New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1853-09-20

eIh diFEL1ah- moliOu TIE gravel Il thrown out.
while the gold by its superior specific gravity. sinks 20
The bottom. This is continued until all il thrown out
but the gold Pans of other shapes times en-
ployed. This method viii only answer. of course for
very rich deposits. Ranking next 20 the pan in sim.
pliritV is The cOmmtp rocker which may be DESCRIBED
as a round hottomed wooden cradle from which the
rockers have been removed quantity OF tive anrif
erous matter with some water Is placed in this tOge-
Their with ore or two pounds Of mercury The ma
chime i rocked backward and forward until il il sup
posed that all tire gold has eceH taken up by the
syv when the sand a thrown out by peculiar motion
I..yipg the amalgam in the rocker. BY ssrainng
tlS smslcsm through buckskin close ticking,
tho excess Of mercury j. GOT md Of sad solid mass.
consisting of gold and mercury; vi de''e PIopo''ons'
rusias behind By heating this IN retort tue mer-
our IL expelled and se gold obtained pure With shs
macbica about twenty bushels Of ore may be washed
in twelve hours ~ r.
The Dsrke Rocker is IN improvement on the last "
consists ct wooden cradle placed upon rccAers ln'1
which is fitted horizontally an iron plate perIorated
with holes about half an inch in diameter Upon tins
plate the gravel is thrown the coarse peDoes Deing
retained and the finer with the sand, allng through
upon shallow box divided by TRANSFERS STRIPS OF
wood into compartments about inches spart- Mer-
cury is placed in these compartments, aud the par
tcles Of gold pass it they are absorbed This ma
chine placed in an inclined position. stream OF water
running through il carrying of the sand Is rocked by
means of lever attached 10 the side and managed by
4 bov properly constructed Burkes Rocker will
wash 10 bushels per day. The California excitement,
as every person remember gave birth to host ot
codwashng machines but the result OF their trial in
the Southern States has been return tn the rockers
described as being after all the most eticacious
Mines in which the gold is extracted from the solid
rock should be properly divided into classes those in
which the precious metal is found disseminated through
the states or in beds between them and called by the
miners slate mines and those in which the odes are
true veus The ores of the slate mines are usually
poor though the poverty of the ore is frequently com
pcnsated for by its abundance
The goId-bearng veins of the southern States are
generally quartz, associated in most instances with
either suphuret OF iron or copper or oxide oil IRON
sometimes one. sometimes two, and occasionally all
three of these substances occurring with the quartz
In fact il may be safely asserted that suphuret OF iron
invariably accompanies the gold OF the southern veins
in the majority of instances itself being the matrN OF
the precious metal In some INSTANCES INC s"usN0 IN
altogether copper pyrites. NV -
The direction of the veins is almost universally n T.
and : w or varying few degrees from IT, ana tneir
dip or inclination TO the horizon rarely less thah %.
A. with all mineral lodes their width Is variable from
the thickness of knife blade 30 feet, in Motifs
mine in South Carolina.
The method of working the mines, that is where any
method pursued of course the same as that OF eA
plorng all mineral veins The ores, after having been
extracted must be reduced to as fine powder as pos
sble In order to effect this, stamps are sometimes
used which by heavy blows pulyerlze the ore AT
tacbed 10 these occasionally is what IL termed a
..shake.table" This is wooden PLATFORM or 10 feet
lono and from 10 in width made OF two-lnch plank,
smoothly paned Around the edge of this table are
nailed projecting ribs, which prevent the water used
with the stamps from flowing over the edges In sus-
pendng this table somewhat inclined, Leading the SAND
and water from the stamps over it in broad sheet and
anplyng gentle shaking motion, the gold VIII SINK To
the bottom and move slowly down the plane the sand
passing off II is arrested at the lower end OF the aoie
bv projection Sometimes the sand ana water are
made to flow over hides blankets which entrap the
gold In either case the gold must be removed 10 an
matchmaking apparatus for amagamatlOn.
The machine most in use for grinding ana amalga-
mating is known the Gillian MILL very Ola ln'eh
ton of the Spanards long used IN South America Tor
the extraction of Silver from its ores 10 consists OF
circular castron trough about l6 feet in diameter I'D
inches wide and inches deep, and bolted TO the moor
of the mill In this trough two, Oener four wheels,
made Of chilled iron, and weighing about l2OO lbs,
revolye by means of a shaft in the center to which
they are fixed The circular trough IN which Mercury
has been placed is supplied with cOarsey broken
by stamps or by hand and steady current OF water
which washes off the lighter impurities While the "od
is taken up by the Quicksilver mill OF TINS con,
struction requires two mules 10 drive IT, and VIII grind
20 bushels of moderately hard ore in IL hours The
amount of work done by this mill is therefore small
but what il does perform, 1t performs wen.
Within the last few years many mills Tor crushing
and grinding gold ores have been brought before the
pnbIic Two Of the most efficient are COchrans and
Berdans Both Of these machines possess the merit OF
crushing ore exceedingly fine, and at the same time
very rapidly. Berdans brushes and amalganateS SIM
utaneOusy. Ii its great loss OF mercury 10y precuon
with the water can be Obyated il must supersede every
machine in use Amagamation, however, at best but
an imperfect process particularly where the ore Is
sulphnret No improvement in machinery VIII ever
enable us to effect saving Of all the gold, az long as
mercury is employed to entrap It, IL Is Dluch 10 De
desired that scientific should turn their attention to
the discovery of cheap solvent Such deslderatum
was reported to have been reached some three years
ago but appears to have been failure
The system of gold mining in the Southern states
with few exceptions is most deplorable The mines
in very many instances are nothing utopencut work
inQs that is simply immense bitches open at the top
and liable 10 fall in at any moment, which they often
do It's common practice to let out portions OF
vein sometimes not more than II feet square, 70 per-
sons rolv IGNORANT of the business The consequence
that there il no system much less any concert ID the
workings and certainly view to future operations
The rest may easily be imagined From ignorance
bad management and lack Of means TO carry on opera
ton beyond mere beginning IL can be safely asserted
that the amount Of money sunk In go1 mining AZ .ne
south nearly equal to the sum total OF all that mas
ever been extracted In very many cases the ad'en-
tlrer has spent his all in opening the NINE ana mas
been obliged 70 stop when fortune was almost wthn
biz grasp Many OF these abandoned WORKINGS nave
subsequently been purchased by capitalists ana sue
cessfully developed -,
OF the pating mines of Virginia may be mentioned
the Marshall mine in Spottsylv ANA Co. on tne nap
psbsnuock River twelve miles from fredericksburg
from this mine some $500, 600 have been extracted
When last visited by the writer twenty hands were
employed The Weld was from $50 10 500 per DAY
The workings extend 10 a depth Of hundred ieet
In Fluvappa Co Commodore Stockton has long been
working mines The yield Of gold mas oeeh con-
siderable though il is understood that large sums OF
money have been spent upon machinery, when was
fnay rejected yerv recently We learn that the mines
Lnovn a. the Csruett and MOsely mines in Bucking-