94 



THE NATURALIST IN NICARAGUA. [Ch. VI. 



hundred ounces each, and in that state sent to England. 

 At Santo Domingo about two thousand tons of ore are 

 treated monthly, and the whole cost of treatment, in- 

 cluding all charge for mining, carriage, reduction, amal- 

 gamation, and management, is only about eight shillings 

 per ton. The loss of mercury is about twenty pounds 

 for every thousand tons of ore treated ; the smallness of 

 the loss in comparison with that of many other gold- 

 extracting establishments being greatly due to the em- 



SECTION ACROSS SAN ANTONIO LODE. 



A, Lode; B, Decomposed doleryte ; C, Surface soil ; 

 D, Quartz rocks in surface soil. 



ployment of sodium in the amalgamating processes. 

 The loss of mercury usually occurring in amalgamation 

 work is principally caused by its mineralisation, and 

 sodium has such an intense affinity for oxygen and 



