The Sun.
London, England, 1863-10-23 00:00:00

COPPER.

The number of copper mines worked in these
islands in 1862 was 230; of these 201 in Cornwall
and Devonshire. For several years there has been
a steady decline in the rate at which copper has
been produced from our mines; the relative pro-
duce of the last three years has been as follows :
Ore. Fine Copper.
Tons. Tons.
IS6O 236,696 .. 15,968
1861 231,487 .. 15,331
1862 .. 224,171 14,843

Our imports, which were 74,163 tons of ore and
20,317 tons of regulus in 1861, increased to 84,054
tons of ore and 35,388 tons of regulus in 1862.

TIN.

The returns of dues paid to the Stan nary Court,
which are made up to Sept. 29 in each year, give
the production of the tin mines of Cornwall and
Devonshire as 11,841 tons of ore, producing of white
or metallic tin 7,578 tons, valued at £879,048. The
keeper of mining records gives the production of
the whole year 1862 as 14,127 tons of tin ore, pro-
ducing 8,476 tons of metallic tin, valued at £983,216,
This is the largest quantity of this metalliferous
ore which has ever been produced in any one year,
the probability being that this will be exceeded by
the yield of the Cornish tin mines in the present year.
For certainly more than 2,000 years tin has been
obtained from Cornwall and Devonshire, and yet we
find the granite and clay slate rocks of these counties
yielding a larger quantity than ever to the industry
of man, and there does not appear any reason for
supposing that we are exhausting any of the stan-
niferous districts. A fear has been expressed by
many that the copper mines of Cornwall are nearly
worked out. That there has been a falling off in the
quantities of ore mined for some years past is cer-
tain ; but if ever mining is permitted to be carried
on again with honesty and zeal, so that the full
amount of the subscribed capital shall be expended
in subterranean explorations, judiciously directed
by experienced miners, we believe it will be found
that ample stores of copper are yet to be discovered.

LEAD AND SILVER.
The produce of this metal has shown a steady in
crease.

Of Lead Ore. Of Lead.
Tons. Toas.
In 1860 the returns were .. 89,031 .. 63,525
In 1861 1) .. 90,696 .. 65,643
In 1862 11 .. 95,311 .. 69,013
The silver produced from this lead in 1862
amounted to 686,123 ounces.

GOLD.
From time to time, after long intervals, there
have been small quantities of this precious metal
produced in various parts of these islands, and, con-
sequently on the discovery, there has been much ex-
citement. The discovery of gold in the Leadhills,
Lanarkshire; at Wicklow, in Ireland; and more
recently in the neighbourhood of Dolgelly, in North
Wales, are examples, in each case, of enthusiastic
hopes deferred.
We have, however, in the returns before us, a
reliable statement of the production from one gold
mine (Vigra and Clogan) for the past two years.
In 1861 the quartz lodes upon which they are
working gave 2,784 standard ounces of gold, which
were sold for X 10,816 17s. In 1862 the produc-
tion reached 5,299 standard ounces, which were
sold for £20,390.
we find by the list of mines given in the Appen-
dix to the "Mineral Statistics" that no less than 24
workings are entered as gold mines. From none of
these have we as yet any return of gold; we shall
wait with much curiosity the publication of
the
statistics in 1864.
The returns of ziric ores, of iron pyrites, and of
other less valuable metalliferous and earthy mine•
rals are given, the total results being as follows
for the year 1862 :

METALS PRODUCED FROM lIRITISU MINERALS AND COALS
Gold .. 5,209 oz. £20,390 value.
Tin 8,476 tons 933,216 „
Copper 14,843 „ 1,493,241 „
Lead
Silver
Si ..
Iron, pig 3,943,469 9,351,672 If
Other metals, estimated 250,000 „
_ .

Total
value of British metals £14,231,453
Cls . ..... 81,538,333 tons 20,409,554 value

£34,691,037
Earthy minerals, such as barytes and lime, salt,
and the more valuable clays, are estimated at
£1,750,000, and we find, by a return compiled by
Mr. Robert Hunt in 1859, that the value of building
stories, slates, &c., amounted to £7,954,075. We
learn, therefore, that the actual wealth added to the
national store, as obtained from our native rocks,
amounts to nearly £45,000,0000.

Mr. ADDERLEY, in the course of his remarks at
the Coleshill Farmers' Club, said :—lle Was dining
within the last fortnight with the Social Science Association
in Edinburgh, and although the object of that association
was a grand one—to promote the science which tended to
the advancement of civilisation--it was a very convivial as-
sociation. He remembered that the learned Scotch lord who
in the morning delivered a learned speech upon the amend-
meat of the law sang comic songs in the evening
after
dinner, and smacked Lord Brougham on the shoulder to
keep in chorus. The gentlemen of that association Were per-
suaded of two Maxims—that nothing was good which was
not social, and that nothing was social which was :Inf.
---. good,
and he too firmly believed in them.
The course of exchange at New York on London 'or bills at
GO days' sight is 157 to 1571 per cent., and the p •
rennum on
gold Is 43 to 431 per cent. At these rates there id very little
profit ou the iniPortation Of gold from the ,T__,, _ , y
uultecl btatto.