The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1873-12-06
FLOATING METALS.
DivisibiIity of q uici< liver, silver an.
Cold

D1VlsIDiIity Oh QuIciN 'tiHef, silver scitti
Gold.
The Virginia City New Enterprise
says: "The divisibility of quicksilver, and
also of silver and gold, as shown by the
milling operations conducted in the State, is
almost incomprehensibly great, and would
| seem to be almost lllimitable, particularly
in the case of the metal first named. \
globule OF quicksilver may be divided until
no longer visible to the naked eve, and, in
deed, until scarcely visible under a powerful
microscope, yet even the most minute sub
division shall be found to contain silver or
gold, perhaps both. How enthusiastically
small, then, must be the particle of silver or
| gold contained in one of the invisible and
| Unreasonable globules of mercury In re-
gard to the astonishing divisibilty Of the
metal mentioned, we have just learnt some
| interesting facts of Buncher, Super
intendent of the Rock Point Mill, Dayton.
This gentleman informs US that some time
since, when working in his mill for con
| siderable period an ore III which gold largely
predominated he used every precaution to
guard against loss. In addition TO the usual
settling tanks, he caused to be dug in the
ground a number of large pits, into which
the waste water flowed after leaving tanks:
off in a small fiume, and to the eve appeared
as clear as the wafer e&--he purest noun
tain stream For the sake of the expert
ment, Mr.. Buncher coated copper bowl
with quicksilver and placed it in such a
position that the water of the fume should
Jail in it. He also placed in the fume, be
low the bowl, some copper rifles, properly
coated with quicksilver. Although the
water passing through the fume seemed to
be perfectly clear, yet at the end of three
months the bowl and rifles were cleaned
up and over 800 worth of amalgram oh
tanned. His mill is driven by water taken
from Carson River, and carried for con-
siderable distance through d large wooden
fiume A month or two since 1t became
necessary to shut off the water and repair
portion of this fiume In making the
needed repairs it was found that in many
places the heads of the nails driven into its
bottom had been thickly coated with anal
gam Within the distance of about three
rods along the bottom of the fume the
workmen engaged in making the 1ume col
lected over an ounce of amalgam. This
was where there were no copper plates or
other special facilities for catching the float
ing particles of quicksilver. The water
flowing through the fume was taken from
the river below q number of large mills and,
though far from being clear, would never
have been suspected of containing floating
quicksilver in such quantities as to ANAL
gamate the heads of iron nails In order
to amalgamate iron 1t must be scratched or
polished while immersed in quicksilver,
therefore, it will be seen that such ANAL
gamatinn must have passed by before the
occurrence of the accidents required for
the commencement of the accumuations
found on the nails. As another evidence
that quicksilver in considerable guam titles
floats in the water of fumes and streams
below reduction works in state of invisi-
BILE division, and yet carries with it the
precious metals, Mr.. Buncher gave us this
additional instance: son q certain occa-
sion one of his workmen required a piece Of
copper. Remembering to have seen some
old sheets of that metal lying near the
waste gate of the main fume, he went to
the spot, and hauled them out of puddle
in which they were lying, and found them
so heavily coated with amalgam, and so
eaten up that they were hardly thicker
than writing paper. The water poured out
through the waste-gate had fall of about
fifteen feet. 1t did not fall directly upon
the copper plates, but III such manner as
to keep them constantly splashed and wet
DR.. Buncher thinks the plates had lain in
the place four of five years. Over pound
of amalgam was scraped off them. 1t ap-
pears to us that IN these several striking in
stances of the treacherous and unsupported
floating away of the precious metals there
is for mill-men food for reflection, and for
inventors field in which to reap both pro-
iit and distinction"