170 On Nepaulite ; a New Mineral from Kathmandoo. [No. 2. 



On Nepaulite ; a New Mineral from the neighbourhood of Kath- 

 mandoo. — By Henry Piddington ; Curator Museum Economic 

 Geology. 



In my report for February, I mentioned that General Jung Ba- 

 liadoor had sent us a large collection of ninety-six kinds of rocks 

 and ores. Amongst these, several required careful examination and 

 that more than once repeated, that nothing, even in minute traces, 

 might be overlooked from a country so little known to us. 



The greater part however proved valueless, but I announced that 

 there was certainly one new mineral, but was unwilling then, as it 

 had been sent to us in the smelted state, to say what it contained, 

 as I was in hopes of obtaining proper specimens of the ore. 



The history of this mineral as described by Major Eamsay is, 

 that it had been found in considerable quantities not far from 

 Kathmandoo ; and that the Nepaulese, thinking no doubt from its 

 resemblance to some varieties of Magnetic Iron ore, (though it is 

 not magnetic,) that it was iron, set about to smelt and cast it into 

 cannon balls, which they could easily do as it is very fusible ; but 

 then, when the cannon balls were fired they flew all to pieces ! to 

 the great surprise and discomfiture of the smelters no doubt. 



At my earnest request,' Major Eamsay procured for me a quantity 

 of the ore, which was sent down to us, but on examination this lot 

 provedto be merely the rubbish of the mine ! with only here and there 

 bits in which specks, and minute nests, and thin veins of the true ore 

 were to be seen ; some useless lumps of pyrites forming the bulk 

 of the parcel ! All this was evidently a trick of the minister's peo- 

 ple to mislead us, as their metallurgical skill would be brought into 

 disrepute if the Eeringis found any thing extraordinary in this new, 

 and to them strange ore.* 



I explained this to Major Eamsay, and he has kindly obtained 

 and sent down to us, from the minister himself, several parcels of 

 the ore iu its matrix, in which I have also found two other products 



* The presence of cerium makes it a new ore, but its appearance and streak at 

 once shewed that it was a bismuth or antimonial copper, and thus not strange to 

 us, though evidently peculiar. 



