Metalliferous meaning

Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian beds have been recognized, the Upper Cambrian consisting of a limestone which is very rich in metalliferous ores (especially galena and calamine).

Cables have frequently been picked up showing after many years of submergence no appreciable deterioration in this respect, while in other cases ends have been picked up which in the course of twelve years had been corroded to needle points, the result probably of metalliferous deposits in the locality.

Barytes is of common occurrence in metalliferous veins, especially those which yield ores of lead and silver; some of the largest and most perfect crystals of colourless barytes were obtained from the lead mines near Dufton in Westmorland.

The hornsilvers all occur under similar conditions and are often associated together; they are found in metalliferous veins with native silver and ores of silver, and are usually confined to the upper oxidized parts of the lodes.

Since the mineral occurs in definite veins, a more satisfactory and economical method of working would be that adopted in metalliferous mines, with a vertical shaft, cross-cuts, and levels running along the strike of the vein: the mica could then be extracted by overhead stopping, and the waste material used for filling up the worked-out excavations.