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could not treat the ore properly. There are several mines in Ma'afir
(upper and lower Yemen), but we have not been able to get any information about them. A silversmith has made the statement that he saw a silver mine above
Madinah Jabalah and a rasas-i-aswad mine at 'Adini Pass. He also said that there is a copper mine in the mountain of Banu Saba facing Dharbat 'Umar and in the summit of Naqil-i-Samarah which is close to the (area inhabited by Banu Sayf). He claims to have taken out copper from there. It is close to the path that descends towards Banu Sayf. A site known as Hawbar Qafr Hamid 'Utmah has a gold mine, while there is a silver mine in the city of Samah. There is a gold mine at Masar in the area of Hiraz. There is a mine of good quality red copper at Dhinur al-Qarn, and likewise there are two mines at Rida' and two gold and iron mines at Al-Qani. Copper is found in the mine at Al-Bayda'. The following statement occurs in the work of an unknown author: Different minerals occur between Bishah and Dhimar. Twenty-five
mines among these are celebrated, but only six of these are functioning well. One is in Najran, the second is Sharas at the place which is called Farwat, the third at Misahar in the neighbourhood of Hijrat al'Aruban, the fourth in the city of Banu Shaddad (it is called Kuhal), the fifth in Radman Bani al-Nimri at place called Qanflr, and the sixth in the mountain of Al-Akhram which is situated in Sari'. This is the best. Its depth up to eighty cubits has been scaled and the width of the mine has not been taken into account. Being moist, it does not require any chemical treatment. We have been told about another mine here. It has been said to have hard gold required in laxative medicines. A mine has been discovered near Yanuf al-Qifaf, situated near the region of Ahnum to the north of the village of Hujr. This mine was manifested during the time of Imam Sharf al-Din. His son, Sharf al-Din bin al-Imam, had gold taken out from here. The gold is genuine and the mine in quality compares with that of Akram. It is claimed that there is a village in Sari', called Sawad. There is a
place by the name of Bani Sa'id in which is located 'Uddat al-Za'la" facing the place known as Maqtal. It yields a variety of gold that is extremely pleasing to the heart. It is said that to the east of Jabal al-Sulb, sun-coloured (earth) predominates. There is another place known as Judrah, situated to the west
of Jabal al-Sulb. Here there is an excellent silver mine. Among the places that are well-known, one which is also called AlRukkan is to the eastern mountain of Uns. The most famous place, however, is that of Al-Tayr which is situated near the tribe of Al-Imam 'All
bin Muhammad Abu Salah bin 'Ali (may God keep his works extant). |
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