Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 8.djvu/241

Rh MINOR MINERALS.] ENGLAND 58,667 tons. Of this total, 73,361 tons of ore were raised in England and Wales, producing 54,363 tons of lead. More than one-half of the lead ore and lead produced in England came from the counties of Durham and North umberland, while two-thirds of the produce of Wales came from Montgomeryshire and Cardiganshire. There were alto gether 392 leal mines in the United Kingdom in 1876, and of this number 387 were in England and Wales. The mines were very unequal in extent and produce. Derbyshire contained 140 lead mines, producing 2441 tons of ore and 2149 tons of metal; while Durham and Northumberland produced 23,285 tons of ore and 16,730 tons of metal in 28 mines. sdine The produce of the lead mines, after remaining stationary lead for many years, declined considerably from 1870 to 1876. oduce. j n t ] ie fift een y ears f rom 1854 to 1868 the average annual produce in the United Kingdom amounted to about 68,000 tons, valued at 1,400,000. The culminating point of production was reached in the year 1870, with 73,420 tons, valued at 1,452,715, after which there was a steady falling off, down to the amount of 1876. The decrease in the home produce of lead was accompanied by an increase in the imports of the metal, which amounted to 61,987 tons, valued at 1,411,988, in 1874, and rose to 79,825 tons, valued at 1,801,962, in 1875, and to 80,649 tons, valued at 1,749,978, in 1876. It will be seen that the imports of lead are considerably larger than the home production. oduc- Tin. Next to lead in value, among the minor ores and &amp;gt;n of metals, stands tin. In 1876 there were raised 13,688 tons of tin ore, producing 8500 tons of metallic tin, valued at 675,750. Tin ore is found nowhere but in Cornwall and Devonshire, the famous mines of Cornwall, which attracted foreigners thousands of years ago, producing the greater part. At the end of 1876 there were returned as existing in England 135 tin mines, of which number 104 were in Cornwall and 16 in Devonshire, the remainder consisting not of &quot; mines,&quot; in the ordinary sense, but, more strictly, of &quot;finding places,&quot; situated on rivers and near the shore. The number and produce of tin mines have suffered a great decrease in recent years. In 1872 there were raised 14,266 tons of ore, producing 9560 tons of metal, valued at 1,459,990; in 1873, only 1,056.835 tons were raised, producing 9972 tons of metal, valued at 1,329.766, and in 1874 but 788,310 tons of ore, producing 9,912 tons of metal, valued at 1,077,712. The year 1875 showed a further falling off to 735,606 tons of ore, with 961 t tons of metal, valued at 866,266, upon which followed the first- mentioned still lower production of the year 1876. Dur ing the same period, the imports of tin, in blocks and ingots, from foreign countries gradually increased. They amounted to 166,840 cwts. valued at 1,154,578, in 1872, and rose to 304,551 cwts., valued at 1,148,542, in 1876. It will be seen that while the total quantity of tin imported within the quinquennial period underwent a considerable increase, the total value not only did not augment, but actually decreased. The decline in price was probably one of the main causes of the decline in production of tin. odnce Copper. Next to tin in value, among the minor ores and metals, stands copper. The total product of copper ore pper - raised in the United Kingdom in 1876 was 79,252 tons, of which 71,756 tons were the produce of England and Wales, while 680 tons came from Scotland, and 6816 tons from Ireland. The total amount of the metal produced from the ores was 4694 tons, valued at 392,300, of which 4222 tons were made in England and Wales, 33 in Scotland, and 449 in Ireland. There were at the end of 1876 copper mines to the number of 101 in the United Kingdom, England and Wales possessing 93, Scotland 1, and Ireland 7, Only the copper mines of England, and more particularly those of Cornwall and Devonshire, are of any importance. At the end of 1876 there was one copper mine in each of the counties of Cumberland, Cheshire, and Lancashire, 15 in Devonshire, and 65 in Cornwall, the latter producing 43.016 tons of ore and 3034 tons of metal. Even more than lead and tin, the production of copper has been greatly declining in recent years, In 1855 the total produce of copper was as high as 21,294 tons, valued at 3,042,877 ; which amount had fallen to 15,968 tons, valued at 1,706,261, in 1860. In 1865 the quantity had fallen to 11,888 tons, valued at 1.131,664; and in 1870 it had further declined to 7175 tons, valued at 551,309. Thus the decline continued, with slight fluctuations, till the pro duction had reached the small amount of 1876. As with lead and tin, the copper imports grew largely while the production declined. Zinc. The remaining metallic ores zinc, silver, and Prodi gold are but of trifling value. Zinc is found in fivef zin counties of England and seven of Wales, which together possess 53 mines. There are 3 more mines in the Isle of Man, and 1 in Scotland. In 1876, the total of zinc ore raised was 23,613 tons, producing 6641 tons of zinc, valued 158,011, The production of zinc trebled in quantity and value in the sixteen years from 1852 to 1876. It amounted only to 2151 tons, valued at 50,548, iii 1862, and in 1872 had risen to 5191 tons, valued at 11 8, 076- The increase in production did not prevent a simultaneous increase in im ports, which more than doubled in the decennial period from 1866 to 1876, amounting in the latter year to 29,327 tons, valued at 662,190, being more than four times the amount of the home produce. Silver a nd Gold. Silver and gold, the so-called &quot;pre- Prodi cious&quot; metals though iron is infinitely more valuable under of su &quot; every point of view form but imperceptible additions to andgl the mineral wealth of the country. Of srlver, always found in combination with lead ores, 483,422 ounces, valued at 106,222, were raised in the year 1876 in the United Kingdom, and of gold, 293 ounces, valued at 1138. There were, according to the returns of the mining record office, two &quot; gold mines &quot; in the United Kingdom, the one in Merionethshire, and the other in the county of Wicklow, Ireland. The former, situated at Clogan, produced 288 ounces, valued at 11 19, in 1876. As for the Irish gold mine, its yield was just 4 ounces, worth 18. The returns do not state the sum expended in raising the 4 ounces of Irish gold. Salt and Clays. The sum total of England s mineral Prodi riches is completed by a variety of miscellaneous substances of sal- raised from the earth, such as salt, clays including porce- a. lain, potter s clay, and fire clay coprolites, oil shales, barytes, and gypsum. None of these are of much import ance except salt and clays. The centre of the salt produc tion is in Cheshire, at North wich, Middlewich, Winsford, and other places ; but there are also salt mines in Stafford shire and Worcestershire. In 1876 the total quantity of salt raised amounted to 2,273,256 tons, valued at 1,136,628, of which 854,538 tons, valued at 529,547, were exported to foreign countries, chiefly to the United States and British India. Of clays of all kinds, the total produce in 1876 was 3,971,123 tons, valued at 744,224. The finest of the clays, known as kaolin, or porcelain clay, is the produce of Cornwall and Devonshire, the former county raising 105,275 tons, and the latter 25,000 tons, in 1876. Of im portance next to it. as potter s material, is the &quot; Poole clay &quot; of Dorsetshire, of which 72,10.&quot;) tons were produced in 1876. Raised in much larger quantities than both the kaolin and the &quot;Poole are the fireclays, the production of which in the year 1876 amounted to 1,514,902 tons. The fire-clays are found chiefly in the north and west of England and in South Wales. There were 171 fire-clay pits at the end of 1876, tire largest number of them. 45, in Northumber-