1872.] Copper Mines of Chili. 173 
of the immense amount of work done and copper produced 
from a single large Chili mine :— 
Annual Produdction Cost of 
Date. Annual Outlay. in Quintals Percentage. Extraction 
Metrico. per Quintal. 
Year. Dols. Cents. Dols. Cents. Cents. 
1862 113,981 06 224,789 70 153 51 
1863 ©6118,150 75 248,999 43 153 48 
1864 158,061 20 352,453 16 153 45 
1865 157,986 31 240,317 18 15 66 
1866 145,449 13 261,590 44 15 56 
1867 140,409 76 245,473 08 1330 a7, 
1868 BI7.O52) 43 178,018 39 15 66 
1869 119,329 37 203,000 13 134 59 
1870 159,702 OO 266,000 00 Te 60 
1,231,622 OL 2,220,641 51 
The metrical quintal is equal to 1°971 English cwts. 
About 4000 quintals monthly of rich oxidised ores are 
still extracted from the outcrop of the lode by tributers, 
consisting of carbonates and small quantities of black and 
red oxides, and oxychloride. 
The Portazuela and Bazanillo Alto, owned by Messrs. 
Gonzales and Templeman, yields about as much. The 
same deterioration in depth has, however, there taken 
place as in the Mondaca. 
Desmontes heaps cover the whole north-west face of the 
hill. They contain probably 300,000 tons of 3 to 4 per cent 
ore. The metal as broken from the lode probably carries 
about 6 per cent of copper, for it takes 3 tons to yield 1 ton 
of 13 per cent stuff, and the 2 tons thrown away contain 
about 3 per cent. It is found that the loss in picking when 
the ore is broken by a Blake, exceeds that incurred when 
hand labour is employed; hence the tributers refused to use 
it, but all the large mines find economy in treating the mine 
ores by it. 
Some of the ore is sold to the smelting works on the 
coast, but most of it is heap-roasted and run into regulus 
at two establishments in Carvizal Alto, near the mines, and 
at two others at Canta del Agua, 5 miles from the mines, on 
the road to Carrizal Bajo. 
The scarcity of water entirely precludes water-dressing at 
the mines. For a time a dressing establishment was run 
with success by Mr. Ovalle at the Canta del Agua, the 
water being obtained by cutting across the valley, and 
arresting the brackish water which filters through it from 
