138 COGGIN BROWN : MINES & MINERAL RESOURCES OF YUNNAN. 



the same name and is called Man-lao-ch'ang (" village of the old 

 mine "). 



I saw good specimens of galena at Lao-pang-tung in the Shun- 

 ning Fu prefecture where twenty men were employed in mining 

 in 1909. 



ZINC. 



Zinc ores are an almost invariable associate of lead sulphide 

 ores in Yunnan, and many of the localities where they occur have 

 already been enumerated in the notes dealing with lead. The 

 chief use of the metal in China is as an alloy in the coinage of cash. 

 I have not seen zinc- smelting carried on and as far as I am aware 

 the ores are not reduced in the western or central parts of the 

 province. Zinc ores are said to be mined and smelted to the 

 north of Hui-li-Chou in Ssu-ch'uan, but the most important centre 

 is at Wei-ning Chou, just within the borders of Kuei-chou. The 

 following notes on the treatment of zinc ores at Ma-lou-kio in this 

 district are taken from the account of Duclos, who visited the 

 region in 1896. (Du., pp. 298-299). 



The zinc Smelters at Ma-lou-kio are very primitive and do not 

 need a large capital expenditure at first ; their production is pro- 

 portionately small ; nevertheless the procedure followed is abso- 

 lutely identical with " Vieille Montaigne " practice. In this con- 

 nection Duclos draws attention to the numerous inventions of 

 the Chinese for which Europe believes herself privileged. But 

 he also points out that such inventions have not been perfected. 

 The routine which has preserved them has not been able to develope 

 them. 



The situation of the smelters at Ma-lou-kio, instead of at Tcha- 

 tse-tchang, where the mineral is obtained, is explained by the 

 occurrence of coal on the flanks of the valley which surrounds 

 the former place and by the fact that the operations require a 

 large amount of fuel On the other hand, the crucibles in which 

 the ore is reduced, and of which great numbers are used, are made 

 at. Ma-lou-kio from a clay which is very abundant in the forma- 

 tions above the coal horizon. The first smelter visited had only 

 half its furnaces in operation. The furnace is very simple and 

 consists of an outer case with parallel walls about 12 metres long, 

 80 (ibs. in breadth and 1 metre in height. Small holes through 

 the bottom serve for removing ashes. Transverse partitions divide 



