92 On the Mineral resources, fyc. of Northern Afghanistan. [No. 109. 



pliuret of lead, and that which I have seen from the Huzareh country, occurs in the 

 form of the carbonate likewise. Lead is also stated to be found in Bungesb, and a 

 specimen of it from the Sufued Koh has been brought me lately. 



With regard to antimony, I find that what is sold in the bazar of Cabool as such 

 Antimony. is a sulphuret of lead. Occasionally, perhaps, a proportion of anti- 

 mony may be combined with it, forming what is called the sulphuret of lead 

 and antimony. 



I could not convince a vender of antimony, upon one occasion, that what he 

 brought me as pure specimen of that mineral, was not so in reality, until I sub- 

 mitted a fragment of it to the action of the blowpipe, and on disengaging the sul- 

 phur, showed him what excellent lead was produced. Having at the time a small 

 piece of massive sulphuret of antimony in my possession, and which, to the eye of 

 the antimony dealer presented very much the same external character as his own, 

 I then placed a fragment of it in the flame of the blowpipe, and the antimony imme- 

 diately melted, and was absorbed by the charcoal, giving off the white fumes pecu- 

 liar to it, and no trace of lead was observed. 



That antimony, however, exists in this country, is beyond a doubt. It is mentioned 

 in the report of the late Dr. Lord on Ghorabund as occurring in that district, and 

 I myself saw in the possession of an officer, a mass of pure antimony, which was 

 found in the neighbourhood of Quetta. 



Graphite, or plumbago, is a production of this country. I have a specimen of it, 

 Plumbago. reported to be from the vicinity of Kohi Daumun. 



Specimens of sulphur have been brought me from the Huzareh country, and it is 

 reported as occurring there in vast quantity. Saltpetre is produced 

 abundantly from the soil. Rock salt I observed in the hills near Jelal- 

 labad by the Soorkhao river, but in too small quantity to be worth working ; a sample 

 of it from Altamoor also has been sent me, but I do not suppose it is in sufficient 

 abundance there, to be of any consequence. Marble occurs at Mydan, and pro- 

 bably in many other places, but this and gypsum, and minerals of that sort, it will be 

 time enough to direct attention to, when the country has made sufficient progress in 

 the arts, to render them objects of value for economical purposes. 



The most important minerals of Northern Afghanistan, are the following :— 



Iron. This mineral is found in many parts of the country, particularly in the 

 Huzareh, the Ghilzye, the Bajour, and the Wuzeeree territories.* 



Lead is found in the Huzareh districts, in Wurduk, and in Kohistan. 



Copper is found in the Huzareh, the Ghilzye, and Bajour territories. 



* In Captain Herbert's report on the minerals of the Himalaya, published in the 18th volume of 

 the Asiatic Researches, he makes the following observation in his account of the lead mines :— " A 

 singular fact is, that the ore and reduced metal sell by weight for the same price at Kalsi, the near- 

 est town. I could not learn the reason of this, but suppose that the produce of sulphur pays the ex- 

 pence of reducing the ore." When I read this, I suspected there might be a portion of the ore, 

 known to be argentiferous ; but it is evident that the purest is selected at Kalsi as at Cabool, and 

 sold under the general term of soorma, or antimony. 



