322 Mineral Riches of the Philippines, [July, 



search about the same locality by others resulted in dis- 

 appointment, no similar deposit being found. 



In the gold-mining quartz which I have seen, the metal is 

 either disseminated throughout the gangue in small specks, 

 or is found in the form of thin sheets about the thickness of 

 paper, and this is laboriously picked out from the crushed 

 mineral with infinite labour, as the process of amalgamation 

 is beyond the means of the native gold-miners. The gold 

 found in the Philippines is generally bought up by Chinese 

 or Mestizo dealers. 



I am not aware of the existence of any silver mines in 

 the Philippines. Some years ago a very rich deposit of 

 argentiferous galena was discovered in the Island of Luzon. 

 The ore was said also to contain a notable quantity of gold, 

 but the affair was kept very secret. An assay having been 

 made in Madrid, a company was formed there, and the 

 principal shareholders were said to be Queen Christina and 

 the Duke of Rianzures. The ore was shipped quietly to 

 Spain, no attempt at reduction being made here, and after 

 some time the enterprise was abandoned, as the vein became 

 exhausted. There is no doubt that the ore was very rich, 

 and as a regular miner was sent out to direct the work, it is 

 probable that the mine was well worked out before it was 

 closed. 



Platina is said to have been discovered in the mountains 

 of San Mateo, to the north-east of Manila, a great many 

 years ago, but the story, which is the following, appears to 

 be very doubtful. Some Indians showed to the curate of 

 one of the villages of the district some grains of what was 

 said to be a hard white metal, samples of which were re- 

 ported to have been declared true platina by the Mexican 

 Administration of Mines, to which they were sent. The 

 padre naturally desired to visit the locality whence they 

 came, but the natives always excused themselves, as they 

 dreaded being forced to work the mine. After a great deal 

 of threatening and persuasion, they at length consented to 

 lead the padre to the spot, on condition that he permitted 

 them to blindfold him. He was accordingly taken in a 

 hammock to the place, and rapidly returned to his village. 

 The next morning his guides disappeared, and never again 

 made their appearance. No similar discovery has since 

 been made. 



The most important mining operation in the Philippines 

 is that of Mancayan, where a very rich deposit of antimonial 

 or grey copper has been discovered, and worked for some 

 time by a company, few of the original shareholders of 



