MINERAL PRODUCTIONS OF THE TENASSERIM PROVINCES. 734 
dimensions, which ramify in all directions from the principal vein. 
Several localities in the ‘sandstone range ot hills enclosed by the 
Attaran and Maulmein rivers have been worked, but it would 
appear that the expenses attending the operation are too, heavy to 
admit of a profitable investment of capital therein, the localities 
of these deposits being generally at some considerable distance 
inland, without roads and water or water conveyance in the vicinity, 
and the labor attending its extraction from a hard matrix of the 
nature of the sandstone, oppose a formidable barrier to this article 
ever becoming important in the exports of the provinces ; and until 
it be found in the mass on the banks of some of the navigable rivers, 
or similarly situated to the deposits of Borneo, the competition with 
the Singapare market to supply the limited demand in the home 
markets must remain as now, impracticable. 
Specimens of this ore have been brought to me from several 
sites on the small creeks of the Gyne, Haundrau, and Zimmee 
rivers, this latter according to native authority being close to the 
water and in an entire mass, but without personal investigation such 
information merits but small reliance, the difference between native 
description and actual reality being in general too extravagant to 
allow any credit to be placed in the former. 
Iron 
Is the most abundant of the metallic ores and occurs throughout 
the whole length of the provinces; it comprises a large variety of 
the oxides principally, and is present in available beds and masses. 
1. In the mountain limestone range of hills near the Thoungyein, 
as a close grained specular oxide. 
2. The Gyne, Dagyne and Houndran rivers all possess beds of 
iron, those of the most useful being of the clay stone variety. 
3. A bed of brown iron stone (a rich oxide ore) described by 
Dr Heifer as existing on the banks of the Salween near the mouth 
of the Yenbayne. 
4. On the island of Beeloogyoon as specular iron or ferologiste 
in a hill composed of red iron clay (also described by Dr Heifer.) 
5. At several localities on the rivers Attaran and Zemmee, and 
their tributaries j the principal beds being composed of a rich magnetic 
peroxide (hematite) containing 85 per cent of pure metal. 
6 . Near the old city of Wagru on the creek of that name, as bog 
ore. 
7. Near the town of Tavoy on the right bank of the ri ver, a 
mass of native loadstone occurs possessing polarity ; this is far the 
most important deposit of the metal existing in the provinces, from 
its being nearly a pure mass of metal, and situated with every faci¬ 
lity for working. A hill at a short distance from tlie^ above is 
composed of an entire mass of the “ specular oxide ore,” and the 
whole surface of the country to the sea gives evidence of vast de¬ 
posits of the metal of the richest description. 
t 
