SILVER 803 



with a valuable course of ore, but frequently work for months, earning scarcely 

 enough for bare subsistence. While thus employed the buscon receives half the 

 prod nee of the ore he breaks ; and it may be readily conceived that if he should fall 

 in with a rich deposit, his gains should be very large : thus, instances have been 

 known where a man has obtained, in this way, 1,000 or 1,500 dollars in a month. 



The owners of the mine, however, have the option of taking away such a 

 discovery from the hands of the miner, after a short notice, and working it on their 

 own account, or, as it is termed, hacienda account, when they pay the miners a dollar 

 per day each, without any share of the ore. To do this, however, the mine must be 

 rich, and as it is, a very large portion of the ore in Guanaxuato is raised by the bus- 

 cones, who divide the produce equally with the owners. 



The ore, being broken and separated as much as possible from the rocky parts 

 underground, is tied up in the botas of bullocks' hides, which are drawn to the 

 surface by the malacates, in the same manner as the water. In some of the 

 Guanaxuato mines, labourers are employed to take the ore to the surface, and these 

 will carry on their backs from 2 to 3 cwts., and perform several journeys in a day 

 from the bottom of a mine 400 or 500 yards in depth. At the mine of Mellado 

 there is a very excellent double tramroad, on an inclined plane of timber, upon 

 which the ore is drawn up in waggons to a height of 200 varas from the bottom 

 of the mine, where the diagonal joins the perpendicular shaft at about the same 

 depth from the surface: each carriage will contain 160 arrobas of 25 Ibs. each. The 

 power applied is that of a malacate working underground ; and here at 200 yards 

 from the surface, and shut out from the light of day, one is surprised to behold 

 a storehouse and stabling, with all the necessary appurtenances for thirty-six horses, 

 employed in moving the machine above mentioned, nine horses working at a time. 



Having brought the ore to the surface, it is conveyed to the mine-yard, and 

 placed in separate heaps, under the eye of the buscon or miner, who prepares it for 

 sale. At a stated time the auctioneer appears, accompanied by a clerk ; he walks 

 round to the heaps of ore in succession, and sells them in the following manner : 



Standing before the heap of ore to which he invites attention, those who come to 

 purchase step forward and whisper into his ear the price they severally offer. When 

 all have done, ho declares aloud the name of the highest bidder, and the price, which 

 are entered in a book by the clerk ; and the same process is followed throughout until 

 all the ore is sold. 



The practice in the Eeal del Monte differs from both the others, but assimilates 

 a little towards the Guanaxuato system, inasmuch as the miner has a share of the ore, 

 called partido. This partido system has prevailed from a very early period, and has 

 led to many broils and disturbances with the miners. 



The method of extracting the silver from the ore, at the establishments maintained 

 for that purpose, called 'haciendas de beneficio,' or 'haciendas de Plata,' of which there 

 are many of great extent in the country, is thus carried forward. The Haciendas 

 Nueva in Fresnillo, of Sauceda in Zacatecas, of Barrera in Guanaxuato, and of 

 Eegla at Eeal del Monte, are the principal establishments of this kind at present in 

 use. That in Fresnillo is the largest used for amalgamation only, the outer walls 

 being 492 varas in length by 412 varas in width. It was erected at a cost of 300,000 

 dollars, and is very complete in all its arrangements. 



The Hacienda de Eegla combines very extensive smelting works with those for 

 amalgamation. 



The ore being placed in heaps in the yard is broken by hammers into pieces of 

 moderate size, and carefully picked ; the richer parts being set aside for smelting, and 

 the poorer for amalgamation. 



In the smelting process, the ore after being crushed, is mixed with slag or remains 

 from former smeltings, litharge or oxide of lead, and a little iron ore and lime. 

 These are put into the furnace with charcoal, and the silver is brought down with the 

 lead ; the two metals being afterwards separated in refining furnaces. The German 

 high furnace is usually employed, although the Castilian furnace described in the 

 article on LEAD, would probably be found preferable. 



It is estimated that about an eighth part of the silver produced in Mexico is ob- 

 tained by smelting ; but as only the richest ores are subjected to this process, on 

 account of the expense, which is from 151. to 20?. per ton, except in a district like 

 Zimapan, where lead ore is abundant, the proportion which the quantity of ore 

 smelted bears when compared with that reduced by amalgamation must be very 

 small indeed. 



The process of amalgamation, to which attention is now more particularly directed, 

 depends upon the great affinity of quicksilver for silver. In order, however, to make 

 this known property available, certain operations are requisite, to reduce the silver 

 contained in the ore to such a state that the quicksilver will readily combine with it. 



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