Weekly Chillicothe crisis. (Chillicothe, Livingston Co., Mo.) 1878-19??, 1879-04-03

n ionhWunuh fhrty Extracting Gold from
Common-L Looking Earth which Chem
lists and Mctallurgists Say Contains No
Gold.
From the Buffalo Exrr -.
For some time past vague reports of the
discovery Of gold in the valley of the Ton.
awanda, this county, have been going
the rounds, so diSjointed and mcoherent
that but little attention has been given
them. 1t is Il fact, however, that a refn.
ing establishment has recently been erect.
ed near the village, and operations by
which 1t is claimed the precious metal is
produced are busily going ON. The par.
ties who are managing the refinery have
preserved the utmost secrecy concerning
all the details o.. the manufacture, or re-
lining process, or whatever il is; but yes
terday, when visited by IN insidious and
uncOmpromlsing reporter OF The Express,
they unbOsOmed themselves to that extent
that we are enabled to provide our readers
with far more information concerning the
gold-makers and their mysterious proceed.
ings than has hitherto been published.
Assuming that the operatives are hon.
est IN their statements, and we have no
valid reason for disbelieving them, they
are extracting gold by peculiar and only
partially-cXplamed process from what APP
pears TO be ordinary brown earth, which
comes from they will not say where, and
which. atteranalysls, pronounced by our
chemists to contain no gold at all. This
Is surely curious and complex condition
Of affairs. Now for the results of our re.
portcr's investigation.
At the refinery, located as before de.
scribed, he found Mr.. FELTON,. of the firm
of b. +. FELTON, g. Co., and Prof. +. e.
Hall, the chemist in charge of the cstab
lishment. These gentlemen received our
reporter very pleasantly and kindly, and
although they said that they had hereto
fore firmly refused to furnish any details
to newspaper representatives or anybody
else, they eventually gave him all such
facts as were not inconsistent with the
safety Of what they hold to be their i'm
portant secrets. The building is a
large frame structure, eighty feet by
forty, and is divided into n digesting-
room, preclpltatmg room, and tum'
ace-rOom, with u steam boiler and engine.
room; where the "ore," so,caIled, is OBJ
tanned remaining profound secret. The
is, however, that it is found
on or IN the neighbOrhood of the farm on
which the building stands, although Mr..
Hall stated apparently with some heSitd- |
tion, that it was procured from PcnnsyI- |
vania. The process so far as could be-
learned is as follows The "Ore, which
is said to be ola very high grade, isplaccd
IN a large vat with certain chemicals, the
names and properties of which the chem,
lst could not be induced to disclose. By
means Of certain rotating machinery oper.
lted by steam-power, the contents OF the
yat are in the course of few hours rem
lered soluble The "digested ore is
then run out INTO tanks, where it under.
goes another process. From thence it Is
forced into reservoir for the reception of
gold solution, the nature of Which is also
BY this the refuse, which
resembles river sand, is extracted from
lie ore, and the mineral remains are then
into concentrating tank, where
mother secret operation is performed up
IN it. The contents Of this latter tank
ire then precipitated with a gas genera
or The per-sulphurette produced is then
put in back-lead cruclble, which is
ilaccd in il furnace. Here it submitted
o sufficient heat to produce species Of
'arbon from which the gold is taken. The
whole process occupies about week,
/ change can be worked from the rotating
'ats, Of which there are six every day, as
me process follows another, so that ten
onS Of ore Il day can be worked according
o the present capacity OF the machinery.
Il is. however, contemplated to erect Il
much larger building capable Of working
fifty tons Il day. 1t is also stated
is probable that an acid chamber will
,o constructed for the purpose of manu-.
acturing the oil Of vitroil required in tha
works A piece Of the carbon was oper-
tied upon with small blow.pipc in the
presence of Our reporter. A small bead Of
yold was produced in the course of few
minutes. 1t was then thoroughly tested
md Clcnscd with nitric acid and present.
'd to him. There seems to be no qucs.
ion but that gold can be produced by the
nOdus Operandi we have in part endeav0r.
'l to explain, but what ratio Of gold is
Produced from ten tons OF ORE, and at
What expense, is known only to the propric
ors, for theirlps were hermetically sealed
lpon these points. They, however, spoke
# the success of the undertaking in the
most sanguine manner In reply to qucs.
ions as to the metallic substances found
II the ore, Mr.. Hall said they consisted of
lidymium ceriulu, liynthWium, erbim
ind terjium, Gallium, motor vanNdium, {
nickel, cobalt, some OF which was inspect
ID, of brilliant blue, silver, gold, traces I
VI iron, calcium in its metallic state, po-
assium in its metallic state, potassium as
nitrate, potassium as Il cyanide, potas- {
ium both as IN oxide and carbonate, yir.
onlum, and sodium as nitrate. All
hesc properties have been determined to |
Ne present. Mr.. Hall stated that spec-
mems of the ore had been submitted for
nalysis to chemists in Pennsylvania and
iuilalo, and they had declared that not a
race of gold was to be found in them.
As to the quality OF gold thus far real
aed, the market into which it IS to be put, |,
he future policy of the firm concerning
he secrets of supply and manufacture,
nd other points well calculated to excite
uriosity, the gentlemanin question would
i've no word. "Have they really found
he fabled philosophers stone?' is Il I
onundrum with which we must leave
thers who have more leisure to grapple.