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silver, from which much useless expense and loss of time are involved. The first essay in dividing the work having produced beneficial results, nothing can be seen which opposes itself to the total separation of these two industries whose proceedings have nothing in common. If those employed in the reduction of metals would occupy themselves on their own account in purchasing and reducing them, leaving the miner to devote himself entirely to the working of his mines, an immense advantage would be the result to both parties. The miner would find his ores immediately realised, and on better conditions than he actually possesses, whilst the amalgamator having the property would make the assortments and selections of the ores in a method more adequate to the economic reduction of each particular class.

At present only the metales-calidos are amalgamated, and all are reduced on the same method. The ore is ground in Chilian mills, through which pass small streams of water to wash the finer particles and deposit them in a well, from which the workmen carry them to the amalgamating machine. These machines have a number of large barrels, the bottoms of which are formed of a plate of cast iron, upon which a cross revolves made of iron, and is put in motion by a vertical shaft. Each barrel receives 1,600 lbs. of ores, and the quantity of water necessary to form a very liquid mass, and a quantity of mercury proportionate to the silver known. to be contained in the ores. When the amalgamation is considered complete, which takes from twelve to twenty-four hours, the barrel is filled with water, and by means of small currents and openings formed at various distances, the amalgamated metal is separated. This is taken out by opening a tap situated at the lower part, and is then placed in bags, from which the mercury runs out, leaving the (pella) silver in a rather dense state, with remains of mercury, not discharged the pella is then compressed in moulds to extract the last portions of mercury, and afterwards placed in furnaces to be distilled. The custom is to leave the pella in considerable lumps, making the distillation very difficult, causing at times considerable explosions and loss it would be much better to divide them into small bricks, and the operation would be more secure and more economical, for, to evaporate the mercury from the centre of large masses of amalgam it is necessary to have a high degree of heat in the

furnace, —more than would be necessary if the pieces were of less volume.

Each mill can grind in twenty-four hours one cajon, or sixty-four quintals of ore, and an establishment supplied with four mills costs about 100,000 dollars, from which data may be calculated the cost of reducing a mark of silver. Supposing that the machine would work during ten years, the annual mortmain and interest at twelve per cent. per annum of the capital would be 17,692 dollars. The staff consists of a director, an assayer, an amalgamator, two assistants, and six labourers. The director receives 3,000 to 4,000 dollars, the assayer and amalgamator 2,000 dollars, the assistants 720 dollars per annum, and the labourers one dollar per day, making, with 500 dollars for office expenses, 12,100 dollars. They will amalgamate 1,440 cajones of ore, whose product at a medium per centage of 100 marks the cajon, is 144,000 marks of silver, the loss of mercury resulting from the amalgamation and distillation is about three ounces per mark, or 27,000 lbs. for the 144,000 marks, and costs 13,500 dollars, and the fuel used in distilling the amalgam costs 8,000 dollars; thus the total cost of reducing 144,000 marks is 52,292 dollars, or 36 cents for the cost of reducing a mark of silver. The establishment receives 50 cents per mark, yielding therefore a profit of 14 cents, or of 21,708 dollars for the 144,000 marks; that is to say, 20 per cent. on the capital invested. It is seen, on the other hand, that in case these establishments should come to reduce their profits or returns to a minimum, and to content themselves by the interest upon capital invested, the economy which would result in the cost of the silver would be only 4th, an insignificant sum under present circumstances.

We have previously found that metals not reducible by mercury (metales frios) containing 100 marks per cajon sell at 7 dollars per mark; there is then between this and the medium of Plata Piña, which is 91 dollars, a difference of 12 dollars; quiting from this 50 cents, the cost of grinding and amalgamation, there still remains 1 dollars to cover the chlorisation of the metals, whether by calcination or the wet way in the first case the operation costs 64 cents and in the second 30 cents. The cost of reducing "metales frios" will therefore be one dollar for those which require calcining, and 66 cents for the others; deducting these sums from 91 dollars

leaves 8 and 8 dollars respectively for the value of the mark in the metales frios, which may be bought at eight dollars, leaving still a good profit to the reducer of the ores. But these great advantages which result from reducing the metales frios is found especially notable in those of low quality from 40 to 100 marks. For ores of 20 marks the chlorisation for calcination, which is the dearest, the cost is only three dollars per mark; maintaining the present tariff of the amalgamators, 2 dollars or in all 5 dollars, these metals might be bought at the rate of 44 dollars, instead of one dollar which is paid at present.

The two greatest improvements which could be made at present with success for remedying the ruin which menaces the silver mining industry are then, the organisation of large exploring companies, and the establishment of works for reducing the arsenical and sulphurous ores. It is seen that the reducers actually realise large profits, and these might be still augmented with great advantage to the miners, by only buying ores on their own account and reducing the arsenious and sulphurous ores; disposing of large quantities of these ores it would be easy to reduce each class by the method most adequate and economical, which would enable them to give a better price and realise the same profit; thus many ores, at present useless, frequently of small per centage, as galena, which abounds in the provinces of Atacama and Coquimbo, would be reducible with advantage, and thus augment the production of silver, so important to a country whose minerals are the principal branch of its export 'trade.

The data which have served for estimating the production of the silver mines during the interval 1852 to 1857 have been taken from the authorised version of the commercial statistics of Chile. This work gives the weight in marks of the quantity of bars exported, and for the ores the weight and value of them with these data and the tariff of valuation, it was easy to find the number of marks contained in them; and as regards the money exported, the per centage has been estimated. The sum of this quantity has been considered as the product of the mines during the five years mentioned: but this means is not entirely exact, for a small part of the silver has possibly remained in the country in the form of money or bars, or in washings deposited at the works, and a portion may have left by contraband. With all these circumstances

it is not to be supposed that they form more than a minimum portion of the total production and do not change the final result; that is to say, the relation between the cost of the mark of silver and its value in the market, for supposing this quantity amounted to 92,000 marks, it could not reduce the cost to the level of its market value. It is probable, on the contrary, that the quantity of silver money actually existing in Chile is less than it was in 1852, and as to the washings, those which have not been exported are of low per centage, and the silver contained in them cannot be more than of insignificant value in relation to this argument.

The data relative to the production of the year 1857 has been taken in the district of Chañarcillo itself, demonstrating the product of each mine in productive working; the difference existing between the 130,000 and 140,000 marks is relative to the percentage of the washings which have remained after the amalgamation of the metals, and the production in December, which could only be estimated approximately.

(57)

SOUND versus UNSOUND TRADING.

Read at the Liberal Club, Kendal, 1877.

THE most that we can do perhaps in this adjourned debate, which was so well opened by Mr. Thwaites, and so calmly discussed a month ago, is to amplify its bearings, so that new phases of thought may suggest themselves for our study hereafter.

There are many aspects of the question,-both of legal and moral significance. If time would permit their introduction, such questions as shoddy versus perfect articles might be debated, and shoddy might perhaps lose something of its ill name, and claim to be a public benefactor, although, like other good things, it is at times put to improper uses.

One might examine the illegal and immoral system of serving two masters, practised by agents who do business, or work, or purchasing for a principal, and who charge a commission to the person they buy for, and also take another commission from the person who sells the goods. One might also examine the ratio of bad trading to good trading, and see how far some failures are, or are not, a public calamity. Our national trade is something immense, and the failures are but a small portion in relation to the whole. We are taxed at something like 2 a head of the population: but the taxes are only a small share of the whole of our means.

I have heard it said that failures in Kendal during five years past have amounted to over £70,000, or £12,000 a year: that is something like half the sum of the taxes per head. It would be interesting to know how much per cent., on the whole of the goods sold in Kendal on credit in a year, would cover such losses, and whether Kendal has had more of these losses than the rest of the nation.

Some failures are both a private and a public calamity, but

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