The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1883-05-25
GOLD AND SILVER SWEEP.
METHOD OF TREATING REFUSE IN
THE ASSAY OFFICE.

A few tiny streams of water trick
ling monotonously down through a
series of cups and tunnels in the dingy
cellar of the United States assay
building, in this city, perform an in
teresting function. Starting from an
elevated vat containing two or three
barrels of black dirt, the water de-
sends, thick and muddy at first, into a
cow of cups. The heavier particles of
the dirt settle in the cups and the
lighter particles are overlooked into
tunnels which empty into another
series of cups. The second row of cups
retain Il certain portion of the dirt and
overflow into still another series of fun
nels, which in their turn supply a
third row of cups with their drippings.
In this way the trucking goes on until
the dirt, placed in the vat above, has
been filtered through eight or ten rows
of tunnels and washed through half a
dozen sunken boxes and vats. This is
the process by which the valuable
"sweep' of the assay department is
washed, and it is a process that goes on
from day to day, and from year to year.
The ordinary waste water of the build
ing is utilized to keep up the constant
dripping which partially separates the
dross from gold and silver which, in
the yearly aggregate, is worth many
thousands OF dollars.
The clink of the trowel and the rasp
of the chimney scraper have been the
principal music heard inside of the
melting-room since Mr.. Martins APP
pointment. The furnaces have been
Quilted and the inside row of metal
stained bricks taken out and broken
into fine bits. The zigzag lues have
been torn down and the blackened
bricks thoroughly scraped. Bits of
wood saturated with fumes and spatter-
ings of melted gold and silver have
been burned in company with old rags,
paper caps, metal-stiffened mittens and
old shoes, and the carefully garnered
ashes, mixed with the SCOT gathered
from the chimneys the broken bricks
and bits of old crucibles and ladies
have been thrown into the general
receptacle for the "sweep." The
%scrupulous fidelity with which every
atom of "sweep" is gathered up was
aptly illustrated by the pathetic regret
expressed by Levi Springsteen, the
veteran foreman, when told the other
night that the big cat had run away
with some of the dust in its fur.
Inquiry as to the value of the
precious metals extracted from the
half-bucketful of washed-out sweep"
elected the information that the quality
of the "sweeps" varied, but generally
each mess melted would yield about
100 ounces of gold, silver, copper and
lead. OF this quantity thirty or thirty
two ounces would be mixed silver and
gold, perhaps not more than half an
ounce being gold. The remainder of
the "sweep" is carefully saved, dried,
and put into barrels for public sale.
Twenty barrels full of the soft. dry
dirt usually constitute one lot. Prior
to the sale a few ounces are taken
from each barrel, thoroughly mixed up
and a sample of the mixture is asSayed.
The lot is then sold to the highest
bidder on the basis of the government
assay. The usual assay of the sweep"
sold by the assay office in this city
shows an actual value of from eleven
to fifteen cents a pound, and the pur-
chasers pay from two and one-half to
five cents less than the value as indi-
Gated by the assay. Superintendent
Mason says that the cost to the govern
ment of working over this coarse
"sweep" would be greater than the
loss in actual value sustained by SELL
ing it.. The stuff is sold to smelling
establishments and to spectators, who
sometimes ship it abroad. At the
smelling establishments it is made to
yield up separately all of its component
parts, such as gold, silver, copper, lead,
soda ash, etc. The total sales of
f'sweep" from the New York assay
pfice last year were about 400 barrels,
for which $21,150 was realized.
All kinds of gold and silver coins,
plate or bullion, of not less than 800
n value, are received at the assay
office from persons wishing to sell, and
t is paid for, after it has been melted
Ind assayed in coin or bullion. Some
queer articles are passed over the
counter in this office. Brokers and
bawnbrokers send in large lots of once
precious relics, broken, disfigured and
umDled together k so much old
ron. a few days ago a box of jew
Try was received from a Nassau street
ewelry broker. There were two or
hree pounds of old watch cases, brace
cts, lockets, earrings and rings, all Of
inc gold and many of them bearing
Inscriptions such as are marked on
Wedding and birthday gifts. The
Whole lot went into the crucible and
n a few hours time a small cake of
gold worth about $3.50 was all that
yas left of the collection of relics.
We get IL great deal of African jew
Try which is brought home by sailors"
laid the receiving clerk. at was only
few days ago that we melted up a
OF of necklaces said to have been worn
by African princesses, and some
visited gold rings such as savages
year in their noses. Many of those
~rticles would have been highly priced
" curio-seekers, but the owners were
-