172 



SIBERIA. 



ante, c.vtract(!<l liorn the deposits, lying near tlie villages of Salair.>k Kumlnik and Ari- 

 pichevo; both iheso (loposit.s are considiMeil very rich. The ores contain from 38.5 to 44.3 

 per (.fill of inm. Tlic mnl coiisiiiiieil at the (joiirievsk works is from ililTerent pits situated 

 Hi H small (listanre from the woiks. Coke is made from coal from the Hachatsk deposit. Lime- 

 slone flux, fire clay, building stone and other indispensible materials for carrying on 

 works, are exploited in the near neighbonrlidoij. Nearly all ili<- wdrkmr-ii employed at the 

 works are local iidiabitants. The lollowing table gives tin; production of tin- works during the 

 last six yr'ius in imml-. 



The excellent quality of the iron ores discovered in the Minousinsk region of the gov- 

 ernment of Yeniseisk, led to the construction of two iron works in this district. The Irbinsk 

 iron works were erected by the Government as early as 1740, on the right bank of the Yen- 

 isei at a distance of about 100 versts to the north-east of the town of Minousinsk. In 1774 

 the Irbinsk works were given over to a private individual and after passing from one hand 

 to another, they became quite disorganized and were ultimately closed. A rich deposit of 

 magnetic iron ore is known within the limits of the 125,000 dessiatines of forest belonging to 

 these works. Another locality, rich in iron ore, occurs in the south-western corner of the gov- 

 ernment of Yeniseisk, where the spurs of the Altai and Sayansk mountains hinder the rapid 

 course of the river Abakana, which falls into the Y''enisei, at several versts from the 

 borders of the government of Tomsk, and 80 versts from the northern frontier of China. 



A Moscow merchant Mr. Kolchougin was the first to penetrate into this district, in 1865, 

 and having discovered a rich deposit of iron ore on the left bank of the river Abakana, at about 

 2CXI versts distance from its junction with the Yenisei, he erected the Abakansk iron works 

 on the spot. The explorations made here showed the presence of thick deposits of magnetic, 

 and spathic iron ore and of brown hematite. The vast thickness of this deposit and the huge 

 store of ore it contains can be seen from the fact that it extends for a distance of about a 

 verst and intersects an entire mountain about 60 sageues high from foot to summit These 

 ores contain from 61 to 65 per cent of metallic iron, and give on smelting from 50 to 60 

 per cent of pig iron; moreover they are very easily smelted. 



