512 
COPPER. 
Mi nes of copper occur in Japan, in China, and 
among the islands of the Indian sea; especially in 
Formosa, Macassar, Borneo, and Timor. Among 
the islands of the Archipelago that of Negropont, and 
in the Mediterranean that of Cyprus, have been cele- 
brated for their copper-mines. 
In Africa , likewise, this mineral is occasionally 
found in the mountains to the north of the Cape 
of Good Hope, and also in Barbary, in Morocco, 
and in Abyssinia. 
The nature of the copper-mines in America is as 
yet but little known; nevertheless they are exceed- 
ingly rich in metal, particularly those of the pro- 
vince of Coquimbo, in Chili, which produce masses 
of native copper of a most extraordinary size. Those 
of Peru and Mexico, though better attended to, are 
less productive. 
Masses of native copper are found near Hudson’s 
Bay, but the inhabitants of the country have not 
the ability to make it useful. 
Among the general properties of this metal may 
be noticed its tenacity, ductility, and malleability. 
It is so tenacious that a wire of a tenth of an inch 
in diameter will support two hundred and ninety- 
nine pounds weight, before it breaks. It is so 
ductile that it may be drawn into the finest wire, 
and so malleable that it may be beaten into the 
thinnest plates. It is said the German artists, 
especially those of Nurenburg and Augsburg, are ac- 
quainted with the best method of giving a fine 
golden colour to these thin plates of copper by ex- 
