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later—in 708—the first Japanese copper-money “Wa-do-kai zeni” was cast in the province of Musashi.[1]
The different ores of copper in Japan which have come to our knowledge, are:
First.—Copper Pyrites, the most important of all Japanese copper-ores. It varies greatly (2-14 per cent) in the quantity of copper which it contains. Several samples, which we collected in different parts of Japan, contain much less copper than the good copper-pyrites from Devonshire. With few exceptions, the quality of the Japanese copper-pyrites cannot be said to be excellent; the enormous quantity, however, in which this ore is found in nearly every province of this country, makes a worthy compensation. We rarely saw bright brass yellow ore, but often yellow-grey amorphous masses, containing a considerable amount of iron—and arsenical pyrites. The Japanese names for this ore are: Do-ko-seki or Haku-ishi, Syn. Akagane-no-arakane. It forms with the three following minerals the source of all Japanese copper. Besides these there are also several other copper-minerals in Japan, but these are not, or very seldom, used in copper smelting.
The Japanese Copper pyrites of some provinces (Sado, Dewa; Iwami, Tazima, &c.,) contains a little gold or silver or both metals, which the Japanese know very well to separate by a liquation-process [see later under silver.]
Second.—Copper Glance occurs in many places with copper pyrites, and is used with the latter ore in the copper-metallurgy. The specimens which we have received constitute amorphous masses of a dark grey colour and are of good quality. The Japanese know very well that copper glance gives a much richer copper-slag than copper pyrites. They melt it often with the latter ore together, because it promotes the fusibility of pyrites and gives a better kind of copper. The scientific Japanese name (Sinico-Japanese) for this ore, we have not been able to find out, it is ordinarily called “kuro-do-seki” (black
- ↑ Wa-nen-kei or chronicle of Japan, translated from the origin by Prot. Hoffmann in Siebold’s Nippon Archiv.
