The hydraulic press., 1860-04-21
SUI,PHuRETS.

That word is probably in more common
use, nowadays, throughout California and
Western Utah, than any other word or phrase
except "you bet"; and for the. reason that
the universally sought silver ores consist
mostly of what are chemically termed sui
phurets of that aud other metals-that is,
combinations of sulphur, or its acid, with
silver, iron, lead, copper or gold, or all to-
gether, in the form of hard glistening crys-
tails. When the first specimens from tho
now famous Comstock vein were exhibited
to California gold-miners, they were pro-
nounced simply sulphuret of iron, or iron
pyrites, which is an entirely worthless min
eral, very abundant in this State. Thus
many lost opportunities to acquire fortunes.
Now, every piece of rock containing iron
pyrites is carefully examined for indications
of silver or gold, and any peculiarly in ap-
pearance differing from ordinary varieties Of
the mineral, is sufficient to procure it a test
or an assay. Hence the numerous 'silver
discoveries" which have been made in Cali
fornla, the consequent excitements and tn.
subsequent calms. Everybody one meets
has chunk of quartz or slate rich in sui
phurets in his vest, coat or trowsers pocket,
and everybody has his eye on quartz lead
that will pay to work one of these days
The bars of saloons, the counters of shops
and the desks of editors are numbered up
with specimens" and if stone to hurl at
a dog is wanted, the fleeing canine is very
apt to be made acquainted with'sulphurets"-
These learned remarks were intended as in
troductory, only, to the subjoined extract
from the Golden Era:
"But few of the Washoe quartz Leads,
however, have free gold-thai is, gold in the
quartz as a matrix, instead of gold in the
sulphurets Nearly all the Washoe leads
have the gold in the sulphurets or black
sand On the surface and near it, the sui
phurets are decomposed, and consequently
the gold is free, SO that it can be amalga-
mated by aragiras and other usual processes
AS you go down, the sulphurets increase and
src iees decomposed, and the gold conse-
quently is not free, but chemically held BY
the sulphnrets, so that it cannot be amalga-
mated. This is the case in all the quartz
leads where the sulphurets are of iron. In
the quartz-leads where the sulphurets are
silver, there is, as a general rule, much
greater proportion of gold-perhaps twice
or three times as much. As you descend,
the sulphurets of silver increase much more
rapidly than where the sulphurets are ofiron.
In all the Washoe quartz silver leads, opened
to the depth of fifty feet, there is found from
ten to twenty per cent of sulphurets, while
on the surface the proportion is from one-
half to one per cent This ratio of increase
in the yield OF the silver sulphurets is sup
posed to continue as greater depths are
reached. 1t is considered a universal law
in all quartz leads, whether the sulphurets
be of iron or silver, that the relative pro-
portion increases as you go down. The iron
sulphuret leads hold the gold in such chem
ical con animation below where the sui
phurets are decomposed, that it cannot be
amalgamated, rendering the leads worthless.
In the silver sulphuret leads, the sulphurets
being the money, and not what prevents the
saving of the money, as in the case with the
iron sulphurets, they become worth millions
of dollars. What destroys the one makes
the other most valuable. In the case of the
Washoe sulphnrets of silver, as the smelling
has shown thus far, nearly one quarter Of
their value is in gold, and three-qaarters
silver"