1872.] (257) 
PROGRESS IN SCIENCE, 
MINING, 
OnE of the most important branches of enquiry undertaken by the Royal Coal 
Commission related to the statistics of the production, consumption, and ex- 
port, of our mineral fuel. The labour of this enquiry—which is represented 
by the third volume of the Report, consisting of 500 pages—devolved almost 
exclusively upon Mr. Robert Hunt, F.R.S., the share taken by the late Sir R. 
Murchison being merely nominal. In consequence of this additional work, 
followed as it unhappily was by a return of illness, the Keeper of Mining 
Records was unable to issue his annual volume of ‘‘ Mineral Statistics ” last 
year. During the past quarter, however, the official returns have been pub- 
lished,* and we hence learn the amount and value of the minerals raised in the 
United Kingdom in 1870. According to our usual custom, we here present a 
general summary of these Statistics :-— 
Tons. £ 
Coal) =. es Pic Ke 110,431,192 27,607,798 
Iron ore a6 56 a 14,370,054 4,951,220 
Copper ore... 56 56 106,693 437,851 
Tin Ore =. ac 46 Be 15,234 1,002,357 
Lead ore a oe oe 98,176 1,200,209 
Zinc ore 5 Ae xs 13,586 41,058 
Iron pyrites (sulphur ore) .. 58,428 36,026 
Arsenic t ay Re Bf 4,050 17,739 
Gossans, ochres, &c. .. a0 4,844 4,261 
Wolfram and tungstate of soda 51 653 
Manganese Bs Se i 4,838 19,499 
Nickel .. 6 ie He £ 27 
Barytes .. Ae Ae ye 6,515 33771 
Clays, fine and fire (estimated) 1,200,000 450,000 
Earthy minerals, various (do.) a 575,000 
Salt ois Ae os ae 1,489,450 744,725 
Coprolites (estimated) Ss 35,000 50,000 
Total value ete 5 a exe £37,142,194 
In discussing these figures, Mr. Hunt calls attention to the increase in the 
production of coal, the produce of 1870 having exceeded that of the previous 
year by upwards of three millions of tons. The great activity in the iron 
trade caused the consumption of a large proportion of this additional coal, but 
at the same time our exports were increased. 
With the statistics of our own coal produdtion it is interesting to compare 
that of the United States. From the American official returns for 1870 we 
learn that during that year the total produétion of coal of all kinds amounted 
to 34,600,461 tons. Of this quantity 15,368,437 tons consisted of anthracite 
and semi-anthracite which had been sent to market, and 3,842,876 tons of 
similar fuels retained for home consumption. The bituminous coal sold 
amounted to only 4,589,148 tons, and even out of this quantity 420,683 tons 
had been imported ; but, in addition to what found its way into the market, it 
is estimated that 10,800,000 tons of bituminous coal were mined and con- 
sumed in the United States, without being included in the tabular returns. 
The statistics further show that, in the great coal-producing counties of 
* Mineral Statistics of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, for the year 1870. 
With an Appendix. By Ropert Hunt, F.R.S., Keeper of Mining Records. London: Long- 
mans, and Stanford. 1872. 
t Nearly 2000 tons of this arsenic will have been obtained from the burning-houses on the 
tin pie A considerable quantity is produced at Swansea, of which no return has been ob- 
tainable. 
VOL. II. (N.S.) 2. 
