forms found native belong to the rhombic or trimetric system, and are
more or less modified rhombic pyramids. These crystals could not be
formed at temperatures approaching that of boiling water, or be exposed
to such a temperature without alteration; crystals of native sulphur
must therefore have been formed at ordinary temperatures. Sulphur does
not occur anywhere in sufficient quantity to constitute a rock, but is
widely disseminated throughout rocks of different ages, either implanted
in crystals, in small beds, nests and nodules in a pulverulent
condition, as a coating, as in some lavas, or as a cement of decomposed
trachyte. Dr Sullivan has said:[178]
“In volcanic regions the deposition of sulphur may result from two
causes: 1st, the action of oxygen on damp sulphide of hydrogen gas, or
on solutions of the gas; and 2d, the mutual decomposition of sulphide of
hydrogen, H_{2}S, and sulphurous anhydride, S_{2}O. If the former be in
excess, water and sulphur appear to be formed; if the latter be in
excess, pentathionic acid, H_{2}S_{5}O_{6}, and water are formed; the
pentathionic acid is gradually decomposed into sulphur and sulphuric
acid, which produce sulphates. In connection with this reaction, it may
be observed that several sulphates are associated with the sulphur found
in districts where the sulphur is formed from gases escaping through
fissures. Old craters having such active fissures called fumaroles, are
termed solfaterras.”
So important an influence does the price of sulphur exercise upon the
cost of production of bleached and printed cotton stuffs, soap, glass,
and other valuable manufactures of this country,[179] that it was the
express subject of a commercial treaty, and in 1838 the British
Government took very decided steps to put an end to a monopoly attempted
to be established in it by the Sicilian Government.
That the present supply of sulphur is inadequate to the demand is proved
by its high price, by the use of pyrites as a substitute, and by the
inquiries recently made by the British Government as to its existence in
Mexico. That the already large demand for this important substance must
increase is quite evident when we consider the purposes to which it is
applied.
_Gunpowder._--Sulphur enters into the composition of this important
article in proportions ranging from 10 to 20 per cent., according to
whether the powder is required for war, sporting, or blasting
purposes.[180] When we consider the vast quantity required by the
gigantic armaments now maintained in every civilised country, as well as
by the numerous mining and engineering operations at present in
existence throughout the world (in which it is indispensable for
blasting), we can form some idea of the immense amount of sulphur
annually consumed in the manufacture of gunpowder alone.
_Sulphuric Acid._--One of the most important chemical agents required in
the arts and manufactures, is used very extensively for making soda-ash
for bleaching linen, woollens, etc., straw, etc.,[181] manure making,
and for a variety of chemical productions; also for refining
metals.[182]
_Soda-ash_ (alkali) is obtained from common salt by means of
concentrated sulphuric acid. It is used instead of barilla for
soap-making, as a substitute for pot and pearl ashes in glass-making;
for cleaning and bleaching; and, in the form of carbonate, for medicinal
and domestic purposes. In the year 1862 the enormous quantity of from
100,000 to 120,000 tons of the former, and from 25,000 to 30,000 tons of
the latter, was made in Great Britain alone.[183] That quantity is now
vastly increased.[184]
_Manures._--A great consumption of sulphuric acid has of late years
taken place for agricultural purposes,[185] viz., in the preparation of
superphosphate of lime, the most active manure for turnips, grass, and
cereals.
_Oïdium._--Within the last few years it has been discovered that the
use of flowers of sulphur, containing traces of sulphuric and sulphurous
acid, and of carburetted hydrogen, is a protection against the vine
disease--_oïdium_. Although no reliable information exists as to the
exact quantity used for this purpose, yet it is known to be very
considerable.
Flowers of sulphur have recently been strongly recommended as a remedy
for the potato disease.[186]
Such are a few of the principal objects to which sulphur is devoted, and
for which it is needed; thereby proving most conclusively that THE
CONSUMPTION IS ONLY LIMITED BY THE SUPPLY.
Sulphur is found in Corfu, the neighbourhood of Rome, Transylvania,
Spain, the clear or borax lake in California, the slopes of the
Popocatepetl, in the province of Puebla, Mexico; in Montana, North
America, and in the Andaman and the Japanese islands. Supply from these
sources is practically impossible, and the whole supply of sulphur to
Europe and America is derived from the Sicilian sulphur-deposits, the
imports of which into this country arose from 16,686 tons in 1842 to
58,204 tons in 1859,[187] and over 75,000 tons in 1862;[188] and in
France, from 6668 tons in 1820 to 33,361 tons in 1855.
Sulphur is found either (_a_) in a pure native state, (_b_) as gas, or
(_c_) in mechanical admixtures with clays or other earths. The method of
extraction of sulphur when mechanically combined with foreign substances
is thus described in Richardson and Watts’ “Chemical Technology,” vol.
i., part iii, p. 314:
“It has already been noticed that the deposits of sulphur are always
associated with various mineral or earthy matters, and three processes
are followed to separate the principal part of these impurities, which
generally amount to more than one-half of the entire weight of the
deposit.
“When the deposit is rich in sulphur it is melted in a cast-iron pot,
heated by an open fire. The melted mass is stirred with an iron rake to
facilitate the separation of the earthy matters, which are allowed to
fall to the bottom. The liquid sulphur is then removed by a ladle,
thrown into an iron vessel, and allowed to solidify. The temperature
ought to vary between 250° and 300° Fahr., and never reach 480°, at
which point the sulphur would take fire. The residue which remains, and
contains more or less sulphur, is removed, and may be treated by either
of the following plans:
“A small blast furnace, constructed of fire-brick or stone, is charged
with the sulphur-stone at the bottom, which is ignited, and fresh
charges of the sulphur-stone are thrown in from time to time. The
working holes at the sides admit a small supply of air to support
combustion on the surface, by which means sufficient heat is generated
to melt the sulphur, which runs off at the bottom through a pipe into an
iron pot, where it solidifies.
“The third plan is suitable for treating the impure sulphur-stone,
containing from 8 to 12 per cent, of sulphur. It consists of a furnace
sufficiently wide to receive two rows of earthen pots--the vessels for
distillation--which are arranged in pairs somewhat raised above the sole
of the furnace, upon the supports so that the necks of the pots are a
little above the top of the furnace. Thus the mouths of the pots are
free, and having been charged from without, they are closed by the lids,
cemented on, and the distillation begins. The sulphur vapours pass over
by the lateral tubes to the receivers, where they condense to liquid
sulphur, which flows through into a vessel filled with water, and there
solidifies.”
We have indicated the three conditions under which sulphur is found. The
sulphur in a gaseous state in Iceland, where, besides the large and
rapid deposit of the sulphur in and upon the ground, an immense quantity
escapes in the sulphureous vapour, is now entirely wasted, but with the
adoption of the improved Mexican process an enormous saving would
result. Now the whole of this may be recovered by condensing these
vapours in clay vessels, a method practised with great success in
Mexico, where in certain places the fumes escape from the soil and can
be utilised only in this manner. The sulphur thus obtained is required
at the mint of the city of Mexico and at the assaying works.
Sulphur is an essential product of volcanic action: now Iceland is _par
excellence_ the spot of the world where volcanic action is at its
maximum, and Iceland, as a consequence, is the spot where sulphur is
found most extensively. The districts round the active volcanoes of
Etna, in Sicily, and Vesuvius, near Naples, supply the whole amount of
sulphur now used. In seeking, then, for a new source of this commodity,
we should naturally turn our attention to a volcanic district. And where
in the whole world does there exist another country so pre-eminently
volcanic as _Iceland_? Its fearful lava-tracts, its vast plains of
scoriæ, volcanic dust and ashes, its pools of boiling water, its
spouting geysirs, its vast caldrons of seething mud, proclaim its
volcanic origin. It owes its upheaval wholly to volcanic agency, and is
composed almost entirely of igneous rocks.
While these pages are passing through the press, the volcanic force has
broken out in Iceland, and Skaptar Jökull burst into eruption for four
days in the month of January last.
The wildest theories have been uttered respecting the modes of origin of
sulphur. An inquirer, who investigated the southern Icelandic mines in a
superficial manner, has thrown out a theory that the sulphur derived
from Krísuvík, and other southern localities, has been produced by the
action of water on the sulphurets of iron contained in the rocks. This
idea, which rivalled some of the speculations of De Luc, was expressed
by him in a paper read before the Society of Arts, on the 15th January
1873. The notion was, that the hidden fires of Iceland dwell in the
crust of the earth, and not in its interior; that the boiling springs
and mud-caldrons certainly do not derive their heat from the depths of
our globe, but that the fire which nourishes them is to be found
frequently at only a few feet below the surface, in fermenting matters
which are deposited in certain strata! How far this theory is probable
may be estimated when we glance at the converse hypothesis, which we
must impress upon our readers. The lava at Myvatn is only a few feet, or
at most, a few yards, thick; this is clearly shown by the fact that the
gaseous vapour escapes from innumerable holes in the lava lying between
the mines and the lake. The stoppage of an outlet for the upward flow
of the gas has caused the outbreak of the fluid at spots far distant
from the original central “crater” of the sulphur volcano. The geology
of Mr Vincent is decidedly vague.
That a great volcanic diagonal line stretches from Cape Reykjanes to the
lake of Myvatn, is a theory which is unproven by topographical science,
and which a glance at the map, which shows the elevated hills of
Lángjökull, Hofsjökull, and Vatnajökull extending across this imaginary
line, is sufficient to disprove. The relative elevations of the
mountains, from Snæfell on the east, to Eyjafjallajökull on the west,
seem to indicate that the central line of volcanic action has been along
a line parallel with the south-south-east coast, and which has left the
formations in the neighbourhood of Lake Myvatn, with the small volcanic
chain of Sellandafjall, Bláfjall, Hvannfell, and Búrfell, entirely to
the north. The abrupt escarpment of the greater chain lies along its
south-eastern strike, and the fissures along which the parallel rivers
from the Jökuldalr to the Hrútafjörðará flow are, according to a
well-known geological law, produced on the less inclined slopes. Whilst
Mr Vincent’s theoretical geology verges on the speculative, his
assertion of known geographical facts is inexact.
In 1857, when the temporary cessation of war by England led the British
Government to look for fresh sources of gunpowder supply for Europe,
Captain J. E. Commerell, of H.M.S. “Snake,” was sent to Iceland by the
Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty to report upon the capabilities of
the mines of Krísuvík and Húsavik. He found the Krísuvík mines, though
comparatively close to the sea, did not possess a safe port of
debarkation nearer than Hafnarfjörðr. An _ex parte_ statement of the
“objects, pleasures, and advantages” of the “truly eligible” Krísuvík
sulphur mines leaves itself open to severe criticism, and the opinion of
Commander Commerell that “the sulphur at Myvatn, though great in
quantity, is at too great a distance from a port of embarkation to
permit its extraction being carried on with any chance of competing with
that from the Krísuvík mines,” may be profitably contrasted with that of
A. de Capel Crowe, Esq., H.B.M.’s Consul in Copenhagen.[189]
Consul Crowe’s remarks as to the richness of these deposits are
corroborated by Commander Commerell himself, who says in his report:
“I found at Námarfiall, which lies about six miles to the east of Lake
Myvatn, large beds of sulphur in a very pure state; and though the
quantities already deposited were very great, no signs appeared of their
having been worked.”
We shall give the testimony of a few of the more distinguished Icelandic
travellers relating to the value of the Myvatn fields. But quotations
are only made from authors whose scientific and literary position render
their opinion of value and authority.
The testimony of the Rev. Mr Henderson, the celebrated missionary in
Iceland, cites the following notorious and well-known facts:
“To the east of Krabla the sulphur mines of Reykjahlid.[190]
“Of the sulphur mountains a particular description is given in the
journal.[191]
“...Several huge dark mountains that are again relieved in the east by
the Námar, or sulphur mountains, from the decomposition going forward,
in which a vast profusion of smoke is constantly forming, ascending to a
great height in the atmosphere.[192]
“Olafsen and Povelsen, describing two pools on the south-east side of
Krabla, _say that the whole region completely answers to the well-known
solfatara in Italy_.”[193]
Describing the neighbourhood of Myvatn, he, in an eloquent description,
says:
“On either side lay vast beds of sulphur covered with a thin crust,
containing innumerable small holes, through which the vapour was making
its escape. In many parts the crust, which presented the most beautiful
aluminous efflorescence, was not more than half-an-inch in thickness;
and on its being removed, _a thick bed of pure sulphur appeared, through
which the steam issued with a hissing noise_. The sublimation of the
sulphur is produced by the constant ascension of this vapour; and it is
found to possess greater and less degrees of purity, in proportion as
the soil is more or less porous. In general, however, _these mines are_
VASTLY _superior to any other in Iceland_, owing to the intense degree
of subterranean heat, and the very loose and porous nature of the earth
at this place.
“The sulphur mountain rises to a considerable height from the east side
of the hollow in which these mines are situate. It does not exceed a
mile in breadth, but is more than five miles in length, stretching from
the east end of the lake in a northerly direction, between the volcanoes
_Krabla_ and _Leirhnukr_, where it joins the ridge by which these two
mountains are connected. The surface is very uneven, consisting of
immense banks of red bolus and sulphur, the crust of which is variegated
with random mixtures of yellow, light-blue, and white colours, and in
some places a soft sandstone makes its appearance through the
predominant mould. I could also observe holes, out of which the sulphur
has been dug by the peasants.
“The jetting is accompanied with a harsh roar, and the escape of a vast
quantity of vapour strongly impregnated with sulphur.... Passing a
desolate farm, and keeping at a distance from the sulphur banks, which
appeared in the face of a contiguous mountain, we succeeded in reaching
the base of Krabla.... On the northern margin rose a bank, consisting of
red bolus and sulphur, from which, as the wind blew from the same
quarter, we had a fine view of the whole. Nearly about the centre of the
pool is the aperture whence the vast body of water, sulphur, and
bluish-black bolus is thrown up; and which is equal in diameter to the
column of water ejected by the _Great Geyser_ at its strongest
eruptions.... What was visible of Krabla appeared covered with the same
clay, pumice, and sand as that on which I stood, only diversified by
beds of yellow sulphur.... To the west of this wilderness lay a number
of low mountains, where the _Fremri_ Námar are situated. Directly in
front was the valley filled with lava above described; near the farther
end of which the large columns of smoke ascending from the sulphur
springs had a fine effect.”[194]
The Rev. S. Baring-Gould, whose researches into Icelandic literature
have been of such service to the philologist, gives the following
description of the view from the slope above Reykjahlíð, looking across
the Lake Myvatn:
“You see the indigo chain of Blafell, beyond which is a _field of
sulphur_ and boiling mud called Fremri-Námar, not visited by travellers,
as it is difficult of access, and inferior in interest to the Námarfjall
springs.... (From Námarfjall) in half an hour we reach the sulphur
mountains, a chain of red hills, perfectly destitute of vegetation. We
dip into a glen, and find it full of fumaroles, from which steam is
puffing, and sulphur is being deposited. These run along the dale in a
zigzag. By the road-side I noticed a block of pure sulphur, from which
every traveller breaks a piece, so that in time it will disappear
altogether.
“Passing through the Námar-skarth, a winding cleft in the mountains, I
came upon a plain of mud, the wash from the hills bounded by a
lava-field; the mountains steaming to their very tops, and depositing
sulphur, the primrose hue of which gives extraordinary brightness to the
landscape.... Presently the beautiful Lake Myvatn, or Midge Lake, opened
before us, studded with countless lava islets; beyond was the sulphur
range, yellow as though the sun ever shone on it.”[195]
In Mr Shepherd’s work on the North-West Peninsula of Iceland, we find
another lucid description:
“We rode to the sulphur mountains on the east of the lake (Myvatn).
These large hills are a very wonderful sight. They are of various
colours, a variety of mixtures of red and yellow. From their sides are
emitted various jets of steam, and _masses of bright yellow sulphur_ are
strewed all around them.... All around the soil was very treacherous,
consisting of hot mud, with a covering of sulphur about an inch in
thickness, which in most cases was sufficiently strong to bear a man’s
weight. When the crust was broken, steam issued forth, strongly
impregnated with sulphur.”[196]
The distinguished Lord Dufferin (the present Governor-General of
Canada) in his charming book, “Letters from High Latitudes,” says:
“Opal, calcedony, amethyst, malachite, obsidian, agate, and felspar are
the principal minerals; OF SULPHUR THE SUPPLY IS INEXHAUSTIBLE.”
M’Culloch’s “Geographical Dictionary,” vol. i., p. 585, under the
heading “Iceland,” says:
“Few metals are met with. Iron and copper have been found, but the mines
are not wrought. THE SUPPLY OF SULPHUR IS INEXHAUSTIBLE; large mountains
are encrusted with this substance, which, when removed, is again formed
in crystals by the agency of the hot steam from below. Large quantities
were formerly shipped; but latterly the supplies sent to the foreign
market were comparatively small.”
“Chambers’s Encyclopædia,” under the heading “Iceland,” vol. v., p. 505,
says:
“The mineral wealth of Iceland has only begun to be developed. IN NO
PART OF THE WORLD IS SULPHUR FOUND IN SUCH ABUNDANCE.”
An adequate idea of the value of the Icelandic sulphur fields, as
compared with those of Italy, cannot be conveyed by the reports of
travellers. To thoroughly comprehend this, we must bear in mind the
reproductive properties displayed by solfataras, and the best means
suggested by practice to extract the sulphur and yet not interfere with
this peculiarity.
The process for the separation of the sulphur at the celebrated
solfatara of Pozzuoli, near Naples, where the sulphur is condensed in
considerable quantities amongst the gravel collected in the circle which
forms the interior of the crater, is conducted as follows: The mixture
of sulphur and gravel is dug up and submitted to distillation to extract
the sulphur, and the gravel is returned to its original place, and in
the course of about THIRTY _years_ is again so rich in sulphur, as to
serve for the same process again.[197]
We thus see that the reproductive process occupies a period of THIRTY
_years_ in the Italian mines, whereas the same results are produced in
THREE years in the Icelandic mines, _i.e_., that A GIVEN AREA IN ICELAND
WILL PRODUCE TEN TIMES THE QUANTITY OF SULPHUR, OR IS TEN TIMES AS
VALUABLE, AS THE SAME AREA IN ITALY.
“The permanency of the volcano, as a source of sulphur, would depend on
the rapidity with which the sulphur would be replaced, after the sand
had been once exhausted. The time required for this is not necessarily
fixed to periods of twenty-five or thirty years. In Iceland, at a
similar spot the sulphur is renewed every two or three years.”[198]
The nearest port suitable for shipment of the sulphur is “Húsavík,”
situate in the Bay of Skjálfandi; it is perfectly accessible at all
times of the year. Mr Consul Crowe having been questioned on the
subject, states[199] that:
“The Icelandic ports are, owing to the influence of the Gulf Stream, in
ordinary years accessible to shipping all the year round, and shipments
can safely be made during seven months at ordinary rates of freight and
insurance. Húsavík, as a rule, is never frozen up, the only impediment
to free navigation being the floating ice which at certain seasons is
loosened from Greenland, and may for a time lie off the coast. Such
occurrences, however, have their stated times and seasons, which are
well known to navigators in those waters; in some years there are no
hindrances of the kind at all, and shipments in good vessels may be made
all the year round. In support of this statement, I may mention the fact
that steamers leave Copenhagen for Iceland as late as the middle or end
of October, and would do so later were there sufficient goods or
passengers to make them pay. Again, the Iceland ‘Althing’ have recently
proposed to raise funds for running steamers round the island ‘_all the
year_,’ and thus supply the want of internal communication; and, if the
proposal fell through, it was only on financial grounds, and not from
inaccessibility of ports from ice. I am therefore simply repeating facts
in stating that, as a rule, Iceland navigation is free all the year
round. _The island is but a two days’ journey_ _from Scotland, and with
suitable vessels an almost uninterrupted intercourse might, in ordinary
seasons, be kept up_. In further confirmation of what I have stated, I
may add that this same warm current from the Mexican Gulf, which is so
beneficial to Iceland, keeps also all the Norway ports, from the Naze to
the North Cape, ice-free all the year round.”
The road from Hafnarfjörðr to Krísuvík will certainly be improved by the
formation of a railway.
It has been said by Professor Paijkull that this road is one of seven or
eight hours’ journey.
“This road is one of the best in Iceland. The ‘heiði’ south of Húsavik
is free from stones, and is level, although only sparsely overgrown with
grass. Neither are there any hills or fjelds to be met with along it,
and there are only a few small streams to be crossed. The last few miles
north of Myvatn certainly consist of a sandy plain, but it is tolerably
level, and the road is pretty good, owing, I suppose, to the sulphur
traffic from the solfataras, near Myvatn, to Húsavik, in former days, in
which 100 horses are said to have been employed at one time.”[200]
In 1868, the late foreign minister of the United States, Mr W. H.
Seward, one of the most far-sighted statesmen which that country has
ever produced, was able to anticipate the future importance of the
Iceland sulphur mines both to Europe and to America. It was even
proposed that the United States Government should purchase both Iceland
and Greenland, as well as St Thomas, from the Danish Government. To
promote this object, Mr B. M. Pierce was sent to Iceland to report on
the mines. Extracts from his report are subjoined:
“The sulphur mountains, beds, and mines are very rich and extensive,
easily worked, and of immense value. The sulphur is supplied at half the
cost of that furnished by the Sicilian mines, which it is believed will
soon be exhausted. _The possession of these mines as a part of our
territory is a question of vital magnitude._
“...By the way of Reykjahlid and Krabla, where are the most extensive
sulphur deposits of the island.
“There are two principal fields of sulphur in Iceland; one near Krabla
and Reykjahlid in the north-eastern, the other at Krísuvík in the
south-western corner. _The former is by far the most extensive region_,
but the latter gives the purer product. Every traveller gives us a
description, more or less minute, of these sulphur hills, and the beds
of pure yellow, often a foot thick, which extend about them. Up to a few
years ago the sulphur had only been explored in the rudest way by the
natives. The industry thus carried on was almost insignificant in
result, and was soon abandoned when the supply of surface material
became scanty. Still the exportation of sulphur was enough during the
days of the peasant mining to give the brightest hopes of what it would
be under enlightened management and economy. One of the most interesting
and remarkable facts connected with these mines is that a region
apparently exhausted becomes re-sulphurised again, so that the stores of
brimstone are PRACTICALLY as INEXHAUSTIBLE as those of the infernal
regions. Although the mines of Krísuvík are twenty miles from
Hafnarfjörðr, one of the best harbours in the island, and those of
Krabla are farther still from the seaboard, and from the principal
trading station of Húsavik, it would appear that pure Icelandic sulphur
is excessively cheap, half the price, say some, of Sicilian sulphur.
_With improved means of transportation it would control the market._ The
Oxonian, remarking on this, says (p. 138), ‘like everything else in
Iceland, the light is under a bushel.’ Our most trustworthy information
comes from Forbes, who, being an officer, sees the importance of the
sulphur supply, and enters energetically into a thorough discussion on
the prospects of the Iceland beds. We shall give the substance of what
he says: ‘The deposits are formed by the decomposition of the sulphurous
fumes that burst up from the ground, and afterwards sublimate as solid
sulphur. A part is mixed with clay; a part is almost pure sulphur,
containing but 4 per cent. of gangue. The number and energy of these
sulphur gases continually coming up is incredible. The sulphur earth, or
impregnated clay, averages from 6 feet to 3 feet in thickness, and
contains 50 or 60 per cent. of pure sulphur.’
“Sulphur is found also at Námafjall, in the north of Iceland, in
geological circumstances analogous to those of the beds at Krísuvík. It
is found there generally in concrete masses of a citron-yellow colour,
quite pure, sometimes very plentiful, and generally associated with lime
and silica. It is to be regretted that the Danish Government does not
favour this industry, which would furnish as fine sulphur as that of
Sicily, and doubtless at a lower price. Besides, Denmark possesses in
Iceland immense stores, which will one day be of great value to her when
those of Sicily are exhausted.”
Before the concession was granted to Mr Lock, Professor Johnstrüp was
sent by the Danish Government to survey and make plans of the mines. His
report is inserted at length:
“Referring to the consul’s request to me in date of the 27th of last
month, I beg to inform him that on the journey which I made last year to
Iceland I visited the sulphur mines belonging to the State there, which
lie to the east of Myvatn, and I made maps of them, which were sent to
the Minister of Justice, who will, no doubt, let you have copies of
them. From these you will be able to see that the richest mines are to
be found in that part called Reykjahlidar-Námar, where large deposits of
the purest sulphur are to be found.
“The reproduction is _incessantly_ going on from about _a thousand small
eminences (solfataras)_, which are found on the ridge, along the sides,
and at the foot of Námarfjall.
“Further rich sulphur mines are to be found at the Kétill crater, called
the Fremri-Námar, while the least rich mines are the so-called
Krabla-Námar, but also at these there is a continual production of
sulphur going on. The first-mentioned mines ARE THE RICHEST TO BE FOUND
IN THE WHOLE OF ICELAND, and have the advantage of lying in the track of
a PRACTICABLE ROAD _to the shipping port of_ HÚSAVIK, WHICH ROAD IS
AMONG THE BEST IN THE ISLAND. As regards the position of the mines, I
must refer you to Olsen and Gunnlaugsson’s map of Iceland, on which they
are marked. It will be a pleasure to me should these particulars be of
service to you.
“(Signed) J. F. JOHNSTRÜP,
“_Prof. Mineralogy at the Copenhagen University._
“_April 30, 1872._”
The examination of these facts is quite enough to show the inquirer that
the transit from Myvatn to Húsavík is more practical, and of more easy
access, than that from Krísuvík to any of the ports at the south-west
corner of the island, which have been extolled by Mr Vincent in his _ex
parte_ glorification of the Krísuvík mines. We will now turn to the
testimony of a far greater traveller, whose opinion on the subject
ought, indeed, to be regarded as final. Captain R. F. Burton, in his
recent exploration of Iceland, devoted much time to the examination of
the Myvatn sulphur deposits. The great question is answered by him in
the following letter which appeared in the London _Standard_, Nov. 1,
1872:
“Sir,--Perhaps you will allow me, in continuation of my letter of
October the 14th, to attack the subject of the sulphur deposits in
Iceland now belonging to British subjects.
“For many years these diggings, so valuable since the exhaustion of the
supply from Sicily, were a bone of contention between France and
England....
“Denmark can hardly work the mines for herself without a great
expenditure of capital, which will find its way into Icelandic pockets,
and thus she wisely leases her property to strangers. She relies upon
the fact that sulphur has risen from £4, 10s. to £7 per ton, and
consequently that her Iceland diggings must become more valuable every
year.
“I spent three days--from August 7th to August 9th, 1872--at the
solfataras of Mý-vatn, or Midge Lake, situated to the north-east of the
island. I lodged at the farm of Reykjahlið (reeky ledge), under the roof
of the well-known Hr Pètur Jónsson, whose alacrity in composing a bill
of charges has won for him a wide reputation.
“On Wednesday, August 7th, I set out under the guidance of this worthy
to inspect the diggings of Krafla, generally but erroneously written
Krabla. And now a verbatim extract from my diary will assure the reader
that my statements are completely free from the process called
‘cooking.’
“Rode to Leirhnúkr (mud knoll) in one hour fifteen minutes. At once
understood an _emplacement_ very imperfectly described by old
travellers. It is the northern head of a spine, a sharp prism about one
mile broad, with a magnetic direction of 215 deg., in fact, nearly due
north--south. It is a mass of Palagonite (sea-sand forming a stone),
everywhere capped by spills and gushes of modern lava, _and sulphur
abounds_ at the junction of these formations. The hillock of _Leirhnúkr
is one vast mass of sulphurous deposits_. I counted seven wells upon the
slope, whilst the lowlands around were spotted with unwholesome-looking
eruptions. Rode east to Helvíti, which the Rev. Mr Henderson described
in 1815 as a crater, not unworthy of its grim name. ‘Hell,’ here as
elsewhere, has been ‘dismissed with costs,’ the placid blue lake,
ruffled at times by the passing breeze, and blowing off odours the
reverse of Sabæan, is now hardly worth visiting. At Hrafntinnuhryggr
(raven stone ridge)--excuse the word, I did not make it--expected to
find, as the ‘Obsidian Mountain’ has been described, ‘a heap of broken
wine bottles shining with their jet-like colouring.’ Found nothing of
the kind, but picked up some decent specimens. Rode back much edified,
etc., etc....
“On the next day rode to the Fremrinámar (outer warm-springs) to the
south with some easting to Reykjahlíð. Found the road utterly dissimilar
to anything laid down in maps. After four hours thirty minutes of rough
travelling, reached the _deposit which has been worked for some
generations, but which cannot be said to have been_ EVEN SCRATCHED. The
‘lay’ is upon the north-eastern, the eastern, and the southern flank of
a crater, described by the late Professor Paijkull as ‘probably the
largest in Iceland.’ _Immense deposits covered the ground, and white
fumes everywhere filled the air. Whole torrents_ of what Mr Crookes
calls the ‘mainstay of our present industrial chemistry’--I mean
_sulphur--have here been ejected_. Could not count the hissing ‘hot
coppers,’ popularly called fumaroles. Returned after a stiff ride of
eight hours thirty minutes, which gave a fine view of the Ódáða Hraun,
the ‘great and terrible wilderness’ of lava to the south-west, etc....
“August 9th was a lazy day, spent in preparing for a trip to the desert.
Inspected the Hlíðarnámar (ledge springs), from which the farm of
Reykjahlíð takes its name. Bravely objected to be deterred by the ‘smell
of rotten eggs,’ by the ‘suffocating fumes,’ and by the chance of being
‘snatched from yawning abysses by the guide’s stalwart arms.’ Perhaps
the conviction that the abyss nowhere exceeds three feet in depth may
account for my exceptional calmness in such deadly peril. The
Hlíðarnámar, or Ledge Springs, lie west of the sulphur mountain, and on
a lower plane than the eastern deposits. They are bounded north by two
lava-streams issuing from the base of the Hlíðarfjall, and south by
independent outbreaks of lava, showing hosts of small detached craters.
East is the hill, and west the Mý-vatn water, and its selvage of
fire-stone. The area of this fragment of the grand solfatara may be one
square mile.
“The spade deftly wielded threw up in many places pure flowers of
sulphur. According to Dr Augustus Vöelcker, this bright yellow matter
gives 95·68 per cent., and according to the Icelandic traveller
Ólafsson, it is readily renewed. Below the golden colour usually is a
white layer, soft, acid, and mixed with alum; it is calculated to yield
20 to 30 per cent. Under it again are the red, the dark purple, the
chocolate, and other tints, produced either by molecular change in the
mineral, or by oxygen which the sulphur no longer modifies. Here the
material is heavy and viscid, clogging the spade, and the yield is
reported at 50 to 60 per cent. These figures will show the absolute
value of the supply. Beneath, at short distances, say at three feet,
lies the ground-rock, invariably Palagonite: thus ‘falling in’ merely
means dirtying the boots. Between the yellow outcrops stretch gravelly
tracts which the spade showed to be as rich as the more specious
appearances. Many of the issues are alive, and the dead vents are easily
resuscitated by shallow boring, in places even by pulling away the
altered lava-blocks which cumber the surface.
“Leaving my horse in a patch of the wild oats that everywhere
characterise this region, I walked up the sulphur mountain, whose white
and yellow washings, so conspicuous from afar, prove to be sulphur,
stones, and sand deposited by the rain upon the red clay. Here we picked
up crystals of alum and lime and fragments of gypsum and selenite. The
crests and box-shaped masses of Palagonite and altered lava gave fine
views of the lowlands. On the summit we found some small mud-springs,
which Iceland travellers have agreed to call by the corrupted name
‘Makkaluber;’ the people know them as ‘Hverar.’ This peculiarity is
therefore not confined, as writers assert, to the eastern hill feet. The
richest diggings lie below the crest, and here the fumes escape with a
fizz and a mild growl, which vivid fancy has converted into a ‘roar.’ _I
returned from the immense soufrière vastly edified with the spectacle of
so much wealth lying dormant in these days of capital activised by
labour_, etc., etc....
“To the question, ‘Will this sulphur pay its transport?’ I reply
unhesitatingly, Yes, if great care and moderate capital be expended upon
the mines. In the first place, the live vents which waste their sourness
on the desert air must be walled round with stones, or, better still,
with planks, and the fumes should be arrested, as in Mexico, by pans and
other contrivances. The working season would be the summer, AND THE
QUANTITY IS SO GREAT THAT MANY SUMMERS MUST ELAPSE BEFORE THE THOUSANDS
OF TONS WHICH COMPOSE EACH SEPARATE PATCH CAN BE CLEARED OFF. In winter
the produce can be sent down to Húsavík (House’s Bay), by sledges, not
the Esquimaux-like affair at present used in Eastern Iceland, but the
best Norwegian or Canadian. The road is reported by all travellers to be
exceptionally good, running for the most part over gently undulating
heaths, overlying basalt. There are no rivers of importance on the way,
and the fall is about 1500 feet in forty-five English statute miles. The
line is wrongly placed in Gunnlaugsson’s map: it runs on the eastern,
not the western shore of the Langavatn, and it passes to the east of the
celebrated Uxahver. I am also assured that the much-abused Bay of
Húsavík is a safe harbour, when proper moorings are laid down, that no
vessel has been lost there during the last thirty years, and that
Captain Thrupp, of H.M.S. ‘Valorous,’ judged favourably of it. This also
was the verdict of an old Danish skipper, who assured us that during the
last twenty-five years he has been trading between Copenhagen, Hull, and
Húsavík, reaching the latter place about the end of February, and making
his last voyage home in October. During the ‘balance’ of the year masses
of floe-ice prevent navigation.
“From such a speculation present returns may be expected. When income
justifies the outlay a tramway would greatly cheapen transit. The ships
which export the sulphur can import coal, and now that the officinal
treatment of sulphur has been so much simplified by the abolition of
train-oil, nothing else except pressed hay for the cattle is wanted.
When one patch is exhausted, the road can be pushed forward to another.
I am persuaded that the _whole range, wherever Palagonite and lava meet,
will be found to yield more or less sulphur_. Of course it will be
advisable to purchase sundry of the farms, and these, in Iceland, range
in value from £300 to £800 maximum. The vast waste lands to the east
will carry sheep sufficient for any number of hands; and good stone
houses will enable the Englishman to weather a winter at which the
Icelander, in his wretched shanty of peat and boarding, looks with
apprehension. I have already spoken about the excellence of the summer
climate, and any gazetteer shows that the change of temperature at
Montreal is more to be feared than in Iceland.
“I am, &c.,
“RICHARD F. BURTON.
“ATHENÆUM,
“_October 16, 1872._”
The very language of Iceland seems to indicate the importance of its
sulphur deposit. It is a significant fact that the Icelandic language
indicates sulphur as the “burning-stone,” _Brennisteinn_, unlike the
Danish _Svovel_, which is obviously derived from _Sulphur_, Lat.
Mr Vincent’s theory that sulphur is produced by the action of water on
pyrites, though having some elements of probability in it, is
nevertheless entirely unproven in the present state of science, and it
is most unfortunate that throughout his paper, theory and fact are
mingled in equal proportions, each being independent of the other.
“_Tant pis pour les faits._”
It was left for Captain Burton to point out that the testimony of
Commander Commerell, which appears in Mr Vincent’s paper to make the
transit from Krísuvík to Hafnarfjörðr a real path of roses, did not
actually speak with such unqualified enthusiasm. Commander Commerell
says:
“A tramway might also be laid down, but as there are two hills to cross,
with other difficulties, I could not positively state whether this were
possible or not.”
Another objection by Captain Burton appears to be of greater force. It
is alleged that the Krísuvík deposits extend over an area of twenty-five
miles. No precise geological map is given of the locality, and it is
most significant that when Captain Burton and Mr Chapman rode from
Krísa’s Bay, eastward to the Little Geysir, and although they looked
anxiously for the enormous area theoretically assigned to the
sulphur-formation, they failed to see any sign of it. The sulphur, like
the Spanish fleet, was not in sight; and the absence of the Palagonite,
which is invariably in other Icelandic localities found in juxtaposition
with the sulphur, ought to hint to geologists the true state of the
case.
The Danish Government were not slow to perceive, and have on numerous
occasions endeavoured to attract attention to, their valuable mineral
products. Mr Lock, an Englishman, some years ago petitioned the Danish
Government, and expressed his wish to take a lease of the sulphur mines
at Myvatn. A committee was elected by the Icelandic Althing to report
upon this subject. This report, which is dated the 14th August 1869,
exhibits the utmost timidity in permitting an alien to acquire rights
over the mineral products of Iceland. It is given at full length in the
terminal notes to this paper.
It is not here necessary to narrate the circumstances under which the
Danish Government declined to adopt the local recommendation. It will
suffice to say that on the 13th April 1872, a contract was signed
between Alfred G. Lock of London and the Danish Minister of Justice,
Andreas Frederik Krieger, on the part of the Danish Government. This
contract will be found in full in Note No. 1. The lease lasts for fifty
years, and the terms, although costly to the English concessionaire,
were satisfactory to the Danish Government. The greatest possible
irritation has consequently been produced among a very small section of
“Home Rule” Icelanders, who objected to the working of the mines by a
stranger. The matter, however, being entirely taken out of their hands,
their criticism on the arrangement becomes a mere historical question.
A fuller description of Mr Lock’s property will be of interest to the
English inquirer, as it shows to what an extent capital may be
productively invested.
_Description of the Property._
The property comprises the solfataras or sulphur springs, the sulphur
banks or fields, and the sulphur quarries belonging to the State of
Denmark, and situated in the Things Syssel in the north and east
provinces of Iceland.
The sources of sulphur in this property are threefold:
1st. The _solfataras_, or sulphur springs.
2d. The _sulphur banks_, or fields.
3d. The _sulphur quarries_.
_The Solfataras._--Sulphur is formed by certain gases generated
underground by volcanic action, and in solfataras these gases find their
way to the surface of the earth through sand, ashes, or other volcanic
substances, and in their passage sublime and deposit a certain portion
of their sulphur, a certain amount escaping into the air.
This formation of sulphur is continuous and increasing, and in
proportion to the strength of the volcanic influences so is the rapidity
with which the sulphur is formed and the amount taken from the solfatara
replaced. For this reason they are called “living.”
The solfataras of Italy require a period of twenty-five or thirty years
to renew the sulphur in sufficient quantities to pay for extraction,
whilst these are said to require only three years to produce the same
result, the same area of solfataras in Iceland being consequently ten
times as valuable as an equal area in Italy.
The methods of extracting the sulphur from these are most inexpensive,
and the plant required of the simplest description.
The gases at present escaping into the air can be condensed and the
sulphur obtained in a pure crystallised state, without any expenses for
refining, by collecting the gases in clay vessels.
2d. _The Sulphur Banks_, or Fields.--The gases before mentioned escaping
into the air condense and deposit sulphur, which, were the atmosphere
always calm, would be precipitated in regular banks, but owing to the
constant shifting of the wind it is blown in all directions, forming
layers varying from a few inches to several feet in thickness, and
extending over vast areas of the surface of the surrounding ground.
3d. _Sulphur Quarries._--In these localities the accumulation of sulphur
has ceased, and when once extracted is not replaced; they are therefore
called “dead.” The sulphur is found imbedded in, and mixed with, lime,
clay, etc., and nearly all the sulphur exported from Sicily is obtained
from this description of sulphur-bearing strata.
The same kind of strata exists in the Romagna in Italy, and in some
districts of Spain, but in the Romagna the deposit is 390 feet below the
surface, and only yields, in the furnaces, 15 per cent. of sulphur,
while the best of those in Spain are from forty to sixty feet below the
surface, and contain a varying quantity of sulphur of from 21 to 36 per
cent.--the poorest strata being nearest the surface--whilst these (in
Iceland) are upon the surface; and Henderson, the missionary, a most
trustworthy authority, describes a valley one mile wide and five miles
long in the neighbourhood of Krabla, the surface of which is very
uneven, and consists of immense banks of red bolus and sulphur, with
mixtures of yellow, light-blue, and white coloured earth.
Forbes found similar clays to contain, the white from 30 to 40 per
cent., and the red and blue clays about 16 per cent. of sulphur.
The plans made by J. F. Johnstrüp, Professor of Mineralogy at the
University of Copenhagen, by order of the Danish Government, and
attached to the leasing contract, a copy of which will be found in the
Appendix, show the solfataras, or living sulphur-fields, to extend over
a district of more than SIX SQUARE MILES, viz.:
Acres. Sq. miles. Acres.
No. 2. Krabla-námar, about 1998 = 3 78
No. 3. Reykjahlid-námar, ” 1068 = 1½ 108
No. 4. Fremri-námar, ” 808 = 1¼ 8
As a gauge of the value of the Icelandic sulphur-fields we have been
describing, it would be well to compare them with those of other
countries. To arrive at this result, we shall give a comparison of the
estimated cost of Sicilian and Spanish sulphur, and contrast it with
that derived from Iceland.
COST OF THE SICILIAN AND SPANISH SULPHUR COMPARED WITH THAT OF THE
ICELANDIC.
Cost of Sicilian sulphur, according to Signor Parodi’s Report to the
Italian Government, vouched by English engineers, viz.:
Per ton of sulphur.
Fr. c.
Excavation of mineral, 13 0
Oil and tools, 5 0
Extraction of mineral, 16 5
Pumping, 10 0
Fusion, 5 5
General charges and taxes, 11 0
Carriage from mines to port, 20 0
Rent to proprietor of soil, 15 0
------
96 0 = £3 16 10
------
TO ENGLAND.
£ s. d.
Freight, 1 0 0
Export duty, 0 8 0
Port charges, commission, etc., 0 4 6
Insurance, brokerage, etc., 0 8 0
------- 2 0 6
_Cost of Sicilian sulphur, per ton_, £5 17 4
--------
“_Estimated cost of Spanish sulphur_, from a Report by Mr J. Sopwith
to the Hellin Sulphur Company:”
The first tin contains 21 per cent. of sulphur.
” second ” 36 ” ”
” third ” 28 ” ”
It takes six tons of Spanish ore to make one ton of sulphur.
Per ton of sulphur.
£ s. d.
Cost, 2 13 0
Carriage to railway station, 0 2 4
Railway carriage to Cartagena, 0 6 6
Loading, etc., 0 4 6
Freight from Cartagena to England, 0 14 0
Royalty to Government, 0 2 8
Insurance, 0 8 0
------
_Estimated cost of Spanish sulphur_, £4 11 0
“This sulphur should be worth, either in England or Marseilles, from £6
to £7 per ton.
“Flowers of sulphur would cost £6 per ton, and their value would be
£10.”
_Estimated Cost of Icelandic Sulphur._
Although from the fact of the deposits of the sulphur producing clay,
sand, ashes, etc., in Iceland being on the surface, the working expenses
of excavation (and from the closer proximity to the coalfields of
England, the cost of extraction) must be far less than those of Sicily,
yet it has been thought advisable to be on the safe side by taking the
costs of excavation, extraction, and fusion, to be in each case the
same.
The expenses of bringing the sulphur to this country will then be:
Per ton.
£ s. d.
Excavation of mineral, 0 10 10
Oil and tools, 0 4 2
Extraction of mineral, 0 13 9
Fusion, 0 4 7
[201] Carriage to port of shipment, 0 15 0
[201] Freight to United Kingdom, including insurance, 0 10 0
-------
_Estimated cost of Icelandic sulphur_, £2 18 4
Per ton.
£ s. d.
Cost of Sicilian sulphur, 5 17 4
” Icelandic ” 2 18 4
______
_Profit in favour of Iceland_, £2 19 0
Per ton.
£ s. d.
Estimated cost of Spanish, 4 11 0
” ” Icelandic, 2 18 4
______
_Profit in favour of Iceland_, £1 12 8
_Estimated Profit on Icelandic Sulphur_.
The market price of sulphur ranges from about £6, 5s. per ton for third
quality to £8 for best. As by far the greater part of the Icelandic
sulphur would be best quality, its average market price may be safely
put at £7 per ton.
£ s. d.
Market price, 7 0 0
Cost price, 2 18 4
______
_Estimated profit per ton_, £4 1 8
_Estimated Profit per Annum_.
Italy, in the year 1870, exported 52,546 tons. From the comparison
between the relative formations, there is every reason to believe that
as large a quantity can be exported from Iceland as from Italy; but,
supposing that for the first year or two only one-third that quantity is
exported, viz., 17,515 tons, at a profit of £4, 1s. 8d. per ton, the
annual profit would amount to over £71,500.
NOTE I. TO SECTION V.
(_Translation._)
LEASING CONTRACT.
The undersigned, Andreas Frederik Krieger, His Majesty the King of
Denmark’s Minister of Justice, Commander of the Dannebrog and
Dannebrogsmand, Commander of the Order of the North Star, in virtue of
the authority given him by a Royal Resolution of the 9th March 1872,
hereby grants to Alfred G. Lock, of London, a lease of the sulphur mines
belonging to the State, situated in the Thing Syssel in the North and
East Provinces of Iceland, on the following conditions:
I. Exclusive right to work the above-mentioned mines is given to
the lessee for the duration of the lease; they consist of the
so-called Reykjahlidar, Krabla, and Fremri-Námar; on the other
hand, the present contract gives the lessee no right to the use of,
or to the possession of the land around the mines, which ground
does not belong to the State. It must be remarked that the mines on
the church lands at Theistareykir are not included in this leasing.
II. The lease is given for fifty years, reckoned from the 1st
September 1872 to the 31st August 1922, without either of the
contracting parties having the right to withdraw from it. Liberty,
however, is conceded to Alfred G. Lock to withdraw from the
contract at any time before the 31st August this year, date
inclusive.
The lessee can make over his rights acquired by this present
contract, together with his obligations, to other parties, against
whose respectability and solvency no reasonable objection can be
made, but he shall nevertheless be bound to communicate such
transfer to the Ministry of Justice. His rights likewise shall at
his death be transmitted to his heirs.
III. Full liberty is given to the lessee as regards the working of
the mines. The sulphur, however, must not be washed in running
waters which have their outlet in the sea, nor in fishing-waters,
and as a matter of course the sulphur beds or mines must not be
destroyed, with respect to which it is remarked that the earth
during the diggings must not be trodden down into the warm beds,
which are designated by a green colour in the maps attached to the
contract, which in the year 1871 were made by J. F. Johnstrüp,
Professor of Mineralogy at the Copenhagen University.
On the delivering over of the mines a survey will take place, at
which the maps in question will be used as guides. On the
delivering back of the mines a survey shall likewise take place.
IV. Neither the lessee nor the workmen he employs at the mines
shall be subject to any extraordinary taxes or imposts by the State
or the municipality, other than those imposed on the other
inhabitants of the island; and he shall in this respect enjoy the
same rights as natives; but, on the other hand, he shall not be
exempted from the ordinary taxes and charges imposed by the general
laws of the land.
V. The lessee shall be bound to allow the State authorities to
inspect the mines whenever they may think fit to do so.
VI. The lessee shall pay an annual rental of £50 for the first
year; £60 for the second year; £70 for the third year; £80 for the
fourth year; £90 for the fifth year; and £100 for the sixth and for
each of the succeeding forty-four years.
The rental shall be paid _in advance_ to the Minister of Justice in
Copenhagen in two half-yearly payments,--viz., on the 1st September
and 1st March, each time with the half part of the yearly amount.
The first time on the 1st September 1872, with £25, for the
half-year from that day to the 28th February 1873.
The lessee shall, on the signing of this present contract, as
security for the due payment of the rental and the proper working
and redelivery of the mines in an uninjured condition, deposit a
sum of 5000 rixdollars in the private bank of Copenhagen, in such
manner that the Minister of Justice retains the certificate of
deposit in his possession, and can, without trial or sentence, and
without the lessee’s authority, take them out of the private bank,
which institution shall be forbidden to return them to the lessee
or others without the Justice Minister’s permission.
As long as the above-mentioned amount is deposited in the private
bank the interest of the sum may, without let or hindrance from the
Minister of Justice, be paid to the lessee or his representatives.
On the expiry of this leasing contract and the redelivery of the
sulphur mines in an uninjured state, the Minister of Justice shall
be bound to return the certificate of deposit to the lessee or
other duly authorised persons.
VII. Should the rental not be paid at the proper times, and should
the lessee destroy the mines, he (the lessee) shall lose the rights
conceded to him by this contract, and the Minister of Justice shall
in such case be empowered to take from him the lease (eject him
from the mines), and the deposit money be forfeited to the Iceland
Land Fund (State Fund). Should, however, a breach of contract take
place only through omission to pay the rental, and the collective
amount of the rentals still to be paid be less than the deposit,
the Minister of Justice will refund the difference.
VIII. Should the lessee not have removed, within two years from the
expiry of this contract, or from the date of its annulment (see §
7), all buildings, machinery, and the like put up at the mines,
they shall become the property of the State without indemnity.
IX. Disputes arising as to whether the lessee’s treatment of the
mines is destructive to them, shall be settled by arbitration, each
of the contracting parties choosing one man, and these latter in
case of disagreement to choose an umpire. If from any cause an
arbitration cannot be obtained, the parties at issue are empowered
to appeal to the law courts; as likewise in all other disputes
arising out of this contract, in which cases the Royal Supreme
Court of Copenhagen shall be the proper tribunal; for which reason
the lessee, on signing this contract, shall appoint a Copenhagen
resident, who on his behalf shall receive summonses for his
appearance. Should the Minister of Justice think fit to take law
proceedings against him in Iceland, he (the lessee) shall be bound
to receive summonses at the sulphur mines for his appearance at the
Iceland courts.
X. The expense of drawing up this contract, with the stamped paper
and registration, as well as the expense of surveys on the
delivering over and the delivery back of the mines mentioned in
this contract, shall be borne by the lessee.
The contract shall be drawn up in duplicate, of which the one copy
is held by the Minister of Justice and the other by Mr A. G. Lock.
On the above conditions I, Alfred G. Lock, of London, have signed
the present contract.
Copenhagen, 13th April 1872.
(Signed) KRIEGER.
(Signed) { For Alfred G. Lock,
{ A. DE C. CROWE.
Witnesses--
(Signed) RICARD.
( “ ) POULSEN.
The value of the stamp on this contract is calculated at 9 rigsd.
to the pound sterling.
NOTE II.
REPORT OF THE ALTHING.
REPORT drawn up by the Committee elected for this purpose by the
Icelandic “Althing” of 1869, translated after the original
Icelandic text from the “Althing” reports.
We, the undersigned, have, by the honourable “Althing,” been elected
into a Committee, to state our opinion as to a memorial which about
three years ago has been sent in to the Government by an English
gentleman, Mr Lock, importing his wish to take lease of the sulphur
mines in the north of Iceland, situated between 65° 20´ north latitude
and the Arctic Sea, or, otherwise speaking, the mines lying on the said
tract, east of “Myvatn” (Gnat Lake) and west of Jökulsá (Glacier River).
Before stating our opinion about this matter, we think it necessary that
it should be clearly understood by the honourable Assembly--
1. How the matter now stands with the sulphur mines in question.
2. What right the Government has to lease out these mines without
incurring some obnoxious consequences to the leaseholder, or to other
parties concerned.
The sulphur mines that are at the disposal of the Government[202] are
those of “Reykjahlid,” “Kráfla-námar” (the mines of the Krafla
mountain), and “Fremri-námar” (the mines farthest from the coast), but
“Theistareykja-námar” (the mines of Theistareykir) have never been
Government property, although they apparently are lying in the tract of
which the above-mentioned Mr Lock has wished to take lease.
As it is well known, from the excellent essay by the Right Reverend
Hannes Finnson, Bishop of Iceland (see “Rit hins islendska
lærdómslista-fèlags”--the Works of the Icelandic Society of Learning and
Arts--vol. iv., p. 29), Mr Paul Stigsson, superintendent or governor of
Iceland, bought of the Thorsteinssons, so called, in the presence of Mr
Hans Nilsson and Mr Hans Lauritsson, on the behalf of his Majesty
Frederik II., the mines of which there is no question here, with the
exception of the Theistareykja mines, or more properly speaking, the
right of digging sulphur in these mines. This bargain was made at
Eyjafjord on the 15th of August 1563, and the said Thorsteinssons gave
up the sulphur-diggings in “Fremri-námar,” “Kráfla-námar,” and
“Heidar-[203] (heath) námar;” but it is nowhere on record, that any land
or ground for house-building and road-making has been comprised in this
bargain. As it appears, the Government of his Majesty Frederik II. has
thought it sufficient to acquire the monopoly of the sulphur that was to
be found there, for, as it appears, there has, as a rule, never been
lack of persons willing to dig out the sulphur and to carry it, like
_other merchandise_, down to the sea-coast.
In this manner the above-mentioned mines were worked in the time of his
Majesty Frederik II., and a great quantity of sulphur was dug up there.
It is said that the profit has sometimes, in the said period, amounted
to 10,000 rixdollars (or upwards of £1100), and that the total export of
sulphur has gone up to about 200 commercial lasts (or 400 tons) a year.
In the time of Christian IV. the working of the mines, which had
answered so well in the time of his father, was almost discontinued; and
the attempts of this king to let the mines, for a period of fifteen
years, to Mr Jorgen Brochenhuus, of Wolderslev, and Mr Svabe, proved a
complete failure. Thus, in the time of Christian IV., the mines were of
little consequence for the Government and the country. This, the Right
Reverend Hannes Finnson says, was a great drawback for the Danes, as it
caused the scarcity of powder, which was one of the reasons why the
Danes were defeated by the Swedes in Holstein in 1644.
Shortly after the middle of the seventeenth century, or in the year
1665, a certain “assessor,” Gabriel Marsilius by name, acquired a
concession of digging sulphur and exporting it from Iceland; and it is
said that he has exported from here a very great quantity of sulphur
with considerable profit. Since that time, or since 1676, little is said
of the sulphur-mining in Iceland until the first part of the eighteenth
century; then, in 1724, two foreigners, Mr Sechmann and Mr Holtzmann,
acquired a concession of exporting sulphur from Iceland; and it is said
that they exported a great quantity of sulphur for a period of five
years; but this export was again discontinued, owing to the death of Mr
Holtzmann, who was the leader of the business, and to the apparent
unwillingness of Mr Sechmann to repair to Iceland.
In the year 1753 the sulphur-mining was recommenced in Iceland by the
Government. First it was commenced in the south, and afterwards, or in
1761, in the north (see “Eptirmæli 18 aldar”--“Review of the Events of
the Eighteenth Century”). The author of this work, the late Mr
Stephensen, says, that both the mines, the southern and northern, have
been worked with considerable profit, adding, that the produce of the
mines has amounted to 1400 rixdollars (or upwards of £155) a year; and
in 1772 the profit of the sulphur mines in the north, according to the
same author, was estimated at 1260 rixdollars (or about £140). After
1806 the Danish Government leased out the sulphur mines in the north to
some merchants there for a trifling yearly rent, which in no way was a
sufficient indemnity for the deterioration of the mines during the time
of the lease.
For ten years ago it was a general opinion that the brimstone in the
Icelandic sulphur mines for the most part was embedded in the layer that
covers the “live mines,” and which must be considered a “sublimate”
product of the so-called sulphur pits or caldrons; it had, however, been
observed that in the “Fremri-námar,” so called, “dead mines” also
existed where the sulphur stratum sometimes was a foot thick. The
sulphur digging at Krisuvik last year has proved that these strata can
be a good deal thicker, as it has also been ascertained that most
sulphur mountains contain a considerable quantity of sulphur earth,
clayish and ferruginous sulphur; all of which might yield from
twenty-five to fifty per cent. of clean sulphur, if managed in the right
manner.
When the three naturalists, Mr Steenstrup, Mr Schythe, and Jonas
Hallgrimson, travelled through Iceland in 1840, they calculated that the
sulphur mines in the north might yield 10,000 rixdollars a year; but Dr
Hjaltalin, who, ten years later, was sent to examine these mines,
disavows this statement, adding that the mines, as the matter then
stood, could by no means yield so much, for the “live mines” were then
in a state of deterioration, and that it would be impossible exactly to
say how many “dead mines” were to be found till it is ascertained by
successive examinations; on the other hand, he is convinced that the
mines of Krisuvik might be able to yield 100 commercial lasts (or 200
tons) of clean sulphur a year, and the experience of the recent time has
proved this to be no exaggeration; for during the last winter (1868-69)
about 250 commercial lasts (or 500 tons) of raw sulphur have been dug
up, which must make a good deal more than 100 lasts of clean sulphur at
least; further, Dr Hjaltalin observes, that copper ore of rather a good
quality is to be found there, and a more recent experience has rendered
it likely that there is a considerable quantity of this mineral.
On the other hand, the sulphur must, no doubt, have accumulated to a
considerable degree in the mines of the north for the last twenty years
they have not been worked; it is, therefore, pretty certain that they
might now yield a considerable quantity of sulphur if they were worked
in the right manner; but as it must always be borne in mind that no
mines are so liable to deterioration as sulphur mines, it must in
consequence be very precarious to make them over to foreigners. A French
geologist, Mr Eugène Robert, who travelled here in 1835, and afterwards
has written treatises on the geology of Iceland in the French language,
has also called attention to this point. He says, that care ought to be
taken not to lease out to the Englishmen (who then were applying for the
lease) the mines in the north, as they might be of great consequence,
the sulphur mines of Sicily having begun to fall off.
As pointed out by the history of the country, and sufficiently proved by
the experience, the produce of the mines in the north, if worked in the
right way, ought to outweigh by far the lease-rent offered by Mr Lock;
it would consequently be a downright loss to the country now to lease
out those mines to this foreigner, who would not be able to give any
satisfactory guarantee for his working the mines in the right manner,
but might, after a lapse of several years, return them so spoiled that
the country might, for a long time at least, miss the profit which it
ought to have by these mines: _indeed the lease-rent offered by the
memorialist seems to be comparatively high_ when compared to what was
paid for the mines in the beginning of the present century, but when it
is taken into consideration that the rent now offered is only the tenth
part of the net profit which the mines yielded in the sixteenth century,
the offer is by no means advantageous, _neither is it desirable that
foreigners should be allowed for many years to import into this country
a great number of foreign workmen, as this might lead to the Icelanders
being deprived of a profitable business in their own native land_.[204]
The population of Iceland is, as it is well known, constantly
increasing, but several branches of trade are rather in a state of
decadence. Nothing could, therefore, be more beneficial to this country,
than if here were to be found profitable mines, in which labourers might
work in all sorts of weather, and this may be done in sulphur and other
mines, as the experience showed at Krisuvik last winter; ten and
sometimes upwards of twenty labourers were at work there, almost the
whole winter, earning good daily wages. There is nevertheless no
security to be had, that the inhabitants shall be able to benefit by
this, if the mines are made over to strangers, neither can it be
controlled that they shall not destroy the mines altogether, and render
them completely useless after a lapse of some years.
The Icelandic sulphur mines are in such a condition as not to be worse
for waiting, on the contrary they will improve by it, and it would be
greatly beneficial to them, not to be worked for the present.
The sulphur mining at Krisuvik has shown that these mines are better and
richer than had been expected; and this may be the case too with the
mines in the north, which have most frequently been deemed richer and
more extensive than those of Krisuvik.
When sulphur trade has been carried on in this country, both in past
centuries and at present, the mode of proceeding has been very
inappropriate and unpractical, for partly the sulphur has been carried,
with all the dross in it (which often goes up to forty per cent. or
more), down to the sea-coast, and from there to Copenhagen; partly the
method of cleaning has been so unsatisfactory and inappropriate, as to
render the cost of cleaning the double of what is needful. It appears
from the writings of the late Bishop Hannes Finsson, that in the time of
King Frederick II., the sulphur was cleaned by means of train-oil, and
this method has been continued down to the middle of the present
century. This was sheer insanity, as it made the cleaning many times
more expensive than was necessary, and than it was at the same time in
other countries, where sulphur was then cleaned by means of sublimation.
But this was not all, the grease moreover that got into the sulphur,
rendered it unfit for powder manufacture, as may be seen from the
writings of Mr Jón Eiríksson and others. Of late a new method has been
hit upon in France, namely, to clean the sulphur by condensing hot
steam, and as hot springs are to be found in the neighbourhood of all
the Icelandic sulphur mines, this might now be turned to a good account
for the sulphur trade; besides it would make the cost of transport by
far less heavy, if the sulphur could be carried down to the sea-coast
and marketed in a clean state.
It results from all this that Mr Lock’s offer is by no means so
acceptable as some might suppose, for the local government (when
established here) might, with the greatest facility, make the mines in
the north many times more profitable than they would be if Mr Lock’s
offer were to be accepted; moreover, the mines being at the disposal of
the said government, a sufficient control may be had that they shall not
be overworked or destroyed.
Were the Danish Government, therefore, to grant the request of the
memorialist, as it is framed, this might easily, as the matter now
stands, lead to suits of law between the Government itself and him, on
the one hand, and between the said Government and some private
landowner, on the other; for it is quite certain that the Government has
no right whatever over the sulphur trade in all the localities pointed
out by the memorialist. As clearly evinced by the late Bishop Hannes
Finsson, the sulphur trade in Iceland can, in no way, be considered as a
“regale;” and, accordingly, the Government ought to be very circumspect
in this matter, lest it hurt the right of private landowners.
From the above-mentioned motives, it seems to the Committee that it is
unadvisable to accept the offer of the memorialist, and, consequently,
submits to the honourable “Althing” to dissuade the Government
altogether from granting the concession requested by Mr Lock.
But as some members of the Committee have uttered the opinion that it
might be considered as partiality, altogether to exclude foreigners from
the sulphur trade in Iceland, provided that it could be sufficiently
controlled, that this should neither be detrimental to the country in
general, or to the mines in special, the Committee has thought it its
duty, if this consideration should prevail in the honourable assembly,
to submit a secondary or modified proposal, to the effect that it shall
be requested of the Government to make the concession dependent on the
following conditions:
1. The memorialist shall himself make the necessary arrangements
with the parties concerned concerning pieces, lots, and parcels of
land, which he may be in need of, for the cleaning and transport of
the sulphur, and which are not at the disposal of the Government.
2. The memorialist shall have commenced the working of the mines
within a year from the day on which the licence is handed over to
him.
3. The memorialist shall always give the natives of Iceland
opportunity to work by halves at the cleaning and transport of the
sulphur, and he shall not, for this purpose, employ foreigners more
than by halves at most, as far as he offers the same conditions to
the natives as to the foreigners, and these conditions shall be
acceded to by the former.
4. The Government shall be authorised, at the cost of the
memorialist and its own, to be paid by halves, to appoint a man for
the purpose of controlling, that the leaseholder shall not destroy
the mines for ever by his method of working them.
5. The memorialist shall pay a rent of £100 sterling for the first
year; for the next two years, £200; for the next two years thereon,
£300; and for the last five years, £400 a year; and the concession
shall expire after a lapse of ten years.
6. The memorialist shall, on receipt of the licence, deposit a sum
of £5000 as a security for the fulfilment of these conditions, but
it shall be returned to him at the end of the ten years, during
which he shall have made use of the concession as far as he shall
have fulfilled all the conditions that have been stipulated; but
otherwise he is to forfeit both the concession and security-money
if he shall have infringed any of the above conditions, excepting
only if this infringement be caused by difficulties in making such
arrangements with the parties concerned on the spot as are
mentioned under _head_ 1.
7. All disputes arising from this contract between the Government
on the one hand, and the memorialist on the other, shall be settled
by the said Government alone; and no appeal to courts of law shall
be allowed in this case, neither in this country or elsewhere.
8. Both the yearly rent and security-money, if forfeited, shall
fall to the Icelandic country-fise, and be at the disposal of the
“Althing.”
REYKJAVIK, _the 14th August 1869_.
(Signed) JÓN HJALTALÍN. JÓN SIGURÐSSON.
_Chairman and Reporter_, BENEDIKT SVEINSSON.
TRYGGIR GUNNARSSON.
_Secretary_, GRÍMUR THOMSEN.
In a most humble petition of the “Althing,” dated the 7th September
1869, addressed to His Majesty the King, the said assembly has
altogether adopted the considerations and proposals of the Committee, as
specified above.
Thus, _in the first place_, the “Althing” begs that the Government of
His Majesty _shall not accept Mr Lock’s offer_ to take lease of the
sulphur mines in the north, but, on the contrary, _refuse altogether to
lease them out for the present_; and in case His Majesty’s Government
should not think fit to follow this advice, the “Althing,” _in the
second place_, begs that the concession, if granted at all, may be made
dependent on such conditions as are specified in the above report under
_heads 1 to 8_.
The only difference between the conditions contained in the Report of
the Committee and those in the petition of the “Althing” is: that under
_head 5_ is added a clause to the effect that the lease-holder, besides
the yearly rent, _shall pay £10 a year to the clergyman of
“Myvatns-thing” (or district of Myvatn)_.[205]
SECTION VI.
SULPHUR IN SICILY.
The kindness of Mr Consul Dennis of Palermo enables me to offer the
following sketch of sulphur in Sicily.
Sulphur, it is well known, forms the most important branch of Sicilian
commerce and exportation. Found, as in Iceland, in the blue marl which
covers the central and the southern parts of the island, its area
extends over 2600 square miles; fresh mines are always being discovered,
and there is no symptom of exhaustion. In 1864 Sicily worked about 150
distinct diggings, whose annual yield exceeded 150,000 tons; in 1872
these figures rose to 550 and nearly 2,000,000 of quintals, or cantars.
The latter contains 100 rotoli (each 0·7934 kilogrammes = 1¾ lb. Eng.
avoir.), or 79·342 kilogrammes = 175 lbs. Eng. avoir. The richest in
1864 were those of Gallizze, Sommatine, and Favara: their respective
yearly production showed 100,000, 80,000, and 60,000 quintals.
“The visitor to a sulphur mine,” says Mr Goodwin, late H.M.’s Consul,
Palermo, “usually descends by a plane or staircase of high inclination
to the first level, where he finds the half-naked miner picking sulphur
from the rock with a huge and heavy tool; boys gathering the lumps
together, and carrying them to the surface; and if water be there, the
pump-men at work draining the mine. A similar scene meets his eye in the
lower or second level. Above ground the sulphur is heaped up in piles,
or fusing in kilns.” This passage well shows the superior facility of
collecting sulphur in Iceland, where it lies in profusion upon the
surface.
The ore thus obtained by fusion, after hardening into cakes, is carried
to the coast by mules and asses, or by carts where there are roads. When
the new network of railways covers the island, of course there will be
greater facility for transport, but the expense will increase with equal
proportion.
The number of hands in 1844 was estimated at 4400--_i.e._, 1300
pick-men, 2600 boys, 300 burners, and 200 clerks and others, to whom
must be added 2600 carters, and 1000 wharfingers, raising the total to
8000, out of a population (January 1, 1862) of 2,391,802, inhabiting an
area of 10,556 square miles.
The following translation, or rather an abbreviation of an article, “Lo
Zolfo,” in the journal _Il Commercio Siciliano_ (March 4, 1873), gives
the latest statistics:
“The Committee of Industrial Inquiry, during its recent sessions at
Palermo, Messina, and Catania, has collected valuable information upon
the general conditions of the island, and upon its principal articles of
commerce.
“We will begin with the chief branch, sulphur, whose exportation in the
raw state during the last decade is shown by these figures:
In 1862, = 1,433,000 quintals = 250,775,000 Eng. lbs. avoir., or 125,387
tons of 2000 lbs.
“ 1863, = 1,470,000 ”
“ 1864, = 1,398,000 ”
“ 1865, = 1,382,000 ”
“ 1866, = 1,791,000 ”
“ 1867, = 1,923,000 ”
“ 1868, = 1,723,000 ”
“ 1869, = 1,701,000 ”
“ 1870, = 1,727,000 ”
“ 1871, = 1,712,000 ”
“ 1872, = 1,969,000 “ (estimated).
“Sicily may be considered the monopolist of the trade in natural
sulphur. Other solfataras exist in Croatia, Gallicia, and Poland; at
Vaucluse in France, at Murcia in Spain, and in Egypt on the Red
Sea;[206] but the production may be considered unimportant. Even the
Zolfare of the Romagna cannot be compared with those of Sicily, as we
see by the following figures of exportation:
In 1862, = 22,057 quintals.
“ 1863, = 57,275 ”
” 1864, = 35,524 ”
” 1865, = 70,841 ”
” 1866, = 4,351 ”
” 1867, = 2,722 ”
” 1868, = 8,846 ”
” 1869, = 3,885 ”
” 1870, = 15,659 ”
” 1871, = 12,320[207] ”
“The annual production of the Romagna mines reaches only 120,000
quintals, including the less important diggings of Latera Scrofaro,
Volterra, Grosseto, and Avellino. Sulphurous earth covers all the
Sicilian provinces of Caltanissetta (Kal’ at el Nisá, the fort of women)
and Girgenti,[208] and a part of Catania; whilst there are two isolated
ridges (lembi) at Lercara de’ Freddi of Palermo, and at Ghibellina of
Trapani. Those actually worked exceed 550.
“Experts greatly differ in opinion concerning the supply still remaining
for exportation; we have determined that the diggings at the actual rate
of exportation may last another hundred years.[209]
“Mining property, according to Sicilian law, belongs to the soil; and
public opinion, as well as vested interests, would strenuously oppose
the legislation which prevails in upper Italy. Yet the present
conditions are highly unsatisfactory. Working upon a small scale in
fractionary estates has diminished profits, and in many cases has caused
mines to be abandoned. And the evil is ever increasing with the greater
depths of the diggings where the inflow of water offers fresh
difficulties. The only remedy would be the combination of small farmers,
and the massing of the less important diggings under a single
‘cultivator.’
“As yet there are only two such associations; and their success in
working properties so subdivided as not to pay, recommends them to
societies and capitalists. One is at the Croce group of Lercara, where
many owners have joined to subscribe for machinery to raise the mineral
(_macchina di eduzione_). The other is at the Madore group, also of
Lercara; here a considerable part of the very small diggings has of late
been let to one and the same ‘cultivator.’ At Aggira, in the province of
Catania, there are two bodies of workmen, called _Gabellotti_, because
they unite to pay the annual Gabella (rent-price) to the proprietor. Of
these the large and the more successful is at Assaro in the territory of
Calascibetta; it has collected eighteen members who formerly injured one
another by the mismanagement of the deep diggings and by jealous
competition in securing hands. It is a civil society with unlimited
liability; some of the associates receive only half shares, which
reduces the whole number of _actionnaires_ to sixteen. The works are
directed by a resident member, and the exportation by another at
Catania. It is a good instance of how valueless mines may be made to
pay.
“But Sicily, under her present law, has to contend not only against the
excessive division of property, but also with the normal conditions of
leasing it. Of these, the most injurious is the short term of the
Gabella, which averages six, and which seldom passes nine, years. This
period, far too brief to permit the use of machinery, which, demanding
unusual outlay, secures a much greater amount of production.
“The _Gabella_ is generally defrayed in kind, that is, in sulphur at the
mouth of the pit. Only one case of money payment is known; in 1868 the
Prince of Sant ‘Elia, owner of the Zolfara di Grottacalda, leased his
property to an anonymous French society, which, besides advances of
capital _à fonds perdus_, can afford a high yearly rent. Before this
agreement was concluded, the _Gabelle_ did not exceed 30 per cent. of
the total production; now they have risen to 36, and even to 40. But in
this case longer leases were conceded.
“Several of the most important diggings have been let to French and
English companies.
“Nothing can be ruder than the mode of working. Where the usual outward
signs of sulphur present themselves, steeply inclined galleries called
_Buchi a Scale_ are driven, and the ore is brought to grass, without any
of those preparatory measures which demand time and money, but which
afterwards yield so well. The underground works are longitudinal tunnels
following the inclination of the sulphur bank, and so cut by cross
galleries that the prospect suggests a cavern supported by stalactite
columns. The metal, detached with picks, is carried up the rude flights
of stairs by children whose ages vary from seven to fifteen, and it is
disposed about the pit mouth in a peculiar way, so as to facilitate
measurement and distribution.
“When the bank is exhausted, the pillars are attacked, and thus the
abandoned portions readily fall in. Accidents at times occur from the
pressure of the ground, and these have often caused loss of life; they
usually result from the negligence and ignorance of the overseers
(_Capimaestri_), men who ignore everything but ‘rule of thumb.’ The
Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce has wisely drawn out a project of
mining laws, intended to secure the safety of the workmen by giving
information to the directors, and by facilitating works of common
interest to those concerned. It is evident that the State can remove the
obstacles of sub-divided property, and that its duty is to look after
the condition and the health of its subjects who are working 80 to 100
metres underground. Already the ministry has founded a superior school
of mines at Palermo, and a second at the Zolfare of Caltanissetta. Let
us hope that its term of office may last long enough for carrying out
the instruction which alone can develop the sulphur supply of Sicily.
“Here, as elsewhere, the miners’ deadliest enemy is water. Of the
various draining systems applied to the tunnels, the favourite is a long
cut through the gallery, carried to the surface; and its principal merit
is the saving of labour where wages are, as in this island, unusually
high. But as the disposition of the ground often causes drains to become
long and expensive works, there is a general use of pumps. The latter,
till the last few years, were made of wood, and worked by hand; metal
has become more common, but steam machinery is almost confined to the
foreign concessions. As regards hauling up, shafts, or vertical wells,
are almost unknown, although they have been strongly recommended for
mines which have reached 50 metres, and _a majori_ for those 100 metres
deep.
“The metal, when brought to grass, is freed from its earthy matters
principally by fusion; the system being founded upon the different
degrees of caloric required to liquefy ore and dross. The operation most
in vogue is that called _dei Calcaroni:_ the heaps are covered with a
layer of earth, and the heat is kept up chiefly by burning the sulphur
itself. As those kilns are built upon inclined surfaces, the melted
matter flows into wooden forms, where it cools and solidifies. The great
loss, calculated at about one-third, has led to a variety of
improvements; many have been adopted by private cultivators, few have
been more extensively applied, and none can boast of complete success.
The best hitherto produced is the so-called ‘vapour-fusion’ invented by
a certain Sig. Thomas, and patented to the _Società privilegiata per la
fusione dello Zolfo in Italia_, an anonymous body, whose headquarters
are at Milan. The essential part of the process is to separate the ore
by ordinary fuel, using for the transmission of caloric water-steam at
the tension corresponding with the temperature which fuses sulphur. The
Society established its apparatus at several mines, which paid a
proportion of raw sulphur as bonus to the patentees; the remainder went
to the ‘cultivator’ as remuneration for the mineral which he provided.
Many were disused after a few months, the reason alleged being that they
were of use only when applied to poor ores and gypseous gangues. Lercara
is the only place which still works by ‘vapour-fusion.’
“The sulphur is exported either in lumps (_ballate_[210]), as it comes
from the moulds, or it is refined to suit the intended object. That used
for vines is ground before exportation; there are mills at all the
ports, and the expense per quintal reaches only a few centimes. The
powder is stored in sacks.
“Sicilian sulphur is sufficiently pure, as a rule, to be directly
adopted in many chemical and industrial processes. For the pharmacy,
however, for gunpowder, and for other specialties of technology, further
refining is necessary. This operation is limited on the island by the
high price of fuel; there are only two or three _usines_ at Catania and
at Porto Eurpedoch; moreover, these work irregularly, and on a small
scale. Thus the refinery of Sicilian and Romagna sulphurs is carried on
almost exclusively abroad.
“The principal exporting places are Catania, Licata, Palermo, Porto
Eurpedoch, Terranova, and Messina. The following are the approximate
figures of the respective harbours:
Catania ships, . . 202,000 quintals.
Licata ” . . 460,000 ”
Messina ” . . 50,000 ”
Palermo ” . . 78,000 ”
Porto Eurpedoch “ . . 917,000 ”
Terranova ” . . 200,000 ”
Palermo offers great advantages of freight by means of return colliers,
but the distance of land transport is fatal to all but the sulphur of
Lercara.[211] Messina exports only to the United States; sulphur forms
the heavy cargo, the lighter being composed of rags, oil, and _agrumi_
(sour fruits, lemons, etc.). But if there is little shipping of the
mineral at Messina, she may be called the headquarters of the sulphur
trade. Embarkation takes place at other harbours, though there are often
badly protected roads; the only reason being their neighbourhood to the
mines. Messina[212] urged upon the Committee a reduction of tariffs on
the railways which connect it with Catania and Leonforte; but it would
be hardly fair thus to protect one city when its rivals, besides being
favoured by topographical position, are industriously improving their
means of embarkation, and are making efforts to protect shipping during
winter.
“At all the harbours there are merchants who make the export their
specialty; they buy up the produce of the smaller mines, store it in
their magazines, and ship it when the prices are most likely to pay. The
principal ‘cultivators,’ however, have established their own deposits,
and export on their own account without using middle-men.
“An intelligent merchant at Messina assured the Committee that
two-thirds of the total consumption took place in winter and the rest in
summer, whilst the exportation during the latter season is by far the
greatest on account of the superior ease and safety of navigation. But,
as the melting is mostly in September, the results to cultivators and to
exporters are, that a large part of the year passes away in inaction,
accumulating interest upon cargoes and seriously checking profits.
“It is greatly to be desired that some company with large capital should
be formed to make advances of money, thus setting free the modest means
of ‘cultivators’ and merchants, and enabling them to lay out more upon
the mines.[213]
“The actual medium price (March 4, 1873) of sulphur in the Sicilian
ports is represented by twelve lire (or francs) per quintal; and the
following are the approximate items which make up this figure:
Cost of mining, = 6·600 lire or francs.
Land transport, = 2·480 ”
Embarking, = 0·313 ”
‘Cultivator’s’ profit, = 1·607 ”
Export dues, = 1·000 ”
-----
Total, 12·000[214] ”
“After a few years, when the network of railways shall have been
finished, when embarkation is improved, and perhaps when the production
is rendered easier and safer, we may hope to see the figure L.12 fall to
L.11, and even to L.10.50.
“The Committee has hitherto considered only the produce of Sicily _per
se_, and this appears the place to notice its future production and its
employment in the general commerce of the world. Many have indulged in
exaggerated hopes and fears upon this subject. While some fear that our
mineral may be superseded by other substances, others hope that the
reduced cost of Sicilian sulphur may enable it to serve the purposes for
which pyrites are now generally used.
“An attentive examination of the question proves that, in the actual
state of industry, sulphur and pyrites have nothing to fear from each
other.
“Several industries, especially the manufactures of sulphuric acid, do
not require pure sulphur in the free state; they find it more economical
to extract that contained in metallic sulphures, especially in iron
pyrites. On the other hand, it is well known that extracting pure
sulphur from the sulphures and manufacturing sulphuric acid from pure
sulphur are practically impossible; the former could never contend
against the Sicilian mines, nor can the latter rival the cheap produce
of pyrites. As the uses of the two are different, so will be their
sources of supply; and it is hard to believe that any change of price
can cause _concurrence_ between the two.[215]
“A fair proof is the concurrent development of both articles. Between
1832 and 1872 the produce of the Sicilian mines has quadrupled; and this
was exactly the time when pyrites began to be used, and successfully
took their place in the manufacture of sulphuric acid.
“These considerations should silence the arguments which contend for the
abolition of export duties upon sulphur, in order to make it compete
with pyrites. The State draws an annual revenue of some two million lire
(2,000,000 francs = £80,000); and it cannot be expected to yield so
legitimate a source of income, until at least assured by competent
persons that the impost is a weight upon, and a damage to, Italian
industry and commerce.”
To this very fair report Mr Consul Dennis adds: “I have no notion that
the supply of Sicilian sulphur is nearly exhausted; more deposits are
known than can be worked. There are many spots in the heart of the
island which abound in the mineral, but it must lie useless, for as yet
there are no means of conveying it to the coast for shipment. The export
of sulphur has been increasing greatly, it is true, from 100,000 tons (=
£400,000) in 1855 to 200,000 (= £1,000,000) in 1871, but the export is
regulated rather by the demand in foreign markets than by the supply.
_The large quantity made from iron pyrites of late years in many
European countries has, of course, much lowered the demand on Sicily._
In 1871 the quantities fell to 180,000 tons (= £956,000), but in 1872
they rallied to 192,000 tons. This quantity was thus distributed:
Great Britain and her colonies took 46,418 tons.[216]
France, . . . . . . 41,699 ”
United States, . . . . 21,846 ”
Germany and Austria, . . . 22,348 ”
Italy and the East, . . . 47,160 ”
Russia, . . . . . . 1,526 ”
Spain and Portugal, . . . 8,236 ”
Other countries, . . . . 3,008 ”
-----
Grand total, 192,241 ”
“I should remark that the quantities stated above are from the official
returns of the custom-house; they are probably understated to the extent
of 25 to 50 per cent., few exporters declaring the full quantity or
value, and the Doganieri having scant interest to verify the
declarations. The amount exported last year (1873) was probably not much
under 300,000 tons.
“The great rise of prices in the necessaries of life of late years, and
the increased demand for labour, consequent on the construction of
railways, harbours, and other public works, have doubled the price of
sulphur in Sicily. But when the network of railways with which it is
proposed to intersect the island is completed, when the country roads
are laid out to feed them, and when the ports of Girgenti, Licata, and
Catania, are enlarged and deepened, so as to accommodate vessels of
large size, then it will soon be ascertained what treasures of sulphur
Sicily still contains.”
In conclusion I would observe that this age of national armies and
bloated armaments is not likely to allow decline in the use and the
value of sulphur, and that nothing can be more unwise than to rely upon
a single source of supply, Sicily, which might at any time be closed to
us by a Continental war.
RICHARD F. BURTON.
NOTE ON THE COMPAGNIE SOUFRIÈRE OF THE RED SEA.
Schweinfurth (“Heart of Africa”), when passing down the Red Sea, speaks
of the Sulphur Company at Guirsah. Its concession extends over 160 miles
of coast southwards from Cape Seid. The ore is obtained from gypseous
schiste; and all the fresh water for the workmen, of whom there are over
300, must be brought from the Nile.
I need hardly remark that if sulphur is found to pay under these
circumstances, we may expect great things from Iceland.
SECTION VII.
SULPHUR IN TRANSYLVANIA.
According to Mr Charles Boner (p. 312, “Transylvania: its Products and
its People,” London: Longmans, 1865), the whole district round Büdös
contains rich deposits of sulphur; and yet Hungary draws her supplies
from the Papal States and Sicily; yielding, as the latter has hitherto
done, a million and a half hundredweights per annum. So with sulphuric
acid which has played so important a part in raising the industry of
Europe to its present state. A single commercial house in Kronstadt
employs nearly 300 cwts., and would probably use more were its price not
so high. The sulphuric acid factory at Hermannstadt, the only one in the
province, uses 300 to 400 cwts. annually. The custom-house returns for
Transylvania vary from 300 cwts. to 3000 cwts., as the article comes
sometimes from Trieste, sometimes from Vienna, where the duty has
already been paid. In 1863, the amount of sulphur produced in the
Austrian monarchy was 35,085 cwts., at an average price of 6fl. 44kr.
per cwt. The consumption has regularly augmented owing to the increase
in the number of soda factories: in 1858, the import from foreign states
was 71,337 cwts.; in 1859, it was 86,673. Mr Boner has profited in the
following remarks by two reports made by M. Brem, director of a chemical
factory at Hermannstadt, and by Dr F. Schur, professor at Kronstadt:
“The sulphur-deposits are situated at the south and west of Büdös,[217]
and not on the mountain itself. The places are Kis Soosmezö, also
Vontala Feje Búlványos, and a little above the chalet Gál András. Thirty
different diggings were undertaken in a circuit of at least eighteen
miles; but the extent of the ground where the deposits are, is more than
three times this size. The deposits run in unequal strata of from one to
nine inches under the mould, which varies in thickness from one to three
feet. The soil was everywhere saturated with sulphur, and in this
permeated earth pieces of pure sulphur were found. They were of
pale-yellow colour, fine-grained, and with a strong smell of
sulphuretted hydrogen. Here and there only was a sort found with a
certain hardness (cohesion), and even this, when dried, became brittle
and ticturable. All this shows that the mineral is a true volcanic
sulphur, and that the deposits will continue as long as the inner
activity of Mount Büdös lasts. A careful analysis gives as result, in
the earth taken in one place, 63·96 per cent.; in a second spot, 61·00
per cent; and in a third, 41·01 per cent. of sulphur.”[218]
“The district whence the earth was taken is a space of 16,000,000 square
fathoms. Allowing for interruptions in the deposits, and taking these at
an average thickness of three inches instead of nine, 200 lbs. of
sulphur might be obtained from every square fathom, even if we suppose
the earth to contain only 50 per cent. of the mineral. But we have seen
that it has 61 per cent., and, in some cases, nearly 64 per cent. of
sulphur. Continuing the calculation, the district would contain
16,000,000 cwts. of the precious commodity. Ten years ago, raw sulphur
from Sicily and the Papal States (_viâ_ Trieste) cost, in Hermannstadt,
9½ florins per cwt. Competent authorities are of opinion that it
might be produced here for 5 florins per cwt., inclusive of the carriage
from Büdös to Kronstadt. Sulphur costs more than this in the places
where it is produced in Poland, Slavonia, and Bohemia. Every year the
demand for the article increases, for almost each year brings with it
new appliances, and shows how indispensably necessary it is in the daily
life of civilised communities. We all know what are the profits arising
from chemical fabrications; and I think the facts here given will hardly
fail to attract the attention of those who are willing to turn their
knowledge and spirit of enterprise to account. For Transylvania at
large, but for Kronstadt especially, it would be of the greatest
advantage to obtain the article in question at a cheaper rate; for not
only might undertakings, which, as yet, are but projects, be called into
existence, but others already thriving be considerably enlarged.”
SECTION VIII.
EXTRACTED FROM “ADVENTURES AND RESEARCHES AMONG THE ANDAMAN ISLANDERS.”
By FREDERIC J. MOUAT, M.D., F.R.C.S., ETC., ETC., ETC. Hurst & Blackett,
Publishers, London, 1863.
The sulphur on the top of the cone occurs in such quantity in the cracks
and fissures, often lining them to the thickness of more than
half-an-inch, that the question naturally arises whether the sulphur
could not be worked with advantage.
Although in the immediate neighbourhood of the crater, where the
fissures are numerous, the ground seems to be completely penetrated with
sulphur; this is so evident in other parts, only a few feet lower, where
the surface is unbroken. There are, however, some reasons which seem to
promise that a search might be successful. In eruptive cones, like that
of Barren Island, there is always a central tube or passage, connecting
the vent in the crater with the volcanic action in the interior. In this
tube the sulphur, generally in combination with hydrogen, rises in
company with the watery vapour, and is partly deposited in the fissures
and interstices of the earth near the vent, the remainder escaping
through the apertures.
If in the present case we admit the sensible heat of the ground of the
upper third of the cone to be principally due to the condensation of
steam--a process of which we have abundant evidence in the stream of hot
water rushing out from underneath the cold lava--it is not improbable
that the whole of the upper part of the interior of the cone is
intersected with spaces and fissures filled with steam and sulphurous
vapour, these being sufficiently near the surface to permit the heat to
penetrate. It is therefore not unlikely that at a moderate depth we
should find sulphur saturating the volcanic sand that covers the outside
of the cone.
I only speak of the outside, as we may conclude from the evidence we
have in the rocks of lava in the crater, and those bulging out on the
side, that the structure of the cone is supported by solid rock nearly
to its summit, the ashes covering it only superficially.
From what has been said above, the probability of sulphur being found
near the surface, disposed in such a way as to allow of its being
profitably exhausted, will depend on the following conditions:
First, That the communication of the central canal, through which the
vapours rise, with its outlets, be effected not through a few large but
through many and smaller passages, distributed throughout the thickness
of the upper part of the cone.
Second, That some of these passages communicate with the loose cover of
ashes and stones which envelops the rocky support of the cone.
Although I have mentioned some facts which seem to indicate the
existence of such favourable conditions, and which are moreover
strengthened by an observation by Captain Campbell, who saw vapour
issuing, and sulphur being deposited near a rocky shoulder, about
two-thirds of the height, on the eastern descent of the cone; still
their presence can only be ascertained satisfactorily by experimental
digging....
If a preliminary experiment should make it appear advantageous to work
the cone regularly, the material about the apex, after being exhausted
of the sulphur that is present, could, by blasting and other operations,
be disposed in such a way as to direct the jets of vapour in the most
convenient manner through uncharged portions of ground. If the sulphur
should aggregate in periods of not too long duration, it would be
possible to carry on the work of filling up new ground on one side, and
taking away saturated earth on the other at the same time--so that,
after working round the whole circumference, the earth that had been
first put on would be ready to be taken away.
If the periods should prove too long to allow the work permanently to be
carried on, an interval of time might be allowed to pass before resuming
operations.
Water for the labourers could always be obtained from the warm spring at
the entrance of the island.
The distilling, or melting, of sulphur, to separate it from adherent
earth, is a matter of comparatively little expense or trouble. If the
sulphur be abundant, it might be effected as in Sicily, by using a part
of it as fuel. It is not necessary to do it on the spot; it might be
done at any place where bricks and fuel are cheap.
INDEX.
African lakes, re-discovery of the, i. 29.
Agriculture, state of, i. 179-189.
Almannagjá, the, ii. 198.
Alpen-glow, the, i. 68.
Althing, re-establishment of the, i. 103;
biennial, 106.
American gift to Iceland, ii. 327.