Georgius Agricola

“ When anyone, in an endeavour to increase his fortune, meets the expenditure of a mine alone, it is of great importance that he should attend to his works and personally superintend everything that he has ordered to be done. For this reason, he should either have his dwelling at the mine, where he may always be in sight of the workmen and always take care that none neglect their duties, or else he should live in the neighbourhood, so that he may frequently inspect his mining works. ”

“ When he inspects the mines he should praise the diligent workmen and occasionally give them rewards, that they and the others may become more zealous in their duties; on the other hand, he should rebuke the idle and discharge some of them from the mines and substitute industrious men in their places. Indeed, the owner should frequently remain for days and nights in the mine, which, in truth, is no habitation for the idle and luxurious ”

“ Springs may discharge their waters into a sea, a lake, a marsh, a river, or a stream; but the sand of the sea-shore is rarely washed, for although the water flowing down from the springs into the sea carries some metals or gems with it, yet these substances can scarcely ever be reclaimed, because they are dispersed through the immense body of waters and mixed up with other sand, and scattered far and wide in different directions, or they sink down into the depths of the sea. ”

“ For when out of twelve veins in which he has a joint interest one yields an abundance of metals, it not only gives back to the owner the money he has spent, but also gives a profit besides; certainly there will be for him rich and profitable mining, if of the whole number, three, or four, or more veins should yield metal. Very similar to this is the advice which Xenophon gave to the Athenians when they wished to prospect for new veins of silver without suffering loss. ”

“ No person indeed can, without great and sustained effort and labour, store in his mind the knowledge of every portion of the metallic arts which are involved in operating mines. If a man has the means of paying the necessary expense, he hires as many men as he needs, and sends them to the various works. Thus formerly Sosias, the Thracian, sent into the silver mines a thousand slaves whom he had hired from the Athenian Nicias, the son of Niceratus [1] . ”

“ Then when good men shrank with horror from the incantations and rejected them, the twig was retained by the unsophisticated common miners, and in searching for new veins some traces of these ancient usages remain. ”

“ Since several miners usually come to mine the veins in one locality, a settlement generally springs up, for the miner who began first cannot keep it exclusively for himself. The Bergmeister gives permits to some to mine the superior and some the inferior parts of the veins; to some he gives the cross veins, to others the inclined veins. If the man who first starts work finds the vein to be metal-bearing or yielding other mining products, it will not be to his advantage to cease work because the neighbourhood may be evil, but he will guard and defend his rights both by arms and by the law. ”

“ Neither ought miners to be altogether distrustful of fortune, as we see some are, who as soon as the shares of any mine begin to go up in value, sell them, on which account they seldom obtain even moderate wealth. ”

“ Others use a different kind of twig for each metal, when they are seeking to discover the veins, for they employ hazel twigs for veins of silver; ash twigs for copper; pitch pine for lead and especially tin, and rods made of iron and steel for gold. All alike grasp the forks of the twig with their hands, clenching their fists, it being necessary that the clenched fingers should be held toward the sky in order that the twig should be raised at that end where the two branches meet. Then they wander hither and thither at random through mountainous regions. ”

“ But if a man cannot afford the expenditure he chooses of the various kinds of mining that work which he himself can most easily and efficiently do. Of these kinds, the two most important are the making prospect trenches and the washing of the sands of rivers, for out of these sands are often collected gold dust, or certain black stones from which tin is smelted, or even gems are sometimes found in them; the trenching occasionally lays bare at the grass-roots veins which are found rich in metals. ”

“ This calamity overtakes those who wish to grow suddenly rich from mines, and instead, they become very much poorer than before. So then, in the buying of shares, as in other matters, there should be a certain limit of expenditure which miners should set themselves, lest blinded by the desire for excessive wealth, they throw all their money away. ”

“ It is decreed by Divine Providence that those who know what they ought to do and then take care to do it properly, for the most part meet with good fortune in all they undertake; on the other hand, misfortune overtakes the indolent and those who are careless in their work. ”

“ But the man who, in common with others, has laid out his money on several mines in a region renowned for its wealth of metals, rarely spends it in vain, for fortune usually responds to his hopes in part. ”

“ Although districts which yield metals and other mineral products are generally healthy, because, being often situated on high and lofty ground, they are fanned by every wind, yet sometimes they are unhealthy, as has been related in my other book, which is called " De Natiira Eorum Quae Effluunt ex Terra." Therefore, a wise miner does not mine in such places, even if they are very productive, when he perceives unmistakable’ signs of pestilence. For if a man mines in an unhealthy region he may be alive one hour and dead the next. ”

“ Copper and gold and iron were discovered, and at the same time weighty silver and the substance of lead, when fire had burned up vast forests on the great hills, either by a discharge of heaven’s lightning, or else because, when men were waging war with one another, forest fires had carried fire among the enemy in order to strike terror to them, or because, attracted by the goodness of the soil, they wished to clear rich fields and bring the country into pasture, or else to destroy wild beasts and enrich themselves with the game ”

“ The particles of metals and gems from the springs are very rarely carried into the marshes, which are generally in level and open places. Therefore, the miner, in the first place, washes the sand of the spring, then of the stream which flows from it, then finally, that of the river into which the stream discharges. It is not worth the trouble to wash the sands of a large river which is on a level plain at a distance from the mountains. Where several springs carrying metals discharge their waters into one river, there is more hope of productive results from washing. ”

“ Nor is it strange that the twig does not turn when held by the inexperienced, because they either grasp the forks of the twig too tightly or hold them too loosely. Nevertheless, these things give rise to the faith among common miners that veins are discovered by the use of twigs, because whilst using these they do accidentally discover some; but it more often happens that they lose their labour, and although they might discover a vein, they become none the less exhausted in digging useless trenches than do the miners who prospect in an unfortunate locality. ”

“ Moreover, a prudent owner, before he buys shares, ought to go to the mine and carefully examine the nature of the vein, for it is very important that he should be on his guard lest fraudulent sellers of shares should deceive him. Investors in shares may perhaps become less wealthy, but they are more certain of some gain than those who mine for metals at their own expense, as they are more cautious in trusting to fortune. ”

“ If therefore by skill or by luck, such sands or veins shall fall into his hands, he will be able to establish his fortune without expenditure, and from poverty rise to wealth. If on the contrary, his hopes are not realised, then he can desist from washing or digging. ”

“ If there is no forest he should not mine there unless there is a river near, by which he can carry down the timber. Yet wherever there is a hope that pure gold or gems may be found, the ground can be turned up, even though there is no forest, because the gems need only to be polished and the gold to be purified. Therefore the inhabitants of hot regions obtain these substances from rough and sandy places, where sometimes there are not even shrubs, much less woods. ”

“ The last two kinds of ground are more troublesome, especially because tunnels cannot be driven in such places. Nevertheless, a prudent miner considers all these four sorts of localities in the region in which he happens to be, and he searches for veins in those places where some torrent or other agency has removed and swept the soil away; yet he need not prospect everywhere, but since there is a great variety, both in mountains and in the three other kinds of localities, he always selects from them those which will give him the best chance of obtaining wealth. ”

“ Silver is found in nearly all the provinces, but the finest of all in Spain; where it is found in the barren lands, and in the mountains. V/herever one vein of silver has been found, another is sure to be found not far away. This is the case of nearly all the metals, whence it appears that the Greeks derived metalla. It is wonderful that the shafts begun by Hannibal in Spain still remain, their names being derived from their makers. ”

“ The miner should try to obtain a mine, to which access is not difficult, in a mountainous region, gently sloping, wooded, healthy, safe, and not far distant from a river or stream by means of which he may convey his mining products to be washed and smelted. ”

“ The miner should not dig in those solitary mountains, dispersed through the plains and open regions, but only in those which are connected and joined with others. Then again, since mountains differ in size, some being very large, others of medium height, and others more like hills than mountains, the miner rarely digs in the largest or the smallest of them, but generally only in those of medium size. ”

“ For since a region which is abundant in mining products very often yields no agricultural produce, and the necessaries of life for the workmen and others must all be imported, a bad and long road occasions much loss and trouble with porters and carriers, and this increases the cost of goods brought in, which, therefore, must be sold at high prices. This injures not so much the workmen as the masters; since on account of the high price of goods, the workmen are not content with the wages customary for their labour, nor can they be, and they ask higher pay from the owners. ”

“ The miner should next consider the locality, as to whether it has a perpetual supply of running water, or whether it is always devoid of water except when a torrent supplied by rains flows down from the summits of the mountains. The place that Nature has provided with a river or stream can be made serviceable for many things; for water will never be wanting and can be carried through wooden pipes to baths in dwelling-houses; it may be carried to the works, where the metals are smelted ”

“ It is a conspicuous fact that these cunning manipulators do not use a straight twig, but a forked one cut from a hazel bush, or from some other wood equally flexible, so that if it be held in the hands, as they are accustomed to hold it, it turns in a circle for any man wherever he stands. ”

“ They should not buy only high priced shares in those mines producing metals, nor should they buy too many in neighbouring mines where metal has not yet been found, lest, should fortune not respond, they may be exhausted by their losses and have nothing with which they may meet their expenses or buy other shares which may replace their losses. ”

“ And if two, three, or four tribes, or even half the whole number find veins, their works would then become more profitable; and it is not " probable that the work of all the tribes will be disappointing " [7] . Although this advice of Xenophon is full of prudence, there is no opportunity for it except in free and wealthy States; for those people who are under the authority of kings and princes, or are kept in subjection by tyranny, do not dare, without permission, to incur such expenditure; those who are endowed with little wealth and resources cannot do so on account of insufficient funds. ”

“ But the miner does not dig in those surrounded on all sides by mountains, nor in those that are open, unless there be a low plain close at hand, or unless a vein of metal descending from the mountains should extend into the valley. ”

“ Nor is this all he ought to do, for sometimes he should undertake actual labour, not thereby demeaning himself, but in order to encourage his workmen by his own diligence, and to teach them their art; for that mine is well conducted in which not only the foreman, but also the owner himself, gives instruction as to what ought to be done. A certain barbarian, according to Xenophon, rightly remarked to the King of Persia that " the eye of the master feeds the horse," [2] for the master’s watchfulness in all things is of the utmost importance. ”

“ Therefore in places where the grass has a dampness that is not congealed into frost, there is a vein beneath: also if the exhalation be excessively hot, the soil will produce only small and pale-coloured plants. ”

“ It is said that the moment they place their feet on a vein the twig immediately turns and twists, and so by its action discloses the vein; when they move their feet again and go away from that spot the twig becomes once more immobile. ”

“ There are ten tribes at Athens, and if to each of these the State should assign an equal number of slaves, and the tribes should all make new cuttings, sharing their fortunes in common, then if but one tribe should make any useful discovery it would point out something profitable to the whole ”

“ When several share together the expenditure on a mine, it is convenient and useful to elect from amongst their own number a mine captain, ar 1 also a foreman. For, since men often look after their own interests but neglect those of others, they cannot in this case take care of their own without at the same time looking after the interests of the others, neither can they neglect the interests of the others without neglecting their own. ”

“ Then, the miner should make careful and thorough investigation concerning the lord of the locality, whether he be a just and good man or a tyrant, for the latter oppresses men by force of his authority, and seizes their possessions for himself ”