34 



Kemarhs upon the Auriferous Deposits of India. 



[July 



works of the Ural mountains. The sands or other ores of gold might 

 be bought of the natives, at a fixed valuation, according to the per 

 centage of the precious metal which they were ultimately found to 

 contain, a certain amount being paid to the contractors previous to 

 their delivery. Were this species of industry to become thoroughly 

 established in certain districts, as after a time it no doubt would do, 

 the gold dust might form a useful medium of exchange, and be received 

 by Government as " iiist," which alone would give a powerful stimulus 

 to production. Whether it would be most desirable for the mining 

 Engineer appointed to the charge of the reduction works, to receive the 

 auriferous sands from the gold washers in its first crude state, as ori- 

 ginally collected by tbeni, or whether it should first undergo some pre- 

 liminary washing and concentration, is a consideration of some impor- 

 tance ^Yhich could only be determined by experience. 



In concluding this notice, I shall briefly draw attention to a subject 

 which is too technical to be generally understood, although interesting 

 in itself, and of primiary importance as connected vv'ith the preceding 

 suggestions. I allude to the actual produce, or per centage of gold, 

 which can be profitably extracted from the ores or sands containing this 

 metal, by the most economical and improved methods now practised in 

 the gold mine districts of Europe and Brazil. From tlie data I shall 

 now adduce it could easily be ascertained by a little chemical and mi- 

 neralogical research ^ how far tlie auriferous deposits of India are likely 

 to repay the improved system, of realizing their produce, which I have 

 now suggested. In fact from tlie very low price of labour in this 

 country, there can be no doubt tliat ores of the same produce might be 

 made to yield a much larger profit than in Europe, for in ihepince or value 

 of the metals (gold and silver equally wi^h any others), the actual 

 labour expended in their production, forms by far the most considerable 

 item. 



It may be laid down as a general truth in mining, that, with very rare 

 exceptions indeed, the ores of the precious metals are exceedingly poor, 

 and that the metallic particles to be collected, bear but a very trivial 

 proportion to the mass of worthless matter, throughout which nature 

 has disseminated them. Thus in the silver mines both of Europe and 

 America, the average produce of the bulk of ores extracted, does not 

 exceed more than from 3 to 4 or 5 ounces in 100 pounds weight, or 

 one pound of metal in 400 pounds of the ore. Yet silver ores of this 

 low produce are in numerous instances profitably extracted from deep 

 mines, where they have to be raised even three, four, or five hundred 



