1 P)0 SIBERIA. 



il'pu.sits till' Mi|)i'ilici;il lay'-r cuiimnIS nl an alliiMiiiii kiiuwii as piiat. Tti',' llii<kii''» nt thu- 

 ])• ill, varius considf^iiihly ami lip; idatioii brtw*'<^ii the thickness of llie p<jat ainl lliat I'l 

 iIk' aiiiirfniii> alliiviiiMi (liiiTiiiiiii's tin; .systnii (if wurkiiif,' I'ollowfid tor i- x tract in j.' tlif goM. 

 Uddrc entering upon tin- actnal i-xploitatiuii of tlic auriferous bods, cxploiatoiy workings ai'' 

 Conducted for dclerniining tiic tliicknoss of lluist; boils ami tlioir liclau'Ss in gold. In tlios'- 

 parts of Siberia where tin- soil is unfrozfjti, the exploration of tlif deposit is generally mad'- 

 in tli(! wintri' by means «{' pits sunk into tlif linzi'n ground. 'J'li<' nirthod adopted is as follows: 

 in antninn I lie pits arc laid out ami sunk to the water level, when the work is stopped 

 and the pits left ojxmi for a certain number of days depending upon the degree of coM, iIm- 

 depth ui the pit ami tlie kind (d' soil. The pits are carefully protected from snow. "Wli-'ii tli'' 

 pit has sulliciently frozen through, a wood fire is lighted at the bottom and when the bottom of 

 the pit has thawed to a depth of about one foot, the thawed layer is easily removed with 

 a pick and shovel. Notwithstanding the severe frosts, the freezing of the pits can only be carried 

 on to a depth of four sagenes. In those localities where the soil is frozen the exploratory 

 pits do not present such difficulties, as they arc made in hard ground and without the inflow 

 of water. The specimens of the gi'ound taken for assay from the bottom of the pit are washeil 

 in buddies in warm winter quarters erected upon the workings. The assays are taken at about 

 each half foot through the thickness of the deposit. 



In the Yeniseisk region the winter exploring parties consist of fivemeu with one overseer,and 

 cost about three thousand roubles. Such a party is able to sink about 150 pits three sagenes deep. 

 The removal of the peat is carried on during the autumn or winter, or else simultaneously with 

 the extraction of the sand, or else slightly in advance of it. If the peat be removed in the 

 autumn or winter a thin layer is left over the gold bearing alluvium to protect it against 

 the influence of the severe frosts, and then this layer is removed in the spring. Sometimes 

 advantage is taken of the spring floods, to wash away a portion of the peal. Only in a few, 

 rare instances is the peat, containing a very small amount of gold, washed throughout its whole 

 extent; as a rule it is carried away and thrown aside. The extraction of the auriferous sand 

 is conducted in the simplest manner possible by means of picks crowbars and shovels. How- 

 over, in the Olekminsk legion the use of explosives in the mining works is yearly increasing, 

 and the annual consumption of dynamite at the gold workings of this region amounts to 

 about a thousand pouds. The auriferous sand is transported to the washing machines in two- 

 wheeled carts drawn by horses, along a natural road or along a road made of logs. In some 

 of the gold regions the transport at certain workings is done in trucks along a tram line. 

 The rare application of mechanical motors and appliances is frequently made a subject of 

 reproach to the Siberian gold workers, but it is necessary to remember not only the situation 

 of the workings in the most remote localities, void of any road capable of transporting heavy 

 w^eights, but also the entire absence of any mechanical machine or other industrial works in 

 Siberia which could furmsh the gold workings with the requisite tools, mechanism, machines 

 or appliances. The carriage of such articles from the Urals is exceedingly expensive and some- 

 times doubles and triples their cost. Nevertheless, at some of the workings in the Olekminsk 

 region and Amour province, there is a comparatively large application of mechanical ap- 

 pliances in the place of hand labour. This is particularly observable in the workings of 



