COPPER. 
511 
twelve or fifteen leagues from Ekaterinburg. The 
other is more than one hundred leagues to the north 
of this town, and includes the three mines called Tou- 
rinski, situated on the river Touria. Most other Eu- 
ropean mines yield chiefly pyritous copper ore, but 
these scarcely contain any of that common mineral, 
the veins being generally composed of red oxide of 
copper mixed with mountain green. The mine of 
Goumechew in particular, is celebrated for its ma- 
lachite, which is there found in finer preservation, 
and in more beautiful pieces, than in any other part 
of the world. The mine is in a plain on the bor- 
der of a lake, and entirely surrounded by primitive 
mountains. The vein, which is almost in a vertical 
position, is imbedded in statuary marble five or six 
fathoms thick, and running from north to south in 
the direction of the mountains. The mineral is 
found to the depth of 20 or 25 fathoms, and con- 
sists of different coloured clays, which are rich in 
copper. The fissures or cracks in the vein are lined 
with the most beautiful malachites and specimens of 
silky copper. 
The mines of Tourinski are on the eastern base 
of the Uralian chain of mountains, and are separated 
half a league from each other. They are enclosed 
within a rock of olive green porphyry, and on the 
sides and top of the vein there is a very thick and 
almost vertical bed of coarse white marble. In 
this, as well as in other respects, the mines resemble 
that of Goumechew, though they contain a vast deal 
more copper. 
