The Bergbüchlein (The Mountain Book)

A well ordered and useful little book: how to seek and find mines of various minerals, with their figures, according to the situation of the mountains; nicely laid out, followed by mining terms, great service for practicing miners.

Printed by Erhart Ratdolt in Augsburg.
MCCCCCV
1505

ULRICH VON CLAW (CALBUS FRIBERGIUS)


DANIEL, the mining connoisseur.

THE YOUNG APPRENTICE MINE.

DANIEL, The connoisseur of mines. At your earnest prayer and your long expressed desire, I have thought of preparing a little book on metallic ores, drawn from the books of the old sages and also from the experience of expert miners, in which you can find instruction and knowledge: what mountains, what veins, faults or minerals, by the demonstration of their right nature, are capable of generating metallic ores and promise to be advantageous to exploit; and it gives knowledge, as far as possible, of each object encountered, such as the capacity of mountains, the direction, dip and outcrop of veins in general, and of each metal in particular, in separate chapters in as needed.

THE YOUNG APPRENTICE MINE ( Knappius der Jung ). So I would like to learn from this little book, according to the causes. to recognize which mines would be exploited with advantage, so that the costs are not spent unnecessarily, but rather with profit.

DANIEL. Every man should make good use of his reason and exercise himself with diligence and labor to recognize as well as possible from what materials, by what means and in what places metals have been formed in nature, and without despising the advantage results. However the tendency is generally and mainly directed towards profit and advantage. and not to recognize the admirable works carried out by nature in the earth by means of mineral force. It might even result in a depreciation of this little book and of every art. If you want to appreciate the profit more than the art, you expose yourself to miss the art with the profit.
But you must consider one thing: that the general information, which results from the deposit, the direction, the wall and the other properties of the veins, must be applied with great ease to this or that particular vein.

THE MINING APPRENTICE. I will understand it better through experience.

DANIEL. By knowing the chapters of this little book on the division of the world and its use in the mines, you can perfectly learn the works executed by nature inside the earth.

THE MINING APPRENTICE. As you want to talk about the directions of the world and the particularities of the mines, I ask you towards which direction of the world, or in which gallery of the shaft, or on which side of the ground, from my part of the mine or that of Lamprecht must be done. exploration, so that I could see in the mine what my advantage would be.

DANIEL. Your ignorance of mines compelled me to this work. Do you think part of the mine gives a particular profit? A share is the 128th part of the whole, i.e. ownership of a mine. And the mine is then conveniently divided into 16, 32, 64 and 128 mine shares; and also in 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 part.
When this division is done by an exact divisor, it gives whole portions. So you can learn what kind of part of a mine is. But one thing you don't have to worry about: this little book is written in sparsely ornate terms and expressions. It will nevertheless contain something useful, which you must value more than the sweetness of words. The day is half spent, and, in order not to make a prolonged station, learn briefly the things which will follow.

For knowledge of the arrival and origin of metallic ores, you should know that this little book on mineral generation is divided into ten chapters.

THE FIRST CHAPTER.

Of the origin of the ores, whether silver, gold, tin, copper, iron or lead.

As they all present themselves in the same way, they will be called, by a general name, metallic ores. It is to be observed that for the growth or generation of a metallic ore, there must be a progenitor and a submissive thing or matter which is capable of perceiving the generating action. The general progenitor of all things, of ore and all things that are born, is the sky with its movement, its luminous radiance and its influence, as the masters of natural science say. The influence of the sky is multiplied by the course of the firmament and the rotation of the seven planets. This is why each metallic ore receives a quite particular influence from its own planet, according to its property and according to its conformity in heat, cold, temper and aridity.

For this the metals are often called by Hermes and by other sages according to these names: gold, the Sun ( Sol in Latin); silver, the Moon ( Luna in Latin) as will be made clear in the chapters concerning each metal. That is all there is to say about the general progenitor of metals and minerals.

But the submissive thing or the general matter of all metals is, according to the opinion of the sages, a sulfur and a mercury, which, by the course and influence of heaven, must be purified and consolidated into a metallic body or a ore. Also some are of the opinion that, by the course and under the influence of the sky, by this sulfur and this mercury, vapors or exhalations called mineral exhalations are drawn from the depths of the earth and emanate from it in the veins and fissures. , where they are turned into ore. There are still others who claim that metals are not generated by mercury, because metallic ores are found in many places, but no mercury; instead of mercury, they suppose a moist, cold and mucous matter, without any sulphur,

Be that as it may, after a clear understanding and a just explanation, every opinion is good; and the ore or metal is begotten from the humor of the earth, ' as from matter of the first degree, vapor or exhalation in part, as from matter of the second degree, which one and the other are here called mercury.

Moreover, in the union of mercury and sulfur with the ore, the sulfur behaves like the male seed and the mercury like the female seed in the conception and birth of a child. Sulfur is thus particularly suitable for the generation of ores or metals.

THE SECOND CHAPTER.

Of the general capacity of the mountains.

Although the influences of the sky and the property of materials concern the generation of each mineral or metal, they are not sufficient for the birth of ores to be done conveniently. But it requires a proper quality of a natural vase like the veins, in which the ore is generated. There are straightened, inclined, dragging, crossing veins or according to the designations of use of each country. There must also be convenient ways or approaches, by which the metallic or mineral power can have access to the natural vase, such as horsehair ; whether these hairs are oblique, across, inclined, crossing, or whether they are layers bearing different names according to the usage of each country.





It also requires a suitable stratification of the mountain in which the veins and hairs extend. The general position of the mountain, in relation to its slope or stratification, is in some places towards morning, in others towards noon, in others towards evening and in others towards midnight. But the slope or the stratification of the mountain towards noon is more favorable than all the other directions to the production of gold ore when it has in front of it, towards noon, a slightly inclined part. And this is the best position of all the mountains to exploit.

For the exploitation of this, consult the figure.

For the clarification of what precedes on the regions of the world and the following chapters, it should be noted that the whole earth is divided into 24 parts, according to the circle called horizon, which divides the sky in the upper part and the lower part, where the sky seemingly touches the earth. It is first divided into four divisions by two lines which, with equal angles or corners . pass over each other crossing; these divisions are called east or morning, noon, west or evening, and midnight.

Then each portion is further divided into six parts. On the east you must put 6, then 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 on the other divisions before noon, and 12 on the noon and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the other divisions after noon, 6 on the evening and 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 on the other divisions after noon, finally 12 on midnight and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 on the other divisions after midnight. Thus the time is divided on each half-clock [Halbe Zaiger or half-clock: divided into two times 12 hours instead of 24 hours as on the old clocks]. To understand it better follow this figure.

THE THIRD CHAPTER.

Direction and outcrop of veins and hairs.

The direction of the veins is their longitudinal extent, in which they lie between the rocks of the mountain. This direction is sometimes from morning to evening.





And sometimes from evening to morning. A vein has its direction from morning to evening, the host rock of which has the slope of its layers or its stratification joints at the roof towards the evening, and the vein, on the contrary, runs from evening towards morning, if the rock has its inclination towards the morning, as it is represented in this figure. This is adjusted according to the slope of the mountain.

The direction of certain veins also goes from noon to midnight, and for certain others, on the contrary, from midnight to noon, according to the inclination of the rock, as it is precisely indicated above; but that is still regulated according to the slope of the mountain.






The direction of the veins goes sometimes also from the middle between morning and noon towards the middle between evening and midnight, and sometimes on the contrary from the middle between evening and midnight towards that between morning and noon.






The direction of the veins extends sometimes also from the middle between noon and evening towards the middle between morning and midnight, and on the contrary sometimes from the middle between morning and midnight towards the middle between noon and evening. This is learned from the slope of the mountain, as before.







Also the direction of some veins is between the four regions of the world and their environments, and, for each region, in two kinds of direction. There are also veins having a regular and straight direction, following twenty-four directions, as can easily be understood from what has been said about the division of the world. There are also some veins whose direction is not straight or regular but curved in a semi-circle, or vertical by accidents. There are some who go first from morning to noon, then from noon to evening or other regions of the world. As these veins are unequal in their direction, they are also unequal in their ores, as follows in the other chapters.







It remains to speak of the roof and the wall of the veins.

Each seam also has its roof and wall. The roof of the lode is the cover above him, which he touches with his back. The wall is the rock on which it rests.

But there are some veins which have such a vertical position that the roof or the wall cannot be easily recognized.

Having said that on the roof and the wall, let's see the outcrop of the veins.
Each vein has two kinds of outcrop. One is the exposed outcrop along the full length of the vein. It is called a full-seam outcrop. The other is the outcrop across strike or against strike of the vein depending on its host rock; this is called the rock outcrop.







Thus can you have an exact knowledge of the regions of the world, of the direction, of the inclination and of the outcrop of the veins, when the compass so divided is held above the vein.

Next, on horsehair.

Learn the direction, the slope and the outcrop of the hairs as you have just learned for the veins. Among the horsehairs, there are oblique horsehairs, transverse horsehairs, crescent horsehairs as they are called according to the expressions of the miners. Sometimes they bring or lead to the vein, enrich it and make a good ore: sometimes they remove and take from the vein its mineral generation or its ore-producing power, for which reason one often finds far from the veins a great efflorescence: they return much miners uncertain about their exploitation. But what hair enriches the filon or takes it away, I want to show in the next chapter.

THE FOURTH CHAPTER.

Silver ore and its veins.

Although it would be right, following the action and order of nature, to describe the imperfect metals first, so I want to put the most precious and expensive metal first, because it is natural let the most profitable metal be the most esteemed, and then I will descend from one to the other in proper order. But although it would be right to give the Orl the first rank, according to the nobility of its nature, it nevertheless seemed to me suitable, because the country of Meissen (in which this little book on minerals was recently written ) is so well endowed with all kinds of minerals. among the gels is mainly silver ore, starting with the description of the origin and generation of silver ore.

According to the opinion of the sages, the ore of silver is made under the influence of the moon, as it is said above, of a clear mercury and of a constant and pure sulfur, by the power of a progenitor and the property of matter. "The ore of silver is produced in different ways: sometimes in the silt of water, as a black and gray powder, in the same way which follows in the chapter on gold ore; sometimes also in the veins and horsehair, as follows in this chapter.

To the knowledge of the auriferous veins, it should be understood that the most suitable position of the vein is at the slope of the mountain around noon, when its direction is from 7 or 6 o'clock in the morning to 6 or 7 o'clock in the evening, according to the division of the world, as it is said above, and when the outcrop of the whole vein ara around midnight, especially when the stratification of the host rock rises towards the morning and the roof of the vein marks around noon, and its wall around midnight.

For, in such arrangements of the mountain and the seam, the influence of the sky is very conveniently received to prepare the matter from which the ore of silver must be made or born, and to contain it enclosed as in a vase, in a manner that the generation of silver ore can be completed there with such perfection.

But the other directions of the veins are considered as more or less argentiferous depending on whether they move away more or less from the direction described, but with the same roof, wall and outcrop. Also these veins, which have their direction from midnight to noon, and their roof towards the evening, and their wall and outcrop towards the morning, give more hope to the exploitation than the veins which go from noon to midnight, and whose roof is against the morning and the wall and outcrop towards the evening.

Although these last veins sometimes contain native silver in coating and fine ores in some places. yet there is nothing constant or lasting, for all the mineral power evaporates or blooms or leaves through such outcrops.

You must also understand what concerns the veins which have their direction from morning to evening, as it is said above, and their outcrop and wall around noon, because they undergo a complete alteration by their outcrop.

Among the veins of silver, there are also some which have quartz on the roof and on the wall, others of calcareous spar, others of hornstone, or of iron ore, or also of limestone or a variegated rock of many colors, according to the mixture of vapors of different nature which color the rock, finally some other remarkable stones.

Sometimes the veins also carry white or yellow pyrites; some, galena or ore of bismuth; others, yellow or brownish colored earths, or burnt fatty earths, black, blue or brown, or a green efflorescence according to the nature of the mineral vapour; finally others, a shiny dark or white stone like alum. But one kind is called transparent quartz, though it is, unlike true quartz, fusible by fire.

The same stones and minerals are found in joints or horsehair, as said on veins.

When these different minerals of the veins and hairs themselves contain silver, then these minerals must be cut into the roof and the wall.

But when there are oblique hairs across or crossing, which detach from the main vein or trail above, then one can rush boldly: because the veins then enrich themselves and become argentiferous in depth, if the outcrops of these veins and minerals go one towards midnight and the other towards morning.

THE FIFTH CHAPTER.

Gold ore.

According to the opinion of the sages, gold is generated from the clearest sulfur possible and well purified and rectified in the earth, under the action of heaven. principally of the sun, so that it no longer contains any humor which could be destroyed or burned by fire, nor any humidity which could be evaporated by fire: also of a mercury which is as constant as possible, and purified with higher degree, so that a pure sulfur finds no resistance to generation there.

They are absorbed one by the other and colored with the permanent color of gold, from their surface to the bottom of all their parts, and both, sulfur and mercury, like mineral matters, under the influence of the sky appropriate to the sun, and by the suitability of the place which reflects and returns it and in itself contains mineral matter of sulfur and mercury; united by the strongest and most powerful affinities; they penetrate into a metallic body which the strongest and greatest action of fire cannot destroy.

Gold is generated in different deposits: sometimes in the common sand of rivers; sometimes in the ground, near the marshes; sometimes in pyritic deposits, or in a native state, in horsehair or veins; sometimes also in certain minerals and efflorescences, which the veins and horsehair themselves contain with schistous parts or in black, brownish, blue or yellow efflorescences, or in parts of clay.

The gold that has its origin in the sand of rivers is the purest and finest, because its material is well purified by the ebb and flow of water and by the nature of the deposit in which it is found. washing gold deposited by the action of water.

The most favorable water situation is when there is a mountain towards midnight and a plain towards evening, and its direction must be from morning to evening. Another course of the river, but less favorable, is from evening to morning, when the mountain situation is the same.

The third direction of the course is from midnight to noon with a mountain towards morning. But the worst condition for the generation of gold is from noon to midnight when a high mountain rises there towards evening. The direction of the water can be as variable as the regions of the world, like the direction of the veins, which is described above in the chapter on silver. And each course is considered more favorable or worse according to whether it moves away more or less from the above-mentioned directions.

Moreover, the gold which is generated in the pyritic deposits is mixed with abundant and different impurities, because of the imperfect sulfur and the impure earth, of which the pyritic deposit is constituted. However, after a long time, by the action of the sun and the sky, the most subtle substance of the deposit becomes purified and necessarily cooked to the state of perfect gold ore, which can be separated from the impure. pyritic deposit by a lot of work, by means of fire.

This auriferous pyritic deposit is found in some places like a real bed which extends over the whole surface of the mountain, and it is called, according to the usage of some countries, a slightly inclined vein. It is also found in real straight veins, which have a roof and a wall. A slightly inclined pyritic deposit is of little value, because the action of the sky cannot produce much there, owing to the unsuitability of the locality.

But a gold-bearing pyritic deposit of the sort of a vein is regarded as better when its rock at the roof and the wall becomes more subtle and noble; and also when the veins of gold have the direction and the outcrop in favorable regions: and finally when they are joined by accidental hairs which enrich the vein, as it is said above in the chapter on the veins of silver, by which they become better and more auriferous. Also gold, which is generated in veins without pyrite, is sometimes found in a native state in rock, also in yellow clay or in a subtle brown efflorescence, and sometimes generated in quartz.

Where this brown efflorescence shows itself as veins, there one can exploit with hope, because the accidental hairs bring in depth a remarkable enrichment.

Likewise, where the clay yellows lie like seams, one can sink into them also with hope, when the seam carries a subtle rock to the roof and the wall. Moreover, where one finds the native gold in the hairs which extend beside the vein, there it is necessary well to observe at which place the hair goes towards the vein; in this place, one can exploit and sink with certainty. But when the horsehair strays from the seam, it is to be feared that one can hardly gain anything remarkable from it, unless it goes to another seam. For this reason, it is necessary to advise, where similar oblique hairs which contain native gold move away or slant from the vein, to carry out in such a place research or exploration work to find other sources. other veins,

THE SIXTH CHAPTER.

Tin ore.

Tin ore is made, under the influence of Jupiter, of pure mercury and a little sulphur. To a mixture of the two are added some sulphurous and evil vapours, which are incorporated into each other and unite into a metal called tin. By this bad steam every pewter becomes strongly smelling, crackling, and brittle, as does every other bad and brittle metal with which it is mixed.

Moreover, a part of the ore of tin is born in the rivers, like gold higher up, and sometimes washed in large grains, like tourmaline, from which is made the finest and the best tin, which is called tin of washing, because its material becomes very well purified and ennobled by the quality of the place. Some tin ore is also generated in the mountains and occurs in veins; it is more esteemed when it is far from pyritic veins and when it is less mixed, especially with heavy and coppery materials from which the tin ore is very difficult to separate. But the barren pyrite is not so injurious to the tin ore, because, by the ardor of the fire, it is lightened and incinerated: thus it can be separated from the tin ore by washing on the table.

The twin or tin ore is sometimes also found in an impregnated bed and not in veins in the mountain. This ore is all the purer the farther it is from the pyritic veins; it is then less mixed with iron pyrite. An indication of this tin ore is furnished by the fragments of the rock which stand out in daylight.

THE SEVENTH CHAPTER.

Copper ore.

The ore of copper is begotten under the influence of Venus by good and pure mercury, though not perfectly free from some foreign humor, and by hot, burning, and impure sulphur, so that, by the heat of the sulphur, all the metal becomes colored red in all its parts. This metallic ore is found sometimes in schistous beds, sometimes in veins and in different kinds, sometimes brown or green, finally pyritic.

The copper ore in the shales is mixed with much waste rock, so that it is hardly possible to obtain the metal from it by simple processing or smelting. But the copper ore of the veins is found better and more auriferous, according as the vein turns with its roof and its wall to a noble and suitable rock. Also,
Learn the direction of the copper veins and their enrichment, in the same way as it is said above, of the enrichment of the silver veins. Only the veins of copper which extend along the slope of the mountains towards midnight are in general strong, while their copper is nevertheless less in silver. But the veins that run along the mountain towards noon are more subtle and their copper is richer in silver. These veins are also ennobled by their direction, as noted above of the silver veins.

THE EIGHTH CHAPTER.

Iron ore.

Iron is made under the influence of Mars, of impure mercury and dry, impure sulphur; which entrains a lot of earthy materials in the metallic mixture.
It is thus that iron is very difficult to soften in fire, and it contains a great deal of locked up rust, on account of the impure sulphur, why it cannot easily be mixed, melted, or alloyed with any other metal.

The iron mine is in some places, like an incoherent layer, brown and yellow; in others, in veins. The iron mine of the layers gives a lot of slag or clinker and little iron.

But the iron mine of the veins gives iron in greater quantity; however, it is sometimes brittle, because it is mixed with another kind of metal. Moreover, the veins well provided with roof and wall are not to be underestimated, especially when their direction goes from morning to evening and their inclination towards noon. When their wall and their outcrop appear around midnight, the iron mine is deep: the seam is generally mixed with gold or another precious ore.

THE NINTH CHAPTER.

Lead ore.

The ore of lead is begotten under the influence of Saturn, of an imperfect, moist, heavy and impure mercury and a little sulfur, which, by the exit of its hot exhalations, cooks the mercury and coagulates it into a body metallic. And as the two, sulfur and mercury, are united only of weak affinity, so their metallic body, lead, is easily consumed and volatilized by fire.

The ore of this metal is sometimes found as a slightly inclined bed, sometimes as a straight vein. The lead ore in the beds, near the outcrop, is poor in silver, if it does not happen that silver ores join it: which can be done by horsehair. But the lead ore of the veins is richer and of higher silver content, when its direction, dip and beneficiation are proper, as above said of silver. The lead ore in the veins is sometimes black, sometimes dark gray, sometimes shiny.

THE TENTH CHAPTER.

Ordinary mercury.

Ordinary mercury is generated under the influence of Mercury, from a mucous and aqueous humor, which is mixed with the subtlest sulphurous earth. This metal is sometimes generated in a brown earth, like the other ores; sometimes in mines, as if sunk in horsehair and in rock, in a cavity, like water. There is also some that is vaporized and volatilized above ground and found in surface turf. This metal is of a marvelous nature, of which the alchemists are well acquainted, and for this time I want to leave its nature to dispute.

THE MINING APPRENTICE. From the knowledge of the materials of which the ore is made, and of the places where it is conveniently generated, I cannot perceive in what way either can be melted to furnish the supposed metal.

DANIEL. The day has passed; now enough has been said on this subject. Tomorrow, we want to go from the cabin to the factory, and so I want to tell you what flux to melt the pyritic, fusible, wild, large-grained or fine-grained ores with. Amen.