GOLD. U9 



1 It is impossible, from what we have observed, to come to an 

 opinion on the value of the mines that we have visited; the com- 

 munity which works in them is a most wretched one, and nothing 

 about it leads to a suspicion of much remuneration for its hard 

 labour, but, on the oilier hand, the mining methods are so imper- 

 fect that the richest parts of the deposit might be missed. 



" The opinion of the inhabitants is that gold is abundant enough 

 to yield good profits to those who seek for it; as for silver, it is not 

 worth while collecting, if it is not mixed with gold. These two 

 metals are in the native state and arc irregularly dispersed in the 

 serpentine in the form of lamellae or very fine grains ; they are 

 found in a regular manner only in the interstices of the quartz 

 veins or other rocks which cross or border the serpentine, and 

 so these situations are particularly sought for by the miners. Silver 

 is not associated with the gold everywhere, it is only found in a 

 restricted area to the west of the village. 



" When the miner has chosen the place where he will carry on 

 his work, he digs vertical pits, or level or inclined tunnels, accord- 

 ing to the dip of the bed. Excavated material is scattered around 

 the mouth of the working until the presence of the metal is recog- 

 nised, then the working is carried in the direction of the gold- 

 bearing vein. The earth and stones which are taken out are 

 gathered up separately on a platform built near the opening of 

 the working. It often happens that the first operations result in 

 loss and work has to be abandoned after months of unsuccessful 

 searching. 



" The materials extracted from the workings are reduced to powder 

 and washed in a bamboo basket, really a form of rocker, which can 

 be oscillated above an inclined wooden plane bearing transverse 

 channels. The lighter portion of the materials is eliminated 

 by this first washing ; the sand, which is retained in a basin at the 

 bottom of the inclined plane, and the contents of the grooves, are 

 washed a second time in a small but very wide wooden bowl, of 

 little depth and about 1 metre in diameter. A series of gyratory 

 movements is given to this apparatus which permits the lighter 

 substances to be washed away. This highly enriched secondary resi- 

 due is treated with mercury, which on volatilisation, leaves a small 

 button of gold at the bottom of the vessel. 



•The tools employed in mining are of the simplest kind; they 

 comprise a hammer pointed at one end, and an iron chisel about 



