In
1849 the attention of miners was again attracted to Caravaya by
reported discoveries of a great abundance of gold in the sands of one
of the Caravaya rivers. Numbers of adventurers visited the country,
but returned unsuccessful. There are gold-washings on the Chaluma
River and its tributaries. The region of San Juan del Oro was once
famous for its yield. - The sands of the tributaries of the Purus are
said to contain gold, and those of the Piquitiri are known to be
auriferous.
Large
deposits were worked with great profit up to 1820 in the province of
Parinacochas, department of Ayacucho, along the banks of the
Huanca-huanca River.
There
are numerous auriferous deposits in the province of Sandia, department
of Puno, some of which have been and still are being worked in a
primitive style.
The
present condition of the gold regions of Peru is unknown to the world
at large. The most definite data of the production of gold from this
country are given by Dr. Soetbeer, who says that irom 1533 to 1875 the
output aggregated £22,815,225. Paz Soldan's "Geographical Dictionary
of Peru " contains much late information.
Venezuela.—At
Caratal, State of Guayana, in Venezuela, small quantities of gold have
been obtained from the alluvial deposits. This field has been described
minutely by Le Neve Foster, from whose explorations the latest
information is obtained. The deposits are situated about a hundred and
sixty miles E.S.E. of Ciudad Bolivar. In the valley of the Mocupia
gold-washing was carried on as early as 1857. Large placers have been
recently discovered about fifty miles northeast of Caratal. The gold
product of the Caratal mines from 1866 to 1879 inclusive is
approximated at $14,000,000, arid the mining region of Guayana is
reported to have produced since 1874 about $1,250,000 annually.
The auriferous alluvions near the river Yuruari and along the banks of the Rio de Santa Cruz have been
