THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1859.

Colonist, Volume II, Issue 141, 25 February 1859, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 1859.

At a time when our mining operations are. not in the most flourishing condition, ii; may perhaps be excusable to refer to similar instances in other parts of the world, thafc may go far to prove that, although momentary disappointment may weaken our hopes and prostrate our endeavours, yet perseverance may do much to assist ns in eventually developing a, mining fuUiro for oui* district-, that, xvith our present disappoint.merits standing palpably forth, would scarcely •■be credited afc the present lime.' It has been, often asserted, and, indeed, has become an accepted fact, that all precedent in mining indications has been rendered next to useless to us by the singular and inexplicable formation that this part of the earth presents, and that foregone established principles of operation are of very little assistance .in the' ■difficult task xve have before us, of bringing to light, and usefulness the treasures, with which jour, district is generally believed to abound. Many attempts have been made to tins end. and. operations have been set going by men of thought, zeal. and. rectitude': indefatigable- ofpurpose as they are'unselfish in their Ulterior motives. Experience, to a certain extent, baa

also been brought to bear; but unfortunately,' all precedent has proved valueless, and all attempts fruitless, at. leant "iri two of tho most vital points of our expectations, viz , copper and cotil. The foregoing remarks, however, refer more properly to the first named, as that has stood the lost bf, "hide and seek " for some years; but tlie latter has scarcely been sufficiently tested lo warrant our recording any serious disappointment after so partial a search as has been made, especially ".as there are pretty'strong and reasonable grounds for concluding that, if we: do not procure ifc;in the immediate, vicinity of the town, .we may have abundance in close contiguity. Our remarks, therefore, as we have before said, are not in acknowledgment of any negative that may be advanced against our possessing these advantages, but to eucourage and uphold the conviction, that among the bills that bar our free" locomotion over our province, there may eventually be found such things as xvill preclude the desire for passing over them, and make us pleasantly view them as so many of Nature's- warehouses, that- only require a level or a tramway for chief entrance/to disperse their stores over the surface of the globe. .-•■ But with respect to the uncertainty of mining operations, even where the nature of the country has been reduced to defined roles of working, xve quote the following interesting particulars, not only to shew the general uncertainty of these adventures, -but the amount of capital invested, and the extensive scale required elsewhere iv similar trials:—" In 1726 and 1727, the two mines of Bisoaina and Xacal produced together nearly 834,000 ounces of silver; but the quantity of xvater that filtered through the rock, joined to the imperfection of drawing it off, compelled the miners to abandon the work when sixty-six .fathoms deep. . The works were aflenvards-resumed, but the abundance of water increased lo such a. degree, that twenty-eight whims, each of xvhich required more than forty horses, were 'riot sufficient to draw it off. In 1783, the .weekly expenses amounted to .81875 ; after reaching the deepest part of the mine, the ore xvhich they extracted did not compensate the expense of the process, and it was again abandoned in 1801" The tin of Britain was known iv distant parts of the. world at a very remote period. Almost all the low grounds in Cornwall bear the marks of having been streamed, that is, subjecting the debris of rocks in which the ore was originally embedded, to repeated washings by running water. The works afc Dartmore are said to have given employment to thousands of jnen, yet the tin was only on or near the surface, and the lodes are no longer profitable to work. Tlie steady annual produce is now estimated afc over four thousand tons; and on one occasion, the water being excluded from a' branch-of Falmouth harbor, a bed of tin ore was discovered said to have realised .£50,000. Coal also iiad not only to be discovered, but the use of it was prohibited in the time of Edward 1., from the supposition of the injurious effects of the smoke ; but the mining and consumption of the " black stone" steadily increased, and since the time of Chables 1., 'scarcely anything else has been used. At the present; time—thanks to the requirements of steam and gas—the quantity raised from the British mines will probably be understated at thirty millions of tons annually. " Copper xvas one of the first known of metals, and derives its name from the island of Cyprus, xvhere it was extensively mined aud smelted by the Greeks, who used it for making domestic utensils and implements of war. The richest mines are those of Cornwall, bufc coal is so scarce that ifc has to be sent to Swansea to be smelted ; the ores, produce about eight and ahalf per cent; upon the average of pure metal." The Australian copper shews a bettor, but not considerable average percentage—in fact, no: tiling to compare to what has been stated of the quality of some of our specimens ; and if it be found at the present time in a similar way to the tin of Devon we spoke of, who shall say that at some time hence (the sooner the better) we shall not rival even Cornwall's productions? After all, xvhat has our test been. ? Anything but extensive or definable. If the Dun Mountain isa Dartmoor, in copper, we may yet find a Cornwall ; and if the Stoke supply of coal reduces us to the same position as Edward I. thought desirable—not because of the smoke, but simply because there are no coals to bum —we may yet find a Newcastle at Pakawau, or where we at present least expect it. We therefore say— " iion si male nunc et olim sic erit,"— Adversity will not last for ever; therefore let us " hope on."