XXIV.
Mines.
An elaborate description of the mineral wealth of Mexico wonld require a large volume. We have only space for a brief account of the mines, together with some statistics of the production of the precious metals.
The Cordillera, from Chihuahua on the north to Oaxaca on the south, contains almost inexhaustible deposits of gold, silver, iron, copper, and lead; while zinc, mercury, tin, platinum, and coal occur in a few localities. The greatest variety of ores is found in the States of Sonora, Chihuahua, Michoacan, Guerrero, and Oaxaca. The first and last named States of the Republic possess auriferous gravel or placer deposits.
Before the Conquest the mines of gold, silver, copper, and tin were worked by the Aztecs; but the accounts usually given of the fabulous amount of gold used by this race of people, either for ornament or as money, have been greatly exaggerated. Cortes seized a large sum of gold at the ancient capital of Mexico, the amount of which is variously estimated by different authors. The most accurate writers place the figures at $300,000. As soon as the Spaniards had conquered Mexico, they turned their attention to the development of the mineral wealth of the country. The mines of Tasco, Zultepec, Pachuca, San Pedro de Jorullo, and Tlalpujahua were almost the only ones that were worked directly after the destruction of the city of Tenochtitlan in 1531, and from that time to 1548, when the silver deposits of Zacatecas were discovered.
Argentiferous veins constitute the principal part of the mineral wealth of Mexico, the silver generally occurring in the form of sulphides. The gangue is chiefly quartz. Most of these mines are situated between north latitude 19° and 24½°.
