J 58 GEOLOGICAL RECONNOISSANCE 



to 94 ft>s. of purified zinc, and from 12 to 16 lbs of a scoria, containing 

 nearly 50 per cent, of zinc. 



The preceding data I have collected from the most reliable works on 

 metallurgy which I had at my command. They would he more valuable 

 if 1 could have added a calculation of the probable expense at which a 

 furnace can be worked, and also of the probable expense of erection; but 

 the prices of building material, fuel, etc., the wages of workmen, and all 

 other contingent expenses being so extremely variable, the conditions 

 under which the mining and smelting of the ore are carried on in Europe 

 being so little comparable to the circumstances which would surround 

 similar enterprises in Arkansas, I very much doubt whether a calculation 

 of that kind, even if it could have been made with some approach to 

 accuracy, would' have benefited any one anxious to get information on the 

 subject. The above data teach how much metallic zinc can be produced 

 in a certain time, with a furnace of a certain construction and size, how 

 much fuel will be consumed in the operation, and how much of the crude 

 ore is probably required to effect the result; this is all that science can 

 teach—commerce and political economy must furnish the rest of the desired 

 information. To one point, however, I wish to call particular attention, 

 viz: the richness of the Arkansas ores; in all calculations respecting the 

 probable success of active mining and synelting operations, this circum- 

 stance ought to enter as an important item, since, from it, we must reasona- 

 bly expect a comparative large yield of metal, and, therefore, larger 

 returns than ordinary, other circumstances being equal. 



ORES OF LEAD. 



Galena, or sulphui et of lead, is the only ore of lead as yet found in the 

 northern counties of the state. The different kinds of galena which were 

 subjected to analysis, occur all in dolomite, either in pockets or veins; 

 they are all distinctly crystalline, forming, for the most part, large cubes, 

 with perfect cubical cleavage. 



They are almost pure sulphuret of lead (fcontaing 13.4 parts of sulphur 

 to 8G.G parts of lead), being perfectly free from zinc, antimony, and 

 copper; only three of them contain appreciable quantities of iron. All 

 the ores contain some silver, though probably only one of them (No. 14) a 

 sufficient quantity to be profitable for working. For the method employed 



