1865.] Mining, Mineralogy, and Metallurgy. 685 



At the meeting of the Mining Engineers, at Manchester, several 

 matters of great interest to the coal- miner were brought forward and 

 discussed.* There were no questions, however, of sufficient general 

 interest to occupy our space, especially as all the communications and 

 the discussions thereon will be published by the associated societies 

 of Newcastle and South Wales. The value of those meetings is great 

 — and we are surprised, seeing how evident this has been rendered, by 

 the progress of the Institutions of Mining Engineers in Newcastle 

 and South Wales — that they have not been extended. The annual 

 meeting of the Miners' Association of Cornwall and Devonshire was 

 held at Falmouth, on the 31st of August. Several papers on the 

 peculiarities of the mineral districts in Cornwall — on Mine Surveying, 

 and on other allied subjects, were read ; and a letter from Mr. Arthur 

 Dean on the presence of gold in some of the Cornish pyritic lodes, 

 especially in the large lode of sulphur ore at Dowgas, near St. Anstell. 

 It was stated by the Honorary Secretary and founder of the Associa- 

 tion, Mr. Robert Hunt, F.E.S., that three classes, for the instruction of 

 the working miner in Chemistry and Mineralogy, were progressing 

 most satisfactorily under the guidance of Dr. C Le Neve Foster. 



Mineralogy. 



M. de Zepharovich, of the University of Prague, has transmitted 

 to the Mineralogical Class of the Academy or Sciences at Vienna, a 

 Memoir on the -Bournonite, Malachite and Corynite of Olsa, in Carinthia. 



The Corynite is a new species of pyrites, which is extremely abun- 

 dant in the sulphate of lime and carbonate of iron of the explored beds 

 of the mine at Olsa. The Cm-ynite appears to belong to the nickeli- 

 ferous pyrites, ranging between Gersdorffite and TJllmannite, appearing 

 to be a compound of sulphide and arsenide of nickel, combined with a 

 sulphite and antimoniate of nickel. The remarks on the other minerals 

 have no general interest. 



A new mineral, Iodide of Lead, has been discovered in Chili, 

 containing 10 per cent, of lead. It is spoken of as being of high 

 commercial value as an ore of lead, independently of the iodine which 

 it contains. 



Bismuth in large quantities is now being obtained by a small com- 

 pany of miners, in the Hjampu mountain, only just below the limits 

 of perpetual snow. We alluded, in one of our early numbers, to the 

 use of Bismuth, in some absurd attempts which had been made to 

 transmute the baser metals. The following abstract, from a more 

 extended table, shows the remarkable variations in the price of this 

 metal dependent upon this delusion. 



In 1844, Metallic Bismuth was 1(R the pound. In 1844 and 1845, 

 it rose to 2s. 6d., and this price continued to 1858, except on one or 

 two occasions when the price rose to 4s. per pound. In 1861, the 

 price of Bismuth suddenly advanced to 9s. 6d. ; and in 1862 it reached 

 20s. the pound ; since which time it has fallen back to 10s. 6d. The 



* 'Colliery Guardian,' July 15 and 22. 



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