Gold Hill daily news. [volume] (Gold Hill, N.T. [Nev.]) 1863-1882, 1865-12-04
-.sv:y LECTURE gag5
On silver Ores, and their Modes Of
Reduction. .
81 ". r. RIckasD, p. {. !

ny ". r. RfcKaRD, =. c.s.
The following lecture was delivered before
the Gold Hill Scientific and Literary Society,
November 80, 1865:
In selecting silver ores and their reduc-
ton as the subject Of my paper for this even
ing, l feel It is unnecessary to offer any
apology or explanation, further than to ex-
press 4 regret that a subject Of such vital i'm
portanee to every individual. in our COM
munity should not have been brought before
you BY some more eloquent member OF our
Society, who could do it greater justice than
myself. a.rag .-..wTNUTa E.EE-
Before entering on the question Of ores, it
may be as well to take a brief glance at the
history Of the metal itself, with its sources,
properties mechanical and chemicaD, and
compounds; so that, knowing the nature and
peculiarities Of silrer, we may better appre-
cia,e the various methods adoptedto separate
il from the numerous mineralizing agents, by
which it is disguised and imprisoned in the
mineral kingdom. Silver has been known
and used rs money from the very earliest
days Of antiquity. Il is frequently mentioned
in the Holy Scriptures-whcre the first
Of il appears in the 10Th chapter Of Genesis,
10th vcrse-wherein Abimelech, addressing
Sarah, the wife Of Abraham, says: behold,
l have given thy brother a thousand pieces Of
Siirsr!" And at u later period Of the worlds
history, we read that it was thirty pieces Of
Eiirer which tempted the traitor Judas TO be-
tray his Master. There can be no doubt but
that silver has been known and used in both
China and Peru from time immemorial. In
the latter country, OF the arrival Of Pizzaro,
silver and gold were almost the only metals
known to the natives; aud according to Pres
colt, the Spaniards themselves, were, on
several occasions, obliged to use Silrer in
shoeing their horses Even up to the present
day, vessels used for the meanest domestic
purposes are made Of silver, in both Peru and
Chile-the metal being considered cheaper,
in the end, than earthenware and porcelain,
at the high prices hitherto attached TO I'M
ported articles ofthis manufacture. Very lit
tie is known Of the methods anciently adopt
ed either in China or South America, for the
working Of their mines and minerals but in
Spain. we have evidences, lin the vast exca-
vations in the Sierra Almagera, and the
enormous mounds Of ancient Scoria, on the
coast Of the Mediterranean, near this To-
cality,) that in the earliest ages OF authentic
history this was one Of the countries most
celebrated for the production Of gold and
silver, especially the latter. The PhPnicians
and Carthageniaus are said indeed to have
freighted their ships with these metals, and
even 10 have formed their anchors Of them.
On the subject Of ancient mining in Spain,
a Spanish writer, Don Nicasio Anton Vale,
states AZ follows, on the testimony OF the
classical authors: "The Emperor Vespa-
sian obtained annually from G%allicia, the
Asturias and Lusi,ania, 10000 Tbs Tor 80
tons) Of gold, us we arc informed BY Pliny,
who extols the quantity Of gold in these sites,
particularly the Asturias. The silver Of
Spain was found i'll such quantity that, ac-
cording TO the same author, Hannibal, in n
mine worked BY him near Carthagena, eX-
tracted daily a quantity which exceeded
10000 rails Isl, 500 Of our money. Cato
delivered into the treasury $4,000 Tbs (l21
tons) Of silver in bars, and 10000 in money,
besides 400 Tbs Of gold-all Of which he had
accumulated in Spain" ...
There is no reason TO doubt the correctness
OF these ancient records, both from the result
OF modern discoveries Of silver in Spain and
the imperishable marks which Roman and
Car,hagenian mining has left in that coun
try. The immense excavations and mounds
OF ScoriG prove not only the extent to which
these metallmgical operations were carried,
but also that smelling was the process en-
ployed. Within the last few years most Of
LAACSE hAbNlAoS vi aANANhN cNSAAA - wv y
smelted, and with considerable profit.
Between the twelfth and sixteenth centuries
there sprung up in Europe that singular and
industrious class Of beings, the Alchemists,
to whom, notwithstanding all their decisions
and impostures, modern chemistry owes more
than is generally believed. One Of their
most ~favorite objects Of study and laborious
experiment was the production of silver from
the base metals by transmutatiou. Salt, sui
phur and mercury being the materials Of
which they believed SiLrer to be composed, il
is a somewhat singular coincidence that these
same substances should be associated in the
most approved modes of reducing the metal
at the present day. Although the glittering
prize cluded their grasp, and their fiery labors
in their subterranean laboratories usually
resulted in disappointment, poverty, disease
or death, their incessant efforts at new COM
binations Of matter, in order to achieve the
grand GsSiderGtln, led to the discovery OF
some OF the most important acids and salts
with which we are acquainted, and so paved
the way and furnished the materials for the
gigantic and brilliant discoveries Of modern
chemistry.
Strange as it may appear, in these days Of
scientific progress, the race OF Alchemists is
not yet extinct, and stranger still, there co.
exists with them men credulous enough to
believe their tales and furnish money for their
Utopian experiments. Within the last five
years | have met with an individual who pro-
fessed TO be able to manufacture silver from
the base metals, asserting It to be an alloy,
land not n pure metal, as generally supposedly
Of which he had discovered the constituents
and proportions. After some juggling cx-
pcrimens, in which he managed TO eludc the
vigilance Of those who watched the opera
tons, he produced, on one occasion, nine
ounces, and in two other experiments MIN
pounds each, of nearly pure silver. These
experiments were considered so very salts
factory and convincing that several gentle
men in London formed themselves into a
company, took extensive premises on Bow
Common, which they fitted up 10 the most
expensive manner, with tiled floors, plate
glass roofs, etc., in order to carry on the
business on n scale Of one hundred pounds OF
silver per day; and after three months OF
anxious and impatient preparation, when all
the apparatus and material had been pro-
yided and ready for commencing work, 49,
900 worth OF German glass vessels having
been imported, glass of English manufacture
being pronounced unfit for these mysterious
operations(, the Alchemist suddenly disap-
peared, after having drawn and discounted
bills in the name Of the company to the tune
of about 500, 900. He was not heard OF till
two wears aterward, when he turned up again
in New York, with q patent shell, eclipsing
everything Of the kind hitherto known, and
which he was about offering to manufacture
for this Government.
In the meanwhile, and until the Alchem-
lists Of the nineteenth century shall deign to
communicate to the world II method Of pro-
curing silver BY artificial means, we must
RELY on those sources provided BY nature IN
abe mineral kingdom, and which appear now
as abundant as when this continent was first
discovered BY Columbus, Notwithstanding the
enormous quantities Of silver extracted from
the mines Of Mexico and South America
since that period. At the present time about
6ye-sixths of the silver produced throughout
the world is extracted from the mines Of this
continent, the countries supplying 1t being
Chill, Peru, Mexico and Nevada.
In Europe, the principal mines are those
of Spain, Norway, SRxony, the Hartz, Aus
tria, Russia, and the galena mines Of Eng
land.
In 1850. the total amount OF silver pro-
duced in Europe, Asia and Africa, was 1885,
742 pounds troy, while North and South
America yielded 2,l99.644 pounds troy. l
have not been able to obtain reliable Stats
tics Of a later date, but the addition OF the
produce Of the Comstock lead since that Pc
riod must have increased the aggregate pro-
duc,ion OF the western hemisphere very