164 Copper Mines of Chili. [April, 
Urmeneta owns and is working the Chalaca mine in depth 
from the lower levels of the Piké. Even if he did not own 
the sett to the W. he might undermine his neighbour, for 
anyone may run into the adjacent mine, if his shaft be the 
deeper of the two, and break what metal he can, the only 
reparation to the injured man being one-half of the profits. 
The reason of these anomalies is that as Government levies 
an export duty of 5 per cent on all minerals, the law offers 
every facility for their acquisition. All mines belong to 
Government, which gives the first comer a title to them with- 
out charge, the first condition being that he works them, 
otherwise his title drops. 
4. Chalaca mine of 200 varas, virtually worked out. 
Both great mines, and deeper than the 
5. Rosatio Piké; both yielded at the same depth 
x San José purple sulphuret, and both have suffered 
the same decline in the produce of the ore 
as we have described in the Piké. 
The Dichosa once produced largely, 
but north of it the lode breaks up, and 
though tributers make profits very little 
regular work is done upon the branches. 
The total production of these mines is about 1250 units 
daily. Of this about half comes from the Piké; and of 
this half may be said to be extracted from the regular 
workings below the adit level, and half by tributers from the 
abandoned stopes, or by ore pickers from the refuse heaps. 
Half of this yield leaves the hill either hand-picked or jigged 
to 25 per cent; the other half will stand at about 12 per 
cent. The scarcity of water is greatly felt and occasions 
great loss here as at all the other great mines. M. Urmeneta 
expects to drain from his adit enough to run a concentrating 
establishment near its mouth, in which beside a pair of 
Huot and Guyler’s beautiful piston hutches there are twenty 
English hutches to be worked by hand and twenty by steam. 
He even hopes to run two buddles, but appearances hardly 
justify the hope. 
Every mine has its crushing and concentrating establish- 
ment, in which generally a Blake’s breaker, and one or more 
pairs of rolls and sizing sieves prepare the ore for English 
hutches. At the old Piké establishment Petherick hutches 
are used, but they do not give satisfaction. At the Rosario, 
Mr. Lipkin collects the concentrated stuff on the sieve, 
though the hutch is in other respects like and is worked 
similarly to the ordinary still hutch. Considering the 
scarcity of water, I think some form of Rittinger’s Pump- 
7. Dichosa 
8. Guias 
9g. Morculago 
