Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1885-09-18
PERU'S BIG SILVER MINE.

PERU'S BIG SILVER MINE.
A Gigantic Enterprise TO be Deyei-
oPed by Americans.
New York sun.
Consul Brent, st Callao, Peru, has
reported that negotiations have been
commenced for the construction of a
railroad from Aroya TO Cerro de Pas
CO, for the purpose of reaching the
celebrated silver mines at that place,
which are said to bs the second largest
in the world. Prior to the present
century the mines Wer6 worked for
a king by enslaved Indians, and are
said to have yielded 81, ZOO, 600. The
Peruvian government has entered
into contract with a syndicate, of
which Mayor Grace and Michael
Grace, of New York, are said to be
nembers, which, with capital stock
Of about SIS, 600, 900, is to work the
mines for part of the profits.
Mr.. Csarles r Flint, a member of
the firm of William r. Grace s Co,
said: This report is in the main
correct. a syndicate is now being
formed to finish the railroad, open
and work the mines and otherwise
make use of the concession. Henry
Meiggs made a contract with the
Peruvian government to build rail-
road from Cal--ao, the port of Lima,
to the Cerfo de Pasco mines. His
contract amounted to S27, 0G0, 900. He
died when the line had got as far as
Chiatcha. The road is cut and MOST
ly graded from there to Aroya, and
from Aroya to the mines, about fifty
miles, Is over very easy country,
level table land, The heavy work
was done by Meiggs. Between Callao
and Arayo, a distance of little more
than 125 miles, the road ascends to
the height of Is, 900 feet above the sea
and it starts practically from the
sea level"
Since their discovery by Europeans,
shortly after the conquest of Peru by
Pizarro, the sill yer mines of the Cerro
de Pasco have held a high rank among
productive mines, being second only
to the mines Of Potosi. They were
discovered by a native, who, while
herding sheep on the hills, was over
taken by mig at. He piled together
few stones, under the lee of which he
| built fire. In the morning he no
ticed that the heat had split some of
the stones of which he had built his
| shelter, and he was attracted by some-
thing from what had been the Interior
of enc of the broken stones. He pick
ed the stone up and took it home to
show to his friends The bright SUR
face was found to b. silver, and the
| of 40
discovered
From 1888 to 1924 the mines of
Cerro de Pasco are said to have pro
duced nearly 70, 900 tons of silver. A
report on the mines says; All the
work seems to have been done either
at hap hazard or according to the
caprice of the workmen. The only
method pursued consists in cutting an
inclined gallery alone, Or with ramif
cations also inclined The descent
into the cuts is made by means of
roughly hewn stairs. The only method
consists in following the incline of
the ore" There are two classes of
workmen, the barreteros. or miners,
who are paid by the job, and the
aprls, who carry out the ore, AID are
paid by the amount brought out All
the mines in operation are free from
water, for the reason that as soon as
water is reached the miners stop work
Formerl y the richer mines were work
ed in spite of the water, but to>dav the
workmen confess their inability to
work against the water, and leave
their work. There are 179 n ines in
operation to-day, and 694 which have
| ho
less silver each year, because several
are abandoned each year, on account
of water From 1876 to 1873 the pro-
duct of the mines, which varied in
Number from 700 to score or two,
was never less than 100 900 marks, or
$500
The ore is brok at the mouth of
each excavation and carried by horse
TO the haciendas, where the metal is
extracted A few years ago there
we're 129 haciendas on the Cerro,
some of which were as much as nine
miles from the mines. The mills are
run by water, and during the summer
have to stop work for lack of water
power During the winter they run
day and night. The American pro-
cess of cold amalgamation is used in
nearly all the haciendas, The salt
used in the amalgamation is all
! brought from the San Bias mine,
thirtys six miles away, on horses. All
of the processes of amaleamation are
of the most inadequate kind being
carried on with great loss of power,
time and material. The silver when
separated from the amalgam,
is known as pima, and is taken to
central establishment called the Casa
de Fundlcion, where it is smelted in
to bars. A toll of cents is paid to
the management of the Casa for each
eight ourc,s sme1ted in'o bars.
From the Cerro mines the bars
all go to Lima, where they are sold
| according to an assay made at the
| Government mint. They are nearly
pure, containing seldom more than
per cent of copper The entire pro
cess of mining and extracting the ore,
as at present carried on at the Cerro
de Pasco mines, is extremely expen-
sive, There are several trans ship
ments of the o,e between its place of
mining and the hacienda Nearly a
pound of quick silver is lost of silver
extracted from the ore, and at some Of
the haciendas a third of the metal is
lost The Cerro is we'll situated, how
ever, for the introduction OF modera
methods, because it has at hand the
materials for the smelling process,
and large deposits of coal. The MINIS
show one of the richest deposits of
silver known, and if properly and &C.
onomically worked may yet regain
their old reputation.