already carried out by the English company, and the natural outcrops found at many points on the concession, place it, in the estimation of some mining experts, quite beyond doubt that the mass of mineral is one of the largest known, extending in one direction for over two miles, apparently without a break. This preliminary work has clearly proved the whole of the north-west quarter of the concession; and taking the outcrops into account, one-half of the whole ground is assumed to contain mineral. Three shafts and nine trenches are being sunk, and numerous outcrops have also been located on the concession. The original estimate of the quantity of mineral was 50,000,000 cubic metres, equal in round figures to 250,000,000 tons. The Tin.—The Mines of Beariz.Fortunately for the present proprietary of the Beariz Mines, the late owners possessed considerable technical knowledge; and if the property was not worked extensively by them, the work was prosecuted on right lines. They overhauled the Roman shafts and put in new galleries; and at a time when the standard price of metallic tin was £153 a ton the mine returned the owners a handsome profit. Some years ago, when the mines were reopened and actively exploited, a large number of hands were engaged; and although the ore had to be carted by road to Vigo, large profits were made. Gradually the price of tin dropped, and the profits shrank until operations could only be conducted at a loss. Then work was suspended. Since 1878 the Beariz Mines have remained idle, save for the persistence of the “Tributors,” who have continued to make a livelihood by washing alluvials. The three leases that comprise the Beariz group are entitled the Worked as a quartz mine, as it was worked by the Ancients, the owners possess in Beariz an asset of proved value, but the property is rendered the more valuable by the fact that the lodes represent only one portion of its assets. For, in addition to the quartz lodes, the greater portion of the 450 acres is composed of tin-bearing ground, almost every yard of which will pay to work. On one side of the hill a large number of boulders are present in the alluvial, which reduces its value; but the major portion of the area is exceptionally free from unbeatable material, and consists The upper alluvials contain a smaller percentage of tin than is found in the lower strata, a fact which is explained by the laws of specific gravity, and by the attention that has been devoted to the surface ground in times past. The granitic formation, which is practically virgin ground, is computed to be hundreds of feet in depth, and there is enough of it on the Beariz property to employ all the energies of the company for fifty years to come. The whole of this formation is traversed by innumerable veins of quartz, containing from 15 to 20 per cent. of tin, which will add enormously to the value of the output. The Spanish Tin Corporation’s Mines.The Spanish Tin Corporation, which was formed towards the end of 1901, became the purchasers of 1,361 acres of tin-bearing land in the Arnoya district of the province of Orense. The Government’s annual publication of Spanish mining statistics for the year 1900 gives the production of tin ore for the entire province at 240 tons, and adds, “So far, only one mine has been producing tin in the province, the ‘Roberto,’ which in nine month produced 240 tons.” The extent of the concessions, the richness of the immense tin-bearing alluvial deposits, and the exceptionally favourable conditions under which they can be worked, makes the property exceedingly valuable. The whole surface of the concessions is more or less covered with alluvial soil, with an average thickness of fully 3¼ feet of tin-bearing ground; and if one-half be deducted for boulders, surface soil and waste ground, the amount of block tin is computed at 30,368,365 lbs., and the value at nearly one million pounds sterling. Practically, it is said, the whole of this vast quantity of tin can be recovered by simple hydraulic working. In addition to the alluvial tin-bearing ground there has also to be taken into consideration the tin contained in the masses of decomposed granite lodes which traverse the property, and is estimated to contain 60,936,730 lbs. of black tin, of a value of nearly two million pounds. The Pontevedra Tin Mines.The revival of the mining industry has spread even to the province of Salamanca, where, according to the Government report, not a single mine had been worked during the year 1900. A reference is made, however, to visits of mining experts to the districts of Valsalabroso, but nothing is reported as to the result [Image unavailable.] PARAMO. The Paramo Gold Mines.I visited at Paramo, in the province of LÉon, an alluvial gold-mining property, which appeared to possess all the natural advantages for economical and highly profitable working. This concession consists of an immense bank of alluvial, over 300 feet in height, and a great plateau, which has been proved to carry gold wherever tested. The richness of this plain was evidently fully appreciated in ancient times, and the remains of gigantic operations can be clearly traced. Water had been brought in from a great distance by canals; and at the western extremity of the plain, where it ends suddenly in steep bluffs, two [Image unavailable.] ALLUVIAL GOLD WASHING, PARAMO. great valleys have been sluiced away. The water channels employed for this purpose are still visible, and are now used as country roads. Millions of tons of earth must have been washed here, and with satisfactory results, even with the imperfect appliances then in use, or otherwise work on such a gigantic scale would never have been carried out. On the lower ground, very extensive sluicing operations had also been carried on in ancient times, and a water-race has been brought from some three miles away. This water-race could be repaired at little cost, and sluicing be begun here on a large scale with a very small expenditure compared with what is usually necessary The Kingston Gold Mines.The Kingston Gold Mines have acquired four important concessions in the municipality of Puente de Domingo, Florez, in the province of LÉon. These properties are well situated on the banks of the river Sil and its tributaries, and are very accessible, being close to the railway station of Ponferada. The alluvial deposits cover almost the whole of the area of the concession. The average of the assays made of the alluvial deposits give five dwts. of gold per cubic yard; but the engineers state that, taking the average at only one and a-half dwts. per cubic yard, these properties ought to give a large return per annum. The Moraleja Gold-bearing Alluvial Concession.This is another company that has been formed for the purpose of working alluvial gold mines in Spain, and there are good indications that their enterprise will be crowned with success. The two properties known as Barbantes and Acha, comprising 208 acres in the province of Orense, have already been tested, with the most satisfactory results. The engineers have based their calculations on the uniform depths of the deposits of fifteen feet, but in most places they are far deeper, and it is reported that nearly the whole of the ground will pay well to work. The tests have given an average return of five dwts. of gold per cubic yard; but the facilities for working and handling the ore are so favourable that if only a quarter of that estimate is realised, the profits of the company will be enormous. The Lugo Goldfields.The Lugo Goldfields, Limited, has acquired three groups of properties in the province of Lugo (Galicia). These concessions, which are situated on the main road to Madrid, and twenty-six miles from Lugo, consist of 525 acres of quartz country and alluvial property seventy-five acres in extent, which contain strong evidences that the Romans, during their occupation of the Peninsula, washed from it large quantities of alluvial gold. On the first group, broad gold-bearing quartz reefs, which increase in width from six feet to twenty-four feet as depth is reached, have been traced for many miles on each side of the property; and on the second group the reefs are highly mineralised, and contain gold, silver, copper, and lead. The reefs are situated in hills rising from 350 feet to 450 feet above the river-bed, which will enable the ore to be run out of the galleries by means of trucks on rails, and so save, for some considerable time at least, the initial outlay and annual expenditure entailed by the erection and maintenance of pumping and haulage machinery. In taking the samples of stone for assay, good, bad, and indifferent stone was included, and the calculations as to the value of the ore was based on a minimum extraction of five dwts. of gold per ton. The assays gave returns varying from three dwts. two grs. up to sixteen dwts. eight grs., and the ore has been tested to be eminently adapted for concentration. Water, labour, and timber present no difficulties, and the working of the mines should be carried on at a low cost. It is estimated that the expense of mining the ore, delivering the concentrates in Swansea, and paying the charges for treatment there, will amount to 10s. per ton of ore crude, which means that two and a-half dwts. of pure ore will pay all expenses. Silver-Lead. |
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