158 GEOLOGICAL RECONNOISSANCE 
to 94 kbs. of purified zinc, and from 12 to 16 fbs of ascoria, 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 be more valuable 
if I 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 zine 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 smelting 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 sulphuret 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 (containg 13.4 parts of sulphur 
to 86.6 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 
