30 TIN MINING IN PERAK. 



Grs. 



Weight of gold dust ... 1,704 

 Weight of smelted gold 1,556| 



Loss ... 147^ equal to 8'65 per cent. 



Grs. 



Weight of gold dust ... 10,044 

 Weight of smelted gold 9,936 



Loss ... 108 equal to r07 per cent. 



The composition of the smelted bullion in this last lot 

 was : — 



Fine gold 92-35 



Silver 6S7 



Other metals 1-28 



100-00 



The dust is mostly very fine grained, but in a few places it 

 is coarser, though to find grains as large as split peas is very 

 rare, and nothing over the size or "w^eight of half a sovereign has 

 been recorded. In the upper parts of some of the valleys 

 the grains ai'e mixed "vvith quartz and are more or less spongy in 

 texture. The Chinese say that as a rule the finer the grain the 

 better the quality of the gold dust and experiment bears this out, 

 for the coarser grains shew, on examination, that they contain 

 more silver than those of smaller size. 



In very dry weather quite a quantity of auriferous tin - sand 

 is washed from the coarse gravel and stones in the bed of the 

 Batang Padang river at Tapali just above the bridge. The gold 

 dust separated from it differs from that of other localities in 

 containing grains of a nearly white colour. This is apparently 

 due to the presence of one or moi-e of the platinum group of 

 metals, possibly to rohodium. With this exception none of 

 these valuable metals have been noticed in the alluvial deposits 

 of Perak. 



At a mine at Changkat Mamot, near Klian Bharu, in 

 Batang Padang, Mr. C. B. Cerruti has found some native 

 amalgam. It is composed of gold and mercury, and is found 

 distributed in grains through the wash -dirt. It occurs in the 

 lowest part of tlie " karang" next to the bedrock on some rising 



