106 COGGIN BROWN : MINES & MINERAL RESOURCES OF YUNNAN. 



paid by the mine-owners for transportation. The waste material 

 contains 15 per cent, of copper. Production could hardly be more 

 than half a metric ton per day. Similar deposits are found in other 

 parts of the same district. They are worked at Lou-fong-keou 

 (15 kilometres south-west of Lou-pou), and at Kou-niou-tchang. 



Lumps of native copper and copper oxides, left after the decom- 

 position of the porphyrites are often found on the surface of the 

 soil around Tung-ch'uan Fu. These are worked up into utensils 

 by the inhabitants. The price of native copper in Tung-ch'uan Fu 

 was about 510 francs per metric ton. (Le., p. 372). 



The principal copper deposits worked in the neighbourhood of 



Tung-ch'uan Fu are comprised within the 

 Tang-tan (Tung Tang-tan group, near the village of Ta-me-ti. 



ch'uan Fu prefecture.) & o r> © 



There are four principal mines : — 



(1) Sin-tchang, a little above and to the west of Ta-ho. 300 



miners were formerly employed here, but the mine was 

 abandoned in 1898 owing to its distance from the smel- 

 ters. 



(2) Pe-si-la, a lode in the Lower Carboniferous, 18 kilometres 



west of Ta-me-ti. At one time it gave employment to 

 300 men but was abandoned in 1898 for the same reason 

 as in the preceding case. It was managed by Japanese 

 working on European lines. 



(3) Lao-sin-tchang, 4 kilometres west of Ta-me-ti. Employed 



200 men. 



(4) Lao-tchang with Lao-min-tsao and Sin-min-tsao. These are 



close to Ta-me-ti and employed 1,100 men. 



At Lao-tchang there is a kind of stockwork. The ore was 

 originally copper pyrites but it is almost entirely altered to carbon- 

 ate and associated with concretions of banded barytes. At an 

 altitude of 350 metres, the limestone massif is pierced by more than 

 300 workings. Drives up to 1,500 metres in length have been 

 made on the best veins. Ores containing 20 per cent, copper are 

 accepted by the smelters. Poorer material does not pay for treat- 

 ment owing to high costs. Fuel alone cost 7 taels per 100 pounds 

 of crude copper produced. The Imperial Monopoly bought this 

 copper at a price corresponding to 550 francs per metric ton. 

 Charcoal made from resinous wood is used as fuel but has to be 

 brought from forests four stages away. 



