Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1864-11-29
Mineral s., a. Sf s.. Great : ssa Britain

Mineral StatiStics Of Great Britain
AID Ireland for 1858.
We obtain from the published reports, for
1853, the following respecting the mineral
wealth of the United Kingdom:
COAL.
OF this, the most important mineral pro-
duct, the enormous quantity of &, 292,2l5
tons was obtained in 1868, being an increase
Of more than $4,000 tons upon the pro-
duct Of 1852. The exports of coal in the last
three years have varied but little in amount.
Thus, in 1881, 7,222, 7l8 tons were exported;
1852, 1871 $40 tons; 1853, 7,529.S4l tons.
Hence it follows that there must have been
greatly increased energy in some branches OF
British manufacture to account for thfs large
consumption of coal. In 1862 itappears that
considerable quantities were stocked, especl,
ally in Lancashire and other districts devoted
to textile manufactures this does not seem to
have been the case last year, the whole being
returned as "sold or used"
The great extension Of coal mining -
shown by the fact that, in 1858, the number OF
colleries at work amounted to 1887; whereas,
In 1853, the number had risen to !, lSO. In
the great northern coalields Of Durham and
Northumberland, we find the production OF
its colleries has increased from 1850, 356
tons in 1852, to u, Isl, l46 tons in 1858. At
the same time time, there has been decrease
OF the quantities shipped to foreign countries
and sent coastwise to the extent Of 4l0, 1853
tons; but the Northeastern railway carried
out Of this coalield 2,U9, 1903 tons Of coal
and coke more than it transported In 1867.
In the returns given Of coal production, the
quantities wasted in "getting" and at the
pits mouth is not stated. 1t may be inferred
that this is very large when we find the coal
trade Of the north giving in their report the
duff and waste" from their own district as
$4,000 tons. Taking this into consideration,
it is evident that the rate at which the ex-
haustion Of these coal beds is now progress
ing cannot be regarded as less than 9O,OOO,-
600 tons per annum.
IRON.
The iron produce OF the United Kingdom
amounted to 9,08S, 060 tons in 1868. OF this
the Cleveland district, in the North Riding
of Yorkshire, produced 2,553,SO5 tons Of
afgillaceous carbonate Of iron; Scotland,
l,5O0, 900 tons, principally Of black band iron
ore; while Lancashire gave 65S,643 tons, and
Cumberland 690,974 tons, Of their remark
able red hematite. This iron ore, with about
$4,000 tons imported, fed 597 blast furnaces,
which yielded the following amounts Of pig
iron: England, 2,45l ,2ll tons; Wales, 1893,
800 tons; Scotland, 100000 tons; total,
4,5l0,04 tons. This was SCI, 57l tons more
pig iron than made in 1862. This will ac-
count for the extra consumption Of very
nearly 2,0O0, 900 tons Of Goals.
COPPER.
The copper mines have, for some few years,
exhibited a regular falling of in their rate Of
production. fwo hundred and twenty-five
copper mines, of which 100 are in Devonshire
and Cornwall, gave 2lO,947 tons of copper
ore, the money value of this being f1, LOO, 554
or about 81, 502,770. BY smelling this ore
l4,247 tons Of fine copper is obtained. In ad.
dition to this q, 1856 tons of copper ore were
imported from foreign and colonial mines
which gave 4,46l tons of metal, sold at public
sales; and 70, 1873 tons Of copper ore, produ'
cling II 500 tons Of copper, were sold by pri'
vate contract. OF the foreign ore there wa:
imported from Chilli Is 1866 tons, and 1S,7Os
tons Of regulus, while Cuba sent 1850 ton:
of ore and S5S tons Of regulus.
TIN.
From the tin mines Of Cornwall and De,
vonshire, in the year 1868, larger quantity
of tin was obtained than in all probability
was ever before produced; the tin ore raised
being IL, Isl tons, which gave l0,0O6 tons oil
white tmetallic) tin. When we remember
that these tin mines have been most indus
triously worked for more than three thousand
years, this return will convey some idea Of
the continued richness Of this stanniferous
district, and Of the enormous value of the
original deposit. We have recently been
made acquainted with some curious facts
connected with the mode Of occurrence Of tin
in the " lode" or mineral vein. All the old
tin mines were shallow workings, and many
mines were abandoned at comparatively small
depths when the miners " came to the vel
lows" by which they meant copper ore F; the
"yellows," as the phrase was, "always cut
ting out the tin" Dolcoath, and many other
mines which were worked for tin, passed
gradually into copper mines, and were then
prosecuted to great depths for that metal
Passing, however, through the copper ore in
the lode, the miners have again come into
rich deposits of tin. From Dolcoath mine
at depth Of nearl y 300 fathoms, the adyep-
turers obtained, last year, l,026 tons OF tin
ore, worth f69,74l. Many other mines are
exhibiting precisely the same conditions, and
the belief that the ores Of the valuable metal
tin occur only near the surface is exploded
England imported, principally through Hol-
land and from British India; piG Singapore,
2,72S tons of tin and $50 tons of tin ore and
regulus.
The lead mines of these islands produced
81, 2S3 tons OF lead ore, which yielded IS, 900
tons of metallic lead, and 634,0 04 ounces Of
silver. The lead mines Of the United King