32 



CHILI. 



great numbers, was lined with nests of crystals of 

 quartz and calcareous spar. The silver in this 

 mine is mostly in union with limestone ; but much 

 rich ore is also found in quartz veins traversing 

 the strata. The miners were not at work, but we 

 examined the spots where they had been recently 

 quarrying, and broke specimens from many dif- 

 ferent parts. There is no machinery of any sort 

 in these mines, and all the ore, when wrought, is 

 carried to the open air on the backs of labourers. 

 Gunpowder, indeed, is used to blast the rock ; 

 but, with this exception, the wholie business of 

 the mine is conducted by manual labour alone. 

 After the ore reaches the surface, mules are em- 

 ployed to carry it to the valley of Copiapd, where 

 it is extricated from the ore either by amalgama- 

 tion or by smelting, according to circumstances. 



By counting the number of paces, and consi- 

 dering the inclination of the shaft, it was calcu- 

 lated, that we had descended in this mine two 

 hundred and eighty-five perpendicular feet : it was 

 reckoned one of the richest in the neighbourhood, 

 until its depth became so great, that the expence 

 of raising the ore to the surface overbalanced its 



