instances indicate the existence of a large supply in situ, close
at hand; but the actual presence of that large supply requires absolute
demonstration in every instance and cannot be assumed with safety.
Silver.—The
fact that India ever produced silver in large quantity has hitherto
been doubted by those who have expressed any opinion on the subject;
but from evidence which I have obtained as to the abundance of a
possible source of silver, I am inclined to accept literally, certain
ancient and long-forgotten reference to its having been a
silver-producing country. Argentiferous ores occur in many parts of the
country, and some of them contain high percentages of silver.
Copper.—Copper
ores occur in several of the older Indian formations, being sometimes
found in regular lodes, but perhaps more commonly disseminated
irregularly in the rocks which include them. As is well known, the
latter mode of occurrence is not inconsistent with the presence of ore
in sufficient quantity to be exploited with profit. In Southern India,
in Bengal, in Rajaputana, in Afghanistan, and in the Himalayas, as well
as in some other regions, copper ores were formerly mined to a large
extent; this is amply testified to by the magnitude of the ancient
workings, many of which were deserted long before they had a historian.
The operations at others, of which we possess a record, gradually
diminished under the influence of the fact that imported copper
undersold the locally manufactured article at the very mines. At the
present moment, copper mining and smelting is only carried on in a few
remote valleys in the Himalayas and other localities. In the Nellore
district, in Southern India, in Singhbhum, in Bengal, and in Kumaon, in
the North-West Himalayas, attempts made to work the copper by European
companies have not proved successful; but we should not, therefore,
condemn the prospect which other localities might afford; nor would it
perhaps be altogether just to accept as conclusive the operations which
were certainly not conducted in all these cases with the requisite
amount of skill. The failure by the natives, though in many cases due
to actual poverty of ore, may, in some, be safely attributed to
ignorance and to want of suitable appliances. The amount of metal
manufactured bore but a small proportion to the amount of misdirected
time and labour which were expended.
Lead.—With
the exception of iron, there is no metal of which the ores appear to
have been worked to so large an extent as have those of lead. The most
common ore being galena, which is frequently more or less
argentiferous, sometimes highly so, it seems probable that, as already
stated above, the ancient workers devoted their attention, to the
extraction of the silver rather than to that of the lead.' It is
certain, however, that in some of the localities, considerable
quantities of lead were produced, as for instance, in Ajmir, where the
mines were of great extent, and had, in 1830, the appearance of having
been worked for centuries. The final closing of these mines took place
in the year of the Mutiny, owing to a natural desire upon the part of
the authorities to make lead for bullets as scarce and difficult to
obtain as they possibly could. In peninsular India the ores of lead
occur in the older geological formations, and the localities where more
or less abundant traces are found are numerous and widespread. The
remarks made above with reference to the exploitation of copper ores,
might be applied, mutatis [mutandis, with equal force to those
of lead. The same causes have resulted in the abandonment of mining
operations by the natives. In the Himalayas, not far from Simla, lead
mining was carried on for some years by a British company, but the
success met with fell far short of the anticipations of those who
embarked in the enterprise, and the works are, it is believed, now
closed.
Zinc.—Traces
of zinc ores have been found in several parts of India; but at only one
locality, namely Jawar or Zawar, in the Udepur State in Rajputana, have
they been worked. The mines there were formerly of considerable extent,
and the annual revenue derived from them is stated by Tod to have
amounted to 223,000 rupees. The principal ore is Smithsonite or zinc
carbonate, which
