8 ~ On the Quicksilver mine of Santa Barbara, Peru. 
The deposit of cinnabar at St. Barbara is not ina vein; as at 
New Almaden, but is disseminated through the strata, and in- 
-timately mingled with the sandstone. No walls exist, and the 
limits of the ore are irregular and undefined. Like ‘all other 
similar formations the. quantity of ore is very great and the 
The furnaces used in reducing the ores were of stone and 
brick, poorly Sate, and thevapors were conducted through 
aludels or earthen jars jo cined end to end and leadin ng from the 
upper part of the furnace, a distance of from eight to ten 
yards, where the smoke and vapor escape into the open air. 
These aludels are about two feet long, by a middle diameter of 
eight inches, and four inches at the ends. Four lines of them 
lead from each furnace, lying side by side upon the ground. 
The furnaces and condensers are of poor materials, the open- 
ings imperfectly closed, and the firing badly conducted, so that 
great losses of quicksilver occur and the workmen suffer from 
the poisonous vapors. The fuel is of dried. grass and the dry 
dung of the Llama, both scarce and almost valueless as fuel, 
the quantity consumed to produce a feeble effect being very 
eat. The country is completely without wood, except in a 
few deep ravines where some stunted bushes grow, worth about 
$20 a cord, equal to 145 Llama loads. None of it exceeds three- 
fourths of an inch in diameter. There is some turf, better in 
quality than the other fuels, but insufficient to maintain a large 
“5 ae operation. The author searched the country for 
ten leagues about Sta. Barbara for coal, but in vain. ery 
poor quality of bituminous slate exists in considerable quan- 
tity about nine leagues from Santa Barbara, but aside from its 
low = uality, the distance of mountain roads precludes its use. 
tory of this mine shows extreme difficulty from the 
want of fuel, and even stoppages for several months at a time. 
The author considers at length the questions of labor, quick- 
silver lost in reduction, and markets and transportation of 
quicksilver, giving much curious information of an economical 
nature, which our space exclu 
In conclusion, it appears that the St. Barbara district in Peru 
is extensive, the mercurialized sandstone being practically in- 
a in quantity, but the grade of ore very low, not over 
of one per cent, and the richest portions not averag- 
cae over 1} per cent. The records of the mines have been 
very loosely kept, and offer no reliable data. The furnaces are 
pr ble for their worthlessness, which is still more true of 
fuel. A system of concentration of the poor ores by ma- 
_ chinery and water, which is in aerate quantity, was pro- 
ay by Baron Nordenflycht, which deserves serious attention. 
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