strewed with immense round blocks o f granite, quartz, felspar, hornblende,
and chlorite slate. But not a single rock is to be seen in sitA
in the whole plain, except the two pyramids of quartz, in the excavation
o f the mine, formerly mentioned. But upon the higher
grounds which surround Fahlun, especially to the west, rocks will be
found exposed ih considerable quantity. They are seldom much elevated
above the surface of the ground. However, after a good deal of
laborious research, I succeeded in satisfying myself that the rock
which environs Fahlun is a particular kind o f felspar, without exhibiting
any quartz or mica ‘which I was able to detect, though I pursued
the course of the rock several miles. This rock is very much injured
by the weather. I could not perceive any marks of stratification in
i t ; but as the direction of the high ground is from south to north,
that is the direction in which only it can be traced. I observed three
great Veins o f hornblende cutting through this rock, and running in
an easterly and westerly direction. In one of these veins there was a
bed o f quartz eight inches thick. Each o f the hornblende veins must
have been at least six feet thick. I observed likewise several veins of
quartz not exceeding a few inches in thickness, running in the same
direction with the hornblende veins,
The rocks on the east side of the mine, at the distance o f some
miles, are gneiss. From the minerals that accompany the copper ore,
such as actinolite, tremolite, chlorite, and from several other circumstances,
I have little doubt that the mine consists, in fact, o f a series
of veins in mica slate. The vein stones appear to consist chiefly o f
quartz. At the same time, from the exhausted state of the mine, the
prodigious accumulation of debris on all sides, the tumbling in of the
old mine, and the difficulty of finding the rock in sitA, within any
reasonable distance of the mine, it is no easy matter to ascertain the
point with accuracy. Some years ago, before the present accumulations
took place, the determination was probably attended with much
less difficulty than at present.
Fahlun is the oldest, and for many years it was the most productive
liiirie in Sweden. It is known to have been wrought since the year
1847, Nor is there any reason to believe the working of it began only
then, though no authentic records go to a greater antiquity. In the
year l6oo, it yielded annually about eight millions of pounds of copper
in the year. But for some timé back the produce has been greatly
diminished, and there is every reason to expect that no great number
o f years will elapse before it ceases altogether to be productive. Those
gentlemen who have the management o f the mine are sensible of this
circumstance, and have been turning their attention to the iron mines
in the neighbourhood, as a means of employing the workmen, when
the copper mine shall be exhausted. The Governor Of the province,,
who is himself possessed o f some iron mines, and who conceives that
the interference of these gentlemen would be injurious to his trade, has
endeavoured to prevent them from carrying their views into execution.
The consequence has been a law-suit, which is not yet decided;
though it is not easy to conceive upon what principle the Governor of
the province can hope to be able to prevent other people from working
iron mines.
The copper mine of Fahlun is at present the property o f a considerable
number of individuals. When the ore is brought to the surface of
the earth, it is divided into different portions according to the requisite
shares of each individual. Every one is iat liberty either to smelt his
own ore in the way he thinks proper, Or to dispose o f it to those who
are inclined to purchase it. From this method o f proceeding it happens
that there are a great many different smelting-houses, and that each
house conducts its processes upon a small and economical scale.
The first part of the process consists in roasting the ore in the open
air, in order to get rid o f the sulphur with which it is combined. The
ore is then mixed with charcoal, and melted in a blast furnace, blown
by a couple of bellows, driven by water. By this means a great proportion
.of the iron is got rid of. The produce of this furnace is now
roasted four or five times in succession, not in the open air but itt
shades, and the fire is kept purposely low to prevent the ore from
melting. When this roasting is carried far enough, the ore is
-melted again in a blast furnace, and the scoriae separated. By this