ANTIMONY. 389 



Antimony is altogether a sociable metal — if I may be allowed the use of 

 such a metaphorical expression — for it is neither found alone in nature 

 nor used unmixed with other substances in the arts. A further and more 

 classical derivation of its name, as given by Webster, is based upon this 

 social property of the metal — cam, against, and povos, alone — but by 

 whom bestowed, or at what period, I cannot ascertain. Antimony is found 

 in combination with oxygen, sulphur, silica, silver, lead, arsenic, iron, &c. ; 

 and its principal ores are, 



Native Antimony, 

 Silicate of Antimony, 

 Arsenical Antimony, 

 Oxide of Antimony, 

 Sulphide of Antimony, 

 Sulphide of Antimony and Lead. 

 And of each of these ores there are several varieties, separately distin- 

 guished by mineralogists. 



Native antimony, so called, is the purest ore of this metal, containing 

 in some instances as much as 90 to 98 per cent, of antimony, in combina- 

 tion with silver and iron. It is a beautiful mineral, generally occurs 

 massive, with a lamellated structure, but sometimes in spherical or boty- 

 roidal aggregates, with a granular texture ; that from Borneo being of this 

 latter description. The colour of native antimony is tin-white, and 

 tarnishes easily on exposure. It is not sufficiently abundant to merit much 

 attention from the metallurgist. 



Arsenical antimony is another ore of this metal, found in several 

 parts of Europe, and in Borneo, in considerable quantities ; but I am not 

 aware of its being anywhere smelted for its antimony. 



In Spain, a silicate of antimony occurs in a mine in the district of 

 Saragossa, containing 60 per cent, of the metal ; and in the province of 

 Zamorga, the Society of Marte works a similar ore. 



Oxide of antimony occurs most abundantly in Hungary, Siberia, 

 Saxony, Bohemia, Algeria, Borneo, &c. In the province of Constantine, 

 Algeria, two mines of oxide of antimony are worked, which yielded in 

 1850 about 1,541 metrical quintals of ore = 151§ tons. A large quantity 

 of the oxide has recently been imported from Borneo, where it is found 

 principally on the surface of the ground in the antimony districts of 

 Sarawak, the sulphide being beneath it. Oxides of antimony are so various 

 in their external appearance, that I must not attempt a general description 

 of them in this paper. That from Borneo is in granular, pulverulent 

 masses, of a yellowish brown colour, interspersed with sulphide of 

 antimony, and contains 



Oxide of Antimony (antimonious acid) .... 94-15 



Sulphide of Antimony 099 



Water 3.20 



Traces of the Sulphates of Lime and Magnesia . . 1-66 



100-00 



