Metals, 
MINER 
have been long celebrated, both for the richnefs of their 
productions and the immenfe extent of the operations. 
The rocks in which the mining-operations are carried on, 
are defcribed as being compofed of an argillaceous grey 
(.tone, mixed with quartz or fliorl, or particles of calca¬ 
reous fpar. To this rock baron Born has given the name 
of the metalliferous rock , J'axum metatliferum: it is de¬ 
fcribed by him as containing three principal veins, run¬ 
ning from north to fouth, and parallel with the river 
Gran, following even the windings of the river. From 
this circumftance we fliould infer, that the river itfelf had 
originally taken the courfe of a fraCture by another vein. 
The dip or inclination of all the veins is from weft to eaft, 
varying from 30 to 70 degrees. In one part of the vein, 
called the fpitaler-vein, it is joined with an argillaceous 
white vein, which runs along with it on the hanging-tide, 
and from the place of junction the vein is found to con¬ 
tain filver. In this white clay are occafionally found no¬ 
dules of fpar and maffes of quartz, which yield from four 
to five ounces of filver in the hundred-weight. The fe- 
cond great vein at Schemnitz has nearly the fame charac¬ 
ters as the firft. The third great vein is more irregular 
in its inclination, and the ores are not fo rich in filver, 
but in (ome parts it contains a confiderable quantity of 
gold. Some notion may be formed of the extent of the 
mining-operations at Schemnitz, from the gallery or level 
called the Emperor Francis’s Gallery, by which the whole 
of the royal mine is drained and cleared of water. This 
gallery, which forms a very confiderable excavation, and 
is carried through hard rock, was a work of immenfe la¬ 
bour and difficulty ; i-t is five Englifli miles in length : it 
was begun in 1748, and finifhed in 1765. 
The mountains round Cremnitz, according to baron 
Born, are compofed of the fame metallic rock already 
defcribed 5 but, according to Patrin, they confift of pri¬ 
mitive trap. At this place very extenlive operations, 
which were begun at leaft a thoufimd years ago, have 
been eftabliflied on a large and rich gold vein, and fome 
of its branches. The rock is a white l'olid quartz, mixed 
with fine auriferous red and white filver-ore, and wdth 
auriferous pyrites. At the depth of 160 fathoms, the vein 
continued rich and productive. 
Konigfberg, on the river Gran, is another mining-town 
of Hungary, fome miles to the north-weft of Schemnitz. 
The valley in which this place is fituated is bounded on 
one fide by the fame kind of metallic rock, and on the 
other, towards the north, by granite mountains. In the 
royal mine, at the time it was vilited by baron Born, the 
vein was obferved to run between the metallic rock, which 
formed its hanging-fide, and the granite, which was its 
hading, or lower, fide. The vein is grey quartz, mixed 
with auriferous pyrites. The firft iteam-engine, or fire- 
engine as it was then called, eftabliflied in the Lower 
Hungarian mines, was ereCted at Konigfberg, in 1725, by 
Ifaac Porter, an Englifli engineer, who was then in the 
imperial fervice. 
The circle of Saatz, in Bohemia, abounds in various 
metallic ores, among which the ores of filver occafionally 
predominate. The prevailing rocks are gneifs and argil¬ 
laceous fchiftus. The veins at Catharineberg traverfe 
gneifs, and generally run in a north and fouth direction, 
and parallel to the mountain in which they are fituated. 
Fiffures from the fides of the vein are found to improve 
it: a fine white clay, with quartz imbedded in it, indi¬ 
cates rich ore; but a coarle clay, deftitute of quartz, es¬ 
pecially when it increafes in quantity, and occupies the 
whole vein, renders it unproductive, or entirely barren. 
The ores of the vein now defcribed are rich filver and 
copper pyrites, with fluor fpar, blende, various copper- 
ores, and Sometimes native filver and copper. 
Joachimfthal, a place in the fame circle, has been long 
celebrated on account of its valuable mines. The moun¬ 
tains around this place have a gentle declivity towards 
the fouth, but run in lofty ridges to the eaft, north, and 
weft, and are interfected by deep valleys. This inequa- 
Voj-. XV. No. 1059. 
A L O G Y. Metals. 485 
lity of Surface affords great accommodation to the miners 
to open numerous galleries, which converge to the fouth, 
and to the valley in which ftands the town of Joachimfthal. 
All the galleries and works of this diftriCi are divided into 
fix different fields, belonging to the fame number of com¬ 
panies ; and they are drained by two deep drifts or levels; 
the one of which runs in a direCt line 1600 fathoms, but, . 
including its Several branches, its whole length is 4500 
fathoms; the depth under the higheft tops of the moun¬ 
tains is 170 fathoms : the Second great level, which runs 
through the Space of 5600 fathoms, and in a direCt line 
1500 fathoms, is 20 fathoms deeper than the firft ; but the 
operations in the mines have been carried to a much 
greater depth ; for at the time in which they were vifited 
by Ferber, before 1774, the perpendicular depth under 
the Surface was from 200 to 350 fathoms, and, excepting 
the mines in the Tyrol, were then confidered as the deepelt 
in the world. The filver-ores which are found in this 
mining-diftriCt are, native filver, which is attached to 
different vein-ftones, and affumes various forms ; vitre¬ 
ous filver-ore, which is dug out fometimes in very large 
maffes, and is confidered as a very rich ore, one hundred- 
w’eight being commonly valued at 180 marks of filver; 
red filver-ore, fometimes beautifully cryfcallized and 
transparent, is attached to red horn-ftone, or calcareous 
fpar ; and white filver-ore has fometimes, but rarely, ap¬ 
peared. 
The filver-mines of Bereftadt, in the circle of Tabor, 
are in hills of a gentle declivity, and compofed of grey or 
bluifh clay-flate, in which appear figures of greenifh litho- 
marge, or femi-indurated pot-ftone. Thefe mines were 
formerly rich in native filver, and other ores of that metal. 
A vein to the weft of this place, which traverfed a hard 
rock, contained reddifh-coloured felfpar, with galena, 
blende, and a little filver ; but from the part where a 
vein containing white arlenical pyrites came into the 
hanging-fide, the vein produced native filver, vitreous, 
red, and white, filver-ore. Another vein in the fame 
place, which is from two inches to one foot in width, is 
obferved to be richeft where it is thinneft. It is chiefly' 
enriched by an undulating black clay fiffure, which ap¬ 
pears fometimes in the hanging-fide, and then it pro¬ 
duces red and white filver-ore. When crofted by veins 
running from eaft to weft, it appears to be cut off and 
barren, till beyond the place of junction it again becomes 
productive in its former courfe. 
The Silver-mines of Salberg, in Weftmania, are about 
twenty-eight Englifli miles from Upfal. The ore is an 
argentiferous galena, yielding from one marc to a marc 
and a half of filver per quintal; it is in compact lime- 
ftone, and has been worked to the depth of 150 fathoms. 
The average profits amount to about 4000]. and one- 
eighth is paid to the king. Porter's Travels. 
The filver-mines of Conifoerg, in Norway, are fituated 
in mountains of moderate height, compofed of nearly 
vertical beds of mica-date with garnets, and of grey quartz 
mixed with fine black mica, and a little lime-ftone and 
red horn-ftone. Other beds are compofed of a ferrugi¬ 
nous rock, which, in the upper part of the mine, is 33 
feet thick, but in the lower not more than 6 feet thick. 
The veins are from half an inch to two feet or more in 
thicknefs, and cut the ftrata tranfverfely. The matrix of 
the ore is granular lime-ftone, fometimes intermixed with 
fluor fpar. Enormous maffes of native filver have fome¬ 
times been found in this mine ; one is mentioned as 
weighing 22olbs. The common ores are native filver and 
vitreous filver. 'File veins are molt productive in the fer¬ 
ruginous rock. The annual produce is about jooolbs. 
weight of filver. 
Silver-ores, properly fo called, are of rare occurrence 
in our ifland. A few years fince, a vein of lilver was 
worked with great profit in the parilh of Alva, in the 
county of Stirling, in Scotland. The ores were native 
filver, and vitreous filver-ore. From forty to fifty thou- 
land pounds lterling value was extracted before the ore 
6 H was 
