14 Macfarlane on the Primitive Formations 



Besides the four establishments here described, which are 

 in full operation, there are a good many deposits connected with 

 fahlbands, which are either abandoned, or have not as yet been 

 worked. Of these the fallowing may be mentioned — the cobalt 

 mines of Svartefield, very similar in character to those of Skuterud, 

 the copper works in Sognedalen, and on Kobberbergselven. 

 There are also numerous localities of pyrites containing small 

 quantities of nickel or cobalt, or both. The magnetic pyrites from 

 Hoiassen contains three per cent of nickel and six tenths per cent of 

 cobalt; that from E-ustand, six tenths per cent of nickel and one per 

 cent of cobalt ; that from Olafsbye one per cent of cobalt, and the 

 iron pyrites from Satersberg one per cent of cobalt. 



There are however other deposits of pyrites in this formation, 

 whose connection with fahlbands is more uncertain. Such 

 localities for instance are those of Meinkier Grube, containing 

 copper pyrites, nickeliferous magnetic pyrites and cobaltiferous 

 iron pyrites ; and Steenstrup's Kiesgrube, on Lyngdalselven, con- 

 taining the same minerals. Dahll* looks upon these as contact de- 

 posits, and connects them with the intrusion of so-called gabbro. 



Closely allied in nature to the fahlbands above described are 

 certain other zones of impregnated rock, occuring in this forma- 

 tion. The impregnating material, however, is magnetic iron ore, 

 the bands containing which scarcely possess such a length in 

 the direction of the strike, as the fahlbands. Moreover the 

 magnetic iron ore, besides occurring in this finely divided state, 

 forms considerable beds in the impregnated zones referred to. It 

 is from these deposits that the iron works of Sweden and Norway 

 are supplied with the material from which their celebrated iron is 

 prepared. These deposits are of frequent occurrence in the south 

 of Norway, especially in the neighbourhood of Arendal, where 

 there exist eighteen different beds of ore, which well repay the 

 cost of working them. They are situated in a narrow straight 

 zone, which runs parallel with the coast for a distance of six 

 miles. The prevailing rock is gneiss, which graduates into mica 

 and hornblende slate. The ore is magnetic oxyd, usually 

 without any admixture of ferric oxide. The minerals most fre- 

 quently accompanying it are augito, hornblende, garnet, epidote, 

 calcspar, and the three essential constituents of the gneiss, espe- 

 cially mica. Besides these, about thirty other minerals have 

 been mentioned as having been found in the deposits, but these are 



* Om Kongsberg's Erts District ; Christiana, 1860. 



