382 



MINES. 



an excellent load. It is quite dry, and has 

 been but little worked. 



The mine of Echandia, in the hill of Loaiza, 

 near to that of Pantano, has a very rich load, 

 yielding from seventy to eighty per cent, 

 of silver, with a mixture of gold ; it is quite 

 dry, and has only been worked about twenty 

 yards horizontally into the hill. The load 

 is, however, only from sixteen to eighteen 

 inches thick. In the hill of Loaiza there is 

 likewise a mine of native silver, discovered 

 by a woman washing for gold, who, on trying 

 this spot, obtained, in about half a dozen 

 hateas, half a pound of silver. This mine has 

 not been worked. 



Lastly are the mines of Mermato, many 

 in number; they yield a whitish gold of a 

 low lay, about fourteen carats. The ore is 

 a mixture of gold, silver, copper, and iron; 

 it is in great abundance, and is easily pounded 

 to powder. The present method is to bruise 

 it to dust, and then wash it in dams formed 

 in runs of water, by which much of the metal 

 is lost. There is plenty of water every where ; 

 and by erecting pounding-mills, and proper 

 trays for washing, according to the most im- 



