Copper ore is found about 20 miles east of Kurnool, about 2 miles from the village of Gunny, in the centre of a low range of hills; also at Sidhout and Badwail.
Dr. Helfer said that the copper on lbe Lampei islands is worthy of attention. Mr. O'Riley stated that the copper ore from several islands of the Mergui Archipelago, is the grey copper ore, con taining from 40 to 50 parts of the metal, in com bination vrith antimony, iron, and sulphur. Dr. Mason had a fine specimen of the green carbonate, or malachite, found near the headwaters of the Ataran ; and natives assured him that the same mineral exists up the Salwin. He had also seen specimens from Cheduba, near the coast of Arakan.
Copper is found :in the Shan States, also at Kolen-myo and Sagaing ; at Bawyine and Kolen myo the malachite appears to be of a rich descrip tion, and the deposits seem to be abundant. The Sagaing mines were worked in former times by Chinese. The surface ore is not promising. Most of the copper used in Upper Burma is imported from China. It is plentiful in the province of Yunnan. Serpentine mines are said to occur at the Ura river, about 45 miles north and 30 west from the modern town of Moun-goung, in native Burma, and about 30 miles from Seebsagur in Upper Assam ; carbonate of copper was, however, mistaken for it. But the serpentine rocks above Bamo appear to imbed oxides of copper. Copper and antimony occur in Shwe-green, and in the hill confines of Tounghoo.
Copper ores have been found in Sumatra ? Celebes, and Timur. In the two former, mines of it are said to be worked.
Copper abounds throughout the whole Japanese group, and some of it is said to be not surpassed by any in the world. The natives refine it, and cast into cylinders about a foot long and an inch thick. The coarser kinds they cast into round lumps or cakes. Quicksilver also is said to be
abundant. Lead also is plentiful. Tin in small quantities, and of a quality so fine and white that it almost equals silver. Iron is found in three of the provinces, of which they make steel unsur passed in excellency. The copper ore found in Japan contains gold in alloy ; it occurs in the market in small red bars, six inches long, flat on one side, and convex ou the other, weighing 4 or 5 lbs. each ; this copper is the most valuable of any found in Asia. The Chinese and Dutch ex ported upwards of 2000 tons annually.
A natural alloy found in China, known under the name of white copper, is used in great quanti ties. It seems peculiar to China, and was supposed by Dr. Black to owe its distinguishing colour ,to an alloy of nickel (Ains. Mat. Med. p. 53). It is used for dish-covers, candlesticks, tripods, plates, etc., which, when new and polished, look almost as well as silver.
Copper ores have been found as long ago as 1802 at Port Curtis, near the southern extremity of the range which extends along the north-east coast of Australia. Flinders met with indications of copper at Good's Island in Torres Strait. Lead and copper raines have been worked in South Australia for some years past, and others have been opened recently in the western coast range, a little to the north of Swan River. Hematitic and specular iron ore and copper pyrites have been found on the north-west coast near Admiralty Gulf.—Kinneir's Geog. Memoir; M'Culloch's Diet.; Piddington in ,B. As. S. J.; Crawfurd's Dict. ; Mason's Ten. ; Irvine's Ajmir ; O'Sh. Beng. As. Soc. Tr., 1841 to 1844 ; Heyne's Tracts, Bomb. Geog. Soc. Tr. vi. 117 ; Friend of India, 28th Feb. 1850; Flinder's Voyage; Powell, Handbook; Smith, Nepal; Smith's Report on Singrowlee.