﻿Vrof. Milne — Across Eicrope and Asia. 397 



This mine is of interest, as it is now, I believe, the only one in the 

 Urals from which the malachite which is such a prominent feature 

 in the decoration of Eussian palaces and churches is obtained. 

 Another great deposit existed at Sisserski in the south, but this is 

 now under water, and consequently unworkable. It was from this 

 latter mine that the large piece lying in the Imperial School of 

 Mines at St, Petersburg was obtained. The depth of the Tagil 

 mine is about 82 sageen (574 feet). As might be anticipated from 

 the situation of the mine and the faulted nature of the surrounding 

 country, it is very wet. In places, water streams upon you in 

 torrents, and some of the levels are like rivulets. In spite of a suit 

 of leather, I was quickly soaked through. In the sides of the levels 

 there are many small holes from which water issues in powerful 

 jets. Boards are placed in front of these, to break their direction. 

 All this water, together with the clayey nature of the ground in 

 which the levels are driven, renders this mine for visitors as un- 

 pleasant as can be well conceived. In many places corresponding 

 points on the walls of the lode appeared in some cases to have been 

 moved to the right or left — lateral shifting which was probably 

 produced at the time of the opening of the fault. At the south-east 

 end of the mine, where the levels are driven along through the clay 

 of the faults, there is a limestone on one side and a slaty rock upon 

 the other. Here there is the greatest yield of malachite. As you 

 travel in an opposite direction towards the north-west end of the 

 mine, the clay appears to be replaced by brown iron-ore, and with, 

 the malachite one also finds some cuprite and phosphate of copper. 

 At this part of the mine slates form both walls of the lode. Con- 

 tinuing still farther to the north-west, you enter the rock which is 

 called diorite. It is very chloritic, and so soft that gunpowder is 

 never required. Here native copper and cuprite are found. 

 Although the ore at this end of the mine is the poorer of the 

 two, yet it is more concentrated. In this diorite an isolated mass 

 of magnetite has been found. 



A section made at right angles to the general direction of the 

 lode, which is from S.E. to N.W. across its northern end, gives a 

 curious parallelism of materials. First, as a wall upon the westerly 

 side, there is limestone. Then comes a band of magnetite containing 

 copper pyrites : this is seven feet broad, and thins out at either 

 end. Next comes a slate, which is followed by a second band of 

 magnetite, and more slate. After this there is a mass of diorite, 

 seventy feet in width, followed by a mass of brown iron-ore ; then 

 once more we have diorite, and last of all slate. 



From the northern end of the workings, where the deposit is cut 

 off by a counter lode, and past which explorations have not as yet 

 been made, to the other extremity of the mine at the southern end, 

 the distance is about half a verst. 



The yield of ore from this mine may be judged of by the quantity 

 I have given as having passed through the smelting works. As 

 labour is cheap, ores which do not yield more than two and a half 

 per cent, of metal can be worked. 



