=Coal= is found in various sections. Where outcroppings occur in Táchira, Mérida, and Trujillo small operations have been carried on. There are other deposits but the principal mines worked are in Sucre and Falcón. Naricual, 16 miles from Barcelona, has produced the most coal, but not of a very good quality. It is used on local steamers and railways, and some, with pitch from Trinidad, is made into briquettes. A little west, another mine with coal of better quality has been opened within five miles of tide water on the bank of a river. The mines of Falcón near Coro have been developed further and production is increasing. Coke ovens have been established. Coal is found in several places near Lake Maracaibo. In the deposit 60 miles northwest of Maracaibo the coal is of high grade, better than Middle West coal and equal to the Pocahontas; hard, bright, black, excellent for steaming. Some veins are 8-20 feet thick, and when the railway to Castilletes is completed the annual export is expected to reach 500,000 tons. Lignite, bituminous, and semi-anthracite varieties are found. =Iron= ore deposits occur in the eastern hills or mountains south of the Delta, but in the Delta Territory at Imataca. It is 67 per cent pure and almost free from sulphur and phosphorus. In 1914 some Americans secured options. Iron is also found near Coro, Barinas, Barcelona, and Cumaná. =Salt= is found on the island of Coche, on the peninsula of Araya near Cumaná, in the vicinity of Barcelona and of Maracaibo, and elsewhere. =Sulphur= appears to exist in commercial quantities about 11 miles inland from Corúpano; and other minerals have been observed in various States. =Diamonds and Pearls.= There are said to be diamond mines in the Orinoco region. Pearl fishing is carried on among the islands, about 1600 persons being so engaged. Rakes are now used as diving is prohibited. Recently $600,000 worth were exported within a few months. =Asphalt=, found in the Bermudez Pitch Lake five miles from Guanoco in the State of Sucre, is an important source of wealth. This lake, the largest known deposit in the world (1100 acres), has more than ten times the area of the famous Trinidad Lake, though it is not so deep. It is regarded as the residue of evaporated petroleum, the asphalt here representing the outflow of 80,000,000 barrels of oil. The flow continues, the oil spreading over the lake and replenishing it. This with active seepages near indicates enormous oil bearing formations below.