1323
9 Iron pyrites combined with the virgin quicksilver ofthe Concepcion mine.
10 Crystallized cinnabar and virgin quicksilver, fromthe same mine.
[The soil of Spain contains mercury in many districts°I its territory, and various specimens of this mineralhave been forwarded to the Exhibition. These haveheen drawn from the celebrated mines of Almaden,°I the Asturias, and of Almeria, on the Andalusian side.The Almaden series would have been very instructive hadthe specimens been sufficiently large. They exhibit mer-CUr y> under the several conditions in winch it is found, as’well as the earthy substances and fossils that occur in thesame formations which contain it; the latter being gene-rally rock—the upper, of Silurian series. We meet withthe Calimena tristani, and the Spirifer trigonalis , andother bivalve shells of the Tertiary Devonian formation.^'fCVcury is found in its native state, and hi combination^'ith sulphur. There are some samples of crystallizedcinnabar; of brown freestone, impregnated with cinnabar°f corneated mercury (M. come), to the number of twenty-specimens, exceedingly interesting as enlarging ourgeological knowledge of the region of mercury in Spain .Within these few years, several mines of cinnabar haveheen opened and worked in the Asturias . The mineralbeds of Tijola and of Bayargue, in the province of Almeria ,have not, as yet, been properly examined.]
11 Crystallized barytes, ’with virgin quicksilver, fromthe same mine.
12 Calcareous-spar, from the same mine.
13 Slaty cinnabar, from the Yaldeazoquel mine.
14 Sandstone , impregnated with cinnabar, from thes ame mine.
15 Ore of quicksilver (called Corneo) ; and 16, similar0re (called JPiedra frailesca) from the Entricliedo mine.
17 Quartzite , with portions of cinnabar, from the Al-to&clen mines; 18, Quartzite from the upper Silurian rock,Much forms the vein of the mine.
. 19 Arenisca oscura, dark sandstone (called Solera ), va-with cinnabar and globules of quicksilver, from the^an Francisco mine ; 20, a specimen more penetrated,?^th the crystallization of the cinnabar a little distinct,h’om the San Diego ; 21, a specimen of still richer quality,r °m the San Pedro; and 22, another with the crystals" Ver y distinct.
23 Cinnabar, or upper ore, from the San Nicolas.
24 Plate of cinnabar, worked and polished, horn the
same.
^ 25 Slate, with sliding surface, from the pendent of theSa * Pedro.
s ^9 Breccia, or Piedra frailesca, with crystals of limc-^hh joints of cinnabar.
J -^htive quicksilver, from the San Pedro.
30 sublimate. 29, Vermilion,
oj. cy . eor ke, from the upper ore; and 31, from the Solera,
The proportion of quicksilver produced from the °Almaden mines amounts to 75 per cent.; s 11 __ »the furnaces to be charged in the usual proportion, uiuisuperior Solera Pobre, China , and Bolas de V acisco.
[The celebrated and long-known mines of Almaden,which furnish annually upwards of 1,000 tons of mercury,are worked in veins of very considerable thickness, occuir j n S in the palaeozoic rocks of Da Mancha. Notwit i
of
standing the active operations carried on m these mfor many centuries, the depth is still not exceccfathoms ; but the principal vein has a thickness o
3 0 to 50 feet, and the magnitude is still more considerate
where -*
the
verus intersect. The mines yield native mer-
cury and the sulphuret: the latter (cinnabar) containing,when pure, 85 per cent, of metal. The veins extend fora considerable distance, running cast and west fromAlmaden.—D. T. A.]
7 The Inspector of Mines of the District ofMurcia.
_ 1 Argentiferous galena, in contact with sulphuret ofzinc, from the mine of San Jose in Mazarron, containing14 per cent, of lead, and 2 oz. of silver per 100 lbs.
2 Sulphuret of zinc, in contact with iron pyrites, fromthe same mine.
3 Argentiferous galena, in contact with sulphuret ofzinc, from the Josefita mine ; it contains 12 per cent, oflead and 2 oz. of silver per 100 lbs.
4 Argentiferous galena, in contact with sulphuret ofzinc and iron pyrites ; from the same mine, with blendeand clay predominating.
5 Argentiferous galena, in contact with iron pyrites.In this specimen the galena appears in a confused crystal-line form, having abandoned the blende with which it isusually united, and associated with iron pyrites ; it con-tains 29 per cent, of lead and 2 - 56 oz. of silver per 100 lbs.
6 Iron pyrites, in contact with argentiferous galena,from the Bilboa mines. In this specimen the pyritesappear in a foliaceous form, alternating with very thinlayers of argentiferous galena.
7 Iron pyrites, in contact with argentiferous galena.In this specimen the galena predominates in broaderplates.
8 Iron pyrites, in contact with argentiferous galena.In this specimen the pyrites appear traversing the clay-schist, which is the rock in which the metallic layer isenclosed; the galena is sprinkled with some particles ofcopper pyrites.
9 Argentiferous galena, in contact with iron and copperI pyrites. In this specimen the galena forms the principal| mass; it effects an irregular crystallization, appears piercedI in various ways by pyrites, and preserves the clayey matter
in which it is found embedded.
10 Argentiferous galena. In this specimen the galenais nearly divested of impurities, having a tendency to
: form bands.
11 Argentiferous galena, from the Porvenir mine. Inthis specimen the same tendency is seen; and a group ofcrystals of large size, sjxrinkled with iron pyrites, is foundin some parts of the mass.
12 Argentiferous galena, from the same mine. Theplates which form the mass of this specimen are closelyunited. Some particles of pyrites of iron and copper arefound in it.
13 Argentiferous galena., crystallized, from the Alianzamine. The galena here appears of a cubical form, accom-panied by blende and iron pyrites.
14 Argentiferous galena, from the same mine. Similarto the preceding, but not so pure.
15 Argentiferous galena, granular, from the Espanolamine. It appears in contact with the carbonated ores,forming isolated nodules.
16 Argentiferous galena, in contact with the carbonateof lead, from the same mine. The mutual contact of bothsubstances in this specimen is clearly seen.
17 Argentiferous galena, from the same mine. Thesame as the former, but with the carbonate of lead pr cdominating in a greater degree.
18 Platy galena, disseminated in a clayey mass, fromthe Santana mine; quartz constitutes a part of the matrix.
19 Carbonate of lead in contact with iron, from theEspanola mine. This species, which is comparatively rare,is worked together with other poorer ores in blast furnaces.
20 A variety of carbonate of lead.
21 Nodules of carbonate of lead and crystals of quartzunited by a mass of iron-clay, from the Enrique mine.This ore is rare, and is found in isolated lumps in thelayers of iron-clay which accompany the carbonated ores.
22 Nodules of carbonate of lead connected by a mass of
[Official Illustrated Catalogue.]
5 A