(Morning Advertiser, November 8, 1865)

Señor Casiano de Prado, Inspector-General of the Spanish Mines, sends a report to Madrid that the inhabitants of Rio Tinto, a place in Andalusia celebrated for its copper mines, have hitherto been perfectly free from cholera, although surrounded by the pestilence. While 140 per day are dying at Seville, hundreds of people repair to Rio Tinto for protection from the epidemic, and find perfect safety there. This is attributed in the country to the sulphurous acid gas which is evolved from the copper ore exposed to the operation of “roasting,” and this opinion is so prevalent that the people of El Madroño, situated two leagues distant from Rio Tinto, some time ago sent for a cartload of ore in order to roast it on the public square in the hope of putting a stop to the epidemic.